Hey, fellow. Key. Yeah? Yeah, I couldn't I couldn't hear you. And I knew you were saying something important. So I decided to just, like, shut the call down so I wouldn't lose it and just call you back. Oh, hey. So I didn't show up a scam likely because it happened sometimes when I call people. No, you're the Okay. Okay, so. So I don't know if I told you about this, but I've been working on this app idea. It's an archival app. And I knew that the idea was, like too big to just say, Oh, you can record anything, anytime, whatever the fuck. So I decided to like narrow the focus, you know, like a microscope, and not just go like, into like art in general. But like dance, specifically, just because I have so much footage, like going all the way back just for Hermes, all the way back to 2015. So I have like, fucking, what is that eight years of footage of just his story alone. And so like showing how like a single event can become this like tree of recording all of the stories of not just every single dancer. But every single member of every single team, like when a motive was dancing like at World Dance. How cool would it be, if in a non creepy way you could like learn more about the entire, like dance team? What motivated everybody to start it? how the people feel like being a part of it for you like what motivated you to do the mod? You know, how has it grown, like the fact that you just partnered with fucking world dance, and killed it. Like, I'm sorry, but like, I really hope that you use that photo of you just beaming into the face of two as she's like, holding the championship trophy is like that should be fucking put on T shirts and sold everywhere as inspiration.
Yeah, I'm getting there. Trust me, I got a lot of footage and a lot of stuff to get through. I'm just trying to get through these last two events, and then I'm posting, but then I still gotta promote. So it's like, I'm trying to like balance right now.
You have to, you have to figure out how to do that. And what I was trying to say before is that, like, the best metaphor I can think of is surfing. Because even if you have like the same three boards, you always use, you're wearing the same wetsuit you always use, or you have different ones depending on the weather, but the ocean is always fucking changing. And so you're fucking, you have to adapt. Like, if you stay in the same position, and you don't change it by choice, like, you're gonna fucking fall off and get decimated. And so what you're learning right now, in real time, is how to do that. Because like, isn't it so weird how sometimes with creative projects, it's like, nothing, it's like nothing for a while, like sets of weights, nothing, nothing, nothing. And then all of a sudden, they just come in succession. And like, everybody's calling everybody, like, you know, like, at a session or something, if things start to get really intense, like everybody tells everybody and all of a sudden, like a crowd forms. Like that is the that's how it is when creative stuff happens. And like it all comes at once. So you have to kind of be ready for like, when that fucking set comes in. And you're now handling how many events three still, and you just did one. So I totally understand if this is not at all something that you want to even consider. But basically what I'm going to be doing is working on that proposal today. I don't know how much of that webpage you read. But basically, it says that the person has to be a resident of this area, which I am. But I can have a collaborative team, which means that I can bring in people from other places. And so what I was thinking is that I want it to be a dance and art festival, right. So the big kind of like visuals that I'm going to use to grab their attention. Is this guy Jason Peters, who I sent you a sculpture but there's these like, crazy, they're made out of fucking paint buckets. Okay, you don't feel impressive. Okay, so anyway, like sculptures, the most important part that you care about is the fact that he says exhibitions around the world. So if you're applying for grant, you want to show off your headliner. He's the headliner to grab their attention, then the next level is that I want to show that this can go beyond just our little beach town, and that I want to have an Atlanta delegation and a New York delegation. You can be in charge of the Atlanta Dance one if you want to, but it doesn't seem like you really care, because you don't return my calls. And when I asked you questions, you don't respond to them. But I can put my personal shit aside because I think what you're doing is incredible. And I want to make a situation where like, we all can get something that we want out of it. And so I just want to see if this is all something that you guys would be interested in. If you're not like, I wanted you to have the producing credit, like the executive producing credit of it. But if you're not interested, then I can just go like on the one to one dance dancer level. Because since spam gave me and like helps me out so fucking much oh my god, he was such a champion. Like when I was in that chat, during the Las Vegas battle is like fucking three o'clock in the morning. I literally like slept before I woke up so I could watch it. And there was a few of us like in the chat. And bam was one of them. And I was like, I need help, like identifying people in the pictures. And he said that he would help so I literally sent him such a fuck ton of photos. Like it was insane how many I sent him. And he replied back to 42 different people's names that I did not previously know. That's just insane. And he is such like a cultural like ambassador. So showing like that level of like networking and interconnection and culture that y'all have developed up in Atlanta in terms of like celebrating and building culture, like throughout generations of dance is like such a beautiful thing. And that's why I asked on another IG live whether or not they've ever thought about making a mini documentary because you guys have such a whole fucking I mean, you literally have like a whole channel, not just a fucking single documentary. So I think that what you have built already is so fantastic that why the fuck would I try to do something on my own and start from nothing, when you already have an entire world there. And if you can just have a couple more cameras, or even like somebody doing oral histories, where you can record like everybody who attends an event, like their thoughts or trash talking before or whatever, like, you literally can like almost make a moment a time capsule that people can revisit later. Because that's what I did with my the website, like, you can go back to that website. And you can watch the trailer of it, you can go to individual profiles for every single performer, artists and vendor and speaker that was there, you can actually like search by different topics. And each, like each profile can be as in depth or as little as you want. Like, it can go from just your photo and your bio, or it'll show like, if you're a dancer, it'll show all of the photos taken by different photographers of your same battle, you know, because it doesn't just have to be a single camera, like we could reach out to kids in school and like, let them borrow a camera to shoot the dance portion of the competition. And then people can vote on their favorite photo and the kids get a prize like this literally can grow in so many different directions. And I would love for the people to be on the other side of that lens to be everyone in Atlanta because you guys are doing something so beautiful. But if you don't want to, I'm going to find other people because I already have a bunch of people in New York that do both art and dance. And so I want to show like how a single event can bring people together from different parts of the country under a common theme, and like show that you can take ideas from a single place and bring them back home or technologies or just information and let culture spread. So that's my pitch. No, no,
I'm definitely down to do that. So when so as far as the you would want to feature this stuff from just the mod or just all the events that are happening right now in Atlanta? Well
see, that's the thing. It can be whatever you want it to be like you do it. So it's the least amount of work for you possible but almost think of it like this is this is what I keep telling everybody. Think of it like, you know, Jay Z has that exhibition right
now, in New York
or in Brooklyn. The thing that is so genius about his Exhibit, or exhibition is just facts. And instead of it being behind a paywall, it can be at the museum, it can be where you have to pay admission. It's out of fucking library, where anybody can go and access it for free, which is what information should be which is why such bullshit that they're like banning books and all that crazy. I shut down here in Florida. And so I want it to be like a celebration of art, like have artists just like in the photos that you saw from my event. Like the background of every dancer photo was like an artist and his pieces. Imagine if every single artist had all of their stuff up like that. And different dancers could shoot in front of each and every single different artists work. You know, like there could be like a photo set that people dance on. There could be all of these different ways for dancers to potentially find like companies that want to use them for spawn time and they can bypass the whole like, terrible industry where people get ripped off and not paid what they're worth, you know, like make everything aboveboard, you know, cuz I don't know if you've heard of this, but there's this. I'm gonna call them but it's like now a service, but it was an idea at first, and it stands for fuck you pay me. But it basically is this website where you can go on if you're trying to be an influencer and a brand is like sending you an offer, you can literally look them up and brands almost have like a rating like Yelp. And they people give like, they spill it, they spill all the tea and the terms of like, what was the offer that they gave them for what an exchange. So you can see like if what they're offering you is like a competitive market rate. So you don't get a sucked over, because so many of these companies, and now they're trying to like preserve people's likeness with AI, aka replace them and use their likeness forever. And instead, why not flip the script and be like, Oh, wait, you want to protect this via technology, that means that you see that it has value. So what I'm going to do instead is I'm going to record my own, and then you have to license that shit from me, you know, you can condition me to make anything that you want. And you can flip the bill. But I'm going to be in charge of the creative control. Because right now, like that's what all of these tech industries are freaking out. Because they're realizing that all of the power lies in the hands of the people who create. And I don't know, if you've ever read her shit, I will get you a copy of her book. If you're interested. I feel like you would benefit so much from reading this because you already know this intrinsically. But there's this writer named Taylor Lorenz, who wrote this book called extremely online. And it talks about the rise up like internet culture and you know, the creator economy and everything. And she has done so many fucking articles about how repeatedly over time, white people feel black people's culture, and then they fucking make money off of it, because they're the ones that get the spawn time. And how fucked up because they only go first to like when it first got traction. But in my system, like the archival system that I'm building, my whole thing is that as soon as you fucking upload it, it gets time stamped, aka preserved via blockchain. So it gives you a time and a place when that was first record. So especially with dance, if somebody then post something after that original fucking date, and they make money off of it. They owe you a royalty, depending upon how much of your choreo they stole.
Yeah, we need something like that. Because I was right, that actually happened. Something bam.
That happened to me personally that somebody took his stuff. So definitely, yeah, we and I know a dance. I know a dance school teacher who teaches at Broadway music, dance, oh my god, one day, I just want to go there and like, just offer to like take photos all day, every single class just like hand me a Gatorade every once in a while. Because the energy from those fucking videos, it makes me like feel like I am in a music video getting ready to go out like Janet Jackson style. Like we go deep. You know, like, you know what I'm saying? Like a house party before you even get to the club kind of vibe. And it's just so interesting to me how like, by the time that the money gets involved in the equation, the thing that made it so magical in the first place has been diluted by so many fucking people who have no taste, who have no talent, but because they look stereotypically white, then they're the one that gets picked for the big promotion and the big ad campaign. Like, I fucking hate that it makes me want to like burn those those things to the ground. Because to me, why not actually give credit to like where it fucking comes from? Okay, like, if you like it, awesome. Fuck you pay me, you know what I mean? Like, hit me. So even on my event webpage, so there's like a rewind button where you can basically go back and watch like all of the performances. But then there's also a completely separate tab that is on the header like so when you click on the, you know, to look at the pages. It says tip jar, and it literally says, if you enjoyed watching this performance tip, here's how you can tip the dancer directly. And it currently has a fucking button. So all you have to do is press the button, and it takes you to their Venmo cash, cash app, all that other shit. And you can throw them a couple bucks. Like even if you watch the performance like five months later, and all of a sudden started binging their stuff you can throw 15 bucks, but they entertained you for an entire evening. You know?
Yeah, so pretty much constantly getting paid, but they are just
exactly and not just having to like hinge on oh my god, I have to find money to go to this next event to do this to do that. But you can make money off of the shit that you have already done. You can create an archive that goes back as far as the fuck is you want. I'm gonna send you the profile for this one painter, Edwin, whose work was actually the backdrop of the stage. So it's amazing because every single angle of every single photograph make His work was different. Because it depends on where the dancer was for the writing was with a photographer was, no matter what you fucking ever did in the future, you could never go back and repeat that set of circumstances that made that situation happen. Like, there's another I know I keep talking about like, sir shit, but like, I was a part of like a surf club like in, in Australia when I studied abroad and I basically failed because I just joined the surf club and just went on surf trips. So I there's this expression, and it says, you should have been here yesterday. Now think of how many times that that happens after an event, when people are talking back about it, oh, my God, you should have been there, you know. But in our case, we can actually make sure that you know, whatever is already been filmed, we can't help about like in the past, that's happened. But what about us going forward, every single cipher, every single battle, every single shoot idea, every single like projects, you had a place where you could like, keep that shoe safe, but also keep track of it, because it'll have a feature where you can like upload, I mean, this isn't anytime soon. But in the end, this is how it's gonna be where like, the first time you send me your bio, you send me your picture, I'll make an entry, you tell me what footage you want to include that's already yours. And that's fine. Then if you participate in an event in person, you'll have all of the footage, like just just from world of dance alone. Now people have 1532 photos, you know, of that event that otherwise wouldn't have happened, right? So I want people to use them. I want it to spread. But I also want people to know that like, I took them not because I'm looking for like a fucking gold star, but to say, Hey, if you have a battle, or if you have something that you want to be documented, like, reach out to me because I'm, if I can figure out a way to like fiscally, do it, like I'm done. Like, let's, let's do it. So that's why it's so funny that, you know, my event happened, and then the dance team fell through. But that's a whole nother story that I'm not getting into. Although I will say that it was pretty fucked up for somebody to use stolen pictures for a post that then talks about like leading the use of tomorrow. That just seems like you're asking for bad karma. But so my dance team fell out of the thing. And my whole idea for the app is to have a trilogy, a trio of dance trailers where the first one is a single person. And that's Robert Jamie Mason. He performed he sang he wrote the song, he made the skirt that he danced in to choreograph anti dance the piece. So that's the one video then the next trailer is split into two. So there's two duets. So it goes from a factor of one to four. And then it has the story of like Claire, the soprano who performs on the chorus at the Met, then you have Sam I Am who just you know, just got her passport, went to Africa and now is like fucking went to New Zealand. And then came back, performed at my event and then went somewhere else. Like she's just all fucking over the place like it was as soon as she got her passport, it was like, the fucking world of opportunities, just like started opening, opening up for her. Then we have New York Luffy I'm very confused as to why there's two of them. I hope that maybe someday someone who can explain that to me. But there's a tie and tie your kids goofy. So like, I got to do that talk and family tree because like what is the actual and like type told me that like, basically kid Luffy got conferred upon him once he reached a certain level of proficiency. And I'm like, What is this like fucking karate with like levels and belts and stuff? Like it's so fascinating. And so it's just that already. So there's, it goes from one to four, right? So that's magnified by four. And then I needed something that was bigger than four, to show like how things can expect exponentially grow. So because of the fact that that dance team fell through, I truly think that it was for the best because instead, I get to go back where I've done work before, you know where I've built relationships with you guys before where I've shot like three or four, you know, ultimate dancer events. And so it brings, you know, that entire branch into the conversation. So it's like, it's like these little links that end up making this like really beautiful chain. And I think that it would be so cool. And I guess what I'm asking is whether or not I'm allowed to like, include you in the pitch like the details like we can fucking work out later. But my question to you is like, would you at all be interested in reading?
