For the Single's Day celebration at the Shops at Skyview in New York on November 11, where we were thrilled to engage in a meaningful conversation with the captivating Kevin Kreider also known from the hit Netflix show Bling Empire. Amidst a world often enamored by opulence and extravagance of the show, Kevin Kreider emerges as a symbol of self-discovery and acceptance. We have an enlightening and candid dialogue as Kevin, who epitomizes authenticity and charm, generously shares his personal journey through the intricate tapestry of love, dating, and the pursuit of genuine connections.
Kevin unveils the complexities of his own experiences, providing valuable insights into the delicate dance of navigating the modern landscape of romance and speaks on his journey of entrepreneurship. We hope to offer a beacon of inspiration and advice on the special occasion of Single's Day.
Happy Singles Day! But you're no longer single. Can you inspire us and tell us a little bit about how you met your partner?
I met her over 13 years ago actually in New York City, where we are right now, and she and I did a modeling job together, we actually weren't very fond of each other when we first met. And then a few years later, we met at another shoot and Devon approached me and we started talking and then she asked me out, and then we dated for about. Nine months, unfortunately, at that time, I wasn't ready for a relationship. I was just starting to get my sober life together, and so then we broke up and seven years later we reconnected and been sober for a while. And finally, here we are on the long journey.
Jocelyn: Wow, that's great. It was meant to be.
In 'Bling Empire,' we see a variety of relationships and dynamics. What have you learned about building and maintaining healthy relationships from your experience on the show?
I think building relationships from the beginning is to set some healthy boundaries. I think for me I had some very unhealthy boundaries with a lot of my castmates and my friends. We were friends before, and I was so new to Los Angeles that I just did whatever the friends were doing, and I had no other choice. But then as time went on, I got more choices and then I wanted a life on my own outside of just being on Bling Empire. I don't think people were really ready for that. I don't even know if I was, but I would say that having a healthy relationship is really more about being. Having the courage to talk to each other, that isn't in the public eye. We did a lot of stuff that was in the public eye and we talked a lot. But I think if I look back on it, I would have had private conversations with each other not on camera off camera like mostly off camera.
Can you share a few of your personal insights on navigating the complexities of dating and romantic relationships?
Yeah, I think it depends on how old you are, right? Because the newer relationships are very virtual. I know from the statistics that I read that relationships and sex and all that kind of stuff is a little bit lower than the previous generations. I think it depends.
So, this is kind of just more for the newer generation. My advice is to take all the stuff you've learned from social media and all your friends and you know, trying to navigate through. Personal development and self-help, but you can't actually grow unless you're actually in a relationship. And so I think you can't use these. Hey, let me spot a narcissism. Narcissism, you know? Hey, how do I deal with the narcism? Hey, how do I deal with my own insecurities? You can't do that unless you’re in a relationship and you can practice.
That's like saying like, I'm just gonna watch some YouTube videos on how to be a good cricket player, but you never play cricket. Like you're not. You can't use any of the things you've learned. And so I think it's really important for the younger generation to not just stick with relationships and try it out for a little bit. But don't run when the first thing happens. Like there's a little bit of drama or isn't something that you like. And then there's another option because you can continue that. For the older generation, I'd say stop. Watching social media so. Much in the relationship, be happy. The moment that I closed all my doors and said, you know? And I'm only going to be with her, and she's the one that matters the most. And that's when my relationship started to really be.
How do you handle conflicts and disagreements within your relationships, and what tips can you offer on effective communication?
Well, that's the thing. Like I've learned so much like I thought I knew how to deal with the relationships because, like I said, I'm, you know, I do speaking. I've been sober for a while. All the people I'm around have healthy relationships. They teach me how to be in a good relationship. But you don't really know until you're actually in one.
The one thing that I would say and I've read about, but this is true, is when you're in conflict resolution, conversations, or arguments with your partner, one is that you don't want to try to win over each other. I think that's the one thing if you're trying to win against the conflict, not each other. I think that's really important, but I think that takes time.
I know in the beginning of my relationship is that it wasn't like that, but I think as we've grown and we're heading towards two years of being together. Like you start to learn and really care more for each other because you've had the choice to run and leave, but you chose not to. And because you didn't, you get to this point where you're like, "Oh, we're not really mad at each other. We're mad at the situation." It's something that happened, but it's not each other. But that only takes time. I think the newer generation just runs the moment that they see something like that, which I'm and I'm guilty of doing myself.
So I think if the younger generation really wants to be happy in relationships. Which, by the way, I know both. I know I'm happier in a relationship. I was happy when I was single, but I'm happier in one. I'm not saying single people can't be happy, but I think there's this perception that you're going to be happier. You don't get that until you actually start to have these resolutions.
Kevin: Are you dating somebody?
Jocelyn: No, no, I'm single. I'm single on Single’s Day!
Can you tell us about your beverage SANS? How did you come up with the concept?
Yeah. So the beverage industry is something I never expected myself to be into, but like I saw the opportunity because there were more non-alcoholic beverages coming out for sober people at bars, restaurants, and events. So, I saw that I could be an authentic voice and message for the sober community people who don't want to drink, or people who have substance abuse in their family and relationships. I wanted something to represent them that could be cool, fun, and good for them. For them.
So that's why I created my beverage SANS and it means without and without means you can if you want to.
Jocelyn: I like it. I can't wait to. Try it later.
You recently had a screening of the short film Bare Knuckle. What was it like preparing for the action scenes?
I'm so glad this wasn't real Martial Arts, this is more action-coordinated because when preparing, your body gets hurt. And I'm 40 now. So taking the falls hurts a lot more. We didn't have the real equipment. We had padding, but like it wasn't the professional padding that you can fall on. So, you had to really do a lot of stretching. We thought we were gonna get stunt doubles, but we realized we didn't have the budget for it. It was coming out of our own pockets and other small angel investors. But we just didn't have the budget to do some levels, so we did it ourselves.
This movie we're screening, we're raising and getting people aware to turn into a full feature. We want to turn this into a full feature because I think representing the LGBTQ community is super important. But in a light that hasn’t really been seen which is like, you know, LGBTQ has many types of right? I think for Asians, it's really important to see different sides. Not just one type of character all the time in the media and outlets that we see and what I love about this is we don't have to know martial arts. We're just action heroes. It's a cool love story and it has a lot of twists and turns and romance, and also some kicking ass once in a while. That's all we want to do in life right?
All we want to do!
Try SANS for yourself! https://doyousans.com/
Follow Kevin Kreider
Instagram: @kevin.kreder
YouTube: @KevinKreider
TikTok: @kevin.kreider
Twitter (X): @kevkreider
Instagram: @allsproductions
Check out the photo gallery of the event below!
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