BRYAN LINARES - From Unpaid Intern to Global Brand Director, 16 Years at Dim Mak Records

Starting off as an intern, Bryan Linares spent 16 years helping build one of the most prominent record labels and brands in the dance music industry, Dim Mak. Working alongside label boss Steve Aoki, he wore almost every hat in this business: running the label, overseeing the events division, growing the merch line, helping with the publishing company and more.

In this episode we talk about how he got his start at Dim Mak, why he left, how he's handling the transition and his vision for working with artists moving forward.

Follow Bryan here:
https://www.instagram.com/bryanlinares

And visit my site to learn about artist coaching, join the mailing list or get in touch:
https://www.nikcherwink.com

Transcript

Track 1: 0:00

every artist would come to us, give us amazing music, you know, producers that were in their bedroom making incredible production, to school. Or just spent a lot of years honing that. But then it came to, okay, what is the song about? What is its name? What does the cover art look like? Let's come up with ideas for a video. All of that was like, oh, I don't know, is, I. It always felt weird to me, like, well, this is your art. This, you're trying to say something with this, yet you're not saying anything with it.

Nik: 0:39

What's up everybody? Welcome to the Headliner Mindset podcast. Today's guest started his career in the music industry as an intern at Steve Ichi's record label Dimm Mock. He spent the next 16 years helping build it into one of the most notable labels and brands in the dance music industry, wearing many different hats and gaining a wealth of experience and wisdom in the process. This is Brian Ez.

Track 1: 1:04

how's it going, Nick?

Nik: 1:05

What's up brother? Good to see you, man. Good to see you.

Track 1: 1:08

it's been a while.

Nik: 1:10

I. feel like this is kind of a trend in all of these podcasts that I'm doing is I introduce somebody and then I'm like, Hey, what's up? I haven't seen you in like 10 years. How's it going? Like, everybody I've been talking to Avenge is like old OG homies from like back in the day, so.

Track 1: 1:25

Well, that, that's what's kind of exciting about this, right? You get the chance to connect with people. Maybe you don't get to, you know, connect with, maybe you follow'em on Instagram a little bit, but you, you keep tabs on a little bit of what they're doing, but you don't really, don't know the ins and outs of everything, right? So this is kind of like the fun part.

Nik: 1:39

Dude, that's exactly it. You hit the nail on the head is like, you get these little snippets from Instagram posts and you're like, oh, I kind of see what you're up to. But it's so different than being able to actually sit down. You're like, let's have an hour long conversation about life and what's been going on and what you're up to. So yeah, very, very special to me, man. I'm very honored that I get to spend this time with you, so. thank you for hopping on. You know, that's, that's actually kind of a fun place to, to start. I've been really big on gratitude lately, and this is where I oftentimes like to start with my clients. We celebrate a lot of wins, but I would like to know what are you grateful for right now?

Track 1: 2:16

Ooh. to be honest with you, that's okay first. That's a great question. I recently left, uh, we parted ways with Mak and Steve, and it's been for Months of sort of finding myself. And so I'm very blessed and I guess the gratitude I have is the opportunity to do that, right? I think, a lot of people maybe go through their lives in a position and, you know, maybe it's too late at certain times to be able to, change a little bit or maybe find a different route, or, get the time to actually find out What makes them happy, and I'm very blessed, have that right now. So this what we're having right now, uh, I've been doing a lot of this conversation, like conversating with people that I hadn't had a chance to in a while. And, 16 years I was with Dimm Mock and Steve like, was a lot of people, a lot of acquaintances, I guess, that I've made, I didn't really have the time to catch, like, to have conversations. I was just, we're all, trying to make it type of thing. Right. So the, the gratitude I have is, is that, is like the opportunity to, to have the conversations and be able to potentially find consistency in like my happiness,

Nik: 3:20

hmm. Yeah, man. And I, I can imagine, I can only imagine what that transition is like. I can relate to it a little bit though.'cause I was with Icon for seven years and that was like, that was my life, you know, I, I was Like building that place. Like I was like Mr. Icon Collective, and it was such a part of my identity. It was a part of my, it that was my family. That was, those were my, that was my friend circle. And so leaving, it was an interesting moment of kind of like, wait, who, who am I now? Who am I without this, this thing that I was a part of for so long? and and you were there for 15 years, 16 years. Like, that's a, that's a good amount of time, bro. Good amount of time.

Track 1: 3:58

bro, it's, it's exactly that. It's finding myself again, you know?'cause I was. I found myself towards, mostly towards the end and maybe after post, departure. I think that's when I started to realize, well, wait, I was kind of, I was becoming, I had become somebody or I was living, a personality or I. A role, I guess, found myself maybe at times not feeling fulfilled. And that fulfillment wasn't necessarily like Steve or Dimont, you know?'cause they gave me so many opportunities to do everything I could. I think mostly it was me kind of having, lost myself, I guess, and not like I was feeding my soul. It's like very emotional for me, to be honest with you. I could, when I think about it, you know, but again, I'm very blessed to have the opportunity to like, change gears a little bit, and maybe not resent my, you know, my life. But it, it's this identity that I was living and trying to find myself. So that the last four months has been that is, is finding myself.

Nik: 4:52

Yeah, bro.

