(upbeat hip hop music)
- So let's talk a little bit about something
we talked about before we started to record
and that's what you're doing for students in Bridgeport.
We talked at the beginning of this conversation
about the giving back.
You talked about the Catholic faith
in which your parents raised you and the idea
that we all have a responsibility to one another.
Talk a little bit about what you're doing in Bridgeport
with schools there and how you're really,
for lack of a better word, inspiring young people
through dance to take responsibility for their lives
and see that they have an opportunity to move forward.
Talk a little bit about what you're doing in that arena.
- To kind of peel back a little bit more
before we get into that...
I think obviously the world could be a better place
if everyone contributed, you know?
And it starts with the individual first.
There was a point in time in our career
where we were growing so fast, right?
But people were saying, "You need to still study your craft"
and all these kinds of things.
We used to watch documentaries, anywhere from Steve Jobs
to documentaries on Bob Marley or Mother Theresa.
People who were very influential, right?
And one thing that we took away from all these people
was that they were willing to die for the message.
That to me and Brian at the time, that is so powerful.
People were walking outside of their houses.
I'm thinking go back to Dr. Martin Luther King or--
He walked out of the house saying goodbye
to his daughter and his wife knowing
that he might not come home tonight.
And the thought of someone willing to do that,
that just goes to show how assertive and confident
they are in a message that they're trying to push out there.
So if we all were able to do something like that...
I want to make people happy, I want to inspire people.
That is when Brian and I were like,
"We need to be that individual.
"We need to be that light."
We just don't want people to come here
and be like, "Oh, we took a good class."
No, we want people to walk out of here
and be like, "I'm inspired, not just by your story
"but you inspired me to move or think differently."
When we have different walks of life in here,
black, white, Spanish, all different
creeds and nationalities, it makes a big difference.
People don't even notice it and this is Fairfield County.
They walk in here, they're like, "Wow, this is different."
It's different.
The music is different, the vibe is different.
So we were like, "How do we do this?"
And we have to go back into the community.
Someone came to us and was like, "You should do this."
Someone came to us and said, "You should open up something."
We needed to be more hands-on.
And with our personality, even though we don't mind
sitting at a desk, punching in some stuff,
but we needed to be hands-on.
And we were working in the community,
a lot of times in Bridgeport.
What are the schools, some of the schools we went to?
- Park Avenue...
Not only just Bridgeport, we also did tri-state.
Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey
and also going back to where we started in.
Where I came from with the school KIPP Academy,
Paul's school, high school.
So we try to always go back to where we always come from.
And just to apply to what Paul says,
that coming from the Bronx, we know.
I'm not gonna say that I struggled that much
but I know people have it worse than us.
I get it, people are growing up there with no parents,
no Mom and Dad, living on the street.
I understand but we are very grateful.
But we need to understand that you gotta
put yourself in their shoes.
Always try to talk to these people no matter
what size they are, what color they are,
whatever it is, always try to relate.
My dream one day is to open up
a barber shop for homeless people
just to come and get a free cut.
It's okay just to do something for the community.
And what Paul's talking about, Gift of Dance,
this is what we do for these kids to help them
to understand about dance and stuff like--
Even though you don't want to dance,
but there's something that you're doing with your life.
It's gonna take you to the next level,
from point A to point B.
To do a college essay, to apply for financial aid,
to go to college, to go to a community college,
to get your GED, whatever it is.
Hey, work for Double Up internship or stuff like that.
- Do something.
That's how we developed, in our company,
we developed DUCo Entertainment,
Double Up Company Entertainment
and in our company we have four branches:
dance, fitness, education, and management.
The education component is where we're at right now
talking about we developed a campaign
which is called Move to Succeed.
We started going into schools, elementary schools,
meeting with young adults, young entrepreneurs.
We realized that our story was that impacting
and we wanted to make sure that people understood
not how to be dancers, like Brian said,
but to create their own movement.
You need to move if you want to succeed.
No one is ever gonna hand stuff to you.
And if they do, kudos to you, but at some point in time
you're gonna have to move, you know?
And we go into schools and we tell kids,
"Look, we don't want you to walk out of here and be like,
"'I want to be a professional dancer.'
"If you're gonna be a basketball player,
"learn how to manage a basketball team.
"You want to be a football player,
"learn how to be the president of the football team."
Don't just learn one thing, learn the whole thing.
- Double down. - That's right, double.
You got to really get into that mindset because--
Lebron James is amazing but there's someone
making more money than Lebron, who's paying Lebron.
But, I'm not saying, "Don't be Lebron."
But just know that that is an option.
It's a bigger picture and I feel like
growing up in the Bronx it's hard sometimes
to think the bigger picture when you're struggling.
You can't think, "I am going to be
"the President of the United States."
You can't think that because it's not even tangible.
You can't even reach it, right?
But as you start to meet people who have achieved
some type of greatness in their career
you then start to say, "Well maybe I'm not gonna be
"the NFL player today but I'm gonna probably be
"the captain of my high school team."
