Show Notes
This is a cool one guys! Casey got to sit down with Yellowstone star Denim Richards! This guy is amazing, and truly gives a great conversation.
Find Denim online:
https://twitter.com/DenimRichards
"Drinks and Comics with Spoiler Country!"
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC25ZJLg6vL4jjRgC1ebshCA
Did you know we have a YouTube channel?
https://youtube.com/channel/UCstl1UHQVUC85DrCagF-wuQ
Follow us on Social Media:
http://facebook.com/spoilercountry/
http://twitter.com/spoiler_country
http://instagram.com/spoilercountry/
Kenric:
http://twitter.com/XKenricX
John:
http://twitter.com/y2cl
http://instagram.com/y2cl/
http://y2cl.net
http://eynesanthology.com
Casey:
https://twitter.com/robotseatguitar
https://thecomicjam.com/
Buy John’s Comics!
http://y2cl.net/the-store/
Support us on Patreon:
http://patreon.com/spoilercountry
Interview scheduled by Jeffery Haas
https://twitter.com/jhaasinterviews
Theme music by Good Co Music:
https://www.goodcomusic.com/
Steve the Robot likes Denim, both the person and the pants.
[bg_collapse view="button-blue" color="#4a4949" expand_text="Transcript" collapse_text="Show Less" ]
[00:00:00] Casey: all right, everybody.
You're welcome again, to another episode of spoiler country today on the show, we will be talking to denim. Richards. Denim is acting alongside huge guys like Kevin Costner and, in Jesus Christ. Let me start over.
Denim Richards: No
Casey: problem. Sorry. I'm fumbling through my notes here. Okay. All right, everybody. Welcome again, into another episode of spoiler country today on the show, we will be talking to denim.
Richards denim is featured on a show alongside Kevin Costner. The show is on the paramount network and it is amazing. You guys, if you haven't checked out Yellowstone yet, do yourselves a favor. Check it out. It's in its third season right now. Denim. How you doing man?
Denim Richards: I'm excellent. Thank you for having me super excited to have some time to talk with you,
Casey: dude, I'm stoked, so, okay.
I, I'm new to Yellowstone [00:01:00] and I kind of binged it, along with my wife doesn't like anything and she enjoyed the show. Oh,
Denim Richards: that's good. That's great, man.
Casey: it's solid. It's super
Denim Richards: fun. Yeah. Yeah. Very, it's a super, you know, I think, Yellowstone for a lot of people. I think it is. It's really interesting because like you mentioned in the introduction that, you know, we're in our, you know, our third season, but it really seems like in the third season, it's really picked up its legs.
even though it's been a pretty good success, you know, seasons one and two, but I feel like season three, it really just caught fire. and so a lot of people are just kind of coming around to it. and so, yeah, I mean, the show is so fun and it's something that. You know, you don't have a lot of programs on television or even in film that kind of do what we do on, you know, on Yellowstone or at the ranch, if you will.
and so it's so exciting to be able to work with livestock and to be on horses and to kind of, you know, just be out in nature. [00:02:00] and then also bringing in that, you know, city element as well. So it's really fun to be on such an amazing show with an amazing cast, but also even more amazing the fact that we kind of get to be on something that you just don't see on television.
And that really sets us apart in that way. And that's really awesome. Oh yeah.
Casey: Certainly unique and yeah. when I see you guys do what you do on the show, just through, you know, my being able to talk to other people, who are enacting in a film. They train the crap out of you guys. Anytime you guys get on a horse, that is a liability.
So they're going to train the crap out of you. how has that been?
Denim Richards: It's been a, you know, it's really been something amazing. I think this year, even more, this year going into our, getting ready to film season four, I think it's been just, you know, ratchet it up a notch, I think, which is really exciting, you know, I think.
You know, any time that you know, with every show that you get on, especially like, if you're [00:03:00] doing a film, you train for a little bit, and then you do the training and then the training usually is gone because now the film has finished. and then even for a television show, you usually, like, you don't know how long it's going to go.
Everybody hopes that when they get on a show that it will go on, you know, forever. you know, and so this was really this awesome opportunity where every year we feel like we've been able to get, you know, More and more advanced in our, you know, our writing as well as like our roping and, you know, kind of cattle cutting and all these other really exciting things that, you know, you usually wouldn't do, you know, in your area everyday life or everyday circumstance, unless you kind of lived on a ranch or unless you're in the rodeo circuit.
And the awesome thing about this show is we have so many phenomenal. rodeo men that have gone and, you know, won championships and awards and stuff like that. So we really have the best of the best training as, and so being able to kind of be thrown in with them, and then be so patient with us and learning everything that we're learning.
It's, I mean, it really is a once in a [00:04:00] lifetime opportunity, but all of us. Have just enjoyed the horse process and the training so much because you just it's, like I said, it's just like, maybe you just usually will not get an opportunity to do for such a long period of time. And now that we're going into season, Ford's doing it.
It's even more exciting because now we're like, okay, we've done this. We've been here. And now they're kind of throwing new things at us, new challenges. So it really is something so exciting to be able to see how we've grown, not only as a, you know, as a show with the audience, but also just as a cast with our kind of our writing and all of our kind of confidence, you know, with livestock, et cetera.
Yeah.
Casey: You guys have really. Gone the whole Daniel Day Lewis way of immersion into the thing that you are portraying on this. yeah.
Denim Richards: Yeah.
Casey: The show goes by the wayside. You have a career waiting for you. Yeah.
Denim Richards: Yeah. You know, it's a, you know, it's a really. You know, [00:05:00] it's so cool because you know, Taylor Sheridan who, you know, is the one of the creators and, you know, the writer and director for it, especially seasons one and two, you know, who's really the visionary for this whole thing.
And, you know, he was so big and so adamant on wanting to make sure that we weren't just kind of like playing cowboy. He wanted us to be as cowboy as you can possibly be. and so because of that, they, he really through, you know, and mountain Biocon, they really threw all of their resources. You know, at this show to be able to allow us as actors, to be able to get such an immersive experience.
you know, with that, because like you said, it's like, you know, usually when you do something like this, it's okay, you'll do it maybe once or twice, or, you know, a couple of times this is a thing where it's like, no, like. We really want you guys to be the best, like when, you know, so when the audience is watching it, they never feel like they're like watching actors.
And, you know, I think that's a Testament to just the great writing and the great relationship and the great vision that Taylor has been able to [00:06:00] have with this show to really say like, look like. You know, I want it challenges us as artists and as actors to constantly raise our game up. But then also we're also competitive.
And so it really creates a like bonding opportunity when you're also adding in this kind of different competition as well, which is really awesome
Casey: that's rad, man. So going into this, you start, you came on the first season, but you weren't like. A permanent cast member yet.
Denim Richards: Right.
