There's so much more to Gabe than just being half of in|flow... Business owner, lawyer, creator, influencer, certified collector, and a remarkable father - he's got the dad jokes to prove it!

Gabe is the co-founder of in|flow law group, our law firm dedicated solely to multi-passionate entrepreneurs and creators. It's Gabe's entrepreneurial spirit that encouraged in|flow's inception from the start. In this episode, Gabe shares where that spirit stems from, and how it lead him to becoming a tattoo shop owner for 10 years, a legitimate creator and influencer, and law firm owner!

Sit back, and enjoy story time with Gabe as he recounts his journey to becoming a multi-passionate entrepreneur!

Gabe's Youtube Channel, "Collection Wars"

Gabe's Tattoo Shop

Follow Gabe on TikTok

in|flow

📸 Connect on Instagram

🎵 Connect on TikTok

🎥 Connect on Youtube

⛵️ Visit our website!

Yeah,

welcome everyone to our first ever Rise and Flow podcast with your

hosts, Ray Khan and Gabe Estrada.

How you doing

everybody?

And we are partners at Inflow Law Group where we specialize in helping content

creators and just creative entrepreneurs really get all their legal ducks in a row.

To prevent any future issues happening,

right?

Yeah.

The whole idea behind inflow was basically to help creators navigate

some of the rough legal seas out there that surrounds content creation

or business ownership, right?

A lot of creators are now, you know, branching off starting their own

e-commerce brands getting a lot of deals, becoming models, et cetera, et

cetera.

Yeah.

And that's why we decided to, you know, start inflow to really

help, you know, these creators.

And obviously we're creators ourselves, right?

So we are in a lot of the social media platforms, right?

We're on Tick hok, Instagram, Facebook, and now we will be joining

kind of the, the podcast channels.

So that's exciting for us.

We've been working on this.

For a little while to get

this set up.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

You know, content creation is so important to starting your own business,

especially as a content creator.

You know, that's in the name itself, right?

But a lot of entrepreneurs don't really see themselves as, as content creators.

But you know, as a lawyer, as a business owner, it's very important to basically

leverage social media to your advantage, to help build yourself a community, an

audience that allows you to, one, yes, sell your services, sell your products

wherever it may be, but also connect with other individuals who might just be just

like you or in a similar spot as you.

Absolutely.

And I think that's one of the key components of our law firm and

kind of why we're so different is that we're really trying to focus

on building a community, right?

A community of just like-minded entrepreneurs and creatives

that, you know, will basically.

Get all of these, these extra benefits of just having a team of attorneys to kind

of guide them along the way, and it's been so amazing, you know, this journey,

you know, again, I'm, I'm so proud of, of what we've created within Flow and,

you know, it's, it's kind of getting to the next step where we're trying

to expand inflow into the next level.

Yes, 100% and, you know, leads us into this podcast.

And the whole point of this podcast basically is to share the stories

of other creators, you know, their journeys, how they got started what

they're up to, and basically tease out some tips and tricks that we can share

with our audience who might be aspiring entrepreneurs, creators, et cetera.

So yeah, that's the whole point.

This podcast to help basically encourage y'all to start that side hustle or

take that leap of faith and start that own business of yours that you've

been thinking about for a while.

So yeah, this first episode we actually wanted to dive in and share one of

our own personal stories one that I thought was very basically influential

to us starting this business, but that's our very own Gabe, who you

know, has been a business owner for a while now and is a content creator.

So I'm gonna be interviewing him real quick just about how he got started,

you know, owning, being a tattoo shop owner, being a influencer on

TikTok, YouTube, and all the above.

So Gabe, get us, you know, why don't you just like, introduce

that side of your life.

A lot of people know the attorney side of you, right?

But share a little bit about, you know, basically a brief history

on how you got to this point.

Wow.

Okay.

So , it's, it's obviously a, long story, right?

But, you know, I think it's, it's worth telling you So I was

actually born and raised in Mexico.

I'm an immigrant.

I came to this country when I was around eight years old and one of

the biggest obstacles I think when I first came to the United States

is, is I didn't speak English right?

Mm-hmm.

. And the only English that I did speak was lines from Star Wars

and that obviously Star Wars has been a huge influence in my life.

Again, just because as a kid, that was really my first kinda

introduction to American culture.

And you know, when I came to the United States, I, I was trying

to talk to my friends, right?

But I, I, there was that language barrier and I couldn't, but the one thing we

had in common was Star Wars, right?

Mm-hmm.

, This was probably 19 88, 89.

So, you know, Star Wars, even though it had already pass, probably been

a five years since the last movie it still was kind of resonating

with, with kids at that time.

Yeah.

So, you know, we ended up playing Star wars

and that's crazy because, you know, obviously Star Wars itself

was a huge cultural supernova.

But beyond that, for you it was more so like a learning experience, right?

It was just a way for you to learn the English language, and it's

pretty essential to your story of, you know, basically your own

American dream I always call it.

So, Yeah.

And, and the reason why I tell this is because, so first and foremost,

I think that's where I first learned that the importance of communication, right?

And being able to, to communicate with other people sometimes

without even using words, right?

Because.

I had to figure out a way to communicate, you know, just

even just using expressions.

And that's probably why, I mean, besides, you know, obviously Latino,

like, you know, I'm very expressive with my hands, with my facial expressions,

and I learned how to communicate sometimes without even using words.

Mm-hmm.

. But I think what was important about that is the, the kind of immigrant

experience that I had growing up because, you know, my, my parents, you

know, they were on a single income.

My dad was the only one working at the time.

And you know, the, at first it was just me, but then, you know, my parents had

my two sisters and then my two brothers.

So then it got to the point where, you know, there was six of us you know, living

in this little one bedroom apartment and you know, obviously as the oldest.

You know, child in this immigrant family, I kind of ended up taking a lot of

responsibilities and you know, I, I, I didn't have the same type of, I guess,

upbringing as my, as my siblings because at that point, you know, even though I

was only, what, nine years old, 10 years old, my parents stopped spending money on

things that weren't necessary, obviously, cuz we're living on this single income.

So a lot of, you know, like I I, my toys and stuff that I really wanted

as a kid, I wasn't able to get them.

So I started figuring out ways to do that.

And I think that's where, you know, the, the spirit, the entrepreneurial

spirit kind of really developed in me.

Mm-hmm.

, because what I ended up starting to.

Is I discovered this local toy shop called Time Tunnel, and I was in San

Jose, California and there's this little toy shop called Time Tunnel.

And again, I remember specifically I was maybe 10 years old and I remember going

to Time Tunnel and just looking at all these Star Wars toys and they're vintage

by that time, you know, antique toys.

And I was just in on, I wanted 'em all, but I couldn't afford 'em.

And obviously my parents weren't able to to buy 'em for me.

So what I figured out is that there was a thrift store, maybe about two blocks

away from this, this little antique shop.

So I'd go to the thrift store and I'd find.

Like a dollar, right?

Mm-hmm.

, I would go through the couches or ask my mom, Can I have a dollar or

just figure out how to get a dollar.

And I would go to this thrift store and I would look for these little

baggies of like loose toys, right?

That people would donate.

And what I quickly realized is that I could buy those toys because

I knew what to look for, right?

I was already into collecting.

I already knew kind of what was good and what was not, right?

Mm-hmm.

And the guy at, at Time Tunnel, his name was Joe.

He would teach me about things.

He would say, Hey, look, if you ever see a p with a, a squishy head, those

are the ones that are worth some money.