No, what's that? Um, yes. I said, No, this
is something though, that's gonna help all the community, the more that they realize what's going on with the community and that this community exists, the better so anyways, to get out the message of street dance in a positive way, um, for see and this is what I'm thinking to. So Okay, so I'm going, if you, I don't want to overwhelm you, because I do that to a lot of people. I'm like a fucking firehose, that's why I keep sending that like gift of somebody riding their bike and then like a geyser of water hitting them, and then they go flying. Like, that's what it's like when I send people like infinite messages and stuff, because I get excited about ideas. But it's because I can recognize that all of this is coming together in such a beautiful way because just as you said, there's so much stuff happening in the Atlanta dance world right now. And it's almost like fucking Fashion Week's you know, where everybody like, within an industry, like go to certain places, and like, they bring, they go to with ideas, and they go back with information. And then it like, just causes this like ripple effect. Like, I feel like dance is an incredible metaphor for that, because people are able to process in real time like one. I have goosebumps right now, even though it's like 80 Fucking degrees. Thinking about I don't know if this story made it sound to Atlanta. But this dancer and I feel absolutely terrible that I don't remember his name, but somebody who was dancing to the Beyonce renaissances album, at the gas station as gas was being pumped into their vehicle, and started having a dance party with their friends. The sight of that, and rage someone so much that they killed him. And in the face of that, and how fucked up that is. They all really cry, like, they all return back to the place of suffering. And they danced on the ground, like where his blood was shed. And all I ever saw were like actual still photos of it, or like clips and like 15 Second reels, or whatever I'm like, but that like, not because like, oh, let's celebrate something that was terrible. No, let's like remember, like, how people felt after really fucking shitty things. Like, let's acknowledge that this can't be whitewashed. You can't just, you know, put throw up your archives digitally. And then delete the parts that are inconvenient when you look back later, and you realize that you were in the wrong, like, that's what's so dangerous about everything becoming digital, is that, you know, I actually have and what I'm planning on bringing to the events, like if it happens, or when it happens, because it'll even happen on a small scale. I don't fucking care. But I'm gonna bring my entire fucking library which includes National Geographics. I've two National Geographics that I bought from a fucking thrift store for like 25 cents a pop, and they're from fucking 1917.
That's a long time I had a visit. I have
a physical document that has over 100 years old. And you know, what I think would be really fun is to digitize the issue that I have in my possession, and cross compare it with what they have on their website as being in the issue, because I guarantee you that they're fucking different, which is why anytime there's a new edition of a book, and the author is already dead, I am always suspicious, because I'm like, What are you trying to leave out? Like, what about now when you own the rights to that intellectual property, because that person is dead, and they didn't know about contracts, and they signed out, they find a way their intellectual property. So their family doesn't get a fucking Penny, aka Eazy E's family, you know, and like two shorts family, like all of these people get fucked over by like record contracts that they sold without any legal counsel. And they were pushed into making a decision, instead of being able to have somebody actually take a look at it for them. That's also what fucked me over on my last app. Like I've lost my app, after I was hospitalized, because of the fact that he took the text I sent to him when I was suicidal. And I literally said, do with it, what you won't I won't be around. When I got out of the hospital. He said that my test was my resignation as CEO and I would only be paid out a vestment of my shares for the duration of time that I was there. What about the fact that he was part of the reason why I was killed myself, you know, and I lost? What was the only thing that I still had that tied back to my life before my memory loss, which was the app idea. Like I literally came up with that app idea fucking twice. And then I lost it because the parasite fucking saw me, like, and he knew that I saw him as a life raft. And he fucking ripped that shit out of my hands. But he hasn't been able to do shit with it. Because he wasn't like the genesis of it. I was and that happens to so many fucking talented people, and they get ripped off and then they don't get a cut of what they deserved. And so my whole point is that I want to show that like, doing things exactly the opposite of how people fucking say should be done. You You can actually create a situation where the money the money is amount is the same. But how it ripples outward is entirely different. So instead of being like, oh, I need to get X percentage, like, even like managers and stuff usually are like 10 to 15%, then you have art galleries, but they're like, Oh, if you sold a piece during our exhibition, you owe us a 50%. Commission, because that happened to my friend fucking Diego, which that's the fucking racket. And then also, there are other places where not only do you have to pay to show your work, but you also have to pay a commission if it sells. And that's another racket. So it's like, how the fuck are artists who don't have trust funds? Supposed to make it? And how are people who may not have access to a lawyer? How can they protect the shift that they create? So somebody can't come along and steal it? And just because they can pay for better lawyers, you get fucked over and you don't get a royalty of what you actually began? It doesn't make sense to me.
It don't people. There's there's so many artists that have been ripped off like the whole thing with the guy who died. I did see that on the news here in Atlanta. Actually, that was one of somebody who was close to Wheezy. He actually knew that dancer when you're talking about Yeah. So definitely a lot needs to change as far as the way they treat dancers. I feel like yeah, we're getting some treatment better. But it's still to the point that people was like, oh, it's the street dance. We can't say, oh, my gosh, this, this month.
So this is I'm gonna get really nerdy with it. So I've been thinking about this for a very long time. Because my whole like, burn it to the ground mentality comes from the fact that like, why is it that we are gate kept from opportunity, either it's a fiscal one, like having to be on the hook for X amount of what a tuition costs, you know, and not having access to financial aid, but you do, but the interest rates are insane. So you'll basically be like an indentured servant for life, let alone if you can even make a living from doing that, you know, so like, the only people who can get to those schools or fund their projects are people who have a trust fund, you know, and that isn't representative of like, the people who have stories that need to be heard. And so to me, there needs to be like a shift and saying, Okay, we need to highlight and credit people in real time, because, you know, summer of soul was a transcendent documentary. And as I watched it, I was just so thankful that like, first of all, I could have stories that need to be heard. And so to me, there needs to be like a shift that we are actually create a situation where the money the money is amount is the same, but how it ripples outward is entirely different. So instead of being like, oh, I need to get X percentage, like, even like managers and stuff usually are like 10 to 15%. Then you have art galleries, but they're like, Oh, if you sold a piece during our exhibition, you always have 50% Commission, because that happened to my friend fucking Diego, which that's the fucking racket. And then also, there are other places where not only do you have to pay to show your work, but you also have to pay a commission if it sells. And that's another racket. So it's like, how the fuck are artists who don't have trust funds? Supposed to make it? And how are people who may not have access to a lawyer? How can they protect the shift that they create? So somebody can't come along and steal it and just because they can pay for better lawyers, you get fucked over and you don't get a royalty of what you actually began? It doesn't make sense to me.
It don't people. There's there's so many artists that have been ripped off like the whole thing with the guy who died. I did see that on the news here in Atlanta. Actually, that was one of somebody who was close to Leesy he actually knew that dancer when you're talking about Yeah, so definitely a lot needs to change as far as the way they treat dancers. I feel like yeah, we're getting some treatment better but it's still to the point that people is like, oh, it's the street dance week.
Oh my gosh, this this month. So this is I'm gonna get really nerdy with it. So I've been thinking about this for a very long time because my whole like burn it to the ground mentality comes from the fact that like, why is it that we are gate kept from opportunity, either it's a fiscal one like having to be be on the hook for X amount of what a tuition costs, you know, and not having access to financial aid, but you do, but the interest rates are insane. So you'll basically be like an indentured servant for life, let alone if you can even make a living from doing that, you know, so like, the only people who can get to those schools or funds, their projects are people who have a trust fund, you know, and that isn't representative of like, the people who have stories that need to be heard. And so to me, there needs to be like a shift and saying, Okay, we need to highlight and credit people in real time because, you know, summer of soul was a transcendent documentary. And as I watched it, I was just so thankful that like, first of all, I could, I could literally, I should create just a fucking shrine that I light a candle for inspiration to class love, like anytime I'm working on an idea because the fucking shit he does is insane. Like, not only did I used to go to his bowl train, like DJ residency at Brooklyn Bowl, in New York, I used to go every fucking Thursday, and I would stay until it ended. And he Oh my god, one time I even like wrote him a note, talking about how much his work meant to me. Because the first time I was introduced to the roots, I was reading things fall apart by Chinua Achebe, in my ID, English class. And I went to the record store, because I did that, like, every week, every Friday or whatever. And I'm flipping through, like the new releases. And I see the title and I'm like, wait a minute, that's weird. I'm reading a book called that in English. And then there are multiple covers, I think there was like four different ones. And as I flipped through them, they were each different photos from like, the civil rights era. And I'm like, holy Wait, shit. Okay, so you're tying together a different art stores with this. And you're also giving the context with which to consider said album, like, it blew my fucking mind that, like, all of those things could converge into a single album that I was holding in my hands, you know? And that's the thing that is missing so much with things. It's not just like, you know, yes, our our shows like so you can dance and stuff. Good. Yes. But like, keep the cameras going, like after they're, they leave the stage, get their life change after that opportunity. Did it get better get worse? Like, can people kind of keep an eye on them to make sure that they're not getting smashed over by predatory manager and like signing city contracts? You know what I mean? Like half that, like, if people like you said, if people understood, like, how interesting, like dance and culture and how there's such an intertwining between, like migration patterns, and like how people learn different styles, it's almost like you have to, like dance with somebody to like, get permission to dance that style is there all these beautiful aspects of it? That is so much more interesting than watching rich women fight on TV, you know? And like if people watching it, like why does he have to wait for the Olympics to say that like, okay, street dancers, okay, but only breakdancing you know, only breaking because that's like the easiest digestible one for the audience's at home, but like, Fuck it, why not have a side dancer Olympics during the actual Olympics, and have like dance battles like all over the fucking world that are streaming at the same time as like the Olympics, you don't I'm saying like, why not like, really just reach out to Red Bull, and tell them about this idea. And I also have this idea for like a fucking dendritic tree, I sent you the link for that. But I didn't want to get like brain wearables where the dancers are wearing them. And their brain frequencies are projected onto a screen behind where they're performing. Like, I really want to get nerdy with it. And I want to like, make a single evening of dance like a literal amusement park that can be revisited or built upon or access. Like you could have a whole network of, you know, amateur photographers and cinematographers, you could call in the dime, if you had an idea for a shoot, you know what I mean? Like, just make it so people can find one another, to make cool shit. Like you do what you want on your own, you figure out the breakdown of the percentage, I want 3% to cover my extensive because I'm like testing out all of these ideas. In theory, I have no no idea if any of it is going to work. But I'm going to try and I would love to like when I pitch a story to them, actually, like have the people to back it up. Because like, if you say yes, you don't have to do anything aside from write a bio and pick your profile picture, because I already have all of the shit from world of dance that we can reference. And I can say this is who I would be partnering with. And this is their track record. So even if mine isn't enough, look at hers because hers definitely is. And even if hers isn't enough, we also have that sculptor who has done projects around the world. And if that isn't enough, and then and then and then we've put every single fucking person who says yeah, As if you can cover my housing, my food, and my travel, I will show up on that stage.
Nah, but I'm definitely down. I want to do this because I want, the more that we can get dance out the better. And you are someone who actually cares about the culture and cares about the style, not someone who just wants to, you know, make money off of the culture. So no, I'm definitely down to help anyway I can, whatever you need for me, just let me know, because I'm definitely.
Okay, so what I'm gonna do is, I'm going to start working on the proposal today. So if you can, I'll make a little list, but I'm gonna need you to pick I don't know, if you want to select like the demobbed logo, but I need to pick or logo, we can actually do both, if you want. So you can do a pick of view, and then your logo as well. I need a bio, and again of you, as well as the mod. And then in the bio, just talk about, you know, the the Atlanta dance culture, your part in it. And then I'll also be reaching out to other people, or maybe if you can kind of spearhead that efforts, but we can do like a joint collaborative posts on like, iG, where, basically, I'll have like a link to a forum, in my bio, where people are interested, you know, in participating, like I said, like, if the, you know, they're traveling, everything is covered, then they can sign up, and then we'll do a contest, not a contest, but like, you know, if we only raise X amount of money, and you can only pay for three dancers to come down, which three dancers would you want to see? And open that up? Because that's another way of engaging community, you know what I'm saying? Like, so you get to pick like, what is your dream lineup? And then we get to, like, build it, not just from Atlanta, not just from New York, but like, opening it up and be like, Okay, do you have like airline miles that you can donate to fly in a dancer from somewhere else? Because if so, then we can throw them on that just like literally do like us anything that we can to make the house like, what
I say I pretty much use any resource we have to help. So if we know somebody who does, like if we know somebody who can get this house with hotels, and so on and so forth.