Casey: and then they had you come on full time.
How was that feeling? Like, did you feel like you just nailed something new? What was that like?
Denim Richards: Well, you know, I think the, you know, I'm very big, you know, everything is about seed time and harvest and, you know, even though I hadn't been made a, a series regular, up until last season, or I guess the season three, which everyone is watching right now, you know, I have been in pretty much every single episode except for, I think too, up until that point.
[00:07:00] So it was really just more of a, an opportunity where, you know, you're in a position for a reason and you have different ways that you can look at any situation that you're put in. You can look at it as a growth growing opportunity, a learning opportunity. Or you can sit and like have a bad attitude about it and be like, Oh, I wish I had more.
I wish I was doing this. I wish I was doing that. I decided I wanted to take it as an opportunity to, as a learning opportunity, but also as a way to cultivate myself even more so from the outside in, or from the inside out, I should say. And because of that, what it did was it allowed me to kind of sit back and.
Like watch all of these other actors do what they do, the Kevin Costner's and Nicole Houser's of the world that have been doing this for so long. And so it really gave me an opportunity that even though I didn't always have a lot of lines to say, I had the opportunity of being able to be in a lot of these different scenes with these different scenarios.
So I really had a great opportunity to kind of just sit back and watch, and then. As, you know, when the series regular upgrade came, it was [00:08:00] just an awesome thing to be obviously a, you know, you have that different feeling of appreciation, but also that added feeling of responsibility, you know, with the show like this, that is, you know, as the hit, it's the number one show on cable.
And so when you get to kind of be upgraded in that way, it really is a tremendous, blessing and a tremendous opportunity because it's like, it's such a big show. And you know, that also allows you to know that they also see value in you as well in things going forward. And that's really awesome.
Casey: that's great, man. So, on the show you are like acting alongside some really like. Big names in the field and people who have been acting since you were a kid. So I'm guessing you're probably maybe a little bit younger than me, if not the same age. I'm 38.
Denim Richards: yeah. So,
Casey: how is it working with field of dreams?
Dude, I wasn't working with [00:09:00] Kevin Gossner.
Denim Richards: You know, it's a, you know, it's a thing, you know, like you said, you know, Kevin has been doing it for actually longer than I've been alive. and so, you know, it's really something to, you know, have grown up and have seen so many of his different films and, you know, have watched different interviews and things like that.
And you never really, I guess, picture a. A world that you would ever be on anything that he would be in, just because, you know, we're in such different places in our careers and everything like that, but, you know, again, it's something that has been really, an amazing opportunity. I tell people all the time, I really feel like, you know, I gained, you know, 20 years of artistic, knowledge and information just by being around such an amazing, you know, cast.
and amazing directors, that have done so many great things. And so being able to kind of see them and kind of watch them in their process and their work and how caring and how giving they are, you know, even at this point in their career. And that's, you know, something with Kevin is that, [00:10:00] you know, he is.
Been doing it for so long, but he's still very much a tactician. He loves, you know, he really loves what he does and, you know, so it's really nice and it's really refreshing to see somebody that has been doing it for so long. And when so many awards and has so much prestige to still, you know, dedicate the same amount of precision in his craft.
this, you know, this late in his career, is really something awesome to be able to sit back and watch, you know, as a great learning opportunity.
Casey: that's great, man. do you mind if I kind of ask you about where you guys are recording?
Denim Richards: Like where you
Casey: do the, not like specifics. I just want to know, like you guys are kind of, are you as far out as it looks on the show, are you kind of out in the middle of nowhere?
Denim Richards: We are. we're pretty much like in the middle of Montana and the only reason why I'm not saying the name is because we've actually had actually, like we're having people now that, it's [00:11:00] really funny. Like the other day we're training. And we're all dry where it's at the end of our day. And, this beautiful couple is, you know, sitting outside of the ranch and we're sitting there and they're like, Oh my gosh.
And they knock you out the door. It's not going to take pictures. Like we drove all the way up from Texas. you know, so you're like, you know, it's a, it's an awesome thing to see how the show is. But it's also like, especially because of everything else that's going on. It's like, it's, the show is really like caught, you know, a major is kind of a major way, but yeah, we are, you know, we're in a very small town, you know, and it's in the middle of Montana and, you know, it's great, but it definitely is exactly how you see it on the show.
We just kind of like hundreds and hundreds of acres of just mountains and Plains. It's that's exactly what it is for the most part, like outside of a very small town
Casey: is breathtakingly. Beautiful.
Denim Richards: and the show,
Casey: if the show was didn't have any other person in it, [00:12:00] it would be a, just a fabulous, Like come to Montana commercial.
Denim Richards: That's like, right, right.
Casey: Hour long episodes of come to Montana because it's beautiful.
Denim Richards: Yeah. So, you know, it's very relaxing, you know, it's a very relaxing place to be. And, you know, especially for, you know, a lot of us that are in the show, you know, we come from big cities. and you know, that are on the coast.
And so, you know, for us, it's also a great kind of reset and recharge to kind of have like a little bit of a slower pace as well. so it is, it's very calm and it's very beautiful and it's a great, you know, sunrise and sunset to kind of wake up to it, you know, every day why we're filming.
Casey: That's actually one thing that I was wanting to ask, this year has been. Interesting. It's been very interesting, a lot of crazy stuff happening, a lot of, just, it is a dumpster fire of a year. And you guys are out in the middle of
Denim Richards: nowhere. [00:13:00] Do you
Casey: feel a little more detached from the news from the world while you're out there?
Is it,
Denim Richards: I think the best way I could answer that, not to cut you off the best way I can answer that. Well, probably like a little bit more or detached. Yes and no. I mean, we still have, you know, we still have these, you know, very, it's true protocols that we, you know, that we have to go through.
It's not that we were able to just, you know, just to like kind of come to Montana. And then, you know, kind of just like do what we usually would do. you know, w we are all getting your tested three times a day, three times a week, you know, and, you know, I have to have, you know, the distancing and all these other things, and, you know, we're not going out to like the bars into the restaurants and all of these other things.
so, you know, it really is as much as yes, you are probably born here. Detached from the world, as far as the influx of information, that's kind of coming in that you're kind of plugged into all the time. Yes. But as opposed to feeling like you've [00:14:00] somehow escaped everything that's going on, you know? No.
you know, but this is the thing it's like, you know, we're one of the only productions that I've been able to actually wrap up and get back to work. And so, you know, we really put in a lot of protocols to make sure that. You know, we, weren't only following these guidelines, but also going like kind of up and beyond the call of duty.
so, you know, to ensure that everybody feels comfortable and safe and protected, you know, so we, like I said, we're, you know, we're doing all of those things, so, you know, it's great to be able to. Kind of be out in more space and kind of be around people you've been working with for the last several years, but it's not necessarily like you get a kind of a total unplug, because you know, every time you're getting tested, you have a good room for you.
