Your phone? Okay. All righty, fantastic. Welcome back. You're still hanging out with us right here on Why in the Morning. And I'm so, so excited that you're still right there.  You can plug in on the hashtag Why in the Morning. And today, this segment right here, I love it. And I know you love it too. It's all about entrepreneurs. Sometimes you bring influential people that have something, not only that impacts their lives themselves only, but others as well. And this is where I love it because you get to have insights. You get to delve into deeper conversations and get to understand different worlds, especially when you come to creating, you know, something meaningful for yourself. Wanting to offer a channel is the social media at Brian's Aquana One and the hashtag is still Why in the Morning. And just in case you're not seated in front of your TV screen, you can always jump in on our website, which is www.kbc.co.ke4-y254. And just remember, we are available on Punks, Signature as well. Go TV as well. Come on now. And many other TV distribution platforms. You can find us there as Y254 Channel. And I'm so excited. We have live in studio with us, the creator of the Montauk KE podcast. I'm sure you have come across that on YouTube and he's right. Live with us here in studio. I don't want to butcher your name though. Is it Eli or Eli? It's Eli. Eli Mwenda. Oh, Eli Mwenda. Yeah, yeah, Eli. Nice. Good morning to you. Nice to meet you in person. Thank you so much. I'm happy to be here, man. How does it feel being talked about on blogs as well, being published in the newspapers? How does it feel? I think for me, I always appreciate when a light is shown on something that you're doing, that you care about. So for me, when there's recognition from traditional media, coming places like here, seeing newspapers, it's a blessing. It's 100% a blessing. So I like it. Do sometimes get scared that someone will write something so gibberish and you'll be like, where did you get those details? Especially when it comes to relationships, sometimes it can be crazy. Yeah, so I think because of the way I've curated my brand specifically and the boundaries I've kept, it's going to be very rare that there's any information out there that's negative. And just generally the way I live my life, it's going to be rare that there's something I do that's going to have a negative story attached to it. So I don't worry too much. And I think the journalists I've spoken to most of the time, that I have friends of mine or you've had a good rapport, and it comes with a lot of respect. So that fear is obviously there, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. It doesn't give you shivers and shatters. I see very well, I see very well. I love the fact that you're so brave.  Honestly, it just depends how you curate your brand. I think sometimes people let people in too much. And when you do that, then there's room for, you know, people scrutinizing and things. But if you just keep yourself to yourself, put out what needs to be put out, I think you're okay. But you just give them what they should know. Exactly, have your boundaries, have your boundaries. As we get to boundaries now, let's get to know you a little bit. I understand you're born in Kenya but raised in the UK. Yes, yes. And you came to Kenya, you came back to Kenya like four years ago. Yeah, yeah. How's that experience, by the way? Yeah, so yeah, I was born in Nairobi, born in Westlands. I left when I was a few months old. Okay. Then I went to the UK with my family at the time and then grew up there, came back when I was in my mid-20s. And it was a holiday, so I didn't actually plan to come back to Kenya. But I really enjoyed it when I did and I was into some businesses and it went well. Then I started doing social media, the podcast and I made a really good group of friends here and also the weather was fantastic. So I said, let me just move my stakes and put them here. So it's been a very interesting four years. It's coming up to four years now. No regrets, I really enjoyed it. Permanently in Kenya now? Permanently. The day that I bought a cat, I said this means... Oh, the day you bought a cat?  Yeah, yeah, I'm a cat dad. How do we call you now?   Oh my goodness. So when I did that, I said I'm definitely here if I bought a cat. Because of your cat? Exactly. What's your cat's name? Nala. Nala. Female? Yes. Wow. Hi Nala, just in case you heard this show, we said, all right, interesting details.  You started receiving a lot of recognition. Initially, we didn't have, you know, men who are creating content for men. But when you carved that niche for yourself, it suddenly, you know, took over, you know, the two, five, four digital space by storm. How did that idea materialize? Did you always hold that in mind? Yeah. Or did you always, you know, see yourself some day just, you know, advocating for men, talking about men conversation. And not just men alone, you're in, you're also incorporating women as well. See, it's men incorporated in women's spaces and women's spaces incorporated in men's spaces. Yeah. How did that come to materialize for you? So I always start with this story because I think it's quite motivating because it's something I want to do. So every year, I make a vision board with my family. So on new years, we put down what we want to do, et cetera. So during my year before coming to Kenya, no, the year that I came to Kenya, sorry, I put on my vision board that I want to have a show. That's a positive show. So then maybe... Was it for TV or digital? I didn't know. I just saw, in the vision board, I put a picture of like cameras and mics. And I said, I just want to be speaking about something positive. So I didn't know how that would form, how that would look, right? All right. So that was the angle I wanted to go down. Okay. And then so fast forward a few months, I was speaking to one of my friends who had a good location and he was like, I want to use this location for a show. I said, brilliant, I want to make a show. So he started there with like four of us making the show. And then as time went on, I bumped into my now co-host, which is Oscar Comet, who was a lawyer. He still is a lawyer, but he's studying at the moment. So we realized after some time that me and him had very aligned goals when it came to how we want to speak about society and the kind of space you want to create for young men. So through that, we started being just us two as the podcast. And the mission when we started it, it's called Mantle because we assumed that the men are going to be the ones that are tuning in. They'll be watching. Exactly. Yeah. So that was the angle we took off the bat. Right. But then quickly we realized that women also want to tune into these conversations. Yeah. So instead of being male focused, we said why don't we make it a place where both genders, people from different thought, from different thought ideas can come and have a safe space to express themselves and talk and have a community where we're open to learn at the same time. So it's become a platform where me and my co-host Oscar will start the conversation, start a discussion, but then we'll discuss now with the community every single week and we'll go live on Instagram every single week and have meaningful conversations. Because I think a lot of the time, the kind of social media that we have out there, there can be very toxic, very negative narratives. So our idea is to basically be the people that kind of balance the darkness and light. That was the idea. And it's been a fantastic journey so far. It's coming up to three years with the podcast now and we've impacted a lot of people and it's been very nice to finally sort of get to the point where it's a sustainable business, it's a production company and it's sort of running itself. But it didn't, you said take it by storm. It didn't really do that. It was, it's been a long, it took a long time. You had to process the process. Exactly. Invested a lot of money and a lot of time, but finally it's coming up. A lot of investing. My goodness. Yeah. Oh my goodness. If somebody would just watch a podcast on YouTube, they'd be like, you just bought a microphone, you started recording, but there's a lot of production like what are you doing right now behind that podcast as well. My goodness, yeah. Did you have to hire people or are you hard to do it yourself? Yeah, so when we first started, we started with a production company. We went through about four or five production companies. It's very hard to find people that align with your work ethic. And consistently as well. Consistently and the quality and then within budget. So it took a long time. But we finally have a production company called Artlight Studios, a fantastic team. So our company and their company work together. They produce for us and other podcasts now as well and other clients, but they're just a fantastic team that we've been with for now over a year. But yeah, they've held our hand because they were very expensive, but they said, listen, we love what you're doing. Let's sort of grow together. So it's important to have a product that, you know, your partners can support because they believe in the product. So that's been a massive blessing for us. And you have quality content. Exactly. Content is expensive, you know. So expensive. That's just something that you wake up in and slap something into something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And as well, you do the research, you know. You have to look at the dynamics of, you know, how do we come up with something that will, you know, not only just, you know, create attention, but positively impact people who are watching on the other side.  