Perfecting Men’s Style | Elite Man Magazine Interview

Justin:    Hey, guys, you're listening to the coolest podcast in iTunes.

That's right, the Elite Man Podcast, where we turn average man into elite man every day.

We interview the very best experts from the lifestyle, health, fitness, social and even entrepreneurial worlds. And with their help, we give you some of the best advice on the planet. Subscribe now if you haven't already and enjoy the show.

And, oh, yeah, if you really enjoy it, leave us review. On today's episode, episode number 34 entitled Perfecting Your Style, we chat with the one and only founder of Real Man Real Style, Antonio Centeno.

Hi, it's Justin Stenstrom from elitemanmagazine.com. Welcome to the Elite Man Podcast. Our guest today is a nationally acclaimed fashion expert for men and the founder of Real Men Real Style, Antonio Centeno. Thanks so much for coming on the show today, man.

Antonio:    Hey, you're welcome, Justin. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Justin:    Awesome. Can you just tell our listeners a little more about what Real Men Real Style is all about and how you came up with that concept and website?

Antonio:    Sure, Justin. You know how most man don't dress very well?

Justin:    Yeah.

Antonio:    Yeah. And every time I talk to somebody about that, they shrug it off and they say, “Oh, yeah, my husband or perhaps my brother,” or, “Yeah, look at me. I'm not dressed very well.” And there is that big problem out there and we look to solve that. So I use video, I used audio and I bring my background as a former officer of the Marines and my background in evolutionary biology to apply science and military history to make style relevant to the regular guy.

Because most men just simply don't care. But if I can get them to care, if I can attach an emotional component and I can show them that this stuff it scientifically based I have experienced as a custom — I used to own a custom clothier, so I dressed and put together thousands of men's wardrobes. So if I can show them we could create a system that going to make it easier for you to dress sharp and look good and feel good than what you currently have, doesn't that sound attractive?

Justin:    Sounds great. So, how did you go about coming up with the Real Men Real Style site? How long ago was that and where have you taken it to this point?

Antonio:    So, I was hanging a picture in my bathroom when I fell off and hit my head on the toilet. No, that's — Anyone knows what that movie comes from. They can probably send you a quick message. But I'm not going to reveal it. But, yeah. It wasn't like a eureka moment. What happened is I made a lot of mistake. Like any business owner out there, you go out there and you try a hundred things and you're lucky to get a few of them to stick.

And what I've found running my first business, which was a custom clothier, is that a lot of people came to my website because we put out some great information. I started writing with another guy named Brett McKay. He runs a website called the Art of Manliness. And I just found out that a lot of people were checking out my article and were enjoying them and were asking me tons of questions. I was getting calls to my little clothier on the 800 number and I realized I just need to head this off — this is like a hydra and I need to just answer these questions before I get them.

So it's what I did. I started writing more. And when I realized that writing really wasn't probably the best avenue for me, I started creating videos. And now it's been — We're approaching, I think, 500 videos. And people just love the information we put out. I think most importantly they find it useful and they're able to apply it. I mean, we just put out a video on how to roll your shirt sleeves and it's amazing that — You would think simple but we show five techniques and a lot of guys never even thought about certain ways that can actually make their arms look better, the sleeve will stay rolled all day and they actually have more freedom of movement. So there actually is a practical application to the style we teach

Justin:    Cool. And you mentioned — I mean, you have such an incredible YouTube presence. You have over 500 videos, you said, hundreds of thousands of followers. What do you actually enjoy? Do you enjoy the video production part or the article writing part as far as giving information to your audience?

 

Antonio:    I enjoy, I think, the last part, just giving the information to the audience and really hearing back from them. I would say video is definitely my preferred method of content creation. I can't type to save my life. The first hundred articles I wrote was very painful. I would sometimes spend 12 to 14 hours in a day just trying to write. I would get up 5 o'clock, 4 o'clock in the morning and be writing until 7 o'clock that night and knock through some of that stuff.

