What does it really take to build a hospitality business in the UAE?In this episode of Last Flight Out, Mike sits down with James Simmons, an American entrepreneur who moved to Abu Dhabi as a teacher and went on to build an events business before opening Atlon Restaurant & Lounge and Café Nota.James shares how he spotted opportunities in Abu Dhabi's hospitality scene, built a community through events and took the leap into owning his own venue alongside business partner Cliff.They discuss the financial risks of opening a restaurant, how much investment is needed, working long hours while maintaining another career and what it really takes to turn a busy hospitality venue into a sustainable business.From hosting events at Emirates Palace to navigating food costs, staffing, operations and business expansion, this conversation explores the realities of entrepreneurship that people don't always see.In this episode:- Moving from the United States to Abu Dhabi- Building an events business and community- Creating opportunities in luxury hospitality venues- Risking personal savings to open a restaurant- How much it costs to start a restaurant in Abu Dhabi- Managing food costs, staffing and profitability- Expanding the business with Café Nota- Lessons for aspiring entrepreneursIf you're interested in entrepreneurship, hospitality, business ownership or building a new life in the UAE, this conversation is for you.Subscribe to Last Flight Out for more conversations about taking risks, creating opportunities and building a life on your own terms.Follow James Simmons: https://www.instagram.com/jsentertainment81/FOLLOW OUR HOSTS: Jay ➡️ https://instagram.com/jloubriel26 Mike ➡️ https://instagram.com/ifmikewashere FOLLOW LAST FLIGHT OUT PODCAST: YouTube ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/@LastFlightOutPodcast Website ➡️ https://www.lastflightoutpodcast.com Instagram ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/lastflightoutpodcast/ TikTok ➡️ https://www.tiktok.com/@lastflightoutpodcast Apple Podcasts ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/last-flight-out-podcast/id1711422290 iHeart ➡️ https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-last-flight-out-podcast-323371807?cmp=ios_share&sc=ios_social_share&pr=false&autoplay=trueSpotify ➡️ https://open.spotify.com/show/2xZJhd2qIw5IxV4VBQufZn#mikeandjay #lastflightoutpodcast #lfo #lastflightout #shorts #bts #dubai #abudhabi #uae #nyc #expat #latino #blackpodcast #latinpodcast #expatlife

SUBSCRIBE & WATCH MORE ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/@lastflightoutpodcast His parents arrived in America through the Port of Seattle. Today, Commissioner Sam Cho helps lead it.In this episode of the Last Flight Out Podcast, Jay sits down with Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho: the son of South Korean immigrants, a former Obama administration political appointee, an entrepreneur, and the youngest person and first person of color to serve as Port of Seattle Commission President.In this episode:1. Growing up as the son of immigrants and leading the port that welcomed his family; 2. American University, the London School of Economics, and what living abroad taught him about the U.S.; 3. Working in the Washington State Senate, U.S. Congress, the State Department, and the Obama administration, and how government decisions really get made; 4. Founding Seven Seas Export during the 2017 avian flu egg shortage and exporting millions of pounds of American egg products to AsiaHelping preserve the Northwest Asian Weekly, a legacy AAPI publicationRunning for Port Commission, global trade, sustainability, and the fight against human trafficking; 5. Leadership under pressure and his perspective on immigration as an elected official; and 6. His Last Flight Out momentFOLLOW OUR HOSTS: Jay ➡️ https://instagram.com/jloubriel26 Mike ➡️ https://instagram.com/ifmikewashere FOLLOW LAST FLIGHT OUT PODCAST: YouTube ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/@lastflightoutpodcast Website ➡️ https://www.lastflightoutpodcast.com Instagram ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/lastflightoutpodcast/ TikTok ➡️ https://www.tiktok.com/@lastflightoutpodcast Apple Podcasts ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/last-flight-out-podcast/id1711422290 iHeart ➡️ https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-last-flight-out-podcast-323371807?cmp=ios_share&sc=ios_social_share&pr=false&autoplay=trueSpotify ➡️ https://open.spotify.com/show/2xZJhd2qIw5IxV4VBQufZn#mikeandjay #lastflightoutpodcast #lfo #lastflightout #shorts #bts #dubai #abudhabi #uae #nyc #expat #latino #blackpodcast #latinpodcast #expatlife

What does it actually take to rebuild your life when everything has gone wrong? And when is it time to stop choosing security and bet on yourself?

Amer Rustom arrived in Dubai with debt after one of the lowest periods of his life. He went on to generate $3 million in sales in six months and when his company offered him more money to stay, he quit.

In this episode of Last Flight Out, Amer shares the decisions, mindset shifts and risks that helped him rebuild his life, start his own business and create La Dolce Vita.

We also get into the reality of entrepreneurship in Dubai, how La Dolce Vita actually works and makes money, and why you don't need 100K followers to be part of it.

If you're rebuilding your life, considering a major change, thinking about starting a business or wondering whether it's time to bet on yourself, this conversation is for you.

🎙️ Guest: Amer Rustom, founder of La Dolce Vita Entertainment and Num6ers Matter

📸 Follow Amer: https://www.instagram.com/amerrustom29/

https://www.instagram.com/ladolcevita.entertainment/

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Podcast burnout is real, and it hits harder than people realize. We are cutting the noise to talk about the reality of the grind.Creating content consistently looks easy from the outside, but the reality is a cycle of constant output that eventually drains you.

