E5: BLAXTAR

TRANSCRIPT:

[Evy:] ... because I wanted to ask you... yeah, like, what's your private life? What's *beep* that we don't see? Sorry, Blaxtar that we don't see...
[gasping, laughing]
[Webster:] She didn't!
[Blaxtar:] Can we cut that please?

[Evy:] Hello and welcome to Word Up podcast! I'm Evy...
[Webster:] ...and I'm Webster...
[Evy:] ...and today we are in Rotterdam with Blaxtar!
[Blaxtar:] Good day sir, good day madam, how's it going?
[Webster:] Pretty well. Yeah, thank you!
[Evy:] Hello and we're very excited to be in Rotterdam, all the way...
[Blaxtar:] It's a good place to be!
[Evy:] Yeah!
[Webster:] It's super cold.
[Blaxtar:] Um, not usually...
[Webster:] No?
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] Yeah, it just happens to be that way now. Nah, what I mean... To me, I mean, I've only lived here for... I'm going to say five years now. I used to live in Amsterdam for ten, and then a little further up north and in the country. Uh... and I've really come to appreciate Rotterdam. There's something of a... I don't know, like a creative energy that I haven't found anywhere else, personally.
[Evy:] So, speaking of creative, how would you introduce yourself?
[Blaxtar:] Uh... I would introduce myself as a rapper gone rogue...
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] So, nah, I have a background in music and basically my thing is that every time I've figured out how to do something for myself, I've tried to unlock that for like-minded people. So, when I figured how to release my own album, I turned around and helped like four-five other acts, hip-hop acts, to do the same thing, so that became a label.
[Evy:] Right.
[Blaxtar:] When I figured out how to interest audiences... let's say non-hip-hop audiences... for the lyricism in hip-hop, I turned around and unlocked that for like-minded artists, and that became Spoken, which is a spoken word platform. Uh... When I figured out what the differences are between setting up a creative business - like setting up a business from the perspective of an artist or a creator, versus a more traditional approach to business - I turned around and, you know, tried to unlock that, and it became Braenworks Academy, which is like a business school for artists or for creatives.
[Evy:] Right.
[Blaxtar:] So that's kind of my thing, I just keep unlocking things that I, myself, have struggled with.
[Evy:] Yeah. But then, you've been in the business for a while now. You started as a rapper, right?
[Blaxtar:] Yeah, you could say that.
[Evy:] You could say. Do you say?
[laughing]
[Webster:] What do you say?
[Blaxtar:] I'm... to me, like, hip-hop... Hip-hop unlocked me, I'd say.
[Evy:] Alright.
[Blaxtar:] I grew up in the countryside, we were, like, the only black family on a 50‑kilometer radius...
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] So, hip-hop found me in the middle of those pastures. And from there, I just, you know, like I said, I just kind of unlocked this curiosity, but also something of, like, an entrepreneurial spirit. I really wanted to figure out... Like I said, I wanted to release my own album, I read one book which was... the book was titled, "All you need to know about the music business", so I figured, once I read that, I knew everything there was to know about the music business.
[Evy:] Of course!
[Blaxtar:] 'Cause it's what the title said. Um... so then, I just launched my own album and released the album. Sorry, I launched my own label and released the album. So, yeah. And then from there, you know, everything kind of grew organically into what it is now.
[Evy:] Ok.
[Webster:] Would you say you had a natural knack for teaching people? Which is what you've been doing. Or more for the business side of things? Um, how did they sort of come together?
