I had every single homie collected. It was my favorite toy. They were my prized possessions. I went to church camp one summer, came back and my mom had thrown them all away. I was completely devastated... I spent so much time and my own money collecting them. I’m still not over it 😂
500subswithnovideos Challange It’s clear with the laughing face that I don’t take it that seriously. If there are bigger things going on then why are you spending that time watching the video and commenting at me? Take your own advice. Bye 👋🏽
@@Xtreme_Number4 Yea but credit cards usually come with charge per swipe not to mention require more technical knowhow and maintenance. He'd have to up the cost to at least .75 to a dollar to get comparable amount of return. Now, think of the very likely scenario that someone broke the machine and the cost to repair them. Best course of action would be to reinforce the machines. At this point, is it even worth it?
Damn, this was an eye opener. As someone from the South West, I always thought Homies was an actual Mexican product. This was like when I found out Arizona Teas are made in New York.
@@val13c59 Chicano - an American of Mexican origin or descent, especially a man or boy Cholo - a young man belonging to a Mexican American urban subculture associated with street gangs You're obviously the ignorant one.
Somebody should tell the guy and he could sell the homies for one big lump sum. Be balling after that. They are rich in japan and a collector could buy him out. Maybe
I collected so many Homiez. I can vividly remember wanting the Wheelchair Homie so god damn bad. I eventually ended up stealing one from my older cousin. I still have it lol
If I find them in my storage unit I’ll come back to this post and 🏷 people. There’s definitely more than 100. Maybe somewhere around 200-250 including all the duplicates
It's sad to see my dad's in the same situation he hit it big with sattelite TV. Until 2008 Now he lives out of his warehouse won't accept that business has changed. Continues to do the same thing over and over.. there's a difference between a business person and someone who got lucky.
I want to know how he actually lost his empire like the video description says. I guess the demand just flagged? Sounded like he was in business and growing for years before Homies, Homies were unprecedented sellers...and then something and now he only has a small mom and pop operation? Like, why did businesses get rid of the machines? They get a cut for something that takes up virtually no room and they don't have to service. Was there a backlash against the machines in general? Did the type of stores he had them in go out of business? It just kinda cuts from "Homies stopped selling as well" to "now he's struggling to make ends meet."
NekoMouser People stopped buying the little nick-knacks in em. 10-20 years ago kids would loose their minds over cool little toys while shopping with their parents, now it's an app or a game. Kids don't want physical toys anymore they want electronic ones. He should implement homies into a mobile game and i bet it would take off again.
those are collectables ..... kids back in, including me likes to get them... I guess that was part of the reason why macdonalds has happy meal... to follow the trends. Nowadays kids has their own ipad at the age of like 4..... they probably wont need this anymore... slowly this vending machines is being obsolete ... Kinda sad that you see yourself slowly going out of business and there is nothing you can do about it.
Amazingly he can resell his Homie inventory online and make triple from it. Homies are very collectible and to have first editions is basically gold. 1 original vending machine homie can range from $5 to $12. So if you have boxes of them then that's a nice profit.
@@scturnn there’s a market for anything associated with nostalgia and toys people had as kids who are now adults with money to spend, especially in America
Ya bud, for me it was homies, and then every once in a while i would grab one of those britney spears stickers........ it was as good as playboy when i was 15 the way they had that girl dolled up lol
This guy made over a million dollar in vending machines. He wasn't struggling he just never learned how to spend his money wisely. He was so far in debt that all he made went directly in bills. And he is still making bad business decisions as he now have more bills for product but not revenue as the product isn't selling. This is a fine example of a person who doesn't know when to let it go. The business lose sells long ago yet he keeps spending money on it as if vending machines are just as popular as the 90's/early 2000's.
Yea especially the last scene on the porch. "Ive been picking peoples pocket's my whole life". At first I thought it was funny then I started thinking about it. But then again I can't feel bad for him because hes such a New Yorker! He'll be fine.
Because they either do this their entire life or start living off their careers and then they will have to wait for ten dollar cheques to pay their debts.
They didn't borrow a bunch of money to start their business. Their investment was minimal. If they are any good at managing money they will still be better off than most people if their channel dries up. Worst case scenario they have to get a real job. Never borrow money to start a business.
I’ve watched this 5 times in the last 6 years, and it never gets old. These were my childhood! Still have a bunch. When I’m a having a rough time I just look at them and brings back the good times.
+420sthedaytopray I fucking hate grammar nazis like you, you knew what he meant. Just because it wasn't perfect, or aesthetically pleasing to see some slang, you felt inclined to make a witty comment about it, thinking you're clever when in reality it's just annoying and pathetic.
Technology was his down fall. Before cell phones, you could spend .25 or .50 to be entertained with a cheap bouncy ball. Now, you just play a game on your phone.
Yup. You used to see kids with those sticky slapping hands, or running around chasing a little bouncey ball. Now they're just zoned out on their iphones... at like 8 years old...
Silo 101 I had those sticky hand things, my parents hated them because they would leave slime all over the walls! I'm a 90s kid and I loved the good old days before all this technology crap ruined the world.
When i was in my 20's, i worked at a smoke shop. We had Homies in all the display cases with the smoking accessories. We even had our loyal customers adding Homies to our shop. Great times
I’m 20 and I’m in college for physics. I was kind of a nerd but I was doing my fair share of playing. I’m also from California and I have NEVER heard of these. Maybe it was because I was such a dainty little girl but these just went over my head
@@classykiwi4226 are u desperate for someone to talk to?? Just you gave your life story when when all you had to say was “I never heard of homies”.... sorry but no one wants to hear about how ‘dainty’ you were, what u r studying, where you live, what you enjoy doing etc etc (yes, you really did tell us all that crap!!). I suggest you go make some friends.
“That’s Myrna, one of my distributors, I told her I broke my leg. You gotta tell people stuff.” 😂😂😂 Lol, he goes all out on his lies. Not ‘I have the flu’, or ‘I have a stomach bug’, but ‘I broke my leg.’ I’m cracking up.