Track 1: 4:53

Again,

Nik: 4:53

get it, man. Yeah. Again, yeah, getting, getting, getting back to Brian, like, who is Brian without Dimoc? Who is Nick without Icon Collective? Right? Like, like it's a process man. And, and you don't need to rush it at all. Like, you know, I think a lot of artists go through that as well, where their identity becomes so wrapped up in their artist project and even F people just call them their artist's name. They don't call them their real name, you know? And, and I, I've seen so many people get, get lost in that. I can see how the The journey can become confusing sometimes where you're almost living like two lives where you go out on tour and you're the man and you're playing in front of thousands of people, you know, and, and everyone's praising you as this sort of God. And then you come back home and you're like, what? No, I'm, what about me? I'm still just a person. There's still like a human underneath this whole thing. So it's a, it's kind of a head fuck.

Track 1: 5:48

Yeah. And, and I think, you know, for, in my case, like I'm not an artist, I never put myself forward that way, but working for someone like a Steve Aoki, for a lifestyle brand that was global, uh, you kind of start to, eyes on you. And obviously representing the brand at all times, so you have to move a certain way, so you're always representing that brand and, and, and that position you're in and stuff. So you start to kind of, Feel like you have to be a certain person or a certain thing or whatever, you know? And, and I obviously, yes, it happens for artists for sure. And I think that's literally one of the things I'm preaching is, well, I wanna preach to or you know, is to the choir is like, find your artistry. In yourself you know,'cause you are gonna have to live that. You know? And so instead of sort of, I guess, embodying a character or whatever, like you kind of want to find, be able to find yourself and then build from that so that you're kind of living a reality. You know?

Nik: 6:43

Yeah, man. Living, living your truth. You want to be authentic. It's like you gotta wear, you're gonna be wearing this suit, you're gonna be wearing this outfit, so it better fit. If it doesn't fit, it's gonna be uncomfortable if you're wearing that for too long. Right. So I, love that, man. Now I'd love to, Go back a little bit and hear about like the beginning of your story.'cause you started off as an intern there, right? Like how did you how did you start with them in the first place? How did you get in? Like, take me back to the beginning. I wanna know,

Track 1: 7:13

It was a MySpace bulletin. Uh, they were looking for interns. I mean, this is, I'm dating myself for sure, but,

Nik: 7:19

Yeah. Yeah. We've, we've had some MySpace conversations on here recently. All, all the OGs are coming out of the woodworks, talking about the, the original. The original TikTok

Track 1: 7:29

Yeah, exactly. You One of my best friends, uh, DJ Metric who, is still DJing and stuff out there, but he's more on like the, circuit, like nightlife club circuit. Not necessarily trying to be an artist, but just more open format, kind of playing the, like the Hollywood clubs and whatnot. But, after high school I moved out to the Iland Empire and my first friends, my first group of friends was a guy named Hector and his younger cousin was Metric. So me and Hector would throw parties house parties and we'd obviously get metric to DJ for free. But me and Hector were kind of, we had bonded over, uh, like mu similar music, tastes like the Cure and Morrissey Smiths, things like that. Like the whole, like the in classic indie rock stuff. And he had been close with metric, um, metric is more like a hiphop dj, like boom, bap, like rap, like, open format DJ really into like the DJ culture at that time. early, early two thousands, you know, era. And so, metric would, would play like Jay-Z into like a Bjork record or a cure record or something. Right. And it

Nik: 8:33

real real DJing. Yeah.

Track 1: 8:35

Yeah. And, and it was really cool because, I had come from this like underground world or whatever, but then he's playing like this more commercial pop stuff and you even, or just maybe just hip hop, let's just say. Right. But it would be a mix of our friends, like indie rock kids, and his friends, which were like taggers and hip hop heads, you know? And then there would be a mix of Like college kids that would come to our parties and stuff. So, that relationship metric was very inspirational, to be honest with you, early on with me. again, I say he's like, the reason why I'm here, he kinda introduced me to that, to the Banana split world, and center space world where, Steve and Djm were residents at Banana Split. He would tell me about these parties, about, you know, where Lindsay Lohan or, Madden Brothers and just like this really eclectic group of like, young Hollywood celebrities. and that was like the era of, real world and like, type of stuff. So there was like this young celebrity, like B-level celebrities that were out there in Hollywood and stuff. so I started to research more about like, I. Steve and then I found out that he had, he had a label called Dimoc that had released bands I knew I had had gone to see, I was fans of like the Block Party or The Kills or, blood Brothers, like post

Nik: 9:46

Yeah. Yeah.'cause they were, doing like, punk and shit originally, right? Like electronic music wasn't really even barely a thing yet. It was barely just, just surfacing. So you, you, you were getting in real early

Track 1: 9:57

yeah, the only electronics stuff. I remember in high school we had like a handful, like five kids that were what we called Groovers. Like they, and they would go to raves, and I, I wasn't into in, in that world at all, but they, they were like friends of mine that I had seen since middle school or elementary school. And then they were like the groovers of the school. Right. And I was, I was into like, punk. Yeah. And so they would go to like They would do ditch parties and they would go to these like LA parties that were like thrown by like insomniac and like, and it was like a world that I didn't know I was gonna be connected with later on. like, I knew what electronic music was. I also liked stuff like ROP and like, kind of more like even Radiohead electronic stuff that they had put out and things. So I did like electronic music, but I wasn't into like Electronic dance music, I guess, or whatever you wanna call it. Right. But at that time, aK started off as a punk, like hardcore label and kind of, put out folk, uh, indie rock, like emo, and it evolved. Into, to releasing like more indie rock, indie dance stuff, in like late 99 and early two thousands or little mid, mid 2000 actually. and so, yeah, so that's how I knew them. I found out Steve was the owner of, of this label, and I was like, okay, well this is sort of cool. Like, hardcore post hardcore guy and he's doing like clubs, okay, this must be interesting, right? So I started going to the parties, um, Banana, a split. saw DJ Am and Steve play, and then I think like a couple months after I saw I started following him on MySpace and I think I saw like an internship pop up at the time I was working at a loan office and so I was looking for any way to get out of there. It was during the time where was that real estate boom and then it was starting to go down. I really hated that. I was like wearing a suit, had to do my hair perfectly every day. I knew early on I did not want that to be my life forever, right? So

Nik: 11:38

Bro. could you imagine if like, that's like where your life took you and you were just, it just kept going in that direction, just still showing up at office every day?

Track 1: 11:46

You, you know, look, there'd be some, maybe some great stuff. You know, like right now I'm not married, I don't have kids. You know, there's something that's probably missing from my life, but maybe at the, in that, that world, know, I would have that already settled, so there's good and bad, you know? Right. So,

Nik: 11:59

got some stories though, bro. You got some stories that

Track 1: 12:01

a hundred percent I'm blessed. Yeah. You know, I'm, I'm blessed. I And grateful where I'm at right now. Like, everything you choose to do, there's sacrifice, right? So, um, I saw the MySpace bulletin. It was for like office manager assistant if I, if I remember correctly. And. couple days later I got, the call for the, in for the interview. And then a couple days after that, I got hired as an intern. And I was working under the office manager at the time. Luke and it was two days a week type of thing, you know, where you'd go in. So I was like, okay, I'll keep my, my loan job, my loan officer job, and then I'd go do this. Uh, I mean, quickly, I don't know, I can't even tell you the timeline, but I, I assume like two, three months later, I was going in full-time, Monday through Friday, eight hours a day. And I started to take on,'cause at the time I was also doing parties. So like, the house parties sort of grew into. Bars and then like clubs, lounges and things like that that I was doing with metrics. So I started to get that experience, but then I also was, uh, came on board, these two other guys, Joe and Ralph, were doing a club called Mute, mute Fridays in Orange County in Santa Ana. And so there, I started working with them at that time. So I had my event promotion, like, I guess experience. So I started to help with Banana split. di SendSpace Tuesdays. At the time it was called, it was just Tuesdays on Send SendSpace. so I grew from that office manager and then kind of, that was kind of my beginnings there was that,

Nik: 13:21

Yeah. Yeah. and what do you think it was about you and your characteristics and your attitude for them to choose you, to basically promote you to say, Hey, we want you to be a part of this team. What was it about You that had them say yes?

Track 1: 13:37

You know what? I, I don't know, at the time, the, the position again, when I first came in was just an office manager assistant. So really it was a role that I think almost anybody could have taken. But I think what helped me in that, or maybe I stood out a bit, I. in that application process was that I did have manager experience, like I had managed, I started managing a shoe store. Journeys. There's like a bunch of those in, in the malls. I, I managed a shoe store at, from the age of 19 to like 21. I. It was pretty successful for being a, a store in the mall. You know, I was able to like turn it around. I got my own store in Montclair Plaza and then after that I went to work for Active Ride Shop in Rancho and I was a assistant manager there. And that's when I first got my like introduction into like kind of a lifestyle brand where people were going there. There was like the skate world and their fashion world and whatnot, like kind of colliding.

Nik: 14:25

let let me ask,

Track 1: 14:26

out.

Nik: 14:27

let me ask it this way then, because you also were there for another 16 years

Track 1: 14:32

Ah, yeah,

Nik: 14:33

con continued, continued to get promoted, continued to be trusted, continue to ultimately climb the ranks of what is one of like the coolest and most culturally impactful record labels in the dance music industry. So really like what was it about Brian Lenner? Is that How'd you grow so much in that role? What started off just as an internship but lasted 16 years?

Track 1: 15:01

Well, you know, I, I gotta say is my attitude to always say yes. Like, I don't know what drove me to be that type of way. And, you know, Steve also seeing Steve the way Steve was, that was I maybe inspirational to kind of something I also didn't realize at the time, but that kind of rubbed up o off on me was. To always say yes and then, you it out later type of thing, you know? And so I didn't miss out on opportunity to be successful because I always said yes. Like, oh yeah, I'll, I know how to do that, or I'll do it, and then figuring it out, whether, friends or, or just trial and error, you able to, to kind of move up, you know, uh, and taking opportunities. Like, for example, the, the marketing Director at the time when I was first starting out left. So I kind of moved my way in there, you know, and so it was that. It was like, oh, I'm gonna try this. I didn't go to school like I was going to college for this, but I didn't go, I didn't graduate from college with a degree in marketing or business or anything like that, you was that just the attitude to say yes and be fearless and trying

