The Zach and Pat Show
58. Fight For Freedom (feat. Gabriel Vazquez Torres)
(upbeat music) - What is up guys? Welcome back to the Zach and Pat Show. I'm Zach. - I'm Pat. - This is the show about manhood, fatherhood, entrepreneurship and the mentality it takes to be successful at those things. And we'll probably sprinkle in some helpful, real estate advice too, because that's what Pat and I do. You know guys, life can be tough. We can go through some things and struggle at times, but this is the show to let you know that you're not alone. So if you're someone out there going through any of these things, this is the show for you. Shout out to our friends at NeuroGum for keeping us energized and focused throughout the show. NeuroGum is a chewing gum with, and they've also got some mince. It's got caffeine, L-theanine, and vitamins B6 and 12. Helps with energy and focus. I like to chew it really all the time. And whenever I'm driving around showing houses, working, I'll chew it during my workouts while I'm doing CrossFit. Sometimes while I'm doing Jiu Jitsu. Really anytime I feel like I need a little pick me up and I don't want to grab a full energy drink or a cup of coffee or if it's late in the afternoon or in the evening, I can just chew a piece of NeuroGum and it's got like less caffeine than those other things and just kind of keeps me going and kind of gives me a little recharge. So get out there and try some NeuroGum. Next, we are going to introduce our awesome guest today. He's a friend of ours. He is the owner and operator of Captain Beard Company, the great and powerful Gabriel Vasquez Torres. - What's up brother? - What's up dude? - Thanks for having me man. - Thanks for being on. - I'm going to try to do my best on that one but feel like you kind of helped me up a little bit. - Oh man, well you should be, the hype is real. So we're happy to have you on man. We've been wanting to get you in here for a while now. I know you and Murph are partners on Captain Beard Company together and I'm a big, I've been using the products for a long time now and I've been a, as someone who has had a beard now for, I mean I haven't had a bald face since my senior year of college so that was 2015. So I've used various different beard products and yours is by far my favorite. Smell the quality, the ingredients. Everything about it is awesome and we're so happy to support it and thank you so much for hooking us up with some stuff and some hats and all the stuff. So we're super thankful and we're just happy to get you in here. - I would hope you like the products because we're featured in a piece of content for us. - Yes I was. - Are you lying to the audience? - No, no, no. I legitimately use, literally use the stuff every day. - I'm excited to start my beard journey. - Yeah. - We've got you, we've got to get Pat right. - Yeah, we do. - Absolutely. - Get him right. But yeah, we wanted to kind of get into your story and kind of figure out all about you. So you want to just kind of start off and tell us the gay Borgen story, man. - Yeah, man, we can go through rabbit holes of this but just to start, you know, when I moved to, well, I'm originally from Puerto Rico. Let's just start there. Moved to United States that were six years old. So second grade, first grade, whatever it was. From there, I basically ended up with, I guess, selective mutism, which now I understand that as an anxiety disorder that basically just didn't talk in school. So I kind of went through that journey. - Was this because you, did you speak English when you came here? - No, no English. - Okay, no English. - Just came here as a Spanish speaking. - Yeah, I think we're really where it started was, I ended up like just being in front of all the whole class and teachers and everyone there asking me, "Hey, what's your name? What's your name?" I'm like, I don't know what you're saying. - It's terrifying. - And so you have this pressure of like, talk. - And you don't want to sound stupid. - And after a while, my kid, yeah. - Yeah, I'm the new kid, have an accent. I was just like, I don't know what to say. I don't know what you guys are expecting me right now. And I just kind of blanked. And I was already a pretty quiet kid growing up. So I just kind of escalated all that and I asked. So I kind of went through all that by high school. I kind of was just like, you know, I gotta grow up a little bit. I gotta actually, you know, be able to make friends and... - And you were in Rhode Island? - Yeah, I was in Rhode Island. - So I went from Puerto Rico to Rhode Island. I spent about a year, two years in Rhode Island. And I'd talk there, which is like, you know, I was already comfortable. It was like fifth grade already. But when I came back, it was all the same friend group. So I was just like quiet again. So it really was just like a weird mental thing where like, my voice wouldn't work. So I wanted it to, it was just like, you're literally paralyzed. And it's kind of a really shitty feeling. Anyone who deals inside of it will know what I mean by that. But, you know, it's still something I struggle with. And then, you know, high school came. I started talking, started making friends, kind of being a lot more of myself. Went into retail and that's really why I started developing my communication skills and from everything there. It's been his, you know, in history after that. Really, in retail, I went and... - Where'd you work? - I worked so many different places in the end. - Okay. - But really I focused on retail management. So right after high school, I did a year of college and I knew it just wasn't for me. And so after that, I just focused fully on retail and retail management. I was like, I'm gonna get my degree here. I was like, I'm just gonna, I'm not gonna waste my time. I know I want to be a business owner. I was like, college doesn't really get helped me with that. So I said, hey, okay, let's just go all in on this. And I started building my career. I got to the point where I had a few stores for Sprint. And then now, you know, I worked for Verizon as the program manager. So that's really it. As far as the business, I started that about a year ago. I felt like it was just something I needed to start. I needed to create something new myself. And I felt like beard care was where I needed to be. You know, the people that we share on the stuff with, a lot of them have apparel businesses and all this stuff. Like no one's taking care of the men, right? No one's taking care of the body washes, the beard care, the palm aids, no one's taking care of any of that stuff and providing a clean product. So why can't I do that? And so that was it. And it was like, let's try to figure out how we can create a message and really help men, not just from their grooming perspective, but their mentality, the community, the network. Let's try to put people on to connect. And that's really been the premise of Captain and let's throw around now. - Well, yeah, dude, you guys post a lot of, I really like a lot of the messages and stuff that you post. It's all like positive, like kind of seized the day, kind of type messages. - Positive affirmations and stuff. - Thank you, I work hard on those. (laughing) - No, it's great and it's such a great message and it really resonates with us and a lot of the stuff that we kind of preach on the show. So it's, yeah. - Absolutely. I mean, that's a goal. It's just trying to help men out, whether it's mentally or physically or networking or whatever. You know, I just, for me I was like, if I can help one guy out, like, for real, then I've done my part. And so, and I know we've done that. It's just a matter of being consistent where they're getting the rest of the nation. I guess involved. - Yeah. - Now, where did this drive to help people and help specifically men? Where did that come from? - I think that really came from COVID. - That's a great question, actually. So let's just, I guess we can take it back a little bit. When I, how we got to St. Louis was through first one. - Okay. - I was an ambassador for First World Legionnaire back in 2016 and when program first first started. Because they were still working on so many things and there was like 50 people in house, it just wasn't really like organized as well as it is now. And so, also being in college, I just couldn't afford so many products. I was like, I'm trying to promote this stuff, but I can't afford a stock every single month, you know? And so, it became one of those things where I was just like, I feel like I can contribute more to the mission and the cause if I'm physically there. And so, over the years, me and my girlfriend got together, brought her into the fitness and supplements and all that, I kind of gave her my world of it. And this is how 16 years old I was the fitness kid. And so, even throughout high school, it was just every single day. And so, I kind of brought her onto that and I was like, you know, everything going on COVID, lost my job, ended up doubling my income, the new job that I ended up getting. And, you know, everything that was going on with her job was very like Democrat, liberal, you know, LGBTQ, that trying to memorize all this stuff. And she's like, I don't, why? Like, what does this have to do with sales? Or does this, she's also in retail management. She's like, why do I have to learn all this stuff? And so, she got really fed up and I was like, you