Jason McElwee - Interview

In this interview, I had the great honor to interview Jason McElwee. He's a great friend of mine who has been with me through many highs and lows. He's always been a man that I can rely on when I require support or encouragement. I hope that in reading this, you're able to be built up by him in the same way that he has done many times for me. 

Truly a man after God's own heart. Enjoy.

You've probably seen me ask this to a few other people, and I've had some interesting answers, so now I direct it to you. I saw a Hot Ones interview featuring Tyra Banks where she talked about having students in a marketing class identify their personal brands. With that in mind, what is the "Jason McElwee" brand?

Oh... that's a good one. I've seen that Hot Ones, and every time Sean asks a good question I think, "Whoa! That's good, I'd never think to ask that." Hmm, Jason McElwee brand. It's honestly everything you see. There's not a whole lot in life you can choose to be. There are things you can try to be, for sure. One of the easiest things you can choose to be is genuine. Just be your authentic self to people. It's very hard to be the same person behind closed doors when it's just you. That's something I choose to be. When you see me, you know that's who I am. A lot of people think that I am a very fake person. I come off fake because of how genuine and kind I try to be. That's what I think my brand is: being loving, wholesome, and genuine. It's really hard to find dependable people nowadays. I think people hate being predictable because it's "boring", but I think dependable and somewhat predictable people are the most important to have when life gets rocky because you know you can count on them. 

Well, that's interesting. I kinda had a similar experience. When I first met you I thought to myself, "I refuse to believe someone this happy can possibly exist.", but, lo and behold, a short time later I found myself thinking, "I really want to hang out with that Jason guy, he's awesome." So that leads me to this question: Pretty much everyone I have asked attests to the fact that you have a very positive outlook on life, is that automatic for you, or do you have to work to be that optimistic?

*laughs* Well, I haven't always been this optimistic. At a very early age, something happened at my church. I was homeschooled, so my church was a very significant part of my life. Pretty much all of my closest friends left my church and we just lost contact. There was a solid 6 years where I had basically no close friends. That changed me a lot. Developing a positive outlook came out of knowing how much life sucked without good friends around me. That forced me to mature a bit earlier and find out where my priorities lied. As I grew, I realized how important friends were. I went through some pretty sucky times. That time and right out of high school. Right out of high school, I fell into a deep, 2-year long depression. I was low. I had to remember that no matter what, God's got me. In retrospect, a lot of things feel worse in the moment than they actually are. In many cases, if you work through it and come out on the other end, you can find a positive outlook. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. 

So you mention, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." and that's a pretty popular quote. That makes me think of your Twitter trend of posting a motivational quote almost every day for a good while. Is there a reason for that?

Not really. On January 1, 2020, I decided to post a picture of myself, because I don't do that terribly often. I also decided to post a quote I really liked. I couldn't tell you what it was. The next day, I decided to do it again. I happened to do it at the same time as the previous day, so I decided to just start doing that. Some of them have been dumb or whatever, and some haven't been particularly famous. I've posted quotes my dad has said, I've posted Keith Carl quotes. That guy knows his stuff. I feel like my posting of these quotes is the most annoying thing in the world. Maybe not quite as annoying as Zach Carl's "Near-Mint Air Force One's", but pretty close.

Of the quotes you've used so far, do you have a favorite?

Hmm, no not really. They're all pretty good. There's nothing that I've found that seems to rise above the others. They all have their place, depending on what you're looking for. 

In that same vane, with this theme of inspirational quotes, I wanna hit you with some you haven't posted, just to get your snap reaction to them, also in case you're looking for ideas, haha.

Hit me, let's go.

"Friends come and go, but banners hang forever" -Kobe Bryant

Hmm. Well, he was a very diligent person. You can see that in the way he raised his kids. His kids accomplished so much and that could only be done with the guidance of great parents. I think there's something to: "What you do in life can leave more of an imprint than the people you interacted with." I'm not sure if I fully subscribe to that, but I can see some wisdom in that. 

"A man who views the world at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life." Muhammad Ali

I agree with that, absolutely. It's good to have a solid foundation and basis on how you view things, but if you're not growing and having perspective shifts as you grow, that does seem like time wasted. 30 years is a long time. Neither of us has even been alive for 30 years. Perspectives and life experiences should change you as you grow. Let's say you were gonna hold to your Ultra-Conservative Christian views and be a KJV-only Christian your whole life, even then, with all of that unwavering, your view of just Christianity should shift and, dare I say, evolve. Yeah, I like that quote a lot. 

