Purpose In The Youth

Episode 47: At 26 years young, Evan is the proud owner of Bentley’s Barbershop, rental property and most recently a party bus business. For someone that was kicked out of his public high school during his junior year, he has come a long way. He grew up in a small Portuguese town of Ludlow, MA where a lot of the kids he was surrounded by came from money and always had the nice cars and brand new clothes. Nothing was ever handed to him, he always had to work for it. During his freshmen year he started cutting people's hair for fun and slowly was beginning to turn it into a business. Knowing he would never get his GED, he attended Mill Pond School in Springfield, MA which was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. Evan became more focused with his school work when he realized there was no other option if this did not work. He’d get out of school and head straight to his garage where he was slowly building clientele for his haircutting service. When graduation came he was fortunate enough to receiv

Episode 46: It doesn’t matter how much money is on the line for a project or what relationships will be built, Foley cannot be forced to create something he’s not passionate about. Passion is the main driving force for keeping him motivated and pushing him forward. At just 11 years old and half way through sixth grade his parents pulled him out because he was unhappy and was only being punished while in school. His parents had told the school and state that they were going to homeschool him and instead bought him a Macintosh computer. Foley began to dive head first into creative programs like Photoshop, iMovie and Garageband, had YouTube where he could teach himself anything and he had nothing but time to kill. He got to work. Utilizing his camera skills for both photos and videos, he was paying out of pocket to travel to different shows in New England and was getting into rooms with people that he wanted to connect with. Still unsure of exactly what he wanted to do, he kept at it. Packing up and moving to NY

Episode 45: If there is one thing Kwakes has never been afraid to do, it’s to try new things. Growing up in Lincoln Village in Worcester, he was surrounded by a very diverse culture. His neighborhood consisted of Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, West African cultures, Whites, Albanians and more. Looking back, he doesn’t think he’d be the same person he is today if he didn’t grow up in this environment because from a young age he was always sticking his nose out, trying new things and gauging on his personal ‘skills rating scorecard’ if it was something that stuck to him. Studying at Babson College made him realize grades didn’t matter for the ‘game’ that he was trying to play which was building the right relationships, always working hard and following through with what he said he was going to do. His radio/podcast show ‘Fresh Out The Mint’ was a product from Kwake running around Boston getting involved in anything that was of interest. He purchased a camera to shoot photos for artists and events, started blogging

Episode 44: Just recently back from traveling alongside ‘Party Thieves’ creating video content for his tour in both Australia and India, Matty is living a life that he once dreamed of but never thought it would actually happen. He spent some of his childhood in Irving, Texas and then moved to Berryville, Virginia right outside of Washington, D.C. after his father was beginning to work at a hunting club. In the beginning of his freshmen year of high school, Matty was close to being homeless. His father had lost his job, struggled to find his place and eventually lost their house so Matty would leave and stay with his friends whenever he could. It wasn’t until his senior year when he won a national video contest and was handed an award by American actor and television host Mike Rowe with his friends that he realized maybe he was onto something. Once he graduated, he started working at CostCo and just after twelve months he decided to quit and put all of his time and energy into his passion wanting to see where

Episode 43: When Alexa first started her blog, ‘A Life In The Fashion Lane’, it became a form of therapy where she could express her thoughts and feelings and she never hesitated to hit “publish” on any post. At just seven years old her father was wrongfully convicted for a terrible crime and served five years behind bars at a maximum security prison where she would visit him everyday. Growing up in a small town in Eastern Connecticut, the story got around fast and due to what was going on in her personal life as well as becoming a blogger, she was beginning to to get bullied by the kids around her. Uncomfortable with her surroundings, at sixteen Alexa dropped out of school knowing that she had 0 intentions of going to college and was able to finish taking courses online. She would travel twice a year to New York City for Fashion Week and continued to push out as many blog posts as she could create. Her post “Role Model or Runway Model?” got sent around to major publications as it talked about the honest trut