But if it has a hard.

Don't get it.

So I went through the thrift stores and I would find these things

and I would go back and resell it to them or upsell 'em to 'em.

So he would say, I will trade you this P dispenser or whatever for

whatever Star Wars toy you want.

And I would get the next Star Wars store and I would always kind of

trade up until I finally got what I

wanted.

Wow, wow.

So Gary V would be proud because you were just out there flipping

these PEs dispensers and you know, just making a profit off of that.

You know, That's crazy cuz you know, like, you know, Gary V always preaches about,

you know, how he made his come up by going to garage, garage sales and basically you

know, finding, going on eBay and seeing what, like a random trinket at a garage

sale selling for, buy a bunch of 'em and then go and flip 'em on eBay, maybe.

Less than a buck on each sale, but it adds up over time.

And this is funny how you were, you know, how old were you when this was there?

I was probably like 10 years old when you were 10.

Okay.

So yeah, that entrepreneurial spirit just came at a young age for you.

So this is kind of already ingrained in you at an early age.

And I think it was, again, it came out of almost necessity, right?

And, and look, I don't wanna say that, you know, my parents did everything

they could to, to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table.

But again, it was these little things that I always wanted these toys and like,

you know, I remember when Home Alone came out and remember the Little Talk boys.

Remember it was like, so home alone, part two, I think it was.

They came out with these little recording machines, right?

They little, Yeah, they're called Talk Boys.

And I wanted one so bad.

And I remember it was like something like $50 or $60.

And at that time, obviously I, I knew that was impossible unless it was

like for Christmas or for my birthday.

But I wanted it so bad.

And what I did is that there's this kid in my school who kind of, he was known as

kind of the kid who had some money, right?

Mm-hmm.

and cuz I went to actually a very, like, low income.

It was a low income neighborhood.

And this kid, I figured that, I was like, Okay, how can I get, how,

what can I sell to this kid to get, you know, money for my talk Boy?

And what I discovered is that the neighborhood kids funny enough, like they.

Go and I guess maybe take like, you know, Playboys and, and you know, magazines

like that from their parents or whatever.

Mm-hmm.

. And then we would all stash 'em in this garage.

So what I ended up doing, I would sell him these Playboys at $20 a

pop and he would buy them from me.

And so I think I ended up selling, I think like three of them to

him, and I bought that talk boy.

So again, I, it was, you know, it's kind of funny not thinking about it.

Mm-hmm.

, you know, that kind of just flashed back right now.

But yeah, I always, always had that spirit, right.

That I, that that

child hustler.

Yeah, absolutely.

So yeah, so going forward, obviously, you know, I, you know, didn't do very well

in, in like middle school and high school.

You know, I was kind of following the, the, you know, the wrong path, you know,

and sometimes a lot of immigrant families too, you know, When you don't have a role

model specifically showing you mm-hmm.

you know, especially like the, the, the, you know, towards education,

it's hard to really go that route.

Right.

So you know, in high school I got pretty much all Ds and F's right.

I was just not worried about that.

I was worried about partying and hanging out with girls and whatnot.

So I, I never thought college was gonna be kind of in my future.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

never thought about that, ever.

And so you graduate high school and do you, you don't

go to college right away?

Oh, no, no.

I mean, I, I signed up at community college, but again, it was one of

those situations where I started, I was working already full time,

you know, to help my family out.

Mm-hmm.

, so I just didn't have the time and honestly just, I

didn't really care for it.

Yeah.

And what, and what was that first job out of, out of high school?

So right outta high school, I actually worked at a movie theater.

Mm-hmm.

And.

Yeah, I quickly learned kind of the, just the retail side, and I became

a manager actually pretty quick.

Mm-hmm.

. And maybe it was the way, you know, I was able to, to communicate with people

and communicate with the employees too, because they, they liked my approach.

Right.

I wasn't one of those like, Hey, you gotta do, so, you know, I, I figured out

ways to incentivize them to, to do well.

Yeah.

Going back to that communications

Exactly.

Aspect of it.

Yeah.

So, you know, I, I was, I was a movie theater for a little while, and then

I was probably around 1920 when my girlfriend got pregnant at that time.

And you know, that's my, my daughter was born shortly after, and that

was life changing for me because now it was no longer I had to work

to, you know, You know, provide Yes.

For, for whatever things that I wanted.

Mm-hmm.

, but now it kind of shifted where I had to work to provide for my daughter.

Right.

Yeah.

And that was pressure's on.

Yeah.

And that was, that was huge for me.

Right.

And it also incentivized me to do well.

And so my next job after that was at Best Buy, and I started working

at Best Buy I guess it would've been 2003 and similar situation.

I quickly became a manager and I became a sales manager.

Mm-hmm.

, because I, I had a knack for, for selling mm-hmm.

. Right.

I, I was just good at it.

I was, and again, it goes back to the communication aspect of it.

Right.

I was able to talk to clients in a way where, you know, first I wasn't

talking down to them, I was able to communicate in a way where you know,

I, I could show them how the things they were buying were gonna help 'em.

Whatever, achieve whatever they were trying to go for.

Right?

Yeah.

So their lifestyle goals, right?

Mm-hmm.

. So I did really well there, and I was there for 11 years.

Wow.

11 years at Best Buy.

So I thought that was gonna be my career.

I was moving up in the company, you know, I became, like I said, a, a sales manager.

I was on salary, you know, I was making six digits, you know, with

the bonuses and all that stuff.

So I was happy, you know, I was, I was making money.

You know, I was able to buy my kid whatever she wanted and, and everything.

And, and then everything kind of

changed.

Yeah.

Yes.

Tell me about this, this change that occurred, right?

Yeah.

You, you you know, you eventually, you know, flash forward, you're a

business owner now, but how did you, you know, what was the business?

How did you even consider becoming a business owner at that point?

You have a kid, you are, you know, working a full time job.

How did you take that leap?

. Gabe: So there's even another step

what ended up happening, the biggest change in my life, you know, by then I

was already, you know, separated from, you know, from my baby's mom and, you

know, raising, you know, we, we were sharing custody of, Of my daughter.

Yeah.

And I met my now wife and that was, that was a crucial point I think

in my life and a big changing point because she was in college already.

Okay.

And she was going to the university of California, Santa Barbara.

And that was in San Diego.

I met her during one of her summer breaks, and that was a huge changing point cuz it

opened up my eyes, first of all to Educat.

I kind of never been introduced to someone who had gone to a, a, you

know, a good four year university.

Yeah.

Which is kind of strange to think about it now, but I really, I, I didn't

have any friends or any, you know, any people that were on that path that I

could, you know, at least copy mm-hmm.

, you know.

Yeah.

Until I met my, my now wife back then, you know, we are, we started dating and we had

a long distance relationship and she, she denies this left and right , but I, you

know, and she, she hates when I tell this story, but I, I think one day we were,

you know, we were arguing because, you know, it's a long distance relationship.

It was hard, you know, I was in San Diego, she was in, in Santa Barbara, and we

were arguing and the conversation kind of went into something along the lines

like, Well, you wouldn't understand.

You didn't go to college.

And she said that too.

Oh, ge And that, and that cut deep, right?

Yeah, it could cut deep because it, it just made, it made me feel like, Yeah,

I mean, and, and even my response then I was like, whatever, college is trash.

I don't need it.

Even if I went, I'd get straight A's and I'd rip up the diploma because

I'm making six figures at Best Buy.

I don't need a college degree.