[Blaxtar:] Yeah. Um... Excellent question. No, I'd say that, to me... From my perspective, all business hinges on the difference in knowledge. Yeah, the difference in knowledge between two parties. If I know more about something than you do, than I can provide you with the value that either shortens your research time or makes it easier for you to access something. So, therewith we create the situation which I think is necessary for value to exchange, and from value exchange you've got business. So, to me, business and teaching are very much in sync. However, we have kind of constructed this whole paradigm around teaching being something that's, you know, necessary, but not very economically valuable. Whereas, you know, it literally shapes lives, versus anything we do that has a direct application to make money with, and that we value, usually - we usually - value more. Um... So, to me, the juxtaposition of teaching versus business is not necessarily one that really exists, I really see it as one thing that we do, which is a prerequisite for business to even exist. So, exchanging knowledge is the prerequisite for business to exist. And I think, in our family, and even, like, ancestral... our ancestral history... it turns out that we have had a lot of teachers. In our family - and my brother did this whole journey, researched our family tree, and turns out that there are some relevant teachers there, I mean relevant from a Surinamese perspective - um... and so, there's, like, this lineage that kind of goes through our entire family. So, I think that it's always been a part of us, and traditionally speaking, I mean, let's say, going back all the way to Africa, I think, the oral tradition of transferring knowledge has always been there. I mean music and knowledge in that perspective are very linked as well. So, I think, to me, they kind of feel the same, they're just different applications...
[Webster:] Right.
[Blaxtar:] ...of the same principle.
[Evy:] And, I'm just curious - because you were talking about moving from hip-hop to Spoken to teaching now - essentially, is that where you're going to stay? Is this the niche that you're passionate about enough to stay, or are you looking into something else?
[Blaxtar:] No, it's definitely... um... I'd say the reason I started is 'cause I didn't find any institution that could help me when I was really looking for the information, like actively looking for information. I didn't find... and I have this... my creed is, every problem is a business and if you can't find it, the business is probably yours. So, that's .... you know, I kind of just took it upon myself to try and create something that could actually facilitate creators in terms of how... where to get the business information from and whatnot. Um... So, to me, that's something that I built, but then, at some point, as with any creation, you have got let go of what it is that you think you created, and then let it kind of become whatever people need it to be. So, I'm very much an instigator. Like, I can get shit started. Excuse my French.
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] And from there on out, it's, you know... people will come and use it for whatever they feel delivers the most value to them. And that's when you have to let go in order for it to, I think, reach maximum potential.
[Evy:] Right.
[Blaxtar:] So, yes, it's something that I have done, but it's not something that I'll be busy with for the remainder of my life.
[Evy:] So that's still a mystery.
[Blaxtar:] No, cause other people will come and... you know, I didn't know how to, like, manage a company, I know how to, like, start something and, like, explore what the values are that could be the prerequisite, as we just said for the business. But I don't see myself as somebody that, you know, manages several companies. I just happen to have some good ideas and attract the right people. And, you know, they then grow into whatever they grow into. And I'll just do my own creative thing and probably run into other problems...
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] ...that I could then hopefully help solve.
[Evy:] Right, so you are really good with people and people skills and...
[Blaxtar:] Yeah, I think...
[Evy:] ...and recognizing the talent, right?
[Blaxtar:] I think that would... you'd get different answers depending on who you ask.
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] Nah, I do recognize potential in people, but there's a pitfall to that, obviously: as they say, don't fall in love with potential. You know? So... But I do recognize potential, I see potential solutions and the thing is, there's a beautiful line from... If you're talking about spoken word, uh... Black Ice Lamar Manson said in one poem "Earth is not my favourite place, I don't visit often". Which is very much applicable to me, 'cause I envision a future and I spend more time there than necessarily here, today. Which, again, can also be beautiful, but it helps to navigate the distance between now and then, if you catch my drift.
[Evy:] Yeah.
[Blaxtar:] So that helps me to help people. And some of the people that I coach or, like, I'm a mentor to, would say that I always know what they'll do, before they know it.
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] This is because I kind of see, like, just a logic to situations that they find themselves in and there's a pattern and... So, you know, you just extrapolate that and then you kind of feel out, "Well, you're now doing this, but looks like we're heading this way". And that's what I like to do, I really like to...
[Evy:] Nice.
[Blaxtar:] You know, coach, help.
[Evy:] So you're spending so much time in the future. What scares you about the future?
[Blaxtar:] Funny you should ask. I think I only had - past tense - one fear about the future, and that is to be successful and lonely.