"My greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live." -Kanye West

Hahaha, I like Kanye a lot, I really do. I know he gets a lot of hate, and some of that, I think, comes from him trying to innovate and be philosophical. I respect the effort and energy he puts toward anything. In one of his most critically-acclaimed albums, he sang while his mouth was wired shut, which shows a ton of dedication and ability to think outside the box. That quote is classic Kanye. I don't really agree, because I'm not that egocentric, but that is classic Kanye. 

"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." -The Dalai Lama

Yeah. Yes, absolutely. Love it. I think that's one thing that is really hard for some people to get. Being kind is really easy. It's not that hard to deny yourself that small release or rage to just be kind to people. There's a quote I am about to butcher that says, "The joy of 1 win is equal to the pain of 1,000 losses." The idea is that you remember when people are mean to you, but you often forget when people are nice to you, like out of the way levels of nice even. I try to empathize as much as possible. I just want to be nice to people, because I know how that feels. I really love that there are wise people from other faiths like the Dalai Lama. 

"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything." -Malcolm X

Yeah. That's 100% true. I think that's a rampant issue today. People are so quick to compromise their beliefs and morals for the sake of fitting in with the assumed status quo. People want to not make waves. I think that it's very important to know what you're willing to stand for. You can't compromise on your closest-held beliefs. If you just let everything slide and just want to exist, having no hard opinions on anything... I don't know about that, man.

"How can mirrors be real if our eyes aren't real." -Jaden Smith

Haha, I've actually thought of that quote a lot. I think he was kind of joking. If you look at Jaden Smith's career, he's tried to wax poetic to carve his own path. He could have easily been a carbon copy of Will Smith and we would have all, collectively let that happen. We would all be tuning in to "Fresh Prince 2: A New King In Town", but he wanted to be his own person. He really has done that. I think he was trying to say something that sounds wise to make people think, "Whoa! Are our eyes real? Are mirrors real? I haven't touched a mirror in a while." So you go to your bathroom and touch your mirror. Make sure it's not one of those trick mirrors by looking at your finger. It's kind of a stupid quote, but it's fun. 

"Creativity is intelligence having fun." -Albert Einstein

That's that Jaden Smith quote. Albert Einstein was a goofy guy. To think and maximize the limits of your brain requires the use of all of it, not just the so-called left brain. I think those two quotes go together quite well, who would have thought that Jaden Smith and Albert Einstein quotes would compliment each other?

So, I wanna take a second to talk about your family. I know every family is different, but do you see any interesting or unique patterns/traditions in your family that you might not see in other places?

Well, there's something my dad kinda spurned on. Scott McElwee is a very wise man, but he does goof off occasionally. When we were younger, he would kind of throw himself into whatever we were interested in, and what that has manifested as is us just quoting the same movies to each other for what will probably be until the end of time. Julia will be walking around the house, and this annoys me a lot, and she'll just talk like Sid from Ice Age, and it is unending. My dad is also just goofy like I said. When I was younger, I used to use the word "basically" a lot. Now whenever I say it to my dad, he says it with a goofy voice and pretends to push up glasses. I've never worn glasses in my life, he's just making fun of me. Also, my family is very individualistic and we all have our own things, but we are still able to be a unit, and I have always really liked that. These are all things that I'm sure other families do, but I just never see it. 

If 17-year old Jason could see you, would they consider you successful?

Well, if 17-year old Jason saw me, I imagine he would think, "Wow, I really hoped we would have gotten taller by then..." I think he would understand. I don't even know if I would consider myself successful yet. I'm definitely paying my dues and I'm on that grind to getting successful. I think 17-year old me would see me as doing great. Maybe I didn't graduate college as fast as I wanted to, and maybe I didn't marry a woman when I thought I might have. As far as the road map, I wanted to be an architect when I was 17. I think people our age are losing those delusions of grandeur. We're starting to realize what really makes a good life. Good people, diligent work, and some of those "small rocks" are still very important. So, I think 17-year old Jason would be very shocked, but proud... and then we'd kiss. Sorry, I gotta say it. If I met a future version of myself, I would. It's not weird, cuz it's just me. I'd be the only person that could say, "Yeah, I kiss myself. What of it?"

What of it? Like you're trying to justify it to someone?

Yeah no, they're weird for asking and doubting me. 

*laughs* That is hilarious... All right, moving on. I know in your professional life, you've delved into the food delivery space. Do you have any weird or interesting stories or is it all just normal?

