NorCal and Shill

Juicy Julio - Artist

NorCal Guy Season 1 Episode 96

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Join us on a wild ride as we step into the world of Juicy Julio, the accidental photographer who's taking the art scene by storm. This Germany-based creative maestro opens up his fascinating journey, from a chemical engineer to a sought-after photographer, and now, a crypto art enthusiast. We dig deep into how the solitude of the COVID lockdown led him to channel his emotions into the creative realm of photography and how his profession as a chemical engineer correlates with his love for cooking.

Let's fasten our seatbelts as we dive into Juicy Julio's intriguing perspective on the crypto art space and his recommendation on using hardware wallets for added security. An ardent collector himself, Juicy tells us how he uses a super cool vault and a Ledger Nano X with Bluetooth functions to keep his crypto art safe and secure. We also delve into his enchantment with the animal kingdom, particularly narwhals, and what makes them so fascinating.

In our final segment, we'll take you on a culinary journey as we unpack the power of Mexican cuisine through Juicy Julio's eyes. Fresh from his impactful visit to Mexico, he shares how the country's flavors influenced his palate. As we explore the tech behind the NFT space, Julio advises newcomers to take their time to understand the underlying blockchain technology. Prepare to groove with us as Julio shares his favorite music genres and artists, with throwback hip-hop and alternative rock topping his list. Don't miss out on this exciting episode with Juicy Julio. Tune in for a delightful and enlightening conversation that covers all things creative, crypto, and culinary.

Topics covered in this audio session:

- Making emotional decisions and receiving advice from their dad

- Love for bodies of water and preference for California

- Love for burgers and Mexican cuisine

- Fascination with an underwater creature

- Ownership of hardware wallets and interest in photography

- Discovery of NFTs and investment in them

- Childhood memories of judging people's animal type

- Upcoming projects in mind and giving back to the community

- Importance of learning and patience in navigating the blockchain space

- Etiquette for reaching out to others in the space

Links

Juicy Julio Twitter

Juicy Julio Photography

NorCal and Shill Twitter

Support the show

Speaker 1:

Who is this guy? North Calgary, north Calgary, north Calgary and Chilpockets, so it's chill time North Calgary and Chilpockets. Put the sloth The chilp. North Calgary and Chilpockets, so it's chill time North Calgary, and.

Speaker 2:

Chilpockets. Put the sloth. North Calgary and Chilpockets. Hey everyone, welcome to the next episode of North Cal and Chilpockets. Today we have Juicy Julio. Jj is an accidental photographer based in Germany that didn't realize photography would be a new passion that he really enjoys. 26 years later, he is a musician, an engineer and now a two-year-old photographer. His vision is to share his journey into the unexplored creative side of his mind, hoping that it will empower new artists. For starters, he's exploring landscape travel and minimalism photography, learning one shutter at a time and documenting it with the power of Web3. Everybody, please, welcome Juicy Julio.

Speaker 1:

Hey, jj, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today?

Speaker 3:

Hey guy, thanks so much for having me Doing fine. It's like 11pm right now where I am So kind of late but super tired, very stoked to be here, so it's an honor thanks.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I hope that we could do this. It's been fun ever since you joined the Discord. Yeah, that was like That's where I first met you, I think.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, i think so. That wasn't like Like 3 months ago, february. Yeah, right, so like in the clickerate Discord. No, that was cool. It's a vibe in there. Yeah, definitely love it.

Speaker 1:

For sure. Yeah, it's a good time. We had a great time in New York, for sure.

Speaker 3:

Oh, those biscuits, oh damn, those were good. I mean speaking of biscuits, actually, I kid you not, I had 2 biscuits before this podcast, right now. So, just like you know, snack up and get some energy before this. So yeah, good times and good memories, for sure.

Speaker 1:

Awesome, alright, cool, cool. Good, we're ready to go. We're ready to go.

Speaker 3:

We're ready to roll.

