Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: What's going on, everyone? This is from nothing to something else. You know who I am. But today, I'm sitting here with Anthony Ellis.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
[00:00:06] Speaker A: Husband, father, real estate agent, coach, mentor, music artist.
[00:00:13] Speaker C: Music artist, Clothing designer.
[00:00:14] Speaker A: Clothing designer, entrepreneur. Man, I'm part Jamaican, part Jamaican as well. They just throw it all out there, man. Thanks for pulling up and joining me here at my office, but I'm either way, just happy to get you on the show because as I tell people, you never know who's watching you, but there's always someone paying attention to the moves that you make. And honestly, man, we go back like a Cadillac on four flats all the way to the kickback days, man. Long, long, long, long, long time ago.
Just starving, hungry, trying to just make a name for ourselves. And you have, man, we. We haven't grown. And so I'm gonna start talking for people who don't know you. Tell them about you. Like you said, Jamaican. But wait, who is.
[00:00:57] Speaker C: You part Jamaican?
[00:00:58] Speaker A: A little bit.
[00:00:59] Speaker C: Well, yeah, my name is Anthony Ellis. AK don't go by that alias, you know. You know, I'm trying to be professional. But, yeah, man, I'm from the Bay Area, Oakland, California, you know, if we want to go into exactly where at what neighborhood?
Funktown, usa.
But, yeah, man, I do it all, man.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm just trying to make a
[00:01:23] Speaker C: way for me and my family. Yeah, I'm trying to get my brand out there, trying to get my name out there, man.
Yeah.
[00:01:31] Speaker A: Okay, let's start. Let's start with. Let's start with Funktown, man. Because I, you know, I'm from LA and I grew up here in Chico, but, you know, Oakland, especially now, I ain't getting a good name. But tell us about what Funktown was like, you growing up, your family life, you know, mom, dad. And what was your family aspect like? You know, brothers, sisters, what was that like?
[00:01:51] Speaker C: Yep, definitely from poverty, man. Didn't really have much, you know, Grew up with my mom and my sister.
Daddy was in and out the picture, in and out of jail, so really didn't have that father figure. Yeah, but, yeah, man, grew up with my mom, Funktown.
[00:02:10] Speaker B: We moved.
[00:02:11] Speaker C: We bounced around a couple different locations in Funktown and school.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: I mean, obviously you coach, and that's basketball. You play basketball? What was that? Did you play in high school?
Did you graduate high school? Did you go to college? Tell me about a little bit of that.
[00:02:25] Speaker C: Yep. So didn't play college basketball, but I went to Oakland high school for four years. Oakland High School, right off of MacArthur Boulevard as well. I didn't graduate from Oakland High School. I went to Dewey Academy, which is like a continuation school, where I spent my last couple of months there and got my diploma from there. So even though I'm a wildcat at heart, for four years, I got my diploma from Dewey High School, and that's important.
[00:02:57] Speaker A: And did you have any college? Did you go to college or anything after that?
[00:03:00] Speaker C: I did go to college. That's how I ended up in Chico.
[00:03:03] Speaker A: That's how you got out here. Okay? Yeah. Yes, sir.
[00:03:06] Speaker C: So I wanted to get away from everything that was out there and just kind of start over.
So I ended up going to Butte College, and then I ended up transferring to Chico State.
I'm shy a couple credits from getting my ba But I did read the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. That kind of changed my whole mentality on just not having to get a degree to be a business owner.
[00:03:33] Speaker A: Amen. And that's, like I said, leads us to where we is today and why we're sitting here today. And that's why I wanted to kind of get that little white background for me, because a lot of black people, a lot of black men, we all kind of share the same story. I don't know, my dad, all that stuff, trying to just make it, figuring it out along the way, and then figuring out, you know, what our skills can actually pave the way for a better life.
So I met you when we were doing music. I had a radio station that played hip hop music at the time, and I was just trying to get the artists out there. You know, I feel like, as I say, many hands made light work. And as an artist myself, I knew that there was a bunch of artists out there that was talented, but they just wasn't getting the airtime. And so I was like, yo, you know, I got this opportunity to be at KZ and then launch a show for local artists, and you were one of the main artists that I played. And.