Not at All the lesson, this is comparable to the drug game or even investing in stocks ,you HAVE to know when to pull out because NOTHING LASTS FOREVER. HAD HE JUST PULLED OUT AFTER HE MADE THAT KILLING AT THE PINNACLE OF POPULATITY IT WAS TINE TO START PULLING OUT ITS COMMON SENSE ESPECIALLY WITH FADS AND ANYTHING POPULAR ,RELATED AND TIED TO A CERTAIN ERA!🤯🤯🤯
I kinda feel bad for him, I kinda don't. Like if the vending thing isn't working any more, then it's time to move on to something else more stable and profitable or get a job that can keep the bills paid. I agree, times have changed and kids really aren't into the vending machine stuff anymore. That's just the way things go. What's killing him is the fact he keeps trying to ride a dead horse into the sunset.
Tregeta it’s the MUSIC that is causing you to “feel bad” for him. The “Music Supervisor”, (the person who is in charge of choosing the type of music to invoke the desired emotional response.), the Music Supervisor is the one pulling your strings! If he wants you to have a bright outlook for the video, he chooses fast music in Major Keys!!!
I know what you mean. He's working hard, but he doesn't have the mindset he needs. I mean, I would've diversified to mini rubiks cube or tiny little fidget spinners. Not even a single soda machine in sight. He seems like a good guy with some bad habits. But I can't help but like him anyway. Just a regretful man who didn't end up where he thought he would :/
So basically, this guy was eking out a living with vending machines for 8 years. He got lucky one year with somebody else's product and made a million bucks. He thought the gravy train would last forever, so he lived beyond his means and went into huge debt. The Homies craze was over within a year, and it was back to peanuts, only now with debts he still has not been able to pay off. This is a classic business mistake, and one a lot of people make. Colorful guy, and I have sympathy. However, he dug his own hole.
I certainly share the sentiment, though the reality is that in order for a business like this to thrive, constant expansion is required. It's basically the problem with capitalism. If you're not growing, you're shrinking. So, in order for this guy to do better than last month, he has to borrow to expand the number of machines. That requires significant capital. If he didn't expand aggressively as they were taking off, he would have never achieved the gross sales. You hear him talk about it all being gone by the time he paid off the debts. The moral of the story is to not expand without a realistic 5-year projection which includes a decline in the range.
Ya, he should have sold toys that look like him so he would actually know what kids around him really wanted. The only kids in NM that would buy those were wannabes that thought having those made them seem gangster. Here, they were cool for the 1st 3 months or so but then those kids started getting made fun of by their actual gangster relatives.😆
AllegedPhilo lmao ??? U sure YOUR not the guy ur saying the original commenter is??? Lmfao guy said he broke his leg to one of his creditors to get out of paying?? Lol honest tradesmen right there
Conor McGregor if you love him so much go move to Staten Island.. 80% of the men there talk and act like this... I promise after a week you will go back to where u came from...
Weston Evans Hes not expreasing himself thats what im saying. Hes being connor mcgreggor. The famous british cage fighter. Idk if you know. Whatever facist is just dumb in that context. I said be yourself. Not better than yourself.
I think all vending companies are in the same boat. Back in the 80's my friend's father had a huge vending company. They were doing very well. They are still doing well but they closed the vending company several years ago. Things have just changed. When I was a kid in the 70s it was a big thing to get some change from mom and hit the vending machines. A quarter for a jawbreaker, a giant gun ball, or taking a chance on some random cheap toy was very exciting. Nowadays, kids aren't as easily amused and fewer people pay with cash. If mom pays with a card, mom doesn't have a quarter for the machines. When moms all over the country aren't getting change, the kids quit asking and the habits change. Maybe 2 years ago I gave my friend's daughter (about 8 yo) several quarters and told her to hit the gumball machines. lol She didn't know how to work a vending machine. I showed her how it works. She was a little irritated that she wasn't getting what she wanted. She looked up at me and said "can't we just go buy exactly what we want"? lol The culture has changed. The anticipation and excitement of the vending machine just totally eludes some kids nowadays.
They were still "a thing" for anyone growing up in the 90s up to the early 2000s. In my early to mid childhood, I sort of remember them being something we did. Then it just stopped and nobody bothered. If I see a modern soda vending machine that doesn't have one of those credit card things, I don't even bother.
i endlessly scroll through pointless and half baked comments searching for the one worth reading to release me from my never-ending search..... I found it...….. I can go home now.
I feel nothing for this man. He knows he's a crook with nothing to offer and says it every 10 seconds. Sell them in dollar general and quit acting stupid. He could make board games with them if he wanted to, but he's just another lazy hustler.
Nunya Bidness you very critical for nothing of this guy. He’s a crook because times are bad for him right now? Thats how the sale world rolls in case you didn’t know. And hes a lazy Hussler (time has aged away from that homie trend and because of his still deep passion for it it hasn’t dawn on him a good a now time strategy to replace it with a now trend)??? As far as I could tell that is a hard working man. Obviously he is just stuck in how these homies made him rich and so it became his passion and think and trust that it still will keep putting up. Instead of criticizing why don’t you help him with ideas or shut up?
I feel sorry for this guy. I am from NorCal, Homies were really big there in the early 2000's. It sounds like this guy could've made the gravy train last a lot longer if he'd made better business decisions, grow and adapt with his market, etc. I still have one particular Homies figurine. I found him many years ago in an old car in a wrecking yard in Reno Nevada. He is a typical Hispanic looking fellow with his hair slicked back, and wearing fancy clothes and a big smile, and is attached to a keychain. I thought he was cool so I stuck him in my pocket. When I got home I randomly attached the keychain to a hanging fruit basket in my kitchen, which is where he still is to this day. I have moved numerous times since then, and have not always used that basket. But I just moved again recently and hung the basket up again, and my little homie dude is still hanging out with my fruits.