Speaker 1:

So the question do you have and use a hardware wallet?

Speaker 3:

You know this question should be illegal at this point in time.

Speaker 3:

Like considering how long will I how much will be, you know been through in this space. But yes, i indeed do have not only one but two hardware wallets, because I'm a psychopath and I'm paranoid And I'm super OCD, so I have to keep everything like in place and categorize them. So I have like a super cool vault which I've never, ever, connected any online Dapp at all. So I just, like you know, if I collect anything, i will just directly transfer it there and that's it. And so actually, my first one was the ledger, i don't know Nano X. So this was this Bluetooth function thing Because I thought I could use it with my phone. But I was like, nah, i don't want to use, like you know, web-read stuff on my phone, like considering all the security and all the malware and all that stuff.

Speaker 3:

So I was like well, i got it now. So like whatever. So I just use that for you know, like the Discord verification for the roles and all that stuff, And you know it's kind of like my lukewarm wallet.

Speaker 3:

So yeah, so I definitely have to. At first I was like what the hell is a hardware wallet? You know, it looks like a USB stick And I thought you actually like stick it into your computer or something. But I just didn't get it And I just like looked at ledger, like just like learned about them, and they looked so cool. So I have to have one And I mean like I don't know cost like what 80 bucks or so, and that's like a huge, like I mean, compared to other stuff that we collect, it's way, way worth it. If you just get one, you're good to go, you don't need to worry, you can sleep right. So that's a good, that's a plus For sure, for sure It's definitely worth the investment for the extra security.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, exactly, people like underestimate that. But I think now a lot of people that I've talked to have met At least have a hardware wallet, so That's a good sign for us Right right.

Speaker 1:

For sure, for sure. What were your first thoughts when you heard about the crypto art space?

Speaker 3:

To be honest, like I don't know how to react, because I saw this word NFT and you know the whole people sale thing And I don't even know how I got that across. I think I was just like on the internet and I just saw the news, like somebody just sold a JPEG for that amount of money And I was like what on earth is going on, like I mean, like what is going on?

Speaker 3:

So I was like super curious and started digging this word NFT and Google that obviously everybody else did and still didn't get it. What the hell is a non fungible token? So like what's fungible? you know, that's like fungy, like food or something Like it's such a weird word, right? So I just got super intrigued into it and started digging about it, learning about it, and then somehow I ended up in this black hole of Jacob Regland's NFT thing, like course he was promoting. So I looked at it as okay.

Speaker 3:

So I told myself, like I'm just going to try something that I've never done before, no knowledge of and just freaking ape into this. So I mean, like this, before this I heard about crypto, right. So, back in I don't know when, was this like 20, i don't know, 12, or maybe even earlier, i don't know But I completely ignored it And right, and looking at it right now, let's say damn, i could have, like you know, made some nice profits here and there. And I was okay. Well, i told myself, this time something popped up. I'm just going to dive into it and not miss this chance and take a risk. So yeah, and then I started this, this course, with Jacob, and then everything just went. Everything was his history. So it was amazing. Yeah, i'm not regretting it at all. So, yeah, super gotta found, found this, this whole little community that we have on the internet.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, for sure It's a nice, that's a nice group of people, for sure, 100%. So why did you choose what bright of photography?

Speaker 3:

This is very yeah cliche. I mean a lot of people say, yeah, art chose me or photography came to me.

Speaker 3:

But it did like it actually did, like I don't know it's it's freaking cliche, but it just happened to me. I think I mentioned this in the type of ones podcast as well. It was during, like I'm not going to go through all the details, but like like summary, like you know, when traveling with my brothers and I didn't have a camera back then, right So, because I didn't know I would want to go into photography So I had to document this whole trip with my brothers. It's like our first like solo brother script, like three of us, and we were in Morocco, so and it's such a cool country And we're like you know, we have to document this. You know, send it to our parents just to be, you know, let them see that we're having fun and we're not like going to kidnap or anything or falling off the cliff or whatever, just like sharing those moments with them. So I just started taking pictures of the whole trip And and then it just happened, like after the trip, i just, you know, i did look back, i just shared the photos with my parents and friends And that was it.

