0:00 What's like in terms of the creed like what's something that everybody knows if I do this I will be kicked out >> like stealing a girlfriend >> 100%. >> You'll be kicked out for stealing a girlfriend. >> I think [laughter] I think like >> Welcome back to an episode of Careful Boys. This is a very special episode where um we get to ask Anthony anything we want about Kinjas and he has to answer it. >> Yes. So feel free to uh anything you've been wondering about the inner workings, how you get in, how you get out. Who do you got to kiss to get in? Mike Song. >> Oh, we know in in my mind the Kindred's hierarchy is Anthony Lee and Mike Song at the top, right? Is that true? >> Or is there more? Is there more, too? >> Okay. So, you already got it wrong.
0:51 >> That's why you got to put me on game. >> All right. So, so like internal culture like we don't do hierarchy in culture. >> Uhhuh. >> There's only a hierarchy in operations so that the system can run. >> Okay. >> So, you're head of operations with my song. >> Head janitors. Mad cleanup crew. >> Head. >> We do all the things that aren't as fun cuz it's way more fun to not have the responsibility to show up, just do some dancing and get paid. >> That's actually the most fun version of it. >> I'm talking about leading the ship, brother. I'm talking about who's on the wheel. >> Like if you have to make a major decision, who needs to be in the room for that to happen? >> Me and Mike. We're majority owners. >> So if you guys are in the room, you guys can pretty much make the majority decision. No one else has to be there. >> Yeah. >> Who's your number two? Who's the next rung? Who's the assistant managers? >> Uh realistically, like it depends on in
1:41 what category of of stuff, right? >> Booking shows. How about that? >> For booking shows. >> Yeah. Or like choreograph or like being able to organize >> someone that you would be like, "Hey, I got to step out." But I trust you to be in my place and make the decisions I would make. >> If it's purely like show and creative like dance rehearsal type stuff, then we can rely on like a probably a just like a a second tier of people in general of like all these people are capable of being creative directors and leads >> like Carlo. >> Uh Carlo, yes. But I would say first it would be more like uh like Jason Lynn is probably my like my right-hand man even outside of Kindred's like in terms of like for me to personally even enjoy creating in a vision. I turn to that guy because he dances my ████ better than me. He's extremely talented. He's super organized. He's really on top of stuff
2:31 and he he's responsible. So like I feel like you know when you want like the concept of somebody to assist you. It's like so that you can >> suddenly unlock other powers cuz you're not worrying about certain things. Like that guy comes in. >> Yeah. He makes me better, you know? So like that's that's even just for my own ████ Let alone he does the same thing in Kinjas cuz he's also like a music producer. Um he's he's a he's a director of a youth team. He co-directs the our youth program with me right now, but he also directs his other youth team. So he just knows how to lead a toz type stuff from the back end to communicating with parents to like doing rehearsal scheduling to booking stuff, figuring out creative costumes, doing the music. Like he can a toz an entire creative project. >> What's like what's like in terms of the creed? Like what's something that everybody knows if I do this I will be kicked out? >> Like stealing a girlfriend? >> 100%. 100%. >> You'll be kicked out for stealing a
3:21 girlfriend. I think [laughter] I think like at that point cuz like we're like >> crew >> both the steeler and the steel. >> Oh >> no no no not the victim. >> What about stealing? What about stealing coro and you go teach a class but it's your coro and I'm teaching it in ████ >> I don't think that's like grounds for kicked that hasn't happened for us fortunately but I don't think that's grounds for kicked out. I think that's grounds for like hey we need to talk. is grounds for but if you're all Kes is it stealing or you guys are sharing the coro and then getting paid off of the >> I think concepts I mean I think there's a whole gray area to that >> cuz if you're McDonald's everyone owns the chicken nugget >> piece that like let's say uh Jason assisted you and then he went and taught it >> we we'll have that agreement I'd be fine with it >> oh and if he's like a Jason original and it's like ████ your whole ████