Mm-hmm.

. And that was kind of my mentality then.

But deep down inside it, it really, it really did kind of affect my ego.

And so what I started doing, and this is kind of where the whole change happened,

is that all my two days off from Best Buy, I started going to community college.

And you know, I took the first semester and I got straight.

And then I only took, I think maybe two classes.

Mm-hmm.

and I got A's and I was like, Whoa, this, this was a lot easier than I remember.

And so I was like, well, I might as well just follow, you know, take

the second class of, of the class.

I think it was an African American study class, I think it was the first one.

I was so inspired by history, right?

Learning about history that I wanted to take the second part.

And then, so I was like, and I got straight A's that second semester.

So I was like, Whoa, what the heck is going on?

So then I went to summer school and I was like, You know what?

I'm gonna take now another history class.

And I just started taking all these history classes and then all of a

sudden I realized that I was, you know, gathering up some good credits.

So I went to, you know, my counselor and she said, You know what, you're

able to transfer to four year university probably in about a year, you know,

or So I was like, That's great.

I would love to do that.

So so I did and I focused, and on my two days off, I went to school

at a community college full time.

So I would schedule, because I was a manager, I was able

to schedule my days off.

Yeah, yeah.

To match up, you know, my, my two days at school and I did that and I eventually

applied to uc, San Diego, and I got in, and another big shift happened then,

because as I, I got accepted to uc, San Diego, my wife got accepted to law school

and she got accepted to law school in la.

Okay.

So again, we had already been long distance again.

Yeah.

Long distance.

We had already, you know, she came back home for, for a little

bit and then now she's gonna about to go long distance again.

And I was like, I can't, I, I don't want that.

So I decided to move up to LA with her and, you know, kind of follow

her.

Yeah.

And commute down to U C S

D.

Wow.

And what I did is that I transferred to another Best Buy up there.

And again, because I was a manager, I was able to control my schedule.

I would.

Schedule myself off Mondays and Wednesdays, or Tuesdays and

Thursdays, depending on the quarter.

And yeah, I would wake up at three in the morning, get ready, drive down to

San Diego, spend all day on the campus, you know, like just going all my classes.

Wow.

You know, it was like 9:00 PM drive back to LA the next day

I would have to go to work.

Right.

Cause it was like a, you know, I had to split 'em in either Monday

or Wednesday, go to work and then do it again the following day.

Wow.

So you can imagine how difficult that was.

Also, because I was working 50 hour, I was, I was a salary manager.

So even just to study right.

For exams, to do the homework, to do the reading, I would

have to do it on my time off.

So it was, yeah, it, it was, it was hard.

But I got so used to just always hustling and always just doing something right.

Mm-hmm.

for what, over four years?

I literally did not have a day off.

Because I went to school, summer school, I went, you know, I,

because I wanted to get it done.

Yeah.

Did getting done, like working on your homework all on your days off like Right.

Yeah.

That's cra and going to classes on a full day, like Right.

You know, Tuesday, was it Tuesdays and Thursdays?

Tuesdays and Thursdays or Monday, Wednesday, Yeah.

Yeah.

Wow.

So like, I was like taking in my college experience, I was taking

like two classes a day and then like taking a nap for the rest of the day.

So it was a huge difference

there.

Yeah.

And you gotta remember on those two days also because my daughter was still here

in San Diego, I had to also, you know, cuz I was down here, I would go and

visit her or like, you know, I'd bring her on campus with me and she'd go to

classes with me juggling a lot of roles.

Right.

So I could spend time with her as that transition was happening.

Mm-hmm.

. So yeah, so, but I did it and I got my bachelor's degree and it was probably

one of the most, you know, proudest moments because my daughter got to see it.

My daughter by then was probably, maybe like, Six, seven years old.

So she, I mean, she was old enough to kind of appreciate the fact that,

hey, look, here's my dad graduating.

Right?

Yeah.

And you know, it, it's, it's really cool cause my daughter's now 19 and

she actually goes to uc, San Diego to kind of follow in my footsteps.

Yeah.

So again, the power of, of seeing the path is, is very important I

think for just generational change.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Especially just going like, you know, going back to your, your high school

career and just like, you know Yeah.

Thinking like, college is never for you, and then one day your girlfriend's

like, Oh, you never understand.

Right.

And then it becomes something personal.

Yeah.

And then you go and you, you take that, you take that step, you just put into

action and you realize it's not as scary as you might have thought it was.

Right.

Despite, you know, whatever your past may be.

Yeah.

But you know, there is just like a lot of uncertainty.

It's a mystery, Right?

You don't know what that college experience gonna look like.

You don't know what that, you know, that job's gonna look like,

but you know, you just started it.

Right?

And, you know, low and behold you graduated four years later

and you're onto the next thing.

Right.

So

now I got my bachelor's degree right now what?

Right.

I mean, I'm still at Best Buy.

I'm still making six figures at Best Buy.

Like, there's just no way I could just leave.

Right.

Yeah.

And, you know, I have this bachelor's in history.

What do I do with that?

Do I become a teacher?

You know, do I, you know, I just, I really didn't know at that point.

Again, I was like, Yeah, it is kind of.

Now I have a pointless degree.

Like, what am I gonna do?

And so I told my wife, I was like, and by then she was finishing up

law school, and I was like, Well, maybe I'll apply to law school.

You know, maybe I'll, I'll do that.

And she was like, No, do not do that.

You're gonna hate it.

You know, that's, that's not your style.

Like you're, you know, you, you don't like that kind of stuff and

you're just not gonna like it.

And I was like, Yeah, but you know, you did it.

Let me at least take the lsat, you know, let me take the lsat.

So I took the LSAT and I didn't do very well.

Yeah, right.

I didn't take it seriously.

I didn't really study.

I did take a little class to help me out with it.

I didn't do very well.

So, you know, after I took the lsat, I got my score back and I

was like, ah, I guess law school is just not in the books for me.

You know, I'm not, That's that's not gonna be, It's not in the cards.

Right?

Yeah.

And for our

listeners, LSAT's, the law school admissions test, Right.

So basically it's mainly logic based.

I don't know if you ever know anyone who's taken the LSAP before, but there are,

there's a section on reading comprehension very similar to the A C T and s A T.

Right.

And then there's these logic portions, right?

Where Yeah.

There's a whole section on what's called Logic Games and it's totally bullshit, but

it's basically it's ridiculous questions.

I remember completely skipping those sections on my LSAT and just

like, not having put it up with it because it's a little ridiculous.

But yeah, just, just wanted to paint that picture for of your Yeah.

And

timing and everything, so, Yeah, it's definitely a process

and you have to treat it like a full-time job in order to, to do well.

Right.

I mean, of course, like there's some people that are just naturally just

like smart at that kind stuff, but it's almost mathematical, Right?

And Oh, absolutely.

Yeah.

It just, you know, I, it just wasn't something that I could just

naturally do, you know, without actually practicing and studying.

Mm-hmm.

. So anyway, so I, yeah, I took Theat.

I didn't do well, so then I was like, Okay, well I'm not gonna go to law school.

what now?

Right?

Like, what do I do?

I have this degree, and my wife, you know, I, by then she was my fiance.

She says, Well, why don't you open up a business that's something

that you've always wanted to do?

And I was like, Yeah, sure.

I'll open up a business.

Right?

Yeah.

And so I, first, I was like, I have no money.

How am I gonna open up a business?

You know, I, there's just no way.

Like, I need capital to, to open it up.