Nik: 15:57

Yeah, bro, that, that's the gold I was really digging for right there.'cause that is straight up headliner mindset, baby. Just saying yes, throwing yourself in, you know, uh, having the, having the confidence in yourself to know that, like, hey, I'm gonna, I'll figure it out. Right. And, and having that willingness,'cause a lot of us, it's like we don't know how to do something and so we, we cower. And we let fear stop us from putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations. But you're the first to raise your hand and be like, oh, I'll, I'll dive in, I'll figure it out. That's, rad, man. And that, alone just, I mean, that, that created a lot for you. So,

Track 1: 16:31

Yeah. And, and look, there was times and you know, I want to be an example for people who, you know, I was that kid that kind of was inspired by, music and wanting to be in the industry and, wanted to my find my way in, but it seemed so far away. You know, I didn't have a, dad or a, or a mom who had a friend at a, at a place that can get me an internship, you know? if they wanted to help me, they didn't know how to help me. Really. you know, that kind of creates a little bit of lack of confidence to be honest with you.'cause you just feel like you're not supposed to be there. Right? there's a gut feeling. There's like something in you that you feel like, you're like, I can do that. And that's kind of what you need to take advantage of. Like, you need to take that as a sign to like do it because, I mean, look, you know, I'm the most confident I've ever been in my life now, but I went through. 16 years of growing my, my roles at MOC and each time having to feel like that lack of confidence again, you I was taking on a new role. it was the gut feeling that kind of, was the yes factor, right? Like, yes, I'll try it type of thing is like trusting that gut. You know, you may not have that confidence, but you, something in you is telling you to do it.

Nik: 17:36

Yeah, yeah. That's amazing, man. So what were some of the o other roles that you had while you were there?

Track 1: 17:43

Ooh. Well look, I was there 16 years and I feel like. I added hats. Like I never really switched the hats off or took'em off. I kind of just always just added, added more hats on. And I think, you at a label, it's a blessing and a curse, I guess. you It wasn't just me, you know, everybody wore a lot of hats. And as the company grew, I mean, when I first started there was three people there, and Steve was the fourth one, you know, fourth uh, person there. And then, we grew into like having 16 people in the office, right? So, that process I was, you know, I office manager assistant to, uh, events promotion. So I was running a promotion from Dimm side for Banana Split and for SendSpace. So I was working under them jeans. He was run, run, managing the, the SendSpace Tuesday nights. know, the merchandise side, uh, an apparel side that provided me the ability to, to learn production, manufacturing, to marketing. when I was Helping with the promotion on the event side. I had a lot of friends that did that were promoters at other parties. And so I would leverage those relationships to take the the merch to and create a like, and do like a pop-up merch booth at these clubs. Right. So then that kind of got me into, I. Like my first step into like merchandise and, uh, and apparel. And then there was, you know, the event side started to grow where we would start to host, our own stages at festivals and stuff. So I was the one managing it from the demo side. Um, so was the events side, managing the events side. There's the record label side, merchandise side. And then as a company grew to have like the publishing side, I was able to work with air with that, uh, a and r That kind of just happened organically throughout the years, you had more of a say so and so I, I was able to like have more input on that side. so, you know, I went from marketing, assistant to director of marketing to, managing the event side to then, uh, being, uh, supportive on the publishing side, on the a and r side to then growing into business development and, and brand director, when I left my, my, my position was, um, director and, uh, business development. And, you know, through that process launched a good one, which was, uh, the underground like imprint that we have that Deak has. And then, the Latin focused labeled Deak and Fuego. launched that as well, so a lot of hats, you know, and look, I, I, I'm not an expert on the day-to-day on all those things, but I built the skills to be able to manage with the team, work with the team to be successful in those roles. And managing roles, you know, is, you know, some people can focus on one thing. And become an expert in that thing, whether it's marketing or social media or whatever. But I mean the a, d d in me, was more about connecting dots, at the company and being able to be the one, kind of the only person there that worked across all the different

Nik: 20:32

Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing man. It is such an impressive career that you created for yourself there. I really just wanna like, acknowledge you for that'cause it's, it's pretty badass dude. Just to start at the bottom and then such a pivotal role in, in helping build, you know, such a, a cool label and brand and it's fucking cool, man.

Track 1: 20:51

know, I'm blessed to have been able to learn. Every aspect of the lifestyle brand a company like a lifestyle brand where, I can be a part of somebody's world, like a, a, a consumer's world in different verticals. You know, it's not just the event side, it's not the record label side, the music side, but maybe the clothing as well. and everything else. So, it's taken me a lot of years to like figure to like be Excited about the skills I have and be confident and also have a little bit of an ego about it, I guess, you know, too, because I think that helps. A, having a little bit of ego about it, it helps the confidence. But yeah, I mean, I, I feel like I'm in a very unique place that, to be able to, work with in all those type of verticals, you know?

Nik: 21:31

Yeah. Yeah. So I've gotta ask, why did you leave?

