Joey Hornyak
Transcript
Danielle (Scrunch) (00:10):
Joey, thank you so much for being here on the Scrunch Creator Economy Show. I'm so happy to have you and chat with you.
Joey Hornyak (00:18):
My pleasure. I'm super honored to, to, to be joining you, to, you know, get into this talk. Thanks so much for reaching out to me to have a, a conversation together.
Danielle (Scrunch) (00:29):
Amazing. Well, I always like to start with just sharing your story, so I know you know, hockey played a massive part in your journey, but I'd love to know kind of how you got there. Like, tell me the backstory.
Joey Hornyak (00:46):
Okay. So I'm 28 today, so I'll go back in time more than a couple of years. So,
Danielle (Scrunch) (00:53):
<Laugh> amazing
Joey Hornyak (00:55):
<Laugh>. So I was an athlete all my life, specifically playing ice hockey here in Canada. And I had quite the journey. I stopped playing when I was about 19 years old, so approximately like 10 years ago. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And growing up especially with my hockey career, social life and everything, I was always very I was always known as the smallest kid around. I was way behind my ears physically. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. So that played a massive disadvantage and a big like adversity. There was a big adversity obstacle pretty much every single year yeah, as I got older and as I wanted to play at a better level in hockey mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. so <laugh>, it's hard to go back 10 years time or more <laugh>, but I'll, I'll try to sum it up the best I can so that no one gets lost and so that you don't get lost either.
(02:01):
But there, there was a very big shift when I was 15 years old because that's when I started working out, and that's when I that's when things got very serious with my hockey career. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> at a very young age. There was a big, big, there was a lot of adversity. And, you know, just looking back today, those years helped a lot for who I am today and all, you know, in my twenties up to this point, they were very helpful. So to answer your question when I was 15 I had I had moved to city here in Canada, in the suburbs of Montreal, north of Montreal. And at 15 here in Canada you're in grade 11. Okay. So, I'm not too sure and familiar how it is where, where you live, but it's high school, it's grade 11, it's your last year of high school, that's where you graduate and, and everything.
(03:05):
And then after you graduate grade 11, then you have a couple years of what they call like college here. Gotcha. it's kind of like a pre university or university depending on what program you, you, you go for or what you shoot for. So when we had March break, which is like spring break here I was very, I, I was looking at what my options were for the following year in terms of what was going to be my path for hockey, what was going to be my path for school. And at that time I saw a lot of people in my entourage, you know, going that I went to school with, or that I was, was going to school with, applying for all these colleges, and they had kind of like a plan. And my plan, I knew in my mind that hockey for me was number one before anything.
(03:58):
I had to set my mind, put all of my eggs and energy in one basket, and really strive for what I really wanted to accomplish, which was to play professionally. And so during spring break, I had to look at my options, and it's very difficult here in my province of Quebec, which is a, a province or a state or whatever in the country of Canada it's very difficult to find a school and hockey that are kind of linked together. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> everything is always separate, so it's kind of like, you either go all in on school or go all in on like hockey. So it's, it's very hard to do both at the same time if you want to, you know, keep a good keep a good level on balance, both balance mm-hmm. Yeah. Balance on both. So during that spring break, I I reached out to a team that I wanted to try out for, which was the best team and the best place that you could go to to play at 15 years old.
(05:03):
So all the best 15 year olds in this region that I was living at. I wanted to try out for that team, and I was new in this area, so no one really knew who I was. I didn't have any friends in that area, and I was very small. So it was maybe a month before my 16th birthday, or let's just say 15 years old, 15, 16. Mm-Hmm. I was not even five feet, one inches tall. 90, not even 100 pounds. I don't know if you work in kilos, but it's not a lot. Good. That's okay. Yeah. Kilos or, yeah, it's really not a lot. So I was way behind my ears, again, like I said before, physically. And so I reached out to the manager of this team and he got back to me. I remember still to this day, it was an email saying like, the first sentence was what are your stats?