Yes, but I like the independence I have of my own kind of platform. But yeah, journalists in some spaces, yeah. Right. Would you do radio before you get to the business now? Would you? I'm sure there's a couple of radio stations who are like, hey, can you come to my show? Yeah, that's definitely happened. The issue is sometimes when you're discussing and negotiating, they're like, you can't now do your podcast. So I've had really good deals, but I can't do the podcast. It's like a contract to send you from your podcast or your podcast should air on the radio station. Yeah, other syndicating, et cetera. But so basically what I've said is my priority is the communities I've built. I'm not going to ever do a decision based on cash. So the podcast is number one. If I can do radio alongside that. That's like your first baby. Yeah, it's my baby. Yeah, we're my buddy. It's your first love. Yeah, we've grown it. We've invested in it. So yeah, I don't really chase opportunities based on money. I chase it on impact. Right. And I think the podcast has way more impact than sometimes traditional media. But if I was to get into that space, the check has to be okay. Right. And also the negotiation has to be okay. Yeah. I'm not aware of this cast when you're done. How much you're up behind this story for another day.  Apart from like you mentioned, you wrote it on your vision board. And you said, you know, it's just a podcast. But then when it manifested, it became an amazing thing, you know. Yeah. Did it stem from as a place of inspiration or research? So when I started creating my social circle in Kenya, I did it because the business I was doing offline, I didn't really interact with people my age or with the same interests. But when I started posting on social media, I created like a small following which meant I now had sort of friends in that space. So I started making content based on fashion to kick off with. But then I realized like fashion is fine. It's good. I really think you should dress well and feel good. But at the same time, I wanted to do something way more because from conversations I was having, there was a lot of men in pain and there wasn't a space for them to go to to see other men maybe talk about that pain in an articulate way. So it came from having conversations with my peers and then just seeing the scope. And I'd already gone on a self-development journey myself maybe like two years prior. So I'd had so much, I'd learned so much. Were you like going through something traumatizing, mentally draining or something? Not really. I think when you hit 25, something happens where you're like, okay, I'm now... Does I shift? Yeah, something happens. I don't know what it is, but that shift I was like, I'm so invested now in myself. So I took that journey mentally, physically, even spiritually. And because of that, I got so much help from virtual mentors online like listening to other podcasts. And I said, why don't I take that information, put it in a Kenyan context and now try and serve somebody else. So trying to basically pass on that journey now to someone else. And that seems to have worked. So that's how the podcast and the thinking came about. Hence the vision board, hence the wanting to help people. Before we get to the reception, let's switch to your business a little bit. And I love the fact that, you know, I'm sure you'd agree, the mantra podcast is the one that gave birth to your InstaMarket254 business. Would you agree? No, so how it actually happened, they run concurrently, but the InstaMarket started before Mantalk. Oh, it started before Mantalk. So me and my sister, I won't take too much time, but me and my sister basically wanted to sell our clothes to our followers because they were saying, we love what you wear. Are you ever going to be getting rid of it? If so, how can I buy it? So we said, okay, let's make a space where people can come and buy influences, yeah, buy specifically from influences because people follow them for fashion. So when they want to get rid of things, your target market will specifically influence us. To be the vendors. The vendors will be the influencers. And then the audience was supposed to be the people that come that follow them. But when we started posting about it online, we realized that so many people were interested and they had small businesses. So I said, okay, we'll have influences and then other small businesses. So we did one market, it was supposed to be one market, and we had like 10 vendors that we wanted to do at the time, that were influencers. By the time we put out the registration form for now anyone else, we had about 60 vendors. And so basically 50 of them were small businesses. So we said, okay, let's keep doing this monthly because they came, they made so much money and it's been going ever since every month for about three years coming up to four. So that started completely independent with me and my sister. That's one company and the other company is now the production with Man Talk. Okay. Yeah, so very, very different, very, very different areas. Various. So this was before the Man Talk. It was before Man Talk, yeah. Maybe like three, four months beforehand. Wow, amazing. Yeah. Now let's get to Instagram. Why Instagram though? Because I know there's a lot of businesses which they have a heavy presence on digital platform. Unless they have a chaotic, less massive following on social media as well. But those that will basically go Twitter, those that will go Facebook, but yours is purely centered on Instagram, intentionally centered on Instagram? So, yes, but I know the smart thing to do is to actually diversify because platforms all have an expiration date. But where I've grown the most has been Instagram because I think especially when I sort of came here it was the number one platform. I think TikTok at the moment is maybe, maybe above that I'd say, in different markets. But Instagram for me was just a nice place because it went from just photos to now video content as a place as a creative that I could express and connect with people like I mentioned, I met all of my friends when I came here via Instagram because I knew nobody when I arrived. So, I think because I started on Instagram that's been my number one platform. The space we are at the moment in Kenya in terms of the digital space, there's a lot of money to be made on Instagram if you're consistent and grow your audience. So for me, I look at that now as literally my job. And I didn't, prior to this, I didn't think digital, 100% yes. So there's my primary earnings, I want that to be from Instagram because it's something I really enjoy doing. So it was natural that I started to enjoy it, that I started to make money on it. So it's definitely why I'm staying on that platform. But maybe coming into next year, I do have a TikTok. But I don't think... You post very often? No, that's the thing. That's the thing. I started posting and then during COVID, everyone started during COVID on TikTok. You experience that TikTok block. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So yeah, I'd say if you're creative and you want to start, I'd say diversify, be on multiple platforms. Right. And TikTok is good because it's on TikTok, Instagram, Spotify, all-podcast platforms, and YouTube. So I'd say if you're creating something, have multiple platforms because it helps growing each of them if there's ecosystem. But currently, primarily to answer your question, I'm on Instagram, as me. For now. For now. Now, speaking of that note, how do you basically find the tools to even propel your brand? For example, there could be a Mamboga watching. I know five years from now all Mambogas will go digital. And I love the fact that the government has rolled out at least 500 services are now going to be on E-Citizen, which is a digital platform. You'll no longer have to go to Nyaya House. You'll have to use your mobile phone. Exactly. And now when it comes to business-wise, for a person watching right now, and they want to make their brand visible on social media, and I love the fact that you're using Instagram Market, the tool, how can they go around that route? Yeah, I'd say, I always say if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, right? I'd say if you're going into it, don't just start without a sustainable model as to how you're going to keep making content on that platform. What I always say is create some pillars as to what you want that brand online to be. And then you're going to be able to work backwards, create a content calendar, and be consistent. Why consistency is the most important because there's an algorithm you're working with. So if you want to be able to post every single day, you need to have planned before.  So it's creating that sustainable model, being consistent, and then also making sure you have high quality content over a long period of time and authentic content. High quality doesn't mean you need the latest iPhone. High quality means be smart with the lighting. High quality means collaborating with people that also are in that space and they have high quality content. So those would be definitely the two. And I'd say the final thing is patience because if you want to grow on a digital platform, it doesn't grow when you want it to grow. It grows when you're exactly, when your audience resonates, when you've been consistent, or if you do something once or twice that sits very well and it kind of propels you and amasses a great audience. But the final pillar I would say as well is make sure you're giving value because a lot of people, when you start on social media, you kind of think it's because it's about me. But it's not about me. It's about what you give in the people that want to follow you. Exactly. For somebody to follow you, they need to have a reason. That's going to keep them there for a long period of time. So give value, be consistent, and have high quality content. Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic. But Instagram has also evolved, you know, initially there wasn't that shopping tool. Yeah. And now there's that shopping tool. Yeah. You can access different products, different companies as well. How did you discover that? And if you are to, you know, explain to someone how to go about that, how can they do it? I think, okay, so Instagram is one place on socials that you can go to. But if you're literally just using search engines like Google, they will break down exactly what you should do, examples of how people have used their business to now, you know, use Instagram as a shopping tool. Like the tools are all there. You can even use like WhatsApp business. You can link the two. Yeah. There's so many tools online. There's drop shipping. There's so many options. And I think sometimes people want you to give them the direct answer. But I always say go and literally Google exactly what you want to find out and now implement it. Because if I was to start naming each way that you can sort of create revenue and link your pages will be here all night. But if you want to find out about how to link it, just go on YouTube, University of YouTube. There's literally, Exactly. Yeah. There's because there's so many tools on Instagram. There's so many strategies on Instagram that people have literally created like toolkits. There's ebooks, et cetera. So there's so many resources online that you can use to now better your business. But I think the ones I want to express are basically the principles in terms of your approach to it like mentality in terms of consistency. But when it comes to practical tools, tech tools, there's so many guys online that I've got. They break it down for you. Yeah. Yeah. And I love that they've made it so fluid that you can collaborate with the business and sponsor most of the time. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. With the Instagram market, you mean? Yeah. Yeah. So with Instagram market, that used to be one of the main things of our business. We put a budget aside to create sponsored ads because as much as organic content is brilliant, especially if you're an individual, as a business sometimes you want to be able to target your specific client. And so the brilliant thing that Instagram does or Facebook does is you have an ad manager. So you can actually go and select the exact demographic, the exact city you wanted to be in and exactly how much money you want to put behind it. That really helps getting you in front of people's faces because attention right now is here and you want to be able to get people's attention when they're scrolling at lunchtime, et cetera. So I'd say that's one tool. Also, if you're making organic content, then you just need to look at your analytics regularly so that you're able to see when my audience online, when's the optimal time to post, et cetera. Right. Yeah. In terms of engagement, like how do you know like there's 10 people who have clicked on this post? Yeah. Is that tool like you have? Yeah. There's a backend. There's a backend. There's a lot of insights. That will break down your audience size, location, good times for posting, which posted well, which did bad, exactly how many views. So it's being very diligent and going into those tools that the platform gives you on a regular basis to be able to now identify what's the optimal time, what's the optimal customer. And if you use all of those things, you're going to grow over time. All right. I'm told you have like a minute to go because we have to go to another segment. Or some of the people you have collaborated with before you get to the game time segment that you give credit to that how pushed you so far. So good. And you still enjoy working with them. My goodness. So I think on the podcast, I think the place that gave us the most traction are Saudi Soul Guys, so Bien, Fancy Fingers. We haven't interviewed the other two yet. And also Over 25, amazing channel, the TMI podcast, Georgie Durango, Ritimi, and just BBC's Georgie Durango. Yeah. Yeah. So those kind of guys have really have come on and helped the platform because we've been exposed to their audience as well. So yeah, those are some of my buddies that have come on and really helped us. Okay. I wanted to go to a game and then you'll tell us what is the next future for Manta KG. And I'd love to also feature on that. Yeah, for sure. We have my number. You have my number. Yeah. We'll have our conversation. So I wanted to go to a very short game segment and I want to blast you on to put you on the sport. Yeah. I want to test your singing ability. Just a little bit. Okay. And I'm going to pick the rough one. So the first song, the game is complete, the lyrics. And the first song is Farid Williams' Happy. Yeah. So let me start for you. Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof. Come on. Vocal. Complete. Clap along if you feel like happen. This is what you want to do. Is that it? Yeah, you got it. Is that it? Continue, continue. Wait, wait. Come along if you feel like a room without a roof. Because I'm happy. Come along if you feel like happiness is the truth. Yes, you got it. You got it. You got a one mark. One. Okay. I'm going to put you to, let me blast you with the deal that is by Ruga. The first line is bad man looking good in deal. Bad man. Drip to the course. Sports car, striped in a row. No, sports car, parked in a right spot. Bad man something. You got it. You got it. I'll take it. You are rigging this game. This one will blast you. Okay. One debanton featuring Tewa Savage. His song is Wahala. This one you are getting a zero. I'm sure. Okay. Let me give you the first lyrics. Problem in under finish. Eh. Make it a day. Enjoy. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, that one I'm on zero. That one. Zero deal. Zero deal. You've taken an L for that one. Yeah, I'll take that. The last one. Our favorite song in the 254, Nairobi. Benzled. Nairobi. Uh-huh. Yolana. I see. Here's the thing. My Swahili is not great. Your Swahili is bad? Yeah. I know how it sounds, but I don't know the exact words. Oh my goodness. Yolana Kopea. Yolana Kopea. Yolana Kopea. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. I know the vibe, but I don't know the exact words. Okay. Last one. This one you know. I know you sing it like Mac or Conservative. I'm a towards to be Chris Brown featuring Omareon. Uh-huh. Ginya Aikom. Uh-huh. If you come close to me.  