But, I think, as an entrepreneur going into an industry that you're not familiar with, it's important that you put in those 10,000 hours, that you really — Because I wrote those first hundred articles and it was so painful and I had to do all this research and I learned so much, I now can — In a sense, I got that momentum going and that's what I have been able to build off of.

Justin:    Yeah. It's like the Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hour expert thing, right?

Antonio:    Exactly.

Justin:    Yeah. For sure. Has it just taken you awhile to be able to make such a great videos? Were you nervous at first, like being in front of so many people and being in front of camera like that? Or was it a natural thing to you?

Antonio:    I think I've always felt comfortable putting on a show and jumping in front of a small crowd to give presentations even going back to school. I had no problem giving a presentation in front of the classroom. But it definitely is something — If you look at my early videos, they weren't very good. I think I'm green and yellow in a number of my videos. The coloring was off. The background is off. The sound is not that great. But I didn't give up. I think I've done other interviews out there when I talked about this but I did 200 videos in 200 days so a lot of people will say, “Oh, I gave it a try.”

Did you really? I mean, how many times did you try that? “Oh, I tried it once.” That's not enough. If you really want to make a go to put in something, you got to put in the time and effort. You have to give it a great shake. And I was just talking with a gentleman who was about to start a company. I'm like, “You've got to give it a year and you've got to give it your full attention and you've got to work sometimes six to seven days a week especially now that you're single and you don't have any kids.”

I've got 4 kids. I'm married. So I'm really restricted to the number of hours I'm working because my kids are going to grow up and be out of the house before I know it. But if you're at a point where you really don't have a whole lot of responsibilities, that's when you need to put in those 10,000 hours. I mean, I put in that time when I just had my son. And then my daughter was born. And even around then, we found ways to cut. I haven't had a television in my house since I've had the house and that's been almost a decade. So you find ways to create time.

Justin:    Are you at the point now where you're comfortable where you're at? Are you where you want to be? Or do you still have some more things you want to do with Real Men Real Style going forward?

Antonio:    I think, as an entrepreneur, there never was a point that I reached that I'm satisfied, that I'm just going to sit back and rest on my laurels. I definitely don't have the same type of stress. I've got better problems. We all have problems in the world. Some of us have better problems than the others. My problems, you know what do I do with this money coming in? Do I want to invest 10,000 in this project? So we're at a point where I'm feeling pretty good.

It used to be I had to make a decision: Am I going to pay my mortgage or am I going to invest in Facebook advertising? And those are harder problems. But yet, all those problems pale in comparison to — I just spent the summer in Ukraine. And when I look at a lot of people that are 75 years old and their retirement plan is picking through a trash can, so those are real problems. My problems are small compared to that.

Justin:    For sure. Antonio, switching gears and talking more about specifics, fashion and what you do, why do you think clothes make the man?

Antonio:    I think that's a Mark Twain saying. And, I think, because we're very visual, men more visual than women, and it's just something that we look and we make quick decision. Actually, we don't even make decisions. It's almost like a reflex. And because of that, what you wear sends an instant signal to others, who you are and where you fit in this society. So if you walk around naked, you will be sending signal. Now, you may be a happy go lucky guy but the police are going to stop you right there and you're going to end up at the back of that squad car.

If you are walking through a big city, it's late at night and you're simply — And there's a lot of stuff going on about, you shouldn't profile someone in a hoodie but we do. And if you're not aware of that and if you don't take it — You may be just practicing for the play that you're about to perform. Your hands are going all over the place. But to the family coming up to you, you may look like a drug addict. And you need to be aware that they're making that determination based of your actions and the way that you're dressed and the way that you are perceived.

Animals make decisions based off what they see whether or not they are going to back down or they're going to engage or they're going to even choose to mate with that other animal that they are interacting with. And visual is very important for the male of the species. For the women, it's actually interesting. Fragrance is actually the number one indicator.

 

Justin:    Oh, that is interesting. Like it or not, like you said, we all kind of judge people by how they look. It's just the way we're wired innately and especially men more than woman. Like you said, it's kind of interesting how women operate on the sense of smell more than sight.