(05:55):
Meaning how, how tall are you? What's your weight? And I kind of lied, <laugh> and so I, I, I got an invite to those tryouts. And I remember showing up to that weekend of tryouts. I walked into the dressing room and I, I, I didn't know no one, and I walked into that dressing room, and I still remember the feeling. My heart dropped. Mm-Hmm. I looked around and everybody was like, double my size. They all looked at me like, who is this new person? <Laugh>. and I remember during that first practice, after it finished, I, I, I couldn't even breathe. I thought I had asthma. It was like I had an, an so much anxiety mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. I remember stepping out of that arena and leaving, see, looking at my mom and being like, I, I was crying. I said, I'm not coming back to this.
(06:49):
Wow. I wanted to give up everything. Fast forward. That's where I went to the next day. I, I remember I went with my mom in the car. We saw a gym and I was like, can I go work out? Can we get my, get a membership up at this gym? And the rest is history. That's where it really started. <Laugh>. Wow. I was so serious about just gaining size, improving my honest performance. And then again, I was left with no team, no school, no team. I remember I wrote down an email and every team that I could find in North America for my age group, literally every single province in state, there was about a over a thousand emails that I sent out. Wow. asking if I could go, try out. And they always fell back on how big I was and where did I play.
(07:43):
Mm-Hmm. and I remember finding this one school that was in a different province, province of Ontario and Ottawa. I had reached out to this school. It's, it was, it's a school that's just for hockey players. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. So everything was on campus. It was a newly built school and everything. I reached out to that school and asked if I could get a tryout or, or if I could get a chance. And then I remember getting an email back, but like a lot of boarding schools or prep schools, as they call it in North America or United States, it's very expensive. It could be from $30,000, 40,000 all the way up to maybe $60,000 depending on, on the school. And obviously, you know, my family didn't have that money. My dad was very sick. And I remember just going to visit that school here in Ottawa.
(08:38):
And again, you know, my, my size came into to play, and I remember the president of the school saying, this is not the place for you. You're gonna have to look somewhere else. And I was so gutted inside, but in my mind, I was like, there's something about this school. It's, you know, know there's something about it. And a week after, a week later, that president sent me an email saying, you know, we might have an opening for you. Maybe just write up a letter to see if you could get donations to attend this school. It was $35,000 for an out of province student, which was the fee that we needed to, I needed to pay for my parents. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, we didn't have that money. So I wrote up a letter in English and French, and I still have it. I, I have it framed <laugh> awesome.
(09:26):
I wrote on one side, it was an English version on the other side. It was a French version. I, I speak both languages. So I had that at in my hand. And I also had it on an, in an email format. And I sent it to, I have a binder still with every single company. Every single person that I was able to reach out to from like McDonald's to Blackberry, the telephones to professional hockey players here, where, where I live, like literally so many people in, in companies. And the only donation that I got in like over the summer of that year was only $20 from a coroner store. Five minutes from my house, I didn't. And September is usually the month when school starts, and usually when, when the hockey season here starts. And September was quickly approaching, and I only had 20 bucks and, and $20 in my piggy bank.
(10:25):
Wow. I didn't know what to do. So I, I, we, I reached out to the president of that school again. I said, look, I only have $20. And fast forward a bit. It was, the school started, the hockey season started. I had nothing. I wasn't in school. I wasn't playing hockey. I didn't know what to do. And I, there was a date that came to mind three weeks after school started there. That team was, was leaving for a showcase, which is like a tournament with a lot of scouts in the United States. They were going to Detroit, Michigan. And in my head, I was like, if I'm not on that bus, somehow forget it. Like, it's literally all over because the team is going to connect. There's people from all around the world that are attending the school from Europe, from Australia, from pretty much everywhere that are joining the school. And I was like, if I'm not on that bus, forget it. The team is gonna be connected, welded together. They're gonna be, they're gonna have a great bond. I'm not, I I'm not gonna be part of it again. I, I just felt out. So my goal was to get on that bus no matter what, and then figure out the rest later. I got on that bus. I played that show. I played at that showcase. How did
Speaker 3 (11:46):
You get on this bus? How did you do this?