And it was always something was special about you, but also just a business like mentality, like you weren't like some other artists, which is why I kind of cut the show because not a lot of people were serious about their own craft. Yeah, you were, you know, I mean, you came in there, you had all your. Your business together, your music together, shows together, and you always came out as professional in my eye. That's why I always, you know, paid attention to you. And it hasn't stopped. So let's talk about that young doge at the time and the music and And.
And are you still doing that? And are you still active in.
[00:04:57] Speaker C: Yeah, I would say minimum music is my passion. That's my way, how I vent. That's how I get everything out.
Like, I always tell people, Pro Tools is kind of my best friend because I'm able to vent to Pro Tools and, you know, and just get everything out, you know, how I feel. It's kind of harder to vent that to an actual person. So Pro Tools always been that for me.
But, yeah, I'm definitely still involved in music. I actually just dropped a music video.
It was called the Gap and the Gang, which is a great book as well, by Dan Sullivan.
I recommend you pick that up.
But, yeah, man, music is always gonna be there for me. Always.
That's just my way of venting, and that's how I find my way to reach the people as well.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: And like I said, man, that professionalism has translated and carried on to so many other different careers. We named off, like, 16 of them before we started the show. So let's ju.
As you said, no father figure. But you are a father.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: Yes, sir.
[00:06:01] Speaker A: And you've been with your wife for. For a minute.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: How long we been together? For about, you know, don't. You know, don't show messenger.
[00:06:11] Speaker C: About 13 years, I think it is, you know, so.
[00:06:13] Speaker B: Rough estimate, about 13 years.
[00:06:15] Speaker C: My daughter is 12 years old, so we definitely know that it's. It's 12 years, for sure.
[00:06:19] Speaker A: Y' all had that young love, that new love, you know, back in the day.
[00:06:22] Speaker C: Mad at Chico State.
[00:06:24] Speaker A: Yeah.
And how is that, man? Because, you know, marriage is a tough one. I've been married before. I've been divorced. But, you know, it's tough being a man of color growing up in a, you know, as we say, a broken home, not having an example of what a marriage and a real strong, strong, beautiful relationship looks like. How is that working for you, and how have you maintained it? Because there's a lot of people who are in relationships who, you know, getting married and this stuff. We want to know how we get that longevity, especially starting off young.
[00:06:55] Speaker C: It's a beautiful thing, man. It's.
You know, it's always going to be hard. Every relationship has its ups and downs, but then that's how you grow. You know, you definitely want to grow with your partner, your spouse.
But just being a father, man, that's a big thing to me because I didn't have that father figure in my life. And I've always told myself, if I was to have a child, that I was going to always be there, no matter what, you know, that is something that is dear to my heart.
Just not having that love and affection growing up is hard for me as a father because it's hard for me to show that to my daughter. Sometimes when my daughter tells me she loves me, it's a little bit weird. It weird.
[00:07:37] Speaker A: That's what's up.
[00:07:39] Speaker C: It always. I get emotional. I'm feeling emotional right now just talking about it, but it is a hard thing. And day in, day out, man, I try to show that affection that I didn't have growing up.
And it's just, it's a touchy situation,
[00:07:55] Speaker A: you know, it's beautiful, man.
[00:07:56] Speaker C: It is though. But I love being a father. I love being able, able to go to her games. I love being able to just be there for her and give her that advice and just everything that I didn't have growing up as a kid, you know?
[00:08:09] Speaker A: Yeah, nah, like I said, it's important to highlight that because it is a beautiful thing. And yeah, and it's touching, man, to see just a lot, I know a lot of great black fathers, man, people like, oh man, you only live. We here, we out here.
[00:08:22] Speaker C: Yeah, we out here.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: You know what I mean? And let's jump back to your wife because I remember her. And this leads to, you know, you're training and all that stuff. Because he was a personal trainer. Body by Lupita. You guys got a gym now.