What are your thoughts about dressing to impress as opposed to wearing casual clothes? I mean, you see it especially in our day and age, it seems like more people are getting more and more casual. Do you think we got to step it back a little bit how it used to be, just like a little more respectable, a little more presentable? Or do you think casual is fine as long as you keep it the right casual?

Antonio:    I think, a man needs to define what's important to him and what message is he trying to send. So if you're a fireman and, I mean, your uniform — You can't just show up to a fire dressed in a suit. It just isn't going to make sense. You need to wear your uniform because that sends a signal of authority. And when you tell people to “get out of here,” they listen to the man that's wearing a fire suit because of that signal. The same thing if you're in sales, if you work in IT. There are certain things that we wear that worked for that industry, sends signal of trust and meet your position.

 

Because if you work for a construction company but you're the lawyer of the construction company that does 200 million, it doesn't matter. You don't wear a hard hat and you don't wear casual overall and stuff to work. You're the lawyer. You represent your profession. Now, since you work as a lawyer for a construction company, you can probably dress a bit more casual than a lawyer that works for an IT firm out of New York City. But you just need — all of that plays into — and that's why I really don't like to throw out general statement. I try to say it really depends on, again, the signal that you're trying to send.

Justin:    What are some of the bigger fashion mistakes you see men making aside from some of the more obvious ones like fitted clothes and how well something fits you?

Antonio:    Well, I would say that the fit is the obvious one. There are three things I usually focus on — fit, fabric and function. So zeroing in on that, I will say that fit is just so important. And most men never take any action with it. They don't know the name of their tailor. And it is something that I really — I don't know how else to press hard on. But the other one is going to be making sure that the function of the clothing. Again, you're wearing the right item for the situation, for what you're doing. What I wear at home is different than what I wear in the office. What I wear when I'm going to be giving a presentation is different.

So I'm just making sure that I'm aware I'm wearing the right item, the right piece of, the right outfit to the right event. So if I'm going to the gym in the morning, I've got specific clothing. But I don't necessarily wear the same clothing into when I'm going to go meet with my teacher or my daughter's teacher at the school or I'm coming into my office for an interview when I could potentially have someone to stop by.

Justin:    What are a couple of things that guys can do right now to improve their appearance in all different kinds of aspects whether that be fashion or clothing, grooming et cetera? What are some basic things that some guys that are listening to the podcast can do right now to just make themselves better presentable and give a better self image?

Antonio:    So I'm a big fan of Kaisen and that's the idea of small in incremental improvements over time yield a big results. Because you know how at the end of the year, everyone's got their New Year's resolution and 98% of people fall off the bandwagon within the first month? It's like we try to make this huge monumental changes and they just don't work. So I've already talked about taking your clothing to a tailor. That's something that's going to not take too much time.

Your wallet, yes, is going to maybe hurt just a bit. You're going to maybe spend a $100. But you know what? All that clothing is going to fit you better. But another thing that you can do, which isn't going to cost as much and is going to over the long term makes sense, is setting up routines, setting up a time on a Sunday that you actually prepare and lay out your clothes. You prepare your shoes. You iron all of your clothes at once and you make it easier to dress well the next day.

I recommend that men set their clothing out the night before. I've got three daughters. One of them, she definitely is a fashionista. She'll change three to four times. Unless we have and we go through that procedure at night and she's got her perfect outfit laid out there in the morning, so then  even if she wakes up late, it's easier for her to wear the clothing that's right there than it is to try to go back into the closet and build something out anew.

Justin:    What are some of the best places that guys can find great deals on clothes that look great but aren't really as expensive of something maybe at the higher end clothing?

Antonio:    So, if you've got the time, I'm going to recommend go checking out thrift stores. For those of you guys on a budget, thrift stores are some of the best deals. And you're kind of freeing from the fashion trends because thrift stores, a lot of stuff in there maybe ten to 15 years old.