Track 1: 21:35

it was time, I found myself for really like the last six, seven years feeling a bit unfulfilled. I. There was a few times I tried to leave, with Steve, had the conversations, got, you know, got the raises and, and got the motivational speech, you know, about staying. And, and, you know, at the end of the day, like they were always a family. Like I, I saw them more than I saw my parents and my, and I was one to really preach that idea too, about us being a family. But I think the reality is that I found myself unfulfilled. up, going to sleep. And again, nothing to say about democracy is just my own personal adventure, I guess my, my per personal path to, to be happy. And, and you know, I think for a while, I was very happy and blessed to be in the position. I felt like that was enough, but then I started to realize that I was not living my full potential. I wasn't living as myself, you know, to, to be completely real, like, you know, I, I am Latino, I am Spanish speaking. And, I, I wanted to be able to dive into different, ventures, different projects. and this is all stuff that I tried to do with Dimoc, you know, uh, I saw us as a vehicle to be able to bring cultures together, circle being bring rock, know, which is, uh, M's you know, bringing in hip hop, which is always part of kind of, Di Mock and Steve had done. I mean, you know, from Kit Cudi to, to other, other acts and stuff. And then, you know, electronic music and then with the Latin stuff that's happening and, and all those sub genres and genres that are being created. Like I felt like Dimoc and Steve could be a really cool and great vehicle for that.'cause Steve's multicultural, he's multi-genre, I think Steve really, I. I was excited about that idea. But I also felt like I was left to really, make those things happen on my own. And everybody at the company was very busy doing the, the basic stuff we had to do. The larger business development side would take a, a team to, to really. Take us to, to like what I had proposed, then finding myself sort of hitting a, a, a, a ceiling, I guess you can say, and, and, and figuring out that I'm kind of just like turning my wheel, like turning, you know, in the same spot. Like felt like, I need to find a way to be able to, be successful in these, these ideas that I have. I'm fortunate to have had the opportunity, like with Mak and Fuego to like learn You know, the, the Latin side of the music business and be able to, to, to create a network there. And now I'm trying to, you know, I really want to be that bridge for different cultures, south to north, north to south and across the seas, you know, with, with that I have, So I, I, you know, again, I, I tried to create this. And I think I was, I really, I was really pushing this venture as maks, big picture. Sort of goals, but, seeing that that wasn't gonna happen, I kind of found the, the timing to be able to leave or depart, you know, and I think, and look, it, it wasn't, it was nothing like, Steve's still family. there, I'm still family with, especially all the execs and, and the, like the board of directors like Matt Colon Dougie. And, it was a very painful thing to have to do. was just time.

Nik: 24:57

Dude, I totally, totally get it. And I think that when you have something on your heart and there's a calling and there's some passion, as Joseph Campbell would say, You gotta follow your bliss. And sometimes that's pulling in a different direction than the environment that that, that we're in. And it's a really, really hard thing. And I experienced the same thing at Icon when I was at Icon my last two years. There started coaching on the side, like it was like a part-time thing. And it was probably even more my last three years there, it was probably a year of me starting to think about it, but it was like, My passion started going in a different direction. Like I love Icon Collective and they're, to this day, always gonna be my family. And I'm still super tight. I'm even helping them with some consulting projects and stuff, but my purpose started going in a different direction. And whenever you don't follow that, It's gonna create a lot of misalignment. It's gonna create a lot of pain, and you can kind of dance around it as much as you want and try to make it work and try to make it fit. But if you got that thing inside of you that's saying, Hey, there's something over here in this other direction that I want you to explore, you don't have a choice. You have to follow that. and so it's a, it can be a really Hard decision to make. I mean, it took me, you know, it was two years before I like, really, really went off, and did that. And it just got to a point at Icon where they were like, Hey bro, we can tell, like your heart isn't really in this anymore. Your heart is like over here. And so they, they supported me in, in making that decision. But, uh, I think it's important for artists as well to really hear this because it might be that Your heart is calling you to start making a different kind of music, right? Maybe you've been making the same kind of music for 10 years and you've built a career, and we see this all the time. So you've been rinsing out dubstep tours for the last five years, and you're just sick of fucking playing dubstep, you know, and, and you, you want it, you want to pivot in a different direction, have the courage to go follow that. and, uh, on an even deeper level, which is a really hard thing to for people to even think about is like there might come a time where your artist journey is also has also come to an end. And it might be that you don't do this thing for the rest of your life. You don't tour for the rest of your life. You don't make music and dedicate all your time and energy to that for the rest of your life. If at some point something else comes along that brings you more joy and you feel more excited about than like Have the courage to go see what's over there. And it's fucking hard, man. It's hard to leave behind the world that you know the family, that, you know, the safety and the security that you know. But as you mentioned, man, six years, you're, unfulfilled and, and you know, like you're the only fucking one that knows if you're actually really, genuinely happy or not. And so for anyone out there listening that might feel like Something is pulling them in a different direction and it's scary as fuck. Like take it from us. you gotta follow it and go see what's over there. you know, it might be uncomfortable, but there's gonna be a lot of, a lot of growth and ultimately a lot more joy.