Danielle (Scrunch) (11:50):
I'm so invested. I need to know
Joey Hornyak (11:52):
<Laugh>. I, my mom and I, my mom helped a lot through this process. We were, I, I, I remember just rewinding a bit. I remember being in school and out of nowhere I hear on the intercom that my mom is there to pick me up from school. And I was like, what's going on? So we got, I got, you know, I took my stuff. I got in the car. She picked me up. She said, let's go. We're going to we're gonna go give your letter in hand to all these professional hockey players that'll be coming out of their practice facility. So we waved in the rain Wow. For about three hours until each player, each manager, every agent that was coming out of the, the garage, the parking lot we gave it in their hands, each one of them.
(12:39):
And again, I only got $20 from the corner store, which I find was very it, it still gets to me to this day because yeah, that, that's a whole different story. But I only got $20. And how I got on that bus is I messaged the president. I was like, look, I only got $20. Can we figure something else later? I really need to get on this bus. He called me back two days later. He called us back, my mom and I, and he said, come on over. Come to Detroit and then we'll figure out the rest later. I, so I got on it. I, I took all my stuff. I packed, I packed my suitcase. And actually he said, you know, if when we come back from the Detroit tournament you know, if it doesn't work out, you can just head on back home.
(13:33):
And, you know, my mom and I were like, you know, if I'm gonna go, if I'm gonna get on this bus, it's to stay for good. Yeah. It doesn't make sense to go, you know, being a 15 year old kid, bringing this kid over from a different province at such a young age with, you know, all this happening in, in the background. If I were to, if I'm to go, I'm not coming back. I'm there to stay. And he, I guess, realized that he realized what he said. And he said, come, just come. Just come on the, on the bus and we'll see where this takes us. So I got on, on that bus, played that tournament which was so crazy cuz everything happened in such a quick, it happened in like two days, all of this. And I had to get a passport also to travel to a different country.
(14:22):
Wow. Cause I didn't have anything. So I wrote up a letter to the customs office, and I was able to get a passport within like 24 hours to hop on this bus to go to, to a different country in Detroit, in the us Oh my God. And fast forward again it's a very long story. So I'm gonna, I'm trying to <laugh> just compress it all so you could understand it. Also September went, October went by, November went by. And then December, I was still at this campus. I was living there. I had my dorm, my roommate was from Switzerland. I was playing on this team. It was amazing. And about like two weeks before Christmas break, I didn't know this, but my mom got a phone call from the finance department, and the fi finance department saw that we only paid like $20, or actually we didn't pay anything.
(15:20):
And the finance department, the head of finance called my mom and said, you know, we're approaching a new year, Christmas break the holidays, do you expect to pay anything soon? And my mom, I didn't know this, but my mom kind of was on the spot, and she was like, look, I have a credit card that has a $5,000 limit on it. I'll max out that credit card for my son. I didn't know this. Wow. And, you know, and then I'll, I'll pay for the rest of my mom was like, I'll pay for the rest of my life if I need to, but my son needs to stay there for the rest of the year. Mm-Hmm. I didn't know this. So she was coming to pick me up for the Christmas break so I could go back home for the holidays.
(16:05):
And getting goosebumps because what I'm about to tell you and maybe a couple days later after she got that phone call from the finance department, the president of the school I'm not gonna use his name, but the president of that school called my mom and gave her the news that, or gave her some, some good news that I didn't know of <laugh>. And so holidays were approaching. So my mom came to pick me up. She was on campus, and I needed to pack everything to leave for a couple weeks for the holidays. And I remember grabbing everything that I had. I had two suitcases. I was rolling them out of my dorm room, and it's a long, long hallway. And when I looked to my right, all I see at the end of the hallway was a straight hallway. All I see at the end is this the president of the school and, and, and and campus and everything.