[Evy:] Ok...
[Webster:] That's interesting!
[Blaxtar:] It is, isn't it? Yeah. 'Cause, I think, much of man's life - and, yes, I just threw in gender there, but it's probably applicable to a lot of female and anybody who doesn't identify as either one...
[laughing]
[Webster:] Cover all the bases here...
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] Um... you know, I think it has a lot to do with purpose. You know? Figuring out what your purpose is. Like, how do you deliver as much value as you can to your surroundings? Um... and then if you're blessed enough to get to a point where you can actually reach a lot of people and make a significant impact, then chances are that will absorb your life, as I've seen happen with many people that I know up close and personal. So, then, to find a significant other or love or just a group of people that you really feel is your family, like, in the truest sense of the word, I think it could be quite a challenge.
[Evy:] Right.
[Blaxtar:] So, I think my fear for my future used to be - I like to think that I've overcome that fear - used to be to be successful and lonely. And even, "but" lonely. Instead of, like, "and" lonely.
[Evy:] Oh...But...
[Webster:] So how do you... Sorry...
[Evy:] No, you go!
[Webster:] How do you balance the two, then, you know? Finding passion in what you do and trying to build amazing things, and, at the same time, trying to, you know, not be lonely?
[Blaxtar:] Um... Balance is typically one of the bigger challenges. I think that's really something that you have to learn - there's only one way to learn, is just to go forward and embrace that which you fear the most. So, if you embrace your loneliness then you will find a place where you feel at ease, and then, when you... once you feel at ease... lo and behold! There are people around you that kind of fill the space. So, you don't feel the loneliness, but you are alone, and then it will attract the right people. Which, you know, kind of like doubles up on... you don't... basically, not feeling lonely is like being far removed from feeling lonely, because you have this connectivity with people that... you just know you're on the same frequency, you understand life similarly - maybe not the same but similarly - um... and you're able to grow together. And, yeah... so, I'm not sure there's a how to that, to me, at least, in my experience, it was really a process...
[Webster:] Right.
[Blaxtar:] Um... But I'm happy to say that I'm very much at peace with that part of my life. I like finding that balance.
[Webster:] And the anxieties that come with, sort of, building and potentially doing something that's never been done before - which I'm sure you've, you know, done when you were up and coming in your career, you know, you have all these amazing dreams... How did you manage that, how did you navigate the uncertainty of not knowing whether you're going to become the hip-hop artist or whatever?
[Blaxtar:] Um... To me it was... Let's say, I'd lie if I were to say that, yeah, I had this plan, then I did this and then I... I had these and these steps that I designed to, like, get there. Like, nah, none of that happened. Um... I just really decided to do one thing, and then just basically started doing it.
[Webster:] Right.
[Blaxtar:] And I think... I mean... I did... To me, in my case, it was kind of like, too extreme for most people, 'cause I really just decided to go head first and ignore everything else, um... So, I learned exponentially fast, because, obviously, you're going to make mistakes, and those mistakes are... that's the value of doing it.
[Webster:] Yeah.
[Blaxtar:] And then, you know, you've... basically for your next step... "Ok, well... next time I'm not going to do this again." But they also enable me to help other people to navigate their... what we call "creative revolution", right? The emancipation of your creative self. So, it's just doing it and I think that has worked very well for me, not because it was easy or not because, you know, I became an overnight success or whatever people deem to be the definition of success, um, but I've learned so much and I'm so confident in the process, the creative process and the... say, real-world commercial process of it, that I literally don't have a fear in the world at this point. And I think, for many people that start out doing whatever is on their list, the first step out of the comfort zone, it's usually a huge thing, you know? Especially if you have, like, kids and your mortgage and, you know, there's so many things that you want to be secure about, and then stepping out of the comfort zone usually involves insecurity also in that respect - financial respect. So, for me, it was really just... to start doing it and then kind of figure out along the way where it would get me. But I had this... my blessing was that I've never not known what the next step was. So, I've never - even in the, like, harshest of harshest circumstances - I've always known that this is a circumstance, so whatever comes next comes next...