Yep, exactly. And so that's what I'm thinking. And so the so the idea for the festival, I mean, because don't even get me started, but I would love to actually do like satellite events like all throughout the region, like all throughout Tampa Bay, in different places to highlight like the cool aspects of all of them. But before I get too carried away with that, talking about this, specifically, that park just fucking reopened. And so they're desperate, like, Did you see that there was only like 1000 views or likes for it. And they released it months ago, and they spent hundreds of millions of dollars or some ridiculous amount of money to justify it. But the fact that it's like, surrounded by Scientology fortress makes people not want to go down there because they have to like, go through like literally like a quarter mile in all directions. Of like Scientology owned property to get there. So most people are like, fuck, like to throw like a dance party like in the backyard of Scientology, where like Tom Cruise's penthouse of the world. You know, literally, this is the World Center for Scientology headquarters. It's insane. Like I thought when I worked at Target, Christie Ali came through my line, like four months before she died. And she was buying a ship pup kind of like baby clothes for her kids, for her grandkids. But like, so having a dance party, you know, celebrating like dance culture, because if you think about it, so much of dance is the physical expression of the human experience. And so, particularly in styles that when you're looking at it, and you don't know what the fuck is going on, it can read as aggressive. But in reality, it's like a relief. You know, like, whenever, like, whenever I watched when I felt cramped for the first time, I started fucking weeping. And I didn't know why even now when I say that, I do something. It's like 80 Fucking degrees. Because I was like, Oh my God. I don't understand how they did that. But I know how that feels. You know, even though our circumstances are completely different, but like that made me feel something that I either never experienced before or that I forgot that I felt and it is so transformative. And for me, it is like, I will forever be indebted to dance. And I did say this on another conversation I had but I haven't like posted that yet. But so I had a I have manic depression. I prefer that versus bipolar because bipolar just is too small of a word for the magnitude of the experience. Okay, so So I have very high very lows. I've had four hospitalizations, three for mania one for depression, the three manic hospitalizations were all involuntary. I was assaulted on two of those three occasions. I was institutionalized for two weeks after the last one wishes in 2017. I found a recording of me talking about that situation three months after it happened. I made that into like an art installation for my event where I had a graphic designer illustrate three different sections of the audio recording. And there's a QR code in it. So you can scan that. And you can listen like to me talking about it, not like in hindsight, but like, three months after it happened. And my whole thing is that there's always context to be considered. And so the whole thing that's motivating me behind the app is that even with things like archival, you know, IGS, that like show like, photos of the past and like celebrating histories that don't normally get preserved and told, it's like, we're still missing the story behind each each of those pictures, you know, like, who are the people like, what music was playing? What foods were they eating? What was the recipe of the foods in the picture? Like, all of these little things get lost unless you were there, right? So I want to create like a place that is protected, okay, via blockchain. So like, regardless of who is empowered, the behind the app is that even with things like archival, you know, IGS that like show like, photos of the past and like celebrating histories that don't normally get preserved and told, it's like, we're still missing the story behind each each of those pictures, you know, like, who are the people like, what music was playing? What foods were they eating? What was the recipe of the foods in the picture? Like, all of these little things get lost unless you were there, right? So I want to create like a place that is protected, okay, via blockchain. So like, regardless of who is in power, who is controlling the educational system, because like, the fucking what Santos is doing for education is Florida is talking terrifying. He wants to have an entire militia like he literally got funding for $200 million for the Florida guard. And people who joined it has quit because they said it was more like a militia. And then it basically wasn't there to help in times of emergency, but they were basically like forming like a state militia. And the fact that they there now is like a, you know, you don't need a permit for concealed weapon. And there's also been no injures round law. And the fact that they're banning books and the fact that they banned AP education, and the fact that they are putting like conservative people on the board of like, you know, what school is it? It's in Orlando, something see you like ICU something, oh, it should go to the ICU. But like they're putting us conservative Ascot, they're now starting to like, remove funding. If you have diversity and inclusion courses, or faculty like at your school, it is terrifying to live in a place that is like becoming a haven for hate indoctrination and like just blind compliance like Florida should be caught cut off and sent into the ocean because it is going to like lay siege on the rest of the country. And it is scary to like walk down like the street at the beach, because this is the it's like the dark underbelly of like, why people come here because Clearwater has been voted like best beach in America, white sand beaches, all that good shit, right? Like it's even voted for like travel and leisure as like St. Pete was the top city. So you have top beach in Clearwater, you have top, you know, like downtown city and St. Petersburg. You have a Dali Museum, which is like crazy because it's a fucking beach town. So why is there Salvador Dali collection of some of his most famous works like in this ridiculously amazing building, like in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, right? So there are all of these things that are promising. But then you have Scientology who buys up all of the land around like one of the areas that people used to go to and celebrate, you know, and bring communities together, like all of these areas are getting parceled off by whoever has the deepest pockets and communities are being wiped out. And all of the things that made the place made you want to visit a place in the first place are being destroyed for solace like shitty architecture for like yet another smoothie bar, you know, and it's just ridiculous, like gentrification is such an insidious like thing and all of these ups people use their spendable income and be like, Oh my gosh, like I really love like a craft brew, but like kombucha but like non alcoholic, right, and they are destroying the very thing that like make someplace special, you know, like there's this This is Marilyn Monroe mural on the side of this, like theater that has just been sold, and it's going to be demolished. And like, there used to be performances there movies there, like all of these beautiful moments, and culture and history. And instead, because it's close to downtown, somebody makes a quick buck. And instead of restoring it, and making it this like amazing little jewel that people can return to, instead, they're going to tear it down and replace it with something bougie. And it's just ridiculous. And so this kind of entire project slash presentation, want to visit a place in the first place, or being destroyed for solace, like shitty architecture for like yet another smoothie bar, you know, and it's just ridiculous, like, gentrification is such an insidious, like thing. And all of these ups, people use their spendable income and be like, Oh my gosh, like, I really love like a craft brew, but like kombucha but like non alcoholic, right, and they are destroying the very thing that like, make someplace special, you know, like, there's this, there's this Marilyn Monroe mural on the side of this, like theater that has just been sold, and it's going to be demolished. And like, there used to be performances there movies, they're like all of these beautiful moments, and culture and history. And instead, because it's close to downtown, somebody makes a quick buck. And instead of restoring it, and making it this like amazing little jewel that people can return to, instead, they're going to tear it down and replace it with something bougie. And it's just ridiculous. And so this kind of entire
project slash presentation, like I'm really happy that I found out about this want to visit a place in the first place, or being destroyed for solace, like shitty architecture for like yet another smoothie bar, you know, and it's just ridiculous, like, gentrification is such an insidious, like thing. And all of these ups, people use their spendable income and be like, Oh my gosh, like, I really love like a craft brew. But like kombucha but like non alcoholic, right, and they are destroying the very thing that like, make someplace special, you know, like, there's this, there's this Marilyn Monroe mural on the side of this, like theater that has just been sold, and it's going to be demolished. And like, there used to be performances there movies, they're like all of these beautiful moments, and culture and history. And instead, because it's close to downtown, somebody makes a quick buck. And instead of restoring it, and making it this like amazing little jewel that people can return to, instead, they're going to tear it down and replace it with something bougie. And it's just ridiculous. And so this kind of entire project slash presentation, like, I'm really happy that I found out about this grant, because I've always already working on so many aspects of this, but like in different directions. And with this grant, and with you being a part of it, you can take the lead on a section because I can't do it all myself, nor should I like, I can't tell your story, you should tell your story. You have full editing control, like every person who's in it. Like even if you give approval. If somebody else in that footage does not it does not get used, it does not see the light of day because you should be in control of how your likeness is preserved for eternity. You know what I mean?
Yeah, but nada. But that's the thing, like, people, the whole gentrification thing is like people I hate with flow. I live in the south. So I see it happening and happening happening. And they wanted to take away the right of a lot of stuff. And they're trying to do that in Georgia. But with Georgia, they're getting a lot of pushback, because of how many New Yorkers and other people and other people who are here, so a lot of people who came from different countries, and so on and so forth. So they're getting a lot of pushback. But right now, let's like if you're in the south, right now, it's time to go live. It's not. It's hard.
Let's say we're shit happens in swamp, basically.
Yeah. And
our enemy, and like, we are in swamp territory, and there are alligators everywhere, and you gotta be fucking careful. You know. And so this is basically my whole pitch for this entire project is like or entire events is I'm gonna look like my quote unquote artists name is manifesto, because that's almost a title that tells you with which, how you want to interpret that information that follows because if you believe that mental illness is like, a sign of being damned, or you think that it doesn't exist, or you don't like me, because I'm a woman or whatever the fuck you can, you can write it off right away, right? But I realized that if my experience in the mental health system
Give me one second
and I was on T Hara, yeah.
Yeah. I couldn't hear you. And I knew you were saying something important. So hey, fellow, I did it show footage does not it does not get used, it does not see the light of day because you should be in control of how your likeness is preserved for eternity. You know what I mean?
Yeah, but nada. But that's the thing, like, people. The whole gentrification thing is, like, people I hate with flow, I live in the south. So I see it happening and happening happening, and they wanted to take away the right of a lot of stuff. And they're trying to do that in Georgia. But with Georgia, they're getting a lot of pushback, because of how many New Yorkers and other people and other people who are here so a lot of people who came from different countries and so on and so forth. So they're getting a lot of pushback. But right now it's like if you're in the south right now it's time to go live not it's
hard. Let's say we're shit happens in swamps, basically.
Yeah. And our
enemy and like we are in swamp territory, and there are alligators everywhere and you got to be fucking careful, you know. And so this is basically my whole pitch for this entire project is like or entire event is I'm gonna because like my quote unquote artists name is manifesto because that's almost a title that tells you with which how you want to interpret that information that follows because if you believe that mental illness is like a sign of being damned, or you think that it doesn't exist or you don't like me because I'm a woman or whatever the fuck you can you can write it off right away right? But I realized that it's my experience in the mental health system
Give me one second
man I was going off on a tangent
needed a breather understandable I feel like I should send people care packages like before I talked to them on the phone, you know, include some like electrolyte packets or something with caffeine. Maybe some sugar like some candy help them stay with me you know?
Sorry about that I know Trust me,
I guess I can get through a lot of stuff instead of trying to I can't
I can't hear you. We help people. Life would be better instead of people just saying just deal with it. Like therapy should be something that is given to kids in school. Especially because there's so much
these key I can't hear you I'm
keep her Yeah.
Yeah. I couldn't hear you. And I knew you were saying something important. So I decided to just like shut the call down so I wouldn't lose that and just call you back. But you're saying health and it's important. Yeah.
So yeah, so as mental health is important. I felt like As they use all the money that we spend in schools, they need to start using the resources to actually help people. So these kids, they need help, because, honestly, I want to blame it. But social media played a huge part. And so why these kids are acting the way they are, the way they're doing the stuff that they are, because they're getting bullied, like user is getting bullied in school. But now you get bullied online again, will you get it? I
need you. I'm gonna, I'm gonna send you a copy of Taylor's book like to, I'm going to send it to you tomorrow, I'm going to order it from my local bookstore port key books. And I'm going to have her ship it to you directly, because she talks about exactly this. And my whole thing is that, okay, we have this tool, and right now we're using it in this way. But what if we could actually use it for a different purpose, which is to magnify good, so almost have it be like a Good News Gazette, where it shows like, really cool things that people are doing. And you can follow along, if you missed it before, you know, if you missed the live, you weren't there, you can rewatch the live like, you know, basically make it so people can, like, meet you where they're at when they can, and then look back as far back as you have for them to go. Because so many of these conversations have been had by different people at different times in history, but never all at the same time, and never all in the same place. And so all of these different people who are working on the same problem, but in different ways, in different industries never fucking come together to actually like, Hash it out in one fucking room. Like, I don't know, if you've watched the Gaga and Oprah sold a soul in an interview. Holy shit. Gaga cats. It's so fucking real that Oprah's jaw was on the fucking floor. And the audience was just in hushed silence, because of the shit that she was just so frank, honest about and not even like, not like embarrassed, but like, was like talking about it. Because she's like, if this was my experience, and I all have these access to all of these resources, can you imagine what it would be like for somebody who wasn't me? And so she actually has like a team of that meets with her, like all of her medical team. They're all in the same zoom. And they all like cross confer, so they can get to the bottom of the problem. Now, what if we could amplify something like that, but for everyday people, and if you can't get in to see a doctor that's under your insurance for six months? And they'd rather have you go to a fucking er, why is that? Oh, because they make more money off of the ER visits. And if you were able to see a doctor on time, such a racket, and like that Doctor Who destroyed my memory, T chart, charged my insurance $200,000. And he's asked my brain 77 fucking times, at least because I found that many of those consent forms. And by the end of it, when my mom would pick me up, I wouldn't even be able to form a coherent sentence. And that fucker was inches away from my face on at least 77 occasions. And when he saw me in the psych ward last July, after I've been patient with us for years, he asked me what my room number was, because he didn't know my fucking name.
Do you see for discussing they do.
And if I wasn't a white woman, I would be dead. Like, when when I saw the coverage about Jordan Neely. I fucking love my shit, because that had been me in New York. Like that's actually how I was assaulted by a cop because there was a music festival nearby. So he thought I was on drugs and in reality, I was manic. And in state of psychosis, I walked barefoot from the fucking Bronx to Randalls Island, which is really fucking far. And he basically again thought I was on drugs. So he was trying to physically subdue me. I like crawled under a cop car to try to get away from him. He pulled me out from under my feet, like with my feet, and I scratched my face. Like my facial facial lacerations. He fucked me up so much that when I got to the hospital, my CK levels, which it stands for, like creatine kinase, and it is a hormone or something that gets released from your muscles when they're subjected to physical trauma, and the normal level is like 55 to 135 and my levels were over 1000 and the cop would not leave me alone. He was waiting on my toxicology reports. He was stalking outside of my room talking on the phone talking about how crazy of a bitch I was. Basically, the nurses versus New York nurses were so scared of this cop that they would not leave me alone in the room because they were afraid of what he would do. Like if if I was alone. And then they held me down. I had four people hold me fucking down because I was agitated because I just been assaulted and then the person assaulting me is pacing. Like as I'm strapped to a hospital like being held fucking down. And I started doing what they say to do. If you're being assaulted, which is saying your name, and I said, my name is Agnieszka Pniewski, I'm manic, and the cop just assaulted me. Did you know that? And two of them released their grip, and the other two did not. And then they injected me with what they call booty juice, aka the five and two aka Haldol. And they did that before medical history was taken, and I've had five concussions.
Why don't you sue these people?
Because that doesn't do shit. So guess what I'm going to splish splash in the public opinion, play pool. And that's why it's so perfect that this would be happening here. Because I want to even throw like a satellite event like right across the fucking street from where his offices and be like, you fucking did this to me, fuck you. I'm not going to see you. Because even when I tried to report him to the board, guess what they told me, they told me that I have to request records from his office to report him. So I had to go back to the person who fucked my shit up. Ask them for permission from my records. Not to mention the fact that I've already tried to do that before. And they told me know that because there is a there's an exemption to HIPAA that not a lot of people realize, which is that psychotherapist notes are exempt from HIPAA. So there can be a bunch of notes from a doctor that you have no hand in writing. And they write whatever they want to build whatever they want to insurance. And in my case, I don't even have access to that record because they quote, don't feel it's healthy. It's helpful for patients to have. And so instead of going the legal route, plus I'm poor, I can't fucking afford a lawyer and having a drag out for years. I'm, I'm done like I am. I'm angry. And I'm going to make something beautiful out of the anger. And I am basically going to say like, this is something that was made by a mind that on paper society says is broken. And this is the person who fucking get it. And then see if that gets a storyline or two, and coverage.
Oh, no, they normally go on into coverage he brought on to give you hush money to be quiet. So you know, ruin his reputation?