4:11 >> I knowing me and his relationship I'd probably crack up [laughter] and then knowing me and his relationship, I might like just for a spite, I'll like I'll be let me assist you. Let me learn one of your routines and I'll go teach it somewhere else. What if the whole time What if the whole time you're on ABCDC, we had an insider who was telling us everything y'all were going to do next week. >> That's how they won. [laughter] >> So, he's like a secret quest member. >> Then at the end of the season, he's like, "Guys, I have a confession." And he was like, "Sorry about it." >> Depends on the person name. The person ████ Vin. [laughter] >> Judas Vin, dude. Okay. So, the guy who was also choreographing some of our sickest ████ for us to do well. See, it's it's all >> okay. >> I think I I think the important thing to understand there is that uh we're probably crew first >> and then business supports that lifestyle. >> You get kicked out of the crew if you did an interview and they asked about Kes and you just talked ████ the whole
5:01 time. And there's a lot of stuff you didn't know >> or is that a conversation? >> Yeah, >> because you know, like it is one thing to be like, "Wow, I wish you told us that." But then he aired it out to the public already, so now you look bad. I think it's all friends stuff first in terms of like how would I do this with like a friend in the group and then because me and Mike happen to be like leaders of the operation there's a brand identity to also protect the responsibility falls on us to be the ones who do it is all versus just like anybody can do it like I I understand that it's our responsibility right as leaders so I think if that thing happens in any other friend situation if somebody went out was like talking ████ I wouldn't talk ████ on them back online or anything that in that same way. I would hit that person direct >> and I'll just be like, "Yo, want to just chat, see what's up. >> All right, >> that's it. I don't know what the answer
5:51 is from there cuz it would have be totally case by case depending on what what went what went down." And I I'll I'll nine out of 10 times, and I've said this this to you guys before, too. If I need to, I can apologize for almost anything because saying sorry in a relationship is not always about being right or wrong. Sometimes it's about you just care about the relationship more than you care about being right or wrong, you know? So, it's like I'm I'm always going to be direct conversation. No spread ████ out uh online to the public and defame anybody unless you like go and even and and this has happened before actually. A crew member went out online, started talking mad ████ and stuff like that. And >> what? >> Yeah. And I what I choke him >> I direct I direct hit him up first >> and then I really tried to just be like, "Yo, man, like I I see you as a homie, blah blah like I would love to just chat with you. I don't know if uh I I slided you in any way, but like you know, you're a longtime friend. Let's talk.
6:42 It's like, no, it's cool. Peace. And then that guy even took that conversation and posted that. >> Oh my god. >> Online. >> And how do you try to spin that in a bad way? >> He wants to know now. >> How do you sp How do you even spin? I'm sure he posted to make you look like a bad guy. >> This guy blocked me. This guy blocked this guy blocked like Nenah. This guy like blocked a bunch of our crew members and their girlfriends or wives. >> So, it's on some like really like that's that's different. >> Was 12 years old. And then this guy will still go around. This guy will still go around and say stuff and talk ████ on us and stuff like and I still won't do that. >> Yeah, >> because I'm like no matter >> that's so low. Let's talk about him right now. >> Yeah, let's just do it on JK News. >> I still wouldn't do that. >> I could do that >> because like I think that that's whack. >> Can Ryan do it >> if I would I would prefer that not happen because I don't want that in our culture and community in general. >> Well, I want to talk ████ about how lame that is. It is very lame, but you know, some people are just built like that.
7:33 They're just built lame. And that's and and then even then that's on me because if I would have truly known the colors of this person like that then like I shouldn't have let them in the crew anyway. >> Yeah, that's that's more the mistake. I I would also go there >> to me. I'm like all right that's like >> I bet it bad. >> You know, if you want to go talk ████ on me, talk ████ on me. Like I'm not the most amazing standup human being in the world. Like we all have our faults. I'm just going to choose not to talk ████ on you. But the only thing that I will have a genuine problem with is don't get in between me and my jobs. >> All right. Speaking of getting between jobs, would you kick a member out if you had a really, really important Nike job and so you told everybody, "Don't ████ wear Adidas to the job. Please, God, please ████ God almighty, nobody wear Adidas to the job." And you get there and he's wearing ████ Adidas. And the and the client sees it, would you kick him out?