Well, I can't give specifics on where, but I've been held up for my food cargo before. With a gun and everything. I've delivered to places that I was sure were drug nests. I've delivered to an illegal casino that resides somewhere near the area you and I are speaking right now. (Jason looked at my shocked expression) I guess that last one's the juiciest. To deliver to that place, I had to get past a doorman and a secretary with a magnetized locked door. That was really weird, because the whole place looked super sketchy. When I got into the place to deliver to my client, there were tons of slot machines and other gambling things. I mean, I could care less. What are we, like 150 miles from places like Coushatta? If it's happening there and it's happening here, what's the big difference? Another juicy thing was this: A woman, who looked to be in our age range, so early to mid 20s, answer the door naked. She didn't say or do anything, and neither did I, I just gave her the food and said "Have a nice day" and left. That was a weird day. I've had some clients keep my number after all business has been done, and try to like slide in my DMs, so to speak. Those are the juicy stories. 

Wow, that is way more interesting than I was expecting. Well, in the same vane of interesting people: in June of 2016 you tweeted, "Bro, my professor straight up sounds like Gru." Do you remember anything about that class?

Yeah. Was that 2016? Interestingly enough, that professor was a really great guy. Honestly one of my favorite professors. As far as credit to college professors go, his English was pretty good. He just also had a very thick Turkish accent. Funnily enough, my current professor, who is also the chair of my department, because I am far enough along in my degree plan, he's my main professor and homie. He's my favorite professor. He makes all the classes, even the boring Computer Science classes, super fun and interesting. He also talks a lot of trash on other professors, so we find out all the good tea, so to speak. He sounds even more like Gru than that 2016 professor. There's a programming language called Miranda, and there's also a girl in the class named Miranda. Every time we talk about it, he always says "Miranda!" kinda loud and really leans into his accent. He's the sweetest guy and he really cares about his students. I love him. Something about Lamar and Gru-sounding professors I guess. 

I know you're also a fan of music, so I want to hit you with some pairs of artists, and you'll need to choose which one you like more.

Let's do it. Shoutout to all the "pairs", haha. That's a Gucci Mane quote for all the listeners at home.

Well, readers, but whatever, haha. Let's do this first pair: Elevation // Hillsong

Hillsong. They've bee there throughout my entire life. I know some people find their theology controversial, but they've got a really wide library and every church almost ever has probably played a song of theirs at some point. What else you got?

Mumford & Sons // The Paper Kites

Hmm, I love Mumford & Sons but their recent albums have kind of been a fall from grace for me. Paper Kites are really solid, but so many of their songs blend together, which is fine, it's good to have a distinct sound. I gotta go with Mumford on this one because even though they sound folk-ish all the time, they have more variety and they have better energy. Even though their last album sucked. There was one album, I'm not gonna pretend to know which, but it was the one where they went electric, and that was their big schtick, that was a great album. Straight banger. 

The Killers // Paramore

*long sigh* You're hurting me, you know that right? See, here's the thing: The Killers have done more for society than Paramore. That's probably controversial but think about it; The Killers are huge, they were the mastermind behind "Mr. Brightside" for goodness' sake. They've put out some great music. All their songs that more people might not know are amazing. One of their songs, that I think I like more than "Mr. Brightside" is "Miss Atomic Bomb". It really gives me some awesome 2012-2013 vibes that nothing else really gives me. I love Paramore, all their albums are very near and dear to my heart. Hayley Williams is the only performer I've held the hand of in concert. I've never done that with anyone else. I was crowdsurfing at one of their concerts right after they put out their Self-Titled record. That is a very cherished moment in my heart, but I think Hayley would understand me choosing The Killers. 

Mac Miller // Logic

Mac Miller. I consider him a way better person. He is one of my inspirations for trying to be happy in life even when it's hard. Obviously, we know from his story that it can be too much for you. Even some of his oldest songs. I really like his really old song "Knock Knock". He always deserved better. Logic, he did the world a service by putting out 1-800. The man just destroyed his own career by not shutting up about the fact that he's biracial. That's awesome that he is and that he's proud of that, but no one cared, and he leaned on that way too much. He's got some camp counselor, cheesy lines. Mac Miller on the other hand, yeah he has some songs that I'm not gonna show to my parents, but his music is just good for the soul. 