know, I just doubled my income, I'm remote, let's just go. And so, we came to Summer Smash, we loved it, we made the right connections and we were like, three months later, we were here. And so, I started working part-time at 1P, just, you know, after hours, after my day job. And she started full-time building out her career and just took a step down and started fresh. And so, after 10 months, I was like, man, I'm not getting the full experience that I really wanted. I'm not connecting with people 'cause half the time, I was there from five to 10, there was no one there. It was just me and the warehouse working. - Oh, okay. - And so, I wasn't the same experience. And that's when I was like, man, even for the best company in the world, I still feel like I don't belong here. I still feel like something's missing. So, I took some time away from that. And I basically let go of 1P, I was like, yeah, I need to move on and you do something else. And this was, I wanna say August of 2021? - Okay. - 2022, something like? - Yeah. - 2022. By December of 2022, I was probably the darkest part of my life, ever, 'cause I was like, I'm just working full-time, I'm home all the time, I don't have friends, I don't go out. And it was just a really, really dark place. And that's really where I started. That's really when I started diving deep into what does life mean to me? They're looking into different religious beliefs, start studying from astrology to numerology to religion, to start studying everything, to try to understand what life means, just to give me a premise so that I can work from there. And so, I kind of found my meaning of what life really is. And through that, I saw that male masculinity was being attacked from so many different directions, from the products we're using to what's going on in society. I was like, you know, I can probably help with that. I realized, because I was so alone, I was like, I need a network. I never wanna feel a story, I never wanna feel like I don't have options, I never wanna feel like, you know, for whatever reason, the job, you know, I'd let go of the job, I'm screwed. So I was like, let me figure out how to create a network. So like, I have people that I can count on. So that was also something I wanna incorporate in there. And so I became all these things. Like, you know, I can help in so many different ways. And, you know, I have a lot of life experience when it comes to sales and it comes to management. And by being able to get to the position I'm at now with no college degree, I'm working with people from Brown, I'm working with people with that very high level. And I'm just a kid that, you know, was really good at sales. And from there, I just kind of figured out how to provide value anywhere I could. And, you know, I'm just trying to help people do that with whatever space they're in, you know. - That's awesome, man. - But that's really where it started, you know. For me, going through that dark time, you know, it was needed. I really believe that life is very yin-yang. And there's gonna be times that are dark, but at the same time, you're also gonna see some light. And so as long as you can minimize the darkness a little bit and you can maximize the height, you know, the light your life can be pretty good. - Yeah, well, I wanna highlight something there. It's, you did, you found out what you kind of were looking for and you took action on it, which I feel like that's what really hinders most people when they're looking to get started, is they might analyze everything or look into everything, but they don't actually like really pull the trigger. - Well, I did. I mean, to a certain extent, I did. I've tried a few different businesses, but I never fully was like, done whole in one of them. I was like this, it's just not it. But when I came across beer can, I was like, no one in this space, in our space, in the first one in space, no one's doing this. No one's doing it how we're doing it. And so that was my big thing. And I was like, guys, you guys are just pushing product. You go in any beer company, they're all pushing product. What about the people? - Right. Well, it create like a community around it. And that's something that we can really look at first form and kind of take from them. 'Cause I feel like they've been the best at it is like-- - Dude, they've been such huge supporters from the very beginning. - Yeah, and they just make you, I mean, like Andy's talked about it multiple times, but it's like, he made vitamins cool, you know? - And that was it, man. It's like, how can I create organics? - You're making beer oil cool, you know? - Not if they use that, but how can I create organic products that are cool? - Yeah, sure. - Right, and like just bringing back healthy lifestyle. Like, that's what he's made cool again. And everybody, like, that's what's awesome to see. Like, there's a top producer for my company out in Arizona. And she posted something on social media about hearing about 75 Heart. She was talking about it. And I just wrote on there, commented to her, and just like, hey, read this book. This is gonna break down everything you need to do. 'Cause she was talking about creating her own version. - And I'm like, I'm like, don't do that. I was like, read the book, go through it, and then she just put up a post yesterday after 32 days to into it, and it was like, fucking love it. Like, it was awesome to see like, how that's spread across the country. And just, I mean, just because of the culture that he's created, and it sounds like that's where you're heading, and that's awesome. And I think that's the best way to go about it. - Exactly, and I think the goal, I mean, even for us now, we're still so young into this. That really where I wanna go with it is, you know, doing maybe a conference a couple times a year, or where we can really get people involved and provide value, and be able to physically connect with people here in St. Louis and throughout the nation. You know, how cool would it be to-- - And do like a big captain meetup, or like-- - Yeah, man. - You know, like a summer smash type thing, you know, where you're gonna get everybody together, and you'd get a bunch of vendors there, and get a bunch of people, and maybe you get-- - So I was thinking actually more of like a seminar, but from people who are local here, right? 'Cause my idea around it was like, okay, if I was 18, 19 years old right now, what would I need? I need connection, right? I need mentors, I need-- And so I was like, okay, if I can create that with people like you, people, you know, there are other different sectors, you know, how can I, you know, involve different types of industries into one big thing and say, okay, how can we dominate in every area, not guys? You know, how can we do this together? - Right. - And that's the goal. When we talked about this recently on the show, 'cause we were trying to like, or we just took a couple of weeks off with the baby coming to, or being born and all that, or just kind of recapped on what it was, and we kind of talked about the demographics that we were going after. And one of the ones that I mentioned was a, so my assistant coach, I coach a 16 new team, and he's just out of college. And we listened to a couple of podcasts on a way to a trip to Kansas City. He's like, dude, this is awesome. Like, so I'm like, is that, that's the demographic that we go after, because those are the ones that are new into real life, and need that because they're going from, whatever you're learning in college, to what the real life is gonna teach you, and you have to be able to adapt to that, and there's gonna be struggles. And for all of you guys out there that are of that age, like, the value that you're getting from this podcast, and from people like Gabe, and organizations, and companies like FirstForm, and their communities like, listen to that. Get started young and early with this, and you're gonna set yourself up for future success. - So, dude, and I can speak to that because when I first started, my retail management career started back in 2013, 2014. A year later, MFCO comes out, and I started on episode three. - Yeah, dude. - And I'm implementing this day one. So you can see from a key holder it's a multi-store manager in a few years, but that doesn't come like that. You have to be able to grind and know what you're doing. And so, I was really lucky to be able to have Andy show, and have that mentorship that way, and be able to implement it right away. Others don't really have that option 'cause they're either not in a customer-facing role, or their business is a little bit different. They have to adjust. For me, I was right there with the customer. I knew the objections, I knew how to close, I knew how to help the customer really get whatever it is that they're after and provide by that way. And a lot of that comes from MFCO. - The MFCO, I mean, when I started listening to it, I mean, I was probably around 2014-ish, man. It was like, I remember just like, opened my eyes, man. It was like, holy shit, like, I've thought this kind of shit before, like I've just never heard anybody say it. And I'm like, oh my God, especially like growing up here, I'm like, oh dude, this dude's right down the street. Like it was just like, it was so like, I remember being like, just like this mind-blowing thing at the time. I tried it in the parking lot of old HQ before I ever touched a supplement or ever shopped at supplement super stores. So when I came back to like St. Louis in 2019, I was like, where am I meeting you at? Really park industrial? That's right down the street from my parents. I walked to that industrial park when I was a kid. And I got my start at the first test, too. And then I almost hit an 80 with my car. (laughing) - Still a hallmark moment of my life. (laughing) - Do you apply on the wall? - Or fly in the car? - Yeah. - You would have been, oh shit, I just killed Andy. (laughing) - Just to see that like, I was driving and I just, I loosened my grip on my steering wheel, or I was torqued to the left just a little bit. And so it moved just in his direction. It just happened to catch it when he was like, on his phone, throws his hands up and I'm like, man, that guy's pissed. (laughing) Oh shit, that guy's Andy. - Oh, I mean, that thing, I mean, if you guys ever driven back there, that's all, there's some sharp turns in there. - Yeah, in blind turns. - It wasn't even like I was going fast for real. It was just like the most inopportune moment to just grasp the most inopportune human's attention. I'm just gonna, yeah, you know what I'm getting at. - Yeah. (laughing) - Well, let's go back a little bit. So from Puerto Rico, what was the reasons for coming over to the United States? - The American dream. - Yeah, I mean that whole family and everybody. - Yeah, so it was basically my stepfather ended up, a mom ended up getting with someone a couple of years prior to us moving out here, which became my stepfather. My stepfather ended up getting a job in Rhode Island as a teacher, making very good money at the time. You know, this is early 2000s. And so it became all situations when mom went from working in government job to having her own house, having all this stuff, to us just living in a three bedroom apartment in this small town and starting fresh. And it was just an opportunity. It was learning how Angliss. - Was this your stepfather's, was it his job that brought you to Rhode Island? - Yeah, exactly. So because his teaching job paid well. - It was such an obscure, like small part of the country, I was like, "Well, why Rhode Island?" - Well, Rhode Island, because he actually had family already in that area. So it just kind of works out. Yeah, if it was up to me, it was not Rhode Island. - Well, it's just you got it. You got it, you got it. - I like Rhode Island, it's just cold, man. - Yeah. - Tell me, what do you want to live in, going from 110 to new weather to negative time? - It's just going from Puerto Rico to Florida. - Yeah, so you guys were in Florida first. - No, so we went from Puerto Rico straight to Rhode Island. We traveled back and forth a lot that first year is because we were just trying to adapt so much. And our family is such a big, we have my family, my dad's side, my family from my mom's side, they all like intertwined. And it's so cool because it's like 30, 40 people, just together. And so, yeah, you just grew up with them. And then from that to just now it's just me, I stepped up to that and my brother, my sister was it. So it was definitely a big change. - That's hard. - Well, what was life like in Puerto Rico? - Puerto Rico's cool, man. - Yeah. - You know, it's tough 'cause I don't remember too much of it, but what I do remember was a lot of the entrepreneurs out of it. So growing up, my grandmother, my grandfather, my grandparents, basically built out like at his highest point, like three or four different supermarkets store. And so, you know, four or five years old, I was stuck in chills, man. You know, to me, the entrepreneurship, which is in my blood, it was what I was gonna do. I just was trying to do it as remotely as I could. And, you know, growing up, you know, the internet was just not really a big thing. And so as I started to develop, it was like, oh crap, this is an opportunity. And so I always looked at that, I was like, okay, how can I do something remote with a business and kind of have that freedom that I can do what I wanna do when I wanna do it? And so I can never really figure that out. I was like, you know, another apparel branch is not gonna do it. And so, you know, once the idea of the beard company came up, I was like, yeah, that's good work. - Well, it's like the beard company can also make a apparel, you know. - Right, exactly. And that's really probably-- - Obviously we're all wearing it. - Yeah, that's probably what the business is gonna end up being like at least half of it, really, because it's-- - Well, look at first form. I mean, I couldn't tell you exactly, but I bet that, I mean, I know that they're clothing and they're all their apparel has a, I'm sure that's a significant portion of the revenue. - Oh yeah. - You know, I mean, obviously the supplements and the vitamins and all the stuff that they sell is a big portion too, but I bet, I mean, I don't know, but if I was a betting man, I would say that apparel is up there. - As they prepared to move in a new HQ, they understood that the idea of just being a one-dimensional supplement company was something that they had already done next on. And just to see the progression of it, because like when I got there, like it was fine. But then when Danny, shout out to Danny Schlesinger, this woman drives 75 miles each way to her job. Every Monday through Friday, raising two kids, they just built a house, her and her husband, and when she got in charge of the apparel, it went to the next level. It became stylish, like the shirt that Pat has on now, it just jumped up. And especially when they got the new logo out, understanding that it wasn't just gonna be a supplement company, this was no longer just fitness industry, that like lifestyle, and that's hopefully, you know? - Yeah, I mean, I think they really had the transition, 'cause similarly, you have just kind of seen it, but from the back end of it, it was a transition from being fitness and bodybuilding and all this stuff to wellness. - Yes. - And we saw that with the greens and the greens started, that was a transition. - Yeah. - Greens and reds and everything else just came. - Well, yeah, look at all the different kinds of athletes that they sponsor. If we look back, like when I first started paying attention to first form and like in being, I mean, I guess I've been a longtime customer, it's really since like, since they started, I went into the oldest too, and in-- - 2009 was a year as erected. - Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I think I probably bought my first tub of Juicy Watermelon in like 2010, maybe 2011. And if you look at kind of where it was then and the athlete, you know, the whole athlete thing, and you look at all those athletes at the time, they were all like, it was like bodybuilders. - Right. - And now you look at it, it's, they've got, you know, I mean, just about every major sport, I feel like they've got some sort of sponsored app. - Well, as far as influencers go to, what they've done is they've even moved into like having, like people who are musicians, in terms of like, they have the guys from Pierce to Vale. I'm pretty sure-- - Our last night. - Our last night is a big part of what they do. They have DJs. Steve Aoki has a great relationship with Andy. - Yeah. - I think the big part with that too, was the energy drinks. It kind of led them into this whole realm of-- - Yeah. - Action sports of-- - Well, it's also, yeah, 'cause now it's in gas state. It's like you see it everywhere. Me and Gino were watching, it's that new Zac Efron movie on fucking Netflix. We were watching it, but we paused it. They were in a supermarket and we paused it and we're like, "Oh shit, look!" - You see a first one logo? - Oh, first one logo is all over. - Really? - Yeah, I paused it and I took pictures of it. But yeah, I was like, yeah, they're going, she's like pushing the cart down the island. If you pause it, there's the protein sticks in a box of the bars and-- - That's it. - Yeah, it's just, it was cool. We were like, "Oh shit, like, it's on fucking Netflix." You know, it's like, I remember when, I remember when first form was like this niche. It was a very, like, you had to like explain. Oh yeah, it's like a, it's a supplement company. - I remember during Tyrone Woodley's like, last UFC fight, which was not a good showing for him. He got knocked out, tapped out, and those are the ones slapped out, they said. And that's, like, it was kind of novelty 'cause like, he had the old logo on his shorts right before they stopped doing the sponsors and everything. And it's just kind of cool to see what it's turned into, especially if you're going to like Bush Stadium. You see it just like, we're proud. - Yeah, freaking awesome. But I mean, it's such a great, you know, like kind of scaffolding for like any business to follow 'cause it's like, there's so many principles that I mean, you guys both took. And I've taken, and we've taken just as, just being a customer, like, you know, just the personal relationships that you create with your customers. And it's like, you know, the handwritten notes. And yeah, it's just all these things that they do and that it's, I mean, it totally is just a great scaffolding to like kind of build a business on. - Yeah, absolutely. I mean, they gave me the blueprint, you know? I've just taken it and go up into a different business. And so, you know, put