Have a good reminder about the times that we're in.
Casey: That's that's good as they're being, you know, responsive to you guys and with you guys, because that's, it's the scary thing where I'm at right now. Well, it's, the rates of infection are
[00:15:00] Denim Richards: way
Casey: too high and, it's, it's pretty disturbing.
I have two small children and we're keeping them out of school
Denim Richards: because, right.
Casey: Yeah. That's just a choice we're making. So,
Denim Richards: I have, you know, everyone's got to do what's best for them. And you know, this show, you know, with Baya common paramount, they've done, you know, a really great job, like I said, of just making sure that they're following all these protocols to make sure that.
You know, not only the cast, but the crew has been, you know, safe and, you know, we're kind of what we call like the Yellowstone bubble, if you will, where it's pretty much like, you know, we do that. And then we just all go home at the end and that's pretty much like we go to work and, you know, so, and again, like when you're implementing these, you know, getting tested three times a week and all these other things, you know, you feel, you know, really, you feel, Pretty confident, I guess if you have, you would say, you know, so you know, it, they're doing everything that they need to do.
And so, you know, we're also just very thankful to be able to be working at so many people, you know, in this [00:16:00] country right now, and during this time are not able to have that opportunity to do that. So, you know, we really are in a very unique situation, but we know we definitely don't take it lightly and we definitely don't take for granted the fact that we actually are able to go back to work.
That's awesome.
Casey: Hey, can we talk about Chickasaw rancher?
Denim Richards: Yeah, absolutely.
Casey: So this film, it intrigues me. It looks amazing. And, it's doing one thing, that I think is really important, especially now it's talking about people that are. Often very much overlooked, in regards to, American history, there has been, the myth of the American West and the actual history of the American West can not be more dissimilar, specifically the, the inclusion of African Americans in the West.
I mean, they were Cowboys, they were all out there.
Denim Richards: yeah. And,
Casey: it's, they've been permanently [00:17:00] purposefully erased from history in this bull crap. So, how was your experience kind of writing that wrong?
Denim Richards: Well, you know, I think it's, you know, Chickasaw rancher is, like you said, it's something where, you know, we're not only talking about the, you know, African-Americans, but also the, you know, the native, the quote unquote native Americans, you know, and the, you know, the opportunity to play a character that actually lived in breeds was even better.
but like you said, you know, kind of backtracking for a second, like yeah. You know, I think that's one of the things that's. It's always so fascinating though. So many of the things that, you know, Cowboys have gotten today from, you know, rodeos and things like that have come from people like Ben, you know, bill Pickett and all of these other great.
You know, men of color that have kind of championed these different things. And that was what we did. We did that in every country that we were in. We, you know, we cowboyed, and we were on the land and we [00:18:00] did the cattle. We did those things, you know, naturally no different than, you know, the quote unquote native Americans that were here, which are just people that were here first.
and you know, so being able to be a part of a film. That really gets to talk about the depths of what that is and the relationship between, the African American community, as well as the native American community, and how they came together and had worked in so much of our history is very much the same.
and so many in so many ways really. And so, you know, I think it's always been a thing for me as an artist that anytime I have the opportunity to be a part of anything, I hope that it's, you know, not only entertaining, but educational and edifying. and as for me, that's something that I kind of really want to hang by artistry on.
I think it's a beautiful thing that when you're able to get into a mode where you can really talk about things that most people either don't know about or have just decided that they don't feel. It is [00:19:00] necessary for them to know about it. and when you're able to do a kind of in a mode of entertainment, I think it kind of breaks a lot of people's like cognitive dissonance, and allows them to kind of be entertained, but then also educated.
And I think that's awesome to be able to do that. And so Chickasaw rancher, really has a great opportunity to also kind of merge, you know, those three things of, you know, entertainment, education and being edifying.
Casey: Yeah. Yeah. And it's, you got to act alongside some really interesting people. Dermot Mulroney is an amazing actor.
and you work alongside a lot of, native American actors and actresses in this as well.
Denim Richards: Yeah. Yeah. Like, you know, Martin satisfier who played mopper T Johnson, you know, a great, you know, just a great actor and, you know, you've been, you know, and within the community, you know, and I think that's the, That's the thing is like, you know, you're not, you know, we're filming it and we filmed it and you know, so forth, well Houma, which has a big, you know, a giant.
you know, native [00:20:00] American community and, placed there with, you know, with the Chickasaw nation that, you know, finance and produce this thing. and so it really was awesome to kind of, even for me, you know, as much information that I had kind of known already just to even be a part of it and to be around.
So many beautiful people and to learn more about, you know, their culture, their heritage, and then also how, you know, the culture that I have in for my heritage and from my history, how they were so interconnected was so awesome. And I think really just helped build the bond, especially for. you know, Martin and myself who, like I said, plays mopper T Johnson and I play the character Jack Brown.
and then Jack Brown went on to be Oklahoma's first sharecropper. And so, you know, it's really was an awesome experience. Cause you kind of get to kill two birds with one stone. Like I was also, I'm extremely educated. And then I had the opportunity to, you know, to also learn from others, but then also be able to pour what I knew from my history into that as well.
And I think it's a kind of a win.
Casey: That's [00:21:00] awesome. I just realized that monster, Martin, since Meyer is, the actor who was in magnificent seven and he was such a bad ass in that movie. Oh my God.
Denim Richards: Yeah. Excellent. You know, and like I said, just, another great artist and other great actor and, you know, like I said, to be able to play and to be able to kind of see and kind of, Really kind of put in the spotlight in the forefront, these kind of, you know, these different cultures and parts of history that usually kind of get overlooked, and to kind of put them at the forefront and make that the star, is really awesome.
And hopefully there'll be more and more kind of films and television that will really accentuate that going forward.
Casey: Yeah. Yeah. So. How did you get into acting in the first place? What was this something you went to school for or just something you pursued outside of? You know, you just started to go into audition.
How did you break in?
Denim Richards: I mean, I like every road, I think, you know, I was, yeah, I was. I think my first real, kind of time being onstage, [00:22:00] I was in kindergarten and you know, you do the, like, those really like crappy plays. And I think we were doing like, it was like we had these like assemblies that we would have every Friday and.
You know, the kids and the parents and the teachers would join this assembly. If the parents could make it. And, you know, I was like, told like, okay, you're going to wear this sign. You walk up to the front of the stage. and then when I saw everybody there, I was like, well, I can't just like walk up to the front of the stage.
