13 On 13

I was joined by Robert Rodriguez via Zoom from his home in New Paltz, New York to talk about confidence, social fluidity, and the struggles of content creation

Frankie Becerra: What’s goin on dude, how are you?

Robert Rodriguez: I’m good, I’m good. Long time no see.

FB: I know, it’s been a minute. Thank you for doing this.

RR: Yeah for sure. Have you been talking to a lot of people already?

FB: This is my fourth so far… are you ok with me just getting into some of these questions I’ve got for you?

RR: Yeah let’s go for it.

FB: What’s one way you’ve changed since high school?

RR: Big question already… I think I’ve definitely grown as an individual person. In high school I don’t think I necessarily knew who I was, or at least on my own. But I feel like through college and work and kind of doing my own thing for work I’ve kind of just become a lot more confident in what I’m doing and who I am and the direction I’m headed. So confidence.

FB: That’s awesome, and that’s something that I think I have definitely felt that I have grown in that way as well and so I think that’s like such an important foundation to have during this time period because we are just kind of like really starting out in the world right now so to have that baseline, especially when you didn’t have it so much prior, can be a real game changer.

RR: Yeah, and I think like in high school that’s all I knew. I knew the people I was around and that was it. That was what I had to compare what I was doing, I was just comparing it to those people and I think we all, not that it was a bad thing, but we all kind of went in like the same direction where like “oh everyone is going to college so what college are you going to?” So I just feel like I was able to branch out and, stereotypically, like try new things and explore in college. But even college wasn’t necessarily the best time so I feel like just on my own I’ve been able to develop myself.

FB: I have a really distinct memory of at my college orientation one of the people that spoke to us said “If you don’t feel like you’ve changed at the end of these four years, then you’ve wasted your time and money”.

RR: Wow.

FB: Like if you still feel like the exact same person after college then why did you do this? And I remember hearing that at the time and being like, as someone who I remember at the end of high school a lot of people were saying things to me and writing things in my yearbook along the lines of “never change” and it’s like well I think it might be time for that.

RR: (Laughs) Well I did it, so

FB: What’s something you’ve accomplished in the last ten years that you’re proud of?

RR: Let’s see… I mean getting married is definitely a top on the list, so that is a huge accomplishment for me. Ten years ago me would’ve been like “oh I don’t know”, but yeah very proud of that. And then in terms of work, not doing the 9-5. That was a very scary idea, but the fact that I’m not doing that is also a very big accomplishment.

FB: That’s awesome, I completely agree with both of those.

RR: Both things are like… I don’t necessarily think that they’re like huge. It’s not like I did anything crazy in life and did something massive to be like “Yeah, look at my accomplishments!” But those are two things that I’m like “Cool, yeah I did that. Awesome”.

FB: No I think they’re both big. You’re the first husband on the list so far in these interviews

RR: (Laughs) Ah, nice!

FB: But that’s great, especially the 9-5 thing because it is one of those things where it’s just so easy to get caught in it once you see the benefits that can be provided from it. It’s easy to let those outweigh the parts of it that aren’t working for you and it can get in your way very easily when you want to do other things.

RR: Absolutely, it’s easy to fall into it and then just not get out, which is not what I wanted.

FB: So with that in mind what’s something you hope to accomplish in the next ten years?

RR: The next ten years… I think I definitely want to grow, like do what I’m doing in terms of music and video and YouTube and working with clients and stuff, like do that, but on a grander scale. Or at least a more sustainable scale where I don’t feel like I’m growing to a point where I can’t handle it or I’m pushing myself too hard. I definitely want to sustain what I’m doing and you know do the work but at a larger scale.

FB: That makes sense, especially because it’s one of those things where you’ve kind of, and this is something that I think is really awesome that you’ve done, you’ve taken what some people would kind of consider like a niche interest and you’ve been able to make this platform and build this audience for yourself, and I just think it’s really awesome that you did that and stuck with it. I think it’s very easy to, when you have an interest that for a long time might’ve felt like it was just your own, and to make that your baseline of what you’re gonna do as far as in your situation of content creation it can be scary at first. You’re gonna have those thoughts where it’s like “Well who’s even gonna watch all of this?” I have that on a smaller scale when I’m doing my videos because it’s like I hatch up the idea, I write the script, I shoot it, I do all the editing and then I throw it out there and I remember earlier on, and still sometimes, it was really hard if I felt like a video didn’t get the attention that I thought it deserved after all the work I put into it. It can be really discouraging but it’s one of those things where it’s like if you like something, and there’s already a market for it, there has to be enough people into it to be sustaining that market, you know what I mean?