them all in touch on it and making sure it's still a great experience every single time is the goal. - Awesome. - What's some of the goals moving forward for Captain Beyrko? - Well, like I said earlier, conferences really wanna create something cool with that, whether it's, you know, 50 people, 100 people. I'm sure it'll grow from there, but I really wanna do all each couple of those a year. That would be cool. As far as apparel, stuff like that, you know, that's all coming. So as far as sense, I mean, I have a few that are coming up, but there's only so many cents we can do. And once someone loves a cent, they don't really want anything else. And so, you know, we'll do stuff here and there, but I think we're gonna be pretty limited on that. - How many cents do you guys have currently? - We have three. And then the Oncented, which is like. - What are the three? - Oh, tobacco vanilla, that's been my go-to. - Yeah, the Coastal Drift, which is, you know, a great summer one, and then the mahogany and teakwood. - I slept on Coastal Drift. I've been really big on the other two and is a big piece of the company. Like I've been exclusively using the Beardwash, dude. And it's, I'm impressed. It's very unique smelling. And they're all great, but yeah. Don't sleep on Coastal Drift, y'all. - Yeah, dude. Well, I, this is something that, you know, I definitely wanted to highlight. And this is what, this, this stuff is done for me. And I mean, I was, I was looking in the shower the other day. I mean, I've been using this for a couple months now. And I have it sitting in my shower. And I look at it next to like another face wash that I have there. And it looks like kind of like a main, main stream brand that you'd see in just about every supermarket. I'm not gonna name them, but you know. - Thank you. - And I turned it around and I looked at like the ingredients list and I'm like, oh shit. Like, Captain has like, how many ingredients are on here? One, two, three. - Six, seven. - Six, seven. And I look at this other one and it's like a paragraph long. And you can't pronounce any of the things. Like if you, if you, if you paid me, I probably couldn't pronounce half the words on that. And I'm like, holy shit, like that right there is, is, is so cool. And what this has done for me specifically, like, I mean, I mean, this is something that I'm sure I'm not the only guy out there that struggles with this or has this happened, but like, I'll get like really bad, like beard dandruff, you know. And like, I, I wear a lot of black and I always, like anytime I'm wearing a black shirt, I gotta like, you know, pay attention to my, make sure I'm not like, you know, getting all these nasty flakes and stuff, but I've noticed that this stuff really, really helps with that as well as, you know, pairing it with the oil and stuff. And I put it on, you know, every day. So, you know, shout out to you guys for helping me out. - Yeah, I mean, the goal really with the beard care was to fix probably like five or six things. No, I'm not gonna remember all of them, but the big one was the greasiness. Typically with beard oil, you see it's typically more greasy when you throw it on and then go over it again. It's like, oh shit, I have it all in my hand. You don't have that, right? If we can create a product with high absorbing oils and you don't have to worry about it, it's just gonna actually penetrate and do its job. So that was the goal there. So, you know, create more serum instead of no oil, right? So for the beard oil, that was like my big thing and I focused so long on it because I was like, this is gonna be a bread and butter. Let me like, make sure it's right. And so that was that, as far as the soaps and everything else is like, okay, well, how many soaps have you tried that leave your beard super dry after? - Yeah. - All right, so I was like, okay, if I can add some oils in there, but still be able to wash it off, then I might, and that's exactly what happened. Let's figure out which ones are the right ones. - Yeah, that's, now I'm sure there was a lot of like trial and error. - Oh, I knew it, yeah. The R&D is insane on each product. People don't realize like when you're spending a few hundred dollars just to-- - Well, especially you're the one making it, right? I mean, it's so cool. You're making it by hand. I mean, that's so cool. - Yeah, and then as far as flakiness, you know, beard, dandruff, you know, if it's too oily, you get on your shirt, I've seen people get, you know, oil all over the shirt, and I don't have that with your stuff. I'm like, yeah, 'cause it's not supposed to, like it's a little goes long way. You know, we provide the solution to what you need, and that's it, we're not trying to, you know, oversell you on things. It's just, I'd rather you keep you as a monthly customer than that's how you use something, you try it, and then you hate it, and then you never buy it again. That's not solving any of those problems, right? So that was really the big goal, is like, I'm gonna create things that are non-greasy, that are designed to help you, you know, with DHT, I don't know if you know what DHT is. I'm probably gonna butcher this, but it's the high dose of Stoshroom, it's basically about 10% of your regular testosterone, okay? And so what's happening is you're having all these products in the marketplace that mess up your testosterone and your hormonal disruption, right? And then on top of that, they're also putting sodium in there, that's thickening agents. They're putting sodium in there as also, what's it called, it's like a, not just thickening agent, but it's basically, or like, kind of like a cleanser, like, you know, a pH balance thing, but I'm like, okay, but if it's gonna end up drying and beard out, that does that make sense, right? And so it's very counterproductive, they're basically providing you a short-term solution that might work for five minutes, but then-- - Well it makes you know something, it can sell you too. - Right, and then, you know, all the, here's a leaving conditioner, so you can, you can really get your beard as soft as possible. Man, I'd put that thing off for 10 minutes like it was instructed, and then 20 minutes later, dry again, that's not right. So I'm like, I gotta create something better, and so that's really where the hunt started. I can create something that actually worked. - Yeah, and product-wise, if you thought about like, just all like, just like shampoo, and deodorant, and body wash and things like that. - The deodorant's coming. - Okay, deodorant's coming. - Deodorant's coming. - I love that. (laughing) - Yeah, we ended up partnering with a Teleskin Co, which is really close to our Murph here, and she's been super helpful with helping us with the deodorant, so that's gonna be coming soon and later. - And big shout out to her, because like Melissa is operating in Colorado, her business is, she's done something very impressive with her Talo, and I mean, like, I've started using her products. She's been an open book to helping us, and it's been a remote thing from so far, but just seeing that when you do good, but especially small business, because we're all about supporting local, but just how much camaraderie there can be with someone who's not right next to you, like our hats are off to you. You've been awesome to get to know, you are one of the sweetest human beings ever, and I'm just excited for what our businesses could do together. - Yeah, absolutely. - And that's really something I wanna collaborate with too, like, Aloe, and doing skincare, like, you know, that's a little more. - Like me, Tal? - Yeah. - Oh. - It's great, dude. It's amazing. - It's amazing. - I wanna bring over some of her stuff as you can try, 'cause like, I mean, what is it? The dark roast coffee, skin cream? Talo, it's, dude, it is, it's man. And she uses almond coffee for it. - Oh, really? - Yeah, very cool. She's badass, but yeah, that's what's coming again. Talo, skin co, and she does Jujitsu. - Oh, even better. - Yeah, I mean, her target audience is gonna be definitely a little more female, more natural, like, as organic as you're gonna get. For me, I was like, how can I create that? But like, still have a little bit of flair and smell good. You know, guys, enjoy that. - For sure. - Well, it's like, I look at this as like, it's almost like, cloned to, you know, it smells good. - Oh, that's what it's inspired by. - It's like, I don't really use cloned, I use this stuff. You know, I just, it smells good. - I'm sure Gina appreciates that when you wanna give her a kiss, or if she doesn't smell like shit. - Right, yeah. - Shout out, Gina. - Gina? - So, a little backstory on it. So, about 2015, 2016, I had a buddy who started his own beer company. - Okay. - Okay. - And I started supporting him, and I ended up going on a trip to a buddy's wedding, and I forgot to bring cologne, like, I had nothing on me. I had my beer stuff, and that's all a war. I was like, okay, so do I need to spend $100 on stuff? - No, I haven't bought cologne in years. - Right, so if I can create products that actually have that, I don't have to worry about it. And so, you know, back when everything was happening, I was going through my dark time. He hit me up and said, hey, I wanna, would you wanna buy my company? I'm not really active in it. Would you, you know, my buying, and that's when the research started. And come to find out, he