Doberman Lifespan, and the Dog That Saved His Life

Cameron MainPaulo

PauloHey

Cameron MainThank you for accommodating us in your beautiful beautiful setting here

PauloThank you

Cameron MainIt's gonna be back in the sun could be with some art in the background as well yeah

PauloYeah yeah

Cameron MainOne of my favorite pieces just behind the eye

PauloYeah it's a beautiful piece uh It's very releasing. It gives you freedom. That's the intention behind it actually. We're just so tied up to life and society and things. And a lot of my work is about finding who you really are, finding your own true voice and making sure that you're aligned with. You know, with your own purpose and not what everybody else has told you your purpose should be. And that I is actually the pinnacle of that whole idea, like being able to realize that you're entrapped and freeing yourself from that society parroting or like, you know, those walls that are built that are illusions.

Cameron MainAnd I mean, this is, again, a bit of a theme of what's been going on with us. And one of the reasons we're so happy to be doing what we're doing on this trip around is we get to meet all these absolutely incredible people. And it's all through dogs. I mean, we would probably never have crossed paths if it weren't for these four-legged friends, which we're very, very grateful for. So it's, I mean, we talked a little bit before about how they inspire you and how they, I guess... What an impact they've had on your life

PauloYeah

Cameron MainUm and for you it's it's probably more than most people get to experience as well

PauloOh I would I don't know if it's more but uh certainly different um for me these dogs came Like everything in my life. It's like I have this guardian angel over my shoulder and it's always dictating where I should go. And whenever I'm thinking too much, I'm not paying attention. I'm just crashing against all these walls. But when I just flow with it, it just happens. And like these dogs kind of landed in my lap, you know. There was nothing planned. I didn't expect to have this lifestyle. But thankfully, thanks to them, that lifestyle has given me more life, has extended my life. I don't know if I would even be here if it wasn't for them.

Cameron MainThey really protected you through a lot of different things.

PauloFunny enough, they don't protect me when somebody's threatening me in person. They all hide behind me because they're cowards. As opposed to, I guess, what people expect. Dobermans are wusses, you know? They're just not... They protect my partner or any female, you know, but me, I'm their protector. But in other ways, I need protecting as well. And that never comes from outside. You have to learn to love yourself enough to protect your own self. And I've struggled with that throughout my whole life. I'm learning to love myself still now at age 40 plus. And these dogs have set a standard and have helped me through things. And now they're the reason I do anything. If I want to buy a car, I think of their space. If I want to get a house, the yard is first. I don't care about the size of my room. I do because they sleep with me. But, you know, other than that, like, it's all for them. I wish they would live longer than me and I could leave them like if we were children. And uh I would do anything to extend their life so that we all go together someday you know and not like one by one you know

Cameron MainI guess that's a big reason why we're talking as well is that's our as you know like chris and I with vitadog that is our absolute number one objective it's it really is longevity and getting many, many more years, but also better years towards the end. Exactly. Because a lot of dogs will, you know, they'll get to what I guess their expected lifespan is, but how healthy are those last years?

PauloRight. Especially like large breeds, I've noticed the little dogs, they live, my mom's dog lived to 22. And they had to put her down because she was suffering at that point. But she was still going. But any large dog, it's like they have hip dysplasia or issues with their joints or things like that. And from what I understand, this is exactly what you guys are trying to fix, which is beautiful. I can't wait. I'm blessed that my 10-year-old, almost 10-year-old, is able to jump into my truck and jump out and hike and do all these things that I've seen other 9-year-old dogs that are not there. But I think it's about the love and the relationship we have. For many years, I would work... From home and 24 hours with the dogs, 24 hours. I would go to dinner occasionally and I canceled all my, I lost a lot of my friends. Well, quote unquote friends. The friends' friends I still have, but those other ones are gone because I never participated. Like, oh, it's someone's birthday? Send you a text message because I would just want to go hiking with my dogs, you know? It's become a dog life.

Cameron MainYeah, they'd better send you multiple invitations if you're going to show up.

PauloYeah, and reminders.

Cameron MainYeah.

PauloAnd let my dogs come.

Cameron MainYeah.

Chris NobleThey're all super healthy looking and they're full of energy.

PauloYeah.

Chris NobleAre you quite active with them in their lifestyle?

PauloSometimes. I need to rest as well. And like on my days off, I have to take a minute and a beat. But yeah, no, we often hike a lot, two or three times a week at least. Go on trips for the dogs we're planning to go take them to the snow because three of them haven't seen it before so we're carrie my partner she's like a big time skier so we're like oh we're going skiing and you're gonna watch the dogs and I'm like yes let's go so we're planning to take them to mammoth or somewhere for a few days in christmas to like experience everything everything is a road trip everything is how do we do with the dogs they're coming you know I've gone to colombia to see my parents and I've tried to figure out how to take at least one of them you know everywhere I go I want to go with them you know

Chris NobleYou mentioned carrie there the reason that you met carrie was because of the dogs

PauloRight we met at uh in our neighborhood like all these parks uh we moved since but um yeah we during the pandemic A lot of people got dogs and like towards the end of that, I started seeing Carrie walking Callie around the neighborhood and I would let her play with Poi and Emmy. And we just became really close friends. And later that year, Poi had kids and Carrie was there to clean up after them and be a part of that. And they're her babies too, you know. So now we have two kids in common. It was beautiful because she has this thing with kids and with dogs that I haven't seen in any other human. I've met so many dog people. I've trained a lot of dogs for friends and things like that because I've trained mine for film and I've done it myself. They're not the best trained, but they do everything I say, luckily. I've just been interacting with this for a long time, and I've never met anybody that's so dedicated and so loving. She really treats them as children. I know people laugh about that, especially in California. Other states are like, you can't treat dogs like kids. They're not the same thing. But for those of us who don't have kids, this is... The best thing that could happen if you really want it to be you know like I feel like her and I we live our lives for the dogs and with them and not like we live our lives and the dogs are just like a souvenir that we have at home and like uh you know they just need to be walked and fed and that's it no it's like we know their personalities we know what they want what they're saying We communicate, we ask them questions, they answer. Their eyes change, their tails change. And just being able to pay attention to that and seeing somebody else that does that too has been really a blessing.