Speaker 3:

But a lot of them have been saying like yeah, you have the eye for it, and I was like I for what Like? there's like photography And I was like, okay, cool, i completely ignored that. So it was kind of like foolish of me to just like ignore that, i think, because I mean, i was working. I am still working, but at that time I was super like really, really busy. And only after two years, that trip, i realized like, okay, this is, this is the moment because, you know, during the whole COVID lockdown, you know, shit got got carried away And it's like really, it was a tough time for a lot of people And I had losses of family members as well during those time And I couldn't even say goodbye all my last words, or even you know why didn't we do a funeral because of all the lockdown.

Speaker 3:

So I was like in a very, very, very dark quick set, i would say, so I was buried, but I couldn't see the light. I was, i would say, depressed. I tried to like keep myself positive, but I didn't feel myself at all And it really affected me. So photography was the only way I could channel my negativity into creativity. So that was, yeah, like one of the eyeopening moments for me, when I first look back at the pictures of what I took in Morocco. And then I was like, okay, there is something that's trying to find out what this is. So since then, like 2019, i just, yeah, discovered my unfounded passion for photography. So it just all came along on plan and spontaneously, so yeah, and since then I fell in love with it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's good. Yeah, get the fall back in love with it. Yeah, exactly. So what jobs have you done along the way?

Speaker 3:

You know, with all the summer holidays and all that, i was actually working in a burger restaurant So flipping burgers and assembling them. So I love cooking a lot, so and this burger restaurant is like one of the best around my area. So I applied and they accepted me like immediately. So I was like, yes, i get to eat free burgers. That was the whole point. Like I mean, like money wise it's good, it's fine, like I get the minimal weight and all that. But I just want free burgers, like free food, and they do this like so. So nice, like really really nice ones, like they have one called like the Elvis burger, which is like with GB and Jam And it's okay. I mean it sounds weird, but it's nice, it's nice, it works The salty and the sweetness. So, yeah, i worked in a burger restaurant like waiting, you know, as a waiter, flipping burgers, like from the front and to the back, and I've done a restaurant stuff. So yeah, i definitely enjoyed it a lot.

Speaker 1:

Nice, solid one. What are you doing? What are you doing for work now?

Speaker 3:

Right now I am a chemical engineer, so kind of like cooking, so I'm the last Like breaking bad, like breaking bad. I'm always sending like the, the gift or the GIF, i don't know, we'll let the audience decide. I always send this GIF of like Walter White cooking, you know, with the pouring with the glass and all that. So like yeah, and today we cook. So yeah, kind of like, kind of like related. So cooking chemistry, yeah, that's me.

Speaker 1:

Remember, that's cool. That's cool. Yeah, if you were an animal, what would you be in white?

Speaker 3:

God, i love this question. Oh man, you know this question. Like my brother and I, we used to give people their animal type based on how they look, as a kid. So it's like it's so mean, it's like we're so judgy and we would just ask each other Hey, why would you think that person would be And why So exactly? this question said. It was so funny and it brings me so like many childhood memories. It's amazing. I love this question, but I would say a unicorn. But I want something that exists in the world. So, not a mythical creature, but a fun fact. A unicorn is a symbol of the UK. Did you know that? I don't think so.

Speaker 1:

I did not know that, yeah.

Speaker 3:

So I mean it appears in the full royal coat of arms of the UK, so it's on the passport as well, like if you just Google like UK password, you will see the freaking unicorn which is like insane. That's. I find it super cool. So I love it, yeah, for whatever reason. But like something non mythical, i would say a narwhal. Have you heard about that animal? Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so kind of like a unicorn, but not really It's like the underwater unicorn. I have no idea why. Like, when I looked at this question, that animal just came right at me. No idea, but I'm super obsessed with it. I mean every since.