We are talking about the mental toll of staying relevant when you feel like you have nothing left to say. This conversation is for every content creator who has hit a wall and wondered if it is worth the effort to keep going.We break down how to manage your creative process without losing your mind in the process. It is not just about the numbers or the views; it is about maintaining your mental health while building something that actually lasts. If you have ever felt that weight, this conversation is for you.

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SUBSCRIBE & WATCH MORE ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/@lastflightoutpodcast He had a ticket back to San Diego to play another season of baseball. He did not use it.Jay and Mike sit down with Kevin Leonel — a Dominican American designer from Brooklyn who walked away from a baseball career, chose a sewing machine over a PS5, enrolled in YouTube University, and skipped straight past t-shirts to cut and sew. No formal fashion school. No industry co-sign. Just vision, craft, and an obsessive belief that sports and fashion belonged in the same conversation.We get into all of it. Growing up Dominican in Brooklyn and spending summers in the DR. Going from Jordans in the hood to bow ties at boarding school in Connecticut. Chasing baseball dreams all the way to California and the Dominican Republic before walking away. How watching Michael B. Jordan's stylist team at the One Hotel planted the seed. Why he chose a sewing machine over a PS5 during COVID and how his fiance made the call. The first piece he ever sold — a Willie Mays Giants upcycle for a hundred dollars to his cousin. How MLB sent him three cease and desist letters and eventually took down his entire Instagram page. How Urban Outfitters came knocking in year two when he was still sewing in a studio apartment. And the collaborations with Apple, the NHL, NBA, and more that all came to him organically because he never stopped putting in the work.This is the episode for every creative who figured it out on their own terms.Subscribe to the Last Flight Out Podcast on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow us on all social media @lastflightoutpodcastFOLLOW OUR HOSTS: Jay ➡️ https://instagram.com/jloubriel26 Mike ➡️ https://instagram.com/ifmikewashere FOLLOW LAST FLIGHT OUT PODCAST: YouTube ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/@lastflightoutpodcast Website ➡️ https://www.lastflightoutpodcast.com Instagram ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/lastflightoutpodcast/ TikTok ➡️ https://www.tiktok.com/@lastflightoutpodcast Apple Podcasts ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/last-flight-out-podcast/id1711422290 iHeart ➡️ https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-last-flight-out-podcast-323371807?cmp=ios_share&sc=ios_social_share&pr=false&autoplay=trueSpotify ➡️ https://open.spotify.com/show/2xZJhd2qIw5IxV4VBQufZn#lastflightoutpodcast #KevinLeonel #Dominican #Brooklyn #Streetwear #Fashion #Baseball #MLB #NHL #NBA #Apple #podcast #ep61 #newepisode #nofilter #betonyourself #youtubeuniversity #sewingmachine #SportsAndFashion #independentdesigner

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Some artists make music. Raydeo makes sense of the world through it.In Episode 60 of the Last Flight Out Podcast, Mike and Jay sit down with Raydeo — a storyteller, leader, and one of the most authentic voices coming out of Washington Heights, New York. This is not just a music conversation. This is a conversation about identity, purpose, and what it actually means to stay true when the world is constantly pulling you in a different direction.We get into all of it. What Washington Heights gave him and what it cost him. How a household with more struggle than support shaped the man he is today. Why he chose the name Raydeo. When music stopped being a hobby and became his voice. The mental battles behind the sound. The moment he realized he was not supposed to fit in — he was supposed to stand out. His journey into acting as an extension of his artistry. The hardest lessons the industry has taught him. And the philosophy behind Stay True — what it means for a kid from Washington Heights to lead, create, and remain fully himself in a world that rewards conformity.This episode is for every creative who has ever used art to find their way back to themselves.

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Jay ➡️ https://instagram.com/jloubriel26

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Nostalgia lies to you. It edits out the boredom, the broke months, and the friendships that were never that solid, then sells you the highlight reel as history. Mike and Jay get into what they actually wish they'd known in their twenties.This one is about memory and how badly it distorts the past, and about the specific things you only understand about your twenties once you're safely out of them. Relationships, friendships that faded for reasons nobody names out loud, careers that looked like plans and were really just momentum. We also get into what changed when growing up stopped being private: a generation that came up before the internet kept receipts versus one that has every version of itself stored somewhere permanent, what it means to be judged now for who you were at nineteen, and where accountability ends and cancel culture starts.FOLLOW OUR HOSTS: Jay ➡️ https://instagram.com/jloubriel26 Mike ➡️ https://instagram.com/ifmikewashere FOLLOW LAST FLIGHT OUT PODCAST: YouTube ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/@lastflightoutpodcast Website ➡️ https://www.lastflightoutpodcast.com Instagram ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/lastflightoutpodcast/ TikTok ➡️ https://www.tiktok.com/@lastflightoutpodcast Apple Podcasts ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/last-flight-out-podcast/id1711422290 iHeart ➡️ https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-last-flight-out-podcast-323371807?cmp=ios_share&sc=ios_social_share&pr=false&autoplay=trueSpotify ➡️ https://open.spotify.com/show/2xZJhd2qIw5IxV4VBQufZn#Nostalgia #YourTwenties #CancelCulture #SelfDevelopment #LastFlightOut#mikeandjay #lastflightoutpodcast #lfo #lastflightout #shorts #bts #dubai #abudhabi #uae #nyc #expat #latino #blackpodcast #latinpodcast #expatlife