[Webster:] That already is a blessing!
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] Yeah, definitely, 'cause, I mean, you know... like, I could have, I could have just dried up and been this sad dark character, you know, laying in the corner in a fetal position. Um... waiting on what life was going to unleash on me next. But that didn't happen, because I was almost, in a way, protected, in a sense, because I have done things that, in retrospect, seem so far from logical, that the only way to explain it is by some kind of divine intervention.
[Evy:] Okay.
[Blaxtar:] Like, I'm a high-school drop-out with this school...
[Webster:] That's very cool!
[Blaxtar:] Yeah, it's just weird, it's basically like a punchline.
[Webster:] Yeah!
[laughing]
[Evy:] And is that an advice that you would give your younger self, or? Like, to just roll with the punches?
[Blaxtar:] I say that... yeah... with a little bit more... I'd say a little bit more hedging. Because, I really went all out, so there was no safety nowhere. And if I would do... If I would go back in time and take those steps again or advise my younger self, then I'd say do it, but make sure there's something in there that has... that can basically... is kind of like a safety net.
[Evy:] Right.
[Blaxtar:] Right? And it doesn't necessarily mean money, could also be means, network, or whatever, but something there that keeps you from making it too hard on yourself.
[Evy:] Right.
[Blaxtar:] Cause, you know, there were definitely times that I thought, ok, this is pretty impossible. Um... And it just takes so much energy and, you know... Strength. I mean, physical, mental, energetic, to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and continue. Of course, it doesn't have to be that hard. It could be easier. If you got a little bit more modesty, I'd say.
[Evy:] And how much do you think of where you are right now is luck and how much is persistence?
[Blaxtar:] Um... To me, it doesn't feel as though those are mutually exclusive concepts. I think persistence comes with a little bit of luck, or luck comes with a little bit of persistence, I have no idea how it really works but, um, I think that, to be committed, fully committed to a certain outcome, will at some point in time get you the result that you want, or maybe not exactly that result, but then at least a measure of that result. So, I think persistence is definitely a per-requisite to get lucky, but I'm not sure that it's an "either or" type of proposition, personally. Do you think that? Do you think it's either luck or persistence?
[Evy:] I don't know, there is this term in Jewish religion, where they say it's neither or, but it's where luck meets the serendipity.
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] Yeah. I do believe in serendipity. Yeah. Beautiful movie, by the way.
[Evy:] Very soppy.
[Webster:] Very romantic.
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] You have to watch it!
[laughing]
[Evy:] So, I hear that you have something prepared for us for today.
[Blaxtar:] Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's something that I wrote a long time ago. I'm working on this project called Sapiosexual. A sapiosexual is somebody who feels sexually attracted to somebody else's intelligence. And, you know, since we approached the topic of loneliness, I figured this kind of deals with that. Yeah, I think it might fit.
[Evy:] Nice, let's hear it!

Sexing him she was fully aware was a slippery slope
The way the words slid up, slid off the tongue she just removed her clitoris from
Simple as that damned man was as good as her baby daddy
She knew and felt awkward
Like the silence [heavy breathing]
Only disrespected by his heavy breathing
Why then? As the morning after became more of an afternoon
He had given her his last head and headed out humming Jay-Z's "On to the next one"
So why is it I'm still the hardest nigger here, run!
She stood idly by, smiling as he escaped her linear gaze utilizing her corner
Great. Now it's just her and this... The gloves coming off
"Lord Jesus I feel how real this is and it is what I've been praying for, but please not his!"

[applause, laughing]
[Webster:] That was wonderful.
[Blaxtar:] Thank you.
[Webster:] Tell us about your inspiration, how did it come about?