Speaker 3:

I got my first encyclopedia from my parents back in the day when I was a kid and I just love flipping the book And I just love flipping through through those And I saw, like you know, the whole underwater world section And I love the ocean a lot, so I got fascinated by this creature. I was like what the hell is this Like? it's like a freaking unicorn but it swims And I just find it super interesting. And yeah, i don't know Like I would be them, because they're just cool And right, right, yeah, i don't know, i mean they're, they're two.

Speaker 3:

Actually that sticks out from what the tusk sticks from there, actually from there, not even from the head, actually like close to the lip or something. It's actually the tooth. And yeah, it's funny because they have so many nervous system like nerves in the whole tusk And they use that to sense or like it tells them the temperature of water, even the saltiness as well. I think if I'm not, like you know wrong it's. It's crazy Like this is like a whole machine in this little well, not little, but this long tusk they have. So that's super cool, i find that's so crazy.

Speaker 1:

I love, I love it. It is a crazy animal. It is a crazy. I want to see them in real life one day. Oh yeah, that'd be cool Yeah.

Speaker 3:

Do you have a favorite food. Yep, this is a very tough question. I mean I do love burgers, but it's such a difficult question because I love food, yeah, a lot, i'm a huge foodie, but I would say I mean, like having like travel to a couple of countries, i found what I really love And I think I it's your favorite food actually Mexican.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, i love.

Speaker 3:

Mexican food. It's so good, like when I was in Mexico, i think 20,. was it 20 or 2019? I just got like I got mind blown like the flavors and like the types of, you know, not the typical Tex Max food, but the real, authentic Mexican food. Oh, i cannot get enough of them, like the tamales or the asadas and the tacos and like.

Speaker 3:

Oh my God, like, don't even get me started. I'm like hungry right now at 1130 in the night. But it's so cool. I just love Mexican food so much But I mean it's so hard to just nail it down to one But, but into a slight savory, i would say Mexican food, but for sweet, because I'm a huge sweet tooth as well. I love pastries, so Okay, and with your biscuits you just freaking converted me and because they're like pastries of me, because they have layers, right, so I love love, love that.

Speaker 3:

So pastries like the way to go? Yeah, now it's good, it's good stuff It's good stuff.

Speaker 1:

What's the best piece of advice you've been given?

Speaker 3:

So many, so many advice Like, oh, this is tough as well, i would say. I mean, i'm a very emotional person, as you know you guys probably know by now But a lot of my decisions have been made based on how I feel and I've made a lot of mistakes, and so this quote, or like this, this advice, will always stick to my head, like it's for my dad And he's like don't make emotional decisions. Don't make emotional decisions. Like that will never, ever leave my head, because I'm like my mom If she's probably listening to this she'll be like oh my God, here we go again. But, um, yeah, yeah. So me and my mom were like so emotional We make, like you know, if we're like happy or angry, we'll just, like you know, decide like straight there. And then, but my dad, he's like super chill, very zen, and he will think about it and then make the decision Right. So he's always telling us like, yeah, just don't make emotional decision. Because, yeah, this applies to almost everything in life.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

Be it in you know web three, bomoing into stuff or buying something that you don't really need.

Speaker 1:

Do you have advice for artists joining the NFT space?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, um, for people, i mean, i don't know, like I'm, i'm like a fetus, i would say to a lot of people in this space, because I'm, i don't know, it's like my eighth month right now in this space. So, like, really, really like young, okay, but, um, yeah, i've heard a lot of people say this you know, take your time, like be patient. It's easy, it's just said and done, right, um, but just take your time and learn about the blockchain, like the technology behind it, before even like minting anything or you know, just just have a feel how things work And just understand the foundation of this whole platform that we're leveraging, you know, for the future to come. And so be very intentional and be patient because, yeah, it's not easy. I know a lot of people have been just wanting to sell their work out and all that, so, but I mean, sure, who doesn't want to have a seller right, all of their piece? But to me, patient and really connecting with people instead of just chilling and GM, like sure, we the GM's a culture, but maybe a bit more than that will be nice. So really like get the connection going And we are humans after a while behind that PFP, so, and that's just like super important.