Well, I don't fucking care. I don't care. He's not gonna be able to, you'll have to sue me and prove defamation. See, see
what the scram. Yeah, yeah, so that's what they always do, because they don't listen until it gets the buzz and the eye on the crowd. And until they see that they're not gonna do anything, they're just gonna sweep it under the rug. Exactly. And it's just so fucked up. Because the people like those of us that have bad medical experiences,
were reticent to go and look for help later, because of how bad the prior one was, you know. And so that means that by the time we finally get there, it's like, shit has already hit the fan for a while. So it's like, way worse than it would have been if you just went in the first place that you were scared to go, you know? And like, I understand distrust of medical professionals, because I definitely haven't Oh, my God, like I even asked when I, when I started a neuropsychological tests, like, I even asked her, like, if I could record it, because of the fact that like, I've had instances with, you know, medical records disappearing, or not being able to get them at all, like getting partial records, all that kind of bullshit. Like when I called in like to ask, so what I did is I actually called like, every single medical doctor or facility that I know that I've ever, like, gotten treatment at. And I requested them from the place that did the AECT, the electroshock therapy. And at first they sent me a bunch of files, but then like, I tried to organize them because they were very disorganized. And there was like a bunch missing. And then when I circled back to like, ask for the specific dates that I didn't have, all of a sudden the file was no longer there. Oh, we're not sure it's checked out right now. Why would that be? Why would that be a year and a half after the fact? It must have been flagged that somebody asked for it. So then they looked back at it. And then when I called my psych, my former psychologists or psychiatrists office, and I asked them for the records and they gave me pushback, and I was like, Oh, that's weird, because winmore gave them to me, and you should have heard her fucking voice and she goes, they did. Like they did and didn't tell us like, how dare they like, holy shit. Why did they do that? You know, and so it's just so interesting how like, even a place as beautiful as where I live like there's just this such A sick underbelly. And it's the same thing with like the show business industry to like, everybody likes to shiny things. But then they also like watching people fall. And then they don't hold the people who are toxic, like accountable. So you have all of these like promoters and CDs managers, and all of these people like literally leeching the life talent and money out of the people who actually are the stars, you know, are the starseeds. And it's just so like, it's so enraging to see happen. And so I'm like, of the mind of like, Let's burn it all down. And then let's actually go forward and build something new with like, people who are skilled in an area, but you know, may not have money, but they have a skill. So they can like, they're going to law school, maybe they can, like look over your contract that you get paid to make sure that there's not anything in it, that'll fuck you over. You know what I mean? Like exchange for exchange, the person who volunteered feels good that they help you feel comfortable that you're not going to like put your fiscal future at risk, you know, and if you're a part of the archive, and let's say that like, because you know, sometimes things that like, never got any traction in the past, I'll sudden blow up like later in time, like, you will always receive a cut of anything in perpetuity. So like, it will only grow over time, it won't cost anything to receive. And literally all you have to do is like give us like a fucking routing number or like a place to send like a pre loaded gift card of like your royalties of what you make off of something, because it's just ridiculous to me that those that are creating the very thing that makes makes people Marvel, that they're not the ones that are being compensated accordingly for it.
It just be sad, that all of this happens to innocent people. And that people really,
they people seem to really, you know, treat people the way they deserve to be treated.
Exactly. And it just sucks, because so many people are like, Oh, well, let me let me do what I have to do to make money and then turn around and give it back. And it's like, wait a second, what if you could instead, like, figure out a way for people to work together. So like I said, you know, I'm going to be asking around if people have points like to donate for people flights, you know, if everybody submits like a portfolio, which basically is like, you know, kind of what I asked for you fill it, so like profile picture bio. And then they submit the clips, not only do we have it as a post on Instagram, but they have a dedicated profile page on the website, people can like literally vote in the comments with the verified accounts, we make sure that somebody isn't like spam voting for themselves. And we basically, so it's like, one person gets one vote, like for each person, but you can't vote for the same person twice. And then that's how we gauge like, who we whose fares we cover first. And maybe we can't cover the full fare, but maybe we can get you like half off or something we can meet you halfway literally, you know, or, you know, you could have somebody else buy the ticket for you and pay them back in installments without interest, you know, like, figure out a way to like, just make the money stretch, you know, because that's, that's what I often do is like, you know, figure out a way to like, Okay, can I pay you this much then, and then this much over time, I've done that with a couple of artists that I've collaborated with. And luckily, everybody's been like, really open to it. Because I think for you know, a lot of creatives, like, sometimes you don't know, if your gig is actually going to pay you like you go you do the work. And then all of a sudden the check just seems to get lost in the mail. And it's like, Wait, what the fuck, like, I planned on doing this, so that, you know, and my bills were gonna be met for the month, but now because you're delayed, and you're giving me the runaround, like, I can't pay my fucking rent, you know. And so the idea is that if people could make money, even off of their, like prior work, you know, like, if somebody really liked your work, they could do like a monthly subscription, you know, so like, $5 a month, you know, and you get notifications of your favorite dancers content. And maybe even you get to, like go into like private q&a or something. You know what I mean? Like, there are all of these like now like methods of tech where not only could you have your favorite dancer, but you don't have to, like be Beyonce and have a renaissance tour around the world. You can literally like, do that on a smaller scale. So somebody loves your shit. And you have an idea for like a project or like, let's say that you're a performer and you have a costume that you want to build and like you need money to like pay for the fabric and for somebody to make it people could like chip in for that specific project. You know, like, there's a way to use like social to bring people together and like rally around the things that speak to them. And it's a bonus if people coming together isn't from a place of pain, or like commit like commiserating but instead celebration, right? So like, it would be so beautiful to have people from different parts of the country, come to a place have a beautiful celebration of dance and art and like You know, asking how art and mental health can actually help you, you know, deal with what is going on in the world right now what you're dealing with in your life, what you're dealing with your family, what you're dealing with in society, because it's so like, the physical act is dancing, it physiologically has an impact on your emotions, even if you dance badly. The impact of like how good your body feels, and how you feel after your dance. Doesn't matter what the fuck you look like when you do it, you know, and if people could, like, understand, like the nuances or even be introduced to dance styles that they don't yet already know, like, it could be a game changer, like you have a rough day and you come home, and you found a new favorite dance style. So you like put that in as your search pattern. And you just get to watch continual loops of that style of dance as it lulls you to sleep and you get to like go to sleep, in wonder, instead of like in misery, right. And so when I was manic back in like 2016 2017, I was doing a bunch of random shit because I've been working on all these like ideas for like, trying to bring creative together and like make stuff. That's the shortened version. And somehow along the way, I became a member of like, the International Council of dance or something, it's something sounds very posh, and like bougie. But it's a organization key that has 170 countries, over 10,000 Like members within the dance community. But then like 10s of 1000s, more of like people who are like on the mailing list and all of this other shit. And if you're a member, which reminds me, I have to renew my membership, if you're a member, you can actually pitch to have things be included, like in the newsletter. So once I get a more solidified, like, of of how to write this proposal, I am going to also include, like that context with when it was in it, which is like, watch us as we try to build that. And so it can involve people from around the world. And if they like it, then maybe they'll put it in the newsletter. Or maybe they'll even invite us to come do a panel in different places around the world. And then we can have like a fricking. Like contingents, nothing fancy, what do you call a group of people that goes from a convoy? There we go. We can have a convoy of dancers, at different places around the world, and like perform together and like teach classes and record it so people can like watch it again. And then they projected into the town square. So there's like dance lessons every Friday with footage that's already been filmed?
You've been through it. You've been through hell.
Yeah, but the only thing that the only reason why I'm here key is because when I was so depressed, that I couldn't get out of bed for days at a time, I would literally prop my phone up. And I would open up IG stories. And because of the fact that I engaged, like, you know, via the algorithm with like, so many dancers over the years, as I was laying there in bed, and literally like, wondering why I was still on this side of the dirt. I would be watching like dancers from like all around the world. And the moment so I was like marveling and wonder, I was distracted from the fact that I was like in so much pain. And so when I say that, like everything I do going forward is always going to be under the lens of like, mental health and dance. It's because of that, you know?
So that saved your life. It helps you to become the person you are today.
It really did. And so not as much this is my way of trying to give that back you know?
Because dance has helped a lot of people and I'm just glad that you got through what you were going through because I know some people their story is not always the same thing. People get in through depression is not always the same. Yeah everybody 2020 was a rough year for a lot of people. Yeah, it's just It was rough. But you hear now and no need to you got to check on everybody check on your cousin and like everything we do.
Exactly. And that's why you know, it's funny because I'm like, oh my god this is all like back to back to back to back but it's wild that that grants or whatever the fuck just uh opened on the 18th. So it opens like, right before I went to Atlanta to share with you guys. And then this opened up like right after this, it's just the timing of it is so funny to me. And so it almost feels like this is like, predestined because the funny thing is, is that this this company, like, are the organizations getting out this grant? Like I actually, like, kind of lucky hate them. Because they are so just, they go for what's flashy, not for what's actually evocative, like, and it's just so funny to me that they like gave a grant to like the same artists twice. And it should just looks like a bunch of like, condoms of different sizes and colors. Like it's just, and people are like, Oh my god, it's so amazing. And I'm like, what, the student has a problem with this deck, you know, like, let's move on. So it's just the idea of like, what art is, is itself when somebody else is saying what has value so to me, if anybody has any fucking art that they want to show, and they feel like comfortable with, like, putting out in public, you get in, like, it's not like, Oh, it's a juried exhibition, fuck, no, if you want to show it, bring it, we'll find a place to put it. And like have it be a place where people can bring their art, I can make up the fact that like, I fucked my life, and if I come over, but I didn't deliver what was promised with that product sponsor with the telephone. So it's called the audio guestbook company. And most people think of it within the context of a wedding where it basically instead of people writing like in a guest physical guestbook with their handwriting, they instead pick up the phone, it gives them a prompt, they get to leave up to a two and a half minute long message, right? Those those files then get uploaded to a digital gallery, you can then download them as mp4 files, share them on social media, etc, etc, etc. So like, what if we then also had a couple of their phones at the event, so you could have it like next to an exhibition. So you could see a number of pieces from different people. And you could pick up the phone and like, record what you thought about that specific section. So like, each, each piece or section has its own phone. So all of those can be organized together. So I don't have to do all of that on the back end, you know, have a have a telephone like at the door. So when you leave, you can either you have one on the way in, so you can talk about how excited you are and like who you want to see in shifts, and then there's another one out the door, you can leave your closing thoughts. And then those will be galleries that we can then make fucking radio stations from and playlists from. And people can make their own playlists so they can remember their favorites. And from the playlist that they curate. If they want, they can even publish that shit on vinyl, they can literally relive that experience at home at a later date.
And they can continue to see it over and over and over again.
Yep, put the version that they want, you know? Yeah,
yeah. So sometimes some of these videos I've been wanting to edit, change, see all that because
that's why that's why if you have multiple angles from multiple people, then you can have like a bunch of different photos to choose from, you know, because that's what I did with my event like so we had a standalone camera that got a full wide angle shot at the stage, then there was like a set already cinematographer guy. And then there was a journalist who did interviews with the dancers after they performed. And then I was photographing, and then there was also a second photographer. And that doesn't even take into account all of the people who were there and took footage and then tagged me and then I reposted it and saved it into a highlight reel. So that is what it should do. So like, it literally could be this like compounding, you know, archives just from a single event, because it can then even have like an open link on my Dropbox, where people can upload like their own stuff, like in their own file. So that way I can attribute what goes to who. But then I can take like, all of one dancers performance from every single folder, and then have a compilation that way. So it's like infinitely, it's like Legos, except with like, what do you want to include in the story.
So pretty much you can do, you can tell what you want to put, you can let people see and hear what they want to hear and see. So you have control over your content
completely. Yes. Now and you can edit it anytime. You can also remove your profile if you want with the understanding that like people may have downloaded it or illegal or whatever. So there's that risk but like if you ever want to like take your shit elsewhere, you're more than welcome to
non dancers is gonna fuck with it because I get to keep track of all their stuff
exactly in one place. So If you see like a dancer, you know, and you guys are like, Oh my God, we need to, you know, we need to collab. And then you forgot their name and you didn't write down their Instagram handle and their Instagram handle isn't their name, or they change their name and you can't find them again, you can go back to the event website, and then look at the directory from that event and find them again.
You've lost the chance to game with this. Couple that. I know. I know, people have tried to do apps in the past, but it didn't work. But you understand what needs to be done.
Well, that's the good thing about getting really close to doing one before. So now I have that failure that notch on my belt. And now I'm definitely not stuck making the same mistakes again. So, you know, the good news for this project was the bad news for the last one, you know.
Trial and error.
Yeah, the one thing that I will say with that, is sometimes you have to fail to be able to succeed and people don't realize that.
Yeah, but you know, there's an expression. Actually, there's even Do you know who Kylie Minogue is? No, oh my god. Okay. When you were saying on your on your IG live earlier today, and now with this recording, it is on the record, but you were talking about the fact that like, let's branch out and not listen to like, and listen to different kinds of music, not just keep it in one genre, right? So Kylie, Kylie is a fucking goddess. She's an Aussie goddess. She's from Australia. She's a pop queen, you know, that song locomotion? And she sang that in the fucking 80s. And then this past summer, she had that song put on put, um, and it like, blew up the fucking like music world for like gay people. Like just insane. And it is so fucking catchy. And every time you see her, she first of all, she's just like, a music video Vixen, in the sense that like she does choreo but it's more like a fad. It's like a moving fashion shoot, because she's just like Pussycat Dolls, like music, video vibes is totally what she's about. But she's like disco. She even has a live disco album, which is incredible. But there's a song that she has called Better the devil, you know? And that's the vibe for so many people as they're like, Well, yes, my circumstances are shitty. And yes, I know that there are some ways that maybe I can change it. But it's not really a convenient time. And, you know, I didn't really trust people, because I've been fucked over so many times. So like, is it really worth it? I don't know, I need something to convince me. And like, it could be any moment of anytime you're not obligated, like, it's free to join, it's free to participate with the agreement that like, whatever the, if any money is made, you guys figure out how much each person gets, I don't want any part in that shit. I will have somebody there's like a mediator who doesn't write it all out, sign it. I don't like paperwork. And I don't like technology. What I like is bringing people together finding people who know what the fuck they're doing like you and be like, Hey, you're good at this, you do that part? I'll do this part, he does that part, she does that part. And then collectively, together, we get so much farther faster than if we were all trying to fucking do it all on our own. It's so inefficient.