Like, there's all these people here. and in my head I had just kind of decided that they were all there to see me. And, you know, and you start kind of showing out and showing up and people are laughing, teacher wasn't too, that'd be about it. but then after that, they had gone to my parents and they were like, you know, Hey, like, you know, Your son is, you know, is really, he's got a lot of energy and he's really excited, you know, how would he like to sing in this assembly that we have coming up and there'll be a couple of hundred people there.
And so they're like, yeah, great. And so I was like, and I love that. And so I went and I sang in front of these couple of hundred people and just seeing the smiles on their faces. I was like, man, like, this is all I want to do. You know? And I was [00:23:00] like six or seven years old when that happened. And then, you know, after that, I just kind of was always, I was just like, you know, I was doing plays and then I got into musical theater and then I was doing a lot of musical theater for a long time.
And then, after that I was like, alright, you know, I really, you know, I really want to do this, you know, television and film thing. And that was, you know, a very long process. It took me a long time to be able to. kind of figure out how to change between the musical theater and they, and the theatrical actor into more television and film acting.
And so, you know, it was really just that thing where, you know, you just have to stay after it, but I always knew what I wanted to do. So I was like, you know, even when I was in school, it was like, like, how come you're not paying attention? And I was like, well, I'm going to be an actor. I like, I don't, I'm thinking about other things.
And so like during that time though, I was like, I did train, I trained a lot. you know, I trained as an opera singer and I trained, you know, and I was just constantly a voice lessons and joined us. Cause I always knew, you know, in my spirit that no matter what I did, it [00:24:00] was going to be in the mode of, you know, st.
You either singing your acting. It was going to be one of those two. And so, you know, I just got very, I just stayed at it and you just keep digging and then, you know, one thing kind of leads into another, you know, and here we are.
Casey: At what point did you realize that? Oh yeah, this is a viable thing.
I'm making it and it's going to be all right.
Denim Richards: Oh man. I think that after I did, I had done, I started doing, you know, what, I was doing musical theater for a long time, like I said, and that was the thing where it was like, okay, are you going to move to New York and kind of do the Broadway thing?
Or are you going to travel on tour? Like, what is it that you're going to do? And so then I was able to, you know, I was auditioning still for television and stuff like that. And that was. You know, I was singing on a couple of shows here and there, but like, you know, nothing was really hitting. And I think that, like I had a year where I had done like a couple of short films in book, like one of my first national commercials.
And then I have booked, Chickasaw Rancho, which was by [00:25:00] first co-starring, which was like my first co-starring film. And then after I kinda got a taste of that and kind of just the way I felt like I was like on set every single month for like nine months out of the year. And I was like, okay, Like, this is all I want to do.
And if I can just kind of figure my way around this, I think that it could be a really good. And then, you know, then Yellowstone came about, and then because Yellowstone then, you know, it started leading into all these other things that other opportunities. So it really was for me about like, Not necessarily looking so far into the future because you have enough things that you have to deal with today.
but it was just about being able to say, okay, whatever opportunity you get, just maximize that opportunity. And if it's for you, then it'll be for you tomorrow. And that kind of really was something that I just kind of stuck with. And that's still been to this day about, you know, just anything that you get.
You never know what it is that you're getting, what that's going to turn into. Right? If you hand somebody an acorn, you look at it, it seems small and insignificant, but you give it time. You give a [00:26:00] cultivation, then all of a sudden it turns into an Oak tree. So, you know, it really is kind of an allegory in a parable of.
You just never know what is going to be the thing that makes you hit. It's just about how much can you, whatever you get, how much of it are you willing to pour into it? How much cultivating are you willing to do that seed time and harvest within that seed time and harvest? There's the plowing and there's the sweat and there's the tears and there's a frustration, but how much more you enjoy the harvest because you now understand what it takes to kind of get there.
Casey: Yeah. Yeah. And there's a great deal of, it's not just running out and getting, it's also sacrificing to get anytime you're in entertainment, so,
Denim Richards: right. Yeah. I mean, it's a lot of sacrifice and, you know, There's you have to be willing to, at a certain point, you have to get something that you never had.
You also have to be willing to do things you've never done. And that doesn't mean compromising herself, morality wise. It means that when things are, you know, [00:27:00] sometimes it's like for anybody, if you want to, you know, you want to have abs, right. It's like, okay, well, I have that means I can't just say that. I want to have abs I actually have to like, do sit ups and change my diet.
You know what I mean? Like there's things that you have to change. Outside of you just saying, Oh, I just want to have that. And then imagining it in your head because regardless of anything, bills still exists and all these other things. So that becomes a great motivator as well, to kind of be like, you know, to go out and I mean, look, I've had, I've heard knows hundreds and hundreds of times, you know, and that's always, it's always a thing that like, you know, this industry really will keep you very humble.
because you know, you can be on this wave and then all of a sudden you're like, Oh, this is for me. And then you go in and you're like, I didn't get that how you know, but it's just again. Yeah. It's just, you just kind of have to keep your hand on the plow and just keep going forward.
Casey: So, next audition you do, you're going to be one of the few people that aren't lying on.
The thing where it asks if you can ride horses, right. That's just an observation I [00:28:00] made.
Denim Richards: No. The one thing that I definitely would never have to lie about is the horse thing. That's something that, there's a lot of footage. it's. I feel very comfortable about that. Yeah. Very confident.
Casey: just out curiosity.
I mean,
Denim Richards: they,
Casey: as my football coach would say, they drive your Dick in the dirt while they train you on that stuff. Did you take any major spills while you were training any close calls, anything like that?
Denim Richards: I haven't had any, like spills yet. and I say yet, because, you know, if you ask any, if you ask anybody that rides all the time, any cowboy, they say it's not if, but when, it, you just hope that it's not as bad.
you know, but the thing is, it's like, you know, there. They're they've trained us so well, and they never have us do anything that we're not comfortable with. It's kind of always us. It's yeah, let's just do more and more. And then when we see the guys that are like coming off of the rodeo circuit, they're coming in and doing cool stuff, like we want to do that.
you know, we've become kind of like little children that just want to do everything. and so, you know, it's a great thing because. You [00:29:00] know, they have really, like, as we've gotten better, Taylor is also like, kind of raise the stakes as well to give us another challenge. So it's not like we just kind of come in year to year, just like, Oh yeah, we got this.
It's like, Oh no, like there's more this year than there was last year. and that's really kind of awesome because it is, it's like we kind of go through. Like use the football analogy. Like we go through like a training camp, you know? And so like every year it's like, yeah, we have your off season. And then it's time to get back into, to cowboy shape if you will, and get back to being on a horse and get back to doing all these other things.
So you got to go to the training camp then often times the training camp is in the summer and it's hot and it's tiring, but it's like, this is what it is. You know, so we really kind of embraced that. Cause like I said, we're all very competitive for the most part. So we kind of just put on that kind of stuff us, cause we all, for the most part, we all played sports.