Speaker 3:

I would say Yeah, and also, um, to not hesitate to reach out of people for questions, because I certainly felt that in the, i think, like in the first two months or so. But I went to hurt people like, yeah, just like, hit me up if you have any questions. So I was like, okay, cool, then I and I did, and it felt like a normal conversation that we're having. It's like, you know, doesn't matter if that person has, I don't know, 50,000 followers and you have zero or like 10 or something Like we are still humans. So, um, i would say, people are super kind in this space actually, so just just reach out.

Speaker 3:

But if you do reach out, have the courtesy to say GM, good morning or hello or how are you? instead of just like giving you know, just chilling your work out, like can you please help me? Oh, like, i have this question. Like at least start with something, right? I mean, it only takes two seconds to say how are you? I mean, sometimes I get put off by people, just you know, um, sending me their work without saying anything like a greeting, and just like what do you think? Right? I've never spoken to you ever before, apart from the GMs on the timeline. And now you just like come at me like this Um, i will love to help you, but if you were comes like a pros the other way, i would definitely help you out more. So, yeah, sometimes I got these kind of DMs. I'm like nah, nah, it's a pass.

Speaker 1:

Right, Yeah. So so if you could live Or move anywhere, where would you live and why?

Speaker 3:

Um, this is also very tough. Um, i only questions like super tough. Um, i love the waters and I need to be near a body of water. So anywhere near the ocean or sea not a pond, a lake could be cool, like a big enough lake that feels like an ocean maybe. But that's like yeah, i, like you know, like I don't know what I really like I don't know The old Zard Lakes.

Speaker 3:

They're huge as well. Like, for example, like I, i need a huge lake or a body of water that I can, you know, just see the horizon, and so, yeah, I love the salty breeze ocean, but I also want mountains and desert, so I'm very demanding on myself right now, but this sort of like yeah, i don't know, California kind of hits the spot with all these because like there's desert, there's the mountains, oceans next door, like forests as well, so like everything is just like really cool.

Speaker 3:

So I don't know, like California, maybe I'm not sure True, but yeah, i, i it's. It's a tough question to to pinpoint down to one's spot And there's just so much more to explore. I was like thinking as well in Namibia, because like literally the desert meets the ocean at one point and that's like super cool. But I don't know, i've never been there So it's tough to say Yeah, but somewhere with water nature. So California kind of hits the spot.

Speaker 1:

True, true. Do you have any questions for me?

Speaker 3:

Oh boy, Yes, where can I start? So I won't ask the Web3, typical, you know, nfc stuff, because I think a lot of people have already asked them. But I would just go with something a bit more fun, let's say So first question what kind of genre of music do you listen to and which is your favorite artist?

Speaker 1:

So this is like it varies a lot Like right now I've been listening to Spotify. What is the name? It's a station I was just looking for like something kind of like, i guess, from back when growing up. Basically it's called throwback jams.

Speaker 3:

Oh yeah, okay.

Speaker 1:

So that's been good Like oldies. It's like kind of like like 2000s, 90s hip hop.

Speaker 2:

Okay, yeah.

Speaker 1:

And then also like some alternative, i'll listen to or rock Awesome, nice As far as a favorite band man that has really hard, i don't know. I feel I'd be like I don't know. It's hard Because it always depends on the mood, right, yeah.

Speaker 3:

No, I totally feel that It's the same for me as well.

Speaker 1:

Right now I don't know if I'd say like Arctic monkeys or like. Queens of the Stone Age, yeah, something like that Nice, okay, very cool.