Episode 42: It got to a point where the lifestyle of being in politics was not sustainable and she knew deep down it was time to leave. No plan or direction of what was next for her, Kerri quit her job in Washington, D.C. and moved back home to Boston to see where’d she would end up. Today she is a health and wellness coach who connects with people and tries to help them live the life of their dreams in this moment. Raised in Andover, MA she knew from the age of 12 that she wanted to go to college in D.C. and eventually wanted to work in politics. Everything in her life had always been about making a difference in people’s lives and working in this environment would allow her to help people on a massive scale. After finishing up high school she spent a gap year working with Americorp and then landed at American University. After finishing school she jumped right into the madness of the political world and had the opportunity to work in the nonprofit sector, advocacy organizations, campaigns and ultimately pro

Episode 41: Since Adam was a kid his father would always tell him, “do what you love but something that benefits others.” When he was first launching his streetwear brand “Lisn Up Clothing”, that advice stayed with him and he decided that he was going to donate 50% of all profits towards charity. Six years later he still holds himself accountable and allows each customer to pick from a list of which charity the money will go towards. Growing up in Saugus, MA he saw firsthand the lifestyle of an entrepreneur as his parents ran a business, Toni’s Own Cookies, and he watched them go the extra mile with each and every customer to ensure they were satisfied with the transaction. Adam attended Babson College, one of the best entrepreneurship programs in the country where he learned quickly that you always want to create a team of people who’re on the same page, understand the vision and are willing to do whatever is necessary to make things happen. With inspiration from hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco and his ability to

Episode 40: Moving away from home is never easy for anyone. It’s the place that has helped guide us into becoming the person we’re today, where our family might still live and there are memories that we will carry for a lifetime. It shouldn’t hold us back from wanting to explore and see what else this world has to offer. When Kim Kunzler finished college at Indiana University, she packed her bags knowing not one single person or even having the chance to visit and decided to move to Boston. Originally from Downers Grove, Illinois right outside of Chicago, Kim had spent her entire life in the midwest. She went to the big University alongside 40,000 undergraduate students and there she started to get a taste of the business world. Unsure of what she really wanted to do she tried anything that sounded interesting to her such as attending different workshops like Investment Banking and Design until a friend had pointed her to check out RECESS, an entrepreneurship festival that Mark Cuban was affiliated with. She

Episode 39: Even with being connected to the world at just a fingertip away, Matt has been able to stay grounded and have direction for where he has wanted to take his life. It hasn’t been easy for him and the path of getting him to where he is today hasn’t always been clearly laid out. What’s helped him along his journey has been spending a lot of time alone to reflect and learn without anyone distracting him. He grew up in a small town in Whately, MA where he learned how to understand people, build patience and become a caring and genuine person. Matt attended Holyoke Community College pursuing video for a year where he would stay late to learn editing software and was making use of all the available equipment the school had to offer. Freelance opportunities started to roll in steady so he dropped out of school, quit his job and went head first into editing and he became obsessed with it. 2014 seemed to be the year that everything started to click. He worked alongside singer-songwriter Sebastian Mikael and

Episode 38: It was the first time Matt had ever been invited to the X Games alongside fourteen other fortunate riders in the 2014 Shanghai, China competition. Nervous and only 19 at the time, he didn’t do so great on his first run in the contest. With some time in between before his second attempt he pictured his dream run and when the bell rang he was confident. He knew he had been working for this moment all his life. He placed 1st and won gold medal. Raised in Woburn, MA, he would ride his bike to school every morning and hit up local spots along the way, frequently marked late because of this. With a bit of convincing and setting a timeframe, his parents allowed him to leave high school in 10th grade. He got his GED and promised them if he didn’t have it figured out by 20 he would go back to school. Every move Matt has made has been calculated and strategic. He got a job at a local BMX shop, which he knew would help him pay for flights, meet people within the industry and would ultimately give him a list