But you know what, it still works. And if it fits you, you're going to get stuff for pennies on a dollar. But let's say that you want to go out there and you don't want to deal with thrift stores and you're in a kind of a more remote area. Then you're going to want to go check out websites like Joe over at Dapper. He's got a great website that focuses on good deals. Follow someone, follow a blogger who suits your style. So if you're in New York City or you live in San Francisco, you want to go check out Barron at the Effortless Gent.

Him and his wife, Katie, they've lived in both cities and they're putting out some great stuff for the urban gentleman. If you're a short man, you want to go check out Brock over at The Modest Man, great website. And he focuses on men who are under 5'7″. So he talks about brands which suit you and that's the thing to zero in out. Find a style blogger that you just connect with and you're going to find that he's going to magically recommend the right brands because they suit him. They're going to suit you.

Justin:    Great advice. We just actually had Brock on. He had some awesome, awesome tips for shorter guys and also just guys in general. He's just full of all kinds of styling and fashion and knowledge for men. He's a really great guy and he has even better advice.

Antonio:    Yeah. Brock is a great guy. And I didn't even mention Aaron Marino or Jerry Wu. These are all YouTube guys that have a huge presence and are doing really well. Jerry, this guy, he's relatively young and he's down in Florida. Aaron Marino, he's a lot bigger. He's got a bigger channel than me. He's a good friend and he's more, I would say, more fashion forward in a lot of the things he talks about. But, yeah, find your guru and then just — You'll just find there's plenty in a lot of these guys' channels.

Justin:    Yeah, it's a lot of great names. Aaron too. There's so much awesome information out there in this kind of community that we're in. A lot of the people that you mentioned too are just some of the top guys in the business. Antonio, do you have any thought on slim fitted suits and kind of the style that is in right now and what you recommend as far as that?

Antonio:    Well, if you're slim, man, wear a slim-fitted suit. But if you're a large man, don't try to fit in with this. Best case is it's going to look okay on you. Worse case, you're going to look like a clown. So, you want to go focus on proportions and that's why, again, it's important that you're looking, you're not falling into the whimsical winds of fashion. You're focused on classic style. Because lucky for us — I mean, if you focus on classic style, you're going to look great ten years from now wearing pretty much what you have.

And I know some of you guys, maybe they're 20 years old, okay, ten years sounds like a long time. For those of us that are 35, 40, we realize time goes by pretty quick. And it is something that it's nice when that tie that you bought ten years ago you can still get some mileage out of it.

Justin:    Antonio, what are your thoughts on wearing shorts? How do you actually pull off wearing shorts? Because, obviously, it's the summer time now. It's hot. A lot of guys don’t want to be wearing pants but at the same time they don't want to look goofy with some of the different kinds of styles of shorts out there. What do you recommend for pulling this off?

Antonio:    I always think it's interesting that most of the world doesn't wear shorts and especially even at a lot of equator countries. And shorts are one of those things that used to be a boys, part of boys uniforms. It was something that children wore. And many parts of the world it's still view to something that children wear. I'm a big fan of tropical weight trousers, of linen trousers, and I've worn this in very hot weather. I find it works just fine. But if I'm going to work shorts, I'm going t make sure it's the right occasion.

I have no issue wearing cargo shorts when I'm out hiking, cargo shorts when I'm out with my kids at Disneyland and I need those cargo pockets to carry waters and pacifiers and all this other things. And that's where they come from. They come from the military. They've got a background of being able to move stuff around. So if you're not going to be needing that much stuff then wear shorts that — I like them of inches above the knee. I also like it when they're plain and they don't have any pockets on the side. They're also usually made from a little bit nicer of a cotton so that they're not, if they wrinkle quite a bit.

And that's what you usually see. So if you go to let's say Old Navy or Banana Republic, oftentimes you're getting a lower quality cotton that's going to wrinkle quite a bit. Not that big of a deal. You can just iron them. But I would say that if you can avoid the pockets, khaki, tan, blue, all of those colors work fine. And then match it with a pair of a — Find some shoes or some slip on. I'm a big fan of — What do I wear? Usually boat shoes. I've got some casual loafers that I'll throw on. You can wear a Now Show sock.