Track 1: 28:02

Yeah. I mean, look, we're human, right? Like, I'm gonna turn 40 next month or this month. We're in October now. We're, I'm gonna turn 40 this month. Different phases of my life. Everything I've learned, like who I was at 20, who I was at 25, at 30, 35. Like it's all been different and it's all been growth, right? And I think that's kind of what you wanna do. You wanna make sure you're growing all the time and understand you're gonna grow for the rest of your life. You're gonna grow and ideally you don't want to get to. 25 or 30 and act like you know everything, right? You still want to, you, we understand that you're gonna, you're gonna change your, your musical taste, your, your palate's gonna change. And so being true to that or understanding that first and foremost, and then understanding that this is a process, like, I think it's very important, you know, like, being okay with change and, and is probably gonna be More fulfilling for you as well. You you're stuck making one sound of music and you've created this persona that is tied to that, your soul has been changing. Uh, your influences have been, have been changing. The people around you who influence your have been changing the world is changing. The things that you find more, more important or, or important in your life at 20 versus 30 is, is different. So, You know you don't wanna resent your, your own life, and that's the aching part for me for, with, when, when working with artists, we're talking like, I. One of the things on the a and r side that I really wanted to bring to the table and I, and I, and I didn't the last like five years, was finding artists that really understood that and that you can see kind of, understand they're gonna evolve, they're gonna change, and they're okay with that versus, you know, maybe 10 years ago and artists had to stick to something and you had to do that well because as soon as you changed the, your fans would turn on you. You the fans now, more understanding, if anything, much more accepting of it. But if anything, they're, they're expecting you to change. Like if you're doing the same thing when you were 21 and they, they're growing and you're, you're gonna lose that fan base. Right? I think it's important, you know, like to understand that.

Nik: 29:57

Yeah, and like you said, it's part of being human. Robbins talks about this as being the two of the six fundamental human needs. On the one hand, we have a need for certainty. We have a need for familiarity. There's a part of us that's craving to just like, I want to figure out my sound. I wanna figure out the formula, I want to get the manager, I want to get the touring. So like, I just, I need security and I need stability. And there's a part of us that needs that. We need certainty. And the very next need is we also have a need for uncertainty. We have a need for spontaneity. We haven't, you know, just eating the same food every single day forever is, is gonna get really, really boring, right? We have a need for Adventure. We have a need for change. We also have a need for growth. And so there, it's a paradox. you know? So The way that we reconnected recently was that I had seen you make a post about, uh, well, first about, I know that you were leaving Dimm Mock, but then also I saw that you were starting to take on some projects, do some consulting and working with artists. So I'd really love to hear about what you're doing in that world and kind of pick your brain a little bit about How artists can really, best set themselves up for success.'cause you know, again, you have such a wealth of knowledge and wisdom, but maybe you can start off by telling me a little bit about what you're doing now as you're taking on some of these projects.

Track 1: 31:22

know, I've taken the last four months just kind of trying to find myself and then also try to get a, a lay of the land, like what's out there, what opportunities exist. I mean, you know, I was kind of in a bubble, you wasn't looking for. Other opportunities really. I was creating opportunities at MOC moc, you know, so, after leaving it, it was about finding myself. and through that process I, I've, I felt the need to create like a community and connect with people. Also, I think we talked a little bit about this early on, but there's a lot of other people that are, that are I. Kind of in the same position as me, in the sense that, or was that, that I was in, in the sense that it sent seems so far away to, to be able to reach the industry or, or for an artist to be an artist, a successful artist. And so, wanted to try to humanize that as much as possible, you know, it comes from my teenage years of being in into like punk, where, you have these sort of, Revolutionary ideas that you, you know, you wanna make change, you know, you wanna try to help better the world in a sense. And, you your voice is only as loud as your, your, your group of friends or the, or the community or the people that are at the shows that you go to, right? So, internet, social media, like, as bad as it's, it's been, or it can be for, for people, I think there's, I think we're gonna figure out. how to really leverage the digital platform a a lot more, right? And so using that to our advantage where, you can have a platform and you can speak to To people. Now you can speak to a million people at one time, so I wanna take advantage of that. I wanna create a community of creatives, aspiring artists, aspiring just creatives, really. And help them figure out how to monetize their, their skillset, you you think that kind of is different for everybody. Like, goal could be to To be famous and, and, you know, have$50 million in your bank account. Or it could be, Hey, I wanna be able to like, make$4,000 a month off my, you creative, whether it's t-shirts or music and I'll be fine with that, you know? being able to tap into that and, and help people figure out that there's other forms of success and that there's other standards that you can live. And then how to get to those, you know, you know, it's very d i y right now, like, running a podcast on your own. I. You know, like through this technology and whereas to, to do this, you would've needed a lot more people, a lot more money, blah, blah, blah, to do this 10 years ago, right? so it, it's all in our hands really, you know, I, I guess going to your question, is that what I'm doing? Like I'm figuring it out, you know, because I wanted to leverage that community to be able to create a podcast of sorts where I can interview other people that didn't feel like they were supposed to be there and go through those trials and tribulations, those mental trials and tribulations. And then also the physical form ones, right? And then being able to show everybody and influence people like, yo, maybe school isn't for everybody. I think we all have a creative juice and I think that we all could be a little bit more, we ought to be a lot happier too if we're able to expose that creativity and then, potentially make some money off of it or something. You know, like if you can live off that and monetize that creativity, there's, there's a, there's a vehicle for you to connect with people and like, we all thrive on connecting with people, you know what I'm saying? We all need that human interaction. again, through that process, create some sort of, Podcast platform, but then at at the same time, I'm trying to identify Projects, be called onto projects, whether they're artistic projects, musical projects, clothing brands or a restaurant. Like, I wanna be able to I, I wanna find those that really inspire me and that I feel I. Can help create some sort of change. So, you I was a, a teenager, I had like Malcolm X and like Che Gata on my wall, like posters and stuff. And I wanted to make change, but I'm not a very, I'm not a violent person in, in that sense, and I don't really like guns and stuff. So I figured this is my way to, to help change the world and create some understanding between, creatives and then also help. People like find, success in being happy, you know, through their own means in a way, you know, so consulting, finding a, a few projects I can consult on long term or, or short term, you know, whether that's a month to three months or longer. Like, you now I'm currently managing two acts as well. Um, A group called Aki Akii from Mexico, who are pretty successful in their own right right now. And then I have a, a, a smaller artist that's a, a developing artist, Garrett Gloom, who's an amazing artist. And so the manager side is, is is also happening, but I'm not sure I want to be a quote unquote manager, full-time that's kind of what I'm trying to do right now is create that community of creative where I can be, sort of help.