Episode 37: In Long Beach, California, Andrew Morgan has transformed his living space into his workshop, out of which he runs a low volume, high quality clothing manufacturing operation. He works mainly with repeat customers that he has built relationships with and has grown with these brands along their journey. It all started back in Florence, Massachusetts, where in eighth grade he started riding scooters and fell in love with the sport because it was a mix between skateboarding and BMX, and he got good at it rather quickly. At 16, while he was in vocational high school for metal manufacturing, he launched his first business “System Scooters”. He started producing scooter parts in school at no cost because of his access to the material and therefore was making 100% profit selling scooter bars. Dropping out of high school at the beginning of his senior year, he left for California to work at the office of Fuzion Scooters, his new sponsor. He took advantage of the opportunity to get away and try something ne

Episode 36: For only being 25 years young, Jitta has figured out a way to make a living doing what he loves everyday. It all started when he uploaded his first song to the internet for the world to hear, but if you came across him on the street and asked if he was “a recording artist” he’d politely decline and state “I’m an artist / artist.” He was born in Connecticut and raised in Florida with three siblings. His mother had them at a very young age and put them up for adoption. Even though they were adopted by separate families, they were fortunate to grow up in the same neighborhood, in houses next to one another. Jitta moved back up to CT where he went to high school and then gave a local trade school a shot. He learned computer networking and began building his social media presence. At the same time he was in school, he was working on his music and uploading it to the internet. Local radio station joc, Joey Franchize of Hot 93.7 (Hartford, CT) heard one of his songs and suggested he submit his music to a

Episode 35: People sometimes say, “the world doesn’t revolve around you” but in Gordyland’s case, it does because he has created his own. Raised on the southside suburbs of Minneapolis, he had two passions growing up: skateboarding and playing music. In his early years he wasn’t tempted to try alcohol or drugs because he and his friends were focused, they were selling CD’s out of their lockers and packing 400-500 people at shows for their band. With a three month tour starting just four days after he graduated high school, he broke the news to his father he wouldn’t be going to college and was hitting the road to tour the country. After traveling for 2.5 years, and gaining traction with the designs he had done for not only his band but others, he found himself sitting in a classroom at Minneapolis College of Art and Design wanting to become great and was locked in. College was coming to a close and he spent a couple years dabbling with different agencies that worked alongside Target, New Balance, Red Bull, Co

Episode 34: Now the co-founder and ceo of Boston based athletic company, York Athletics Manufacturing, Mark has had quite the journey getting him to this position. Aside from trying different sports growing up, skateboarding and snowboarding gave him a chance to step away from the real world and be at one with himself and the small community of people he had became friends with. Studying at the University of Vermont gave him insight that there were unconventional ways to making a living aside from the typical 9-5 and if you followed your passion it would work itself out. After finishing school he packed a van with his buddies and headed west to Oregon where he worked at Van’s Skateboard/Snowboard camp as a seasonal help worker, then onto being a part of Nike’s second attempt launch to breaking into the skateboarding industry, Norton Motorcycles as their U.S. brand re-launch team, Puma as an International Product Line Management and then eventually to taking a leap of faith with his own venture McGarry & S

Episode 33: If you were looking for Boston’s number one sports fan in the world, it’s my father Daniel ‘Bird’ Hobert. Born and raised in Holyoke, MA, he was one of ten children in a very close and supportive family. His mother taught the children to treat people the way you wanted to be treated and to show love for the people you cared about. After having four operations on his ears by age 13- which held him back a few grades in school he moved away to Linden Hill School, an hour away from home. When he finished up an associates degree at Holyoke Community College (aka Hobert Community College), he eventually found his way to the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department where he has worked since 1987 and spent the past fifteen years taking inmates out to do community service. Bird understands that everyone makes mistakes and has taken on a leadership role of being a mentor to these guys, most of whom are just kids who made mistakes or have minor drug charges. We discuss how he got the nickname ‘Bird’, running the