[Blaxtar:] Um... It came about... Um, basically I'm researching the concept of sapiosexualism and I realized that, you know, much of... when you're a sapiosexual, much like a heterosexual or homosexual, it tends to focus on sex. Which obviously is a minor part of the whole psychological scheme that we describe... or that's activated when we enter into a courtship, for instance. Um... So, I came to this idea of... this is like the first part of a series of short stories. Where the duality of male's interactions and - obviously, since I'm a heterosexual, that's kind of like my area, so... I hope people don't feel discriminated against... - so, I just started describing this story where you start over with something very casual and it becomes more and more complex, the more you get into the psychology behind the actions. I was... I was envisioning courtship with, like, a seven-door system. Where, like, you know, first you become aware of each other, and then you kind of focus on each other, then the communication portal opens up and then you kind of work your way to stepping away from the crowd, like being... finding solitude together. Which then leads to, you know... you just kind of, like, deviate from group behaviour into more one on one... special care time. And, like, there are so many beautiful psychological lines in there... Which then at some point either... well at some point they'll clash. That's a given. And then there's a decision on what are we? Like, you know, the "what are we to each other" question. And I think it's beautifully complex how that works, especially if you think about... you never get what you think you get, so...
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] I see the smirks here. You never get what you think you get, so there's always this, I don't know, it's like a negotiation almost, but it's very subtle, so this...
[Webster:] Nonverbal...
[Blaxtar:] Yeah, exactly. This scene kind of describes the first stage of that.
[Webster:] I like it a lot, it's very vivid. I was following the story and I was like... oh, bastard, he just left.
[laughing]
[Webster:] Yeah, so it's a good story.
[Blaxtar:] Yeah, he's... he's kind of a macho guy.
[Webster:] Yeah. Nah, that's wonderful. I don't think I've ever heard anyone speak through, you know, this art form about the psychology and attraction and, you know, building relationships and stuff, so that was interesting for me, to begin with, yeah.
[Blaxtar:] Thank you. I think it's wonderfully complex. I mean, obviously, like, there... Love is possibly the most common topic in music... um.... but then I feel now we've entered into this realm where storytelling is basically the new goal, right? Because if you think about it, the gaming industry is, I think, maybe bigger than the movie industry and both are derived from storytelling. Then, if you look at social media, social media is basically like a diary. It's a public diary. So, there's storytelling. So, we're so engulfed in storytelling and then there's so much space to really lay much more... I think to uncover much more of the complexities of inter-human relationships and especially the romantic variety of it... that, you know, it just kind of begs for... well I think... maybe not begs for... but I think there's an opening there to take all that material and put it into something that is musical, so not really a video or like a TV show or like a movie, but something that's really derived from stories, but in a musical landscape.
[Evy:] Right.
[Blaxtar:] Kind of like opera, I guess used to be. I don't know about modern opera. But you know, like... what I know about opera, and I'm obviously not an expert, but it really tells this whole drama, from beginning to the end. So, I'd like to kind of do that without being you know, cheesy, it doesn't have to be any in the closet type... R Kelly...
[Evy:] Oh God!
[Blaxtar:] ...thing. But I think Kendrick Lamar did something... that was just amazing with... How to pimp... To pimp a butterfly. Not "How to pimp a butterfly".
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] There was just so much in there that, you know... just to... I mean... read it. 'Cause you can listen to it, and there's all these elements, but if you read it you really dive into just the lyricism of it. I think it's just amazing. So that really inspired me.
[Evy:] So it sounds like complexity really inspires you and issues that correlate...
[Blaxtar:] Yeah, I think, it's storytelling, I'd say, 'cause everything about which... let's say Netflix shows are really cool, I mean, to me, is like... is it How to get away with murder?
[Webster:] Yeah, that's one.
[Blaxtar:] But is that the name?
[Webster:] That's the name.
[Blaxtar:] How do you know?
[Evy:] I don't know, I don't have Netflix.
[Blaxtar:] Yeah. You don't have...? It's like saying I don't have Google.
[laughing]
[Webster:] All you have to know...
[Evy:] I'm from the Soviet Union!
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] Anyway, How to get away with murder, there's another TV show that's... with Glenn Close, not on Netflix, actually, but it's Damages... And I mean just... how the story lines are just interwoven it's just... it's just sexy. To see that and to kind of like figure out and learn about the characters and how they develop and how they try to screw each other over. It's just... beautiful. So yeah.