Yeah, you got it. You got a list to have three out of 3 to 5. Uh-huh. Congratulations. I'll take it. Ladies and gentlemen, the Oscar goes to you. A line window. It'd be a Grammy, no? It'd be a Grammy. Yeah, thank you. All right. Thank you so much for you time. As we exit, what is the future of Mantoc podcast? What are some of the behind the scenes project that you can tease to your viewers and your followers? So the aim of Mantoc is to have positive conversations on a larger scale consistently over time. We've done a very good job with Kenya and other African countries. The goal is to spread that and just show that African thought leaders can compete in any market, not just Africa. So it's a case of making the podcast accessible and reachable for people even outside of Africa. So that's the main goal, just basically growing and pushing the positive narratives across the world. That's the goal for Mantoc. The holidays are finally here, by the way. Before you say your social media, I just wanted to say just one short amazing message, Christmas message, and show that you mentioned us, by the way. So thank you so much. Merry Christmas and a happy new year to your fans. That's your camera. Just a short Christmas message, happy holiday day. Okay, okay, thank you so much. So yeah, guys, it is the holiday season. Stay safe when you're out there. Make sure you enjoy yourself. When you get to the end of the year, make some goals for next year. And when you're there as well, tune into Y254. So there's more guests like this and more conversations like this. So happy holidays and happy new year. Exactly. Social media, faster, faster as we go. Yes, Eli Mwenda is my personal social media, E-L-I-M-W-E-N-D-A. Mantoc.ke, M-A-N-T-A-L-K.K-E. And then InstaMarket, the InstaMarket 254 on all social platforms. So those are the three places you can find me and my businesses. Right? Yeah. Thank you so much for your time. Thanks for having me, man. Thank you, pleasure. Thank you. And nice to meet you in Ponson as well. Yeah, man. You're following me on social media. I'm very fond. Appreciate it, thank you, brother. Thank you, appreciate you. Thank you so much. That has been Eli Mwenda, talking to us about the world of InstaMarketing. And I'm sure definitely if you're watching and you're still watching, you've got some two, three, five insight. He's also the creator, the original founder. He's also the creator of the Man2K-E podcast, which is an amazing podcast that took over 254 by storm. We love it. We still love it. We watch it. On that note, we're gonna take a very short break. When we come back, we'll still continue the rest of the programming. Keep it on the hashtag, why in the morning? Brian Sacco 101, why 2-4-4 channel? Don't change the channel. Freeze.


Hello everyone, bonjour tout le monde. As we gather here today, we stand with the hundreds of courageous women and men fighting wildfires across the country. We stand with the communities who've been evacuated and with people from coast to coast to coast who are enduring this painful heartbreaking time. Here today, with ministers Blair, Wilkinson, Gould, Gilboe, Fraser and Vandal, to talk about the federal response to the devastating wildfires we're seeing across the country. Minister Wilkinson will have more detail in a moment, but our modeling shows that this may be an especially severe wildfire season throughout the summer. We're going to get through this together, and our government will keep being there with whatever it takes to keep people safe and provide support. Two weeks ago, I went to Edmonton and spoke with the Canadian Armed Forces members who are helping in Alberta's firefight. I also met with many people from communities that have been evacuated. Some of them had only a few hours to pack. They were told to bring pets, important documentation, medication, and that's it. This is a scary time for a lot of people, not just in Alberta, but right across the country, including in the Atlantic, the North and Quebec too. I think of people like Catherine in Nova Scotia. Even though she's lost her home, she found time to get help to her friend who's also affected and didn't want to be alone to see what was left of her own place. When people lose their homes, they don't just lose a roof in their processions. They lose a special place where they saw their children grow up, where they built a life for themselves. This is incredibly difficult and heartbreaking. Canadians will continue to be there for you and with you. In the last week, I've spoken with Mayor Savage of Halifax, Mayor Locke of Shelburne, and Premier Huston, as well as with Premier Smith and other local leaders. Two days ago, I spoke with Prime Minister Legault on the fire situation in Quebec. I also spoke with Mayor of Seattle, Steve Bopré, Mayor of Chapey, Isabelle Lessard, and Chief of Wachat-Makmani-Utnetam, Mike McKenzie. We talked about the situation on the ground. As you know, members of the Armed Forces are already deployed to help. There are several fires that are unpredictable, so it is very important to listen to local authorities to ensure that everyone is safe. Like I said, our government is here to help. So far, we've approved three requests for federal assistance in Alberta, in Nova Scotia, and in Quebec. This includes deploying Canadian Armed Forces members for things like personnel to aid in firefighting roles, airlift resources, and engineering support. Minister Blair will go into more detail about the status of this work in a moment on what we're doing to keep people safe right now. Year after year, with climate change, we're seeing more and more intense wildfires, and in places where they don't normally happen. That's why we've invested to train more community-based firefighters across the country. For example, we've worked with the Yukon First Nations Wildfire Partnership to train 130 wildland firefighters in Yukon and northern British Columbia. In Newfoundland and Labrador, we partnered with the Innu Nation to train community members. In Manitoba, in Ontario, and in many other places, our support allowed more firefighters to be trained. And last week, we announced that through the Wildfire Training Fund, we're supporting over 300 indigenous firefighters and 125 indigenous fire guardians to be hired and trained this season. Through the Centre Inter-Service of the Firefighters of Canada, we coordinate our efforts with other countries to fight against wildfires here and across the world. For example, in the past, we sent Canadian firefighters to lend their hands to firefighters in other countries, like the United States and Australia. And as we're facing very intense fires this year, we receive hundreds of firefighters from other countries to support our efforts. Specifically, I want to thank US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and France for the firefighters they've already sent and will continue to send over the coming days and weeks. And on top of that, we're engaging further with other international partners about more reinforcements over the coming weeks. Before I end, I know there's a lot of Canadians who are asking how they can help, too. The federal government and the government of Alberta are coordinating a donation matching program with the Canadian Red Cross 2023 Alberta Fires Appeal, so every dollar donated will become $3 in support to those affected by wildfire in Alberta. And as announced last week, we will set up similar donation matching programs to help people in the Northwest Territories and in Nova Scotia. This is a difficult time for many Canadians. If you have friends or family members who are affected, it's important to continue being there for one another. I want to thank the volunteers, first responders, CAF members, and of course the firefighters who are doing their work like the true professionals they are. I know that firefighters are often away from their family. I was talking with the CDS, the Chief of Defence staff, about how some CAF members are personally affected by fires. Some have had their homes damaged, some have seen their families evacuated. But despite all of this, they continue to step up to help and protect others. Thank you. To all Canadians, let's continue supporting our firefighters by listening to local authorities. And across the board, whether it's with members of the armed forces, to Parks Canada resources, to firefighters and equipment, the Coast Guard Health Canada and the Service Canada support, which Minister Gould will speak about shortly, our government is standing up support to keep people safe today and for wildfire seasons to come.