Cameron MainAnd it's so much so the case for you that you decided to create DolbyWood.

PauloYeah. I don't know. How can you not? The amount of attention and everything that they get is unreal. We get stopped. We can't walk more than three or four blocks without somebody asking about them. And we go hiking. We normally get stopped and the dogs keep going because people are just asking about the dogs all the time. Why not use that to create a platform that... We can help other dogs with. Carrie and I and other friends have talked about all these possibilities of being able to help dogs and dog owners especially because again that relationship of treating them like children is kind of silly. If you think about it in the greater scope of things and with the world and how things are, that's the least of somebody's worries, quote unquote. But it's also your life. It's like at the root of your home, like they're there and they're supporting you emotionally, like not financially. But why not you know uh they don't need to support you but if they can help themselves and help other dogs and as long as it's ethical and like we don't overwork them or anything like that they're in photo shoots and they're in all sorts of different things they love it they love the attention they love the cameras they love the people they work with I've never had a shoot or something where the dogs clearly weren't comfortable or wanted to leave um And I think that gives them a little bit of a change in their pace too, right? Like doing this with you guys here, they're not expecting this. They're just being themselves and doing their thing. And how can we not? You know, Dobby Wood is all about helping a community of people that want to have or sometimes even need to have a dog in their life to help them like myself. And I wish I would have had the Adobe Wood to go to and get help from back then. So it's a work in progress and it's a big dream with a lot of ideas that are just slowly coming to fruition. Again, it's all about helping the doggies, you know.

Cameron MainAnd can you tell everyone exactly what it is so that they understand the vision?

PauloWell, the vision I have, the explanation is a work in progress.

Cameron MainJust like any piece of art.

PauloExactly. I mean, honestly, the way that I create my art is like it creates itself using my hand. You know, I have a vision and I let whatever talents my hand has acquired over the years... Trans transfer onto the piece the same way like all the types of businesses and things that I've done in my life have led me to a point where I understand not the intricacies because you should hire someone for those but the main idea at least I can get and the dobby wood is It's focused on larger dogs because for a minute I wanted to dress my dogs up for Halloween or get them a cool jacket or something silly and I couldn't find anything. So I was like, well, I kept purchasing all these items and not being able to be happy with the quality or the results. Okay, that's where Dobby Wood started. Okay, let's create a dog brand for hoodies and clothing. And then like, well, we should do leashes too. And then thinking back in my youth and growing up in Colombia and Argentina and being from an Argentinian descent, there was gauchos in my family. And we want to incorporate all these like... Quote-unquote western cowboy feels which work really well with dogs because I mean they're using them for horses these are literally smaller horses

Cameron MainThese guys are almost

PauloI've seen kids ride poi you know so uh we don't let it happen often because it's back but

Cameron MainVery little kids

PauloBut very little kids um but yeah so bringing the roots and and the artisanal like flavor of uh culture that's kind of unknown here would be beautiful and helping people there that are like struggling uh to create these pieces for us in leather like these braided beautiful leashes and collars and uh also like having four dogs which is my case five now with carrie's callie um how do you hold five leashes so we're designing a leash that you can add multiple things to one single handle and that they don't tangle each other it's quite challenging but it it works and it's it's a you know it's part of the whole dobby wood um idea like at some point I had this this I designed this leash that is three different sizes in one so if I wanted to go into a shop I would shorten the leash and then I had more control of the dog but then I want to go to rodeo drive and walk around with beautiful people and the leash is beautiful and pristine it's a little longer and now if we're hiking it's like 12 feet long so It's the same, you know, you're being practical, not having to have a collection of leashes, but have one that will actually do everything for you. And if you have multiple dogs, figure out how to walk them and do things like that. That was the main objective. But then toys, they're shredding all these toys. The beds, they're shredding all the beds, especially when they're puppies. There's there is tough resistant beautiful products out there for dogs that are larger but they're usually just sold in chewy or whatever for you don't know what you're purchasing until you get there there's not that I've noticed is not a specialized place for this so we want to create this uh shop where you can purchase all these items specially made for large dogs and have these companies support in a way or donate things you know and we want to help pounds and rescues and training programs and things like that so that people have more access to them because it's uh it is a business and it's great If you are the one owning the business, but as a customer, it's difficult to pay all these very high prices for training or for products and things like that. Especially if you're not that close with your dog, but you have one. They still deserve a great life, and you still deserve the chance to be able to give them that without having to sacrifice your comfort or your life or whatever lifestyle you choose to have.

Cameron MainAnd you mentioned there when you're walking down Rodeo Drive... Yeah, when you're walking down Rodeo Drive with four pretty large Doberman, it's pretty easy to be recognized.

PauloAbsolutely. Absolutely. Yo! Enough. It's a missed opportunity not wearing a hoodie that says Dobby Wood all day, you know? Which I don't know why I haven't done it yet, to be honest with you, but... Uh I'm wearing the hat all the time and uh the dogs

Cameron MainYou get recognized as well regularly

PauloFunny enough I get recognized with the dogs not without so if I go to the trader joe's that I went to for five years with a dog they're all like hey you know they don't know the dog's name they have no idea who I am as a person but hi you know they get down to the dog but if I walk in there by myself I'm just another person nobody has any clue who's who it is

Cameron MainAnd you had um I think the son of a celebrity come and talk to you once if I'm not wrong