[Evy:] Sounds like a soap.
[Blaxtar:] It is, but...
[Evy:] And I'm still not over being bullied for not having Netflix.
[laughing]
[Webster:] You just have to know someone who has Netflix. Then you're OK.
[Evy:] Yeah, but...
[Blaxtar:] Just give me your phone in a minute, I'll make sure you leave here with Netflix.
[laughing]
[Evy:] So is this what you do in your spare time?
[Webster:] Yeah, that's called his spare time.
[Evy:] Is this how we imagine you, on a couch with fuzzy socks?
[Blaxtar:] Definitely. Yeah. And I shave my legs.
[Evy:] Ok.
[Webster:] Eat ice-cream. You know.
[Blaxtar:] All that stuff.
[Blaxtar:] B and J.
[Evy:] Because I wanted to ask you, like, what's your private life? What's your *beep* that we don't see? Sorry, Blaxtar that we don't see.
[gasping, laughing]
[Webster:] She didn't!
[Blaxtar:] Can we cut that please? Yeah, you know... I don't really have a private life.
[laughing]
[Webster:] Well, well, well!
[Blaxtar:] What I mean is this: I started out basically doing what I loved, you know, started with music and spoken word and whatever. So, that's the basis of all my businesses and activities etc. So, my private and business life are very intertwined. Like, I only work with people that I really like, so I don't have this work experience and this private experience. Just people that are around me, that are like-minded. If it works out, then you kind of get on this project together and you seek out the people that you really want to work with, rather than just 100% business relationship. I seldom or... yeah. It rarely happens when I work with someone purely based on business.
[Evy:] Right, right.
[Blaxtar:] There's usually a reason that they're even in my hemisphere. Right? Cause I don't go around and, like, look for a job. The last job I had was for Elsevier, I guess, and so, that was the last environment that I was in that had people in it, that I wouldn't choose to be around.
[Evy:] [laughing] Yeah.
[Blaxtar:] And from there on out, it's just basically people like you, these are people that I choose to be around.
[Evy:] Right!
[Webster:] What's that saying, if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life?
[Blaxtar:] Exactly. Yeah.
[Webster:] Yeah, and I guess you've built your life around that.
[Blaxtar:] Uh, yeah, true. And, to me, that has to do with, you know, the purpose. I think the number one reason for people to experience burnout on, at their work or whatever, I think it has to do with the difference between the people that the person projects to be, versus the person that they really are... And the space in-between takes so much energy that they just basically implode.
[Evy:] Yeah, there's a disconnect between...
[Blaxtar:] Exactly, they just completely disconnect and that's... I've always been in every sense, especially since that last job, I've... I remember the moment that I decided, nah, I can't do this anymore. It's when I went to work, came in the elevator, and then I tried to open the door to my office, and it was incredibly difficult to open all of a sudden. Like, it took a lot of strength to open the door. And it was a very easy door handle. So, at that moment I figured, I don't have the willpower to open this door.
[Evy:] Right.
[Blaxtar:] Or it takes too much willpower to open this door. Because I know what's behind it. So, I was like... this is it. So, that very - I think that very morning - I wrote a letter to my director, like, "So, about working here..."
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] "I think I need to go." And then he offered me to stay and do a little less work or something like that and I took that, because I didn't want to disappoint him, but then I... that was already too much, I shouldn't have done that. But that was the last thing I... last environment I experienced where I was not necessarily surrounded by people that I really wanted to be with.
[Evy:] But, then, speaking of people, what are the characteristics you value the most in people?
[Blaxtar:] I think the characteristic I value the most is the ability to think beyond your circumstances. I think that would have to be it. Anyone who finds himself caught by the circumstances, the way I see it, has not yet developed into a person who can basically take that bird's eye view, look around, and then decide on what the following action should be. And this is not a character trait, not necessarily a character trait, 'cause, you know, there's scientific evidence that suggests that, say, financial stress literally takes away from your intelligence. Right? So, there are environmental characteristics that may decrease your ability to do something. But a lot of it comes from, you know, perseverance, faith, I guess. You know...