Historically, there has been prophecies that had been told, saying that there would come a time when the grandmothers of the world would come together and speak on behalf of the world. As an international grandmother, I have been touring the world, being a voice for the voiceless, which was the animal kingdom, or air. We want food for the mother earth, for the children, for everybody. It doesn't matter. We are not rich, but we work with our hands. Embracing humanity, we've been born. You're not just here for yourself. Whatever you do has an effect. Hards for what we need. All what happens in the world. I would say there's one beloved Creator in many paths.


The enemies in Thai food are the most widely eaten Southeast Asian cuisines in America with nearly 15,000 restaurants across the nation ranging from whole-in-the-wall authentic spots to Michelin star winners. We're hitting up three places that are putting their own spin on Viet and Thai food. What's going on everybody? Welcome to a very special New York episode of Beyond Full where we're going to be covering the Vietnamese food boom in the city. We're here with special guest Richie Lee. What's up? Richie, there's been probably 20 modern Vietnamese spots that have opened up in New York City over the past two years. Crazy. I remember just like two to three years ago we went and there was like one maybe? I think two foods that really started to become more popular in the West Coast that have infiltrated New York City would be Vietnamese and the other one would be a Mexican. We all started to see the more elevated versions creep in and behind us is one of our favorites. So today we're going to be eating through the menu at Saigon Social. It is a mixture of traditional, it's a mixture of modern, it is probably something that you have never seen before. Let's go. All right everybody, thank you so much for clicking on that video but real quick I got to give a big shout out to our sponsor, Stat Mask. I know a lot of people in the comments on our Instagram and on YouTube wondering where we get these masks, you can get them at thestatmask.com. They have three layers of medical grade material. They have a static charge just like the N95 filter and honestly they look cool. You guys know us, we moved to New York during the pandemic which meant we had to be careful and cautious so we needed top level face mask protection. The Stat Mask has made us feel confident and comfortable to go around the city doing what we need to do. They come in a whole bunch of different colors, they come in three different sizes and honestly they are our favorite masks. If you guys are interested thestatmask.com, check them out made right here in Brooklyn. All right you guys, we're sitting here with Helen Wayne at Saigon Social. What does it mean to throw your name into the hat of this whole like larger movement, right? When I started cooking professionally people were always asking me so how do you explain your food? Is it modern? Is it traditional? Is it fine dining? Is it casual? You have to be one or the other. It's like why do I have to do that? I'm not trying to conform. I'm just trying to offer a piece of my life and my culture. Guys we are starting off our meal here at Saigon Social with two dishes that are extremely tasty. We got lobster, garlic, noodles. Look at the burntness right there from the wok, we would call it wok hay but just flavor of the wok.  What I really love about these noodles is that it's actually a really simple flavor. It's just like your scallion oil, you have a lot of salt and pepper.  Yeah, definitely really easy to eat. Exactly. I love these noodles. They do kind of feel like pasta in the sense they have a lot of flavor in themselves. I think they're egg noodles. So you know. I got to say egg noodles over any other noodles. Over rice noodles? For sure. For sure.  I like that rich. I like that rich. Alright, so our next dish here that we got to eat right away is the brisket, oxtail, french dip, sandwich. There's a lot of fusion spots and fusion sandwiches in 2020, but to actually hit the right sweet spot and have it taste good and look good, that's a whole another thing. This is so good. I'm speechless. Yo, is this a french dip or a french drip? Alright, so off camera. I was like kind of dissecting it a little more and then I had asked Helen what is going on with the mayo because I was like, what is it about the sandwich one? She said she actually puts a little bit of basil in the mayo and beef fat because I was like what is it about this sandwich that tastes so crazy and it's the mayo like brings it all together. That's crazy. Alright, the next round here, Saigon social, we have the fud dry aged ribeye right here and then you got your brisket fud right there. My mind is blown at the idea of dry aged ribeye fud that we just cooked in the broth. Yes. Rich, what's your feeling on dry aged beef? Is that the new vintage? Because it's like vintage beef. No, one thing I got to say is I appreciate this right now because following Helen's culinary journey the past couple years, I know she's serious about the meats because some of those photos that she posts on her Facebook are crazy so I know this is going to taste good because she's been studying the science behind dry aged beef and different cuts and whatnot. A lot of people like eating their pho with raw meat and it's usually beef I round. I had mine with dry aged beef and I think it really just enhances the beef flavor to the whole pho experience. Dry aged ribeye pho. No sriracha, no coysauce. Just straight pho here. Super tender. Oh my gosh. What? There's a smokiness to the beef, almost like what are those boards with the cheese and the meat? Chocotery. It kind of gave me that feeling. That is often how people describe dry aged beef. Really? A creaminess. This is a whole another experience.  