We gotta get that. and it just kind of adds to the different level. And like I said, in the beginning, It's just a different bonding opportunity, but you know, so far, no crazy accidents and no spills as of [00:30:00] yet.
Casey: That's good. I'm knocking on wood for you right now. can you tell me a little bit about laser focus productions?
Denim Richards: Yeah, so, these are focused productions was, my production company that I started, a couple years ago and 2012, because I wanted to, I really wanted to kind of create stories that were. Like done by the, like the minority community. I thought that it was, I mean, we had so many, like you, you touched on it earlier.
We have so many amazing stories that have just kind of been washed out of history and, it was the thing that I wanted to do. And then that kind of, I kind of, you know, graduated that name and now it's opulent artists. and which is why, cause it's like, it's just something where I want it to have something that was also edifying because laser-focused productions with something about like anything that you focus on, you can get.
And as I kind of grew as an artist, I also was like, there's other things about the opulence of information and the opulence of education and so much of my honors [00:31:00] artistry. And so many of the things that I have. found so much interest in has been things that are educational. And so because of that, that's where kind of this whole production aspect came.
And then that led me into wanting to do writing and wanting to kind of dabble in the directing. And so it's really been a kind of an awesome thing because as I have kind of grown as a man, but also as an artist, Also my, kind of the things that I've wanted and what out of my career have also kind of changed as well from like, Oh, I just want to do this.
And then it's like, as you grow and get different experiences, you kind of evolve your mind, evolves, your spirit evolves. And so then you kind of evolve with that. And so it's really been kind of an awesome journey to be a part
Hello? Oh, sorry. I think you were on mute. Yeah,
Casey: no, I lost you for a second. It
blanked out for a second. but, yeah. So you're, you started [00:32:00] this thing in 2012 and you're, is that the, was that the, The, who you did the forgotten ones in the Z wonder,
Denim Richards: I feel it's so opulent. And then we have a merger of a production company called truth, be told productions.
And, this was a great, it was a great day because it's exactly like the name sounds truth. Be told where, you know, we're telling stories about, you know, the history of, you know, these. we really, like I said, it was like, it's been so much of what I think what's so interesting about life in general is like, the more that you dig in, the more that you look, the more you realize you don't know anything, you know?
And it's really funny because you're like, you get to a point to where you're like, Oh yeah, I know everything about this topic. And then you start to like dig and really spend time doing the research outside of just like the surface level. And you're like, I don't know anything, like I have no idea.
so, you know, that was somebody. So we all kind of came together and created this production company called truth, be told where it was like, look, we were going to, we're going to tell these historical stories, these great [00:33:00] stories that these people that would never really get an opportunity to have their voice told.
And so our first, our first production that we did was the zoo. and that was our first short film, which is now being developed. into a limited series, we also have a feature film version of it, but we're also doing that as a limited series as well. So, you know, we're really you know, put on the gas pedal with these kind of very unique stories that get to, you know, where we get to tell our stories in the way that we would like to have them represented in their true context.
it's, I'm really excited to be able to be a part of something like that. That's
Casey: awesome. Still. Yeah. One thing that really piqued my interest was your, wanting to go to history. For your movies, especially the zoo.
when I was in college, my, I majored in history and, did nothing with it, but, one of the first textbooks I had, for a history class was last.
My teacher told me. And, it's basically, talking about how, American textbooks, American schooling, everything is Eurocentric [00:34:00] and mythologized for use of American history by James w lo. And he's a sociologist it's fantastic book, but you realize how much you've been lied to. How many of things you've been told falsely to help propagate a narrative.
And, it's shocking. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because you don't want to think that ms. Smith and fourth grade lied to,
Denim Richards: on purpose. Right, right, right, right. Yeah. it's a hard, I mean, you hit the nail on the head, right. it's shocking at the, kind of a, at the basic level. It's just like, you look at it.
You're like what, like. What part of my schooling was truthful, right? Like outside of two plus two equals four, like what else was true? and it is, it's been a very, it's a very Eurocentric, you know, kind of form of history. And, it kind of adds to that, you know, exceptionalism, you know, that's propagated and I think that's a, it's a hard pill for a lot of people to [00:35:00] swallow.
You know what I mean? And I think that's a. That's the thing that, you know, is what I always say for the people that have a hard time hearing that imagine the people that know that it's not true, how they feel, you know, like imagine having their history completely whitewashed away, or why a Washington completely, right.
Like you're looking at it. Oh no. I mean, it's definitely whitewash. Like that's what it's called. Like it's called the white washing. And so you look at it and you're like, I mean, I get that. It's hard to kind of acknowledge that, but like also, like imagine how our grandparents feel there. Our great grandparents felt it was pretty much like they just didn't exist or if they did exist, they existed in this variable, very characterized version of themselves.
And that couldn't be further from the truth. And so it's really, for me, Started in 2012 with joined this history. That's kind of what took me down that hole was like, man, if I, if this had happened, what else don't I know. And then it just kind of leads you like more and more. And then you're just like, Oh my gosh, like, Pretty much everything.
Like it's [00:36:00] that thing where it's like, you have to like unlearn all the things that you've learned and kind of rebuild your structure on something new. And for so many people that can be very difficult because we've all been kind of trained in the same system, depending on how far you decided to go on with your education.
But at the core, we all kind of know the same things. And so, you know, it's been something that's been a very interesting journey for me. kind of it's discovery more about my own history and my own heritage. But then also just the fact of knowing how much, like my ancestors and our great-great-grandparents endured and there's been no acknowledgement just at all.
It's just like, it just didn't exist. Or we did them a favor by doing what we did. Right. And just like, it's all of those things that it's like, no, it doesn't work like that. You know? And it's always fun because if it's like, well, it doesn't really matter. And it's like, well, if it doesn't matter, then why can't we just tell the truth about right.
Like, it's always there's two sides of the problem when it's like, Okay, what you're saying? Isn't true. And then you show them, it's like, okay, it is true, but it doesn't matter. It's like, but if it doesn't [00:37:00] matter, the why can't we just tell the truth? It's like, you just, I don't know.
It's just like, you know, and so it becomes this very interesting narrative where, you know, it's great because I think for myself, you know, being able to use entertainment as that mode and as that medium of education, I think is a great opportunity to be able to kind of, You know, reteach, but also even more for myself and for our next generation of, you know, men and women of color and these children of color to understand what their history truly is and that their history didn't just start in 16, 19 during the transatlantic slave trade in Jamestown, Virginia, that wasn't when you guys just were created.
and so I think this is a narrative that's so propaganda all like often and, Consistently. And I think what that's done on the mental psyche of the community, it makes you feel like you're not worth anything. And for a lot of people they're like, Oh no, that's not true. And it's like, well, no, because when everybody else, especially if you're here, [00:38:00] you know, if you're, I guess, if you're white in America, right?
