Share Coke with Will & Friends: Who Raised 13+ Billion to Buy Paramount & All They Got Was a Podcast

September 28, 2025 - Ralphs in Westwood - Michael Vonn who I met through the founders of United 4 America, RFK Jr. Super Pac

Michael Vonn co-founded the media company FAME in the 1990s alongside Oscar-winning producer John Daly (The Last Emperor, Platoon). Michael often calls himself “the most famous unknown person in the world.” I can semi-relate. I’ve always believed life is a series of mirrors—young and old—each of us playing a character in the Creator’s larger story. Michael is one of those mirrors I was clearly meant to meet. And in a strange way, I’ve become convinced that much of what I’ve walked through over the last few years wasn’t just for me—but to complete something God positioned him for, that he ultimately stepped away from or went against the will of. I was introduced to Michael through Torrey Gambill, during a moment in my life that still feels unreal to say out loud. Torrey was running the Super PAC United 4 America to help elect RFK Jr. as president. He eventually walked away from that world to join me in the attempt to acquire Paramount. That alone says everything about how improbable this journey became—presidential figures, political dynasties, and Hollywood power structures colliding all at once. There were countless “acts of God” signs that made it clear Michael wasn’t meant to be a passing chapter in my life. The most striking: his granddaughter—still a baby—and I share the same birthday, the same way I once shared a birthday with my grandmother. And that was only one sign among many. Some connections don’t make sense on paper. They make sense spiritually. In this conversation, Michael and I go deep—into faith, God, media, power, politics, legacy, and purpose. It’s not about agreement. It’s about understanding. About timing. About what happens when two people meet at the exact moment they’re meant to. Listen to this conversation. It may enlighten you the way it did me.

September 23, 2025 - Coffee Bean in Marina Del Rey - James Legge a man of many characters one being in the high end restaurant world having worked with Wolfgang Puck when he opened Spago in the 80's

When I was staying on and off in Marina del Rey with a friend in Marina Del Rey, I spent a lot of time working out of the Coffee Bean near the AMC 6 theater. It’s one of the few spots with outlets—and interestingly, it’s the same theater Dean Hadley, who attended Piney Woods School, grew up going to, and the same theater I saw Spiderman : Across The Spider-verse, (see Nick episode for the spiderweb themes) with Dean which was voiced by my lead in Cut Throat City, Shameik Moore. That shopping center mattered to me for another reason too. It was one of the visual set pieces I always imagined while dreaming about rebooting They Live. Some places just hold ideas differently. One afternoon, sitting there working, I met a man who seemed to know everyone who walked through the door. His name is James Legge. As we talked, I realized James has lived many lives in one. He started out as a Michelin-star-level chef, working alongside Wolfgang Puck when Spago first opened in the 1970s. From there, his journey took him around the world—opening high-end restaurants, building experiences, understanding hospitality at the highest level. Today, James is a gemologist, among many other pursuits. What struck me most wasn’t just his résumé—it was his depth. His understanding of craft, excellence, and culture across decades. That world—hospitality, food, experience, atmosphere—is a core pillar of the Love Street Experience. Because of that, I’ve brought James in as an advisor to what Tommy Bina and I are building long term: Love Street Utopias around the world. This episode captures the very first conversation James and I ever had. Not long after, he joined us again at Canyon Country Store with Tommy Bina and Michael Vonn. You can find episodes with both of them as well—one owns the store, the other I met through my work and connections during RFK Jr.’s presidential run. This is how Love Street grows. Through real conversations. In unexpected places. With people who’ve lived full, layered lives. Enjoy the conversation.

August 20, 2025 - Ralphs in Westwood - Elsa - A Displaced Senior Musician struggling with going Blind

This is Elsa. I met her during the past year I was displaced in Los Angeles—after raising billions of dollars to attempt to acquire Paramount, believing with everything in me that the path I was on was divinely guided, and then losing everything when the Paramount acquisition didn’t happen. What I thought was the end of something turned out to be the beginning of something far more important. Meeting Elsa was not an accident. She’s a sweet Spanish-American woman. An artist. Once upon a time, an incredible musician. Like so many in the industry, people took advantage of her—stole her work, claimed her ideas, and left her without protection. Now she’s dealing with serious vision problems and has no clear way to get the help she needs. Not because solutions don’t exist—but because access doesn’t. During 2025, I met countless men and women like Elsa. Some displaced for months. Some for years. Some for decades. It reshaped me. It reshaped the mission. And it’s a major reason the Troy DeVolld Foundation exists—to make sure human beings, especially artists, don’t have to endure what Elsa has endured… or what I did. This is a problem no politician is truly addressing. No titan of wealth is solving. And the truth is uncomfortable: homelessness could be ended—here and globally—if those with the means chose action over excuses and empty words. I walked it so no one has to ever again. This conversation was recorded at a simple bus bench across from UCLA, right outside the Ralphs supermarket. And that bench matters. This is where I want to host a weekly podcast series—meeting people where they actually are, not where it’s comfortable or polished. Elsa’s story matters. Her voice matters. And so does listening. Enjoy our conversation.