Brisket pho. Honestly, this is one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants in the world, man. This is do everything how you will expect but then also different. This is nice if you like want to go for something that you're familiar with but they do it like their own way. So this is my home meal. It's crab and shrimp tomato noodle soup. It's served with a side of fermented shrimp paste and it's very pungent and a lot of people refer to it as the stinky sauce but this is where the umami comes from. It's fermented shrimp. You'll notice a taste of difference. It's like a umami bomb. Bun real. Wow. A lot of flavor. I want shredding to put in a ton of chilies. That got a kick. Definitely with the chilies and the shrimp paste. One of my favorite bun reels I ever had too. All right, Helen, you got to explain to us the bun me burger because this is one of my favorite items here. It's kind of like a burger meets a traditional Vietnamese sandwich. When you look at it, it obviously looks like a regular burger but when you bite into it, you taste all of the different components to a traditional bun me. It's an eight ounce triage patty. It's a combination of short rib, triage ribeye and then I lather it with some mayo and some pate and then it gets the patty and then I made an ox tongue Maggie gravy. Oh. So basically yeah. That's the key. I'm telling you. That's the key. I'm letting the secret out but I'm just, it is what it is. People know. It's fine. Between the pate and the Maggie gravy, my God. I feel like you just turned everything up in a regular bun me. Everything is to another level. With the boom of Vietnamese restaurants in New York, which we can agree that there seems to be an uptick obviously than a few years ago, is it kind of this collective that's coming up? I think so. Most importantly, we're all very different individuals in the way that we think, the way that we do business, the way that we cook, our flavor profiles and I think it's amazing. If you walk around any regular New York street block, you'll see that there's many pizzerias. I think it would be amazing that one of these days we can do the same where you walk down the street and it's like wow, you can go this place for pho, this place for rice noodles. And what are some things about Vietnamese food that you wanted to keep and maintain and in some aspects that you wanted to break? I'd say it's a combination of traditional and modern. You need to say that oh, I want to do something very traditional or I want to do something very modern. It's never, it's either or for me. I think it's and because who I am as a person is just a combination of the traditional values and then also like, you know, the more modern values because I was born and raised in the States, but I'm very much a Vietnamese person in the way my soul is. You're not like picking and choosing. You're just combining. There's certain things that I do not mess around with. All of my broths and my soups are exactly how I grew up eating. My mom would beat me if I changed too many things, right? But I wanted people to taste that, you know, when they take that first sip of the soup, it brings them back. All right, you guys, we just finished up our meal at Saigon Social. Like I said, they got some crazy stuff on the menu. I think immediately, Timmy, the thing today that stands out the most, the dry aged ribeye pho. Yeah, I have to go with the burger at the end. I like, you know, I had to do the matchada dance. That's how crazy that burger was. That was insane. I wouldn't say the bun reel. I thought, you know, I haven't had a good bun reel in a while and not all spots do it well and you can just taste the care. It was a very rich broth and yeah, man, I enjoyed it. All right, Richie, our next location is Thai diner here on Kenmare. And it's like the perfect example of blending an American platform and style with authentic Southeast Asian flavor. Exactly. And aesthetically, I just checked it out. It looks like a traditional American diner with a lot of Thai influences from the decor, materials, even down to the plants. And let me tell you this, they are doing Thai food very differently. One of the chefs is American and then one of the chefs is born in Thailand. So it is truly that perfect mix right there. I mean, look at it. You have the Thai flag and the American flag. It doesn't get more literal than that. I said we go check it out, man. Thai diner, let's go. Yo, Richie, the food is arriving. We got a lot of dishes. We got a couple drinks. Let's just talk about the drinks room, the beverages. All right, so here I have a Milo, okay, which is a popular drink mix to have in Asia. You got the hot pandan buttered rum. It's aged rum, pandan and coconut butter served with hot whipped cream. Just a hint of rum to give you that alcoholic feel. This is nice. You know how people just want the flavor? You know, like those chocolates with the rum on side? Drink form of the chocolates with the rum inside. Right here, I got the disco fries with the masamom curry. And then you got coconut crema on top as well. Crinkle cut fries. Here, I have one of their most inventive dishes. It's a breakfast sandwich made with a roti. And then you have this Isan sausage, which is like the Laos sausage. Yeah, the Oe Thai sandwich. The sauce stood out to me almost the most. Egg, cheese and the meat thing, that is really like a diner element, you know what I mean? Yeah. All right, so moving on to the fries. Having fries here, clearly that is the American element. Any sort of sauce dish on any carb is always going to work out. Crispy with your sauciness, that is good. Boy, that got a kick to it too. Yeah. All right, our next dish is here. I have a shredded chicken sandwich with banana blossom. And then I got a toast right here with Thai tea butter, which is crazy. Drag your fruits right here. And then the condensed milk with salt and sugar. The Thai tea butter sneaks on you, that is insanely good. This is a must get here, trust me. This is a five out of five. Let's go in.  But just with a slight Thai kick, the main chef of Thai diner is half Irish and half Thai. So of course, there is some really cool implementations of Irish food. And this is the stuffed cabbage right here. Yeah. Perky is perfectly cooked. Whatever sauce this is, this would be the perfect, perfect dish with some white, fluffy rice. This is actually the most surprising dish to me because I did not think it was going to be that good. But let me tell you this, the people here, they put in a lot of thought into exactly how to kind of fuse things and which pieces they want to take from different cultures. And obviously the flavor here is a little bit more Thai, but the form is so Irish. All right, so right here we got a whiskey lemongrass, obviously whiskey bean from Ireland. This is definitely really Irish-inspired, but we're drinking out of a lemongrass straw. Wow, this is really refreshing. Lemongrass with whiskey, who would have thought? We got these Thai beignets brushed with a little bit of coconut