(17:05):
He was on my right. And just coincidentally, my mom was on the left entering the, the, the, the dorm building. So there was nobody really else in the building. Yeah, yeah. And I was stepping outta my dorm room. I was closing the door, I see my mom on the left, I see the president of the school on the right. And then we just all came in together and the president of the school looks at my mom, and I'm in the middle. And he says, did you tell him? And then I'm looking, I'm like, oh my God. I probably got scouted for like a professional team. I, I, I was, I was like, there's a scout that probably saw me play during these last few months. I was freaking out. I was like, oh my God, what is it? And she looked at him and she's like, no, I didn't tell him. And then I was like, okay, what is it? So he looks at me and he is like it's to tell you that there's an angel that came from the sky and, and dropped a check of $25,000 in your name on my desk this morning, or during, before the holidays. What?
(18:07):
And as soon as I heard that news, there was like a huge weight that lifted on my off my shoulders. Mm-Hmm. And I was like, it worked. Yeah. It actually worked because every single day for almost like a year, I was on my computer. I remember it was like 40 degrees outside. I had a fan on my desk just pointing towards me, sending out these emails, trying to get donations, bringing it to companies. And yeah, there was an angel that dropped the check of $25,000 in my name, and I obviously got a scholarship for the remainder. They waived the fee and the bounce of that year was $0. I spent the whole year at that school. Wow. I graduated from there. I got awards from that school. And it was just like a small victory. I was like, I knew it worked because I didn't give up.
(19:04):
I had no plan B. And while that whole year, a lot of people were telling me to have a plan b, I was like, no, I, I can't send a plan B because it's gonna take away from my plenty of what I really want. Mm-Hmm. and it worked. It, it really worked. And and then <laugh> Yeah. That, that year, honestly, up to this date set a solid foundation. Mm-Hmm. I was, I acquired so many tools and it's just, it, it's something so significant in my life up to this point and will always be. And it taught me at a young age, you know, battling like just anxiety and dealing with like, full of things, just physically and having so much adversity growing up, also with that was, was a huge victory.
Danielle (Scrunch) (19:54):
And oh, I can only imagine that setting your mind to something at, you know, 15, 16 years old and committing to it every day for a year, and then having it finally pay off. Like, that's incredible. That's like, okay, I can
Joey Hornyak (20:12):
Actually literally pay off
Danielle (Scrunch) (20:13):
Anything. I can do anything I want in my whole life, <laugh>
Joey Hornyak (20:17):
100%. And up to this day, I still keep that mentality that structure, that formula that I used. Yeah. I always refer back to that because it was so, so, so difficult day in and day out. I, I didn't go out with friends. I, I didn't even go to my graduation. Mm-Hmm. that grade 11 at that year, the, the nothing, like, there was so many days that I was crying, like in my backyard, in my room. I, I didn't know what to do, do. Everybody kept saying, no, I only got $20. And I sent it to over like a thousand companies and people and pe like companies, you know, with, you know, that could, that could easily, well, I'm not saying easily, but that have probably the the, the ways to, to donate or things like that or programs. But I only got $20 and it was like from a hotdog and hamburger corner store in my city. Wow. and yeah, I went on. Did
Danielle (Scrunch) (21:19):
You ever find out who, did you ever find out who this angel was?
Joey Hornyak (21:23):
I, I did. They reached out through email years later, and I'm still in contact with them to the state. Wow. And they're, they are close, but far in distance mentors for me. And yeah. It's, it was, it, it was amazing also to find out who and everything it, that was such a, it, it was so emotional and it was years later that I found out. But on that spot, like the feeling, the just everything in one was, was crazy. And, and also how it happened, how my mom was there without mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, you know, calling the president of the school and matching it because he was checking each room to see if the kids were gone. It was crazy. And I took advantage of that year. We had access to, you know, gym we had access to, to all the food we wanted.
(22:22):
It was the best level of hockey I could play at that age. I met so many great people from around the world. It was such an experience at such a young age. It's, it's almost like a little like dream that little kids, that's young kids dream of, of doing, you know, you're living with your hockey team, your friends they're right across my door. I can knock on their door. They're living there. It's, it was just, it, it was a cool experience that'll cherish forever. And that was just the beginning that I graduated from there. My grade 12 year mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. I graduated from there with awards and everything. And I ended up playing on the first line of my hockey team through the, throughout the second half of that year, which was a huge milestone for me in a huge achievement.
(23:12):
And then I went on to sign with a team in the United States Amazing. In New York State. And and then that just didn't work out. There was things that didn't fall into place correctly. Once I signed with that team. And I was very in shape through those years. And I just decided to get active on social media, share everything about kind of I was doing at that point. And slowly built a falling and slowly built a coaching business through what I had, because it was kind of after everything dropped, once I signed with that team, after it didn't work out, I was kind of back to where I was in terms of no hockey, no school, but a year later. And so I was like, what do I have right now that it could use to my advantage? And it was, you know, the whole fitness aspect of it all. And so I did. And that's where the whole social media kind of game started like 10, 11 years ago.
Danielle (Scrunch) (24:20):
Yeah. I mean, yeah. I was gonna ask, so you've got 115,000 followers now, which is massive. And obviously you're sponsored, you have your own business, you do the coaching, like the, the leap from, oh my God, I wanna be a professional hockey player. And going through that adversity, having those successes, and then it not working out and then going, oh my God, I've gotta change. I've gotta, you know, reinvent myself. But I love how you went. Well, what tools do I have now at my disposal and how can I use them to build a business? So, so talk to me about that. So obviously you started a decade ago on social media which is right when everything was starting. Yeah. Tell me about that process and, and how it's grown.
Joey Hornyak (25:04):
Yep. So so yeah, like you said, I, I like the tools that I had in my tool bag that I was able to use at that moment to my advantage was the whole fitness aspect. I was so above a lot of people. It's, it's so weird because between like 15 and like S 17, I took a huge leap in terms of like the whole physical performance and mm-hmm. <Affirmative> and just everything in terms of fitness. There was always like fitness testings with hockey teams and everything. And I, I, funny enough, I always finished in like first with the tryouts of, of those teams in the hockey testing the hockey fitness testing. And which was crazy because coming from this small, small kid <laugh> that it was, it was always the reverse thing. Mm. it's slowly built up to being that.
(25:53):
And that same year when I started to get active on social media and post fitness related stuff, about a year later, I decided to do a, a physique competition. And in that same year I did four competitions and I ended up winning my pro card as a physique competitor. Wow. in, on, in the year when I was 18 or 19 mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, so maybe a year or two years later I ended up winning a pro card, which again was, so, I'll use the word funny because I went, you know, my, all my high school year mm-hmm. <Affirmative> my school years, my hockey years too. Growing up, it was always a question of like physique, how big I was, how tall I was, how much did I weigh. And then a couple years later, I'm ended. I'm, I ended up being on stage as a physique competitor.
(26:46):
Wow. Cause I just wanted to try something like that. Mm-Hmm. I had it in my, in my tool bag. I wanted to try it out, and it went very well. And during that time, like simultaneously as I was working out and competing and all that there was a lot of people reaching out to me being like, oh, can you help me? I have, I want to attain this. I want to achieve this physically. And I was like, whoa, these are the same people that I played hockey with. These are the same people that I went to school with asking wow me questions or coming back to me for like fitness help, which was completely insane to me. I was like, I was realizing this. I was like, whoa, this is so crazy. Mm-Hmm. and so that's where it, it kind of started.
(27:29):
And I just got active on, on social media and I was always, when I was like, even before 15 years old, I was always, I always had a, a geeky side to, to me I loved gaming. I loved everything that had to do with like, Photoshop editing videos. I remember posting my first YouTube video in 2000, like six or eight. Wow. way before anything started. And I still have those videos I think up or something mm-hmm. <Affirmative> and I, that helped me for, for when I actually started social media because I knew already how to edit videos. Yeah. How to edit like pictures, how to retouch pictures. And yeah. And that's where it all started. I started my coaching business. And then I started to taste a bit of the world of e-commerce in terms of clothing brands that I started. And I ended up working with a lot of companies as like a model or sponsors throughout the years. And it goes by fast time goes by fast just talking about this, because that's, that's already like eight, 10 years ago, which is Wow. Again, crazy <laugh>.