Yeah, because everybody has a job. That's how you get stuff done faster.
Right. And the thing is, is like, even if you don't have like the money, like to attend or something, if you can even like pledge that you'll do, like, let's say you know how to do graphic design on the side, right? Then you can pitch to do like, five hours of you know, of work for people within the community, in exchange for tickets to the event. So it's like you apply on you, you get a credit, and then you just have to pay it back over time when you can. Okay. I don't know, these are, like I said, these are ideas that are just floating, but the biggest question is, I found this grant. It would be fun. I'd like to include you as part of the pitch. So think about it. Don't feel the need to like answer me like right away. What I'm going to do is I'm actually going to be like writing I don't know, these are exchange for tickets to the event. So it's like you apply on you, you get a credit and then you just have to pay it back over time when you can. Okay, I don't know, these are, like I said, these are ideas that are just floating. But the biggest question is, I found this grant, it would be fun. I'd like to include you as part of the pitch. So think of it don't feel the need to like answer me, like right away. What I'm going to do is I'm actually going to be like writing up the proposal over the next couple of days. If you'd like I can send it to you. So you can look it over. Before you agree, you know, to officially be a part of it before I press send. But, you know, I would love for you to lead that the Atlanta delegation. Nah,
I'm definitely down to do this. Because I'm ready for st man to be where it needs to be. That's my goal. Same That's my ultimate goal.
Let's just fucking make this should a media company. You know what I mean? Like, let's just fuck the fuck the big media let's just make How great would it be for there to be a media empire that was just about dance. Like it would be so many channels a full worlds like, it could be its own fucking multiverse. You don't even need MC or DC or Marvel or any of that shit. You could do it with actual people who physically do things that make you think that you're watching CGI in real time, you know?
Yeah, because you need that they need the dancers need something that they can? Do they need this.
Yeah. And that way to like, let's say, so people could watch like the full thing. And then we can also break it down into individual clips and battles and rounds. And then from there, you know, if there's like any money that's made from streaming, because like, I'm not about some, I can build a whole new YouTube, fuck that shit. No, I am going to use YouTube. But then any residuals from each and every single individual video will be broken down by the people who are in the video. And also like, who was shooting it. So if there's like multiple clips from different people being used, you would look at the total number of seconds of the video, break it down by who was shooting for which second, and then they get compensated for that portion, if that makes sense. So we're like, for dancers, it's like, whatever you whenever you were on the screen, that's what you get credit for. So that way, like for somebody who, you know, their part was, like, Fireheart a segment. And maybe there would even be a way to like, see which part people watch most, you know, like, you know, like, break it down into like, specific like, even like every single move gets its own video. So you can like literally see in real time, like what's resonating the most with people. And there could just be so many like fun playful things to do with it where like, the National Archives, I don't remember the fanciest sushi names, but like, apparently, the archives like of the United States, they have this feature where they're leeching off of the help of the fucking user base, which is that people can make an account, and then they can actually help like, translate phytate like all of these different documents that are part of the national like archive that haven't yet been digitized. So it's actually pretty fucking cool. And the fact that anybody can, like be a part of it is amazing. But, you know, people are like, Oh, well, how can I get credit for like, the things that I've done, they're like, oh, sorry, we don't have that capability. So wait, you can leech off of the work that other people do. But you can't provide a citation. You just want to exploit their knowledge and their time, like, go fuck yourself. So instead, with ours, it'll be all within a closed system. Everyone who's in the footage decides whether or not they want to be a part of it. If there's any part that like, if there's a video with multiple people in it, and one person wants it, the other person doesn't. Like we'll try to help mediate and like maybe only have footage from the one person not both of them together. But like, there is a way to click the people who are creating the very thing that is adding the value like they should be compensated accordingly, period, you know, and I just think that something like this, specifically now, because you can talk about these things in theory, so like, that's a good idea. Yeah, that's the way it should be done. But that's not how it works. Like, I'm saying fuck it like, because even if I don't get this grant, the very process of like making this proposal, I can then you know, put that on fucking YouTube, I can make a presentation out of it. I can literally create an entire like, segment of my website that delves into how I'm going about working on this idea and like, what each aspect of this will fucking look like, like if you go on the RKM salon website, there's a section that's called Project playground. And that's like the projects that I've already done. That's a not all of them are already up there. So like with this, you would get your own fucking Blog Post page and probably we need more than that because it wouldn't just be you and mod it would then also be each individual dancer, and it would just be this huge like, branch of tree, you know, tree branches. That would be this gigantic banyan tree, which is a tree that we have here that just looks so insane. I'm going to send I'm gonna send you pictures of them, but they're like to fill I'm usually you can't like touch them or go around them. But when I was younger, I grew up down the street from a park where there was like a patch of them. And like my child was spent, like running around like in and out of the tree like climbing it climbing the branches coming down. And over time, they actually had to like harden it off, because of the fact that like, it became so smooth from like people running around on it. So when it got wet, it was dangerous. But like, we all need to go back to the place where online feel like we are in a forest and climbing a tree and anything is possible. And the thing is that watching like even two minutes of dance, even 15 seconds of dance can give you that feeling that like you can't get anywhere else with something that isn't a drug.
There's so much work that has to be done to change this man's world. I just wish when they have started this. I know they started it because they it was an outlet for them. It was fine. But I just wish just like the record industry in any other industry, I just wish they would have tried to do a better job at covering and covering dances. I felt like if they would say this years ago, it wouldn't be so hard for us to like want our rights. We want our rights to stuff and we want to publicize and charge this or get credit for that. It wouldn't be so hard.
Right? Well, I agree. But at the same time, we can't change the past, the only thing we can do is like try to fix the future. So this is kind of my way of trying to do that where it does sound a little scattershot, but the umbrella is this mental health, because I have to partner with a community like nonprofit in order to be able to submit. So I'm planning on partnering with like a mental health facility or nonprofit in the area, then I want to also get like, so instead of fun con, I'm almost approaching it like in every single aspect of things that we need help with with the event. Like I want to pitch potential brands and stuff because even if one of them says yes, like I already have the audio guestbook company, so like even with that one, especially considering what it represents, and what it would do in terms of validating like this entire theory, like it's already worth it, like it's already an interesting experiment, even if it was just a dance performance. And then that those photos where you could like record your, you know, your reactions, like as it was happening or after it happened or before it happened, right. Like even that in and of itself would be interesting, you throw in the mix of like a fucking sculpture on floating, you know, on a floating dock, like right off to the side of where the park is, you look at that video of the park and it looks like a fucking it looks incredible. Like I don't even know who the designer is of that but like I'm gonna reach out to them just like I did when I did the shoot at the new wing of the American Museum of Natural History, like I tagged them in every single photo that I took there and I did a day of shoot across the course of the day was like three different dancers inside and like seeing have like the light change throughout the day with the different dancers was incredible. So with his sculpture, you know, it'll be out there maybe even in the days leading up to the event maybe even after the event and like in and of itself will look different every single day because of the way that the light is how the water how the currents are moving, you know whether or not like there are birds that are sitting on top of it so you could literally like have a live stream of his sculpture and the week leading up to the event and like have performances around there like around his piece just like people could tune it and watch it like each evening like on a live stream like we should make something where it was an experience that you could participate like you could participate both in person and afar and if you were afar you wouldn't necessarily be missing out you would just be seeing a different perspectives on that people were actually on the ground because like had this I have this thought I was like oh my god What about like back in the day you probably see young for this like MTV used to have like spring break and you would see like footage from like different vantage points, different parties different parts of like one person's out in the ocean. One person's on the sand like when persons in the DJ booth and it could be like that where there could be shit happening like all over the fucking park you know, and like we could have, you know, like bebop and then my friend Vinnie, like being like CO hosts and just scampering about the entire place like it's a fucking playground. And like leading people choose a live stream. And if people like it, they can throw a couple bucks and it goes towards like raising money for Project class which helps facilitate like peer group mental health treatment. So, basically, they try to partner up and like pair people who are looking for help with people who are able to provide it. So it would be so amazing to like, not just work with like a local place here, but tie it nationally as well. And so under the guise of mental health, it's like, okay, what helps with that art. And then because we can't cover every single kind of art that there is, I'm just gonna go with the artists that I know anybody who wants to submit any dancers, and keep it simple. Not really, but like, keep it the dancers and artists, and just let everything else happen, how it will, you know, have it be free admission, have it be accessible, have it, you know, have child's you know, child friendly areas, you know, make it so anybody can come and if you have, you know, any limitations that normally would prevent you from being able to go, like, let us know what they are, and we will find a workaround for you, you know, like, just make it be a place where people can just go and even if it's for like, three to five hours, like just separate themselves, like from what reality is, and just look at what is here around us, which is like people who are literally doing incredible things with their hands, and incredible things with their bodies. And you can go look at it, and it'll be preserved online, so you can watch it again in the future. And you can approach that kind of concept with everything going forward, like, all you need to do is find like photography students in high schools, or like kids who want to learn how to do photography, amateurs who have been shooting for years, and maybe want to mentor some kids, like, all of a sudden, there you go, there's a whole fucking network of creatives that you can call on, when you want to do a shoot on a dime, you know, and it can be the thing that like, just keeps reverberating long after the event has ended.
Whenever you die like that, I feel like you're like disappointed. No,
no, because I know that we need to get this grant, and that someone else can't get this because this needs to be done. And I know we are the people who need to get this done. It's not me sign because of me not saying that. It's just I know how hard and dance needs a break. All right, same type of people constantly winning these grant, constantly winning these awards, and so on and so forth, when we actually doing stuff for the community, and trying to make a difference for people
like this one organization called Eric Taylor dance, and he has a dance company. But he also has a nonprofit arm and the nonprofit arm, what they do is he pays dancers to go into different parts of the community all over New York and respective boroughs, and teach free classes of them. And the dancers themselves get paid $60 an hour for testing that good. Right. So, you know, he's busy doing all kinds of stuff, but like, he has expressed like interest, and, you know, even at least talking to me about, like how he's navigated that space, because in my mind, like, I want to see what I can do outside of the realm of either an LLC, or S corp, or a nonprofit, like, I'm like, have the burn it to the ground mentality. Because like, just, for example, like one of the books I'm reading right now is called the revolution will not be funded. So like it talks about, like the fucking, you know, nonprofit industrial complex situation that's happening, where, you know, people form like a nonprofit, just so they can get a tax write off and, you know, get the cloud, but like, they don't actually care about solving the problem, because then they would no longer exist, right? But not all nonprofits. So you know, because obviously, like what Eric is doing is amazing. Because like, that reverberates outward, but the artist also gets benefit from it, you know? So like, even figuring out how he did that as a system. Because he was actually asking me if I knew street dancers in New York, and like, the thing is, is that I don't live up there right now. So I don't know that many, but like, what if you guys came up for a week, and every single dancer was paid for every single class that they taught, and then we could record all of that footage, and then they could use it as a virtual academy for anybody in the country or world going forward?
That will be fire. Right? That would be fire because I'm right. Modern dancers really want to teach and explore and get out of, you know, wherever they are. Well, and
the thing is, too is that like Betty She teaches like at her daughter's. So she's already she has been hired by the education system to teach dance. So we already have like a foot in the door. And also Sam, he just too. So like, we already have two teachers like in our arsenal. And then we have a bunch of other dancers that are always looking to supplement income, and do community outreach. And we could then do screenings of performances. So like, even if you know, the performance was in another part of the borough, and kids couldn't get there because they didn't have a ride, or they didn't have a way to get there. They can either watch the stream on their phones or computers at home, or they can go to their local park and kind of be projected in real time, like a sports event.
You know, it'd be dope for the kids, especially in New York, because these kids need something to channel their mind. Right? They offer the streets.
So like what is, you know, what if in terms of like doing, you know, because in Atlanta, I love Atlanta, but y'all are so spread out, Oh, my God, the cost of lists is insane. So, basically, like you guys said, you know, you said, Atlanta and it was really Alpharetta. Like the A's were right, but everything else was wrong, you know, and that was, so sometimes cost can be a prohibitive factor. Like, you know, Betty and I shared a lift back, so that way, we both wouldn't have had to, like, pay it to go to the airport. So like, the thing that's good about New York is that you have an unlimited, you know, metro card, or, you know, for a few days or a week or something and you're good to go, you know, so, basically, you know, we could have events like all over the fucking city and boroughs. You know, there's even a fucking ferry key that goes from Pier 11 in downtown Manhattan, and it goes all the way to the fucking Rockaways. It's an hour long boat cruise for $2.75 Fucking cents. And if you time it, right, you can do it as the sun is setting. We could have dancers and performances on the fucking ferries going all around the city.
Union funding and not in Georgia. Not
not in Georgia, right? Never know. So that's what I'm saying is that like this could be like epic on so many levels. And it could also like really help like local businesses and communities do because, and this is such an embarrassing story. But long story short, there is a pirate ship in Clearwater Beach, called Captain memo's pirate cruise. It is actually a huge it's a boat built to like US Coast Guard specification. So this is like not a janky boat. This is like a real boat. And this has been around forever. And when I was in high school, I was on the boat. And my name is Austin Aggie. And basically my job was to like have dance parties with kids and like distract them and do face painting and like water guns and ultimately bullshit while the parents got drunk on the boat as we like watching like dolphins or like jumping in front of like the wake of the boat and stuff but the sun is setting in the late it's like playing along the water and in my mind, I'm like, Well shit, why don't we have a dance party at sunset on the boat and film it all and livestream it? Like can you even imagine like have like, dueling DJs and like a bunch of different dancers just like battling like all files, not just also st says like, let's bring in fuckin voguing. Let's bring in contemporary. Let's fucking bring in ballet. Like I don't care let's use the ship as a fucking music video set film it all make it into commemorative video individual videos like all of this shit. Like can you even imagine how epic that would look like on camera
now you use in a ship anything like that? You know who did something like that? They did that in Boston. They put a lot of their events on like the ferry and stuff like that and Boston because they're by the river that's fire
and then there's actually no nice thing about it there is a ferry in Tampa Bay that goes from Tampa to St. Pete So that would actually be kind of fun to pitch them for a part of the event they get over like a day of it.
Yeah, doing that like I've seen them do something similar to like that. And and I was like that's fine. I wish we could do something cool like that and Atlanta. Bullying that that so
that's the thing that I love about took a hit and hit really hard. Is that every time that you talk to a person like for me it's like oh my gosh, I get another little like seed you know of the idea like it's grew because of this conversation. So I appreciate you you know calling me like quickly because like I said it just is time sensitive because it just open for submissions like 11 days ago, and there is still time to get it in. But like, I want to create such a detailed, crazy ass proposal with like names attached. So not like a theoretical, oh, maybe this will be cool. Because like, that's the thing about a lot of these, like, people who end up getting grants, it's because they know how to write in the language of grants. You know, they know what to highlight, they know what words to use, they know what references to make, it's all just a fuckin malarkey bullshit. And so to me, I want to use, like the fact that, oh, I live in a place. And I know the ins and outs of place like I know the places that look like they could be photoset. And a lot of them are actually in danger of being destroyed because of all of the gentrification that's happening here. Like watching downtown St. Louis, just be chewed away by capitalism is like, so disheartening to see. Because there is a way to like, have business increase, but not leech the soul out of a place, you know, what I'm saying like Rockaway Beach in New York actually is a good example of that, although it's starting to, like lose its way to but like, you know, there is a way that people can celebrate what they want to, and the values that they care about, without having to like donate money to an organization that has like name recognition, if you have name recognition, and the problem is still around, that you are signed up for, like that you're supposed to fix, why are we still giving you money, especially like the Red Cross? Do you know, like, how much of their money goes towards like organizational expenses, it's insane. So like, when you donate X amount of money, the fraction of what actually ends up even going to Sid disaster is miniscule, at most, you know, so like, sometimes it's better to like find like boots on the ground organization. So you can like, do direct impact, do direct mutual aid, like fix that problem, nip it in the bud with a specific individual, or group, not like a statistics in theory, you know, and so I just think that this would be a really interesting example of like, number one, a crazy person made this. And because they can't work a nine to five, they have the time to come up with something like this, but it's
this event based upon everybody's projected what costs is b, so like, plane ticket, statistics, in theory, you know, and so I just think that this would be a really interesting example of like, number one, a crazy person made this. And because they can't work a nine to five, they have the time to come up with something like this. But it's this event based upon everybody's projected what costs is b. So like, plane ticket hotel fare, but with hotel taking into consideration that, like, if people had extra rooms in their houses, we could pull a couchsurfing type situation, maybe even partner up with them have places for each of the performers and dances to say, that way we don't have to pay for a hotel. Or, you know, we can not just be nice and let people cross on our couch. But like if we want to, we can help to been to like help them like stay at like a nice hotel, you know, like, maybe a place that's on the beach, they can walk wake up and see the sunrise, you know, like, try to show people that like if you do this, this happens. If you like this dancer, you can literally write their name when you make the donation on the Kickstarter, and that will go towards them being able to come and once they're met you get to be listed as the patron who helped them get there
Yeah, you got too much ideas we need to get this grant.
I know yes. But um, this grant is a great way for me to tie all of it together in a way where even if they don't say yes because honestly they're probably gonna be like oh my gosh, see that's also why it's great that it's called manifesto because Manik for like manic depression and then manifesto like you know, a mission statement. So this is basically a crazy person mission statement. So that manifesto
you claim also the word
night out? Crazy person girl don't even don't even get me started on my other favorite word that I made up on here. It
sure went you're not a crazy person. Don't
call yourself. No, no. Well, I am though. I mean on paper. I'm on the medical records I am. I've got all kinds of badges. If I was a Girl Scout the flippy sock like badges that I would have it would it would fill up at least one side for sure. Like Beverly Hills troop style.
Oh no. Oh, that's a lot is
a lot, you know, I should just think like a jacket. But instead of a jacket, like I want something I can put on with any outfit that isn't restrictive. You know, like, I'm I'm shooting with my camera, I don't have to worry about my arms, like, because I'm actually working with. So my whole thing now is that I want to do many dogs and like each of the people that participated in my event, because I have like all this footage of them in their work, right? So I'm like, Okay, let's build on that instead of like, starting at the beginning with other people. So one of the things I want to do is do a mini doc with the fashion designer, Brandon, to who, oh my fucking god. pieces that he makes key. He works with a fucking 3d printing bookmark company to collaborate on the fabrics that he makes. Because when a person is moving, or when somebody walks by it, because of the hologram, it looks like it is moving gifts. I'm gonna send you the link to it, you are gonna it's gonna blow your fucking lines. So like, he is incredible. And I was like, Oh my God, but like I love like in process videos, like anytime I see a documentary that's like leading up to a show like the one about alleviate. Yeah, Olivier from Oman. Did you see it called like golden boy? Yeah, you did see it?
No, no, me only thing I watch. I really don't watch anything other than podcasts on YouTube. And dance videos, mainly or means online. But like if it's not like the Breakfast Club, or drink champ, Teresa, please. Angela Martinez. That's the live shows on Hulu and stuff. But most times, I don't even watch TV anymore. Because I'd be having I'd be too tired. Yeah,
I hear you. And I think that that too, is is where the biggest factor comes in. Because with me, like people can be as involved or as little involved as they want. Like, if all you want is to have to have a profile, like on the archive website. So like that way, if somebody's looking for dancers, and like you're listed as a dancer, and the style that they want that they can, like, reach out to you, that's fuckin Fine with me, like, I don't care, like the way that you know, almost like making like a phone book slash directory. This is inspired by someone named untitled Queen, who came up with this directory that literally people can submit. And it's organized by types, like by creative types. So you have everything from like, actors to musicians to, you know, Taylor to, you know, graphic design, claymation all of this other shit. And people can actually list themselves in multiple categories. So basically, you can, you know, if you're looking for one specific, you know, topic, you can find a bunch of different people for it. But if you need someone who can do this, and this and this, then only these people will that you can find them through it, you know, so it basically helps you like sift through the noise and get to the stuff that's actually like, valid to what you're doing, right? Because, like, how could it be if you were working on something like, let's say planning an event, right? And there was something that you didn't have to do, you could literally, like pitch a collaboration to somebody in that field. And they could have it not like how to be on their website where, who knows if you'll ever get a reply server, but it's actually like, I'm accepting, like, requests, I'm accepting questions like I'm, I'm open right now, you know, for q&a. And like, people getting a notification that that person was like, online, and then they could like jump in real quick and try to get their word in, you know, and it could be this fun thing that like, both builds before. And then reverberates after, and is perfectly preserved, like in every single possible consideration of the term like.
Who knows if you'll ever get a reply server, but it's actually like, I'm accepting like, requests, I'm accepting questions like I'm, I'm open right now, you know, for q&a. And like people getting a notification that that person was like, online, and then they could like jump in real quick and try to get their word in, you know, and it could be this fun thing that like, both builds before, and then reverberates after, and it's perfect. They preserve like in every single possible consideration of the term, like literally like Library of Congress standards, like the shit that people use to like document crimes in the sense of like, gathering evidence, except what we're doing is we're gathering evidence to show the magic that can happen from a single event by bringing people dance, art, and mental health together.
You got this girl.
Thank you for listening. Oh my God, I
am somebody who wants to be hands on, I'm not just gonna give you my bio, and just give you my stuff. I'm somebody who wants to be hands on and wants to help. I'm sitting here typing up my bio now because I know it's gonna take me forever. Yeah, I got a
I mean, even even think about it this way. Sookie, like, after this event, like, all of us will be able to write references for every single one of us that we had contact with. How amazing would that be? You know? Yes. Because you people be needed. And then days, you need that extra, that extra push to push you to that next level we need and it's never gonna happen, you know, you meet the right person at the right time. And all of a sudden, it boomerangs you into another direction that you will like, forever be like, changed because of and had you not shown up at that day or seen that set? You would have never like that, that whole? Have you ever Oh my God? Are you familiar with choose your own adventure? Or is that before your time?
Probably for my time. I'm a 90s baby.
I'm like, I'm gonna be 41 in January as well. Time is a construct anyway. Well, because I was like, out of commission like mentally for years and years. So I in terms of like actual time spent in society, I'm probably in my 20s. So I sometimes think about that, like how much I missed out on in terms of life, just because I was like, completely absent from the world. So I guess now, I'm trying to make up for lost time or something. But like, it just feels like I don't know about you, but it just feels like something is like building and I can't like, obviously the world is in the shit right now. And it feels like it is such a delicate time where it could really go like in either direction. Like this could be the catalyst for change. Or it could be like a fucking signing of contracts for destruction. And so I feel like now even I don't feel ready to act. I don't feel like but the thing is, I don't know that I'm ever going to feel ready. And with everything that's happening right now between fucking, I mean, where do I even begin, but like, on every single level, there is societal, environmental, emotional, economic, you know, individual collapse happening around us, you cannot break free from it, it is not abating. And so something has to change. And sometimes you have to clear away things that were built on and on shaky grounds to begin with. And they were also built by corrupt as people who basically wanted to have hush hush contracts, that wouldn't get public votes. And you couldn't vote or no one except one company could submit a proposal to build it. That was an that was a amend that was like an amendment on a referendum voting here in Clearwater. They wanted to only have something be built and they're like, well either build this with only this company, or it doesn't fucking happened at all. They fucking tried to racket hear us into paying, you know, paying a certain company without even accepting competitive bids from people in the area, who was going to get that somebody was huge as fucking pockets, like Scientology built up like literally bought up all of these different places around downtown Clearwater, but under shell companies. So by the time anybody realized what the fuck was going on, they owned everything, except for the courthouse, the library and the park.
But they want that stuff to happen because they don't want little people well, I'm not gonna say we're a little people but people like us to get a hold of it because they know we're gonna do something, but only thing they're gonna do is
what I say eat the fucking rich. That's why That's why they want to go to the key that's why they want to leave the fucking atmosphere because they know that their time is coming up and they know that we're gonna chant eat the rich, and then that's where they want to get on their little fucking rockets and go into Mars. So that way they can like hide from the consequences of their actions, period.
And I have a lot of consequences that's gonna happen as the way they've treated people in the past couple of years have been absolutely disgusting. So I
mean, and on average, and sometimes with people's behavior, I'm like, You do realize that like, we're in the day and age of like irrefutable receipts, right? Like you are acting in this manner. And I could like destroy you with one strategically targeted, like, post, like, what are you doing? What are you playing out right now, like, the rules are not the same as it was when you had to, like, pay somebody to even have someone look at your application, you know, like, if you don't want to give me a fucking loan, you let me hold on, let me sign up for hundreds of 1000s of dollars of tuition. Not that I did this, but people do. And you'll let me sign up for that. But you won't give me a fraction of that as a business loan. Because I don't have experience, why not partner me up with a bank partner meet up with a business person. And that way you guide me through the process of how I don't fuck it up and able to pay your money back and you get a cut of whatever it makes? Why isn't that a thing and said, Only the people with money can ask people that they know to borrow from them, or have credit good enough to be able to get capital or line of credit. And if you have a great idea, but you don't know anybody rich, good luck raising money for it. And then if somebody with better legal team than you can afford comes in, they can steal your tech push you out, and then make money off of it and you get football. So all of that shit is like all about access gatekeeping and being held accountable. And I'm pissed off, and I'm a Capricorn and I keep receipts and I have a big mouth, and I'm fucking fed up and I don't give a fuck. So you bet your us that not only am I am I going to dedicate the entire festival to the shrink. That's, that's my brain, but I'm going to name him. And I'm going to say the reason I'm doing this is because when I tried to report you to the Medical Board of Florida, they tried to tell me to come back to you, and ask her permission of my own medical records. So I could complain about you. Whatever happens to private patient confidentiality, it's such a fucking racket.
That don't even make sense. I don't understand why you have to go back to him and ask for permission.
It's wild. So that's what's motivating me like, so the motivation is rage at a lot of things. But the good news is, is that making something beautiful, or seeing something beautiful, is the easiest way to snap yourself out of like, the I call it the death spin, you know, like the sucking into the darkness where everything starts piling on. And, you know, it starts to like, exacerbate into physiological symptoms in your body. And like you can't focus and concentrate, you can't sleep, you get stressed because you can't sleep like all of this feeds into one another where like, let's say you don't get paid for a gig, right? But because you're like a member of the fucking app, you know, we can give you like a short term loan that you can pay back without interest over time. You don't have to worry about whether or not you'll be able to make rent for the month. You know,
you people don't care about nothing. Okay, only care about themselves. These doctors keep getting richer and richer, but there ain't the comic fair for certain things. Now, all of a sudden, COVID is a cold. But everybody it was hurt in so many people a couple of years ago. It
still is. It still is you know, it's just, I don't know, I just at the moment. If I don't express myself through something beautiful, I'm going to destroy something. And so as a
Moses feeds into one another where, like, let's say you don't get paid for a gig. Right? But because you're like a member of the fucking app, you know, we can give you like a short term loan that you can pay back without interest over time. So you don't have to worry about whether or not you'll be able to make rent for the month. You know.
If people don't care about nothing, okay, only care about themselves. These doctors keep getting richer and richer, but there ain't the comic fair for certain things. Now all of a sudden, COVID is a cold But everybody, it was hurt in so many people a couple of years ago,
it still is, it still is, you know, it's just, I don't know, I just at the moment, if I don't express myself through something beautiful, I'm going to destroy something. And so as a as a as like an emblem of that, at the park. If it can happen at the park, I want it to happen at the beach, because like for the event itself, so that venue is sick, I want to have the floating dock with Jason sculpture, then have the event actually be like starting in the morning, throughout the day and ending around for that way, there's a cleanup party with a DJ. And that way we make sure that the park is better than what it was when we got there to lower the impact that we have, like on you know, those who work for like, you know, the government that like clean up the park and stuff, then we either walk across that that curvy bridge that I showed where people can have art along the way, so it's a literal Artwalk and if you're not able to physically walk that space, they have free trolleys that go from downtown to clear down to the beach itself. So there can be like an art gallery along the way we can make sure to do like a walking a walking tour of it for those who can't physically do it themselves. Then you have the view of the fucking like water reflecting you see the other bridge, you look to the right and there's an island you look back behind you. And then there's that venue, like it's just gloriously beautiful. And then we take a right once we hit the roundabout, we walked by the shady ass stores that say no pictures because they sell Trump merchandise, we can dance protests in front of it and before they have time to call anybody. We will be on our way because we will keep walking down to our final destination, which is this glorious sand dune next to the most delicious seafood restaurant ever called Frenchies. They have four locations and a quarter mile radius. They have their own fucking boats. So they catch their own grouper and fish though it's super fresh. And the reason why I always give them my money going forward is because during the pandemic, when everything was fucking shut down, they still paid every single one of their employees and they ate the costs themselves.