powder. Here you have this guava dip, you have the pandan. And then you have these ginger snap cookies, but it's using kind of like the Thai ginger. That is good. These dishes that we add, you always hear like negative stereotypes about fusion foods, but these two restaurants that we showed in today's video, kill them. Identity food is one of those interesting things where it's like sometimes their identity is so hard to explain that it's almost easier to explain through their dishes, right? Dishes and the food tells the story that maybe they can, maybe they're not writers, but they know how to cook it. I have a new appreciation for traditional foods, redefined. All right, everybody. So we just went to a modern Vietnamese spot. We went to a modern Thai spot. And for our third and final place, ginger and lemongrass is actually a fusion between Thai and Vietnamese flavors. I wish Richard could be here, but he had to catch a flight. You know what's really interesting about this spot is that it's actually owned by people from the Czech Republic, but they have a very deep appreciation for Vietnam Thai food. And somehow they were able to fuse it to the point where it's even Asian approved. Now, David, we're in the Lower East Side, but their first location for ginger and lemongrass is actually in Queens. And the first people to tell us about it are actually our Asian friends from Queens. So it might not be 100% authentic or Asian-owned, but they've gotta be doing something right because of the glowing reviews. Let's check it out. All right, you guys, we are looking at a fusion between the Thai cuisine and the Vietnamese cuisine. This is gonna be really interesting. It's very much fusion, but it doesn't look cringy. It doesn't look weird at all. They definitely worked with a Vietnamese and a Thai chef to kind of come up with this fusion menu. Also, they're obviously their own ideas. Let's go. This is the salmon roll. It's like a salmon fresh roll. There's green tea noodles, daikon, and salmon in there. Hey, it tastes fresh. All right, David, moving on to our steam boughs right here. This one definitely has the toppings of a bun meat, but there's obviously the Chinese influence with using the steam bough. Really interesting. I noticed a lot of fusion spots using the steam bough. Of course, everybody is doing fusion chicken wings, whether it's with milk mom, or whether it's with the Thai chilies, or you have lotus. This looks like it's some sort of combination of all three things. Everything here is really fresh, man.  There's not some weird sriracha aioli or anything like that. That really is one of those markers of a true, true fusion spot. So that's why I appreciate it. This kind of tastes like sort of your typical Thai chili wing, except just turned up with the spice. All right, you guys, we are looking at the coconut spicy lemongrass pho and a true fusion between Thai and Vietnamese flavors. This is one of my favorite noodle soups in the city. Wow, that's a big statement coming from a guy who runs a channel that eats a lot of Asian food, man. I eat a lot of noodle soups, too. I'm a noodle soup guy. Oh my goodness, the poached egg, the bone marrow, the grilled shrimp, the bok choy, the shiitake mushrooms. David, would you say this is like a fusion between tom kha and pho? Yeah, I would say that it's a fusion between tom kha, pho, but possibly the way a Japanese person would do it. Look, I'll tell you this, there is not many noodle soups in the city that are like this, guys. And there's a lot of good noodle soups out there. Coconut lemongrass pho, that's good. That's good, you know. Listen, guys, shout out to the Czech Republic.   You know what I was saying about this? It tastes like a real dish that's been around for a hundred years. That's how well-fused it is. I know what you mean. It doesn't feel like just two things you just threw together. But David, the other home-run dish is the pork belly bun me right here. It does look like a average bun me except with just more things, but it has the spicy oil on the inside. It has the house-made chili oil with the pork belly. Just look at how fatty this piece is right here, guys. It's not traditional to put something like pork belly in a bun me. Some spots do do it, but I just think they do a good job of it here. That's good. You know what they call me. The mixologist. I'm gonna take this coconut lemon grass soup. I'm gonna pour it on my bun me. Oh no. Don't do it to him, don't do it to him. Yo, this is good. When I dip it in the coconut lemon grass soup, it's good. All right, you guys, that does it. Huge shout out to Richie for being in the video. Let me tell you this, Southeast Asian food, it's on a rocket ship. Oh man, I love seeing it more in the city because for so long it was kind of hard to get good Southeast Asian food in Manhattan. On the topic, David, of like kind of non-Asians or not fully-blooded Asians, I guess doing Asian food and being known for it, what are the issues that they need to address? I think that it just can't be juxtaposed as an upgrade to the authentic. It's totally okay to love fusion foods as much or even more, but probably the person who creates the fusion food shouldn't try to crap on the original that they learned from. That would be a mess. Don't do that, and we've seen people do that recently to say, oh, we're cleaning it up. Just don't say that kind of thing. Let's just have respect for the original. You can throw your own twist on it by all means, make it more progressive, make it more modern, but always respect where it came from. We have a friend who always says it's appropriate versus appreciate. Always appreciate, and I think here at Ginger Lemon Grass and a lot of the other well-known spots out here, I think they do a good job of appreciation. My question is to everybody out there, where do you think this is going? Is this a trend that's going to continue? I mean, as we know, more authentic and traditional food is also getting more popular, but maybe the fusion food will too. Hey, it is interesting and delicious to speculate about the future of Asian food in the West. All right, you guys, let us know what you think in the comment section below. Make sure you hit that like button, and until next time, we're out. Peace. Yo, let me be real, there's a lot of people out there doing a lot of things, and you won't eat the lobster head guts. I think that's crazy. Time out. Eating booty. Maybe we'll cut that out.