And by then, like I said, she was my fiance, so we were planning on getting

married, and one day I went into a bank, you know, thinking, Okay, I

could get a loan for, you know, for the wedding and all that stuff, right?

Because we were trying to figure out how to, how to pay for everything.

My wife had just started working.

I believe she, she had already passed the bar.

She just started working.

So you know, I, I was like, you know, we need to figure out a

way to pay for this wedding.

So I went to a bank and I went to see if they had loans for that.

Mm-hmm.

, right?

Like personal loans.

And they said, Well, not necessarily for weddings, but you know, you could get a, a

loan with some type of collateral, right?

So if you have like a card, you own your own car.

I was like, actually I do, because luckily when I was in Los, I mean, when I was in

in college, I ended up getting a pretty big scholarship when I went to U c s.

and, you know, they kept on offering me the loan, you know, the student loans.

And I ended up taking one of the student loans to kind of just pay off some

of my debt to just make it easier.

And part of that debt was my car.

Yeah.

So I own my car.

I own this 2005 Mustang Red with white stripes, you know, it was

like a little race car looking car.

And so I was like, Oh, well how much will you give me for, you know, how much will

you loan me for this car in collateral?

And they're like, Well, we can give you $10,000 and then we could

open up a $4,000 line of credit.

I was like, Okay.

So $14,000, I don't know how much we can really do for the wedding for that.

I mean, it's not that much.

So I walked out and I was like, Okay, cool.

Well, at least I know that there's, there's that money.

, I started kicking, you know, ideas around, I'm like, well,

maybe I should open up a business.

Right.

Maybe like a little skate shop or little record store.

Something really cool because, and again, I didn't get into this

because I'm literally like a, like a cat with like nine lives

But I used to be, seriously, I used to be in a band and I, I sang and I

played guitar in a band for a while.

So, you know, I, I, I met a lot of musicians and a lot of people

just didn't, and just artists.

Right.

And obviously the tattoo industry, you know, there's, there's a very

close, you know, community with, with the music scene a lot type.

Yeah.

So I you know, I was gonna open up a little skate shop with, you know,

record store and something cool.

Yeah.

Something cool, Right?

Something I've, by then I, I was already all tatted up and, and all that.

Yeah.

So I was like, Oh, I had big old plugs too.

Like my ears were stretched out to like, almost the niche, like

Yeah.

I'll have to show pictures with that.

Yeah.

We'll have to include that in the show notes.

Yeah, exactly.

So, yeah, so I, I was like, okay, I'm gonna open up this

little small business here.

And we visited my brother-in-law, my brother-in-law, he owns a

lighting company up in the Bay Area.

Mm-hmm.

. And he was like, You know what Gabe, like if you're gonna open up

a business, stay away from retail.

Yeah.

And the reason why you wanna stay away from retail is because it's almost

impossible to compete with the Amazons these days with online retailers.

Yeah.

And this, what year was this?

This was 2000 and, Oh, so we're about 10 year anniversary.

Okay.

So

2011.

2000.

2000.

Yeah.

Right around that time.

Early two 2010s, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

So Amazon's like just kicking off like, Oh yeah, yeah.

Amazon's there.

The Glory Days of Prime when everyone was just like, Oh my god.

Two days shipping and things like that.

Two

12, it had to have been 2012 because we are, we're gonna celebrate our 10 year

anniversary.

Next month.

Yeah.

So obviously retail, very risky.

You know, online retailers in general, Shopify a couple

years away, you know, So yeah.

So then what I decided, I was like, okay.

And he told me, Focus on services.

Mm-hmm.

, you know, what kind of service can you provide?

Because online vendors can't compete with services cause it's something

that you have to perform, right?

So I was like, all right, great.

Well what's a cool service?

Right?

What's a really cool service that I could provide?

I was like, Oh, maybe music lessons.

I was like, Ah, I don't wanna do that.

That's like too much.

Like, and then I was like, Wait a second.

Tattoos, You know, tattoos is a, is is a service industry.

But I don't know.

The first thing about tattoos, and I don't know how those businesses

work, but let me call my buddy who did my sleeve and let me ask him.

So I took him out to lunch and I was like, Hey man, like tell.

You know, what's up with the industry?

Like how does it work?

Do you pay them rent, do you pay 'em commission, Do you pay the owner?

Like yeah.

Trying to

figure that, get some basic information about the business of

tattooing, which you had no idea about other than just being a customer.

Right?

Correct.

. Gabe: So he kind of breaks it down

Right.

And basically, you know, it's kind of like barber shops where,

you know, they're chair rentals.

Mm-hmm.

, right?

Yeah.

You, you rent them out to, to the artist.

They have their own license.

They're supposed to have their own insurer.

They're, you know, they're basically, they're independent contractors.

They're supposed to be kind of on their own and you're

just renting them this space.

So I was like, That sounds great.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna do that.

So then, you know, I went back to that bank and I was like, You know what,

I'm gonna take you up on those $14,000.

You had 10,000 and then 4,000 in credit.

Let's do it.

So I took out the loan again, keep in mind, I don't know

anything about even just.

Starting a business.

Yeah.

I literally had to Google how to start a business.

Yeah.

It was like, LLC wasn't like a, a popular term back then, or if it was,

it was just like, it was very ambiguous.

Right.

And I actually found this guide and I, I don't even, I think I might even still

have it saved on my tabs because it was like, first, you know, figure out what

type of entity you're gonna be next.

Open up a bank account.

Mm-hmm.

next, you know, look for the location.

Very simple, basic, you know, startup, you know, terms.

Yeah.

So I was like, Okay, let me start up my llc.

So I went and I did what a lot of, you know, our clients end up doing.

And I, I made that mistake as well.

I made my LLC through Legal Zoom.

Yeah.

. And I, I did that, you know, because now Arch nemesis, Right.

because at that point, I mean, that was kind of the cheapest route to go about.

Mm-hmm.

. But again, all these pitfalls that I ended up.

And later, which we'll probably save for another episode cause We'll, we

could, I could talk all day about that.

Yeah.

But yeah, so I started my llc, I got that and I was like, All right, what is next?

What's the next step?

So the next step is, according to this online, you know, thing,

you know, bank account, boom.

I already had the bank account cause I took the loan out from the same place.

Great.

I was like, okay, now I need a retail space.

So I go and I start checking all these retail space and unfortunately, you

know, with the tattoo industry, especi.

You know, 2012, you know, early two, mid two thousands, tab

industry was still frowned upon.

Yeah.

And a lot

of, a little bit more of like a, you know, what are they, what is that called?

Like a taboo industry.

Right.

It was tab service.

Right.

It was kind of associated with bikers and gang members and, you know, Yeah.

It was starting to gain popularity with like Ink Masters, Right.

That's around the time that it started popping up.

Like the shows like, I don't remember what other there's that other one,

like Cat Bond d and like, you know, those shows started popping up,

so it started popularizing them.

So I started going through all these places and every single

one's like, No, we don't want that type of clientele hanging out.

We, we don't want a tattoo shot.

We don't want a

tattoo shot.

Yeah.

You, you're saying the landlords were

saying that the landlords, right?

Mm-hmm.

. So then finally I went to a mall and I was like, Why couldn't I open it up at a mall?

Mm-hmm.

. So I, you know, submitted the application and I got a call back

from this local mall, and it's a, it was a big mall at that time.

And they're like, Sure, we'll rent you out a space for a tattoo shop.

And I was like, Great.