Episode 32: During his sophomore year at Boston University, Tim saw an opportunity to bridge the rest of the world with the Boston music scene. He had just seen one of his first shows, Wiz Khalifa at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, MA. Tim always enjoyed writing growing up, had a good taste for music and recognized he could be part of the scene and not just a fan. A year and a half later after launching his blog, The Fresh Heir, he had written over 1,500+ articles, album reviews, reviews of shows he had attended, and more- all by himself- and was creating as much content as possible. All the while he was slowly beginning to build genuine relationships with people in the industry. He booked Chance The Rapper his very first show in the city (who is now headlining Boston Calling music festival in May!), he has played a role in creative direction and management for artists like Cam Meekins, Cousin Stizz, Michael Christmas and many more. One of the main reasons he has gotten to where he is today is becaus

Episode 31: At eighteen years old, Kalie Ann isn’t your typical high school senior. She attends school for only two periods a day and takes the rest of her courses online so that she has the ability to pursue her passions for both dance and modeling. Growing up in Stratham, New Hampshire she figured out early in her life that this was what she wanted to do and has put all of her energy into building this career. The word “no” isn’t something she likes to hear but it doesn’t stop her… it only motivates her. Before working with Dynasty Models and Talent, a Boston based agency, she understood that not every opportunity would be the perfect fit for her. She would strategize by looking at what she brought to the table and what agencies were looking for. In the past, Kalie took the lead role dancing in a music video for Jeffrey Miller. Most recently she was featured in ‘Girls Magazine’ an online publication that embodies women of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds. She plans to attend a four year college, Elon Unive

Episode 30: Frendy would describe growing up in Haiti as a “nurturing environment”. He was raised in a household that was also home to his mother, father, grandmother, aunts and uncles. He was always happy. From this upbringing, he grew to become very empathetic and due to that, has always built a strong connection with people. While attending Brooklyn College, he found a love for acting but eventually had to leave school due to financial reasons. From there, he started chasing his dreams. On his third attempt applying to BAPE, a streetwear clothing company located in SoHo New York, he finally landed the job and turned the second floor of the store into his “office” as he created an environment for people to connect, build and bring energy. Along the path of following his passions and chasing what he felt was right for him, he created and launched his personal brand “Frndy Lmrn” along with a blog and merch that gave his fans a “feel good” vibe when rocking it. No matter what life throws at him, he continuousl

Episode 29: Outasight was raised in Yonkers, NY and was huge into drum and bass parties. His father, a blue collar worker, had spent the past thirty years waking up at 5am constantly reminded his son to find something he really wanted to do with his life. He continued to chase the passion of music and eventually signed to Warner Bro Records in 2009. Just a few years later his record “Tonight is the Night” went platinum and was featured in a Pepsi Commercial, the premier episode of X Factor and performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. In just a two year span he went from sleeping on fans couches to traveling the world to places like Australia, Abu Dhabi, France and England. People told him he would never make it to this level of success again but he never let it phase him. We talk about his weakness for always wanting to do things himself, spending $1 Million to work a record, letting failure motivate you, finding what makes you happy and following the #1 rule of never stopping once your find your passion on

Episode 28: If you told Dylan Reese during his senior year of high school that he’d eventually quit basketball, his lifelong passion, in order to pursue music… he’d call you crazy. Born and raised in Chicopee, MA he was fortunate to have two supportive parents backing him in whatever his interests were. Dylan’s work ethic and dedication towards basketball got him the opportunity to play at the collegiate level for Regis College and along the way he began making music. Club promoters and venues began contacting him about future shows and with the realization he could only pursue the music or the game of basketball, he opted to pursue his new found passion for creating music. After having an eventful 2016 from taking his soundcloud account to over 1 million plays and playing shows across the country… it's safe to say he made the right decision. Learn about living without regrets, focusing on one specific goal at a time, being relentless & not taking “no” for an answer, why he’s been completely sober all of