Yeah, you couldn't find that during the pandemic thing. That's good. Right? So
the fact that they did that I'm like, You know what, that's the kind of like, business that I want to support. That's the kind of story that like, I want to tell because I really think that if people knew like, the good things about how companies do business both with the way that they treat their employees how they treat their fucking you know, customers like I don't know if you follow Blakeley Thornton on on Instagram or Tiktok. But he's like a pop culture commentator also like talks about fashion and stuff. But he's been doing like, he is so fucking clever, brilliant and just cut right to the fucking chase in references that you would never put together. But he recently had an experience that I'm literally writing a letter to that police department for what he went through. He was detained because the employee called the cops on him as soon as he entered the premises. And as he was putting his air pods in his pocket, the employee said that oh, he thought he was stealing a mini bottle. Even though the mini bottles were in another fucking section. And even though he walked up to the register to buy something, a full price item, you know, and but the guy had already called the cops. And so when he stepped foot outside, there was a cop there who started talking asking him Did you go to college? What did you study? When she asked for an ID and he gave her his passport? She asked if he had a Real ID she asked what the stamp in the passport were for. And yet she is holding a weapon and is potentially like responsible for writing down the account of what happened even though her fucking racist ass should not own a fucking weapon, let alone enforce the law.
So Hayden oh here she didn't have to do none of that.
Exactly, exactly. And but though,
aren't learning their rights though?
Exactly. Why it's no but why isn't there like an easily accessible here's what to do. If you are in a situation like a truth The reason I brought up Choose Your Own Adventure is because and you know what, I'm gonna send you one so send me your address because I bought a whole collection of them all. First eBay, I got like 30 of them for $30, which is insane. And they're all like tattered and falling apart and ship, but the structure of them is incredible. Basically what it is, is like you read a little bit of story, and then you come to a decision, you come to a literal fork in the road. And it's like, if you do this, go here, if you do this, go there, if you do that, so there. And so there's like infinite variations and like numbers of endings that it could possibly be. So when I was first wanting to like write a graphic novel about like, being bipolar and stuff, I wanted portions of it like I wanted, when I was manic, for that to be in a graphic novel style, because that's what it feels like, it literally feels like I'm in a cartoon. That's how I perceive everything like that I am, you know, I am in a story where I am, like, going through these trials and tribulations for some greater purpose. And that's probably my brain's delusion, like, convince me to not just give up, you know, like, it's like, oh, there's better ending. And I was like, Maybe I've just watched too many Hallmark movies, I don't know, you know what I'm saying? Like, it's just like, at a certain point, there has to be some kind of like, catharsis where you feel like you can speak you feel like you won't be punished for the things that you always have to bite your tongue about. Like, whenever people talk about, like saying the quiet part out loud. Let's fucking say it, you know, like less looking, say it, and say it in a way where it isn't under the threat of violence, but it's like, oh, you feel this way? Let's tuck in a debate about it. Like there's this. This is Debate Club. Have you ever heard of Humans of New York?
Um, no. Okay.
It's an Instagram page. We're basically sometimes he posts like anonymous, but he posts like the transcripts of like, just verbatim transcript clips of conversations he has with people around New York City, people have adapted that there's one for India as well. But basically, the whole concept is that like, everybody has a story. And sometimes the things that people say are like completely fucked up, and you're like, Wait, what the fuck. But it's very interesting, because a lot of times, we don't, we only see like the end math, we don't see the individual, and having a place where you can see the individual. But you can also see the collective whole, like when you zoom outward, that can be a game changer, because there's this program called obsidian.md. It was originally developed to help like medical students, like take notes and stuff. But I am not a techy person at all, which is why it's very weird that ideas come to me in the form of like apps and stuff because I can't code I can't even make a fucking PowerPoint. So me even throwing me event in New York was like my way of trying to like, get the content that I needed to make a PRD, which is a product requirements document, which basically would be like the illustration of how I want the app to function to show to like, tech people like software developers, UX designers, etc. And the thing is, is that by throwing the event, I have access to all rights with the footage. I had all of the people who were shooting, I had them send me all the raw footage, like nothing was edited. And if they wanted to edit stuff, they could like the second the cinematographer, Ariel from Rs film, he said, first of all, he like reimbursed my second half of my payment, which is wild, because he said he has fun. And then he thrown the fucking free trailer, like the one I sent you. And it looks fucking glorious. And I'm like, Holy shit, like, it looked unreal. So now that I work with them, they're obviously going to be hard to make. So like, worst case scenario, we have like the best infomercial of all time for Clearwater, you know, like, come visit, like, please come visit us like I'm, I'm gonna be so fucking Seamus key and I'm even gonna like go to everybody, I will send you a picture of the list like I put down like city of Clearwater, the trolley, the fucking SunPass bus that goes from the beach, downtown St. Pete, to fucking Dali Museum, the fucking, to Hooli Museum, the Tropicana like felt like two fields that they're gonna tear down in five years. Like, how cool would it be if we started like an art show series where every year like the entire stadium was like, filled with art and like classes on the field and stuff, or like lectures in the stands where people could, like, do this smorgasbord of like art and culture and learning. And like, it could be a legacy that they like, leave behind in the building they're going to tear down like, would not be emblematic of all of the shit that's going on in the world today. You know, like, there's so many permutations that can happen
By throwing the event I have access to all rights to the footage. I had all of the people who were shooting, I had them send me all the raw footage, like nothing was edited. And if they wanted to edit stuff they could like the second the cinematographer, Ariel from Rs film, he set first of all, he like reimbursed my second half of my payment, which is wild because he said he has fun. And then he thrown a fucking free trailer, like the one I sent you. And it looks fucking glorious. And I'm like, holy shit. Like, it looked unreal. So now that I worked with them, they're obviously going to be hard to mix. So like, worst case scenario, we have like the best infomercial of all time for Clearwater, you know, like, come visit, like, please come visit us like I'm, I'm gonna be so fucking Seamus key and I'm even gonna like go to everybody, I will send you a picture of the list like I put down like city of Clearwater, the trolley, the fucking SunPass bus that goes from the beach, downtown St. Pete, the fucking Dali Museum, the fucking, to Hooli Museum, the Tropicana like filth, like fields that they're gonna tear down in five years? Like, how cool would it be if we started like an art show series where every year like the entire stadium was like, filled with art and like classes on the field and stuff, or like lectures in the stands where people could, like, do this smorgasbord of like art and culture and learning. And like, it could be a legacy that they like, leave behind in a building they're going to tear down, like, would not be emblematic of all of the shit that's going on in the world today. You know, like, there's so many permutations that can happen. And we're already on our way there, because we already have like, the world of dance footage, you know, and I stuff from before that, even with Hermes, all the way back to him battling in New York with et, and Betty introducing me to them. So we already have eight years of work already, you know?
Yeah, you got a lot of footage, for sure. So,
it's one story, you know, and to kind of illustrate that visually to say, like, this is one person story, and not even all of it, and only every few years. And then imagine that for every single dancer. And then imagine the interplay of each dancer with each other. And you could like, pick and plan your dream battles, and crowdfunding could make it happen. And not just virtually but in person. And you could view it and maybe even get crazy, and do fucking VR, and record it. So like, even if you can't physically be there, you can go to a place that has the whole setup, and you can really experience what it was like to be there later.
Well, you've had a lot to it, we got a lot to do in a short amount of time. But we're gonna figure out a way to make sure we get this grant, and that you get it? Like, is it gonna be like a process where they've done to narrow it down to people? Or
is it? I haven't? Well, my whole thing is that is that I actually kind of as a commentary on the entire system and process anyway, because that's the thing about grants, every single one of them has a different fucking set of rules. And then when you get rejected, they don't give you any input as to why or any like skills or tips on how to improve in the future. So again, it always goes to people who know what words to write. And so my whole point is, like, let's create a space where, like, we can do something now. And it doesn't have to be the full story. Like why do we have to wait to do something until we have things in order? Like why why can we only talk about struggle, like when we've already overcome it, instead of like sharing in the process of what we're trying to do? And someone can chime in and be like, Oh my God, wait, don't fucking do that. I tried it and it was destructive, like, shit hit the fan or, you know, don't sign that contract. This is shady, this is what you should reply. Like, we could literally have like, we could crowdsource like a collective protection of one another and creativity and help everybody like have a little greenhouse with which to cultivate a project, an idea, their craft, even somebody who only loves art that can't make it but love seeing it because it inspires them to approach things differently in their own life. Like it is such a beautiful microcosm within a single art mode modality, it's insane.
So what I'm going to do is use me bio used to me, I don't know if you want to do separate BIOS because what I can do is I can you can send me the same bio and I'll put it both under you and also demand so that way you Your story doesn't get just like lumped in with your organization story because yours deserves like its own chapter, you know what I mean? So, do like, you can just do one big bio, and I'll just copy and paste it into both. So the words are the same for both. I just use them in two different places. Okay, okay. And then you send me pics for both the pics can be different. And then you send me any footage that like you want to be included, like anything from like, the early days or like, you know, photos from it, or the winners or like what you learned the process. That's actually what we can do if you want to do a podcast is you put together a slideshow, and then I like we do it and you walk through it like almost like Bo's life and looks.
Have you seen that
program? That series? Okay, so they print out like this big old photography art book that's gigantic, like It probably weighs like 70 pounds. And it's with us like glorious pictures from like different celebrities, like pass Lux and like red carpets, film premieres, like everyday fashion, whatever, like basically them being fucking fabulous and looking amazing. And the person talks through, like, everything about the look or that day are like what was happening and what this brings to their mind. And I do that with you, except we do it through the footage that you have from the journey that you have taken with demand, and Atlanta dance in general.
Okay, that's it, I can do that. I'm gonna work on it right now and get get it done.
Okay, what I'm going to do is I'm definitely going to include you like in in the pitch? And again, I'll send it to you, you know, before, before I submit it, obviously, because like, you know, I don't want to say that you're going to be part of such and such, if that's not like, even if you guys are only interested in like, you know, getting your expenses covered. So you can be a part of it just for that event, and then move on afterwards. Like, that's totally fine. There's no, there's no commitment, there's no obligation like this. Is everybody just working collectively in the sense where, let's try to see if it works. If it does, you guys get like, I only want 3% total, and y'all can figure out how everything else gets broken down. Because I'm not about to get involved and all that other shit, because now that's just not where I want to spend my time. But I just want to like, treat almost like a situation where it's like a playpen. You know, it'll be like, Hey, let's see if we can do this. Can you donate this? Can you do this? Can you do this? Can we figure it out this and that's why getting the grant would be helpful, right? Because they could open up some doors. But I almost kind of want to submit the proposal, and at the same time, launch it online. So like my proposal is in written form to be judged by people who hold the keys. Or I could, again, splish splash in the pool of public opinion, and see whether or not people are even interested and what this project is, which I think you and I both know that just the dance called like dance in general, like people across the country or even world like hearing about it Street Dance Festival, in a fucking beach town in the middle of like winter, like in fucking February, when in some places like shit pluck tons of snow. And you're like, you have to chip away at the ice on your fucking windshield, you know, like, and you can go to a tropical paradise and dance and have your expenses taken care of like, what is this real? You know, like, Is this a real place? And I want it to be the Disneyland Disneyland of dance.
It is. You want it to be the Disney Land of dance for but I wouldn't put it I would just moreso do it for the grant first and not put your idea out there? Because you don't want nobody to take your idea. No, I
do. Are you kidding me? I would love for someone else to do the work key. I don't want to do it. I want to just create the conversation. And if somebody has an idea about how to do it, let them try. Let them have like a hand in it. Because with like the lessons that I've learned from the failure of my other app. Number one, I learned that it's much more, it's much better. It's cheaper to hire a lawyer upfront than it is to lose a company because you didn't read the fine print. You know, because that's what happened to me. It's better to have a situation where you can timestamp What was yours at what time because if you don't and things are only discussed in private behind closed doors and in the shadows and all that other shit. It becomes a game of telephone of who said what and when and And who people choose to believe, and opportunities that either come or go, because of what was said, and what was implied versus what actually fucking happened. Like, with me, everything is on the fucking record. Like, if you asked me to, like, not share stuff, I won't. So like, once we hang up, I'm gonna send you the files. And if there's portions that you don't want me to include, you tell me the minimum hours, I'll cut that shit out, delete it forever, and it won't be a part of the record. Because editorial control and consent goes across every single parameter like, I do not I want people to be happy with their likeness. Because the fact that you're even sharing any part of your life with me any part of your journey, and not just for me, but for other people, like, sharing your artistry with people is a very vulnerable thing. I mean, you are literally like, ripping your soul open, and you are vulnerable, and butt in front of a bunch of fucking people. And you do not know how they're gonna react because cost me fucking fickle. They can flip on a dime. And here you are, you know, doing something and trying and maybe failing. And an audience's reaction is going to change it either way, but like, what if you could still have the experience of a vacation with your family, and a beach town that you may not have been able to, like, you know, afford, like on a dime within a couple of months. But because of the fact that you got, you know, a sponsor for you know, the flight for a hotel for, you know, even food and like all these other things that make it feasible to even get to that place, and then you get to have like, footage of you and your family making sandcastles on the fucking beach. You know, like, why can't we make that also reality? Like, it can be both things at once. It can be something where, yes, somebody's trying to like, prove value. Well, guess what, if this grant people don't pick me, they're fucking idiots. Because of the fact that like, this is great promo for every single person involved. They look elevated, they look like oh my gosh, like, we don't only give grants to like people that are only white men, white sis had met and, you know, because that one artists that I was talking about, his stuff was so fucking lame, so lame. And yet he won like 202 exhibitions, like within a year and a half. Are you kidding me? And then like, I even went to like some of their panels and stuff that they had over the course of a week because like, their mission statement sounds great. But then when you go there, and you see that they have all of this money to like, buy really nice promo materials, like, you know, fucking lanyards, and ID badges and all this other shit. But then, when you sit in the room, and people are talking about projects and urban renewal and public art, and there's no one of color, like on the panel, what in the actual fuck is this? You know? Sure. No, I know that they don't, what they do care about is looking like a white savior. So if they can give money for a you know, for Dance Festival, and then they pat themselves on the back for being so fucking, you know, oh, we're looking at us over so fabulous. Basically, only use your credit card so we could throw the dance party of all dance parties, and create like a little time capsule of just like love and disco and dance and like a place where people feel safe. Because like, that was one of the things that was so glorious about seeing like the Renaissance tour, like watching everybody's stories about going and like, not just like, oh my god, what are the moves is blue performing. But like everybody getting to celebrate and love getting to where what they might not be able to feel comfortable wearing down the street, but like they knew they were safe. So they could like be free for even a fucking five hours, three hours set or whatever the fuck. Like, we need that we need communal like safe spaces where we can dance with our eyes closed and not be afraid about like what's gonna happen, you know?