You're stoked.

Yeah, yeah, Yeah.

I was like super stoked

about it.

I was like, they're like, Come on down, sign the lease.

Right?

Yeah, exactly.

So I literally, like, on my, keep in mind, I'm still working at Best Buy.

Yeah.

I, and I'm, I'm doing this on my two days off.

I'm still going, you know, to open up my business on my two days off . So

I go to the, the mall and immediately they're like, All right, you know, the

minimum we could do is a two year lease.

And I, and I was so excited.

I was just, Let's just do it.

Let's sign it.

I had these $14,000.

I was like, Let's do it.

I paid the first month and the last month's rent, I got my lease.

And I'm like, All right, let me check that off.

You know, check that off the list.

Yeah.

I got my llc, I got my retail location.

What's next?

You're flying high.

I'm like, I'm Stone.

I'm like, I'm on my way.

Then I go and I'm like, I need a business license.

All right, let me go check the business license.

So I go to the local you know, municipal, you know, county or

municipal place to, to get my license.

And they're like, Oh, well you need to go check with zoning first because oh,

yeah, you need to be zoned properly.

I was like, All right, no problem.

I'm, I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

? I'd go to zoning and they're like, What kind of business is it a tattoo shop?

Oh, it's adult entertainment.

And if it's adult entertainment, you're gonna have to get a conditional

use permit because it's, you know, there's a couple of schools around

those, you know, around the neighborhood, right?

Yeah.

It's not zoned properly for that.

So yeah, get this conditional use permit and we will have a separate

hearing and process for this exemption,

basically.

Right.

And I was like, All alright.

I don't know what it, what it, what that is, but I'll do it.

Whatever.

You know?

And as I'm going through the process, I realize that the

application alone is $3,000.

The, you know, and it's a six month long process, and I was like, Wait a second.

By the time six months comes around, I'm paying rent right now.

Yeah, you already signed the lease.

I already signed the lease.

I'm paying rent.

I'm gonna be done with the $14,000 in six months.

Like I, that can't happen.

Like I need to, I need to get it opened faster.

So I kept on kind of just going back and, and trying to

do everything as they told me.

Yeah.

One of the things they required was blueprints.

And I'm like, Okay, the blueprints, let's do this.

So I asked them all, Hey, do you guys have blueprints?

They're like, No, you have to, You have to hire an architect and get those blueprints

printed out yourself or done yourself.

I was like, I can't afford that.

Yeah.

Like I can't afford an architect to come and do the blueprints.

So what I did is I asked them for their general blueprints for the mall.

I took.

I put 'em in Photoshop and I did the blueprints myself.

I literally just went and grabbed little lines here and there.

I measured, you know, with the tape measure, I literally went into the

space, started measuring the spaces that were gonna be blocked off,

and I literally created on myself.

Yeah, just your

own architecture

services.

Talk about Right, Talk about bootstrapping, right?

Yeah.

I literally did the architectural plans myself.

Wild.

Yeah.

I, I go and I submit them, and when I submit them, there was kind of

almost like, there was an argument between me and, and the guy who was

assigned to my, my, my zoning case.

Because he told me that he needed the full size blueprints,

like the big gigantic ones.

So I ended up spending like, I think it was like three, $400 just

to print those things on that size.

And when I turn 'em in, he's like super rude.

He's like, Why did you do this?

You needed to bring them in in a smaller, you know, way for us to, And

I was like, You didn't tell me that.

You said you needed full size blueprints.

And that's what I brought.

So I left out of there just super mad.

Yeah.

And I was like, this guy is super rude to me every day.

And maybe I was like, maybe, maybe it's the fact that I look younger, right?

Like I, I, you know, I'm 41 now and a lot of people get surprised that I'm 41.

I look younger and I'm all tatted up, you know?

So you know, you could see my tattoos and I was like, You know what?

Forget this guy.

So I emailed the, the elected representative and.

The manager who's like in charge of zoning.

Yeah.

And I, you know, pretty much just laid it all out.

I said, Hey, look, I could go to another city and open up this tattoo shop

and none of this would be required.

But you guys are giving me such a hard time.

I'm local here.

I want to contribute to my, you know, my community

business, and I'm gonna be paying business taxes.

I'd rather be paying business taxes to my locality there.

I live in my community.

Right.

So.

Right.

And keep, Oh,

and keep in mind too, I had gone to the, the Chamber of Commerce, the

local Chamber of Commerce, and the, this old guy was like, You're gonna fail.

You're gonna be bankrupt

in a year.

You're going Chamber of Commerce to get some advice on starting your business.

Right.

And you're just hearing , you're hearing, just hearing hearing, just

like you're gonna fail negativity.

This is the worst thing.

You don't even have a business plan.

You don't even know what you're doing.

And.

He was right in a sense.

But I was just like, I don't wanna hear that.

Like, where's the entrepreneurial spirit that I Yeah.

Where's the positivity behind this?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So anyways, I, you know, get to to that and I send that email and the next

day the elector representative calls me and he's like, I'm so sorry Mr.

Strata.

Like, let's come, come on in.

And I was like, Well, I'm, I'm working.

So I asked to be on my ne you know, literally the next day out.

Yeah.

Come on in and we'll kind of expedite the process.

So went through, I got my conditional use.

Wow.

Yeah.

And maybe it was like three months in, so I was like, Okay.

And just get it done.

Yeah.

But any means necessary,

right?

Any means necessary.

By then, I had already, like, I painted the whole shop myself.

I did all the furniture myself.

I literally carried like, you know, I, I grabbed my buddy that had a truck and

was like, Hey man, I need to buy these display, you know, units, can you help me?

And at that time he had a broken foot, I think.

So I, I was just like, All I need you to do is drive.

Like I'll do, I'll do everything.

And I, on my own, I went and got all the shelving and all this stuff ordered.

The seats ordered the,

The furniture?

Yeah.

The decorat decorations.

Yeah.

So keep in mind, I started this process in about April.

So now we're in about July-ish, right.

And I got my conditional use permit.

I'm like, Great, I'm ready to go.

What's the next step?

Right?

And then, well, it was probably around August the next step, health department.

Oh yeah, because I had any approvals, no idea about the tattoo industry.

I just, for some re and it wasn't in that list that I found online.

Right.

Yeah.

Cuz that's a general list, right?

This was just a general list.

Right.

I was like, shoot, I have to get approved by the health department

before I could even open.

Right.

So that was just a nightmare because if anybody that has any experience with like,

opening up a restaurant, things like that, they're, you know, it's very, very hard.

You know, there's a lot of things that need to be in place for you to,

to get approved and get your, your, your permit, your health permit.

Yeah.

So he made me pretty much, Oh, and I had to resubmit the

blueprints and all that stuff.

He made me redo those blueprints probably like three times.

Wow.

And with redoing those blueprints, it was also redoing the shop, Right?

Yeah, because I had to move stuff around.

He was like, You need to have hot running water in like, All the sinks, which

again, you keep in mind, this is a mall.

So they didn't have hot water in the, you know, in the, the sinks.

And you need to have this other sink in the front because there needs to be

like a certain amount of feet between the nearest sink and the artist.

So I was like, okay.

I did it all.

Yeah, I was doing it and everything.

So I didn't get my, the, my health department permit probably

around until about September, like late September, early October.

Keep in mind, I'm paying rent, but yeah.

This

you haven't even opened for business

yet.

Not even open for business.

I'm working out these $14,000.

I'm literally down to like the very last of that money.