PauloYeah um so uh boy my first doberman he we had just moved to l.a and uh we were walking down the street by lakma and uh snoop dogg's son cord cordell stopped the car and said hey that looks like my father and I had no idea who he was right can I take a photo? And I was laughing because of what he said. He took a picture and when he posted it, I'm like, holy shit, that's Snoop Dogg's son. Hey, what's up? And he's like, hey, we really love that. Can we do it again more professionally? We'll bring a photographer, et cetera. So they did that and... Then uh poi ended up being the snoop dogg did this this clothing collaboration with joy rich was a store that was uh I'm sure it's still around but it was a pretty beautiful store in melrose and everybody knew it covered in vines it was gorgeous so we did a whole video of how snoop came up from nothing in inglewood and became this hip-hop lord you know or like king and so we went back to his high school and poi played snoop dogg he was walking around his own house when he was younger then we went to the liquor store where he used to go we walked by the school we etc and the whole film ended up at the shop where he sits there in front of a screen and the collection starts showing but that was played at the fashion show so that was the beginning of the fashion show it was just snoop talking and poi walking around and then poi came out on stage with his with snoop's father you know um and uh you know as if it was father and son right quote unquote it's funny and yeah that just like opened the door for so many things like since then I worked with cordell making the video toss it as an art director and poison it as a double they used a different dog because they wanted the cropped ears and my dogs don't have cropped ears so poised paws are in it and a lot of like extra shots that were not captured in the beginning is in there and uh I've had this opportunity of making a bunch of props for their studio and different things and that opened avenues to I mean they were in a d squared campaign uh last year uh with nadia lee cohen who's an incredible uh artist visual like photographer and filmmaker she did that beyonce video that came out last year too uh I'm not super familiar but the whole cowboy like western album that she did like and uh because of that shoot then a bunch of other things came up ta3 the the bathing suit company hired us to do a photo shoot too songs of siren another brand um beautiful dresses uh don't know it's just uh we're down you know like they love doing that uh bamba swimwear also hired them crazy shoots crazy settings crazy experiences the dogs love it you know

Cameron MainYeah they love the camera we can tell as soon as we arrive they want to

PauloDo they do love the camera

Cameron MainThey like the attention

Chris NobleYou must have some stories from some of these shoots or filming locations

PauloSo many stories. What's a good story? Honestly... Some of the best stories I have from these shoots when when it's all four of them they're all paying attention to each other so if one misbehaves they all kind of misbehave but they also are restricted when they're alone they're crazy so when poi was young we did this crazy road trip for from we moved from miami to la and we decided to see the whole south of the us in 31 days so we just drove and stayed at a different city every night and we were filming this documentary on street artists and poi was interviewing everybody there was this painter he was painting in san antonio there's this canal and we approached it We were there on Palm Sunday out of all days. So it was like the whole city was like very festive and beautiful because everybody was celebrating this Catholic holiday. And there was this painter by the little lake or canal. He was like right on the edge. And Poi was interviewing him. And the guy was like super friendly with the dog. So he was like jumping up on him and whatever. And I'm like, no, don't do it. He's like, oh, it's fine. It's fine. Course the guy turns around and he starts painting and poi pushes him in the lake canvas all I mean I wish I could have shot that is on film somewhere but I wish I had a still frame the guy's hat his hands up in the air the paintbrush in one side all the palette and everything flying off the can the easel it was just hilarious we were all soaking wet because we all went in to try to get him poi went in to swim he's not supposed to swim in that water we almost got a ticket that's just one day out of the 31 you know

Cameron MainYou have one day of 31.

PauloEvery day there was something crazy he got off his leash in the grand canyon and he was just running around the rocks and I'm like you're falling and you're taking my life with it because you know don't do that he was just having a blast you know and uh dangerous but we caught him he got him he got better trained after that you know

Cameron MainYeah that might have been the reason to train him yeah if there ever was one

PauloYeah and uh I trained them all to be off leash all the time so anywhere I go they are on leash because otherwise I'll get a ticket but we can go anywhere and the dogs will just stay near me you know

Cameron MainYou can't walk them off leash in l.a with a

PauloNot really no no

Cameron MainYou get a ticket for it

PauloYeah You get a ticket per dog and it's normally around $2.50. So I'm going to get a big ticket. Like a small rent.

Cameron MainA thousand bucks for a walk.

Chris NobleWhat was it like working with Snoop Dogg?

PauloUm he's really chill you know I rarely interacted with him because he's like such a personality and on doing his own thing

Cameron MainYeah

PauloSo his son was mostly the and all the production team I mean there was so many people in between snoop and I uh we met a few times and he was really cool and he liked the dog but um it was interesting because it was you know I'm not like a star struck type of person but he is imposing you know he's like a grandfather like one of the very like one of the left one of the guys that is left from that whole empire

Cameron MainYeah

PauloUm and he's done some crazy stuff like at this point I think he just does all these commercials that are like what the hell is snoop dogg doing in t-mobile you know but good for him you know and he has all these brands and all these different things It was a really beautiful thing to see from the production standpoint. As a dog owner, oh my God, it's Snoop Dogg, but that's it. But as a creative, as an artist, as a producer in some cases, it was just really beautiful to see how everything works at that scale so quickly because it was one of the first things we did. With the dog and just being thrown in with Snoop Dogg at first. It's like, we didn't start low, you know, we started at the top.

Cameron MainRight at the top. Yeah. I've actually got a question about this. Is Snoop Dogg a dog person?

PauloYeah. Yeah? Yeah.

Cameron MainLoves dogs

PauloI mean he wasn't like rolling around the floor with the dog but he he he came up to him first like he did I don't even realize I don't remember if he said hi to me you know he just went straight for the dog pet him super nice and then of course like you know interacted with us but like if anybody got attention it was poi

Chris NobleYeah yeah quite rightly so

PauloHe's a king, you know? He's an emperor. His dog is... He's my father, my son, my brother. All the things, you know? Sometimes he feels like he's my grandfather. He's my good angel. Never the bad one, you know?

Cameron MainI don't think any of them are the bad ones. I don't think it's possible.

PauloI mean, his daughter Kai is pretty much the devil, you know? She's incredible. She's a smart girl, super bright, but she will be the one to, like, chase the cat, you know? Or, like, break something on purpose, you know? Or, you know, you're trying to watch TV and she'll, like, sit on your hand with a remote and stare at you. She does things that are like, I'm here and this is what I want and you follow and you listen, you know?

Chris NobleTell me more about their personalities because Dobermans, I feel like they're such imposing dogs and they have such a striking look. And I think they're a bit misunderstood.