Justin:    Okay. I think this is the perfect time to take a quick break from our show to let you know about our Kickstarter campaign going on right now. If you go to kickstarter.com and type in the words “elite man conference,” you'll see our Kickstarter campaign pop right up. Again, that's “elite man conference.” We're trying to have an Elite Man Conference this fall. All the best experts from the podcast coming to one event. So, basically, 30 to 40 of the world's best self-help experts in the lifestyle, health, fitness, business, dating, psychology, social, and even entrepreneurial worlds.

This will be a three-day event in Boston this fall, if we can get our goal. Check it out right now. If you back it, please do so. All donations are greatly appreciated and you'll help make this Elite Man Conference to life. Again, it's kickstarter.com and “Elite Man Conference.” You can also click right in the description and show notes as we're going to have a link to the Kickstarter page. Please pause the episode right now and check it out. For those of you who did pause the episode and are replaying it and for those of you who did not, we are back to show now.

Antonio, what are some great casual things to wear? What do you wear personally when you go out for like a day out in town? If you're going to the movies, going to the grocery store, what does your outfit look like? Do you ever wear things like tee-shirts or jeans or anything like that?

Antonio:    I wear jeans quite a bit. People think I sleep in a suit. The reality is, I live in a small town of a thousand people and the big city, which is Wausau, has 30,000 people and that's half an hour away. If I wore a suit, I would really — It just wouldn't fit in. No one in my town or even the big city wears a suit. Occasionally, to an event, I will wear sports jacket and on trousers. I rarely ever wear a suit in the State of Wisconsin.

And that's usually I'm wearing the sports jacket and shirt because I'm representing my family and I also represent my business. Understand, I really don't care what anyone else is wearing when I'm going to my daughter's play at the school or I'm going to be taking my son or my wife to an important event or a nice dinner in Wausau. However, for most days, I'm simply wearing a casual colored shirt, jeans. I've got a wide variety of shoes. Seems like companies always are sending me shoes to test out but I'm a big fan of the double monk-strap.

Wear a belt. Occasionally, I've got Anson Belt and Buckle. They make a pretty good one. Yeah, it's called the Poitier Double Monk-Strap. So you can go check that up. I like that because I can dress my shoes up a bit and that's something that people do notice. Even with jeans, I can — It made my entire outfit appear to be pretty casual but because I'm wearing those double monk-strap, people notice and I still feel a little bit dressed up.

Justin:    The double monk-strap, those are the shoes you wear?

Antonio:    Probably I'm going to do a video about it because I find that there are certain items that I wear all the time and literally I definitely got my money's worth. I know this sounds bad but I probably got 30 pairs of shows just because people send them to me all the time.

Justin:    That's pretty cool. Like I said, it's a good perk of having such a big audience.

Antonio:    Yeah. It's one of the — Well, when you're in this industry, they send and they want you to talk about it.

Justin:    Antonio, you talked about a good amount of different topics on RMRS and on your YouTube channel. One of the things you typically talk about is grooming. Do you have any grooming tips for men and how to actually groom themselves the right way and maybe be the best style that they wanted to be?

Antonio:    Yeah. I would say — And this goes back to habits and small things, but you need to have a routine. And consider experimenting. So many guys, they use the same deodorant for two decades and they never even think about it. They use the same shampoo and they never relate the fact that they've got dandruff or that they actually get a very dry scalp or that they get pimples on the top of their head, that it could be related to the actual products that they're using.

I grew up where everything — We always shopped at Walmart. We always want the cheapest brands. But one thing I've learned is that there is a huge difference. Look for some of those trouble areas. Perhaps you get really dry skin on your face. You know what? You should look at a good face care routine.

We're just talking with Josh Meyers, one of the founders of Brickell and there were products. They were actually out my StyleCon event in Atlanta. They've got a routine. It's called the Daily Essential Men's Face Care Routine. And I love it because they really make it simple. You can set up a subscription and Brickell will send you a face moisturizer and a face wash along with email reminders how to use it. And they go into exact — So all of a sudden if you've got — Really do something about, feel better about your face.

