THE PROFESSOR - Stay Out The Kitchen

in these, but they got it done. You know, I feel like the reason why you chose this was because of the whole dessert. That was a big part. I mean, I like est dinner on it was it was the cheapest. You know, you got the Marie calendars, like the luxury TV dinner you got. I don't know, hungry is a hungry man? Yeah, the tyson the Looney Tune ones, you know what I mean. Super cheap. So so I haven't had a TV dinner in ages. So what do you

want to try and eat? First? So we everyone, we're eating the chicken nuggets, mac and cheese corn and this is supposed to be a brownie even everyone. Yeah, when I got it back in the day, that was always a big part of it was it was like, actually a fudge brownie. This is kind of like a brownie slopping stop. Probably still pretty good. Let let's try it. Start with the nuggets. Let's start with the nuggets. Do you do catch up? I'm going to try. And always was your soggy on one side back in the day

too easily could have been let's do it. That was my whole thing. Always like I didn't like to spending time in a kitchen, you know what I mean, So I'm always just trying to get it done. You didn't try to get like a girlfriend and just feed you in spurts. You get a girlfriend, you'll be like, what's your cooking skills? Like spurts. It is why I got kicked at the curb. You know. So you said back in two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine, what was the last time you actually ate this dish or

even stop for a TV dinner? Two thousand tens Probably the last time at least this TV dinner. I might have got a Marie coulendar, like if I was in a road or something, like here and there, but yeah, for the most part, like like being broke just to make it work. Yeah yeah, yeah, definitely. Now what were you going through at that time? Two and that's that's later. Yeah, So, um, I started playing professionally for the and one mix stape

Tour two thousand three. The company the same day we were on the cover of The Sports Illustrated two thousand and six is the same day that the company actually got bought out, and that was by Sequential or something. Right, Uh, it's American Sporting Goods. But since then it's been bought out three or four times, so the one you're saying is probably somewhere along the line. But uh yeah, two done six got bought out by American Sporting Goods. And at the time, you know, I was only years old.

I don't even know what a company by. I didn't even know what that is, first off, you know what I mean. And then I didn't know how that would affect business moving forward, you know. So I remember asking one of my O G teammates. I was just like, so we still we still got a job, we still gonna play ball, and they're like yeah, So I was like all right, cool and that's all I thought out of it. But they I think they had two years left on the production ESPN deal and they fulfilled that

and then after that the tour was over. They didn't put any money into street Ball as their advertisement. But I think what those owners didn't know and I think rest in peace and they passed away since but they didn't know that the company was based on street Ball, you know. I mean that's what fuel of the whole thing.

So they tried to go like this traditional route where it's like, uh, lower tier NBA players, which is who they could afford at the time, right be you don't have the Nike money lower tier NBA players uh to to brigade the way. But it's just not the same if you don't have superstars or like a niche like how we had with the and One mixtape tour. It's

tough to survive in basketball, you know. Yeah, So when you were doing the whole and One thing where they breaking guys off, like was it like salaried or was it like here's a sign on bonus manager money. Well, so I think my first deal I ever signed, I think with sixty I thought it was rich. You know, I was eight team or no, I was actually seventeen when I signed that deal, graduated young se that turned

eighteen like a couple months later or whatever. But yeah, I thought my money wouldn't run out to move out and get our own apartment. But what did your parents say when you got that check? So my parents actually fully supported everything. Um, I actually played one year junior college and uh kind of had to decide whether I'm

gonna go back to school or play professionally. But they knew that, like they had invested everything into my hoop dream, you know, like like sneakers, trainers, clinics, camps and you Oh, they supported me so heavy. That's the reason I am doing what I do today. So I think they looked at it like, hey, you know, this is an opportunity to play pro. The funny thing is I actually barely

played college basketball. I got cut from three community colleges and then I walked on to my local community college, like the one I didn't want to go to because I wanted to go out of town. Um. I always had offensive skills, but I looked like I was like twelve years old, and so I think a lot of coaches it really trust me, like like from a defensive standpoint, but it's kind of hard to imagine you're getting cut at a community level though. That's the crazy part. Like

I had skills. I remember one of the community college trials I went to. I remember I played like five games and like I literally scored. We're playing games and seven I was scored at least four or five buckets, if not all each game. But they still wouldn't let

me get a shot. But literally, if you look at somebody's twelve years old, it's hard for you as a coach to say, this is my guy, but you're competing at a community level at twelve, Like I just looked like but but yeah, I was, you know, seventeen, trying to trying to watch your your games you look yeah, yeah, so just trying to get on And I think that that's what made it tough. It's like what separates the street baller from the NBA player. There's two different goals.