Nik: 35:42

What part of this do you love the most? Which part of it gives you the most joy and fulfillment?

Track 1: 35:48

Really like helping artists, understand themselves, like that process of like, not following the mold or the standard and finding them their, their true selves. And then being able to have, have that sort of something spark in their brain. that's fulfilling for me. Like that's, that's always been like the most fulfilling part for me, you know. But I think, helping, artists that are super creative but just don't know how the other mediums that they could maybe venture off to and other things that they can do, helping them find that, you that's the most exciting part.

Nik: 36:21

Yeah. how do you help an artist really find themself? Because this is a question that I'm asking a lot. It's like, on the one hand, you can go build a brand and do marketing, and there's all this sort of external--stuff to do, like the business side of it. But the deeper foundation of all of it, I think, is really being an authentic artist in the first place and really knowing yourself and finding yourself, and having the courage to be yourself, like How do you actually help guide someone there?

Track 1: 36:51

Well, you know, I, I think it comes with one, obviously Like being good at your artistry, right? So making sure that you find that confidence in, in the artistry. Artistry, but understanding you're gonna evolve. And being open to that is one way through that process, also being very attuned to. that gut feeling in your brain, the mental health part, you figuring out exactly why you wanna do what you wanna do. Why do you want to be an artist? Like, is it because you want to be famous and you want to have a big bankroll? There's one strategy to to, to do that. And, and you know, like, I'm always gonna play devil's advocate too, and like, is that really what you want? This is what comes with it. But I think also, there's something beautiful about somebody, wanting to do something to maybe better the world or I really want to make, create change. So, really finding what drives them and what that want. again, for everybody it's a little different. It's different. Their strategy's gonna be different, you know, and it's hard, you know, like, I didn't know I was spo I was, I, I needed to be in tune with what's going on in me until I got older, you started to realize like, okay, I having these feelings and I need a, it's almost like therapy. My own therapy I had to do, know, and try to figure out. Okay, why do I act this certain way when it's hard to explain, but it's really just trying to like really being honest with your, with yourself and then feeding off of that. Right. At the end of the day, like I, one thing I always push for artists is like, I don't, I. I don't wanna help artists, be cookie cutter artists either, like, I want them to find their own voice and understand that you have to live this for the rest of your life and this, your artistry may only last for five years. What are you gonna do after that? I. That dies down, So let's figure out what you're passionate about. If I, I've used this like example so many like times, but if artist, let's say is really good at making sandwiches, you know, and that literally passion thing. Food is a passion thing. Well, how do we bring that into your, into your brand identity so that you after your Your artistry after you're done touring for five, 10 years and you're done with that, you've created another platform, another, for you to monetize That's true to yourself, you know, and you've been able to bring into, content, your, your, your lifestyle in, in a real way, and then potentially be able to monetize that and live off that and maybe later be able to live Leave that business to your, your kids or something, you know what I'm saying? So it's really trying to create longevity in with their creativity, outside of just music really, you you know, you can't really do that sometimes at a label because that, those aren't the label's goals. Those, those aren't the, those aren't those priorities for a, a, a label at, at times, you know? for me it's like business development, but for a human being, like, let's develop, what you're passionate about, what creative outlets you could be. And you might, some stuff you might try and some stuff you might realize, you month into it that you, hey, this is actually was just like a gut feeling that really wasn't real. And maybe I, I'm not gonna do this anymore, yeah. I'm not sure if I answered your question, but.