People see this multiple times. It's how you communicate with the world. And if you can get rid of that super oily skin or if you can feel like you don't have flakes coming off your nose, I think you're going to feel a bit more confident. And that's what I get excited about, when a guy controls and he master his appearance so he can focus on what really matters, which is getting that engineering product or project approved or working with that customer so that they're really happy with the new car they just bought and you're able to have a nicer commission check at the end of the month.

Justin:    Absolutely. It's very important to just feel your best and make sure you don't have — I feel like pimples and things like that are a big cause for a lot of the insecurity and self-consciousness that a lot of guys face when they don't have that thing down. So it is very, very important that you do take care of that. Antonio, also one of the topics you talk about on your site is communication and you have a lot of articles and videos concerning this topic. Do you have any general tips about becoming a better communicator?

Antonio:    You got to practice. It's not something anyone is born with. And even the best are constantly improving. I was watching Jordan Harbinger over at The Art of Charm. I watched him give a presentation. I had seen him present but he just made a huge leap. And I know that he went — I think it was one of Michael Port's programs. But he, it's always look to improve. It doesn't matter where you're at, who you are. I've got an advantage because I do so many videos and I've done enough interviews that I feel pretty good jumping into this.

But I know that I use crutch words that I can be more precise, I can get to the point. And so don't rest on your laurels and realize even the best communicators in the world are constantly refining themselves and improving themselves. It's like showering. You don't just train into it once and you're good to go for the rest of your life. You need to shower every day. And I think that communication is something that you need to constantly work on and look to improve.

Justin:    That's right. Practice makes perfect, as they say.

Antonio:    I would even interject that perfect practice makes perfect.

Justin:    Perfect practice, that's good. You're doing it the right way, obviously.

Antonio:    Exactly.

Justin:    You just can't really half-ass anything. The more times you do it, the better you're going to get. If you actually do it the right way and, like you say, the perfect way, it definitely works out best. Antonio, just a couple more questions. I mean, we're going to wrap things up. It's been a really awesome interview so far. I do appreciate it. You touched upon a few minutes ago about deodorants and smelling good and making sure you have your grooming down. What are your thoughts on cologne and are there any specific cologne that you recommend that are some of the better ones out there? Because I know a lot of guys struggle with finding a good solid cologne and even finding a scent that really accentuates their own personal smell.

Antonio:    Justin, I'm going to recommend that if they are interested in the subject, they need to go follow Dave over at Fragrance Bros. He's very approachable. That guy is down in Alabama. And simply, he's passionate and he loves to help people. I'm currently working on a book with him. And we're going to be tackling this very subject. Because I find that 80% of men in the United States do not wear fragrance on a regular basis. And the 20% that do — Well, I just find that that industry is very hard to understand and to penetrate.

And this is coming from a guy that has owned a custom clothier and I talk about style all the time. But I find that very confusing. So when I see something like that, I see huge opportunity. I can tell you that we are working on a line of fragrances and my goal is to make it simple. A man has the innate ability to choose the right fragrance. But where do we get fragrances from? Where do you think, Justin? Where do most men get their fragrance from?

Justin:    Amazon or Walmart?

Antonio:    Yeah, but who gets it for us? Do we choose it ourselves?

Justin:    Girlfriend or wife.

Antonio:    Exactly.

Justin:    Or mother.

Antonio:    And honestly, 80% of the time, they're going to choose — It's like 75% of the time, they're going to choose the wrong fragrance for us. So 25% of the time, we get lucky. We're like, “Oh, we like this.” But most of the time, we're like, “Thank you.” We wear it once and we put it away and we never put it on again. Has that happened to you?

Justin:    Yeah. I've got six colognes sitting in my room that I have used once or twice.

Antonio:    Exactly. And unfortunately, it's because they don't naturally enhance your smell. We're working to address that problem. And anyone wants to know where they can reach out me — But I would say that Dave over at Fragrance Bros is going to be the best person. If you're looking to take action right now, then just simply go to — I really recommend a store like Nordstrom. Just go to their fragrance department. I mean, they usually employ pretty smart people or find someone that can help you. Do a blind test and find the one that works for you and then practice wearing it.