Post Malone // Childish Gambino

Ooh, that's a tough one. For me, Childish Gambino. Just because I have the utmost respect for Donald Glover. However, if I'm gonna be in a car with a bunch of people, and I wanna put on some road trip music, Post Malone. So, for me: Childish Gambino. For everybody: Post Malone. Whenever I think about weighing those, "Redbone" by Childish Gambino was my most listened to song on Spotify for 3 years straight. I kinda have to choose him. I think if I met either of them, I'd be really good friends with them. Donald Glover though, look at his career, he's been a Writer, Producer, Director, Actor, Comedian, Musician, he can do it all. So, in closing, both. 

The Midnight // Twenty One Pilots

The Midnight is still sort of up and coming. They have such a niche vibe. They're great background music. I'll put them on if I'm streaming, studying, driving, whatever, they'll be on in the background. Like I said earlier, I went through a bad 2-year depression and Twenty One Pilots was there. Say what you will about their writing, songs, or whatever, but that doesn't change how their music was there for me when I was at my lowest. They know how to nurture that depressive state of mind.

In the same vane of music, I know you're also an avid gamer; Is there a video game whose original music you particularly like?

Oh, wow, yes. A lot of them. Music for video games can be varied. You can have world-building essence, or you can have a soundtrack. If you wanna talk about soundtracks, think of the first three "Tony Hawk: Pro Skater" games. Those soundtracks are super fun. In a similar vane, "MX Unleashed", it was just a Motor-cross game, but it had a punch of Punk Rock and Metal, it was awesome. Now, if we're talking world-building amazingness, I think of the greats. I think of Skyrim, Hotline Miami, Hollow Knight. Just in essence. As far as personal favorites, there's one. It's a great game in my eyes, but I don't know if everyone would say it's a great game. Not a lot of people liked it, but there's this game that has always resonated with me called "Ratchet & Clank" They were one of those mascot games. Mascot games, you have Mario, Sonic, Spyro, Kratos (kind of), Sly the Racoon, Jak & Daxter, Crash Bandicoot, and then you had Ratchet & Clank. All of those companies loved each other back in the day. Old School Ratchet & Clank on the PlayStation 2 had this gnarly exploration and mystery feel to its music. It also had some kind of space funk, because it's technological and stuff. It's just fun for me. 

While we're talking about games, I know you and I have talked about Pokémon a fair bit in the past; which Generation is the best?

Oh! So, I have a weird perspective on Pokémon, because as we Christians know (this is fully a joke for the readers) Pokémon is of the devil and is witchcraft and it will make your children summon demons. So, as a result, I wasn't allowed to play Pokémon growing up until I was old enough to buy it myself. My first Pokémon game was "X & Y" in 2013. So I have a huge attachment to my Froakie. I have to say the best generation though is Ruby & Sapphire. They're so great, and amazing. Which Generation was that?

That was Hoenn, 3rd Generation. That was my first game. My brother downloaded an emulator on my family computer and I played "Emerald Version" on that when I was very young.

Oh, don't tell Sharon [my mom], she'll be mad. I really liked the New Generation though. If they had put the full PokéDex into "Sword & Shield" and made it a bit bigger of a world, I think that would have made it perfect. It's just small enough for me to not want to get into it, though. It is really fun though. It's the first generation where I can fulfill my childhood dream of having a full Shiny team. They're not very strong, but I love them.

So, I saw on Twitter that both you and I have read "Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer, do you have any particular takeaways from that book?

That book is written by a man who is way smarter and wiser than me. You can ask my good friend Sam Beard, who lent me the book. I've had to re-read that book about 5 times. I don't think I was wise enough to really understand it. Anything I try to pull away, I don't think I will really be proud of in the future. I've learned so much from that book, but I don't think I could expound upon it. I consider myself a well-read Christian because I did A Beka Homeschooling and they have a lot of Bible-centric classes. I feel like I've had a good foundation and good teaching to identify sound doctrine, but Knowledge of the Holy is such a "meat-and-potatoes" book. Like, if you claim to fully understand that book, I have a tough time believing that. That's not to deify Tozer by any means. I can't say anything for sure about that book, cuz I could easily have a different revelation that completely changes the nature of that first one.

I know some people accuse Tozer of being a mystic, and say that he has to have some sort of special revelation or divine connection that other Christians don't have in order to have the ideas he does. A.W. Tozer apparently responded to this accusation saying something along the lines of, "If an angel came to me and told me something that I did not see in the Bible, I would say, 'Have a nice day.'"

I can totally believe that he said that. He's just a very solid guy. His writing has really elevated my view of God. Definitely.

-END-

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