How Cool Is This?

After a whole weekend of great conversations, we finally got the man behind the madness behind the mic. Mike helped bring everyone — including us — together at The Lively Grit Daily House for SXSW 2025. We chatted about dealing with stress, putting on live events, why ‘Zoom Fatigue’ is bullshit, faking football knowledge, bowl cuts, Linkin Park, the difference between a fad, a trend, and a culture, and a lot more in between. 

“There will be one person walking down the side of the street and you'll be like, ‘they're cool.’  And then there'll be somebody else probably making a noise or walking stupidly or wearing something absolutely disgusting, trying to be cool. And you'll cross the road to avoid them.”

Haley is an actor who uses her background in foreign affairs to inform her work on screen and stage. 

We chatted about reconnecting with old friends at SXSW, being influenced by different perspectives from around the world, taking the untraditional path, going from the Cannes Film Festival to monitoring elections in Serbia, finding balance, journaling, Nickel the service dog, her idea for a children’s book, and a lot more in between. 

“One thing I'm grateful for is that I don't have regrets and I think that can be a cool thing.”

A recent Austin transplant, Larry was at The Lively Grit Daily House spreading the word about WLTHYWISE, his personal finance app that helps students realize the financial potential through personal financial forecasting.

We talked Austin vs. LA, basketball, Mr. Beast, the beach, snowboarding tricks, the efficacy of influencers, and a lot more in between. 

“ I really strongly believe that cool is all from a perspective of yourself. You can't really  rely on someone else to tell you if you're cool or if you're not cool.”

A licensed psychotherapist and sex therapist, Nikita Fernandes was invited to speak at SXSW’s Lively Grit Daily House about the perils of burnout culture.

We sat down with her after her presentation to talk about why people feel compelled to do uncool things, TikTok culture, ostriches, the Internet, and more.

“To say that something is not cool that is generally seen as cool means that you're putting yourself at risk for social isolation. And social isolation and feeling isolated is not cool."

Event producer, brand activation savant, and music festival curator Harley Jennette joined us in the recording booth at SXSW 2025’s Lively Grit Daily House to talk about music journalism, meeting people at concerts, skateboarders, a snacking event he’s putting on with Lively Local Markets, and most importantly, what’s cool.

“If your friends don’t think you’re cool, then they’re not your friends."