RR: Yeah absolutely, and I definitely appreciate you saying all of that because you definitely understand. Like you’ve hit all the points because you’ve also gone through it with videos and stuff. It is very scary… Especially during covid, pretty much during covid, the end of 2020 is when I first started being like alright I don’t necessarily want the 9-5, I don’t know exactly what I want to do, let me try YouTube. Then the world started opening back up, everyone started progressing in their career or starting a new career, and I was just doing music and content creation and just fully believing that I could make it work. So that’s terrifying while everyone else is growing and moving up in their roles. But yeah I definitely feel like with YouTube in general I’m really proud of the growth I’ve had there and still have a long way to go, but it’s really awesome seeing that.

FB: Even as a fan from the side it’s awesome to see where it’s gotten so definitely excited to see where it goes next.

RR: Thank you.

FB: You’re welcome. So what, if anything, do you miss most about high school? And it’s ok if the answer is “nothing”.

RR: (Laughs) I don’t know… In a weird way the structure of it. I am very much someone that likes structure and I’m very adamant about my own calendar and figuring out my own daily plan as someone who has to figure it out on my own. So like having that structure was nice because it was a load off of me, but at the same time I didn’t want to have to go to earth science at this time in the morning just because I have to. So it’s a weird balance where it was nice to kind of be like around people my own age where we were all doing the same thing, so in that way the structure was nice. Also just the people that I was friends with over the seven years that I was there. I just miss seeing those people everyday. So definitely that.

FB: That all makes a lot of sense. And it’s something that I think that’s already being a reoccurring theme in these interviews where I think it’s like kind of that sense of community that was there, because like you said it was the people and the structure and the consistency of it all.

RR: And what I didn’t notice until I think that senior year was, like leading up to that point we all had our friend groups, sometimes people would change friend groups it’s not like it was set in stone. But I felt like by our senior year we all kind of had mutual friends… like it was really nice getting to know people that I never thought I would’ve interacted with but then we had a class together and we became friends. Just different people mixing it up together. I felt like that was a big part of senior year, so that was really nice in terms of building that community.

FB: There was kind of that fluidity between groups.

RR: Yes, that’s a great word for it.

FB: Thank you. So do you think you left high school prepared for the next phase of your life?

RR: No. I think it comes back to the confidence, like I don’t think I was confident in retrospect. Maybe at the time I thought I was ready, which I guess kind of negates my answer a little bit. But in retrospect from where I am now to where I was leaving high school in 2013, I think I had a lot of growing to do that I don’t think high school necessarily prepared me for.

FB: That’s the thing you do kind of really get thrown into it (life) as soon as it (high school) ends because it’s so much of the same for so long, and then there’s that huge shift from one era to the next.

RR: And I guess you could say the same, I mean we weren’t anywhere as introspective going from middle school to high school, but you could say you’ve grown from eighth and ninth grade to your senior year, you could say the same thing from freshman year of college if you spend your four years in a college, or five or three, however people dedicate their time. Like there are segments where you are growing and learning from that portion of time. But in the grand scheme of things you’re just thrown into it and better hope that you make it or do something. So yeah I don’t think high school necessarily prepped me, but it was a nice time to develop from.

FB: That makes sense. Now if you could change one thing about your time in high school knowing what you know now, what would you change?

RR: Um… to not be, I don’t know if this is the right word, but like intimidated. Not to be easily intimidated or overly concerned with other people’s viewpoints. I feel like the easy way of saying it is just don’t care what people think, but I feel like we all kind of care what other people think and how we’re perceived in our community. But I think just having the, wow this all comes back to confidence. This is a therapy session man (laughs). But yeah having the confidence to just be happy with theatre at the time. Like I thought that was a big part of my life and just being confident in that, and I don’t think I was or as much as I should’ve been. And like being confident in like “It’s very clear that you love music so make that part of your path somehow”. But I didn’t fully embrace it until the end of college. So definitely just be confident in who you think you are because more than likely it’ll help you grow into the person that you want to become.