Ohana Training Center.
[00:08:37] Speaker C: Ohana, Hands on training.
[00:08:38] Speaker A: Hands on training, yes, sir. Let's talk about that. Because not only 13 years of marriage, y' all both have been doing your own thing, getting strive with each other, but now y' all locked in with the, the hands on training center. Talk about how you guys got to that point and what that's all about.
[00:08:54] Speaker C: Well, my wife, she's always been into fitness. I mean, I'm athletic, but that's really, you know, a big thing for her. She's just, since she's been in Chico, you know, that that's the way she found her way to cope with things. And you know, that's just her therapy.
[00:09:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:11] Speaker C: So, you know, with her being into the fitness world and me going to school for business, we just, it's a
[00:09:16] Speaker B: no brainer, you know.
[00:09:17] Speaker C: Business fitness put us together, you know, There he is. We have a business, so yeah, we love helping people. Everything that we do in life is just giving back, you know. She's not only a fitness trainer, but she is a social worker as well, you know, I'm a real estate agent. I'm a mentor.
[00:09:35] Speaker B: I coach basketball.
[00:09:36] Speaker C: So everything that we do is just giving back to people. We're passionate about helping others.
[00:09:42] Speaker A: So for those people who are interested in maybe getting some training.
[00:09:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:46] Speaker A: Working out, you know, what's up with them, you know. Ohana hands on training center. What can people, you know, tell us your business model and what can you expect?
[00:09:56] Speaker C: Yeah, so we're a personal fitness training facility.
It's hands on.
[00:10:02] Speaker B: That's why we.
[00:10:03] Speaker C: That's where we got the name from. Hands on. And then the ohana just comes from family. You know, in the Polynesian culture, they're big on the family model. So that's where we got that from. And yeah, man, we. Personal training. If you're looking for one on one, if you're looking for group training, my wife's a badass trainer.
And yeah, we just, we love.
[00:10:25] Speaker B: It's more than just fitness.
[00:10:27] Speaker C: It's the mentality as well, you know, and that's what we kind of target as well, is helping people, you know, get through different day to day and just, you know, it's a way to vent and, you know, just your mental health.
[00:10:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:41] Speaker C: You know, which everybody needs. Yeah, it's very important.
[00:10:44] Speaker A: And how long you guys have that center for?
[00:10:47] Speaker C: So we opened in about 2020. Right.
[00:10:51] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:10:51] Speaker B: Covert hit.
[00:10:52] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:10:53] Speaker C: So, yeah, it is crazy because we was able to sustain ourselves and get through all of that, that Covid area, I mean, area. And yeah, man, we was able to stay strong, man.
[00:11:05] Speaker A: And so I asked that because. And it kind of goes kind of blended into real estate. But I know a lot of people who, who, who want to be business owners and strive to do that, but a lot of people don't make it or exceed or they shot or they just get scared of trying to get that location. Yeah, they get scared of having that location. The bills, the extra overhead, and then being able to maintain that consistently. I see a lot of people, you know, you know, get a spot, then they lose it, and then they just working out of home. Like, how have you guys been able to maintain that? What tools do you guys use? Have you. Did you guys talk to someone and link up how you guys run this business? This is all you and your, your knowledge.
[00:11:46] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:48] Speaker A: Insight on that.
[00:11:49] Speaker B: It's pretty much just our knowledge. And I would say, you know, always, you know, the grace of God.
[00:11:54] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:11:54] Speaker B: And just, you know, pushing through and just knowing what we want in life. That's. I think that's very important is you have to know what you want in life, you have to know where you're going in life. If you don't, then you don't have a road map to, you know, where you're trying to get to in life. And yeah, it's just, you know, I, I, to be honest, I don't even
[00:12:13] Speaker C: know how we do it.
[00:12:13] Speaker A: Yeah, that's why y', all, y' all at the table at night purchasing the numbers. Yeah, y'. All. Was it QuickBooks?
[00:12:20] Speaker B: Yeah, QuickBooks.
[00:12:21] Speaker A: Just personal. Yeah, it's just us.