While I agree he's clearly not a genius business tycoon, I would argue that the advent of the internet largely killed children's interest in toys in general, and in these toys specifically
I loved this episode of Vice. I love how you let your subject do the talking and didn’t even need to actually interview him. I mean that was his personality but it made for a great episode
+GrexTheCrabasitor He borrowed a lot to get to the point where he could vend the homies. And had to pay that all back. But, like all fads, the well dried up pretty quick. So he was left with a grand total of jack shit. Basically, the vending machines *WERE* the investment. And the investment didn't pan out.
spikedias lmfao yea me too especially at the end. Hes trying so hard to hold his anger in its funny. But still sad how he used to make a killing and now he barely makes 40 dollars
Yea he could copyright that toy and start distributing it in a different way other than vending machines. But like he mentioned he’d probably have to most likely borrow money and get investors for it and in this snowflake day and age they would be looked at as racist or some bullshit. A lot of people liked the homies I remember how popular they were I used to get them too as a kid.
I honestly think kids just aren't that interested in toys like this anymore. The kids I know have become so singularly focused on technology, that a sticker or a small figure is of no value to them. I think a good idea would be to license stickers from popular mobile games and then include QR codes in the capsule for in-game items, health refills, etc. I think it would be good for both sides since it would bring kids back to the vending machines and also it would be advertising for the game.
TFrills Yeah, candy will always sell, and I think that is why you have seen so many capsule machines change to candy. It is basically the lowest common denominator.
PBJ Well yeah, the entire idea would be for F2P games, which are the vast majority of the mobile games making money. The turn-around on making the vending machine product would be nothing. I can go get custom stickers printed by the thousand this evening, and that is most of what I see in capsule machines these days. I know there is more to it than just manufacture, but I don't see it taking a year. Plus, the teams that would be more likely to do a deal like this would be games that actually aren't popular yet. However, I do agree that it may not be worth it for the game developer. The idea would of course not be that they give away items that they sell for real money, but rather just be small, transient boosts (maybe +5 stamina to a game that uses a stamina bar that depletes as the player does actions). Stuff like that is very easy to develop. But would even making the deal be worth it? If it stayed small and local, probably not. And if they had to make separate deals with every capsule guy in every area, it would not be worth it.
TFrills true but parents give there kids bigger allowance they could just go to gas stations and buy a whole bag of candy and not just a handful for 25 cents
These were around when I was REALLY little! I remember going to my local food store when I was like 7 and getting a vicious-looking rottweiler. Still have it to this day.
j idk and just add Contactless payment to them instead of quarters and it´s golden. no more going around collecting the money either and no more stealing the stuff, money would come straight to bank account. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contactless_payment
I remember getting these when we were younger they were so cool . I had the Low rider car that hoped up and down and the poster in my room of all of them . Man those were the times that the simple things made you happy .
If a cigarette could talk, it would have this dudes voice
Im fkn dying 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Whats wrong with his accent? 😡
Thnx 4 that one👏🤣😘
@@greatestever8976 nothing, it just sounds like he eats Newports like pocky sticks
Look up Joey Diaz
Edit: *here* th-cam.com/video/Yfa7fJtJWhc/w-d-xo.html
I remember when Homies first came out. I thought, "how funny, someone made these little toys that look like everyone in my neighborhood"
Ye it was the same for me.
And me !!!
This dude needs to be the main character in the next GTA Franchise
If they made little GTA figures like the homies he'd kill right now.
😂😂😂
You could spell franchise but cant spell "next"🤦🏼♂️
@@kidchivo2528 typo so what?
@@mexifro28 that would take a lot of royalty fees for him and i doubt he has money to pay rockstar for that...
"We've been picking the pockets of little children across the City for 18 years" 😂😂😂😂😂
The American dream
That line had me for a while 😂
Yeah, that was a gem! 😂
King Midas
That's what d bags think, the 50 cents gave a memorable toy.
This man radiates pure NY energy.
Yep, I'm from Brooklyn New York and heard his accent right away
Yes. I want him to call me a cock sucker while I choke myself with a black belt.
@@scottbeater-man3714 lol what
the hustle personified
Philoso Dan 🙌🏽🙌🏽
I had every single homie collected. It was my favorite toy. They were my prized possessions. I went to church camp one summer, came back and my mom had thrown them all away. I was completely devastated... I spent so much time and my own money collecting them. I’m still not over it 😂
whats the heck.. why would she throw em out.. how rudee
Duuuuude I still have mines!!!!.......somewhere. lol
500subswithnovideos Challange It’s clear with the laughing face that I don’t take it that seriously. If there are bigger things going on then why are you spending that time watching the video and commenting at me? Take your own advice. Bye 👋🏽
I would be UPSET GABRIELLA!!
That's the Homie angle gabrielle we have all been there 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Please interview him again and check out how he’s doing 5 years later. This guy is too interesting to forget
well its been 4 years. So its coming up.
He went on Ink Master and got a shitty tattoo
Rift He’s probably dead from lung cancer
He a local staten island Starbucks legend
Nah, Vice would rather make a video on the trans Swahili drug dealers of Zanzibar than something actually interesting.
God his poor wife prob has to hear about the “homiez” every day
🤣
😂😂😂😂
Let’s be real, she’s his girlfriend. His wife divorced him and took the kids long ago!! Haha
Homies are awesome so who cares.
He is the homie so it's cool.
This guy is hilarious, what a fucking hustler.
"I told her I broke my leg, you gotta tell these people this shit."
ahahahhahahahah
MyDanceMoovez10 Real shit 😂😂😂😂
MyDanceMoovez10 Real New Yorker
thats street shit...u gotta lie to collectors and bill collectors man its street life
lmao
I feel like most of it has to do with less people carrying cash
Absolutely. I've seen goofy shit I'd throw 50 cents at. "Anybody have a quarter? No? Fuck it."
I think ur right on the money imagine if just like soda machines u can swipe a card at a gumball machine
@@Xtreme_Number4 Yea but credit cards usually come with charge per swipe not to mention require more technical knowhow and maintenance. He'd have to up the cost to at least .75 to a dollar to get comparable amount of return. Now, think of the very likely scenario that someone broke the machine and the cost to repair them. Best course of action would be to reinforce the machines. At this point, is it even worth it?
My kids always ask for quarters for the vending machines. I never have quarters
But you can ask the cashiers to change dollars for quarters
My mom was 48 she passed in 2011 but she collected these she thought they were hilarious. They remind me of her. Miss u mom n your homiez.
th-cam.com/video/0wp5BOOdK_s/w-d-xo.html
Eileen. You fine girl
@@BruhBruh-sb5xd you fine too
Haha that's cool
No one cares
he’s such a character..... could totally do his documentary series...