So so with street ball, obviously very competitive, you want to win every game, but you know people are paying to see an exhibition. You know, it's more about that game there, So we want to like strip entertained the most. So we're like kind of like shooting for the craziest highlight, but we also want to win, whereas like the NBA, it's really about efficiency. If somebody gets a highlight, that

happens by default. Yeah, do you think NBA is more team player friendly in uh, street balls more like you said, like more flashy, because I feel like street balls almost like a form of art. But street ball in its purest form is really just summertime basketball. It's really like a summer pro am league. You know, guys that played overseas, some college players, the best high school players in the summers um would come play and it's just like a way to get a run. It's just basketball in the summer.

There's less structured because coaches aren't really like putting their all into summertime basketball. But then when when companies like and One got involved, it really became about selling tickets and making it about the exhibition. So we so we amped up the highlights, you know what I mean. It became more about the entertainment um. But I think it was always a looser style game with showtime, even even in pierst form before companies got involved. But I think

the stakes got hired. So it's like you strive to put on more of a show. Yeah, you know, as as like the ANI one Mix Safe Tour and things progressed. Yeah. So you when do you when you start to run out of the money, which is you know, now you're getting consistent money. How many years were you getting the consistent money? Yeah. My whole run from AND one from two thousand three to two thousand eight probably made a few million dollars and I spend it all, blew it off.

You didn't invest any of it. Um. When the recession came two thousand nine, I'd take out my savings and I was like living off the savings for a while, and that ran lowd next to you know, that was gone to Yeah, but but I didn't say yeah. I didn't say well, I didn't have like a six figure at the time, so it was like a little bit. But yeah, then it was TV dinners and a lot

of people might not know this. For me to make ends meet during two thousand nine, I actually kept a box of like seventy five of my AND one jerseys,

like game jersey. I don't even know, like I gave a good share away, but for some reason I would always keep them often and do them a box, and then I actually ended up selling them on eBay anonymously, and I made ends me like that for about six months, for more than six months because some of them were they were going from like three to seven hundred dollars a couple of thousand. So yeah, and you were personally doing this personally. Yeah, I love to hear that. That's

how you know the struggle was real. It was really, Yeah, it was real. I only kept like I think I only kept two and one jersey, like my first one. I had a game, win a shot in medicine square guard. I kept that jersey and I kept my very first one. Did you ever offer to like sign it for more? Did you ever spill the tea that hate? This is the Yeah. So what happened with the very first one I uploaded? I didn't do it anonymously. It was like

asked me. You know, I was holding it, but then I just like I was like I was like branding wise and just don't look right, you know. I was like in my room holding it up. Remember I told some girls take the photo like this one. You know. It's like when digital cameras first came out, photos like Dusty Doll I was like, now you're gonna do this no more? Or so because I saw other people were selling the same jerseys. You know, they sounded like seven hundred bucks, and I was like, oh, you don't need

a face to that. You know, maybe I could have put a face when sold it for more, but I wasn't about any risk at that time, like my hands smart, make our money. You thought a short term and long term and that you were like, so, then how did you pivot out of the whole TV dinner state? Because obviously it was the last time you ate this meal l okay for sure, so you've you've pivoted out. What was the pivot to get you out of the hole. Well, two thousand nine was a pivotal a year for me

because I actually started my YouTube channel. So today I'm most known for my YouTube channel social media. Yeah, praise guy. I was looked out, but now at the time, yeah, I started my YouTube channel. My whole YouTube channel became business like overnight, I had a video did forty two million views. You said overnight, but this was when YouTube had first peaked. You jumped on right, Well, YouTube actually started, so a lot of people know YouTube started two thousand four. Yeah,

YouTube started, oh four, I wish it would start. Reverend started. But then by about two thousand nine, I actually knew five people who were making ten grand a month on YouTube, and so I remember I asked, when you know you can you show me how to do it or whatever? I end up signed with this agency. He showed me a few things, and then uh about had some viral content like this. This one video did six million views

in a week. And then my channel with remember I had seventeen thousand views and it went from seventeen thousand to six hundred fifty thousand subscribers in one week. Yeah, it was like a business overnight. Literally, So you were like, and then what was it like in at first check? Now? It it it was YouTube that sents you to check right Google? Google? Were you? Were you shocked? Did they call you and tell you it wasn't just a check arrives in your mailbox?

