I Built a Bank While Making House Music—Here’s Why

GM all! Arlin here typing to u from freezing ass cold massachusetts.

So this is the story I’ve been dying to tell but had to keep on the DL.

I’ve been relatively low-key since dropping the 8AM album, having used 2024 as my personal sandbox for meditation, creativity, and making house music. 

That was the light side of things: a year of spiritual deep dives and creating tracks that raise energy of the world.

As I sat quietly however, I noticed a shadowy aspect began to take shape within me. It was as if a 'business-driven fervor' was emerging alongside my meditative and artistic endeavors.

Now, after a year of setting aside 'worldly pursuits,' I've re-entered the business realm with renewed energy.

For me, this was some form of ‘business-focused mania’ brewing under the surface of my Yogananda meditations and right brain creative activity.

Over the last 90 days, I channeled that energy into something massive. 

Without further ado, I would like to officially introduce you to Parker: alongisde a group of business, I have been working on building a the banking & finance tool for internet entrepreneurs, creatives, and artists like myself.

This sh*t is honestly wild.

And I’m finally ready to let you in on the whole story.

The Double Life: Music vs Money

If you followed me at all in 2024, you can probably picture my life…

Early mornings meditating, afternoons in the studio crafting house music, nights spent lost in creative flow. 

This was quite the contrast to the prior 8 years of my life where I was knee-deep in the hustle—the side of me that built Maxi, launched Tribe, and closed millions in online sales. 

I guess I couldn’t ignore that part forever. 

I kept feeling this pull, like there was a new, next-level project out there calling my name.

Throughout 2024, I had become really good friends with a guy named Yacine… 

Let’s rewind to where it all started: the end of 2024. That’s when I crossed paths with Yacine through Tribe, my entrepreneurial community for men who love traveling, throwing events, and connecting with other driven humans. 

Yacine showed up wanting to learn how to host bigger gatherings for his company Parker and meet more entrepreneurs.

Of course Yacine was one of hundreds in Tribe, but I realized quickly: this guy’s not just building a casual Shopify store or some run-of-the-mill SaaS. 

He was building a bank.

A bank… wtf?

I mean, come on—of all the possible ventures, a bank has to be the most ambitious. 

After slowing Tribe down in end of 2023, I still remained good friends with Yacine.

Over 2024, while I was deep into music production and spiritual growth, Yacine and I started connecting more and more. 

We’d talk over the phone about the future of money, including BTC, the struggles that internet entrepreneurs face with outdated banking systems, the future of Ai and how we could grow our visions into the future. 

One day around October, yacine was visiting LA shooting a movie with my good friend & legend in the creative space, Crea Tyler. Working with Crea was one of the ideas I had tossed around to Yacine a while back - and he got it done.

Yacine is very lowkey on social. Private instagram, no youtube or tik tok. Just linkedin and even there he’s pretty quiet. Yacine is a builder.

But his dark side has always been calling him to the light. 

And so yes, a Parker x Crea Tyler full length documentary movie was born. It’s not out yet, but be ready - it’s pr crazy.

So as we were shooting that, one day we were driving down to Malibu and Yacine threw around the idea of working together as a joke.

Until it wasn’t a joke anymore.

A Virgil Abloh Moment

You know how Virgil Abloh had Off-White (his own project) but also became the creative director at Louis Vuitton? 

That’s how I see my new role at Parker. 

I still have my own brand, my music, my communities, but I’ve also stepped in as Parker’s “creative chaos agent.” Sounds wild, right? 

But in me and Yacine’s opinion, that’s exactly what the fintech world needs: a dose of real, raw creativity.

When Yacine and I realized we could actually build something epic, we struck a deal. I’m helping Parker grow—scaling its network, shaping its vibe, and carving out the brand story. 

Our mission is creating the go-to financial ecosystem for people like us: the misfit internet entrepreneurs who flip content into cash flow, spin up new online brands overnight, and turn side hustles into million-dollar machines. 

Parker is going to be our bank, our network, our backstage pass to the highest level of life.

What Makes Parker Different (and Why I’m Obsessed)

1. Verified Networking

After building communities like Maxi and Tribe, Yacine and I both saw a huge gap in the market: how do you know if someone’s really at your level? On social media, anyone can fake success. Anyone can post stripe or shopify numbers.

And so in paid masterminds, you’ve got a $300K-a-year entrepreneur mingling with a $100mm-a-year mogul, and while both can afford fancy dinners, their business challenges and resources are worlds apart.

This isn’t to say you can only befriend people on your level financially - but from a purely business networking perspective… of course you want to be around people on your level and not leagues behind.

Parker changes that game by verifying who you are financially becauese well - you literally bank with Parker (securely, of course). Whether you’re a total beginner, or stuck at the $1-3mm a year level or crushing it at  $25mm+, you can connect with entrepreneurs in the same ballpark—people who actually get your world. 

Again - not in the entrapments of elitism but rather in the spirit of true, grounded alignment and real ROI on your network.

2. Creative Brand + Fintech

Fintech as most would imagine is an incredibly boring industry 

We’ve flipped this with Parker.

This brand feels more like a streetwear brand like Cortez or Nude Project, mixed with an elite network combined with the grit and hustle of an internet marketer, and the best of the startup world. 

That’s the energy I’m elevating and injecting into Parker, and it’s going to shake up the industry.

You can feel it.

3. Empowering Entrepreneurs & Fighting the Elite

As most people know, the people that run the banks are known to be some of the most controlling, and evil on the planet.

They don’t care about the internet entrepreneurs. They’ll wage war, literally, to increase their power and control.

Parker on the other hand simply cares about helping businesses grow.

The team at Parker has built a platform that truly understands the nuance of online business—cash conversion flow cycles, the metrics that actually govern business success, and tools that are designed for the future of an Ai economy. If you’re an online business owner, Parker aims to be your secret weapon.

What I’ve Actually Been Doing: 30 Days of Chaos

You’re possibly wondering: Okay, Arlin, cool story—but what have you actually done for Parker so far?

• Sales & Team Expansion: I brought in some heavy hitters, including two heads of commission-only sales and seven reps who came straight from the trenches of internet marketing (scaled with iman from a few mil a year to tens of millions). I set up a Parker GPT training system so they can on-board fast and sell the vision effectively.

• Brand Redesign: Yacine and I are revamping Parker’s entire look and feel, from the logo to the experimental landing pages. Fintech meets high-art.

• Funnel Overhaul: We discovered that 54% of our leads were dropping off during the sign-up. That’s a huge missed opportunity. So I hired a top-tier funnel builder to fix it—and fix it fast.

• Network Sourcing: When we needed tickets for Funnel Hacker live, media buyers, account managers and AEs, I hopped on Instagram and recruited them on the spot. One post, and we had a stack of résumés to sift through. That’s the power of brand equity.

• Key Partnerships: We closed deals with some massive internet business YouTubers, Podcastsers, and influencers. They’re bringing his their students into the Parker ecosystem.

Why You Might Care

If you’re an internet entrepreneur—even if you’ve just got that entrepreneurial spark—Parker is built to give you an edge.

It’s a financial engine that runs at the speed of online business, verified networking so you know who you’re actually dealing with, and a design that finally meets us where we are: in the fast lane of digital commerce.

So get ready: Parker is here, and it’s about to reshape how we bank, network, and build wealth on the internet.

—Arlin

PS- if you end up joining parker for me, make sure you tell me on IG.

PSS - if you enjoyed this read, dm me as well on ig. I’ll read and respond