i m going to tell you what s going on in your house right now. i know, i feel you. been there, done that. if we catch them at that age, mold their minds, teach them what it is to be motivated, self-inspired, believe in themselves. because coming from the neighborhoods that we came from, nobody believes in us. this is changing the world, literally. little, by little. his message is always positive. it s always about education. you need to study, you need to be good for yourself. don t let anybody tell you that you can t do it. and the students really thrive on that. we re in the inner city, we re the toughest part of town, and it s just beautiful to see all these kids here, thriving. and as motivated as they are. armando s drive to inspire, to make music, to live up to his mr. worldwide moniker, all originate with the same goal. making his cuban american community proud. there s nothing like walking down the street and a little old lady comes to you and says, my
year s official theme song. we re trying to bring people together. and to me the world cup is the beginning of that journey. all of this an a dream. the world cup is just the beginning. to hook up with the world cup is the biggest global audience that you can get. but the audience closest to armando s heart is found at a school in miami s inner city. sports leadership and management academy, or s.l.a.m. is a charter school with a sports themed curriculum armando helped create. he advocates for the school and motivates its students. do you guys know pitbull? you see him around a little bit? yes. that takes morals, right? the reason that it s so special is because they are me. you know? and i can go down the line on those kids and probably just sit with one, and i say, don t even talk to me.
little son, come here, you are what makes us proud out there. you keep doing what you do. an 85-year-old woman telling you that. that means the world to me. because now i know that we re making the right decisions and they know that i m not perfect. they know my story. there s one more chapter armando hopes to include in the story of pitbull. a concert performance in a free cuba. when cuba opens, i can perform. when i can do that, oh, man, first of all, you re going to have to stop me from crying up there. and it will be worth everything, everything. why you think they call me mr. worldwide? from miami to the world cup
it and then get it, and they do exactly what they re supposed to do with that word, create their own destiny, build opportunity, use the freedom that this beautiful country gives to us, that s what this is about. it s that cuban american sense of opportunity and obligation that seem to drive armando s ambition. being cuban, a lot of our mentality s like that, meaning, we ll start making the sandwiches and then we ll own the restaurant. we ll clean the shoes and then own the shoe store. we clean the house then own the house. the house of pitbull is impressive. he estimates he has close to 70 million followers on social media. that and an international fan base makes him hugely attractive to advertisers. one thing that he says over and over again is, don t put me out in front of your brand as representing the latin market, because i am the worldwide market. his portfolio includes
drug trade, pervasive in the neighborhoods of his youth. when did it come to you to say, you know what, this ain t the life? i m not about this life. a transaction was made, and me being greedy, okay, i was maybe 17, and i had did something to the product, that i shouldn t have done. and i almost killed that person, over $20. so i said. if i could do this to somebody like that, this isn t right. the experience profoundly impacts armando. he turns away from the hustle and toward rapping. i was moving through so many neighborhoods and so many different schools, i was building a name for myself and picking up different styles where i would go. a teacher at miami s coral parks senior high takes notice. she said, you got talent. i didn t understand what it was when somebody tells you you ve got talent, other than your mom.