You're like, what is this? Oh? Just check arrives? You know, I mean their payroll If you look at Google's payrolls and nuts like, I have five point five million subs and I'm like the biggest channel on YouTube. Ye up, So but what was it like in that check. Getting the check as thrilled, you know. I mean I was learning some hood department in a Canoga park and you know, still kind of trying to make ends meet. We had we had a we had a salary deal with ball up,

so it was like stinny, you know. I mean I was actually comfortable at the time, but check was nice. Yeah, And I'm so you handled your money and looked at everything so much more differently. Oh man, Yeah, I learned. You learned a lot losing a few million dollars you should, you know, So I learned a lot with that, and uh yeah, I just saved. I don't even know that I really explurged on any that. I probably aoust clothes

in there, but that was about it. Yeah. So there was no like real dark moment where you were like almost like I've had moments where I've like literally called on her desk and called a mentor like, oh, this company's it's done, it's going it's going down, and I'm going down with it. Like yeah, it was dark. I mean he got really dark. My best friend actually passed away. He was he was my teammate. He was he was like this big dude actually had a heart attack, rescue,

peace of my homie escalates. So um, yeah, for me, like with that whole his death, me gonna broke. That's definitely like a pivotal time in my life for sure. Did you go into the feel sorry for yourself mode? And I hate to say that but for lack of better word, And then like what was the thing that carried you out of the storm? Um? I mean for me, it's like a faith thing, you know what I mean. I actually actually became Christian at his funeral. At his funeral,

so that was that was big for me. Um. And then yeah, I think there's probably like feeling sorry for myself and they kind of like wondered how opportunity, how I learned, like how fleeting fame could be, you know

what I mean. It's like I used to have hired security with that one if I would go to like a basketball event or like something like that, and then what I would go to basketball events after and one ended like one person might recognize me maybe, And that taught me a lot of it was just like what And then I was just shocked because I always get calls for you know, bookings and games, and the companies call me. I'm like, well, there's too many things to do.

I can't find hardly anything from work other than like maybe like training somebody for an hour and showing some ball him and stuff, which I you know, going from like TV show fame, you don't really want to be a trainer. Yes, So I have to ask and I have to go there. So you know, when you think of balling and street balling, you think black people. You know. I have to ask though, Like you know, I'm sure you've heard people compare you to like the Eminem of

basketball maybe my whole life. How did that make you feel? Oh? Um? I just had like a sense of gratitude because I worked so hard at basketball for so long, and you know, come eighteen years old, didn't look like it was gonna pay off, you know, but all all of a sudden that you know, preparation meets opportunity moment happened for me, you know, to be able to plan and make same tour and then so whatever came after that, I don't even care. I was just I was just grateful to

have have a gig then have like an audience. You know, so they say eminem street ball or I mean technically eminem is one of the greatest rappers of all time. Like, you can't say you're top ten in hip hop without saying eminem. You forget eminem. You quickly go back and you say, wait, wait, let me swap out somebody else. So to be compared to someone that can handle that industry,

it's it's it is a huge compliment. Oh yeah, I consider a compliment blessing growing up beyond repeat repeat, Yeah, yeah, I mean for me, yeah, I was always trying to just resting gratitude for the opportunity to So what is the one lesson that you've learned from like when you started, So like a lesson that you carried to date, or even just one pivotal lesson that you carry with you that you always tell yourself you always have to reprove yourself.

So like a lot of times people will talk to me, now, man, you're a legend, you know what I mean, Like you've done it, you know. But the funny thing is, every time you're in a game or a situation, you always have to like reprove yourself for that to keep going.

So I've had a career like eighteen years long, but it was always a series of like ups and downs like a big roller coaster, but always have to like reprove yourself that you belong in that slot, you know, similar to like eminem right, he had like crappy album to three albums ago slander and hate, but then he like bounced back with the okay, solid one and then he had like a banger and now back to the legend. You know what I mean, it's always a roller coaster.

So I think always knowing that you have to re reprove yourself again and again it's good for like longevity. But when you think about m or you or you know, like people hear the professor are like, oh, oh, we know who that is. You know, so it's like to see to see reinvent yourself or what did you say was read always had to reprove yourself yourself. Yeah, I think always staying dedicated craft and having that preparation is the way you can bring out like you said that

diamonds there. It takes. It takes hardwork and dedication all the way through. You can never feel like I made it and kick your feet up. Yeah, you know, that's that's kind of the truth. But what do you say to the kid that you know Aspires loves basketball. Either he's too short or he's too you know, he's just he doesn't have the skills quite yet. And you know, right now it's like he's getting past on every team. Do you know what can you say to that kid

that's like, don't you know? What I would say is there is no such thing it's too short. It's just that the smaller and height and the and the less strength you have, the more skilled you'll have to be. That's a general rule. So there's no sense. So when parents will often say, oh, little Mike, he's trying to make it, but he's too short, I'll be like I would, but I was watching, but it was like, how tall, Lizzy.

