Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aaron Gall. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Aaron, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

Hands down it was David Hazelmyer. He was owner of a bar I worked at. From the first day I worked there till he sold the place, I never knew if he was going to crack me in the nuts or buy me a drink.

He was about 5’7 bald with white hair on the sides, thick not fat, he had these hardened worker hands and came from the later era of steel salesmen boom. He had a powerful voice without having to yell, though he did whenever I’d accidentally pour a drink on him. Supposedly he had lunch at the Machus Red Fox Restaurant the day Hoffa disappeared (July 30, 1975). To this day I’m not sure if he was bullshitting me or not. But, I don’t really care.

For over 6 years we spent 3 days a week from 11am-6pm basically just talking amongst eachother and the regulars. I’m 41 now so maybe it’s my memory but, I can’t remember anything specific about any of those conversations. But, I can remember everytime someone farted soo hard that we had to evacuate the bar itself.

One line I remember was “you never fuck with a man’s pride”. Which came to me one day after I prank called a regular who called himself “The Colonel “. He was a funny guy but, he liked to make up stories about diseases/ailments/and awards he didn’t have. So the prank was that I’d act like I was from a a raffle that had access to everyone’s medical records and he’s the worse case we’d ever seen so we’re going to send him a scooter. Around 1pm that afternoon he bursted into the bar yelling “I won a scooter! I WON THE SCOOT SCOOT!!” Everyone in the bar exploded into laughter, which The Colonel misinterpreted as everyone cheering for him. Dave finished his coffee and went to drop off last night’s bank. After everyone calmed down, he explained his new fiscal situation to a group of men who were secretly controlling another outburst, and growing painfully beet red.

The Colonel left, and of course everyone went wild again. As the afternoon grew longer Colonel would call the bar to give us scooter updates and how he’s won yet another scooter. I hadn’t made a call outside of the first prank so it had to be that other people had been calling him with new scooter news and raffles.

Dave had returned and all was quiet for the last hour of my shift when all of a sudden The Colonel walked back into the bar, he was wasted from an afternoon spent celebrating endless scooter wins. I saw this had gone way too far so, I ran into the kitchen as the Scooter Raffle to tell him there was a mix up and he’ll get a giftcard to a steakhouse (I didn’t know he had broken his dentures). Welp, I made the call and although disappointed he agreed to the giftcard.

After I left for home I received a call from Dave “why shouldn’t I fire you right now?”. I explained how it got out of hand, and how I’m buying him a giftcard…etc. He really could’ve iced my ass but, he didn’t and when Inshowed up to work the next day he left me with “you don’t Fuck with a man’s pride”. Which sometimes (to me) means that pride is in little ways an uncontrollable sponge, that man shouldn’t blindly attach his worth to trends. Self and external.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I make art, run a non profit, make music, and videos all on my phone.

I used to be bartender and although I loved it, I wanted something more than just working. So, after I got tireless and repeatedly fired I started buying warm blankets and clothes and just giving them out to the homeless. But, I was running out of money and behind on rent.

So, I decided to make a break for it, I figured as a kid I could draw and do a little music so, I figured I’d figure out how to do something with those traits. I spent a month on YouTube tutorials and wikihows. Not before long a friend of mine Sarah noticed how I was posting the arts and invited me to an art fair. I sold close to around 100 prints and ink paintings so, I decided to do a ton more art fairs. But, since those went from nuts to butts great or total ghost towns, I needed stability. From that I decided to compartmentalize my life, by making my phone a walking studio. I found an art program and then decided to only make internet arts and videos…etc.

Nowadays, I’ve developed a few derivative art styles that I love to use and now I can help out with more outreach and grassroot movements.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Don’t buy crap you don’t like. Also, if you see someone posting more selfies than art, don’t ask them out on a date.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Yeah! Listen and learn from people before they start fighting.  

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Aaron_leonard_gall
• Twitter: Gallleonard
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@uppercutgrandma4425