PauloCompletely. They're such babies. Such babies. They just want to cuddle. The boys and the girls are totally different dogs. It's like almost a different breed. The boys are lazy. They just want food. Right, buddy? They just want food. They want pets. They want love. They want all this stuff. They just really want to cuddle. Like, you can't lay down anywhere in this house because he will come and crush you. And he's 95 pounds. He could carry less. He'll, like, spin and drop wherever. And if your leg is there, it was there. You won't feel it in two minutes, you know? The girls are the opposite. They're like running around and they want to play. Like if I ever get up and come out to like smoke or whatever, all the girls are here. The boys stay in bed. You know, they're the ones in front. They're the ones competing against each other. If we go hiking, the girls are all up front. The boys are behind. Poi always walks behind me to watch my back. It's crazy. You know, and Emi, who is the older one of the girls, is the one that's like a bullet. She's in front of the pack. Then the other two girls follow. And then Soi's like... Very close it's it's really interesting also the interaction with a female and a male humans uh the girls love me they want the pets from me you know like I guess I pet them rougher than that carrie does for example so the girls like that and the boys they're just mama's boys and uh if uh we ever have a argument or anything like they'll stand on her side and if god forbid I raise my voice or something goes off they'll growl at me even if though they're my kids you know like calm down you know you will respect mom and you love her and that's it it's funny They're also very unique within themselves. I think understanding a little bit of psychology and everything, I try to humanize the dogs, right? So Poi is just used to everything, everything. He's seen me do everything, even things that I never do. Emmy was a pandemic baby. She was spoiled. She was bratty. I was there all the time with her. Poi, I didn't get a lot of chance to be with him when he was a baby. The first year I was working so much that I barely had a chance to interact with him. But Emmy was there 24-7. So as soon as the puppies came, she hated it because she was no longer the baby. She didn't speak to them, quote unquote, for like a year. She wouldn't even get close to them. If they got on bed, she would get off. She just didn't want to interact, you know, she's the princess and You know each one of them has this personality that is very very clear and in the dark with the lights off one of them comes up to me I know which one it is by the way they move by the way their skin feels you know I don't even need to see you know they use color coding colors right now for other people mostly but I don't need that you know do they do they inspire you for your art and your work you know they do in so many ways um They inspire me because they give me a, it's like they're holding up a mirror. A lot of my art is psychological and it's about myself struggling with life. And it's not seen clearly in the images because the images are not people that are struggling. But the essence and the root of it is all stemming from me and they are holding up a mirror all the time so when I spend time with them I'm I started thinking of like my interaction with them how they feel this and that and then I pause and like if I was a third person I look back at this moment and think well this is happening so why do I feel like this or like that and helps me like understand myself and understand what it is that I'm trying to say and then images pop into my head that is one way they inspire me the other way is that literally every single day I envision making a series of paintings of just my life with the dogs just me in bed like crushed by all these dogs and it's just like like if somebody was holding a polaroid and just walking around the house and catching me doing different things with them And I keep wanting to do this series, but I'm like, who's going to get this? Who's going to buy this? Like, do I want to make a whole series of these paintings and hang it all in my house? Because that's where it's going to end up. So I haven't started for that reason. But I'm going to start making some smaller ones because I just can't help it. It's just so cool, so beautiful. And like, they're so majestic. You know, I want to make portraits of all of them. Poi is in one of my pieces over there, like in a cartoon style, but... They deserve a whole collection, you know? And yeah, they inspire me in so many ways. And my biggest inspiration is the motivation of continuing working harder and getting what I want just to give to them since I don't have kids yet.

Chris NobleSo they inspire you a lot. What have they taught you?

PauloIt's a really good question. They've taught me compassion, first of all. They've taught me patience. When I first got Poi I have to admit that I wasn't even though I've had dogs my whole life I never really had to care for one myself and I was going through a lot of different things and shifts in my life at the time And I was too busy for my own life. I didn't have personal time at all. And the dog was demanding a little bit of time. And it was really difficult to understand his needs. Like if I came home and like he wanted attention, he would have pooped everywhere or pissed on my artwork or something. And I would like lose my shit, you know. And I felt like I was unfair with him. And I've cried myself to sleep so many times for treating him or yelling at him or like, you know, if I hit him once or twice, like I feel bad for doing that. And then the only way that I can forgive myself is thinking, well, my dad hit me once or twice and I'm fine, you know, but it's a dog, you know. It's not like I could have defended myself as a kid. So it's a similar thing, but... But then I made sure to not do that with the rest of them. You know, when Emmy came around, she also was testing my patience. And, like, imagine as three others join at once. It was also very challenging. And it's been. Like, they've eaten my dress shoes that I wore to go out when I don't take them with me. But my sneakers that I take them to the park with are perfectly fine. You know? So when they ate nine of my boots, they were my favorites. Uh I lost my you know and I lost it with every one of the boots but like the last one I was just like okay well my fault pick them up toss them got a new pair of boots put them up on the shelf instead of the bottom so they've taught me a lot of of self-control and patience and clarity like I've realized that I can't tell the dog a sentence and expect them to understand. I have to be clear about what I want. So it's helped me figure out what I want, which in turn has helped me figure out who I am, you know? And I mean, it's a work in progress and they're here for a reason and I'm not, they're still here. So I'm not done learning, you know?

Cameron MainYeah. You said that, I mean, they've literally saved your life so many times.