You know it's nice? Right, So so yeah, you you can be short, but a lot of skills the will have to come into that. But I would say, you know, persistence of sticking with some something is huge. I think Jay Z had a good quote. They asked him, they were like, what's the most genius thing you ever did?

And he just said like he never gave up. And I think that's big because office people who stick with something the longest end up winning because everybody's always kind of like trying to find where they fit in or what they want to do. But people try things out and they go do something else. They try things out something else, whether it's like you know, whether in viteography, music, sports,

or anything like. If you can actually just stick with it consistently home the craft, then you might find a lot of success. But it might be way down the road. So for that kid who's getting cut from his team or not not sitting right now, I would just encourage if it's your passion and you have fun and you love doing it, I would say, oh, definitely stick with it, you know, because there's opportunities even now with YouTube. The

YouTube basketball communities like a building thing. So technically if you couldn't play college, you couldn't play pro, there might actually be a slot for you. Just depends, like if you can get an audience, you know what I mean. So to get your ball handling skills at the level that you have yours, because I would never even dream sure, I'm gonna I'm gonna go. I would never even dream of trying to go up against anybody with your ball handling skills. But um, to get them at that level,

what do you take on? Like the hardest player and say mentor me, or like, how do you get those skills? While you answer that, I'll eat a nugget. I think elite training is actually very important. So I had a great trainer round in fifth grade. Shout out to Rodney Howard. He taught me some really foundational ball handling skills, what literally what I wasn't like. Actually the fourth grade first taught me like in and out, in and out crossing,

you tell me, like the Allen Iverson Crossover. And I mastered to Allen Iverson Crossover when I was in fifth grade, and I could like cross grown Man, Like I was literally as tall as this table right here, but I could like cross grown Man and like crowds would go crazy. So having that elite training at a young age was big. You think the younger the better. I think, no, no, no. I think if you're like super little, you should just learned to like the game, because if you're gonna make

it, it it needs to be your passion. You need to really enjoy just just the whole culture of it, you know, playing the game everything. So I learned to just enjoy. I think by about middle school you should try to get some elite training the cool thing is if your parents can't afford it. What's what's different now than when I was growing up. It's like everything is that your fingertips. Like all the tools for greatness in anything is really

like on YouTube itself. You know, like if you want to be a great basketball player, there's no instructions you go get this, not on YouTube, Like, but if you pay a trainer, you know, you get in one one spots like proven school. But I'd say for the kids who can't afford trainers longer on YouTube and just like emulate great players. There's players in the NBA now who didn't have great training when they were younger. They just

the craft, but they can play amongst themselves. You still have to go up against someone that's like a really good defense, right, Oh totally. I mean you gotta play a lot, you know, I was encouraged people get a lot of one on ones, a lot of two on two, a lot of five five, play whenever you can. And then you know, if you have the opportunity to play with great players who are way better new than you know it. Yeah, I'd say you always need a good balance.

Some people will say always play with better players, but if you keep getting your butt kicked all the time, it's not always good. You need a balance. You need like guys who you feel like you can you're at the same level. You can put in working and then also play with the elite players who kind of like bust you up because you learned a lot from that. That's what I always did. It was like a good balance. And I've seen you do other interviews where you talk

about heart and all that stuff. To have heart in those moments, I think it's really about preparation. You know, how can you trust yourself taking the game when he shot in the fourth quarter if you didn't put the work in. But if you feel so prepared and it's like you feel like you know you put in all this time, then I think you're more likely to trust yourself in those big moments. And then that will come out and people like, oh he had heart, But I think a lot of it was just like preparation. He

was ready for the moment. Did you ever end up getting to meet Alan Iverson? I actually got to play with Alan Iverson twelve um. There was like an exhibition tour in China and he played three games with us. Yeah, it was a great time. Yeah, like what, oh it was awesome. I mean I remember seeing the flyer. They sent us a flyer just be an email before the event.