This dude seriously needs to consider voice acting!
IdkWhatTo CallThis Video game voice acting
For real
Hes the doosh from sausage party bro
Wow didn’t know having a smokers voice means people can voice act
he would prolly collapse after the first few sentences
"I told them i broke my leg"
"you gotta tell people shit, because y'know what i mean?"
That old chestnut
😂😂😂😂😂
meeeeeee
I'll tell you who lies...the guy who REALLY gets his legs broke for not paying his bills!
this guys acting like a drug dealer lol, i love it tho giving me joey diaz vibes
Same cloth
some of those homies dealt drugs
This was literally the video up next on the joey diaz video I was watching lmao thats how I got here
@@westcoastcultivator9273 damn what are the chances
Same
Damn, this was an eye opener. As someone from the South West, I always thought Homies was an actual Mexican product.
This was like when I found out Arizona Teas are made in New York.
It’s a Chicano cholo thing. Not Mexican. Stop sounding ignorant.
@@val13c59 Chicano - an American of Mexican origin or descent, especially a man or boy
Cholo - a young man belonging to a Mexican American urban subculture associated with street gangs
You're obviously the ignorant one.
Today I found out Arizona teas are made in New York.
he didn't invent them, he brought them to NY
@@HoloceneNamesake facts
Its a real Shame to see someone at the end of their Dream, clinging to the remnants of their Fallen Empire. I really feel for this guy.....
Sort of like Marlon Brando. I can picture him yelling "Homies" and talking about being a contender in the vending machine business.
Yeah........like a dingle berry......the BIG LOAD has come and gone...now only the clingers survive
You have to change with the times or become a dinosaur, nothing lasts forever, especially in business.
Did u really just say "empire "???
MANNNNN...HUSH THAT SHYT UP...THIS DUDE MADE MILLIONS...I DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR HIM LOL LOL LOL
This guy needs to sell his stock in Japan ASAP. Japan is big on Mexican culture right now and these are selling for a premium.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan
Maybe he did that. What a brilliant thought, tho. They'd probably love to buy homies especially knowing the history of the toys themselves.
Somebody should tell the guy and he could sell the homies for one big lump sum. Be balling after that. They are rich in japan and a collector could buy him out. Maybe
mexico is big all over the world
Zbth Lpz sike.
I collected so many Homiez. I can vividly remember wanting the Wheelchair Homie so god damn bad. I eventually ended up stealing one from my older cousin. I still have it lol
SickAsMalaria you should upload your collection
If I find them in my storage unit I’ll come back to this post and 🏷 people. There’s definitely more than 100. Maybe somewhere around 200-250 including all the duplicates
I remember I spent so much money trying to get the chihuahua and always ended up with the purple shirt basketball guy.
Jam - The chihuahua was rare af. I ended up getting one, but it took a long time from what I recall
Plot twist
Your cousin come over and beat you up for confessing your crime of breaking the bro code
This got progressively depressing for me toward the end of this video
What a way to make a living
What a sad way to live.
Sad music is a great way to manipulate people’s emotions
Seriously! Lol
So depressing…
This was depressing.
Go watch Joe Dirt. It'll cheer you right up.
as fuck
Stroke the Forge the guy in the video is far from rich you imbecile
It's sad to see my dad's in the same situation he hit it big with sattelite TV. Until 2008 Now he lives out of his warehouse won't accept that business has changed. Continues to do the same thing over and over.. there's a difference between a business person and someone who got lucky.
Chrystle Ayer I know right 😂😂
This is one of those videos you click on, expecting to get bored and click off in a minute... then it's over and you want a full-length doc.
I want to know how he actually lost his empire like the video description says. I guess the demand just flagged? Sounded like he was in business and growing for years before Homies, Homies were unprecedented sellers...and then something and now he only has a small mom and pop operation? Like, why did businesses get rid of the machines? They get a cut for something that takes up virtually no room and they don't have to service. Was there a backlash against the machines in general? Did the type of stores he had them in go out of business? It just kinda cuts from "Homies stopped selling as well" to "now he's struggling to make ends meet."
NekoMouser People stopped buying the little nick-knacks in em. 10-20 years ago kids would loose their minds over cool little toys while shopping with their parents, now it's an app or a game. Kids don't want physical toys anymore they want electronic ones. He should implement homies into a mobile game and i bet it would take off again.
Me Auntie Nora my thoughts EXACTLY
FACTS LOL
those are collectables ..... kids back in, including me likes to get them... I guess that was part of the reason why macdonalds has happy meal... to follow the trends.
Nowadays kids has their own ipad at the age of like 4..... they probably wont need this anymore... slowly this vending machines is being obsolete ... Kinda sad that you see yourself slowly going out of business and there is nothing you can do about it.
He blew all his money on coke and filterless Marlboro
Oxys
Pall Mall Reds.......make Filterless Marlboros seem like a healthy choice.
Good coke
He should have bought houses or a restaurant.
They don't make Marlboro non filters
Amazingly he can resell his Homie inventory online and make triple from it. Homies are very collectible and to have first editions is basically gold.
1 original vending machine homie can range from $5 to $12. So if you have boxes of them then that's a nice profit.
Exactly! Old guys stuck in his ways I hope he's doing better now
Dropping loads would make the price go down
Nobody will buy 1 cent plastic toys 🤡 and if they do they are clowns
@@scturnn there’s a market for anything associated with nostalgia and toys people had as kids who are now adults with money to spend, especially in America
Pretty sure they're worth more to him than to anybody else
I lined that guys pockets man ...i had every single homie ever sold
Ya bud, for me it was homies, and then every once in a while i would grab one of those britney spears stickers........ it was as good as playboy when i was 15 the way they had that girl dolled up lol
Hell yea fuckin LOVED the homies
@@mabelsue123 where u from
Had them all
Megan Elizabeth hell yeah
This guy is a real life GTA character.
Ha! I agree I gotta record that audio skit
Trevor!!!