PauloSo many times. They're the reason I'm still here. And I shared with you guys something earlier off the record. I'm happy to put it on record now. There was a time in my life when I had just moved to LA that I left my family, left my friends, left everything behind, and I was going through a divorce. And I was very unhappy. I had to go back to work full time in a shop in clothing. And I would leave my dog for 10, 12 hours by himself. And I was miserable for doing that. It was a small studio. It was a starter like place. So I was just working and thinking of this guy like locked in a room, basically. You know, a large room, but it was still just a room with a bed and bored as hell. And this went on for like almost two years. I wasn't alone for the whole entire time, but the first year was really difficult. And I just kept asking, what did I do wrong? Where did I, like, should I even bother trying to be an artist? Should I... Did I pick the wrong career? Why am I so unhappy? Why do I always choose the wrong people to be around me? You know, it was just the time where I was growing and learning about myself, really learning about myself because I grew up surrounded by people and it was always easy to just deflect whatever it is that I had going on onto the other people. But I spent a lot of time locked in my bathroom. I couldn't smoke in my building. So I would like close the door in the bedroom. I mean, in my bathroom and like open the window and just smoke in there in the dark. And I would come home from work with my outfit and say hi to the dog and give him a nice little walk and then sit in there and smoke cigarettes all night and think of all the crazy things and trying to find peace in the darkness. You know how you turn the light off and your eyes can't see anything but after a second they adjust? I feel like I was trying to adjust myself to being in front of my shadow self and my darker side. I wanted to face it so that I could understand that they say, you know... Uh learn to know your enemies better than your friends sometimes and I feel like if I didn't know the aspect of myself that put me down made me depressed etc I wouldn't be able to change anything or face it or or correct anything But I was unprepared and I would go into that and find myself more depressed, find myself sinking deeper. And I realized that that depth is still part of me and I needed to explore it. And I was able to sit in there in darkness and see. And now I have a totally different understanding of what light and dark and like good and evil and devil and god are and things like that like just because of being in the dark silence and quietness you know that is that is where we're born you know you're you the first nine months of your life Before you open your eyes, you are in darkness. Anytime that you meditate, you close your eyes. Anytime that you want space, you go and you be alone. And the darkness, even though we've been trained that it's scary and the clown is going to come out or the werewolf out of the closet or whatever, all these monsters as a kid, the darkness is actually the most peaceful place we have. It's where we go when we go to sleep. So I think that that is where God actually lives. In the dark you know I grew up catholic and christian and in the bible it says that god basically basically woke himself up and then said let there be light therefore he is not light he is darkness and he created light to support his existence and ours so I feel like we've got it backwards the darkness is not the devil is is god And the devil is the light with all the options and all the opportunities to see in different places and get distracted, etc., etc., etc. So I feel like I got closer to God by being in the dark with myself than by being out there trying to actively work on changing things. I went off topic, hardcore there, but the whole point was that while all that process was happening, I had a lot of negative thoughts. And in the sense of negative is harmful, like self-harm thoughts. Why am I here? Is it worth it? Should I even keep trying? Things like that. And this wasn't like an ongoing thought process, but anytime it would come up... It's funny because I would be sitting there in that bathroom smoking cigarettes in the dark and like the light was on in the room so I could see under the door the little sliver of light and then the butt of Poi blocking half the light because he was guarding the door. And anytime that I would have a thought, none of these things were verbal. I wasn't saying anything. This was all happening in my head. And the moment I had one of those negative thoughts, the dog would start whining, hitting the door, like desperately pushing the door like he was shitting himself, you know? And I had to open the door, walk him complaining. By the time the half hour, 45 minute walk was over, I was at peace with everything, you know, and it was like like a reset button every single time. It's like he knew what I was thinking. And whenever I thought the wrong thing, he would just appear and save me. And that's been happening. For eight years at least or nine uh and it's not like I still go through that emotion but if I do ever think of that he'll like come up he specifically will come up uh

Cameron MainIt's incredible isn't it it's like he knows what's inside your head like he's your guardian angel or something

PauloHe does and like you know he's getting older and like I realize that I have to be careful what my thoughts are when he's around, or any of them. But he's, especially, we're very connected. He's like a shaman in my life. I have a shaman, a healer, a prince, and a queen. Pardon.

Cameron MainHe's your dog

PauloIt's the queen he's my shaman he put me in the dark he held my hand through the darkness and we left together you know but he didn't push me in he like went with me experienced it with me so sometimes when I'm petting him at night like I look at him and I'm like oh my god I love you you know like you're so and he's like groaning and cuddling and then if a moment crosses my mind where I think oh my god you're getting old you might leave me soon he like looks at me dirty he growls he groans and he walks away like don't think of that you know and he brings me back to like this is the present moment this is the moment we're living and experiencing enjoy it now before it's fleeting and gone you know

Chris NobleIt's crazy we reach out to a lot of people and I love to ask people what dogs have taught them most of them tell me they taught me to live in the moment

PauloIt's true. I am living in the moment because of them. And I find myself that sometimes I'm not. I'll come home, sit on my phone, and they're all running around, and I'm like, what am I doing? They're going to go to sleep in 10 minutes. I can be on my phone then. I just play with them a little bit, you know, experience. I like the eye contact, the pets, the cuddling. I mean, there's nothing better, you know. My best time in my life is when I'm going to bed and my dogs crush me, you know. And that is every night, luckily. Whenever I have to travel and spend a night away from them, I can't sleep. You know, I've actually developed knee problems, hip problems because they crush me and they like put my legs in all these different situations and I'm pinned. And like my hip is hurting when I go to sleep and I wake up and I'm limping. Fuck it, I'll have a hip replacement. I can't have a dog replacement. I cannot replace that moment, you know.

Cameron MainThat's really deep, actually. It's profound.

PauloIs it?

Cameron MainYeah, it is. It tells you so much about how meaningful they are to you.

PauloThey are so much to me. I would do anything for these dogs. Yesterday, somebody asked me at work, like, oh, well, you have to move now. What happens if you... How are you going to find a place? What if they tell you you can only have three? I'm like, dude, I'm going to live in my car. There's no question. I don't even have, I don't have to think about the answer. The answer is my dogs first. Everything else, everyone else, including myself or anyone I love or think I love or think they exist or not. Everything is below them. My dogs are the pillars of my existence and I hope they live forever so that I can too. And I'm afraid of what happens after because I don't know if I will be able to withstand it or care enough to be here. If I don't have children or any other reason, you know, I don't want to say it. But let's just hope they live a very long, healthy life.