8:23 >> I wouldn't kick him out of the crew. But here's here's what does happen. There is. And no matter what anybody thinks or says in any like like genuine like crew culture or company culture, everybody got invisible credit. >> You know what I mean? I don't think anybody's diabolical enough or a sociopath that has like an Excel sheet and like marks every >> Oh, yeah. >> You know, but everybody's got invisible credit. >> Yeah. >> And so if you like >> if you are just a for some reason a doofus on like the biggest moment, it's like Yeah. you're gonna get your ass handed to you in that moment or or like professionally [snorts] afterwards, but if you do it like two, three times then like and and they're and they're not like you're not like crossing the line of like I you know like >> like you did a wrong you just Yeah. you can't be trusted. >> You know, their credit score is like 400. >> Yes. [laughter] So like so so it's like you might not
9:13 get kicked out of the crew cuz maybe you're the funniest dude and you're like great around like crew chemistry or rehearsal and stuff. Maybe you just won't Maybe you'll just do the next concept video that there's not a lot of like wait on. >> Okay. >> But you're you're probably not going to get booked for the next job or two. >> What's the move then if let's say uh you got one member who has never had one show that he doesn't ████ up. He like messes up every single time. Do you stop staging him and stop putting him in shows or do you straight up tell him it's not working out, dude. Like you haven't had one show where you didn't mess up. I like to think that uh it's it's back to that invisible credit type thing. You you just subcon like me and Mike, we just subconsciously understand it's like, hey, if this is a community show, I don't actually care if like somebody's ████ up. It's more important that like we share this moment together, blah blah blah. It's like if this is a gig and this represents the company, you're not casted. That has
10:03 nothing to do with whether or not I like you. >> Yeah. >> You're just not casted. >> Just have you already have your starting five and you're not in the starting five. But eventually, if you just bench somebody, don't you still going to keep him in the crew? Even if he's like, "Bro, how come I'm not in any shows?" >> Yeah, because our our crew wasn't based off of the amount of shows that we had. >> Oh, okay. >> You know, like, but when we first even started the crew, it wasn't like like you guys are joining so that we could do these performances. >> It's like, "Hey, we're crew because we kick it and we like push each other in all facets of things >> in and outside of dance." And then if a show comes up, it's like, "Yo, who wants to do it?" type stuff. >> Yeah. >> So, you're a public organization. Sure. Where does it go if you have to stage a show for like let's say Jackson Wang and for some freaking weird reason Jackson Wang is like I don't want that guy in itund and he has no good reason to say that. He just had that feeling without any
10:53 discussion. You just be like got it out >> on some crew ████ Well, I'm going to respect it because it's the job. >> Okay. >> Like that's that's I'm not the boss. >> But it's not it's not um he's not providing any context. Why? >> Well, because Jackson is crew too in this hypothetical. I would still be like, "You have to tell me." >> Oh, okay. Okay. Okay. >> And he and he would, but like that that's never happened, nor would I think it would happen. But like >> But if But what if he's like, "No, Filipinos for this one." [laughter] >> Yeah, bro. That's like hella >> like seeing them. >> Hello. [laughter] I'll be like, damn. >> Light skins only put up with it long enough. [laughter] >> Like, yeah. again in those situations it's like you know that's that's the I think uh maybe sometimes that's the benefit of what being a professional is too
11:44 >> right like there's a professional element of kinjas then there's a crew element of kinjas >> and the crew element is like the foundation and the idealisms but like the professional element sometimes needs to adapt to a case by case situation that's all and that has nothing to do with changing the foundations of the crew but and you know I don't want to be naive Let's say the professional element in the case by case. Let's say like uh we get a contract for like Nike for like 5 years and we have to operate a certain way with a certain type of people. Yeah, of course that's going to change the the foundation and the cuz for so long and so much time passes. 5 years will change any person's life, you know. Um so that can happen. I don't want to be naive to that stuff, but at the same time, like that's I think a part of the price we pay when we are a group like Kas because we're also aiming to provide a lifestyle for ourselves.
12:34 >> So like we have to make those responsible choices as well. It's not like when I'm 40ome, I have a couple kids, I'm only thinking about like crew bonding. It's like dude, that's what the barbecues are for. That's what the retreats are for. That happen a couple times a year. But like when the job's on the line, when the company and the brand's on the line or the client needs a certain thing, it's like there's going to be a point where I'm not going to be good enough compared to all these young guys who are like putting in way more time. >> Have you and Mike ever been 50/50 split on a decision where you completely wanted the opposite that you did? >> Yeah, absolutely. >> How'd you settle it? >> I think we just all have our give and takes like any partnership, you know? It's it's the same thing back to that almost like in that it's probably not as invisible as invisible credit, but like if if I've been like leading the charge on certain things, you know, uh and they're leading Mike's leading the charge on certain things, we either will default to what we think the other person's just better at cuz we might not
13:26 see eye to eye, but maybe that person Mike's better at doing that type of thing than I am. >> Okay. >> So, I don't agree, but I'm like, you're really good at this. It's all good. I could hell I could I could easily default to assist or not even be be in the project and vice versa. >> Okay. >> But if there's ever time where we like fully disagree about something, we we're not just going to make a brash decision. >> We're going to be like, "Okay, let's try and see if there are other factors that can sway us in a different way or get other people to vote in on it." >> Damn, man. You're very diplomatic. >> Very logical. Very logical business you're running over there. >> Good job, Kenes. >> Good job. How you divide up all the girls? [laughter]
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