Nah, gta is based on real human characteristics.
Facts 🤣🤣
More like GTA III or IV 🤣
I really hope this guy is doing okay. I wish the best for him
I heard he broke his leg
Jacke AHAHAH
He has his own TH-cam channel.
A Dog's Human There are two. Sugarman08 and Brooklyn Brad. Please like so people can see this.
@@jimboone6405 Wow. Who hurt you man?
I feel bad for him. Anyone who has to struggle breaks my heart.
This guy made over a million dollar in vending machines. He wasn't struggling he just never learned how to spend his money wisely. He was so far in debt that all he made went directly in bills. And he is still making bad business decisions as he now have more bills for product but not revenue as the product isn't selling. This is a fine example of a person who doesn't know when to let it go. The business lose sells long ago yet he keeps spending money on it as if vending machines are just as popular as the 90's/early 2000's.
You're so beautiful 😍💘
The man made a million dollars from selling toys & you feel bad for him? That's funny.
@@StraySigma I think she feels bad that he never go to see that million. But that is his fault.
Simp! I am one too tho 💝
This was extremely depressing.
Yea especially the last scene on the porch. "Ive been picking peoples pocket's my whole life". At first I thought it was funny then I started thinking about it. But then again I can't feel bad for him because hes such a New Yorker! He'll be fine.
He loves it
you're soft.
Its a shame to see someone at the end of there Dream, to still be clinging to the last remnants of your fallen Empire.....
At least he doesn't blame anyone else but himself.
He's like that Uncle your parents won't let you go visit
Christopher Robinson lol
Now I had to delete my comment when you’ve already made this.
Just like Creepy Uncle Joe
4:09 really gave that energy
I feel like a lot of youtubers may end up like this in the future...
why??
Because they either do this their entire life or start living off their careers and then they will have to wait for ten dollar cheques to pay their debts.
smh. why you guys want people to fail. it's a great because we need me people like you in this world.
mickymike1000 Look at Dcigs,nuff said.
They didn't borrow a bunch of money to start their business. Their investment was minimal. If they are any good at managing money they will still be better off than most people if their channel dries up. Worst case scenario they have to get a real job.
Never borrow money to start a business.
I’ve watched this 5 times in the last 6 years, and it never gets old. These were my childhood! Still have a bunch. When I’m a having a rough time I just look at them and brings back the good times.
These documentaries are amazing. All these people that seem to be pulled straight outta of a movie.
+JasminLeblanc you know that "outta" means 'out of"
+420sthedaytopray yeah they do what's your point ?
well said very dope
+420sthedaytopray I fucking hate grammar nazis like you, you knew what he meant. Just because it wasn't perfect, or aesthetically pleasing to see some slang, you felt inclined to make a witty comment about it, thinking you're clever when in reality it's just annoying and pathetic.
+420sthedaytopray dude chill out lol its the Internet not a dissertation. ... besides cheweacalyptus360errday
Technology was his down fall. Before cell phones, you could spend .25 or .50 to be entertained with a cheap bouncy ball. Now, you just play a game on your phone.
Yup. You used to see kids with those sticky slapping hands, or running around chasing a little bouncey ball. Now they're just zoned out on their iphones... at like 8 years old...
TooJ Kool ya true
TooJ Kool I'm 17 and used to buy all the bouncy balls until my parents got annoyed of me using them all the time.
The fucked up part is that you can actually download apps that let you bounce a ball. Lame.
Silo 101 I had those sticky hand things, my parents hated them because they would leave slime all over the walls! I'm a 90s kid and I loved the good old days before all this technology crap ruined the world.
This guy should start a collections agency. If he called me with that voice I'd have a certified check on his desk yesterday.
Lo
Hahahaha yea!!
this dude is joey diaz in another life
the broken leg line specifically
Had he never got sober and into comedy. This would be him 😂 stuck doing coke cigs and homies
Nice social distortion jacket.
I know right. As the internet's busiest music nerd I am surprised you have time to watch other videos.
God damn, Fantano! You're everywhere!
He is goddamn busy.
anthony seems once again we meet great minds
another reason not to listen to social distortion
Somebody give this guy a job doing something that involves commentary! This guy is hilarious and he's not even trying.
He needs to be a bartender. Great story teller.
+jdlocotxftw2002 I agree that would be a good too.
Anthony Durant he does the construction worker and buss driver voice on futurama.
It's also the raspy voice
It's Staten Island, they're a dime a dozen.
I want this guy to narrate my life
"eyy oh this f*ckin guy overere just sittin on the couch... just sittin with his empire of Doritos crumbs." end of narration.
@@j0m017 are you watching me?
lol
Fucking Jerk Off
Dont worry, in 20 years you won't be able to find many differences in your life
That's such a great line when he says: "I know exactly where I'm going, I just drew a blank on how to get there..."
i spent so much money on those damn Homies. Never got the clown or the one in a wheel chair. My Mom has one in her nativity scene at Christmas.
Lol I love your comment.
I want to like this comment, but it's at exactly 69 likes so I'm gunna leave it cuz its perfect
Damn id buy those if i ever seen one
when u say wheel chair do you mean willie g?
Nativity?
When i was in my 20's, i worked at a smoke shop. We had Homies in all the display cases with the smoking accessories. We even had our loyal customers adding Homies to our shop. Great times
I’m 20 and I’m in college for physics. I was kind of a nerd but I was doing my fair share of playing. I’m also from California and I have NEVER heard of these. Maybe it was because I was such a dainty little girl but these just went over my head
@@classykiwi4226 are u desperate for someone to talk to?? Just you gave your life story when when all you had to say was “I never heard of homies”....
sorry but no one wants to hear about how ‘dainty’ you were, what u r studying, where you live, what you enjoy doing etc etc (yes, you really did tell us all that crap!!).
I suggest you go make some friends.
@@JoJo-zx9sc yet here you r bitching go spread ur wings butterfly
You sound miserable 🤯,and Big mad 🤣😂, Who hurt you?
@@shaneanderson2978 we are all here though bud.... all commenting...
Give this man a show. He’s so entertaining and his voice is awesome.