Chris NobleWe met you at the gallery and I feel like immediately you taught me one thing and then something you said here as well made me think. And when we were in the gallery, I really got a sense that you really pushed us to think one, two, three layers deeper about everything we were seeing so that we could perceive your art in, I guess, a certain way. And then when you were here, you mentioned you're thinking about moving... You haven't started looking because you're the luckiest guy ever and something will come up and I just really really like that perspective on life for both parts yeah everything's going to work itself out and we should always think one or two layers deeper right I just want to know where that came from um you know like when I was uh I started making art as a kid because I

PauloFirst of all, I came from a musical family. My mom was a singer. My dad was a jazz drummer. And they toured a lot. And I couldn't bring my toys with me. I could only bring like one or two. And I would do the craziest things, like take the dental floss and tie it across, break a Q-tip in half and have them hang glide across the table to the plant and set bushes on fire. And I used to take photos and film my GI Joes burning and doing all sorts of weird things. But I couldn't pay attention in school because it was hard to pay attention. And I have ADHD and it got like even more amplified with the lifestyle that I was living. I couldn't relate to my friends, connect with them because they were jet skiing in Aruba when they were kids in summer. And I was in a theater waiting for my parents rehearsal to end. So we didn't really have anything in common. I ended up going to therapy every day for five days a week for 15 years or something like that. And the first thing that the therapist says was like, well, you need to help him focus. So put him in ceramics classes. I was maybe six years old. I barely remember my moments there and what happened. But I remember that from there on, I couldn't pay attention in class if I wasn't drawing. And... Anything that I've experienced in my life has been in relation to art in one way or another. Even when I kind of quit painting for like 10 years, which I did when I was 16, I had a crazy spiritual experience. My mom was super religious. I was becoming a teenager rebellious listening to metal playing it in the drums uh etc and I started drawing a lot of like gnarly ogres and things and demons and gnomes and like very fairy tales stuff I was obsessed with lord of the rings and like flight of the dragons and all this like fantasy stuff and uh my mom one day walked into the room and saw everything and she started praying or whatever and when I came back from school well that's how the story goes when I came back from school like she had taken all the the whole living room was covered in mirrors and she had covered the whole living room with my drawings that were in my room all these demons and all these things were there And there was a big space that was empty. And I came home. She wasn't there. So I drew on that mirror a joker, a jester. I was watching myself, and I drew a jester laughing at me, which is now painted on the wall over there. Years later, I decided to connect and close that cycle by doing that. We'll show you the jester after. The whole thing was that I went upstairs and I found my mom in bed with the pastor of the church. Not like that. They were just talking, but she had had a stroke and I didn't know that. The pastor told me that it was because she was praying for my safety and that the devil and the demons or whatever had hurt her. So I couldn't deal with the fact at that time. I didn't know better. There was no like, I mean, I believed what I was told, even if I was a teenager, like that's how I was raised. So you don't question the word of God or the pastor, etc. So I went downstairs and I grabbed all my pieces from the wall and I threw them in my dad's barbecue and lit them on fire and I didn't paint again until I was 25. And that whole time I was very unhappy, very lost. I ended up going, I promoted clubs, I did all sorts of different shit that like, I lived my heavy hardcore years in that time because I didn't have anything to tie me back. But I find that art has been therapeutic for me because it's like I'm choking. I have an idea. I have something to say. I have a self-judgment most of the time. I want to have money to be able to support family and this and that, but I don't want to have too much that it detaches me from society and pushes me away and isolates me. So the painting of the richest man came up that way. And that's my way of voicing my experiences as a human and in a therapeutic way releasing, which is kind of like what you said about wanting to be in an artist's studio and just go crazy. It's very therapeutic because... And I've actually worked as an art therapist here many years, helping people integrate their experience of their life with art and where they want to be and create like a totem or a reminder of that moment so that they can continue moving forward. And I feel like all my paintings are that. They're just a reminder of wake up. Moment of choice is here. It's the only freedom you have and it's the only present you have. Anything else is past or future. So live it, make the right decisions, make sure that they're aligned with you. Not follow what other people said because if I wouldn't have followed what they said I wouldn't have burned all my artwork I would have maybe painted for those extra 10 years and my life and career would be different now who knows you know but also if I wouldn't have done that I might have been a mediocre artist that doesn't express himself that way so life just happens the way that it should you know like I read something from I think it was lao tzu or the dalai lama that says because I accept life as life in my world nothing ever goes wrong And it's just what it is. There is duality. There is a dark side and there's a light side. And the brighter the light, the darker the shadow is cast every single time. You can't run away from your shadow. It's attached to your feet. So there has to be a back and forth and a give and take. And I realized something about the universe that... And it works for me. I don't know about everybody else, but the universe takes from you something of equal or greater value from what you're asking. Most times we just ask for shit, but we don't offer anything. So the universe takes what it wants. Now, there's times when you can select what you want to offer the universe and it'll accept it. There was a time, for example, I had this girlfriend that... Messed me up. Broke my heart. We separated and I had all these memories of her. And I was asking the universe, I can't move on unless I get rid of this feeling. In order to get rid of this, I need your help. But if I'm going to ask for your help, I need to give you something back as a trade because nothing is free in life. So what I offer you is all my beautiful memories with this person, all the incredible memories and feelings that I experienced with this person, all these beautiful moments that I don't need them anymore because they just hurt at this point. But they are not the bad moments. Life is taking those bad moments. I'm giving you the beautiful ones in exchange for you healing me and letting me get rid of it. And said and done. Within months, I was feeling amazing. Not one picture on my phone. Everything was great. And I feel like that's kind of how life is. You know, like if I find the current, I follow it and I get there. And if I fight against it, I'm just going to get tired and I might get where I want, but... Then I will never know what the universe is actually trying to give me. It's easy to try to control life. It's not easy to actually achieve it. But it's much easier to just enjoy it. And it's hard also because you have to adapt and accept. So the work is internal. You can only control what's inside your body, and that's to a limit. You can't control what your cells are doing, but you can control what you put in your body to help your cells work better. You can't control what your thoughts are. But you can control the way that you think about them. Oh, I love this moment. I want to think about this all day, but I have to work and face other people. So in order to honor this moment, I will not think about this all day. And at night, I'll come and I'll sit down for an hour and just think about this. And throughout the whole day is not infecting every single one of your moments. And it's also not being washed out into like little bits. When it should be in an altar with a candle in front of it instead of just like being dragged around your whole life, you know? So it's really difficult to achieve all this. But through art, through different types of therapies, I've been able to get a pretty good hold on it. So this comes right back to what you said, that life, I'm a really lucky guy. I don't know if it's luck or not, but everything, when I am aligned, things just flow the right way. And if I just adapt, and move with it it's like I'm water gliding over the rocks you know like if I was eyes gliding over the rocks it wouldn't be such so smooth it would be a lot of banging and rolling and hurting so like what state am I water in if I was steam I wouldn't be touching the rocks you know so like how grounded do I want to be and how malleable and how able to move through life just letting it come to you and like avoiding what's not good and taking with you what is and trying to detach yourself so you don't drag shit with you to stop you from anything else so just like this house when we found it we were looking for like a month and a half were in west hollywood we lived in two different apartments and we were like oh my god we gotta find the place with the yard and this and the dogs and every yard was like a two by two feet like basically I couldn't even stand to smoke a cigarette I might as well have a balcony you know like there's no yards and we found a couple but they were like crazy expensive and we were in a place that like I was I put a lot of my finances into my artwork you know this is a non-profit it's a bunch of different things and a lot of my income goes to that whether it makes it back or not that's irrelevant but So I like, there's some things we need. I need a space for all my stuff. I need a studio space, this and that. We're moving in together from two different apartments. Okay. We looked for a month and a half. And then the, this week, actually a year ago on Monday, I was going to bed and we were there together. And I was like, I couldn't go to sleep. And I'm like, you know what? I haven't looked at the valley. Somebody told me that the valley sucks. I haven't really been there. I've been to a couple of restaurants by the hill and that's it. So I opened the app and I changed the setting and I found two houses and I messaged both people. And then the next day I was here looking at this house. We saw another one down the street. Then we came here. We're like, oh, this is kind of perfect. The floor is a little messed up. We have the dogs. We don't have to worry about the floor. It's a stage back there. We want to do Dobbywood, all these videos, boom, parties, events. There's a little jacuzzi. It's great. Okay. Four days later, Thanksgiving Day, we received the key. So tomorrow, a year ago, we got the key for this house. And we were supposed to go to all these dinners and all this thing, cancel everything. We ordered pizza. We had Thanksgiving here with the dogs. You know, the next day we started moving shit in. And by December 1st, we were already here. But that happened like that. I just had a feeling like, hey, think about this. Open the app. Oh, I like this one. She was asleep. She had no idea. I got in the car. We're like, we're going here. She's like, what the fuck are we looking at? We got here, boom, this is it. And that's the same with everything in life. I work at this amazing art gallery in Rodeo Drive right now. And that's because I was trying to be the artist that just does art and survive out of that. And sometimes it's amazing and sometimes it's not. And God forbid I paint the wrong collection and we're doomed for a year. I'm like universe, like all these years in retail and this and that and sales and like luxury environment and all these years of art and fabrication and ghost painting and working for other artists. How do I blend this? Me thinking of a regular gallery with a wide space, it's boring. Every time I walk by, if somebody's on their phone, that's not the life I want, especially if I'm going to sacrifice the time away from my dogs. It needs to be something beautiful. I don't want to work five days a week. What do I do? And then something came to me. I'm like, oh, well, let me just change my resume and just apply to every single job that I can just to get a job for now. I don't even know what I applied to. I sent everything that day. The next day I get a call back from this gallery. And I realized that what I applied for was to be a fabricator and assistant. And what they were looking for was a sales, like as an art advisor, salesperson. So I went on the Zoom meeting and I was like, oh shit, this is the wrong thing. Boop, boop, boop. Oh, hi. And the guy is looking at my resume. He's like, oh, there's a little line here that says that you do this. Would you be interested? And I'm like, yeah. Okay, I'll set up the next interview. The next day, interview. On Monday, I'm working. And I'm like the happiest person ever. Four days a week, long days, super, uber luxury clients selling pieces that are like beyond what I ever thought my art would cost. And meeting collectors, making friends with them, not even pitching them my work, but they hear me talk with the passion that I speak about the artwork that I like that we're selling there. And they're like, you have to be an artist. Show me your work. Oh, my God. So now I have a solo show in Tennessee next year because of this. A solo show in Italy because of this. And, like, I've been there for three months. You know what I mean?