That's it, that's your movement.
- [Oz] That's the movement to succeed.
- Now I follow your movement.
You created a movement where you're the captain,
you're leading a whole bunch of kids
and students that of your peer
to push to win the championship.
You win the championship your school's movement has created.
You create this domino effect in which is very important.
So we created Move to Succeed
in which we created Gift of Dance.
- So let me ask you--
Obviously I'm running for Governor as an Independent.
Take a minute, and say that we take office next January.
From your perspective, either from
a business perspective, a youth perspective,
a giving back to the community perspective,
what would be two or three things
that you'd want us to focus on?
We've talked to a lot of business that say
there's too many regulations in the state, we're too taxed.
There are a lot of serious issues there, we all know that.
We also know that we've got serious issues
in our urban areas, everything from disparities
in how kids are performing in urban schools
versus how kids in suburban schools are performing.
We know we've got, as you guys said earlier,
severe poverty issues in virtually every--
In fact, there's almost no community in this state
that does not have serious poverty issues.
We've got serious issues around addiction,
opiod and the like, and what that's doing to the kids.
So the quality of life is fraying.
We've had no net job growth in the state of Connecticut
in 30 years so we haven't had the kind of
revenue stream you've seen elsewhere.
But from your perspective, knowing how really, truly
entrepreneurial you both are, what you're focused on,
just top of mind, what would be the two or three things
you'd say, "Hey, when you go into office in January,
"You ought to be thinking about
"these two or three things as a priority."
Anything come to mind that you'd want me to zero in on?
- I'll start it off.
I think one of the things that personally,
that I would want someone within an office is to acknowledge
that there are people out there really making a difference.
I feel like if people were acknowledged
for the work that they're doing in the community
that just means that you're watching from a distance.
I'm a firm believer in that.
Just walking up to somebody in a hallway and saying,
"Hey look, I saw you on the field last week.
"You did a wonderful job."
I think things like that would make someone
really push a little bit more.
When you're just like, "Keep doing what you're doing,"
and you just keep running this way because you're in office
versus being hands-on like how you are right now.
Knock on someone's door.
"Hey look, I heard you did this two weeks ago.
"Thank you, you made a difference in that family's life.
"I'm not giving you a check for a million dollars
"but here's a gift certificate to your favorite restaurant."
Something small.
My father mentions it to us all the time,
it's the little things that count.
The little things that count.
Just acknowledging someone and their growth.
Not saying it has to be us.
You don't have to be like, "Oh, Double Up."
No, it just has to be, "Let me be
"hands-on with the community leaders."
Because not only are we affecting adults,
we're affecting kids.
Why would you not want to be connected to that person,
or that individual, or that company?
What are you thinking?
- I totally agree with you.
I 100% agree with what Paul just said.
Being involved and just being hands-on
and connecting and relating at the same time.
Because it's very important, it feels good.
Sometimes when I teach, also Paul teach,
I always look out and look at my students
and really go to individuals and say,
"You're doing a very good job.
"I know I didn't meet you last week.
"I know you signed in, blah, blah, blah.
"Happy birthday, by the way.
"You're doing a great job, keep going.
"I think you should try the next level class,
"which is intermediate."
And they're like, "No, I don't think so."
"No, no, trust me, it's on me.
"Don't worry about the cost, I'll take care of it."
- The thing that comes across in just talking with you
for these few minutes is how important
relationships are and focusing on individuals.
And I've always believed, both in the years
I worked in a bank and the years
I worked in an economic development organization,
that if you're willing to sit down with people,
listen to what their issues are...
To your point, Paul, about acknowledging what they're doing,
telling people that they're loved.
One of the things, sometimes we take employers for granted.
You have 27 people here, you could take this business--
I don't know what your lease arrangement is
but you could take it and move it to Rhode Island,
you could move it to New York,
you could move it to a lot of places.
We gotta make sure that people here,
as a governor, that we appreciate what you're doing
and how valuable you are, not just to the 27 people
you employ but to this boarder audience of students.
It's critical because this is the future.
You guys, at your age, who you are,
what you represent in terms of energy
and how you're impacting other lives
is what makes the world go 'round.
So I will tell you, not only do I appreciate you both
taking the time now, I will be back here a day or two
after the inauguration in January.
Maybe we'll even have the inaugural party down here
just so we can--
(laughter) - Milly rock, milly rock, milly rock.
- I just want to thank you both for taking the time.
It's been a real pleasure to meet both of you.
Thank you for the time, I look forward to seeing you guys.
If I don't see you before the election
I'll look forward to seeing you after the inauguration
and really thank you for what you're doing, most of all,
and thank you for giving us some time here this evening.
- No, thank you, thank you for just coming out
and just being a part of this whole movement.
And obviously good luck to you and the movement.
- [Oz] We're moving to success, baby.
- Oh! - Moving to victory.
- You already know, you gotta move.
- That's where we're headed.
- Congratulations again, yes.
- Really, thank you guys very much.
Appreciate it.
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