has like 20 different oils and stuff. He's, you know, not really prioritizing DHT the way I would. His stuff is a little bit greasier. So, I'm like, man, if I buy this company, I'm buying ingredients, and you're not using anything organic. That's really the price for what I was gonna pay, which is gonna cover, you know, what he has in back stock and stuff like that. And I was like, man, I can take that same money and start my own thing. Do you mind if, you know, since you're not active anymore, do you mind if I start something here in St. Louis? And he's like, good, before, you need help with me. And so, he gave me the green light to just go. And I was like, okay, cool, dude. So, I started kind of doing more research. Now I'd everything down to five to six ingredients each. You know, tried creating a solution to some of the stuff that he already was having trouble with. And his stuff was better than the stuff on the market. So, it was like, okay, how can I really elevate it? And that's where our organic products came in. That's when R&D really started for me. - Yeah, so I guess I just came curious, like you just got my, me thinking here is like, all right, how, like if I wanted to start a, like where do you get these ingredients? Like, is that like something you buy on? You buy them online? I mean, obviously you buy them. But like, do you like find them online? Do you buy them locally? Like I'm just curious, like how do they make it up? - I have to find them local 'cause a lot of this stuff is imported. I mean, you're not gonna find Jehovah oil in the US. It's gonna be imported. Same thing with Shea Butter or same thing with bees. So I mean, anything that I can get in the US, I'll try to get local. There's a local manufacturer here in Manchester, good? - Okay. - And they actually fully focus on candles. And so I buy my beeswax through them. I buy my wicks through them. If I do the candles. - Oh, you do candles as well? - And so I'll use that beeswax from all the products as well. So I'll try it in my best to work with small businesses. And I try not to go on Amazon as much as possible, but unfortunately it's just the name of the game. And if I want a certain ingredient fast or if I want a certain packaging fast and no one else in the area carries it, I have no real option. Or what I try to do while I'm on there is make sure I'm supportive of all business. - Yeah, no, it's so cool. - Yeah, it's a little bit of, you know, sourcing, I have a few other vendors that I'll source through in the US, but I try to do everything US. I don't at least, you know, chip stuff in or anything. It's awesome. We're very proud of our American heritage here. - Yeah. - That's awesome. - And so talking about R&D, I mean, how long did it take you to create the products that you have out here now? - I mean, it's still been an adjustment, man. I will say, so I came out with the unscented line. I started working on it around, and this is when Omen first started. So like, Omen really helped that. I mean, I want to give him a shout out because it's like, that I went through a dark time and then Omen started and I was like, oh, shit, this is a big network of people that I like minded. And that brought me to understand like, well, I can actually do something with my creative. I've been, I've been tuning that down so much because of my corporate job because I'm not really working on anything. That like, you know, as a kid, I was used to draw, I used to do portraits. Like, I was very artistic and I kind of let all that go and went way more and a little way more business. And if I can touch into that a little bit, I think I can create something cool. And so seeing graphic designers around me, seeing, you know, web designers around me, seeing, you know, you guys- - Shout out to Pat. - Yeah, Pat help you with these. - They meet, no, Pat didn't help me with them. But Pat's been a great guide as far as giving me some pointers where I should look, how can I get design things, you know? But the original logo started with just a captain. And I was going to be an apparel company that Buddy in mind actually designed for me. And so when I went to start this company and this was probably, and then it opened, Omen started March, April. - March of '22. - April, March, March. - March, April, it was, so. - '20, actually, my bad. - '23, yeah. - Actually, it's been a year. - It's last year, yeah. - Yeah, I was going to say it's been two years ago. - Well, he started the coffee right after he left first for him. - Yeah, so March, I kind of started with the idea of it. And because he, you know, my buddy had kind of already put that, you know, like the idea in my head back in December. I kept going back and forth with him. Like, hey, give me numbers, that's very other stuff. And he was just very, you know, lacking communication. I'm just going to keep doing my own thing. I've already put, you know, 30, 40 hours into research, I'm just going to do my own thing. And so from March to, I think, why was it Memorial Day? Memorial Day weekend was when we lost. - Yes. - So however many months that is. But I was pushing through, trying to get R&D out quickly. - Three months. - Yeah, because I was just like, the quicker I can get this out, the quicker I can start something and really create it in the brand. And so, yeah, it was three months just straight up R&D and just trying, trying, trying, I mean, the bombs and the butters, I probably did, probably 10 to 14 different variations of them, you know. And then as we went along, our first launch, our first big thing was first one's father's day. So I was saying from the very beginning, they've supported us. And so my initial investment was pretty much returned when we were in the green right away. And so that, the oil would separate on the beard watch. So like there's certain things that like, I was like, shit, like, I didn't do this, right? So we added gorgums and now it's a lot thicker. It's going to be, you know, our beard butter was kind of, the beeswax was actually melting a little too quick. So I was creating a little pellet in there. It wasn't like a smooth. - I've noticed, okay. Yeah, I remember that on the first bottle I bought. - Okay, we'll get you a new one. - No, no, I got one. - Well, this is the bomb, but we'll get you a new one of the butter for sure. So I figured out how to create that super smooth and silky. So like, you know, there's things that have been improved over time, the only thing that hasn't been touched is the beard oil. - Okay, okay. - I just dialed it the first time. - It's time, dude, well, it's great. I mean, like, that's the stuff. I mean, I use it all the time. I mean, I'll get dry skin on my face and I'll use it as like a face. - It's super versatile. I mean, you can literally use that just as cologne if you really want to. - Bro, I mean, like I'm telling you, like with Jujitsu, like I'm constantly using my face as a battering ram. - Oh, yeah. - So like, you know, like I just get really dry skin on my face and stuff and it's, and I use the beard oil for that. And yeah, I use it all the time. - So the answer to your question is something that we're always improving. I was trying to see how we can make it better, solve any problem that, you know, comes up. - Yeah. I'm speaking of captain. Where did the, how'd you come up with the name captain? - Well, I'm from the East Coast, man. - North East, East Coast Newport, you know, all that is, is down my alley. I love the nautical theme. I've always have something that I was just so drawn to. - I feel like, yeah. - And the idea, the idea really came about, I mean, it was kind of the idea of being a captain in your own life, like taking charge, taking control and being a leader. And so I was like, okay, you have lines that are cheap. You have Patriot, I'm like, how can I create my own thing? - Sure. - And that's when captain started. I was like, no one's doing captain. - Oh, it's perfect. - You know, it's like, it's, it's all lines. - Yeah, like go play on the whole nautical theme. Like the whole like kind of sailor, Jerry, like tattoo. - Yeah, the old school, the old school sailor to look at. - Bad ass. - Yeah. - I'm looking at your, you know, the tattoo, you know. - For me, I didn't want to go to like vintage looking. I was like, I kind of still want to do this more modern, like a sleek, but like somewhat like live fit. I don't know if you've seen live fit stuff. Dude, I love his design and his work. Like his brain is- - It's a rich. - Randall, Randall, Randall. - Randall pitches. Yeah, I've been following him since the beginning of his wall and it's like literally MFCO days and so. - Yeah, I remember him being on the MFC. That's why I followed him. - Yeah. The dude was a stud man and you know, he was able to, yeah, he was able to create a whole company from one t-shirt, you know. Now he's making over $100 million a year. - Kind of the same way with our friend Ian too. - Ian went, like, in the original Patreon too. And we have obviously had a story about that too. - Yeah, dude, I mean, dude, Ian is- - I'm wearing his gear right now. - I've always been, you know, and I've talked to him about this. I'm like, dude, the growth that he's had the last three years since he started. That come for three or four years, right? - Yeah. - He started Patriot, right? It don't make any sense. - Really? - It's amazing. Yeah, really, I don't have words