Classic New Yawk accent
Illi Vee ...Thats the accent of an Italian New Yorker I love it 🥰
Hes been on youtube for years sugarman08
It’s crazy how times change & people get left behind
I feel more like they live off of past accomplishments
Well, that was depressing.
Andreas C. My thoughts exactly
Ya, that turned real quick, they should do a follow up.
Now im gonna feel guilty walking past those toy machines without buying one😂
Ana Lust never thought of it lmao
Fr
adriana g you do see hes completely tweaked out right now?
Lollll. Shit. I was thinking the same thing. And also. Maybe I should buy a few machines and have surprises in them. Kids love surprises
adriana g not... homie needs a real job like the rest of us
At about 7:50 "it's like taking money from a dead man's pocket over here" LOL he's the Tony soprano of the vending machines.
mr c hah that’s the one thing I did actually lol at
Vice I demand another 1 hour video talking about this guy, make a documentary about this guy.
I wanted to hit the like button, but I refuse to be the one to ruin your perfect 69, but ya they should.
“That’s Myrna, one of my distributors, I told her I broke my leg. You gotta tell people stuff.” 😂😂😂
Lol, he goes all out on his lies. Not ‘I have the flu’, or ‘I have a stomach bug’, but ‘I broke my leg.’ I’m cracking up.
Chris Moeller haha I know! 😂 so dramatic! That explains why he's broke! Maybe all his dishonesty caught up with him
claw kicker in 25 years
damiion666 you have to learn to get out of you're mom's first
Chris Moeller 😂
Dude is hilarious 😂
3:12 "I told her I broke my leg... you gotta tell people shit because you know what I mean?"
+Joseph Martano That was awesome lol
sounds like me
He's like the nicest guy you would never loan money to, buy a car from, or do business with
😹😹😹
I had a buddy like this lmao can't leave him alone in your house either 😂😂😂
If “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” was a person
Not at All the lesson, this is comparable to the drug game or even investing in stocks ,you HAVE to know when to pull out because NOTHING LASTS FOREVER. HAD HE JUST PULLED OUT AFTER HE MADE THAT KILLING AT THE PINNACLE OF POPULATITY IT WAS TINE TO START PULLING OUT ITS COMMON SENSE ESPECIALLY WITH FADS AND ANYTHING POPULAR ,RELATED AND TIED TO A CERTAIN ERA!🤯🤯🤯
this guy is like the bojack horseman of 25c machines
I wish they bring these back, I was 7 homies away from completing my collection .
+Benjamin Suh lmao
+Havok Sosa eBay you can find almost anything. ;-)
search on ebay
Commodorefan64 thanks, I will check it out😃😃
*juggalos are so lame, bro. take that fkn shit off ya face*
I kinda feel bad for him, I kinda don't. Like if the vending thing isn't working any more, then it's time to move on to something else more stable and profitable or get a job that can keep the bills paid. I agree, times have changed and kids really aren't into the vending machine stuff anymore. That's just the way things go. What's killing him is the fact he keeps trying to ride a dead horse into the sunset.
Tregeta he needs to make move it online. Or find a new gimmick to use in machines. I don’t even see those around much anymore
Tregeta it’s the MUSIC that is causing you to “feel bad” for him. The “Music Supervisor”, (the person who is in charge of choosing the type of music to invoke the desired emotional response.), the Music Supervisor is the one pulling your strings! If he wants you to have a bright outlook for the video, he chooses fast music in Major Keys!!!
I know what you mean. He's working hard, but he doesn't have the mindset he needs.
I mean, I would've diversified to mini rubiks cube or tiny little fidget spinners. Not even a single soda machine in sight. He seems like a good guy with some bad habits. But I can't help but like him anyway. Just a regretful man who didn't end up where he thought he would :/
Tregeta or he could just move to Japan where vending machines rule.
you ever had it all and lose it? hes not giving it up because hes made a fortune at one point ....hes chasing a high, same as a gambler
This guy just made me want to quit smoking cigarettes.
good idea
No continue smoking them! Even better after you hit the cocaine
I hate it when i have to breath other people's smoke that's coming from inside them.
He makes me want to start smoking cigarettes
You can tell half his profits went to cigarettes.
And the state of his face - Alcohol
And the state of his face - Alcohol
And other half to lung doctors.
I could watch him do pick ups for hours
Buck Tail Johnny's Lure Company yeah but it's depressing a little funny as hell tho
Deadass me 2
I want a show now
ME TOO
yea he can make money off of youtube instead and all he has to do is do daily vids of these depressing pick ups. I'd subscribe
Real Life Moe Szyslak from The Simpsons
More like Gil?
My brother literally had every single one every time we went to the mall he would buy $20 worth from the kiosk.. he was that mans best customer 😂😂
i wonder if vice paid him to give the interview or if he did it just for the kicks and free exposure.
Definitely paid. And also theres no such thing as bad press. That will always stand true
He’s a New Yorker he’s always gotta make money somehow
@@Badwowo lol did you see battlefront in the news earlier this year or how about Battlefield just recently , your statements not holding through
News and "docs" usually don't pay anything, nor do talk shows.
+Paul Grachan but that's an interview
So basically, this guy was eking out a living with vending machines for 8 years. He got lucky one year with somebody else's product and made a million bucks. He thought the gravy train would last forever, so he lived beyond his means and went into huge debt. The Homies craze was over within a year, and it was back to peanuts, only now with debts he still has not been able to pay off. This is a classic business mistake, and one a lot of people make. Colorful guy, and I have sympathy. However, he dug his own hole.
true. He didn't understand that the income the homies bringed wouldn't last forever and, as you said before, he dug his own hole
I certainly share the sentiment, though the reality is that in order for a business like this to thrive, constant expansion is required. It's basically the problem with capitalism. If you're not growing, you're shrinking. So, in order for this guy to do better than last month, he has to borrow to expand the number of machines. That requires significant capital. If he didn't expand aggressively as they were taking off, he would have never achieved the gross sales. You hear him talk about it all being gone by the time he paid off the debts.
The moral of the story is to not expand without a realistic 5-year projection which includes a decline in the range.