[Evy:] Creativity.
[Blaxtar:] Creativity, basically, yeah. Yeah, basically. And being in touch with that. Cause I think we all have it, we just don't know how to use it.
[Evy:] Yeah, for sure. I just heard today that this is one of the questions at JetBlue airlines, for anybody who they hire. This is one of the questions they get.
[Blaxtar:] Which is what?
[Evy:] How often do you go out of your immediate ...
[Blaxtar:] Comfort zone...
[Evy:] And then how often you actually, like, help out, which is not your responsibility directly.
[Blaxtar:] Yeah... ok. Yeah.
[Evy:] So, I find it's really... It's cool in life, generally.
[Blaxtar:] Yeah, I completely understand that. Yeah, I think that... to me, that's... yeah, it separates the... There's a beautiful analogy that TD Jakes uses - one of my favourite speakers of all times - it's about an eagle and he was explaining how eagles mate. For those of you who are not up to this latest fact, [laughing] eagles mate... basically, they fly as high as they can go - obviously there's a male and a female eagle - and they ... get entangled, and then they just drop, so it's a freefall. And during the freefall they mate. And then, before they hit the ground, they detach, and, you know, they go their separate ways. So, he was describing that, and he said there's a reason that eagles don't mate with chickens.
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] I was like, yeah. Yeah.
[Webster:] It's true.
[Evy:] Probably more than one, but yes, there's one.
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] Yeah. On that altitude you will not find any chicken.
[Webster:] No, you will not.
[Blaxtar:] And, so, I think that's kind of... you know, there's, like, the undercurrent of life, it's... you have to find your fellow eagles. And then, let's say, energetically mate with them. You don't have to take that literally. And then beautiful things will happen and if you keep finding yourself in the company of chickens, as an eagle, then obviously it's time to fly. Time to seek that altitude that... is rightfully yours.
[Evy:] Wow, that's intense.
[Webster:] Beautiful, yeah, I like that.
[laughing]
[Webster:] I think that's a good spot to end.
[Blaxtar:] There you go. It's always good to end on TD Jakes.
[Evy:] Nice, lessons from Blaxtar about eagle mating.
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] Yeah.
[Webster:] So for our audience listening, can you tell them where they can find your work, what you do, maybe a website, social media and all that sort of stuff?
[Blaxtar:] Yeah. I am @blaxtar_ on Instagram. And Facebook. I'm not sure that the kids still go to Facebook, but I just put it in there.
[Webster:] What's that?
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] And on LinkedIn, also. Actually you can find me on LinkedIn with the same name. And Blaxtar is B L A X T A R. And then my website, I mean the company website, Braenworks, braenworks.com. And that's, obviously, we need to... we've done something special with the spelling there, as well, so it's B R A E N works.com. And that's the business school for creatives. And, well, on YouTube, I'm there.
[Evy:] You're everywhere!
[Blaxtar:] I'm almost everywhere. I'm like an internet whore.
[laughing]
[Evy:] We're going to quote this!
[Webster:] Yeah, that needs a quote. It needs to go in.
[Blaxtar:] Yeah...
[Evy:] Well, thank you very much for giving us your wisdom...
[Blaxtar:] Thank you for having me, thank you very much!
[Webster:] Thank you very much for speaking with us!
[Blaxtar:] Yeah, I'm looking forward to the podcast and much luck and best of success to you creative lot!
[laughing]
[Blaxtar:] Fly around the world and visiting your wisdom upon those who are willing to hear.
[Evy:] Thanks a lot.
[Webster:] Thank you! Cheers! So, as usual, for our wonderful listeners, you know where to find us, it's www.worduppodcast.com, where you'll be able to make guest suggestions, find our social media and find any up to date information about our past and present guests. Thank you!
[Evy:] Doei!
[laughing]
[Webster:] Bye!


Transcript by Miruna