Speaker 3:

That's like kind of like what I'm gravitating towards now actually. So it really depends on the mood, but yeah, like indie rock, like alternative and all that. So that's kind of my jam as well. Nice, very cool. Next question What is the only one thing you would save when there's an apocalypse?

Speaker 1:

If all my humans in my life are already safe, then I would just say that's a given. Yeah, Um, I don't know. I feel like it'd be, like it's so weird to say like probably a computer, so with all the pictures on it.

Speaker 3:

All the JPEGs, save your ledger or something.

Speaker 1:

Like with all my well, all my family pictures I should say Right, But you know if there's an apocalypse or you're going to have electricity to run the computer. I saved this computer, but I can't turn it on.

Speaker 3:

You can charge it at all. There's no electricity, okay? Okay, well, fair point, i mean.

Speaker 1:

I don't know, that's a hard one, like grab a cause. I don't know how many actual photo albums we have. We have, like, a wedding photo album, but no other photo albums. Okay, yeah, so that's a hard one, yeah.

Speaker 3:

No, it's. I don't even know what I would answer, so just thought like it was a random question that popped in my head. So I was like, okay, let's just ask that, right, right, um, yeah. Last question, um, simple one Favorite meal of the day and why?

Speaker 1:

I don't know. I feel like lunch is that meal?

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Speaker 1:

It is, It's pretty, it's. I don't know it could be low key, chill. It's not as much pressure on that meal, I guess.

Speaker 3:

No, like dinner or first time, like I don't know, yeah, i think lunch is like the perfect meal. I would say It's like you know you're not groggy, you're not. You know, after the morning you're not tired for dinner, you're just like at the peak, right. So, yeah, okay, i'll take lunch for sure.

Speaker 1:

Nice. Well, do you have any shout outs or do you have any upcoming projects you'd like to talk about?

Speaker 3:

Shout outs. It's tough. I don't want to mention a handful of people. There's so many people that I really really love.

Speaker 1:

That's great.

Speaker 3:

That's great. That's great. Shout out to everybody that supported me throughout this whole journey so far. So I'm very, very thankful and grateful for all the support. It's been a pleasure just writing with everybody on the Twitter timeline and supporting each other, so I absolutely enjoy it. So, yeah, shout out to those. And maybe a special shout out to Click Create. I don't know They're like. Click Create has been I don't know like high level of my days so far. Discord is vibing. I just love being there. People are super funny. Perp the moderator as well. He's also just amazing. So I mean, the whole Click Create Discord is fucking amazing. I love it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

Awesome.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

But like any upcoming projects yeah, i mean I have a couple in mind I'm working on One thing like back to the community. I've never expected this at all The support that I got from so many people. So I want to give back to people that have supported me in my art. So I'm really thinking now kind of like yeah, like a fun thing to do. Yeah, i don't know, maybe an alpha additions, maybe for certain people.

Speaker 3:

I'm not sure how I'm going to do it yet but it's going to be like a couple of drops probably. So I'm still working on it, on trying to give back to the supporters of my artwork, and so that's that. That's like the first thing on my mind when it popped up. The second thing is I haven't actually launched any collection, so it's not going to be like a full 60 piece collection. It's going to be probably just for very specially curated ones And it's going to be a standalone collection. It's not going to be related to any of the dunes or anything like that. So I still kind of like trying to find a storyboard for those pieces and trying to like, yeah, create something that would inspire people. So that would be sometime I have no idea when probably second half of this year. No idea where the space is going to take us, but we'll see how that goes. So, yeah, Nice, Awesome.

Speaker 1:

Well, JJ, thank you so much for this time your interview. Thank you so much And I hope you have a great evening.

Speaker 3:

Thank you so much. It was an absolute pleasure and thanks for having me. So this is like another wet three achievement for me and I'm super honored and grateful.

Speaker 1:

Oh man, oh, you take care. Yeah, i'll see you next time.