Ya, he should have sold toys that look like him so he would actually know what kids around him really wanted. The only kids in NM that would buy those were wannabes that thought having those made them seem gangster. Here, they were cool for the 1st 3 months or so but then those kids started getting made fun of by their actual gangster relatives.😆
AllegedPhilo lmao ??? U sure YOUR not the guy ur saying the original commenter is??? Lmfao guy said he broke his leg to one of his creditors to get out of paying?? Lol honest tradesmen right there
sounds like what an alien pretending to be a human would write
Give him a TV Show. I LOVE THIS GUY
Conor McGregor if you love him so much go move to Staten Island.. 80% of the men there talk and act like this... I promise after a week you will go back to where u came from...
Juan Rios Hahah maybe your right. This guy is really funny tho. It's been 2 months since my comment and I'd still love a TV show of this guy 😁
Weston Evans
Hes not expreasing himself thats what im saying. Hes being connor mcgreggor. The famous british cage fighter. Idk if you know.
Whatever facist is just dumb in that context. I said be yourself. Not better than yourself.
He probably passed away, unfortunately
Deleted ions I know what your saying but did u know 3 people died trying to make Connors solid gold watch
I miss the homies era. Good times. When going grocery shopping with the parents was fun
Hell ya man me too good times
I think all vending companies are in the same boat. Back in the 80's my friend's father had a huge vending company. They were doing very well. They are still doing well but they closed the vending company several years ago.
Things have just changed. When I was a kid in the 70s it was a big thing to get some change from mom and hit the vending machines. A quarter for a jawbreaker, a giant gun ball, or taking a chance on some random cheap toy was very exciting.
Nowadays, kids aren't as easily amused and fewer people pay with cash. If mom pays with a card, mom doesn't have a quarter for the machines. When moms all over the country aren't getting change, the kids quit asking and the habits change.
Maybe 2 years ago I gave my friend's daughter (about 8 yo) several quarters and told her to hit the gumball machines. lol She didn't know how to work a vending machine. I showed her how it works. She was a little irritated that she wasn't getting what she wanted. She looked up at me and said "can't we just go buy exactly what we want"? lol The culture has changed. The anticipation and excitement of the vending machine just totally eludes some kids nowadays.
Omg lol I bet you were like we'll it's not the same danmit 😆
Nowadays...
Parents pay 20 bux for a random inappropriate L.O.L DOLL
They were still "a thing" for anyone growing up in the 90s up to the early 2000s. In my early to mid childhood, I sort of remember them being something we did. Then it just stopped and nobody bothered. If I see a modern soda vending machine that doesn't have one of those credit card things, I don't even bother.
Soda machine outside Walmart was alwAys cheap and 🔥
i endlessly scroll through pointless and half baked comments searching for the one worth reading to release me from my never-ending search..... I found it...….. I can go home now.
Mexican kids made this guy soooo much money for them homiez
Sound Jam he ain’t being racist you dumb fuck
@Sound Jam dumbass look at his pic his name good chance hes got mexican in him dumbshit
@@dwoolaver1549 I would wager somewhere between great chance and most definitely.. lol
@Sound Jamway to white knight, there, buddy.
@@dwoolaver1549 he ain't no mexican lol but naa everybody made him money cause of the mexican lovee
It's so depressing yet hilarious at his reactions
it's not depressing at all. he's living his best life. everybody gotta work one way or another $$
@@tylergauthier7079 that is nobodies best life lmao
I feel nothing for this man. He knows he's a crook with nothing to offer and says it every 10 seconds. Sell them in dollar general and quit acting stupid. He could make board games with them if he wanted to, but he's just another lazy hustler.
@@nunyabidness2661 how's he a crook?
Nunya Bidness you very critical for nothing of this guy. He’s a crook because times are bad for him right now? Thats how the sale world rolls in case you didn’t know. And hes a lazy Hussler (time has aged away from that homie trend and because of his still deep passion for it it hasn’t dawn on him a good a now time strategy to replace it with a now trend)??? As far as I could tell that is a hard working man.
Obviously he is just stuck in how these homies made him rich and so it became his passion and think and trust that it still will keep putting up.
Instead of criticizing why don’t you help him with ideas or shut up?
“I told her I broke my leg. Gotta do things like that sometimes” in geeeeeeeked
I feel sorry for this guy. I am from NorCal, Homies were really big there in the early 2000's. It sounds like this guy could've made the gravy train last a lot longer if he'd made better business decisions, grow and adapt with his market, etc. I still have one particular Homies figurine. I found him many years ago in an old car in a wrecking yard in Reno Nevada. He is a typical Hispanic looking fellow with his hair slicked back, and wearing fancy clothes and a big smile, and is attached to a keychain. I thought he was cool so I stuck him in my pocket. When I got home I randomly attached the keychain to a hanging fruit basket in my kitchen, which is where he still is to this day. I have moved numerous times since then, and have not always used that basket. But I just moved again recently and hung the basket up again, and my little homie dude is still hanging out with my fruits.
While I agree he's clearly not a genius business tycoon, I would argue that the advent of the internet largely killed children's interest in toys in general, and in these toys specifically
damn that was a nice story
I also throw things in my pocket when going to junkyards
Bro I’m on a tail end of a acid trip and ur story slapped
Homies was featured in Lowrider Magazine. Both were created first in San Jose not Los Angeles.
I loved this episode of Vice. I love how you let your subject do the talking and didn’t even need to actually interview him. I mean that was his personality but it made for a great episode
This dude and Joey Diaz would be tremendous together hosting a podcast of NY/NJ life.
I fucking wish
I would pay money for this
Kinda feel bad for this dude... But he makes me laugh
+spikedias yeah dont feel too bad i mean he could've invested those millions or used them for a certification for a great job lol.
+GrexTheCrabasitor A fool and his money are soon parted... Guess that's just the way it is.
+GrexTheCrabasitor
He borrowed a lot to get to the point where he could vend the homies. And had to pay that all back.
But, like all fads, the well dried up pretty quick. So he was left with a grand total of jack shit.
Basically, the vending machines *WERE* the investment.