Say like, well, what's your history? You say. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington said you have these stories of conquerors that have done these great things, monuments and all these other things, then he'd say, well, okay, black people. What about your history? And for the most part, they're like we had Jamestown, Virginia, where we were here on slave, like we're slaves.
Right. And so it makes you feel one that you want to disconnect yourself from that when in reality, There was a whole set of different set of history. That was going on way before you were brought over here on these ships. And so it's kind of like this giant disconnect. So for me, part of my, I think my opportunity and part of my blessing and doing what I do is being able to not only use my platform.
To just be an artist, but it's also to use it to educate and to talk about the things that most people don't really want to sit down in a, at a political arena and have a conversation about. So just put it in a form of entertainment where they could be entertained, but then also get educated at the same time.
Then you kind of get maybe, you know, [00:39:00] hopefully
Casey: it's a spoonful of sugar with the medicine.
Denim Richards: Right. It helps everything go
Casey: down
Denim Richards: easy and exactly. Yeah.
Casey: So, can you tell us a little bit about, about the zoo? Because it, it looks fascinating.
Denim Richards: Yeah. So the zoo. The zoo talks about, essentially it talks about black people and the black experience during the Nazi Germany.
and what most people don't know is that there was, yes, there was, you know, the concentration camps and everything that were going on that were happening, but there was also, something that was happening in a completely different. Cotton knit, which was in Africa. And during that time, it was the pillaging of Africa.
And during that, during this time, they, you are getting all of these European countries, as well as the United States that were going into all these different FA all these different countries in Africa and taking the gold in the minerals [00:40:00] and the silver and the cocoa and all these are things that take into it.
And so for instance, you know, like for Belgium, right, you know, that King Leopold, you know, He went into Congo and he murdered 10 to 15 million Congolese men, women, and children for the rubber and took it back to Belgium, sold it. and that's how you build his kingdom. That's how he built the castles. And that's how he built everything was by going in there and murdering.
10 and 15 million Congolese bed, women and children, and then burning all the documentation, burning all the books, that were documenting all that after he was done, pillaging everything. And so one of the things that was also happening was that while these different European countries were going in there, they were having a really difficult time dealing with the climate and dealing with the heat and dealing with kind of just the different plants and all these different things.
So what they would do is that they would capture. Black people. And they would put them in cages and they would test on them and they would experiment on them. So they would dunk them in cold water. They would use heat lamps on them. [00:41:00] They would inject different diseases, all LA like we had an America that's his Keaggy project and they would cut, you know, they would cut them open and put different things in their skin and see it, there was, they were used as Guinea pigs to see if they could somehow break some type of genetic code.
So that they could then translate it to their people and be like, okay, we got it. Now we can go in and fully conquer everything. And so the zoo talks about that relationship with this hand, this handful of black men that have been taken and captured and are now getting experimented on what their relationship is to one another, as well as the relationship to the doctor that is testing on them.
And so that is one of the things that this who talks about. It's also a double entendre because. Here in the United States, as well as also in Europe all the way until I believe the fifties on may, it might even have been until the early sixties. They actually had physical zoos where you, they would take black people and put them in cages and put them behind, you know, tall glass and X, Y, and Z.
And they would [00:42:00] have them, you know, recreate what it would be like in an African environment. And people could go and buy tickets and just watch them interact with each other. And so this is, and they called them zoos and they sold hundreds of millions. They made hundreds of millions of dollars off of that.
And so this is kind of what, this is what the zoo talks about. It talks about this relationship talks about the experience and it talks about why they wanted to do that, what their point and what their motivation was to do that. But it also, we talk about the light skin, dark skin. They now we often have in the black community, which was nothing was never something that we.
Ever were taught. It was something that was beat into us through the Willie Lynch letters in 17, 12, and Willie Lynch had come over to the United States and talked about how you break up the black community is that you pawn the light skin, dark people against the black skin, dark people, the young against the old, the men against the women.
And so a lot of these different, countries, these different, men and women that were running these countries, they took these Willie Lynch letters and they just [00:43:00] expounded upon those things. And so this one, it talks all about all of those things that we kind of wrap it up in a nice little nutshell and try to make it as palpable as we possibly can for people watching it.
But hopefully that they'll also look at it and go, there's no way this happened and hopefully they'll Google it and there'll be like, Oh my gosh, this happened. And that's the part of our education that we're really looking forward to the most.
Casey: That sounds like it was an intense experience. Not only to write, but to direct and be on set.
I'm sure that's an understatement. What was it hard to get through? Did you have w how did you, do you separate yourself at the end of the day?
Denim Richards: You know, for me, it's, this is, you know, a lot of this information I've known since 2012. And so, you know, really what it was that, you know, when we were putting this team together for truth, be told and they were talking about, you know, let's make this thing a short film, And, you know, denim, you should direct it.
And I was like, I don't think I [00:44:00] want to do that. You know? And they're like, you know, why not? And I was like, I'm so close to this thing and I've seen it and I've lived it. And I've been in it for, at that 0.8 years. and I was just like, I like it. Cause it would get to the point where after writing it.
And then once I brought another one, the writer on board with me that I couldn't even look at the rewrites anymore. Cause I just got. I just couldn't emotionally go there down the journey again, especially when we were writing the feature, you know, you're re you know, reading a hundred plus pages, it's just like it's killer.
but what the beauty of it was that, you know, We the way that I kind of looked at everything was like, this was something that was bestowed upon me by the most high, that it was something that, where it was like our ancestors didn't endure all the things that they endured so that their story couldn't be told.
And if I was ever given an opportunity to be in a position to tell these stories, then I have to do that. and so it can't be a thing of like, Oh my gosh, this is so hard for me to do it. It's like, nothing could be worse than what they had to endure, you [00:45:00] know? And so if emotionally. I have to endure this thing for a time.
This is something that they had to live their entire lives in. oftentimes their children were born into it. They lived and they died as slaves and didn't know anything different. And so for me, it became a thing where you really have to humble yourself in this way where it's like, It's not about you.
It's about the story. And I can deal with me later. You know what I mean? Like I'll deal with my emotional state afterwards. And so the beautiful thing was the cast and the crew that we got together, they just poured themselves into it. And the crew that didn't know anything about it, they went back and they're looking at things and they're just like, I cannot believe.
That, you know, they, you know, in a lot of them had gone to major universities and X, Y, and Z. Like, how is it that we've never heard about this before? You know? And it's just like, yeah, like I know, you know, and so what it was it was beautiful to be able to see other people coming into this truth and being able to be there for them, because I didn't have anybody really, for me, when I was kind of [00:46:00] coming into all this, it was just very overwhelming.