Yeah.

And I'm like, Okay, check, check, check, check, check, check, check.

I got my license.

I think we're, we're ready to go.

Like, you know, I got my insurance right.

I got, I got insurance for it.

That was also a nightmare because you needed to have special, like like.

Exposure insurance because of the bloodborne pathogens and stuff.

Mm-hmm.

. So I got my insurance, got everything.

I hit up my buddy and I'm like, All right, we're ready to open up.

When can you start?

And then he tells me, Sorry bro.

Like, I can't, I can't do it.

It can't go.

Oh gosh.

Yeah.

Yeah.

He's like, I just had my daughter and I have to stay at the place that I'm at.

Cause it's, you know, steady income and you know, it's a risk going with you.

It's like, I got it.

I get it.

Right.

It's a brand new business.

I don't know anything about tattoos.

I have no artists.

So what do you do?

So here I am, October.

Right?

With no.

No money.

You need to, you need to start soon because Yeah, you paying rent, right?

Rent are gonna be due.

You have the loans run out.

. Yeah.

And,

and I have to pay back that loan.

Yeah.

So it's not, Now I have this extra cost.

Right.

Because I'm, I'm paying back the loan.

Yeah.

You have rent, you have the loan money.

Yeah,

exactly.

I was panicking.

So I just was like, you know what, if, can you send me someone that, you know,

he sent me this one guy that he knew, but I basically put an ad on Craigslist.

It's like looking for a tattoo artist.

And so lucky that, you know, I had a few people hitting me up and I was just like,

You're hired, you're hired, you're hired.

Let's go.

Right.

And.

We started and you know, I was lucky enough that, again, I was

still working at Best Buy, so I couldn't be there all the time.

But luckily, you know, my wife helped me out and, you know, she set up all

the processes and all the like forms.

And again, I think at that time maybe she was waiting for her bar results.

I want to say at that time I don't, Maybe she was already an attorney.

No, I don't think she was an attorney.

Okay.

I think she was waiting for her bar

results.

Yeah, they come out in November, so.

Right.

That's about right.

So

it's, it sounds like around the, the time, but still she

helped me with all the, the setup, make sure everything was cool.

And I get the three artists and we grand open.

I want to say it was November 10th November 10th we opened and I

think, and that was a soft opening.

And then a week later we did the hard opening and I said, If we don't make

rent literally this month, That's it.

Like, I'm gonna already have to close it down.

Yeah.

Cause there's no way I could afford the rent and all that with my salary at

That's buy while also paying, you know, for our apartment and all that stuff.

So luckily it, we made rent, it all worked out.

It, we made rent that month and then we made rent the next month.

And, you know, obviously there's, there's some struggles throughout, you know,

there's some months where I didn't, where I had to put in with, with my Best Buy

paycheck, you know, to cover the rent.

Takes time.

Takes time for that business to basically, you know, build up.

Right.

I was talking about like the first.

First six months is always rough.

You don't know.

Yeah.

If you're gonna make any money, you don't know if you're gonna make enough money.

Yeah.

So yeah, usually there is like a kind of like a buffer time.

Right?

Right.

So it worked and, you know, one of the, the, the biggest drivers

for me was almost to prove that old guy at the city of Commerce wrong.

I mean, that's city, the chamber of Commerce.

I wanted to prove him wrong.

Right.

And that was, to me, that was huge.

And I think it was kind of similar to, to, with, with my wife, right.

When my wife told me, you know, Oh, you didn't go to college.

It was like I needed to prove her wrong, like I needed to show.

So

don't doubt me, kind of energy.

Right.

And I think that's kind of, I.

Figured that out about myself, that I'm best driven when I'm challenged or when

I'm told that I can't do something.

Which is, I mean, it's, it's a great thing to know about yourself, right?

Because now I know what drives

me.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, I, you know, just based off our own clients, right?

Like, I feel a lot of people are in that situation.

I mean, me, even me personally, right?

It's like, don't, don't tell me I can't do it because it's

gonna make me want to do it.

It won't make me wanna prove you wrong.

Right?

And I think a lot of clients who kind of ended up starting their own business Yeah.

Were in the same situation, right?

They, they had these bosses that, you know, kind of felt like, Oh yeah, like,

you want to go, you know, you wanna leave and do something on your own.

Like, yeah, good luck with that.

You're gonna, you know, Oh, don't forget like businesses, you know, 90%

of businesses fail within the first two years or something like that.

Right.

Some, some statistic, which sometimes is definitely true.

But at the same time, it's.

I'm not gonna be that statistic.

Right.

You know, I, I know what I'm doing, I know what I'm good

at, and I can do this better.

Right.

Whatever it may be.

Yeah.

You know, we see that across the board.

Right.

And, and, and I

think it's also change.

One of the things that, and I think with inflow, that, that we've done that.

I think, and I think why this, you know, success comes with that is when you really

focus on, on really changing the industry.

Because again, look with the tattoo business, if you're not

a tattoo, And you own a tattoo shop, It's frowned upon, right?

Yeah.

It's frowned upon that.

And I, I had a lot of trouble finding good tattoo artists to work for me because

they're like, You're not a tattoo artist.

You shouldn't be doing that.

That's number one.

Number two, we were at a mall.

Yeah.

And keep in mind, like even that, right, it almost, and I, I was told

multiple times by multiple tattoo artists that it, you lose credibility

because it's, Yeah.

You're not a real tattoo shop, right?

You're at a

mall, you're selling out and it's like, just like you're trying

to commercialize their art and their, you know, Which is true.

Like, I get it.

It's that, you know, art form is very, you know, old school.

It has history, has a history.

It's very like apprentice style, you know, old school way of doing things.

And here I come saying, I'm gonna put this in a mall and

I'm gonna, you know, cater to.

everybody, not just kind of the these tough people that

you went with, with tattoos.

And in fact, I think why we were so successful is because we were in

between a nail salon and a hair salon.

So it ended up 90% of our clientele ended up being first time on female clients.

Mm-hmm.

. Yeah.

And I think because it was at a mall and I, I designed it so open and so inviting

big, giant windows, you know, I really emphasize customer service with my, with

my artists because I, I told 'em, Look, I've been to a lot of tattoo shops and the

one thing is they're intimidating, right?

Yeah.

Cause you show up and you see this guy all tatted up, neck, you know, face,

and then sometimes they're just without a better word, they're assholes, right?

Yeah.

They're like, I'm not gonna do that little butterfly get outta here,

or I'm not gonna do that little infinity symbol or whatever, you know.

And we took a different approach and we said, Look, there's

a, there's a gap in service.

for, you know, people that it's their first time getting a tattoo.

Yeah.

And we want to make it as inviting as possible.

Make it as kind of comfortable as possible.

Yeah.

Open up the clientele,

basically.

Right, right.

And sure enough, it, it did well, and again, it's, our tenure anniversary is,

is coming up next month, so, you know, it, it's, it's, I'm, I'm happy 10 years in

business.

Take that Chamber of Commerce guy.

Yeah,

exactly.

. Exactly.

So that's how I became, you know, a business owner.

And that's, you know, basically.

And ultimately what ended up happening, cause I was still at Best

Buy you know, there's a big change.

There was the big structure restructure that happened at Best Buy.

And a little bit before then, about a, maybe a month before that

restructure, I got a free, I mean an email for a, a fee waiver application.

For our law school, and they sent an email, and usually that's like

spam when you apply for law schools.

Like, or for the lsat, you, you get a bunch of spam stuff.