Cameron MainUnbelievable.

PauloAnd I'm also the top sales, like, by a lot. Like, by tenfold, I am the top sales from the gallery at this point. You know, just because I'm passionate. I'm not even trying to close a sale. I'm just trying to. And that's what I do with my work. Like, if you like it, it's yours. If you don't like it, it's for someone else. What I'm experiencing is what I'm saying and what I'm getting from what my own voice is. Super selfish notion, but at the end of the day, you're the most important thing in your life, you know? So if I'm learning from just saying, even just sitting here with you guys and telling you all these stories that I've forgotten some of them, don't think about some of them, is helping me open up and like, oh shit, maybe there's something there that you need to pay attention to. Like, what happened to Dobbywood? Let's just re-evive it, you know? Like, let's do this. You know, life is just full of opportunities and you just have to be open to seeing them. Because if you're there with a microscope, you're missing out on the rest of the picture. You know, there's no box. So don't waste time thinking about thinking outside of it. You know, it's just a big plain field.

Cameron MainAppreciate the periphery. Thank you.

PauloI mean, it's just the way that I cope with life. You know, I'm not giving anybody advice or any of any kind. Everybody believes what they want. And I encourage everybody to do so. But these are the things that have been working for me. And in my weird semi-autistic mind, it all makes sense. You know?

Chris NobleThat was amazing. Thank you for taking us on that journey.

Cameron MainDid that answer both of your questions?

Chris NobleAbsolutely.

PauloYeah.

Cameron MainWhen did you get your first dog?

PauloWell, that's an unfair question. I was born and there was a dog in my house already.

Cameron MainBecause you had a few and then...

PauloWell, my parents had an obsession with these dogs. They were like miniature pinchers. So there was like two or three or five or whatever. But we had birds, turtles, fish, all sorts of different things. My parents were always like very like... Great, now we have a helicopter.

Chris NobleThey're looking for you.

PauloThey're looking for you.

Cameron MainOne of the reasons I asked, actually, is because you said that you had ADHD.

PauloYeah.

Chris NobleAnd I do as well.