September 18, 2025 - Denny's Westwood - Nick a displaced Veteran whos an artist with Wire & Mesh Work - He Makes Spiderwebs out of things as art.

Met Nick at around 3am, sitting outside a Denny’s in Westwood. He’s a displaced veteran who turns wire and mesh into spiderwebs. Real ones. Detailed ones. And if you know me, you know spiderwebs mean something. My ex-fiancée has a diagram tattooed on her back—an invisible map where everything is connected. So when I see webs show up in my life, I take notice. To me, it’s always been a reminder that everything connects… eventually. That Denny’s is one of the only places left in Los Angeles that’s open 24 hours and has outlets you can actually use. Post-COVID, that matters more than people realize. Especially in a college town. There’s nowhere for students or artists to go work around the clock—and that makes zero sense. That realization helped shape the early vision for the Love Street Experience: hotels and spaces in college cities that connect legacy artists with Gen Z creators, day and night. At the time, I was displaced. I worked wherever I could—Hollywood, the Canyon Country Store with Tommy Bina, hotel lobbies, and a lot of late nights at Denny’s. I wasn’t hanging out. I was working. Endlessly. Eventually, even places that had known me for years couldn’t let me stay. Still, I always knew I had somewhere safe to sit, charge a device, or even just use the restroom. And I know how rare that is. Most people in that position don’t have that. Nick and I crossed paths in one of those quiet hours the world doesn’t see. And I’ll never forget him. It was one of the most meaningful encounters of my entire journey. This episode is about connection. About survival. About art. About Veterans. And about the invisible web that holds all of us together—whether we realize it yet or not.

August 30, 2025 - Vito DeCandia, Owner of Angel City Pizza in Venice, Ca from NY and a home and an LA home to ShareCokeWithWill, joins WPC for a conversation on the years long friendship they formed.

As a born-and-bred New Yorker (from Long Beach), Vito DeCandia was literally brought up in a pizzeria. He was stretching dough by the age of 12. His lifetime of baking eventually led him to the West Coast, where his wife was from. Two years ago, he opened ⁠Angel City Pizza⁠ [https://www.angelcityla.com/] in Venice, where he continues to make what he knows: NYC style slices, squares, and even Grandmas! For Vito, pizza is more than just a business — it’s a calling. Born into a family of pizzaiolos, Vito’s roots in the industry stretch back to the 1960s when his uncle opened a pizzeria in New York. His father, fresh from Italy, soon joined the family business, solidifying a legacy that Vito was destined to carry forward. But running a pizzeria wasn’t always the plan. “I didn’t originally come out here to open a pizzeria,” Vito admits. “This business, no matter what it is, always, always brings you back.” When the wildfires tore through Los Angeles, he knew exactly what he had to do. “I lost my mom to a fire. So anytime something like that happens, that’s right where my mind goes first.” Within a day, he provided pizza and community for those who needed it most. Vito showed Will that same kindness for years — but that kindness mattered most when everything fell apart. After giving up his home in Venice Beach and losing everything in the pursuit of Paramount, Will found himself homeless. During that time, Vito DeCandia, at Angel City Pizza, made sure Will ate whenever he walked through the door — no questions, no judgment, just love. Separately, Will formed a deep friendship with Tommy Bina at the historic Canyon Country Store — a landmark tied to music, counterculture, and creative history. Through hours of honest conversation about life, art, faith, and the next generation, the two realized they shared a common belief: the real work ahead is for the kids, not the industry. From those two relationships came one mission — not to chase Hollywood, but to build for the next generation. So the Share Coke with Will podcast will launch in two locations: * Angel City Pizza (with Vito) — rooted in fatherhood, community, humor, and the Gen Z crowd right next door at Venice High School. * The Canyon Country Store (with Tommy) — rooted in legacy, storytelling, healing, and the cultural lineage of Laurel Canyon. Two hosts. Two homes. One message: Take care of the kids first. As the podcast grows, Will plans to bring in: * Griffin Johnson (10.5M on TikTok) — through their shared management. * Three-time Grammy winner J. Ivy — Will’s longest creative collaborator. * And continuing alignment with Jaime King, who stood alongside WPC during the Paramount movement. What was once intended to be a Gen Z division inside a major Hollywood studio is now becoming something more real: Lucelle Studios — built through Ocala, Florida and Piney Woods School in Mississippi — where young people will learn, create, and rise. So what do you get when you mix: * a former film producer, * a three-time Grammy-winning poet, * a Gen Z cultural voice, * and a New York pizza craftsman… split between Laurel Canyon and Venice Beach… You get a group of people who Share Coke and tell the truth — about the dream they almost landed, the studio they didn’t get, and the movement they’re building anyway. Sometimes Plan B is really Plan A in disguise. Because you don’t have to own a studio to change a generation.