to explain like how impressive that is to do, you know. I would assume he's generating over a million a year at this point. And that's incredibly impressive for three years. - He was also an '80s podcast during the height of COVID, which was a big inspiration for his brand, which was, you know, when we kind of go back to like first form creating apparel, Andy has always kind of said like the grand vision for this is to be the greatest company on the face of the earth, but it's like, what happens if you were to combine Nike and gay trade into on service? And, I mean, look, there are no shoes or stylish than Nike. That's, they want to still fight that off. But the thing is-- - What are you talking about, Yeezys, baby? (laughing) - I'm kidding. - Totally kidding. - You notice how I got it in blank? No, Yeezys are ugly or shit. But anyways, the thing about it is though, is that like when you think about like what kind of values that a lot of these companies have, they don't really go with like a strong American, even capitalist spirit. It's like, how can we emotionally try to advertise to you and even use guilt and shame and social issues to do it? And that was Ian's big thing. And he was like, no, like I can use patriotism and non-partisan ship to create my apparel brand and does just like the later designs that he's come up with blow my mind because the original shirt, and he sent me one, it's very, very simple. It's just for Patriot and that blocky text and it's just army green. And like this one that I'm wearing now and his Longhorn shirt, like dude, when I was just there in Idaho a couple of weeks ago, I was like blown away by how far his brand has come. - Dude, I know. And I can see if I'm outside in the crazy part, is that shirt still his best only shirt? - It is. - What the first one? - The first one. - It's original, I'd say. - Simple, like green shirt, black text, like no, you know what I mean? It's not a crazy design, it's just like American flag. - One of my personal favorite shirts is the Pedo Chipper shirt. I like to wear that to any time I'm out in public. And it's just like, oh, these are my values. - Pedophiles aren't people. - Well, I mean, it's also like the first, or the supplement superstore first logo with the big like Donkey Kong looking. - Yeah. - As soon as I saw that hat at Sellem and Superstore, I had to buy one 'cause I thought that was badass. - You know, it's not like it's going back to it. - Yeah, like $100 to make that logo or something. - Yeah. - It's crazy. - It's crazy how that story goes. - This one cost me $150. - Really? I love it. - And it's the thing, like where it's gonna go. - Right? - It's cool. - I mean, the logo is awesome. Like I'm looking at it on that hat really like that looks sick. - Yeah, can we put that hat on camera? - We can. I've been, I'm probably not gonna release. I'm probably not gonna release the black, but I'm thinking we're doing this one for color. So I'll probably do gray tan blue in the maroon. - Love it. - Technically. - We just got these. - And then, you know, this is the OG, man. This was something that I really incorporated a little bit of everything, right? - Yeah, I was looking at the post. Do you have like all these, all this detail? - Yeah. So let's get into that. - So I love the 90s, you know, I know Nike's not where it is now or where it should be now from a political standpoint. But I really, really just fell in love with Nike and Jordan back in, you know, when I was four or five years old and I would watch every game and I would have all the shoes and we couldn't afford much or we could afford at least one pair of season or we can beat up, you know, during basketball season or whatever. And so like, my mom was like, man, I'm gonna spend two, you know, two or three pairs of shoes if I buy Nike but if I buy Jordan, I can only have spend one because they're adorable, they work that well. And so it was really a quality thing for me at first and then from there, you know, they did such a good job with marketing the greatness that was just like, okay, well, I really enjoy that. And so till this day, I still really admire, you know, the 90s look that nostalgic, what they were known for the graffiti, so a lot of this stuff is really designed around that. So I have some graffiti in there and it's just like, yeah, that's what I grew up on, you know? And so for the hat, the idea was keep as simple as like, okay, on the original logo, he has a C, right? And for me, it's like, a lot of people are all, you're like, you're the captain, no, we're all, like, this is about us. And so it was like, if I can create something about us, I would need to create that scene. And so that's where the C star does something simple. And then the flag on the side was really, just giving a little home to the Olympics in the 90s and, you know, the gold around the flag, which is such a cool thing. And then I incorporated our colors into it. So the red, white and blue, which is kind of like pastel-y, you know, that's kind of our touch. It's just like, it's not too strong, but it's still a little off. And so that goes right back to like, the nautical look. If you look at Newport blues or anything like that, it's like a navy, but a little off, it's just, you know? So that was a goal, man. And then quite for freedom, it's just, you know, we needed something to represent who we are and what we stand for. And, you know, we're just not there yet. And so to create a brand, you kind of need something. And with hope we rise as our original logo, but far for freedom is what we need right now. And so that's where I felt like, you know, Murphy and I kind of talked about it. I was like, you know, this looks better. This makes more sense for what we're doing. - Yeah. We as a brand, if I could speak as the marketing end, like the last few years, like the opening in the market to have really pro patriotic values. And I'm not to make a partisan, 'cause I wouldn't call us a conservative company by any means. Like we want to inspire people, not just to groom themselves well, but to understand that like, if you were unhappy with how things are going, then you have to take control of the wheel. You have to navigate these choppy oceans. You might have to get hit by a tidal wave or two, but we can all get to where we're going. And that is what the ultimate freedom is. It's just like how Andy's always like personal excellence is the ultimate rebellion for us. Fighting for freedom is a daily fight of like taking up like, okay, what have I got at my disposal? Where do I want to be? What can I fucking do about it? And if you just even start with like, I'm going to groom myself better. I mean, bro, like I'm saying it's working well for me so far. - It's one of those things that I really linked me again, going from a remote job, not working for a phone, I have to get rid of it, I can literally jump out of bed and go to work. Whenever I did not get ready, it was a shit day. - Bro, I-- - Every single time. - Every single time. - And so I was like, okay, I see a correlation here between me, like dressing up, getting ready, doing my morning routine, and actually attacking the day, right? Whereas, you know, a lot of people say, "Oh, you know, start your day with your coffee." That's great. Coffee ain't going to give you confidence, though, right? It's not going to make you feel better about yourself, right? - It's a look good play good thing for-- - Good, feel good play good. - Exactly, and so that was the idea around everything, man. That's what the hat represents. It's a certain standard that you have to keep. And, you know, if I see anybody out there with a hat on and have a shit beard or something, they're not lined up with it for whatever reason, but I'm going to call them out because that's our standard, that's our brand, and that's what we represent. And so, if you're going to go out there and represent and help us out, I 100% enjoy it, and I appreciate it, but let's just make sure we hold that standard. - Yeah, let's look at it. - I should probably hold it, take this off for a minute. (all laughing) - Get you lined up on camera dog. - Well, yeah, and that's another thing. You are also, you know, you cut hair as well. - Yeah, man, I started cutting hair on, like, 14. - Okay. - Literally Walmart clippers, you know, with colorful white and blue ones. Everyone never knows. - Oh, yeah. - And that's really where I started. My brother was cutting hair out in Puerto Rico, and he was going to school for it, so he kind of got me on a few tricks and tips here and there, and I kind of just took it from there, but really just friends and family, and just helping me out, kind of trial and error, cutting my own hair. And, you know, over time, it became kind of a side gig that I used throughout college, you know, for gas insurance, whatever the case might have been. It was nice to have that skill. Something I never wanted to get into, going back to, like, I really wanted a remote business that I can have some freedom in. As a barber, you don't necessarily have that. It kind of stuck in one spot, unless you're traveling barber, which is really hard to do. - Yeah, or thanks people do that, but it's like, man, how do you build up a clientele? I feel like that's a barber, you kind of need to-- - It's the connection. - Yeah, it's the connections, you need celebrities if you really want to make it big, you know, it's