So those are the things. You got to practice wearing it. Get used to wearing it. Because fragrance is the number indicator of whether — When a woman is choosing a — and I'll put out a video soon about this. When she's choosing a mate or if she's going to basically take — Once she meets a man, she makes the decision very quickly if he would make a good sexual partner based off of how you smell.

If you smell bad, nothing is ever going to happen. It's something that sticks with them and they remember it and they don't even know why but you're just not their type. But really, a lot of it comes down to fragrance. Men don't get this because our fragrance or our smell is not as developed as women's, in general. And for us, the most important thing is the visual.

Justin:    For sure. Antonio, just a quick question for our entrepreneurial segment on networking. I once heard that you networked with, I think, Pat Flynn and sent him some fashion tips and gave him a bunch of good insights and stuff and it kind of set you up in a great way to connect with him or something. Do you have other good tips as far as networking online and kind of reaching out? Because you have such a great audience, a following at this point and, I think, coming from you, it would really be great to hear a couple of networking tips and maybe some insights into what works best.

Antonio:    I get about ten to 15 emails a day via my form. In addition to that, I get probably another hundred emails. And then we probably get another 100 to 200 comments on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, all these other platforms. I think it's 95% people are me, me, me, can you help me? Can you solve my problem? So doctors have the same issue. Most medical doctors, if you ask them, they get tired of being around sick people, people that want to tell them their — They just have problems all day. They really just sometimes want to be around people that aren't trying to ask.

So I would say if you want to connect with someone that has a lot on their plate, find a way to add value and don't expect anything in return. Half the time, I add value to somebody and I never hear about them. It's not that they're a bad person. It's simply they're busy. But what's funny is they don't forget that. They remember that. Because so many people — I rarely ever get someone that just comes in and just gives value without — And the law of reciprocity only works if it's truly you're just giving.

If you are expecting something back, you destroy. It falls on its face. Because that's going to be manipulative. But if you just find a way to give to those in your industry who you admire and give them something of real value, that right there is rare and I find it's the quickest way to be remembered and to have others reach out and grab your hand to pull you up.

Justin:    Awesome, man. It's great advice. Antonio, what is your proudest professional accomplishment up until this point?

Antonio:    I'd have to say it's having to hire people to answer all the “thank yous” that we have and to categorize the testimonials. In a way, we can track that to the bottom line but to actually — So I'd say the proudest thing was launching StyleCon with Aaron Marino who is my business partner on it. And getting about 30 of my peers in a room together and for us just to hang out, get to know each other and to be able to work with and help 30 other business owners, 60 super fans who came from around the world, and for over 100 men, just to be able to hang out with no agenda except to help each other out. That was probably one of my biggest, in person, was my biggest professional accomplishment.

Justin:    Awesome. Yeah, we definitely heard a lot of good things about the StyleCon event.

Antonio:    We're doing it again.

Justin:    Yeah. Coming up in March, I think, right?

Antonio:    Yeah, yeah. And we're excited. I mean, we're going to get — And it's one of those things that, yeah, we're just excited because this time — We broken even just last time. This next time, we've already gotten some sponsors on board and we're flipping around and just immediately — I'm looking to take care of my speakers now. That's my next thing is to treat my speakers really well. So, we've already got a great lineup of guys that are getting ready for it. I want to double the attendance. And if I can do that for the next years, I have a sizable conference by the year 2020.

Justin:    Awesome, man. We definitely look forward to checking that out more. It's nothing but great feedback from that so far. We're all going to be looking forward to that. Antonio, is there any last takeaway message or sendoff you'd like to leave our Elite Man audience?

Antonio:    I'll just say get out there and take action.

Justin:    Awesome, man. Short and sweet and very profound. Thanks again, man, for coming on our show today. I know our audience is really going to love this one. I definitely appreciate your time. Thank you.

Antonio:    You're welcome, Justin. Take care.