[00:12:23] Speaker B: Everything is us, man. Every, every piece of equipment that we have in there is money that's out of our own pocket. We never got a loan for, okay. Any of those pieces of equipment that's in there. And it's just, you know, day to day, we see some online, you know, for a good, reasonable price, and we just reach out and, and that's how we obtain most of our equipment. But everything is just through us, man. We don't really have nobody that's guiding us. We don't have no business, mentor or anything like that. It's just, like I said, through the grace of God.
[00:12:53] Speaker A: Okay. No, that's awesome. And so as you said, now you've been coaching for a minute, too. How long have you been coaching and why have you been coaching? Because I, man, I just coached my son's third grade flag football team. And I was, I ain't never going to coach again before that because previously I coached my son's eighth grade basketball team. And I'm like, yo, these kids is different. Yeah, they ain't like us. And I can't coach the way I want to coach. It's the old school, you know, I was trying to punish these kids and make them do liners. Yeah. But then they weren't sprinting, so I had to go out there, show them how to really sprint, pull the hamstring. And I was like, you know what? I'm just, you know, I try to take on the games, do all type stuff, but these kids even play sports.
[00:13:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:35] Speaker A: Now, let alone basketball. It was just out there to have a good time. How have you maintained and why are you still maintaining and doing it?
[00:13:41] Speaker B: Well, yeah, first off, I've been into coaching. Well, I coached, you know, when I was in junior college back in the Bay Area, I went to Contra Costa College.
So I started at an after school program that I worked at and I coached soccer, which I didn't know didn't have no skills.
I was out there, you know, just
[00:14:05] Speaker A: kick the ball, kick the ball right
[00:14:06] Speaker B: there into that Big net right there,
[00:14:08] Speaker A: you know, good to go. Oh, yeah.
[00:14:11] Speaker B: But, yeah, yeah. I started out there at the after school program, and I coached basketball, which I was assistant to. And then just recently, really up in 2021 was my first time coaching high school sports. And mind you, you know, I really didn't have no high school experience like that far as coaching, but here I am coaching varsity basketball at the highest level there is in high school, and, you know, we didn't get a lot of wins. I was coaching for Gridley High School at the time.
I heard that the coach was stepping down, so I stepped in. It was a kid that I was training at my gym at the time who played for Grittley High School. He was like, yeah, my coach is stepping down. You should, you know, step in there and, you know, and coach yourself. Like, all right, bet, you know, So I ended up signing up, went through all the hoops and kind of wiggle my way in there. And there was, you know, a high school R2D basketball coach. And it was tough. It was tough. Man, those kids ate me alive. I can't. I can't even lie.
But I was able to get through it.
And, yeah, I ended up getting let go that next year.
Reasons we're not gonna. We're not gonna speak on. We're not gonna go there navigated.
But yeah, buddy, I was. Ended up let go there.
Ended up. After I left there, I started an AAU basketball team called the NorCal Blue Tigers, which is still going on today. Actually, we got a game today here in Chico in about a couple hours.
But, yeah, the NorCal Blue Tigers. And I ended up meeting this lady. So the lady signed her kid up. Her husband was the football coach at the time. He still is.
And she signed up her kid. And we was at the Oroville ymca.
We were trying to find a place to practice at. So we ended up going there. She brought him there. She was like, like, why you guys not, you know, practicing at. At the high school? At Live Oak High School? I'm like, live Oak High School. She was like, well, you know, I work for the administration and, you know, we can get you into the door. And yeah, you know, she ended up making it happen. So I ended up meeting her husband, and he asked me if I wanted to coach football.
Ended up coaching football.