FB: I definitely feel that too because I kind of look back at how many times I let fear hold me back from doing certain things or trying certain things. And different kinds of fear, like you were saying, fear of what other people might think, fear of failure, fear of what it make me might think. And it’s one of those things where I look back and I wish I could tell 14 year old me “Hey man, try some stuff. Just go for it a little more often. And maybe do a pushup every once in a while. Like it might work out better than you think, and even if it doesn’t it might not be as bad as you think.”

RR: (Laughs) Yeah you could only grow from it. Like lets say you try something and it doesn’t work out, that means you know that it’s not the thing for you so there’s no harm in trying something new and just doing it because you don’t know how it’s gonna turn out.

FB: Exactly, and like you said even if it doesn’t work out, then hopefully that’ll make trying the next thing that much easier and it’ll make finding the thing that does work that much quicker.

RR: It’s true.

FB: So as a member of the class of 2013, we’ve kind of just touched on this a little bit, do you have any advice for the current seniors, the class of 2023, as they enter this next phase of their life?

RR: I feel like there were so many points in the last ten years where I was like “Oh wow I wish I could tell myself this”. It’s hard to pin it all down, but… aside from confidence just be curious. Because confidence is very internal, but also be the person that other people feel confident opening up to. So like if you’re curious and you just feel empathy for people, you’re gonna learn so much about where another person is coming from, even if you think that person is the one that’s judging. And this is something that I more recently learned and I’ve gotten older and more confident in myself. In social situations, I have always been introverted… I don’t know I’ve always found it hard talking with others and afraid that they would judge, so a way to combat that is being curious about others. Genuinely want to learn about others, have a side of empathy and really feel for them because you’ll be able to put yourself in their shoes.

FB: I love that, I completely agree.

RR: Again this is something that took forever to fully grasp, but it’s a totally new outlook on how you approach others.

FB: And it’s something that you kind of have to let grow with you too. You’re gonna get better at actively doing that as you consciously make that decision until it becomes unconscious and that’s just naturally how you carry yourself.

RR: Yeah absolutely. A lot of people look at extroverted folks as you know… everything’s easygoing and everything comes naturally, which I mean it might, I don’t know. It could very well be that way for certain people. But for people like me, it is very much a conscious decision, and the more I practice and the more I implement just like better bettering myself techniques the more it becomes easy because I genuinely have shifted my mindset.

FB: So now with the current seniors in mind, do you think you would rather be a high schooler right now, or in the early 2010s when we were there?

RR: I don’t know. A high schooler right now as in like I am with whoever is there and not the class I was with?

FB: I’ll let you choose that aspect of it.

RR: Ok um… I don’t think I would change, I think I would just stick with the people that I had and back in the 2010s because I feel like I’ve been able to make some positive strides in the past ten years and I feel like it was because of the way things just turned out. I don’t think I would be who I am without any kind of struggle or any kind of challenge that I went through. I would say that it would be interesting to be a senior in 2023, I feel like there is a shift in what’s cool and maybe accepting yourself a little bit more than back in 2013, but I don’t think I would necessarily change.

FB: That’s fair, as someone who has worked in Brewster High School within the last couple of years I can say that it’s definitely a lot more progressive than when we were there, even if it is still Brewster.

RR: I can only imagine what the seniors are going through in a post covid, well not really post covid, but you know they’re now back in school and I feel like the development during 2020/2021 might’ve been difficult so I don’t know if necessarily would want to be a senior there right now, but I also am really happy with the progress that is being made, so you know two ends of the spectrum.

FB: Yeah exactly. We’re coming up to the end here, we’ll end on a fun one, although I think they’ve all been kind of fun. One thing our high school never did was senior quotes. Do you have one that you think you would have used if we did? Or do you have one that you like right now?

RR: So I’m not really sure because part of me would be like you gotta pick something funny because it’s gonna be in the yearbook forever, so… one of them would’ve been “Sock it, fuckers”, I always liked that saying and I said it randomly, so that would’ve been fun. Although I don’t think it would’ve gotten past any kind of approval. But then also based on what I said about curiosity now, just the quote that was, was it Steve Jobs that had “Be humble, be curious”?

FB: I think so.

RR: That would’ve been a nice one… And there is one about music that I would’ve liked from Michael Giacchino who did the Up score and Rogue One and things like that, and it’s literally as simple as like “Just make music.” Which would’ve been really really nice to know because it pushes you forward. Making music doesn’t have to be a big endeavor, just do it. Three different types of quotes.