Yeah, we need that. Because these companies don't care. They get to the same people every time that don't really give about they don't give. They don't care about the community. They just give to what they think looks nice. And most time the people that it gets to is people that say no,
right? Right. So my whole thing is like, let's break open that process like I'm truly going to be making a form that is like, do you want to participate? Yes, box, no box, maybe box, you know? And then if yes, or maybe which genre do you want to see? I'm going to do art. Do you want to do dance? Do you want to do both? Do you want to be an audience? Do you want to help film? Do you want to help clean up? Do you want to do you want to do want to like how, how do you want to be a part of this? Because like, you know it's going to be free and we're potentially going to be trying to help you physically get there. So like, tell me like what you can bring to the table. And I thought like for me to judge, it's for other people to judge. So like, we'll post that publicly. People can like, vote for you or whatever, figure that out later. But like, essentially, you have to please your own case. And then people vote for, like, who compels them the most. And whoever's number one gets the first plane ticket once we have the money, you know? And like, just let it go from there, you know?
Yes, because once you get the money, you can start like getting the people to come out and start shooting more content and building up.
Exactly, but my whole thing is like, you know, I can't promise people a rate, right. So my whole thing is like, and this is actually what I tried to do with my event in New York, is that it was like a $10 ticket. And it was also like, if you can't pay it, let me know. And like, you can get in for free. So what I think I'm going to do for this event is just do completely like, free to enter. But it is like a suggested donation. You don't have to necessarily donate money, you can also donate time, like in terms of the skill that you want to mentor, record a video or something, right. So free to enter No, no preconditions, then when you get there, if you want, you can choose to continue being part of it, like you're constantly asked about the process, like, do you still want to continue? Are you still there a lot like Allah, Netflix, you know, where it's like, you can be in it as deep or as little as you want. You can participate for as long as short as you want. But our goal is like to make everybody feel like you have a safe place to just knock it out. Because like, there's a sandcastle competition, like a sand sculpture competition here in Florida, it's wild, and the ship that they make is insane. And so what if, like people made sculptures, for the things that they are fighting against, you know, whether it's the racism, patriarchy, like, you know, terrorism, all of these things? And what if we made sand sculptures by actual artists to decide what that would look like in fan form, and then people get to fucking destroy it, by breaking it apart into tiny little pieces and watch it crumble and then watch, like, the water wash it away, you know, because just like that visual for me, like, if that was that doctor that like did this for me. And the only reason like, I'm only now getting to the point where I realized that, like, my suffering was shitty. But if I wasn't a white woman, I wouldn't be here. And he has made millions upon millions of dollars. And I am only one person in that room, where he was doing this treatments was always fucking full. And I had 77 treatments, when the Mayo Clinic says you're only supposed to have between six to 12, and I 77 over the course of 10 months. And I have no long term memory before May of 2019. I don't remember anything from childhood, anything I've ever learned in school, anything about anything I've ever done in prior jobs. I used to be a social, like, I used to process benefits for the government. And then I also used to work as an equities Operations Manager and finance. And now both of those things, poof, gone, nothing. And so as I'm trying to fucking wait for my disability application, and the law office, that is going to take a cut if I win, and that's the only way that I can afford to have one. And they're taking 25%, which seems a little high, but whatever. Like, they basically tell you to completely go offline, to deactivate your LinkedIn to essentially have like a minimum footprint. Because if you show that you are capable of anything and any capacity, you'll get denied. And I'm like, Well, the fact the matter is, is that I cannot work a nine to five period ever going forward, probably because like, I don't know, what version of my mind I'm going to have on a given day. I just don't. And so if I can have a cushion, like my events have been, like, you know, three, three and a half months, this one might be a little shorter than that it's quicker turnaround time, but like there's less work to do, since I'm just writing a proposal but like, there's, it's like intense and I don't know, like how much longer my brain is gonna like be working on this frequency. So I gotta like, act now. Because it might be gone, you know? So that's where like my sense of urgency comes from, but like all I needed from you was yes, you are okay with me, like conceptualizing you and Atlanta being like a huge component of this entire process, because you are, remember how I was talking about the one to four and then the expansion, like having another City, be part of that story is insane. And you all being there, and already the work that you have done within the community together to build it up like it is, it is a story already ready, and all it needs is like a camera on it to be told.
Well, you got it right here, anything you need from me, I got you. And I'm definitely on board. And I already know the three dancers that I want to be a part of this. So
that's the thing, I want it to be open to as many dancers as possible. So literally, like on the form, it's going to say like what city you're from, you know, that you're interested. So that's where I'm gonna start up. So like, even when I'm pitching it to, you know, the, the panel or whatever, I can say, you know, this, many artists said that if these, you know, expenses would be covered that they would attend, because with every single person that's like on the lineup, that gets more eyes on the entire, you know, event so for them, it's like a no brainer, you know, to say, oh my gosh, like, Wait, we don't know if that other person is going to have anybody show up. But this person already has 250 People who want to perform, you know, a three minute or three minute segment. And everybody gets their own time, like on stage or in different parts of the of the park itself. And it can all be filmed. They get it for their socials, they get it for posterity, we can use it for promotion, everybody fucking wins. And it's beautiful down there like and it's on the water. You get to see the light change over the water. And it's just, you know, feel the breeze on your skin smell the salts like it's just, that's the heart about Florida. That's good. So why is it that only the rich people and fucking racist trash, Trump supporters are the only ones that get to enjoy it and they're pushing the rest of us out? Because fuck all y'all I want to have a Island party or a sandbar party, which if you don't know what that is, it's when you take out boats and you time it with the tide. So that way, when the tides recede, there's like a spot of like sand that comes to the surface that you can dance on. And we could film it with drones and have footage of like, dance, sand, water, dancers, boats, and people are like, what planet is this from? And we're like, oh, it's Clearwater Beach come visit.
Are you there? No, I'm here. I'm here. I'm listening. I'm here.
Anyway, I know, I'm gonna look at geyser we've been talking forever. But what I'm going to do is I'm going to upload these recordings to otter AI, which creates a written transcript. And that way we can use it as a place to work from in terms of notes. And also is great too, because it makes like a word cloud that tells you like the themes that were most common. And if you're looking for a specific section, like of the of the transcript, you can actually search like for key words, and it'll find your place like in it. So you don't have to, like read or listen all the way back through the like two hours plus that we talked.
Okay, no problem. I'm just sitting here trying to write up this bio, and figure out how to write this. How long do you want it to be? Maybe?
Well, actually, why don't you go on the website, because every single person wrote their own bio. So you can see like, there's, it really runs the Gannett, like, some people only have two sentences. And then other people have like the beginnings of like, their first archive, like book, you know what I'm saying? So it can be as much or as little as you want it to be. I just think that, you know, you should definitely talk about how you've grown in terms of how you first got into the scene, and then decide, like, what prompted you to decide to start demoed, and then how now you've grown into doing additional events for other brands, you know, while still maintaining your own, like, that's a very interesting, interesting story. And so I almost think like the mod itself has a separate one, right? Because your journey is yours. And it is a part of the mod but like, both stories need their own individual places, like so can be the same story but in two places, you know, so people can like, give credit where credit is due.
Okay. Not sure that I can do. Okay.
Okay, perfect. So you are the first person to say yes, so, thank you and I will do something to commemorate. I don't I don't know what yet, but we will. I will. I like to commend light beings with like, This is so embarrassing. I feel like you know more about me than my therapist right now. I love to write letters when I was when I still am like dealing with loneliness. Because with my mental health struggles, I have burned through a lot of relationships in my life. And there's not really that many people from before the memory loss that are still around. And so when I have felt like, palpably lonely, like, I don't know, if you've ever been so lonely that your like, body literally aches. But that has been my experience in the last few years. And so I started doing this thing called postcrossing.com, where you write, you send and receive postcards from like, all around the world. It's pretty amazing, like, especially the stamps and stuff. Oh, my God, like, it's, it's pretty cool just for that alone. But, so, I always try to write like notes, either before, during or after a project with people. And that way, it's like, you have a little Totem. That, you know, if you like, look back at it, you can, it'll like, take you back to that moment that place that experience, because I already know like, I've already learned so much from you from afar, but just you doing what you've been doing. So for you to now like say yes, to us. Working together is such an honor. Because I know that like if I've learned this much from like watching from like, all the way back here, like in the nosebleeds. Now that I actually get to be like, in the same at least section as you like, I just know that it's going to be pretty awesome in terms of what we'll be able to do. Because like, I'll get so much farther because of you than I would without you, you know?
Well, I don't ever want you to also feel lonely. If you ever need someone to talk to just call and I want you to ever spill. never
you never you never call when you say you will key my sand on saying you call me. Now that I have your number now that I have your number, I will Yes. Even if it's whatever time if you just woke up to want to hear it. Okay. It's frankly, shocking that you just offered that this is how I know that you have a good heart. You just offered that after I've been talking your ear off for over two hours.
No. offers. I did it like I want people. My thing is always when I started doing dance dance helped me to make friends. Because I wasn't always the most outgoing person, I was very shy. I used to sit at lunch by myself most of the time. So it was always like, I had maybe one or two friends here or there. I have more friends now. But growing up, I was always lonely. And I was always by myself. So I always want to be there for people like I don't want nobody to ever feel like they're alone. And they don't have nobody to talk to. I never want nobody to feel that
way. Yeah. And that's why like, this is why like my art installation that I tried to do at my event and then i was running around so busy that I literally forgot to even tell them tell anybody about the fucking phone. And I had gotten it for free like the company, the owner of the company. He like I it was so funny, I was on their website and I was talking with the chat bot and I was asking like all these questions because I realized that like that that product that telephone that audio guestbook would be the absolute perfect thing to have at different events like to have a fucking like dedicated phone like imagine like right in front of the state like in front of the performance phase. And like it has it has a rechargeable like cordless battery so people could literally be passing the phone around and trash talking like as the battle is happening and then all of that getting uploaded like and then you see who was right and who was wrong and the day after and then people can still call in and like talk about like the footage at what minute mark and then you could organize it by that and like it would create this thing where it was like its own fucking like little jacuzzi, you know, of just living in it and like reliving that moment and watching that footage because like we have it from every angle and then having it almost be like this thing where people talk about sports and like a certain event that happened and the reason that they can still like live it on because they have all of this footage from it. In some cases, especially with dance, it's like, oh, you had to be there. You should have been here yesterday, you know and so this is a way where you don't have to say that ever again because we saved it for you. We we put aside I put Should I need you a place to go, you know, like, you leave and when you leave, everybody leaves with like food, you know, like free food. I'll take this because I don't want to do that because like in Polish culture, post weddings are like a fucking three to four day like experience it is intense, right. And I found an email that I wrote where I talked about how my grandmother outrank me with shots of vodka. And they have this thing, I don't know how to say it in Polish, but basically, it's the day after the wedding. And it's at the same venue. And it's to help get rid of all of the leftover booze and food, but it's also an excuse for people to come together. rehash. You know, trash talk to stories, like, just relive it, like, while it's still fresh. And so we'll be able to do that both in person, but also online. And so even if somebody wasn't there, in fucking person, they can still join in the conversation, that door has been opened, you know, and even if you weren't there, you can go back there in the future and join in anytime you want. Like, here, there's a seat next to me, you know?
So you're a Polish. Haha. Oh, yeah. Listen, I know I keep saying before your time. But this I was born in West Germany, before the Berlin Wall came down, my parents fled Poland, before martial law was imposed. And I was born and what was quest Germany at the time, Hamburg. And then the German government stuck in pay for a plane ticket to get us the fuck out of the country. And so we came to the United States with political asylees. Does any of this sound familiar? Right? So basically, you know, I'm a first generation immigrant, my parents learned how to speak English because I went to preschool and they watch TV. And, you know, they were promised this idea of the American dream, and my dad is so fucking incredibly talented, and hardworking. It is, like, I can't even begin to tell you how heartbreaking it is to know that, like, he hasn't found an apprentice, and he might not ever find one. And if he doesn't, then like all of his knowledge, all of his techniques, all of that rich, like, depth and breadth of engineering and beauty and the fact that like, all of these really expensive firms, like when they get to a roadblock, and they don't know how to fucking do something like they can't conceptualize it, they come to my dad. And yet, he makes a fraction of what he should, you know, because they're the ones that charge big bucks, right? But he's the one who actually makes it and doesn't even begin to get a percentage of like, what the actual cost is, and the markup of what they charge the person buying it. So it's like, I seen, you know, the exploitation of people's skills and talents. Because somebody else is the one who got the contract and your name isn't on it in a big enough font, so you don't get a real cut, you know, and I just want to like, I don't know, maybe, maybe with this project, hopefully find him somebody that like, could maybe learn from him. Like, I think that that would be really beautiful. And so that's also a motivator. Also the fact that like with my memory loss, you know, going back through my stuff, like I had way more stuff than most people, which I think I did because of the fact that like, I mean, I started displaying signs of mental illness that like the age of seven, and when I say that because I found