Cameron MainI didn't know though, until I was 21 years old. And I actually feel like my dogs helped me a lot when I was growing up. And even without knowing it. And I mean, when I found out, I feel like I had a big realization moment, like, oh my goodness, I should have known this like earlier. But I think I realized at that point how much they had helped me. And I'm sure it was the same with you as well.

PauloYou know, my dogs helped me in both ways. They help me deal and cope with ADHD, but they also help the ADHD thrive. Because they distract me all fucking day.

Cameron MainI get that more than you would imagine. I get that more than you would imagine.

PauloSo, yeah, I know. The dogs help with the ADHD because I'm the type that, like, let's say I take your bag and I start reading the... The ingredients, and I don't know what 90% of them are, I'm going to be Googling this all day, and that's my rabbit hole. I'm going to be going ham. And while I'm doing that, I come up with ideas, colors. Each one of these words means something to me. I can't even read this without it all becoming like a crossword puzzle. I can't read a menu at a restaurant without pictures. I usually go on Yelp and choose my food. I can't pay attention to things like that. Now that ChatGPT is around, I throw everything on ChatGPT and have it read it back to me in a British voice. You know? Sexy. I

Cameron MainSo it's clear to us that you don't do anything without passion why was vita dog important for you why did you why did you instantly feel like I have to be part of this

PauloLook, there's so many reasons why we're sitting here. The main reason is Poi. Poi is my 9-going-on-10-year-old dog. He is incredibly healthy. Super happy. I don't know. I'm going to cry. Let's not do that. He's everything to me. He's my little god. My brother, my shaman, like I said earlier. Sometime last year, I started seeing him jump on my truck and have a hard time straightening his legs, getting off, and landing. Like, the thud was a little too loud, you know? It's not like an aerodynamic, you know, or whatever you call it, like a smooth landing. It was more of like a... And I'm realizing he's older. He's slower, he sleeps more, and it's breaking my heart to see him that way. And nutrition has always been really important for me but to be honest in the past 10 years while he's been with me I haven't always been financially stable enough to be able to do that so he's had to eat that really crappy pedigree food from the can many days we've shared ramen noodles from one cup because I couldn't afford two two meals at some point he's also just eaten farmer's dog which costs like 300 a week for him you know like So it's always changing. There was a time in my life that I was literally going to the grocery store every day, sweet potatoes, broccoli, guts, gizzards, this, that, boiling everything and just making him food, you know, every single day. And... Right now, he's in a place where it's like a mixed type of diet where Doberman's stomachs are very sensitive. And when you have four of them and they all eat different things and there's something that triggers each one and the other three can eat it, it's a nightmare because you feed them all chicken and one of them is allergic to chicken and he'll have the runs. Everybody else is the healthiest they've ever been. So then like how do you tell that dog not to eat that you have to change everybody and change everybody and it's a disaster um so right now they're actually pretty balanced they eat a combination of like some like the healthiest kibble that we could find and uh some wet food and then poi turmeric and like uh cartilage and different things and they get berries and blueberries and different things in their food here and there So I actually have a friend who's a dog nutritionist. And for a little while, I was working with her, creating all the illustrations for her website and stuff. And she's just making treats. She's not making food. But she told me a lot of beautiful things about nutrition that I need to keep an eye on. And I think when I heard about you guys from Anna, she told me a little bit about you guys. And I looked and I'm like, this is incredible. This is exactly what our dogs need. What? Not only do they need, but they should be involved with. They need to more than just have it. I want to tell people about it. Of course, we have to try it and test it. But after speaking with you guys and learning about the passion and your intention and your desires of helping and how you're doing it and how much you're putting on the table and sacrificing and everything to be here and do this, you're not even in your own country. You know what I mean? So much because you believe in this product so much and uh I feel like you're just as passionate as I am with your things and you know like great minds think alike and should hang out together and do things together you know so if you were just some like you know company in texas that's just gonna send me a bag and I'll send a video back I'm not interested I'll take the bag I'll trust you know but that's pretty much as far as it goes but you know, doing this is very meaningful for everything you're doing is great. And I truly believe in the brand and I truly believe in the product and the results that I've heard from Anna and from other people that have tried it have been amazing. And, you know, I can't wait for my dog to live longer and thank you guys for it, you know, and hopefully many other dogs. The dogs will eat whatever the owner gives them. Many other owners will become aware and participate and expand this so that their dogs can have a healthier, longer life without the need of cloning and all the other options that are out there now.

Cameron MainA lot of what we're hearing is what's inside is excellent you know we have the turmeric in there we have the black pepper to to sort of accentuate all the nutrients that you're getting already even from your other diets what's not in there is also fantastic which is a big problem in the industry

PauloIt is so many preservatives and crap that like they don't need to have fillers of all kinds especially looking at kibble I learned I mean I didn't know. It was just dog food, right? We're learning about the different types of dog food alone like just dry food it's crazy how much crap is in it you know and like you don't notice because you can feed your dog they might love it and like you just have to wait a few years you only notice when they're eight nine ten

Cameron MainWhen it's too late

PauloWhen it's too late you know so I'm not... I am very obsessive when it comes to things. And if I started learning about dog nutrition, I would want to take a course and get a paper, a certification. I don't want to do all that. I just want to experience my life with my dogs. You guys can do that. And I'll support you guys. I'll work with you guys for it, you know? So I trust that you... I mean, from what I've read, it's pretty straight up, you know? It's like... It cannot be better. And I'm super excited to implement it in their diet and see how the results are. I'm so excited. I can't wait to give them some.

Chris NobleAnd by the looks of it, they're going to love it because they haven't left this bag alone the whole day.

Cameron MainBefore we stop, do you want to open it and see if they'll come running over?

PauloIf one comes... She's already look what's in there all noses huh you want to smell too I haven't even opened the bag what do you think yeah what about you I mean

Cameron MainThey've got some good noses over there emmy's having a good look as well oh there we go

PauloOh you don't lick it what do you think oh yeah licking okay yeah they're so into it

Cameron MainI think that might be an advert on its own what do you guys think uh all the doggies paulo thank you so much for uh for talking today it's been unbelievable

PauloAmazing. Thank you for being here.

Transcript edited lightly for readability. Timestamps and captions will follow with the video release.