And so for me to be able to kind of be there and they're like, man, did you know this? And I'm like, yeah, I know. He was like, you know, so then into the film itself, it really just became a thing too, where we're like, look guys, like what we're doing is something that is far greater than us, ourselves.
Like this is something that we are. We're telling the story of our ancestors. We're telling a story that needs to be told because so much of the same things that are happening in today's society and have happened in today's society, are the same things that were happening then as well as the same things that were happening in 16, 19.
and so, you know, like it says in a, I think it's the wisdom of Solomon that there's nothing new under the sun. it's, that's pretty much what it is, you know, like history repeats itself in those ways. And so it's kind of up to certain people to, you know, step up outside of kind of life as it kind of rotates and look at it from the aspect of like, we have to teach her, we have to educate so that hopefully this next generation.
[00:47:00] we'll understand the things that the people before them have endured. And so that we need to, we owe a great debt of gratitude, but we also owe it to ourselves to also be better and more educated about our history and to never be ashamed of our history because, you know, look at what we were able to overcome.
It will look what we were able to endure and, you know, here we are, you know, still it's still kicking. Oh
Casey: yeah. Now. As a director. So, so just purely on the craft side, while you're filming this while you're doing all this, is there, is it like a walking, a tight rope between, putting out the story that you want?
and also. Keeping in mind that there's going to be an audience watching this and you don't want them to check out. You don't want them to be like, Oh my God, I don't know if I can see this
Denim Richards: anymore. Right. If it suits you. Yeah. You know, and I think the funny thing is great question. I think [00:48:00] the interesting thing with that is, you know, you, I think you, there is a tight rope that you walk because I think, but again, this goes back to this, the seed time and harvest thing, I think that.
If I had done this film in 2014 or 2015, or maybe even 2016, I think that I would have been so amped up to educate everybody that I would have just overboard. Right. Like, you're just like, you're so desperate to show everybody like, it's this and this. And then every single moment, it is just pounded, impounded.
And even though it's true, you know, oftentimes people don't want to listen to the guy that's sitting on the corner with a megaphone right there. Just like they, even though what he's saying is true, correct. They only hear one thing and it's loud. And so you have to do it. And so I think, again, for me, it was like a journey of like, you have to, not only as a man grow spiritually, but you have to just grow and patience and you have to understand that it's just one bite the time.
And so we kind of, [00:49:00] as we are cultivating this script, we're just like, okay, like, you know, let's take this out here and let's take that out here. Or let's lighten it up a little bit in this moment. Not because we want to take away from it, but like you said, Because I don't want the audience's eyes to be closed the entire time.
It's not a soundtrack. Right? So it's a thing where you want them to be able to be engaged, and, but also be able to be in it. You want it to be intense, but you also don't want it to be, I'm constantly closing my eyes because I'm uncomfortable, then we've missed the Mark altogether.
And so I think as a director from that standpoint, The way that we cultivated the script and the way that we kind of planned everything out, we really kind of have that in mind, because even for us, like, you know, our first drafts of what writing the feature film, you know, it was like, this is, so this is so hard.
Like this is just it's dense and it is. Like you're just in it. And there's not a light moment from those, like the lightest moment that you would have watching this movie is when you're sitting down to get your popcorn, you know, and then there's, the [00:50:00] second light is moment is then when the movie's over.
And so it's like, you know, that can be something for some people, but I also want it to be something where it was like, look. Like you create something at every single level. Like I said, you create one for entertainment, one for education, one for edifying or for edification. And I think that when you do that, you say, look, there's something for everybody in the film.
And it really just depends on what you decide to bring to the movie. If you decide that you want it, that you want it to be something where you're open, you're going to be able to get all of the movie if you want to, if you're just going, because you want to see something different than you'll get entertained.
And so we really did it for that. And then for the other people that are just like, Oh, I just, you know, it wasn't really for me. Well, then that's the correct answer. It wasn't for you. Right? Like, so it really is one of those things where you do walk that tight rope, but you also have to be very cognizant of the fact that yes, there's so much that has gone on, but you still have to tell a story.
Right. And within that story, there has to be that the different forms of humanity, it just can't be dread [00:51:00] from the, every single second of the film. Otherwise everyone does check out.
Casey: So you're a driven guy. You have a lot of pants in the fire right now. What do you do to just kind of unwind.
What do you do to take a break?
Denim Richards: No, it is. It's a very thing. I mean, I read a lot of scripture. I spent a lot of time in the word. and that's very, it keeps me very centered. It keeps me very focused, especially in a kind of a world that's very easy to kind of get lost in if you will. and so that's something that it's my meditation time, but it's also that opportunity to have things poured into me.
and you know, and then other times I really kind of just sit and I'm just very still, like, I'll just sit outside and. You know, I have, I have my dog with me and, you know, no, I just, I like to be, I like to be in silence often, because I enjoy kind of working through my own thoughts and working through next moves and things like that.
And I think what it is that. Even though, you know, even though [00:52:00] there's a, I have a lot going on, if you will, I'm not burnt out because I think that I have found a great kind of medium of not having to turn the mode on at a hundred all the time. Right. It's like, it's almost like if you're to use a sports analogy, it's like, if you're in the NBA finals, you've played, you know, 90 plus games already.
Now you're in the finals. You know, you realize that it's probably going to be a seven game series. Let's not pour it all out game one, right? Like, let's not like we're gonna, we're still gonna compete, but I'm not gonna die on this court today. You know what I mean?
Casey: Like,
Denim Richards: it's so, you know, and so I think it becomes one of those where you really emotionally have to strategically place yourself because the whole goal is to endure until the end.
Right? it's a marathon, not a race. And so for me, it's about being able to endure until the end. And what good are you? You burn out so early with all of these other things that you will wanted to accomplish, but because you just couldn't take your foot off the gas [00:53:00] pedal. Now, all of a sudden now look where you are, you have nothing.
and so that's kind of what I do. It's what I appreciate is what I love. and it keeps me very quiet and very centered. but then it also gives me a tremendous amount of energy because then when I do need to turn it on. it's all there and it's where I needed to be in his focus. And I very rarely then walk away from something feeling like I didn't give everything that I could to it.
Casey: That's amazing, man. So I understand that you also, do some charity work. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Denim Richards: Yeah. you know, the, I think the biggest thing, so, one of the biggest charities that I work with is, operation underground railroad. and that's a phenomenal organization that is dedicated to infiltrating and, stopping, child sex trafficking and human sex trafficking and track trafficking in general.
And, you know, I'm always been a very big proponent on protecting the youth and the children because, you know, they look [00:54:00] to the adults and people that have a voice to be their voice. And unfortunately, I think we have like, you know, 800,000, you know, it's go missing every single year. It's a lot of kids, that go missing every single year and they don't fall into a black hole.