Nik: 39:49

Oh dude, you did man. And I am so. First off, what I said to you when I reached out on either I texted you or on Instagram was just how excited I am to see you stepping into this like mentorship type of role because. Giving back and helping other people with their dreams and their goals for me is just the most rewarding feeling. It's so fucking fulfilling. And you know, I worked at it. I worked at Capital Records. That's where I started my career at. I worked at at at labels. I was a manager and you know, it was cool to get some, some Katy Perry number one records out there, but like, I never felt as fulfilled as when I helped somebody in like, the coaching space. so I, I just think that you are such a natural, and mentor and especially with all of the, the wisdom and the experience that you have, and I'm very excited to see you stepping into that role. What I really, really love is You talking about helping people find their voice? Because I think that really is the first step. It's like there's so many other voices out there that are telling you what you should do, what you should sound like, what you should look like, what's the right business strategy. This is what you should do with your life. Your parents are telling you they want you to be a doctor. Your girlfriend is telling you she, you know, like everybody has their own opinion and Learning how to even identify your own voice. Sometimes we're so disconnected from it, we can't even hear ourselves. We don't actually even know what we want. And that's like, I think there's a lot of artists out there that are, they're not listening to themselves, they're listening to the industry or to the trends. And it's like everybody's chasing this thing outside of themselves rather than slowing down and learning how to listen to what's inside of themselves. And it's like, That, that's gotta be the first step. It's like, then go figure out the business, then go figure out.'cause also it's like you don't wanna just be an artist that just makes super cool art and, and also is a starving artist and also not making money. There is a business side of it, but I think I. Everyone's looking at the business side of it first. Like, how do I be successful at business? Let me go plug myself into the same template that everybody else is doing because that's what's successful. And then that's when you find yourself like not being fulfilled. And so taking that time to figure out who you are, what do you love, what lights you up? What's your voice, what's your story? and now let's go build a business around that. So like you, you fucking knocked it outta the park, bro. I'm, I'm so Aligned with just that, philosophy and, and that process, because I, it, it just, it has to be that way, man. That's the only way to be, you not only successful, but like success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure.

Track 1: 42:25

Yeah. And, I realized this, a few years ago, maybe like seven, may not, maybe a little bit more than that, like eight years ago, every artist would come to us, give us amazing music, you know, producers that were in their bedroom making incredible production, to school. Or just spent a lot of years honing that. But then it came to, okay, what is the song about? What is its name? What does the cover art look like? Let's come up with ideas for a video. All of that was like, oh, I don't know, is, I. It always felt weird to me, like, well, this is your art. This, you're trying to say something with this, yet you're not saying anything with it. And, and then it would take us a month, two months to have to develop a brand and identity, figure out, okay, well what do you like, what do you do? What, okay, how can we create content around this? The beautiful thing about's hap what's happening now is that you find artists, that can do all that. Now they all, they know that, I mean, these are kids that have, or, or young people that have been Gen Z were, that were born with the phone and social media in their hands. And they get it. They get it, right. And so, I find it really inspiring. For an artist that comes and says, I have done it all. Like I, I know what every, like every song's done, I have a cover art for each of'em. I know the name for each of'em. Uh, I have these social media ideas to do this and this and that. And so then at a label, what you're really trying to really doing at that point is just amplifying. I. And creating a strategy and knocking on doors. You know, and I think that's kind of the beautiful, like relationship is where a creative could be a creative, understand that they need, you know, an organization or a team or, or some sort of, administrative help, marketing help. Uh, because they can't do it all themselves. and you cannot create everything and then also do all the business side of it, right? So to me, a perfect marriage was always, A label that, that can help you or, or someone that can help you fulfill all those different creative ideas you have and that them do what they're good at. You know, and then the creative could be creative and, and, and be the visionary amongst all that, you know. And then my role at that point was more just like the strategy and, and, and helping them execute on what their creative was. Right? That's the beauty I think

Nik: 44:30

yeah. That was so cool, man. Well, I see you being incredibly successful as you step into this new role and, uh, I'm gonna practice some my manifestation skills, which are so on point. My manifestation skills are so fucking good. I'm just gonna brag right now. I'm putting a little signal out into the universe that the right artists are gonna find you, you know, in that, that that perfect match. And, they're gonna come into your, your ecosphere and really be able to benefit from your, years of wisdom and experience and, and really help create something that's not only super successful, but also super fun and fulfilling.

Track 1: 45:07

Yeah. Yeah, a hundred percent. Well, I appreciate that for one Uh,

Nik: 45:11

Yeah, I watch it show up, bro. Watch it show up. I give it, I give it like a week. Maybe This podcast will help if anybody is looking for, you know, for some, for some real solid support with somebody that has a just, you of wisdom and, and really wants to, you know, their project to the next level and is resonating with any of the stuff that we're saying. Definitely hit up Brian, I'll put his, uh, information in the show notes. What's the best way for people to reach you?

Track 1: 45:34

Uh, Instagram is, is probably the platform that's, you know, it's getting a little harder because I'm, definitely getting a lot more, uh, people interacting with me. that's kind of why I'm trying to create some sort of podcast or live streaming sort of platform so I can speak to many people at once um, but Instagram, Brian Lin artist is, is the best place.

Nik: 45:53

Dope. Dope. Well, I'm gonna plug myself a little bit as well. I'm, I'm about to, literally tonight, I just got week one. Module opened for a course that I'm taking a course, teaching me how to build a course. It's like a course inception. So I'm working on putting together, you know, a community as well. you know, more on the, the mindset, life coaching, inspirational side of things. But I would love to have you come in and, and be a part of that and, and, and collaborate. So once that gets off the ground, I'll definitely hit you up to come and come and speak to everybody. So just planting the seeds. Y'all, we got a lot of cool shit coming up. Uh, Brian, I am so, so thankful for you, for taking your time to, to pop in here. It's really, really good to reconnect with you and just to hear about everything that you've been up to. And, um, yeah, yeah, man, really looking forward to seeing what you create from here.

Track 1: 46:42

Thanks, Nick. I I appreciate the invite. I, I truly do. I appreciate it, man. Thank you.