Really not a football player like that. But coaching is coaching. Yeah, but, you know, coach football and, you know, the basketball coach, the varsity basketball coach. I heard he really didn't have an assistant. So I ended up stepping in, giving. Giving Back my time. I didn't get paid and helped him. I think he liked what he's seeing from my coaching aspect. And, you know, he stepped down that next year, and he was like, man, I think you should apply and, you know, apply for the varsity spot. So I applied for the varsity spot, didn't get the varsity spot, but the JV spot was open. And the same lady who, you know, got us into Live Oak, she was like. She called me or she texted me and was like, did you apply for the JV spot? I was like, no, I didn't know it was open. She was like, well, you know, apply. So I ended up applying. I ended up getting JV spot, and then I coached that year, and then the year after that, they let go the varsity coach. So I ended up applying and ended up getting mad. And. And here he is now working.
[00:17:24] Speaker A: God's just working.
[00:17:25] Speaker B: God works in mysterious ways.
[00:17:26] Speaker A: Not always what, you know, who, you know, and just let's say, taking that time to mentor that young man and look at them doors opening up.
[00:17:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:34] Speaker A: And you've been doing training and stuff outside of that, I've been saying, you know, yeah, take some kids around the park a lot of times with these youth. Yeah, man. And now that's a real big respect for that.
But let's jump into your real estate now. That's what the grind is coming. Coach Ellis. Real estate.
[00:17:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:50] Speaker A: Talk about why, how, and. And What's. What's it feel like to be in this process, in this situation.
[00:17:57] Speaker B: So real estate always been a part of my life just because I always been infatuated with the nice homes. You know, I come from poverty. I come from living in apartments.
So every time I. I seen a nice house, I just fell in love with seeing nice homes.
[00:18:13] Speaker A: You watch hgtv? Yeah. That's my jam.
[00:18:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:16] Speaker A: So, yeah, that's the reason why I
[00:18:17] Speaker B: got into real estate. I used to watch these real estate shows and seeing how they was making it look.
[00:18:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:23] Speaker B: So easy, and I was like, hey, they making bread like that. Let me go on and sell that. Exactly, exactly. So. But, yeah, just being infatuated with nice homes, just, you know, you know, with nice decor and stuff like that. I've always been infatuated with. So I was like, hey, you know, woke up, was like, man, I think I can be a real estate agent. Mind you, I am an introvert.
[00:18:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:47] Speaker B: You might not think that because you see me on stage or you see me making videos and you see me doing all this, but at heart, I'm an introvert.
It's just hard for me to be around people. You know, I'm the quiet guy, I'm the one that's in the corner. You know, I'm only spoke, I only speak when spoken to.
[00:19:03] Speaker A: That's what, you know, I'm the same way. People like stop you, you so out there. And as soon as I do event, as soon as my time's off the stage, if I could just leave, sprint out that thing right off stage, that would be me. Yeah, I'd be like, you guys stick around and talk. Please don't make me do it. So I get it.
[00:19:18] Speaker B: Yeah. But an introvert at heart, man. And being in this business, you cannot be what they call it, a secret agent. You know, that's, that's what my mentor always tell me. And you know, you got to put yourself out there. So I'm still an introvert at heart. I really don't like being in large groups like that. But in this business you have to put yourself out there to be able to generate leads.
But yeah, that's where I started at and I originally started.
So what I'm about probably like a year and a half in almost two years now.
It's a tough market. It's a tough market right now and it's kind of the worst time to jump in to get your real estate license. But for me, it's the best time because if I'm able to get through this, this tough market right here, once it gets a little bit easier, interest rates drop and all that good stuff happens, this is gonna be, you know, my feet kicked up. Yeah. You know, just making deals from the phone on vacation, you know, so, you know. Yeah, that's, that's what it is.
I started off at EXP Realty, that's the first brokerage, and then transferred over at the beginning of this year, 2025 over to LPT Realty, where it was just a no brainer, you know, just way more money that, that you get to save in your pocket. But yeah, I got into it because like I said, I'm passionate about helping others.
I'm passionate about helping others. So that's the reason why I got into real estate.
[00:20:48] Speaker A: Yeah, man, I ain't gonna lie. I, I tried to do real estate, but man, yeah, that didn't last long, you know, and I know a few other people that tried it and it worked out. So being able to just make it through that, you know, it's really, really just tremendous. And then, like I said, maintain it because I have seen A lot of people become real estate agents.