FB: I feel that aspect of the “Just make music” one on my side of things too because one of my biggest regrets as far as the sketches and the content I’ve made in the past couple of years is genuinely that I didn’t start sooner. Because with anything you’re not gonna be great immediately so you might as well get the reps in as soon as you can to kind of get to that- not “practice makes perfect” but practice definitely makes better.

RR: Yeah that was another quote “Practice makes progress”. I love that, and also that’s the thing. Like, now I’m just quoting a bunch of things, but “The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago, but the next best time is today” so just get it started.

FB: Yeah that’s one of my favorites. I’ve started literally planting trees because of that quote.

RR: Like for YouTube and just like content creation in general that was another thing. Like most people are not gonna see the first 50-100 videos you make anyway, so just get all the bad stuff out now. Learn and get 1% better with every new thing that you do because eventually by the hundredth video, you’ll be significantly farther along than number one. And at that point then maybe people will start, again in terms of YouTube, viewing the content and actually following you and supporting you.

FB: Absolutely, and getting started at something like that, that’s can make it really intimidating for someone because there is kind of that implication that when you post a video and it doesn’t “do well” then you’re kind of failing in public. But like you said most people aren’t gonna see those first bunch that you do, so is it really failing in public if no one is seeing you do it? Like not to take away from it but it’s one of those things where you just gotta put the reps in.

RR: Yeah the worst thing that can happen is you learn something that you didn’t like that you did. “Oh it’s not doing well, I should change this up next time” and just keep going. That’s it.

FB: Well before we finish up, do you have any questions for me? Again, it’s ok if you don’t.

RR: Well I know that you mentioned that you had been at the Brewster school system. Are you still doing that? Are you not doing that? How are you incorporating that with your comedy career? I want to know more about that.

FB: Sure, so from 2019 until the end of last school year 2022 I was a substitute teacher at Brewster High School, and the middle school but I stopped working in the middle school after covid just because once we were back in the classroom- obviously when they were all online I was just fully unemployed. You don’t need a sub to press play on The Lorax when you’re in a Zoom room, you know? But when we got back in there the high school was just an easier place for me to be. While I was still living in Brewster it was just kind of like, and no disrespect but like, one of the easiest jobs I’ve ever had. And it was also at a weird point in my life where when I started doing it, it was one of four jobs that I had. Then by a few months into the 2021 school year, I was able to quit all the other jobs because I was working so much, but unfortunately, that’s because all my coworkers were getting sick. And I thankfully never got Covid, but it was a weird position to be in to be like “I need someone I work with to get an illness in order for me to make money”. At the same time, it was the most consistency I had as a substitute teacher to know like “Ok Ms. Villaverde is gonna be out all week so now I have a job for all five days!” So like shoutout Tracy for that, that was great. But yeah it definitely inspired plenty of material comedically both in my standup and in videos I’ve made. I remember one of the first videos I posted on TikTok that went kind of big for my level was actually after I was in Ms. Villaverde’s class for a week. The kids had just started reading The Great Gatsby, and I remember one of the students was looking at the front cover, and she goes, pretty loud, she says “I bet F. Scott Fitzgerald just went by his first initial because his real name was something stupid like ‘Frankie’”. Which, as we know, is my name, but she did not know that. And I had to just be like “Hey, um, that’s my name”. And she was very apologetic about the whole thing. But then I told that story on TikTok, and it went big. And then a month or two later I had that kid in class again and it came up that she saw the TikTok.

RR: Oh my god.

FB: And I was like “Look I promise I’m defending you in the comments. The comments are not being nice, but I know you’re cool”. And that’s the thing, it was nice to just be on a level of connecting with those kids and it was really cool and it has influenced what I want to continue to do post having worked there. It’s another one of those things where when I started doing it I was like “Alright, whatever, this is just a job. It’s weird that I’m back here. It’s weird that this is what I’m doing” and it was, don’t get me wrong. It was definitely weird for the first couple of months, but it is something that I’m grateful for now for sure.

RR: Yeah, I mean all of this is in retrospect seeing the path that you take because it’s definitely not how you think it’s gonna end up.

FB: No way.

RR: And we think we’re at an endpoint too, like alright I’ve made it to this point in my life, but we’re still progressing somewhere.

FB: Yeah this shit just keeps on going, man.

RR: Yes it does, you just gotta figure it out.

(This interview has been edited for length and clarity)