And, you know, and I've been very passionate about for a while. And I've had the opportunity to start to partner with these different organizations and be able to just. You know, the hard part in the hard part with this is like, you know, for so many people don't like to talk about sex trafficking and child sex trafficking, because it kind of, it, it brings this, it peels this veil off of like the life being so great in the world being awesome all the time, but it's like,
Casey: it exists.
Denim Richards: Right. Right. And the sad part about it is like, I also understand that, but it doesn't. Even if you say you don't want it to exist, does it take away from the fact that it does exist? Right? And so it's like these children are still going through that. Whether or not you want to acknowledge the fact that it's happening to them or not.
[00:55:00] And so one of the things I wanted to do is like, you know, whenever I would was given an opportunity or a platform, I wanted to use my platform to be able to kind of bring awareness, but not just to bring awareness is to actually talk about what it actually is. I think we get. I think we can get very caught up in it.
It becomes kind of idol worship, if you will, where, you know, people get so excited because somebody that they watch on television or see an athlete talk about something. And then it Oh, they look at them. Like I'm not anybody when we're joint. Like I'm just the vessel. I'm just a servant.
That's trying to, you know, bring awareness to see things that are so big. Like when you don't protect your children, what kind of world do you have? and so. This is one of the organizations that's very, you know, I'm very fond of, and I really respect these men that have given up their lives to traveling around the world and, you know, saving these children, saving these little kids, these little girls, these little boys, as well as.
These other, you know, young adults that have been [00:56:00] trafficked and, you know, stolen from, you know, from their lands in a lot of them, you know, during natural disasters, when they're all displaced from their families and sometimes their family has died, or like I said, just this, please they're then taken and traffic to another country.
Right. And nobody ever hears from them again. And what a lot of people don't know is that, you know, sex trafficking is the big, one of the biggest businesses in the world, because it's the only business that you can use the product over and over and over again. And it's a very sad thing, but it's real.
And I think that if more people kind of had education, I think that would help them identify certain things in today's society that don't necessarily make a whole lot of sense. but then also given opportunity to also be able to have this different conversation with your children that kind of like.
You don't see something say something type of thing, as well. So that's kind of what operation underground is. I think everyone could go to operation underground railroad or our rescue.org and they can find out more information, because it really is such a phenomenal organization, but [00:57:00] even more so, I think that's a conversation that we should be having, I think a little bit more of a focus conversation, I guess, if you will, for lack of better words, because I think that so many people.
Don't want to believe it, like you said, but also you have to get over that, like, and you have to just accept what it is and, you know, do whatever we can to kind of bring away and it's, but then to also bring these people to justice, but then also, you know, really hold the feet to the fire of our politicians, as well as our local and city officials.
We're really not just pay lip service, but actually to go out and do something about it.
Casey: Yeah. Yeah, man, it's terrifying. there was a case not half a mile from me, not long ago, where we live right by a, and the interstate that goes from Memphis to Atlanta. So we're kind of in between. And,
Denim Richards: they,
Casey: Started following this van, [00:58:00] the van ended up getting off the interstate and going right by my house.
Denim Richards: And
Casey: they ended up, pursuing the guy that got out. but they had a, a young lady in the car, in the van with him.
Denim Richards: Oh man. it
Casey: was. It was not that really brought, you hear about stuff like that. You never think about being like in your
Denim Richards: community or in your
Casey: house, in this terrifying.
Denim Richards: Right.
If it makes it very proximate, right? Like it's like now it's something that you don't just read in the local newspaper or on television. It's something that it's like, no, that was like right down the street. And, you know, and that's, and so many of these other countries, that's the reality for them, but also here in America.
you know, and I think that's the thing where, you know, because there's, there are so many children that are displaced and there's so many children that are kind of unprotected. you know, it really is a very sad, but I do think that, you know, it's, you kind of get to the point where it's. I've been a big thing where it's like, you [00:59:00] know, people like to play that, you know, political tennis all the time, but it's like, you know, saving children from sex trafficking and from human trafficking in general should not be a political issue.
and if it's a political issue, then you kind of know that you're not on the right side of history. Right? Like it's, it shouldn't be something that you're like, we have to debate about this. you know, and unfortunately, oftentimes so much of it is just the lip service, but that's why I think that.
You know, if we can bring a little bit more awareness and kind of at least support them, like these different organizations who are actually actively going out and doing things. I think that, you know, pouring in resources with them, even if people don't want to go and you know, you know, blow up politicians, phones, or their sheriffs or the local gets, you know, even if they don't want to do that, at least.
Well, a dollar here, $10 here, at least, or in to the organizations that are actively going out and doing those things at least moves the needle forward. Instead of just being like, I just don't want to do anything cause I don't want to believe it exists. Oh,
Casey: yeah. [01:00:00] Denim, thank you very much for doing all that.
It's it's not something you hear about often, unless it's on the news and, I'm really glad that people like you are out there trying to do something about it. And, we're gonna put a link. To, operation underground railroad in the show notes.
and so, you know, when anyone listens to this episode, there'll be able to pull that up, get right to the website.
do you have anything else that you want to talk about? I don't want to take too much of your time. I'm up. I'm sure you're exhausted at the end of the day.
Denim Richards: Oh no. I mean, you know, I've just always, I always love being able to come on in and talk about the waterfront of boys like to be, you know, kind of an open book.
I think it's really, it's always interesting to. Be able to not only talk about just, you know, the acting of everything, but you get to talk about other things as well, because I think it's like, like my pops always says like my, who was not my do and vice versa, meaning like, you know, what I do is not necessarily who I am and who I am is not what I do.
and so kind of being able to, you know, get outside of that [01:01:00] active mode and talk about other things that are far more important in my opinion, is it's always great to be able to do that. Cause I think that is. You know, that's what I feel like one of the biggest things I've been put on this earth to do, you know, been, you know, you're given talents, you're given abilities to do things everyone in their own unique way, but it's also like, what seeds are you going to?
So what righteous seeds do you want to sow with those talents? And I think that any time that we can kind of step outside and talk about larger issues that really focus on, you know, things and people that don't have people speaking up for them, I feel like that's a, that's an opportunity. So I appreciate being able to be on here and.
Be able to have a conversation and really cover a wealth of topics.
Casey: denim. Thank you again, anytime you want to come on, by all means, give us a shout, what we'd love to have you back because, you really, I've had a blast talking to you, man.
Denim Richards: So, thank you.
Casey: Good luck with your training.
and all the stuff for the, the upcoming season. I've been enjoying the hell out of the show and I know a ton of [01:02:00] other people are as well. So, I can't wait to get this up so people can kind of, hear about one of their favorite dudes from the show. So thank you again, man.
Denim Richards: Well, thank you.
And I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you.
Casey: Alright. same two minutes.
[/bg_collapse]