I'm not sure if they're still doing it or not, but that's the thing, I'm not sure if they're doing it or not. Yeah, you know, I mean, because they're not out here on display, which you really have to do.
[00:21:16] Speaker C: You have to be, you have to be seen.
[00:21:17] Speaker A: And so what is that process for those who are trying to make it or just, or just trying to make it, you know, into a home and something like that. You said tough market, one of those steps. Because I started going through the process and we had this conversation, I was like, oh man, it's not that. Oh, but you know, it wasn't as bad as I thought to get it started. So what is that beginning process for people? So you talk about just buying a home just into the market for looking at. I mean, obviously you said it's a tough market.
[00:21:46] Speaker B: Yeah, it's really, it's really not, not a hard process as people think.
Just make sure, you know, your credit score is decent. I would say, you know, it might let you slide with a 580, 620, but definitely want to be in the 7 hundreds to be able to get, you know, lock in a nice interest rate. Yeah, but yeah, it's just having so definitely having a down payment or just having some money saved up, no big purchases right around the time you're trying to, you know, qualify for a home or pre qualify for a home.
And yeah, credit score, man. And you know, you go sit down with a loan officer, they will tell you what you pre approved for. And at that point, you know, you just go house shopping. So you want to make sure you get pre approved before you go house shopping because that's like going into the grocery store without a list. You know, you definitely want to know the amount that you're pre qualified for because you don't want to go. You say you're pre qualified.
[00:22:42] Speaker A: I was having all types of homes on Zillow I could afford.
[00:22:45] Speaker B: Yeah, you Pre qualified for 300. You over here looking for yeah.
[00:22:48] Speaker A: Half a million dollar homes and all these saying how to go and unearth the stuff.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You gotta definitely shop within your budget. So definitely being pre qualified. And then reach out to an agent, someone like myself and.
Yeah, and just hit the market, man, and you know, get out there and negotiate and you know, you just said
[00:23:09] Speaker A: reach out to someone like yourself. That's why I might love seeing all my people, all my friends doing big things, but also get into that real estate Because I didn't make it.
But I got questions, you know, and I need a friendly face, a familiar face, someone that looked like me to break this thing down for me. So I'm not. You know, that's people taking the base, man. They playing us. You know, these. These people, they ain't working with us, you know, because they working against us. They don't want us to have what they got. And so I'm like, yo, Coach Alice, holl at them, because these are the people, you know? This is what we need, you know? So I want to get you on here and talk about all the great things you're doing and really highlight, man, we can all go from nothing to something else. So, man, I really appreciate you sitting down. I mean, if there's something else you want to break down for people, let them know. But definitely let them know how they can get in contact with you, where to find your stuff.
[00:24:01] Speaker B: Well, you can find me on social media, man. I'm all over the social media. You probably see me, you know, my favorite time. Tagline, what up, what up, what up, what up, Coachella, Zana. Real estate is my gang. You probably heard that before. You probably heard your kids running around a house saying that Tagline. And it's just always been catchy. But, yeah, you can find me on any social media platform there is.
So you can find me at. On Instagram, at Coachellis Realty.
That's the handle.
And then pretty much on Facebook as well, at Anthony Ellis.
You should be able to see me pop up once you search Anthony Ellis and just Google, man. Just Google.
[00:24:40] Speaker A: Google that, boy. I'm a part of. Just hold the cliff. And, yeah, so y' all could know where he's at. But again, man, I really just. You growth your master racing. I mean, your. Your family life, man. I really just appreciate you, man. Really look up to you. Like, I really respect everything you're doing.
[00:24:57] Speaker C: Really.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: Thank you for sitting down with me and just giving me your time.
[00:25:00] Speaker B: Yes, sir, man.
[00:25:01] Speaker A: Appreciate it.
[00:25:01] Speaker B: Appreciate you, man. Likewise.
[00:25:03] Speaker A: Yes, sir. All right, until next time, y'. All. Y' all stay tuned.
[00:25:06] Speaker B: If nothing to something else, signing out.