a lot. It's a lot that goes into it, and it's a little more political than I like, so. For me, it's just like, it's not for me. I enjoy doing it, I enjoy the craft, but the day it becomes a full-time thing, I'm not going to enjoy it anymore. - So I noticed you've partnered with one barber here in town, right? Have you done that? - Yeah, yeah, so Hilary Romeo, I believe, I heard a lot of you pronounced the last name. She has Angelos Collective, and so we kind of created this barber shop sent for her, which is, that's what I'm wearing now, it's fucking awesome. But yeah, it's been really cool to see, you know, from a woman's perspective, how she's running a shop and creating this awesome environment, and I've gotten to cut there myself. Any barber that I work with, I get myself a cut, and I make sure that, like, that standard is there. If I don't enjoy it, I'm not working with you. And she did it, it fucking awesome. - Really? - Great. - Really, really great job. - I think it's a connected with mine, I kind of, a place called Iconic Mail, it's in Manchester, you're talking about Manchester, they got another one in Creve Corps, but it's a place for men. They do all sorts of stuff, but the owner Jessica Brown, she's awesome, and that's who does mine, and yeah. They're, they do really, really well, they do a lot of great stuff. - Yeah, I mean, the goal with the retail, just to kind of go back to what we were talking about, the goal with the retail, and to Murph's point earlier is we're so pro America that we don't want to go, you know, grocery stores. I want to go to your barber shop, because that's the people you trust, right? And I want to make sure that- - They're putting it on you, you know? - Yeah. - What is that? - You get to feel it right away, you don't have to go out and, you know, buy it prior to trying it. You get to support your barber that you've been going to for a while, typically. And so it just keeps the money in the community and the nation. You know, we're not outsourcing stuff, we're not, you know, we're just trying to help the small businesses out while we got exposure at the same time. It's a win-win situation. - I love that, man. - Awesome. - Great, yeah, I've got a good buddy of mine. He's been cutting my hair and we played football together in high school and he seems like he cuts like all the, all the guys that I like went to high school with hair and he's just a good dude and I would love to make that introduction. - Same. - Yeah, as soon as we get done here, I'll get you connected with Jessica. - Yeah, I appreciate her. - She's been doing great shit. So, but I wanna go back, you know, talking about morning routines. What does your morning routine look like? - It starts off literally, I shot where every morning, I shot at night in the morning, I'm kind of OCD with it. - I'm the same way. - But I just, I don't know, for me, putting all the water in my face can just wakes me up. And so that's typically where I'll start. And then from there, I get dressed, like to dog out, do all that stuff. And then that's really when I put all of your stuff on. I typically like to let my body kind of just dry. I don't know why I do it, but it's just like a mental thing of like, I'm just kind of already in this routine. But yeah, and then from there, I don't eat breakfast, I fast through like two or three o'clock. So really just my vitamins, water, salt. Sometimes I'll throw a baking soda in there just to help basically alkonize my body. I don't know if you've tried that, but yeah, baking soda and salt in your water will help basically hydrate your body even further. - Really? - Wow. - And so. - How much baking soda? - I like a pinch of both. - Okay. - You're not gonna taste it. - Okay. - But baking soda is what they use in like these waters that are pH balanced. It's in there. - That's all it does. - Yeah, it's in there. Yeah, you can go into a deep dab of water alone, but yeah, doing those two things with spring water helps a lot. - And do you use tap water or do you? - No, I'll do spring water. - Okay. - So I'll get water bottles and stuff like that. If you have an osmosis machine, it's even better if you've heard of that. - Yeah, for sure. - I mean, that's taking it to a new level. They're not cheap. - No, they're not. - But definitely worth it. So, morning routine's pretty basic, but by nine o'clock, I'm at work and I'm behind the computer. I don't really have to get out and drive, so let's just get ready, let's take the dog out, take care of her and then take care of myself and then we'll start work, it's really, you know. And after that, typically, I'll hit the gym. I've always been a night guy when it comes to the gym, so that's why I'm not like, let's just get up in the morning. I just, I prefer a night. It's just something that always calms me down about it. Kind of, I'm able to take all the stress from the day out and just about a lift, especially when I have a few meals in me. - Yeah. - So. - Where do you work out at? - Sometimes I'm either at an edge or I'm at a city, so it just kind of depends on the day. - 'Cause you lift closer to the city, right? - Yeah. - Yeah. Five minutes away, so it's just convenient. - Yeah, yeah. Now, what are some tips and tricks that you and, you know, by, personally, when I get, you know, obviously when you get a thicker beard, you know, and all that, what are some tips and tricks that you recommend, or? - Yeah, I mean, the first one, just being patient with a man, you got a lot of girl, right? And you'll be surprised how many patches are covered up once you light a girl for a couple months. I saw this being big during COVID, 'cause I just kind of like stopped. I was like, I'm not going to work anymore. Let's see, see what happens. And so I let my beard grow out for probably like four or five months, which is like long, it's at that time, and it really wasn't as full as it is now, but I saw a lot of patches kind of being covered. I'm like, okay, I'm starting to think I should get a beard. So I would start there. The other thing you can do, and what I try to tell people is not the most natural route, but doing a derma roller is really going to help with the unscented, I don't suggest doing scented with it just 'cause fragrance oil can be irritating on, you know, an open wound, so I would suggest doing it unscented and just derma roll a few times a week. - Is that one of those like spiky rolls? - Yeah, you want to make sure it's 0.5 millimeters or less, so it's like super small micro needles. And you just roll that in a couple of times a week. - Yeah, I'd have to second to just let it grow kind of thing 'cause I mean back when I, before I got into the real estate industry, I worked in a lot of different restaurants, but most recently a barbecue restaurant, and like it was like, I don't know, I was just trying to be the barbecue guy, and I grew up this like really long beard, and I mean, I probably didn't cut my beard for, I mean, I would shape it, and I would, I mean, I was, that's really, I guess, when I kind of got into the beard care thing is when I actually had to start like manicuring, and like, I mean, I got to do the whole thing, blow drying it and straightening it and doing the whole thing. But like, I mean, I used to have it like down to here. And, but yeah, just letting it grow, I feel like it fills in, you know, the kind of little patchy spots and stuff. - Yeah, it definitely helps. And then, you know, going back to DHT, you got to just do, you know, anything possible to increase out this restaurant. You know, for those who haven't gotten tested, get tested, figure out where you're at. - That's another issue for me too. (laughing) - I mean, dude, it's me too. - I've been three months on TRT, and it's been life-changing. - Really? - Yeah. Mentally, more than anything, you know, no brain fog. I'm just, I'm so much more focused, I'm more confident, more secure, who I am, what I'm doing, you know, even my relationship has gotten a lot better. And so, that does help, beard growth. - Yeah. - Not saying you have to get on TRT, but if you can start incorporating the right foods and kind of lower the body for a percentage, you know, all these things are going to help the average person. If you do have low TRT, you know, low testosterone, TRT can definitely help. - Yeah. - But yeah, it's been super helpful, but that's what I would recommend to, you know, just like anything else, diet, water intake, you know, all these things are going to help. - How you do one thing, so I do everything, right? - Yeah. (laughing) - It really just goes back to blood flow, you know. If you can increase the blood flow to the area, you're going to be able to regenerate that area and it's going to heal. So, for whatever reason, you have some patches and likely you don't have the hair follicle activated. So that's what the Motorola comes in. If you add, you know, the right foods and, yeah, it's just going to grow from there. - Gosh. - If that doesn't work for you, I don't know, man. - Yeah, sure. - So what are some things that you learn now as an entrepreneur that you weren't expecting or that you, or things that you did expect that didn't quite happen or? - Nothing that I'm new to, you know, like, like I said, I mean, I've been in this self-development since 2015, I've been in almost 10 years now. Probably before that, but like really learning from the MFCO 2015 was when he