But that one was local in San Diego.

And I was like, Look, I already took the lsat.

I have everything ready to go.

You know, I, I think this is a good, a good time to, let's see what happens.

So without even telling my wife, I submitted my application for

law school and I forgot about it.

I literally, like, I did the application, I submitted it and

I was like, All right, whatever.

Fast forward about a month and a half.

There's a restructure at Best Bike.

Keep in mind, I mean, 11 years in, I'm like, I'm here for a long time.

I'm only here for the long haul.

I'm eventually gonna become, you know, I could get my own store,

general manager, blah, blah, blah.

And there's a restructure and my general manager says, Look,

we have two manager positions.

You and this girl that was like a co-manager with me unfortunately we're

gonna have to cut one of those positions letting you know that I'm gonna keep

you and I'm gonna get rid of this girl.

And I was like, Oh man, well that suck.

Cause she was a single mom.

And like, you know, it just, you know, it was just unfortunate that

it, it, you know, that that happened.

But I was, I was happy that I had my job, right?

Mm-hmm.

. So I was like, Thank you so much.

Like, I appreciate it, you know, let's, let's do this thing and let's,

you know, be successful with, you know, with less people, you know?

Yeah.

And.

, you know, and I'm not a, I'm not a huge believer in, in, you know, kind

of, I don't know, like serendipity and like that whole, you know, like, Yeah.

But it's kind of crazy.

The next day I get my law school acceptance letter.

Oh, wow.

Literally the next day when California Western, when she offered me, you

know, to keep me and get rid of her, I get the acceptance letter and

like, I literally opened it up and like my, my blood just went cold.

Like, I wasn't, like, it wasn't like an exciting thing.

I was terrified.

I was terrified because it almost put my feet to the fire and it said it's

decision time right now or never.

Right.

Because it was, it was during that transition where I could

have said, Hey, you know what?

General manager swap me, Keep her.

Give me the severance package.

Cause I've been there for 11 years.

I would get a big severance package and then I could go to law school.

Mm-hmm.

. And so literally that next day, I, like my wife came home and I think at that point

she was already working as an attorney.

I, you know, I sat her down.

I said, Look, this is a huge risk.

I can't work.

You know that right?

You, if you've gone to law school, you can't work your first year.

I'd have to, we'd have to live on student loans.

I mean, I have the tattoo shop, the tattoo shop's doing well.

You know, it's, it's making some money but not enough to like survive.

I'd still have to take out loans and what do I do?

And my wife's like, If you feel like that's what you want to do, then do it.

And I.

All right, I'm gonna do it literally like that.

Wow.

It was probably like a 12 hour difference from when I got the acceptance to when

I said, All right, I'm gonna do it.

Kinda same thing with the tattoo shop, right?

Yeah.

Where it was just like, Oh, you'll gimme a space.

Let's do it.

You know?

Yeah.

Jump on the opportunity, right?

Yeah.

Same thing happen.

I got the acceptance and I was like, I'm gonna do it.

So the next day I went in, talked to my general manager, she was, you know,

she was bummed out and, but I, it almost, I almost felt good about it.

Not only for myself, for my family, but you know, for, for that other,

for my coworker's family, you know?

Yeah.

Cause she got to keep her job and you know, I think it just, that

whole situation just worked out.

And then I started law school and that's where I met you right?

During that summer.

Yeah.

Summer enrichment program.

2014, baby.

Yeah.

, here we are now, right?

Mm-hmm.

. And it's just such, now thinking back on it, you know, even now, right now,

as we're doing this podcast, like here together, you know, me trying to think

back, you know, this journey that, that led us, like literally here to this point.

Yeah.

Right now it's, it's, it's crazy and it's, it's amazing that, you know, this

little eight year old immigrant little boy that didn't speak any English, that

had to like hustle his way through, you know, through, through all this, you know,

figure out a way through, you know, to get through it while working full time,

you know, And then even going to law school, you, I mean, you remember it.

Yeah.

My first year of law school I had my second daughter.

So like, even that, you know,

you know, pressure's on

again, right?

Two kids.

But to think now that, you know, we're here and doing.

Honestly what I'm passionate about because of my, my music background, because

of my, you know, tattoo background, obviously with dealing with artists.

Yeah.

With, you know, just my entrepreneurial background.

Like I, I, we get to service all these clients that are basically me, you

know, and people of color too, like that, that just, I get super excited

when clients come to us and they tell us about their project and it just

like, puts me right back into that, that sense of like, getting it done

and like really excited about, about the possibilities, you know, So.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it's just, you know, it's an incredible story and that's why I just,

I just ask Gabe to share that with you all because, you know, it's, there's

a couple things I wanna touch on.

You know, the first thing is basically, the, the difference in starting a business

back then and starting a business now.

Right?

Right.

You know, especially if it's brick and mortar there's just so, it's

just such a heavy lift, right.

You most likely probably need a loan.

You need some type of financial injection to make sure that you

can buy everything you need.

Right.

Inventory, rental space, right?

Yeah.

You gotta pay employees if you're gonna need employees on the job, right?

So there's usually that hurdle.

And then, you know, you fast forward to now where, you know, especially

after the pandemic where a lot of businesses are just virtual, right?

You could have a website, you could have funnels, you could have a lot

of different things is taking care of, without spending a dime, right?

Like you can get a calendaring system, you can get a lot of no code solutions

to help you basically put together a business in a matter of no time really.

Without spending a dime actually, right?

And it's just insane to me, especially if it's a service

based business too, online, right?

You just need.

You get a calendar, you have a website.

Yeah.

You tell people a book call with you, you're good to go.

Yeah.

It's just crazy.

Right.

And I think the opportunity now if you wanna start a business is just like,

once again, a lot easier of a lift.

And you know, sometimes it just comes down to exactly what you said.

Something just gotta it's gotta do it.

You gotta take action.

You gotta take that first step.

And then another thing is just you know, as you were mentioning in your

story you know, the passion behind Yeah.

You know, what you're doing now, right?

Like, we wouldn't be here, you know, in your garage, in your house, you know,

in this little studio we put together.

If you didn't take all those steps, you know, going to Best Buy, going

to law school, us meeting, Yeah.

This wouldn't happen, right?

So it's just funny how that all lines up, but one thing I feel like you missed down

in your story is just going back to that Star Wars that Star Wars passion, right?

And just like another aspect of your life and how another passion

of your life basically ties in directly to what we're doing.

So yeah, tell us a little bit about like, I don't know, just.

That, that passion for Star Wars, right?

Yeah.

Obviously had a huge impact on your life, more so than most

people growing up your generation.

So yeah, I know, you know, when we met in law school, Justt basically picking

up back from your stories, it's like, you know, you were showing me like an

R two D two you were building Yeah.

And some of the, the recent collectible replicas

you just bought.

So, Yeah, no, I mean, I think that was the craziest part too, is that

kind of that full circle, Right?

Right.

Really thinking about that full circle.

Because again, and that's why I kind of started this whole story of, with

that passion for Star Wars and, you know, what Star Wars meant to me as

a kid because I was always a fan.

, I was a collector, Right.

And in my adult life, once I started getting some form of disposable

income, whether it be from the tattoo shop or when I became an attorney, I

started buying these proper replicas.

And these proper replicas are basically made from the companies that go into

the Lucas Film Archives, and they either digitally scan the original

one, or they used the original molds to make these prop replicas.

So I started collecting them and they're, You're like, they're not cheap,

you know, they're, they're, you know, they're, they're high end collectibles.

Yeah.

Legitimate replicas from the most, Yeah.

Right, right, right, right.

So what ended up happening is that around 2016 when we were in law school I started

realizing that there wasn't a lot of references out there on these pieces.

And a lot of people were buying 'em in the aftermarket, because what

happens is they sell out immediately.

Right?

So as soon as you, you put in the, or the, the pre-order comes out,

people jump online and immediately scoop up all of them, right?

So you, the only way you were able to buy 'em is on the secondary

market, but there wasn't a lot of reference about what comes in the box.

So what I started doing is I started unboxing stuff on video.

So I started YouTube channel where on, on YouTube I'd get these high end

pieces and I would unbox 'em and I would show 'em to people and kind of

just talk about 'em and, you know, just so people knew what was in the box.

Well, that channel ended up kind of doing well and you, I would only post

like once every couple months, you know, because obviously as I was getting

these pieces, I would post a new video.

So fast forward to, you know, the pandemic, right?

Yeah.

So right before the pandemic, we got this house and there's a, a room specifically

that I, I dedicated to the Star Wars.

and we'll show it right here, how you guys could see.

It's, you know, now it's behind this secret, secret door, and

obvious you could see, you know, I set it up kind of like a museum.

Yeah.

Well, during the shutdown I started going on TikTok and on Instagram a lot more.

And I started posting some of these, these things again, started doing more YouTube

videos, educational videos about them, started comparing things and just kind

of became our content creator, Right?

Yeah.

For this small collecting community.

And it kind of took off.

And that was, that was surprising because like on TikTok, all of

a sudden it was like, you know, I had 20,000 followers and.

50,000 followers and then a hundred thousand followers.

And then it was like 200,000 followers, 300, 400,000.

And it was just like, it kept on snowballing and I was like, Whoa,

there's a, there's an audience for this.

So I started taking it more seriously and I got a professional camera

to do, you know, the reviews.

And I really started putting some more time into that.

And my dream came true because I started partnering up with Lucas

Film on a lot of little projects to promote some of their stuff.

So I ended up getting my own panel at the Star Wars Convention, which is

called Star, Star Wars celebration.

I got my own panel for that.

Which is crazy, right?

Especially thinking about that eight year old kid.

And.

. Not only that, but I was also a guest on the Lucas Film panel for the, you

know, and I got to tell my immigrant story and how it ties into Star Wars.

And now I have all these partnerships with all of these licensed companies that, you

know, will either send me free stuff or someone will pay me for, for promotions.

Yeah.

And I get to, you know, do my hobby and at the same time, you know, be

able to work with all these, these cool companies that I would've

probably bought regardless, you know?

Yeah.

So that's how I became, and then I became like, got on the Disney

Lucas Film influencer list.

So yeah, sometimes I'll just get literally emails that says, Hey Gabe, I got

your contact from the Lucas film rep.

Would you like to work with us on this promotion?

And I'm like, Wait, what is going on?

Like, this is crazy.

So yeah, it's.

I've, I've definitely wear a lot of hats.

Right.

Especially now these days.

You know, I still have the tattoo shop, you know, social media

influencer, I guess that, I hate using that word, but that's thefor.

That's it is what it is.

You know, obviously I have three girls, right?

My three daughters, you know, a husband and obviously, you

know, with Inflow, right?

Yeah.

Like we, we have inflow going.

So I think I never, that, that change that I was talking about, it really

became a lifestyle change when I decided that I wasn't gonna let my day off, you

know, my two days off just be wasted.

And I think that was a big switch in, in my mentality that imagine I could

do that in my two days off, right?

I opened up a tattoo shop on my two days.

I went to college on my two days off.

Yeah.

I opened up a tattoo shop on my day, two days off.

I'm like, imagine if I would've had, All seven days, right?

Like, man, what could I have done?

But it's kind of interesting to, to see that, that you could accomplish a lot.

And even just waking up a couple hours early, getting some work

done there, you could accomplish so much on your free time.

If you really focus and really don't look at it as free time, you know?

Mm-hmm.

looking at it as like, how can I best utilize this time to better

myself, to better my situation, to better my business, to better,

you know?

Yeah.

Just, and, you know, we have a lot of potential clients who reach out to us

or people who follow our Instagram or, you know, our social media channels,

who, who reach out to us and say, I don't know if I'm ready to start

a business yet, or like, I have an idea and I, I have a passion I

wanna follow, but I don't know if I.

You know, just quit my job and follow it.

And it's like, you don't have to, you know, quit your job.

You know, we always say like, Hey, if you have a job right now and you're

comfortable, like, you know, getting your work done and you have time, like

when you get home from work or on your days off, like put a couple hours in and

just like maybe learn what the next steps are and launching your own business.

Cause once again, it's not, you know, if most likely, if you're opening

a business, it's probably gonna be mostly virtual, be online, or at

least we suggest starting off, right?

If you eventually wanted to do a brick and mortar one day, you could

probably put that off down the road if you want, so you can at least

get started with an online business.

Yeah.

And that's fairly easy to get started on.

Once again, pretty low, pretty low lift, just like doing it right.

So I think it's just you.

demystifying the fact that it's not as tough as you may think it is.

Right.

And you can just get started while still making your money.

Right.

As you know, being a full-time employee.

Yeah.

You know, trying to find that time and, you know, we are not saying like,

dedicate all your time to a side hustle.

No.

Or like hustling really hard just to like, you know, Build your own business one day.

Right?

But hey, if this is something you're into and something like that you're passionate

about, especially if you know that eventually it'll give you your ability to

set your own schedule, work when you want to work, you know, and work for yourself.

Be your own boss, right?

I feel like that's a huge thing.

At the end of the day, that's a big reward if you're able to pull it off.

Hundred percent.

And yeah, it's just like being able to, you know, go back to the fact

that you know, what we're doing now, advising a launch, bunch of business

owners, a bunch of content creators.

Gabe provides so much incredible insight to people, to any client who

basically walks in the door, right?

You know Gabe's owned brick and mortar business.

He's, you know, also a content creator.

He knows the pains, he knows some of the obstacles that are in the way of a lot

of our clients, just firsthand, right?

So I think that gives us a little bit of a, you know, differentiates us a lot

from other lawyers out there who, you know, for the most part are just you.

Probably lawyers at the end of the day.

And we're not saying we're not discounting other lawyers not having

other lives and stuff like that, or like other parts of their lives.

But just being able to kind of incorporate that and, you know, kind of, you

know, really tell our clients like, Hey, we've been in your shoes before.

We understand like what you're going through.

We understand like if you're a single parent or you're a parent and you're a

business owner and a full-time employee, we understand what that looks like, Right.

So I think that Gabe just, you know, provides so much insight and background

on that for our clients, that's probably valuable in itself, regardless

of the legal information we provide.

Right.

And I think it, it's, it's that, right?

It's, it's figuring out, right, prioritizing your time and the

hats that you're wearing, right?

Because yes, I, I do wear so many hats and, but it, I never use it as an excuse.

Mm-hmm.

, all I do is.

Prioritize the hat that I'm wearing at that time and kind

of deprioritize the other ones.

Right?

Yeah.

And it's always gonna change you know, sometimes, you know, if,

if we're going through a, a tough time in our family, guess what?

My family man hat's gonna, is gonna take over and everything's gonna be secondary.

Right.

Sometimes, you know, it, we have some, something going on.

Yeah.

I don't know.