What It Was Like Interning With Victor Pride

I’ve been living in Los Angeles for the past two months. I just arrived back in Charleston ten days ago. Since getting back I’ve been busy putting deals together and laying down the foundation for Calm and Collected.

Los Angeles is by far the coolest and best city I’ve ever been to. I will be returning there yearly to surround myself with the great energy that only LA has.

Before leaving Charleston I had become complacent. At the time I was doing Grounds-keeping which kept me busy and allowed me to be comfortable. Comfort isn’t good when you are wanting to level up your life.

I left with zero planning and just got on a plane to the West Coast. While in LA I spent $2,045 on bills and travel. This doesn’t include Uber or any extra expenses.

For the two months I was there I interned with Victor Pride. He lives in another world. In his world time doesn’t mean anything and there are no limits.

From the time he gets up until the time he goes to bed, everything he does revolves around Bold and Determined. He truly gives all to get all.

I thought that I had insane drive but Victor Pride is on another level. He is obsessed with being the best and truly lives what he talks about.

When I first arrived I waited outside the gate for him to let me in. As he walked through the gate he said my name and I turned to see the man himself.

As we took the elevator up to the dojo I couldn’t believe I was standing next to Victor Pride. I told him that I was in shock that this was happening. Without hesitation he said, “Get over it because we have work to do”.

After I took a shower and ate some food we spent the rest of the day working. The task at hand was getting New World Ronin ready for all of the B&D readers.

We spent the next three or so days editing. Hours upon hours were spent editing New World Ronin. Once we had an edition that Victor liked he sent Mike Chagares a copy to do some final editing on New World Ronin.

After Mike finished his editing he sent Victor the draft so that he could add his final touches to it. Once Victor was happy with what he had spent months creating he sent the final copy to BADMIN.

Seeing how much Victor put into New World Ronin was inspiring and intimidating at the same time. Months before I flew to Los Angeles Victor had been writing and editing.

Many people just put out a book with little editing. Victor on the other hand makes something that lasts decades due to all of the work he puts into it.

Once New World Ronin was complete Victor rented a BMW. He wanted to take a trip to Hearst Castle to celebrate the completion of New World Ronin. Victor rented a beautiful spot right on the Pacific Ocean for us to stay the night in.

The view was mind blowing. Imagine being up on a cliff looking down into the Pacific Ocean. Birds flew all around and we even had a place to write from that overlooked the ocean.

The next day we drove to Hearst Castle. Once there, Victor and I took a bus up the mountain to William Randolph Hearst’s massive house.

If you are ever in California you have to take a trip there. Being surrounded by such luxury really gets your mind going.

After the tour we drove back to the dojo. Over the course of the next few weeks we filmed and recorded the Full Color Godcast.

My life revolved around getting the lighting right, filming the Godcast, and taking pictures. Weeks felt like days to me. Living in a world where time is meaningless and money is no object is a reality that few will ever experience.

In the world of Victor Pride, there are no limits and you only do what you want. Seeing all of the work that goes into building and running such a big empire put everything into perspective for me.

He really does have the easiest job in the world. There is a catch though. Being the best takes all of your time, but you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Most people can’t give everything to something. They only give half and then expect to get the whole reward.

This is why so many young hustlers never make it. They live in reality and can’t let go to create and build their business.

Fast-forward to December and we were planning the B&D BBQ. I had been calling venue after venue. None of them would work.

Victor Pride wants it exactly how he see’s it or nothing else. January was creeping up but I knew that the best place would come.

One day as I was walking to a cafe I decided to take a new path. As I crossed the road I saw a trailer that said “Visitor Center”.

I made my way over to it and went inside. I went up to the woman at the desk and told her I needed a place to hold a BBQ.

She gave me three numbers. I called all three and only one answered. It was as if Destiny had already chosen the location.

I left the Visitor Center and made my way to the cafe. After I finished writing I went to the venue and talked with the staff there.

The overall vibe was great and the location was perfect. I knew this was the place. After getting more information I Ubered back to the dojo so I could tell Victor.

The two of us went there a few days later so that he could check it out. Victor ended up loving the place and reserved our day for January 7th, 2017.

We continued recording the FCG but turned our focus to B&W work. The B&D Forum had to be created. At first the forum’s design was terrible just like every other forum out there.

I told Victor I had a guy that could make it look great. He said to take care of it and so I called up my guy Alex Mangini. The next day Alex worked some of his magic and turned it into a forum fit for B&D.

From there Victor and I went about getting ready for the B&D BBQ. I took the preparations very seriously as many people would kill for the opportunity that I had.

Living with Victor Pride is unlike anything that I’ve ever experienced. He lives in a reality that isn’t like most.

To him everything just works out and once he says something, he moves on. Even walking around the streets of LA, people go out of there way to show him respect.

The confidence and certainty he has follows him wherever he goes. He never overthinks and just takes action.

I arrived in Los Angeles shy and left with fire in my eyes. Being around Victor forced me to become my best self. He will eat you alive if you show even a small lack of confidence in yourself.

In another article I will talk about the B&D BBQ and other details about Los Angeles. Let me know if you have any questions in the comment section below.

Tune in next time for some more…

REAL DEALIN’ With The Real Dylan

PS: Check out the first podcast from Calm and Collected: