Transcript for Hustle & Heat Episode 7
00:00:04
What’s up, guys? This is George from Dubs BBQ, and welcome to episode seven of the Hustle and Heat podcast. On today’s episode, I’d like to welcome a local legend, an OG, triple OG. If you haven’t been cut by this guy back in the day, you probably had a line in the middle of your head instead of a fade. If you haven’t met this guy, haven’t seen his evolution throughout his whole life, you’re missing out. And without further ado, I’d like to welcome Manny Cabrera. Manny, welcome to the podcast.
00:00:30
Man, thank you. Thanks, man. Thanks for that intro. Feeling great about that. Never had anybody speak about me in third person like that. That was cool. That was cool.
00:00:44
How are you doing today?
I’m doing great, man. I’m doing great. Glad to be here. Glad to be on the podcast with you. I have a million and one questions for you.
A million and one?
A million and one, brother. Just because—just like you were speaking about my evolution, I feel the same thing about you, man. Like I remember when you were the delivery guy at Soup Jungle, you know what I mean?
Danny has seen the come up for real.
And then it went to like, “Yo, I want to do my own thing.” And then I did my own thing. And then I painted a mural when you had your first spot and it was a small spot. And then it went to a huge spot and now it’s all decorated and the floors are the ones that I like.
So, you know, appreciate that. Everything’s awesome, man. And you’ve evolved as well. And I would imagine that you still got a lot to go.
A lot. Yeah, for sure. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.
00:01:34
My name is Manny Cabrera. Right now, I tattoo for a living. That’s kind of where I make most of my money from. But basically, I’m like an all-around visionary. That’s kind of what I feel that I’m evolving into—where I’m kind of seeing the picture far off in the distance and just putting lists together of all the tools that I need to get there.
What can you elaborate on that—on your picture, on your vision?
On my vision… right now I’m just trying to build more skills because I believe that’s kind of the world and where it’s going. We were speaking about that before we got on the podcast, before we got on the camera, about being a one-trick pony. I think those days are over. I think the days of you being really good at just one skill are kind of going away, just because of… you know, I’m not sure if anybody’s ever spoke about this on the podcast, but you guys are pretty tech savvy and you’re in the industry—you see how AI is coming and kind of doing a lot of things really well, really quickly.
Really quickly.
Yeah. It’s scary because it’s not even 100% well yet and you can tell when it’s AI, but think about five years down the line—you’re not going to be able to tell if it’s AI.
Sure.
And I’m just kind of using my experience… I don’t know where it’s going, but I can see how, if you’re training a neural net or one of these language models to do one particular thing over and over and over again, it’s just going to get really good really quickly. So to create value in yourself, I think—use the equipment, use the technology, but also be able to do other things that maybe it won’t be able to pivot to so quickly. So that’s like the gift and the curse.
00:03:23
Yeah, 100%. It is scary—what this world will have with AI. And honestly at the same time it’s kind of something to look forward to because we don’t know what it’s going to bring to us. Maybe it’ll save some payroll, maybe it’ll save… you know.
Yeah. It’s about using the tools to your advantage.
100%. You never know.
And I was one of the guys that—because I’m an artist—I was introduced to AI where people were like, “Hey look, it can draw. It can pull up images. I can make it do a dragon really quick.” And I was like, “Ah screw that, man. That’s not an artist. You’re not an artist because you can do that.” But then as time progressed, I kind of got out of that shell and I was like, you know what? I need to use this to my advantage.
I need to use this as a mastermind.
100%. It’s the same thing as the older generation when cell phones came out. Some people didn’t want cell phones, didn’t want Facebook, didn’t want this, didn’t want that—and then they limited themselves on what they can do. I see it firsthand with my parents. My parents within the past five years have done a lot of growing, especially my dad. I don’t think many people know this, but my dad got his first cell phone probably like five years ago.
Good [__].
Good for him.
He went from not knowing how to see someone’s location, not knowing how to use Facebook, to learning all of that. So as time goes on, things are going to come up and we’re going to get more and more tools to use. We just got to be open-minded to it.
00:05:24
Yeah, man. I’m a little bit older now, so I’ve seen a lot of that transition. My first couple cars were stick shift tuners. And now I drive a car that drives itself.
Do you know what I mean?
So you can see the evolution. And even if you’re participating or not, it’s still moving. Another thing that I seen take place—people bucked early on—was self-checkout. Do you remember that?
Self-checkout.
When self-checkout came out… other cashiers out there, I apologize, but I ain’t like you guys.
Yeah. I remember when that came out. I was one of the guys too. And I remember people saying, “Man, I’m not going to do that. They don’t pay me enough to bag my own stuff.” And now the convenience… everybody uses it.
It’s not just that. When you’re in a self-checkout line, they have like 10 self-checkouts. When you’re in a line with a cashier, you’re waiting on one cashier. It’s just so much more convenient, quicker—10 people can check out at one time.
Sure. Human error… people want to talk. There’s nothing wrong with that. But you have to keep your head on a swivel—what’s working now, what changed, what benefited you, what you wish was still here, and what the future’s going to bring—use that judgment, use that wisdom to benefit yourself. At the end of the day, you are looking out for number one so then you can help others. Because if you’re not good, what good are you to other people?
Yeah. You got to lead by example. And if you don’t, people won’t respect you.
00:07:35
So question for you, man. I remember when you were building this out. This place was bare bones—big open room. Where did you get the vision? Because for people that don’t know, this guy comes from a lineage of guys that build restaurants. Where did you get the vision to bring all the things that work, but also give it your own spin?
So like you said, I come from a lineage of people—my family has all restaurants. None of them have built anything like this. All of them are bangers, by the way. None of them had a bar. None of them had a big place like this. My vision came from months before I opened the first place. I told myself we’re going to do this. I look at how my parents work—I don’t want to get stuck. I said I’m gonna work my ass off these next three to five years, pay myself like [__], work 80 hours a week, and see where it takes me because I want a bigger vision. I always wanted a bar in a restaurant. I love that atmosphere. I love sports. I love the open air concept—the bar in the middle of the dining room. Blessing and a curse sometimes, but I love it.
When this space next to me became available, I jumped on it. I kept saving, kept working. I hired a guy who designs restaurants—he designed a lot of good restaurants in Sarasota like Selva Grill, Capital Grill—he’s done so many big-name restaurants. I hired him to design this place and he helped me. I gave him my vision and it came to life. I always wanted a sports bar. I love sports. I love drinking—don’t get me wrong, I’m not an alcoholic, I’m a social drinker. But it’s more than drinking—I love sitting next to people, communicating, having good conversations. That’s another reason why I did this podcast. So I tried to put that into my place. It was stressful, but it’s well worth it. And I’m still figuring it out day by day.
00:10:26
It’s a great place, man. Full circle for me—to see you coming in dropping off the plastic bag at the shop, and now this is your spot—big time.
Manny, you’ve known me since I was a kid. You seen me in high school, I left for college, came back. You kept cutting me. Soup Jungle, Wally’s—every phase in my life you’ve seen it. It’s crazy.
Yeah, for sure.
Those are the stories I use to put the battery in my own back. I like to read, I like to study, I’m online taking tutorials—even on things I already know—just to revisit those vantage points. But most of my actions are off of things that I’m seeing. I want the knowledge, but I’m more practical—I try to put things in place that are practical.
And that had a lot to do with the midlife career change. I felt like I’m going to be able to dump way more effort into this path and get more back from it.
00:12:22
Speaking of that career change, I’ve seen you evolve. Full-time barber to part-time barber, part-time tattoo artist to full-time tattoo artist. Do you regret any of your decisions or are you happy with where you’re at?
I don’t regret any of my decisions. I use my tattoos like the ones on my body—it lets me know what I was thinking at the time, even though my perception has changed. That’s part of life—your perception is always changing.
Your perception is always changing, man.
The barbering sparked it all. Before that I did a million and one jobs—I was an apprentice electrician when I lived up north. When I got into barbering, I seen how speaking to so many different people changes the way you think. Even more so in tattooing—people come to you for life-altering stuff: memorials, things they want to put in stone and never forget, stuff on a whim—whatever it is. And it allowed me to catapult into something else—the visionary aspect. Not that I don’t see myself as a tattooer—I am—but all in all I feel like I’m building the life that I want to live.
So describe that life. What’s next for Manny?
I really couldn’t tell you. But I’m trying to build a moat.
100%. But you say you’re a visionary… day by day that vision keeps building and you eventually get there. So where are you leaning towards?
00:15:09
I feel like I’m in the part of my vision where I’m starting to take the weights off. It’s starting to feel more like myself—everything I’m doing is my true self. For a long time, I don’t think that was the case. I felt like I was putting on a show for the people around me, to make everyone happy, thinking that would make me happy.
Now I’m at the point where people are looking for me for the things that I do—not because they want a tattoo, but because they want it from me: Manny does it a specific way, speaks a specific way, treats me a specific way. That’s freeing.
That is very true about you. Out of all the barbers I’ve had, you were the one I always looked forward to because of the conversations and the relationship. I haven’t felt that with anybody else. Every week—8 or 9 a.m.—I looked forward to that time. It stimulated my mind.
Well, thanks, brother.
And going back to that question—because I’m starting to attract like-minded individuals. They have something to say too. I’m starting to catch stride.
You better keep running, man.
Yeah, for sure. I have a little YouTube excerpt where I just talk and do quick prompt drawings. I was saying yesterday—there’s a lot of habits I’ve accrued over time. I started them small: working out, eating clean, reading every day. Now putting out that thought or drawing is part of it. When I don’t hit that milestone, I feel like I lost. It’s almost selfish because there’s definitely something I learned along the way that I should be sharing.
I learned things by just watching people work. They say nothing. They don’t acknowledge I’m there—but I’m watching how they interact, how they wipe, how they pack color, and I bring it back.
Those guys probably don’t say nothing because they learned the same way. They know what time it is.
Sure.
It makes me feel good when someone learns that way. It’s about creating more successful people and just being loving. Give people what people gave you.
Sure. I’m starting to get that. My dad was a preacher—he would knock doors. I didn’t get it back then. But you got to be walking the path to realize who else is on the path. If you’re not on the path, you won’t get it.
I used to think: “Get yourself out of the hole and keep it moving.” Now I see how learning something really well and passing it on can bring more reward than learning it yourself.
Me having kids… I have a daughter that’s six, and putting her in position to win—watching her win—that makes me happier than anything I would have done for myself.
It’s part of being a father.
100%.
00:21:08
You can learn something from anybody. A homeless dude—if I really…
Oh, absolutely.
You see what you want to be, but you also see what you don’t want to be.
Yeah, 100%.
Kids are super primal. They haven’t learned the rules yet. Sometimes you can see what they’re naturally interested in, what they get joy out of. As a business owner, that’s part of being successful—seeing what motivates people. Some people are motivated by time off, some by money, some by appreciation—you have to wear those hats.
Everybody is different. When I hire you, I get to know you first. I let you show me who you are. Then I mentor you based on what I see. I might talk to one cook one way and another cook another way.
Yeah, for sure.
I remember telling the owner where I work now: “You win with me by giving me time.” If you need me 80 hours a week, I’m not going to be a good worker. I deal better when I have time to be present in all aspects: husband, father, fitness. My job is also pre-planning, consultations, designing—at home, library, park. Time to think is where you win with me. More money doesn’t move the needle for me.
So when did you realize that?
Soon as my girl was pregnant.
Soon as my girl was pregnant, I realized I can’t live that 20-hours-a-day life. I’ve seen that story play out where the kids don’t even know what color their dad’s hair is. I get sacrifice, but that’s not one of the ones I was willing to sacrifice.
That’s how I was raised. My mom always said: “You work hard when you’re young so you can relax when you’re older.” That’s been my mentality. It’s been difficult in my personal life too—finding a woman okay with the hours and stress. A lot of women need attention, which I get.
But if I’m not fulfilling my dreams, I’m not myself. And no girl wants me when I’m not myself.
Sure.
00:28:41
Right now I work four days a week and have three days off. There’s still work that goes into it outside the shop. But I get to drop my kids off at school, go to my daughter’s dance—be present. That’s worth more than money to me.
And I understand where you’re coming from—it was a different generation. I see a lot of mental health stuff now where people look for reasons to blame something. I try to nip that in the bud in the things I can control.
When you ask about my vision, I’m trying to build a culture—like Pokemon built a world and a community. Am I trying to create the next Pokemon? Probably not. But I want to build a vision and a community that understands my worth and the reason why I’m doing what I’m doing—and use that to build their own community within it. That gives the best of both worlds: funds to take care of family, and being present.
A few years ago, my wife and I would go to Costa Rica a lot. I’d tattoo three or four days and it would pay for my vacation. That changed—kids need school, economy changed, tattoo market changed, everybody racing to the bottom. So I have to pivot.
A lot of what’s going to go first is white-collar, behind a computer screen—engineering, architecture—people take on debt and those jobs will go first. Then those go-getters will go into hand skills: tattooers, painters, barbers, plumbers. That market will get oversaturated too—so where’s your moat then? It’s hard to see the future but something says put your roller skates on and get to work.
Yeah, me too. Things are good at Dubs, but I’m doing extracurricular stuff like podcasts—trying to get my name out there because I feel like in the future I’m going to need it. Hopefully it pays off, but if it doesn’t, I’m okay with that. I’m having fun doing this.
It will though.
It will.
I’m a firm believer if you work hard at something with good intentions, it’s going to play out. God’s never going to fail you.
Sure.
You hear it a lot: it’s not the best that make it to the top—it’s the most consistent.
It’s the guys that don’t quit.
That’s what I try to preach. But consistency is the hardest thing to do.
Like the gym example—I go four months, kill it, then take two months off, get out of shape, and repeat. Never-ending cycle. But if you do it 12 months a year, where do you go? Success elevates because you stay consistent. For me, I love to walk—AirPods in—walk for hours. Gets body moving, brain moving.
Mental health is real, but a lot of people have traumas they haven’t worked out, and they take the easiest way out by popping a pill. Not trying to be mean, but I feel like people should work through what negatively affected them. If they can’t, get help. But don’t jump straight to medicine.
I seen a counselor for the first time about a year ago. First thing I told her: you’re not going to pass me off to medicine. We’re going to talk about everything, but I don’t want medicine. Once you start something, there’s no going back. You’re never going to be the same.
Sure.
00:38:08
Remember you’re human. Start from ground zero. What are you having issues with and what can you do within your grasp—within yourself—to make it better?
You get a lot from walking, but you had to do the first walk to figure that out.
It’s about trying things. Some people work out calisthenics, some weights—it’s what works for you.
And before external stuff, do inventory on yourself. How would your day look as a hunter gatherer? Stretch, be strong, be vigilant, study environment, be with family, gather troops. Put that into today’s terms—what do you need to do to get your day started?
One big thing I struggle with too—starting your day bad. Today I was supposed to be here at 8:30, I got here at 9:00, I had to drop my kids off. But that pressure—am I going to make it on time, do I have what I need—some people create that problem daily.
100%. Anxiety-driven.
So you start your day bad. I’ve went through it too. But waking up early, giving yourself breathing room, changes everything. Then you’re not telling yourself you’re a piece of crap because you didn’t do what you knew you should do.
100%. And for example—you stressed about being 30 minutes late, but everything was fine. Podcast started right on time.
Sure.
So you stressed for nothing. And secondly, like you said—if you push things back, you feel anxious. “I’ll fold laundry later,” “I’ll wipe the counter later.” But it’s five minutes versus two to three days of anxiety. It’s not worth it. I learned to do it now mentality—don’t even think about it.
Yeah. Don’t question it.
And that applies to work too—prepping, the kitchen—so much weight. But if you just work and train your mind to be strong, you elevate. It’s harder to get your mind right than your body right, but more rewarding.
Sure.
I’ll see a dirty cup and try to walk by it—but I can’t. It creates stress in the background. Doing the things you say you’re going to do builds confidence. Then it’s hard for external sources to affect your mood.
In tattooing, I take it seriously—it’s on someone for life. I get anxiety until I start working on the design. The sooner you start, the sooner the anxiety goes away. Then you find the worth in the work. Anxiety becomes excitement. I can’t wait to show the client.
Yeah, man. So true.
I usually wake up at 6:45 to get my kids ready, but today I knew I had this—so I woke up at 6:00. I didn’t want to be running around like a chicken with my head on fire. I set myself up so that wouldn’t happen. Even with traffic, I gave myself enough time so I wouldn’t be an hour late or not show up.
And you’re more at ease.
More at ease.
Sometimes people say they’re going to do something and then they don’t. When someone asks them about it later, it makes them feel bad. I started YouTube six to eight months ago. I was off to the races, then I took a break. Someone asked about it and it made me feel a certain type of way.
You got pissed, right?
I didn’t show it. But that’s human nature.
And we need people that call us out. Biggest blessings.
Absolutely.
00:49:29
The reminders are constantly around you. If you look for green lawns, that’s all you’ll see. Perspective.
Nobody’s got it figured out 100%. That’s why we’re here—to figure it out. People admire someone and then something comes out and everyone’s shocked they’re not perfect. That’s a story you sold yourself. Everyone is human.
You were gifted as a human—you can adapt, change, and still win. It’s mindset. Put yourself first so you can be the best version of yourself and give it back to the world.
00:50:56
So we’re going to wrap this up. Manny, any last words you’d like to say?
I’d like to appreciate you guys for having me on here. It was a great time. If anybody’s interested in any of my content and/or art, feel free to follow me on Art by Manny on Instagram, Art by Manny on Facebook, From the Capsule on TikTok, and From the Capsule on YouTube. I’m always on there kind of having these same type of conversations, and I wouldn’t mind coming back when you guys have a little bit more time for me.
That sounds good. And Chris, if you could put his info in the bio or whatever it is in the description, appreciate it. And I appreciate you for coming on. It was a great conversation. I definitely want to have you come back because I feel like there’s a lot more that we can touch base on and talk about.
And lastly, I just want to say: the sooner you get things done, the better your life will be. And I hope each and every one of you prospers in life and gets what you guys want. And just keep working for it. We appreciate you. Please like, comment, and subscribe. Thank you.