Danielle (Scrunch) (28:40):
And so what do you find, because I often have creators who you know you know, have built these massive followings and they're kind of relying on sponsored posts or like ambassadorships from brands, but I know you do that, but you also have your own business as well. Like, what, what do you think about that? Do you think as a creator it's important to have something that you own, that your business asset so that you don't have to always rely on kind of brand deals?
Joey Hornyak (29:10):
100%. 100%. Because it, it could be, it could be, it's, it's good to have both. Mm-Hmm. And it's good to not shut off both. But it's very good to have something in your name because you're in control of it. You don't know what all those other companies or people, you know, you, it's not sustainable. It's not long term, so to speak mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. but you know, in terms of having your own as a creator, it'll stay a lot. It, it'll stay rolling as long as you're alive. And if it gets to a certain point, obviously you could b structure it a certain way as to if you're not present physically and not there, it could still roll too. But it's very good to have both because mm-hmm. <Affirmative> you can't create everything. You can't create everything in every single domain mm-hmm. <Affirmative>.
(30:03):
And I don't think that's the right thing. Also, even if you have a massive following sure you have a lot of eyeballs and a lot of attention. But you know, I, I prefer to just kind of focus on a couple things and leave all those sponsorship deals and contracts and ambassador programs to other things, because also I don't have to stress about all those other brands. I just need to focus on my task. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> deliver with the contract and agreement that I have with that company or brand, and that's all I need to do. So it's good to have both. It's, it's always good to never close off one opportunity or the other. And it's just, yeah. It's, it's very good to have both. And I think yes, it is important to to have something in your own name.
Danielle (Scrunch) (30:53):
Yeah, absolutely.
Joey Hornyak (30:55):
And it's also fun.
Danielle (Scrunch) (30:56):
Yeah, totally. Well, I mean, like, running your own business is kind of hard, <laugh>, so, you know, I imagine that, you know, it's an opportunity to learn more skills, right? Like it's an opportunity to grow again going into like a business arena.
Joey Hornyak (31:13):
Yes, exactly. Yeah, and I, I was curious, I'm, I know you're asking you the questions, but I was curious as to what kind of what, what what you do, how, how did, how did you start this podcast? And I don't even know if you often get the questions thrown back at you, but I'm very curious to know as well, because I could probably learn something or It's, it's super interesting too, and I see you have a stack of books behind you, so I know you're, you're probably into learning a lot of different things and having different conversations with people as to how you could learn too from different people. And Yeah. I'm curious to know how, how, how, how you started your own podcast or how everything works on, on your end.
Danielle (Scrunch) (31:56):
Yeah. Well, this is kind of new for us. So we have come from the influencer marketing space. So for the last 10 years, basically, we have a technology platform that's called Scrunch, and we connect influencers to brands. But in the last 12 months, I've kind of seen the whole world change. So we're not calling them influencers or bloggers anymore. Now we're calling them creators. And I've just been obsessed with business for a long time. I've, I started an e-commerce brand and, and sold that. I've got another coaching business mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, where I help female founders with their sales and marketing. And I was kind of looking at scrunch this year and thinking about, about how it had to change and adapt to the new creator economy that we're calling it. And I kind of realized that I could apply everything that we've learned for the last decade in business and actually help creators start their own businesses.
(32:55):
And also tell the stories of, you know, creators, brands, agencies, you know, people that have built companies that are supporting creators. So yeah, this podcast has evolved firstly just to tell those stories. And I'm just finding the more and more I talk to different people, the more it's sort of moving towards, you know, this idea of a creator becoming a C E O or you know, starting their own business. Oh, yeah. So, so that's kind of how we're sort of morphing and, and adapting as well, which is super exciting. It's, yeah, it's really cool actually. I really, I love it. It's
Joey Hornyak (33:29):
So cool. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. No, it's so good. And do, do you find that these do you find that these like talks and conversations in terms of the podcast, do you find that it's a, it's a good tool to do on your end in terms of just learning to get different angles as to probably not ways that you could improve, but just get more insight as to you know, to, to throw it back into your end in terms of like scrunch and everything that you're doing. Is, is there also that angle of the, the, the podcast in terms of the learning aspect?
Danielle (Scrunch) (34:02):
Oh, absolutely. And it's so interesting because every person has a different experience and story, but also a gap and challenge in terms of where they're trying to go next. So that really helps us kind of identify what tools we need to develop to support our community. So yeah. Absolutely. It's, it's like, it's like fun research. I get to sit here with a cup of coffee Yeah. And just like hear about, well, that's why Awesome. Lives <laugh>, but yeah. But it's the way we research as well. And so nice. And obviously it helps us, but when we put out that podcast, you know, somebody else is listening to your story and going, oh my God, I could start my own business. I've got the tools and the means and hundred percent. So, so it also serves as just inspiring people in the community as well.
Joey Hornyak (34:50):
Yeah, I agree. What, what are your three recommendations of books?
Danielle (Scrunch) (34:55):
Oh my God. I need to have a better
Joey Hornyak (34:57):
Looking at that stack since before <laugh>.
Danielle (Scrunch) (34:59):
I need to have a good answer to this question cuz you're not the first person that's asked me, but my favorites are. So the Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris, that was the first book that made me discover online business because I grew up in a really traditional family. Like, went to uni, got a full-time job, I just, I didn't even know you could start a business when I started my business. Wow. so that was super inspirational. I love Atomic Habits by James cle because it's just super good. Like, it just makes, it breaks everything down and it kind of goes, you know what? I know you have these big dreams, but you only have to like, like bite off these tiny little steps and tiny habits to get there, which I love. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And then the other one is, I think it's called, it's something like the Buddha and the Badass. It's by the guy who started Mindvalley, which is like an online learning platform and it's marries these ideas of being zen and, you know, mindful and the hustle of actually running a business. So it's really, it's really cool. So they're probably my top three at the moment. I think. <Laugh>
Joey Hornyak (36:09):
Nice. Yeah, there's probably so many to choose from two to break it down.
Danielle (Scrunch) (36:13):
And there's so many I haven't actually read as well. <Laugh>. I haven't heard all of them. That's my disclaimer.
Joey Hornyak (36:19):
<Laugh>. Good. Good. Well, I liked the honesty. That's good. At least <laugh>.
Danielle (Scrunch) (36:23):
Oh, so good. So good. Well, look, I think we're getting almost to time, so why don't we wrap up with one last question. If you could give, say a new creator, so somebody that was just starting out one piece of advice, what would that be?
Joey Hornyak (36:44):
So a digital creator on, on. So the advice I would give, or one piece of advice, or the best piece of advice that I could give for a creator that's just starting off or wanting to start off, or maybe that already started, but just wants to level up in, in their field or game.
Danielle (Scrunch) (36:59):
Yeah.
Joey Hornyak (37:00):
So honestly, the, the best, or not the best, but my, my best way of answering this is I still even have these conversations too now with my girlfriend and everything. It's a, it's an ongoing thing, but the best piece of advice we're our biggest like critics and, and judge mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. So you know, that'll always stay. So the best piece of advice, and it's crazy because we were just talking about this like kind of before or recently, is just post no matter what. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, that's number one. Just post, stay super authentic as to what you're doing. It doesn't matter if you have an iPhone, a camera, a camcorder, a video camera a flip phone from year 2000 <laugh>, it does not matter. Yeah. because it's cr And the reason why I'm saying that is because so many of my videos that I posted, whether it was on TikTok that got over 5 million views, whether it was a YouTube video that got over a million views or whether it was a million views on, on a reel, it all came from a phone.
(38:14):
Mm-Hmm. And that made me realize so much. I was like, you just gotta post. Yeah. And you don't know which one, you can't just be like either. You can't be like, oh, I'm gonna focus on creating something so good because it's gonna blow up. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, because it doesn't work like that. You just have to post, post what you're doing on a daily basis, post what you wanna share and just stay. Just, that's how you're gonna stay true to to, to what you're posting. And try to never sell either. If you're looking to build a personal brand or an image in terms of like being a creator and not so much. Like if you, if you're wanting to just build an e-commerce business and brand or a clothing brand that doesn't have your name on it, then that's a whole different ballgame. But if you're looking to build your name, Joey Hornick as a personal brand and as an image, don't sell, just post.
(39:11):
Yes. Because people are going to come to you. They're going to ask you how, you know, you've got in shape. How can I get shape? Is someone reaching out to you to be on their podcast? Mm-Hmm. I didn't reach it. You know, I'm not reaching out to you to ask if I could be on your podcast. I'm not selling to, you know, I'm not here selling all the time. Obviously now it's a different point after 10 years, but don't sell just post. Just post. Just post. Yes. And who cares about the amount, amount of followers you have? Because the reason why I say that, and I always will give this example, and I know this is a probably a huge answer that I'm giving, as you know, to your question. No, it's not good. <Laugh>, the, the f the followers can get really into someone's head.
(39:57):
And, and this example that I'm gonna give is one that I always try to give to someone that asks me this question is, for example, if you have someone that has a million followers on Instagram or any type of platform, and they're posting selfies on every single post, and then you have this person, you know, person B that has, I don't know, 10,000 followers or a hundred thousand followers or less, pick whatever, what number you want. And that post these high quality photography, artistic, creative posts or pictures, and I was Nike or any big brand, I'm saying a sports brand because I'm in that field and Nike sees person A that has a million followers that just post selfies every day or every post. And then you have person B that has a thousand 100,000 followers or less that posts these creative pictures.
(40:51):
If I'm the person managing Nike and I'm looking for someone to market my new product for a campaign, I'm gonna choose person B. Yeah. Because he's able, or she's able to sell my product better mm-hmm. <Affirmative> to have a better image. And being a person at Nike, I know that the r ROI of that person B will be a much better and bigger return than person A. Even if person A has 10 times the amount of followers, 10 times the amount of likes, Nike's going to reach out to person B. And I'd be surprised if they choose person A, meaning the person with a million followers that just post selfies all day. If you have obviously, you know, a million followers with a very good reach, but you also post creative pictures and posts, then that's a thumbs up even better. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, that's a different thing.
(41:42):
Yes. Even better. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, but just so that someone could understand that's starting off or that's thinking like, oh my God, I gotta grow my following or likes and everything. Always think of that example and I've always thought of that example. And yeah, I, I, I don't even have a million followers and I remember being at 75, 50,000 followers and still landing these big contracts because of time that I put, or, you know, effort that I put into creating a certain post or image or whatever, whether it came through a phone or camera. Yeah, I always stick to that thought. So those are kind of, that's kind of like my summary, so to speak, as to kind of the, the tip or tips that I would give for someone just starting off or that wants to begin or that just wants to level up their game and get a better understanding.
(42:35):
You know, moving forward, and I'm not saying I'm the best at this, but I do have some, some experience and whether or not you're watching or listening to this take what you want, use what you want and you know, yeah. Use, use, use something from this person. Use something from this person and, and then make it your own. And just be active on, on social media. And one other thing before wrapping up is don't always stay grounded too. Hmm. respond to people who have 500 followers, who, who, you know, don't put yourself on a pedestal too much and think like you're all it or y all all that stuff. I have seven rules that, that I follow this and this links back to the angel that dropped from the sky. That person had wrote to me seven Rules of Life in that email that I found out who that was. And I took those seven rules of life. I wrote them down, I framed it and as like one of the rules in those seven is to stay grounded mm-hmm. <Affirmative> and to always remember where kind of you came from and everything like that. No matter how much money you're gonna end up having or all the materialistic stuff that you have, or the amount of followers again, is to just always stay grounded. And I think that goes a long ways.
Danielle (Scrunch) (43:57):
Incredible. You are absolutely awesome. Thank you so much for sharing your stories and your insights and your tips with the Scrunch community. We couldn't be more grateful to have you on the show. Thank you.
Joey Hornyak (44:11):
My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.