It was like me and my homie Bone Collector and then Ai, you know, pick picture Ai on there and I was just like, man, that's a trip, because you know, hey, I was my first well Michael Jordan was my first inspiration, but hey, I was right there. He was the player. I felt like I could relate to the books. Being a small guy, you know, I could play like he played. So for that to come full circle and get to play with them as it's pretty cool. Yeah. He was

super cool. You know when we sat around, like in our off time, he hung out with us. You know, you didn't have to, you know, but like now he hung out with just talk hoops and shared some like you know, he shared some legendary stories behind the scenes. But now it was cool. He shows his love. Like every time I see Allen, he'll go out of his way to be like, oh, what's up, my bro? You know, yeah, so who has better ball handling hot sauce or Allen Iverson? Who?

You know? This is tough because they're both these are both some of my idols. You know, a lot of people actually think that like Hot Sauce and I are like the same era, like rivals. The truth is House ten years older than me. So like when I when I was in high school, Hot Sauce like emulating, you know what I mean. By the time I got on a mixtape tour, uh, you know, then he's like my teammate. Book, But to get on we had to kind of like go back and forth. Um, so yeah, that's tell that's

my two idols right there. And and to be honest, I can't even really say one no, no, you don't get to the interview does not end. That's why we made sure that these questions were extremely tough, and we know that everyone's gonna have something to say about the answer to this question. If I had to say, who's better in the Hall of Fame, yeah, I think so you're you're you're in the On the basketball court, you have to line up your team, you have to choose

between the two. Well, it's different levels, you know what I mean. So yeah, I would go with Allen Iverson. But but I do believe that like some my teammates like House, Sauce and them below in the Hall of Fame too, and my personal pain. Yeah, so and maybe they will I don't know, but they're both idle, so not taking anything away from So for the for the records, you're gonna nervous. Okay, who from the NBA would be a great street baller? Oh, Kyrie Irving. Everybody thought you

were going to say that. Behind the scenes, they were all gonna say, Steph Curry, Yeah, I feel like it's such a great shooter. But ball Hanley Wise, you think, oh, you're a great ball handley skills too, Yeah, for sure, I think um Trey Young Jamal Crawford's not in me this year, but he would be a great There's a lot of guys, but yeah, I mean Kyrie Irving, you know, one of the most skilled players of all time. Yeah, who would you like to play one on one in

the NBA? Who? Um? You know what? People always say that, but like I would A lot of some guys who don't make the NBA can't wait to play somebody one on one because they want to like prove how good they are. But like it's not really about that for me. I mean, like I know how I met up with the NBA. You know I fly, I worked out with NBA players, play nexhibition game. How do you feel you

match up? Oh? Good? I like, here's the thing as a competitor, if you're lacing them up and you're an elite hooper, like you should never not think you're going to perform well and now but like I'm going back and forth, like I'm saying I was dominating, but but yeah,

we're gonna get moves off. I would say, I would say, like Lebron, it would be cool to play one, like I'll just like see how he holds me defensively fun N six nine, you would go up against Lebron, well, not not in efference to say, like, I'd like to feel the defense. Though I think I get moves off off. You think, well, I'm not saying to win, but yeah, shake somebody and score. I don't think anybody could stop me a whole game and not get any moves off

the score. I think we need to make a personal we want to see the and maybe Lebron could do it right. I ain't never played that good of a finger, you know. I think if you were to like do a video of you versus Lebron, it would probably go to like one of the most viral video the Internet. Yeah, yeah, I love they need a great you know Lebron steph Kyree. Just be fun just to see how that goes down. But like, I don't think I could beat any of

those three, but I think it gets moves off to see. Yeah, yeah, definitely. If I had to choose the sport, it would only be basketball. I like that. Yeah, Um, I would hope so and then uh, but if I had to choose a team, no loyalty to the market or anything, I always will say Golden State because they have the clay, they have, they have stuff, they have everybody that would be entertaining and they're all just on one squad. So yeah,

especially man so good change the game of basketball. And when you watch some they kind of do fall off, And I'm all about the hero's journey hence eating while broke, and I feel like when you watch Golden State, they always have like they fall off in the middle of the game and they always come back right the true story and even now with the injuries, you'll be a ridder with the injuries, they've kind of like fallen off, like they're only like one superstar away from being right

back to title contenders you know, exactly know the next couple of years, get healthy, acquired another Star championship exactly. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to bless us with a TV dinner dinner dinner. Yeah, I'm sorry, I couldn't pick out a more high end uh we had, you know what, So thank you, Professor for another episode of Eating While Broke. For more Eating while Broke from I Heart Radio and The Black Effect, visit the I Heart Radio app, app, a podcast, or

wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Eating while Broken, Broke, Broke,