Wow, yeah, I swear to God. I'm with it. I don't see nobody in my lane It's quite go get it like as I promise this is the last one of the series the last Marshawn Lynch video for the day And for the week until next week after we see him play I want to get my head around this Super Bowl 49 controversy. Okay, so what we're gonna do we're gonna watch the last minute and 10 seconds of the game and After that, we're actually gonna watch Pete Carroll's thoughts after making that call and we're gonna watch Marshawn Lynch's thoughts, too So let's get into it. It's gonna be shitty quality, but it's all right the helmet catch So Tom Brady's just thrown an interception. Okay on the five on the five Oh, this is gonna be incredible Okay, so he made a catch Okay So that was a crazy catch on the five on the five yard line that receiver just caught that With a minute to go in the Super Bowl to give Seattle an opportunity to score a winning touchdown.  Okay, what do we got here? Got Marshawn Lynch lining up at the back.  Let's see what happens. It's not even the play it gets better.  Is that what they're saying? How does that defend it?  It was a it was an interception I mean if that was incomplete, it wouldn't be so bad, but an interception. Oh God. Oh God Seattle passes on the goal line top 10 worst plays. All right, let's watch this. This is a good one We actually get some commentary to it, which is good. Okay The worst play the worst play of all time Makes me happier than other people's misery and that's why I'm excited Pete Carroll's voice just broke First play see that's not why that's not fair Because that was an amazing play by Malcolm Butler. Yeah Yeah, good. Cool. Good. Cool You're cheapening Malcolm Butler's achievement there by calling that the worst play. It's actually a very It's great bro. Oh, bro. Is that is that the coach?  This wasn't just a random guest by a player at the line The Patriots had actually practiced this exact play and it was Malcolm Butler Who got burned in practice on this play?  This is straight after the game Tom Brady. I'm glad they did it. Hey, it is what it is man Patriots were up See Hawks couldn't bring it back But what a catch what if that catch never happened that amazing catch to get them on the five-yard line and Then Marshall and Lynch was so close You know what I would have done in madam I would have run it to the left with Marshall and Lynch gets tackled at the first I would have run the exact same play but switched it to the other side and see what happens They did they did actually they were on the second down and they had a timeout to go No one expects that to be an interception She knew they should run the ball know that they should run the ball was Pete Carroll Other place number one, and it's not even close.  I know what happened now. I know what happened Good cool pet first part of our exclusivity good cool pet. All right. All right. All right. We've seen that okay now Okay, so this is Like a few days after the Super Bowl Pete Carroll opens up after stunning loss It's two minutes long. I mean this can't be easy for him, but we're gonna hear We're gonna hear what happens better deal with Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll many fans believe that his Controversial play call at the end of the Super Bowl cost his team the game So we traveled to Seattle to talk to the coach about that to play the scrutiny He's under and how he's coping with it all I'm interested to hear From the family to the organization of players and coaches and all that but it extends well beyond that You know as you go out into our community in the area that follows There's a lot of people that they really care a lot about what we're doing It's it our game hit them really hard I'm thinking a little bit like Pete Carroll the football coach and let me try it again What's it been like to beat Pete Carroll the human being over these past three days? I'd started off with having to get right I had to get my mind right so that I could take on what I was gonna have to do That was face everybody Give them some perspective so that we can move ahead I watched your expression as you saw that play unfold and you bent over at the waist and My heart broke for you to be perfectly honest. How are you feeling inside? immediately I Mean within the instant of the turnover the gravity of what just happened. I Understood you have not watched TV. I'm sure that's somewhat of a self-imposed blackout a little bit You don't want to hear the negativity, but you know what's being said you've heard the experts not just average Joe Say it was the worst call ever It was the worst result of a call ever Yeah, the interception man the call would have been a great one if we catch it I wouldn't just find I know anyone who thought twice about it Yeah, that's great give him a lot of credit for sitting down Answering questions because this has got to be a really really tough time. What else did he say? Why didn't you run the ball?  It's a million dollar question. Did you want Russell Wilson to be the hero? Were you having problems with Marshawn Lynch? Who knows guys who knows? At least I've seen the play and at least we've reacted together now To finish this video off to finish this one off. We are gonna watch Marshawn Lynch talking about that Super Bowl 49 pass Now this is just earlier this year So, you know three years removed he's having a beer with old Pat McAfee. Let's see if he opens up He's loving it now I mean that was the talk of the town you say I'm just here, so I won't get fine. That was it There's no other explanation other than that So after the game is that the first time that he said that line of just being here because he didn't get fine I did want to talk to the media. I did talk to him. Yeah, I just Didn't talk about what they wanted to talk to me about so They made a mockery of me.  That seems like something you'd tell would not love, you know, I caught a lot of hell from there They weren't happy with you Do you think that had to do with not giving you the ball on the one you're on? I don't know.    This is extremely great inside information.  I would assume everybody in that huddle had a moment of But what the hell is going on here? Is that fact?  We just put together a drive to now. I'm talking about fourth quarter Super Bowl We just put yeah one of them one 26 weeks into a season You know, it's one of them ones where you I don't know who that old dude is But when you do all the recaps of the game make them real dramatic like yeah Bowdinger then they go down and they you know, I mean you can hear his voice type of that was the drive That we just put together like the Steve Sable from NFL Films. Oh, that's a name. I don't know if he's still alive Shit, we need to that's on me. Now you set you up But the whole way that thing just just played out You know, we had I think I went and ran a sluggo Which was a big play then we had the receiver explain what I believe a Sluggo, I think sluggo actually let me try and do this sluggo is where the running back Runs through the line turns around does a hitch and and looks for that ball Go you're talking to Canadians A slam and go Double move which is not common for running back to run. Yeah, but uh, you know, ran a sluggo one We probably got like a 30 40 yard Past reception on that and then a curse had had that Juggling catch. It was a magical drive. Yeah, you know, everything was coming together everything and Then uh, and Marshawn Lynch takes a nice outside zone to the one yard line and the rest is history Game of inches isn't it guys I had an interesting Little journey after that. Okay, you know, I mean just leaving from the Just leaving from the stadium and getting over to Back to the hotel.  Hey, you know, I mean, I got a nice escort Like a police escort like you as Marshall's I thought he was saying he went back to the hotel with his bottle of Hennessy and got a prostitute plenty of different types of Person myself, I'ma tell him to sell it but at the end of the day like it was Marshall No, no lights, but on the way on the way out of the out of the stadium You know, I've seen my family ride by my jump out the window with the bottle of Hennessy. Hey Meet me at the hotel. We've got to blow it down ASAP. We get back to the hotel. Yeah, man He's the man. He's the man. He just got snubbed for that final run. They just lost the Super Bowl But he's alright. He's sweet. I Love that about Marshawn Lynch It's just a game guys. Enjoy our little time or whatever after that tell Richard Sherman that Did you retire immediately after that? No, I didn't you played another year? Yep, how was it the year after that? Was it awkward? What was it? Oh Thomas, right? Oh Thomas gets hurt. He's getting Carted off the field flips off Pete Carroll. Yeah, that was a different time though I would say you weren't there for that. No, I wasn't there for that But it seemed like that team was something special and something wrong.  That's enough of Marshawn Lynch. I can tell you right now. That's all we're going to be doing today That was Absolutely fantastic. That was a lot of fun, man I've just spent the last like two and a half hours researching this comeback by Marshawn Lynch and finishing it all off with a good look a good inside look at that fateful Second down pass rated the worst play in NFL history So if you've enjoyed these videos if you want to see more, please hit that like button and subscribe The like button helps with the algorithm You don't need to subscribe But if you do press like then my videos will start to you know, turn up on your news feed So once again once and for all, I want to say a merry merry Christmas from myself and my family Here in Alice Springs to you guys wherever you are in the world and I hope you have a fantastic holiday season Let's go Marshawn Lynch beast mode, baby. He's back. I can see it now