And the investment didn't pan out.
spikedias lmfao yea me too especially at the end. Hes trying so hard to hold his anger in its funny. But still sad how he used to make a killing and now he barely makes 40 dollars
Mr 4K GaMeR forget about it
Dude can earn a living doing voice acting. That pain is real.
give this man a show.... now
HoustonSongz right now ha ha
Idk why I come back and watch this every now and again.
His channel on TH-cam is back up and he is posting again
@@peteb9279What is it
His voice is that of a guy who has smoked Pall mall non-filters for 40 years
he blew all his money...now he's struggling to make $20 to pay his phone bill...sad
Rasheem Youmans Precisely! Now. He's old and disgruntled
He should of started investing his money into a new market.
Rasheem Youmans the american dream
Rasheem Youmans 😅😂😂"
He doesn't even have a smartphone so he just pays for calls haha
That Social Distortion jacket he had on was fire.
Wanted to hit the lie button but couldn't ruin the 69 likes
This guy needs to make complete box sets and sell them online. I bet there's a bunch of people out there that would buy them, especially in Japan.
Yea he could copyright that toy and start distributing it in a different way other than vending machines. But like he mentioned he’d probably have to most likely borrow money and get investors for it and in this snowflake day and age they would be looked at as racist or some bullshit. A lot of people liked the homies I remember how popular they were I used to get them too as a kid.
They should make a tv show about this guy
he could do with the money clearly.
Or a movie
I would watch the shit out of that
I honestly think kids just aren't that interested in toys like this anymore. The kids I know have become so singularly focused on technology, that a sticker or a small figure is of no value to them. I think a good idea would be to license stickers from popular mobile games and then include QR codes in the capsule for in-game items, health refills, etc. I think it would be good for both sides since it would bring kids back to the vending machines and also it would be advertising for the game.
but kids will always want candy
TFrills Yeah, candy will always sell, and I think that is why you have seen so many capsule machines change to candy. It is basically the lowest common denominator.
PBJ Well yeah, the entire idea would be for F2P games, which are the vast majority of the mobile games making money. The turn-around on making the vending machine product would be nothing. I can go get custom stickers printed by the thousand this evening, and that is most of what I see in capsule machines these days. I know there is more to it than just manufacture, but I don't see it taking a year. Plus, the teams that would be more likely to do a deal like this would be games that actually aren't popular yet. However, I do agree that it may not be worth it for the game developer. The idea would of course not be that they give away items that they sell for real money, but rather just be small, transient boosts (maybe +5 stamina to a game that uses a stamina bar that depletes as the player does actions). Stuff like that is very easy to develop. But would even making the deal be worth it? If it stayed small and local, probably not. And if they had to make separate deals with every capsule guy in every area, it would not be worth it.
TFrills true but parents give there kids bigger allowance they could just go to gas stations and buy a whole bag of candy and not just a handful for 25 cents
What happened to those tattoos with the gum or plastic containers with a toy and hardcandy
Sad to see him desperately hustle. Much respect for still maintaining his game.
Why? He was a millionaire
He’s still chasing that ‘high’ from the Homies days clearly. He knew it was a bust. He just won’t stop. It’s an addiction for sure...
Well said.Case solved
You would be to so don't talk down on people niggas like you act they above everyone else cause they open their mouths
"We been picking the pockets of little kids across the country for the last 18 years!!
CLASSIC!!!
😂😂😂😂
He should get them made into Funko POPS.
Elisa Bidwell this could actually work! Damn hopefully this gets more likes soon
Genius idea!!
Genius!
Elisa Bidwell Someone write to the old bastard
Ill buy that, and i dont even own 1 Funko lol.
Two things I learned from all of this. This man loves Pall Mall Reds and Social Distortion.
Rj Hucker and likes smoking
well y eah thats why i said he likes pall mall reds bro
Rj Hucker oh shit I didn’t pay attention to the first thing you said lol
But don't we all?
Social D is fucking awesome!!!
That black machine at the end used to be my favorite machine back then it used to have these sick gun keychains
That guy is too hilarious! They should make a movie about his life call it A Fistful of Quarters
Fucking brilliant
Time to get that production company going!
already been made Google it
These were around when I was REALLY little! I remember going to my local food store when I was like 7 and getting a vicious-looking rottweiler. Still have it to this day.
Were the mean dog ones homies too? Or were they two different things
@@earthwerm I think they're the same things
haha i have two!! the wheelchair guy and another one 😂😂
i still have the dude with the American flag behind him with an M16 i always thought it was cool
how about replace the homies with Hipsters? Since they replaced them in real life in neighborhoods out here on the west coast.
facts fuck a hipster
frrrr 😂
B. Richard Salas oh shit you're on to somethin there lol. I would collect "hipsters"
this makes no sense
Fuck yes! Great idea bro!
As a teenager from Missouri I collected Homies, displayed them on the dashboard of my first car 😊
Title should be "I blew millions of quarters on blow"
😄👍
Mitch Williams 😂
“I blew millions of quarters on anime girl figures”
@@nickperez915 anime girls could potentially save his vending machine business.
j idk and just add Contactless payment to them instead of quarters and it´s golden. no more going around collecting the money either and no more stealing the stuff, money would come straight to bank account. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contactless_payment
omg this is depressing. Hope he's doing ok. Especially now since I never carry cash on me.
This guy is like a videogame character. The way he talks, the car he drives, everything.
"If you can see humor in even your own tragedy you have been given a great gift." - brian padrick drak e
Listening to him say “CAHCKSUKHAS” at the end was beautiful
He really felt that word
Vice's oddball documentaries are always my favorite. So interesting.
+Ian Reed You should check out Louis Theroux, he's with the BBC and does the best oddball docs out there.
SUGARMAN you oughta do current rappers past & present figurines . That would do well
He would need a licensing agreement plus he doesn't make the toys he just buys wholesale and resells them in his machines.
I think it's because the homie producers stopped selling them.
yeah rappers would kill
Yea but like half rapper half animal type homies like s tekashi 69 rat.
I remember getting these when we were younger they were so cool . I had the Low rider car that hoped up and down and the poster in my room of all of them . Man those were the times that the simple things made you happy .
2:36 this straight up felt like a scene from a movie and I love it.