released that. So, my mentality was there since I was like 16, though. You know, going to the gym, I think the gym really was where I was, you know, I kind of developed myself into who I am, and that really started when I was like four, five years old. And that started when mom, surprising. - Really working out with him? - Yeah, my mom used to work for government job and then at four o'clock, they had a gym. So she would pick me up, take me there, and I would just watch all these big dudes working on my bed. Watching all these big dudes working out and she was just consistent, and I would just pick up, you know, whatever little way I could and do that, got the itch going. I really didn't. So I knew by 16, I was going to start lifting and I was just trying to gain my whole life. You know, I started the gym 125 pounds. Same height I'm at now. So right now I'm setting a 200, if you're going to give you. Yeah. So the first three months, I got really lucky. I met this dude at the gym that was a trainer and he was like to just work out with me. I'll teach you what I know. And when everything was formed, you know, old school body, but everything was about form. Making sure you're not injured, making sure you're doing things the right way. And so I was really lucky with that. And within three months, I grew up to 150 pounds. And so I was 25 pounds, it just straight up, you know, not all muscle, but it was just eating. Yeah, that's what most people, I think, is the problem is most people under eat. A hundred percent. And most people are really under eat protein. That's exactly what I was. And at the time, that's what I was. Yeah, at the time, my metabolism was crazy. So I'm doing milkshakes. I'm doing anything I can to get the calorie up. And again, you know, this was a summer from sophomore to junior years. I came back junior year, like a completely fucking different guy. They were just like, who is this kid? Yeah, where have you been? Yeah, no. But I'm dim, man. You wanna play football? Yeah, so I actually ended up playing football in the last year, yeah, my senior year. I wish I would play sooner. You know, I kind of learned a part of my senior year. It wasn't, I wasn't getting a lot of play time. It was just, you know, me hanging out with my friends really. And realized really quickly, it wasn't for me. And I was like, I am not a physical contact guy. If it was like one on one, it's different. But football is a different game. I didn't realize how intensive it was. It's very intense. Well, it's just like, there's so many. And it's just so complicated too. I mean, just remembering all the plays and just there's so many different things. There's so many strategies that, you know, until you play it, you don't realize, you know, as much and you really got to depend on a lot of people, which is really what it taught me. It's like the truth. I mean, I mean, there's a lot of sports out there that are, I mean, obviously team sports, but football is one that like, man, you can't just have one all-star player. - No. - You know, like basketball, different, you know, like you can have kind of one guy that can, you know, kind of take the ball and run with it. But with football, it's like, I mean, yeah, you can have an all-star running back, but if he doesn't have an offensive line, like, or, you know, or if he, you know, you can have a great offense, but if you have a shit defense and every time the defense goes out on the ball, you know, goes out on that side of the ball and they get dominated, I mean, you're not gonna win. So it's just, you know, all 11 guys have to be doing their job. And, you know, an offensive. - That's where I come from, in New England. - Patriots, do you job? - Yeah. - That's the mentality that I've always kept. - Quick question. Does your neighbor, Zach, watch the show? - I think so. I don't know, he sees the, I know he sees the clips. - It's kind of funny 'cause, you know, back when we were in high school together, Zach has always had a very dry personality, not this Zach, but Zach Schroeder. And we were, we were decent friends back in high school and it was no secret that I was not an athlete at all. And I would walk and be like, "I said to you, you've been working out?" But like, "No, I guess my now." (laughing) So just so you know, dude, when I started getting in the gym, like six, seven years later after fucking up my life, I thought about you telling me that every day. (laughing) - Shout out to Zach, dude. - Shout out to him. - We got some, you know, that way when we meet my wife we're talking about that last night. So you can't, you know, neighbors are not one of those things that, you know, you can pick, you know. You can't change your neighbors, but boy, you can really luck out if you get good ones. - He's a good guy. - I was really, really fortunate with getting some, some great neighbors. Our kids are on the same age as when they play together and he's a great mechanic. I mean, he's helped me with my truck numerous times and you know, never, never will accept any sort of payment or anything from me. So he's just, he's just the salt of the earth, just great guy. - I think we were like sophomores and he would let me like share his locker right for it. Like the same gym class. So I wouldn't have to like go all the way upstairs and give me a little bit of shit, but like, started having to make into a good guy. Do appreciate those years, man. Thank you. - Thank you, thank you. - Good dude. - But yeah, man. - You were talking about sports and you were talking before the show, talking about baseball. Did you play baseball the way through high school? - No, I played baseball in Little League at a couple of years, baseball. Pretty good at it. I think I probably could have created a career out of it. Just for me, I was like, man, I don't see myself doing this. I think I was really doing it more for my stepfather and myself. And so I became all those things that are like. - Well, good for you to be able to like separate that because I know like I coach a lot of kids and sometimes you can just see that it's more of the parents doing than they want, so. - Yeah, it's tough too when your stepfathers want the coaches as well, so. - Yeah. - It's an honest thing. I was like, okay, well, I'm gonna have this pressure of like being what I don't want to be and I knew I wanted to be entrepreneur forever, man. I grew up with it, so just, you know. - Yeah, you said, you know, I kind of grew up like selling gum and doing all sorts of stuff like that. - Oh yeah, there's high school, it was cool. - Yeah, let me hear it. - Dude, I would flip shoes out, so, you know, I'd buy pieces of gum for 35 cents for the five pack at the school store and I'd sell them for 25 cents each, just to like have money for lunch 'cause lunch was $1.50. - You would get in a pack and breaking it down. - That's it brother. And if I got the big pack and vegan game changer, man. - Loud pack, oh yeah, I was in front of it. (laughing) I'll break down some narrow gum, you know what I'm saying? - You can sell a piece by piece. - As a dollar a piece, baby. (laughing) Take it or leave it. - The other cool thing is that I was pretty close to the Nike factory store. - Okay. - So like, yeah, one of the outlets was close to me, so whenever they would have like, you know, Nike's like a Jordan six or Jordan seven, whatever random it was, I would just go and buy a whole bunch at this kind of sell them. - I think I saw it go to, got us close. - Yeah, and I would make like 50, 60 bucks off each. And I was like, I made 150 bucks this week, you know? - Yeah, doing, you know. - Yeah, I would try to do anything I could before I was 16 to, you know, to be able to make money, you know, I can't work anywhere, so I was like, you know, no one's allowed me to work, so when I was able to make some money off of it. - Like, that's such an interesting thing. I never thought about, I mean, with us, I mean, like, you know, that 16's like the legal age where you can start working, you know, it's like, I mean, should we make that, you know? It's like, if someone wants to work, that's the thing. It's like, if a kid is 14 years old and he wants a job, - So the only thing you have to do is pay. - I had a job at 13, as long as you get a parents to sign a release. - Yeah, you get a work permit through your high school, and I was able to work at Green Park on a motor from the time I was like, 14. And I worked in my mom's restaurant when I was 13. But that was family, you know? - Yeah, in my area, the only place, it was like a supermarket that would hire you at 14, it was like, I grew up with that, and I'm good. (laughing) I was like, I'm gonna go back to it. Yeah, I'm gonna go back, stock in sales. - Stock in cans, good. - So I took that time and just really poured it towards bodybuilding, 'cause that's what I wanted to do. Like, I really wanted to be bodybuilder and just a personal trainer and all that. That was my life. And once I started working at first, when I realized it's not, it's a hobby that I really enjoy and I keep it very close to the chest. But then I think that's where I want to keep it. - Keep it as a hobby. And I thought the same thing, I remember there was a while, there was like a very brief, brief time where I thought, oh, maybe I'll do a bodybuilding show. And then I was like, yeah. - So I did one, and I did that. - You did? - Yeah, I did one, that's when I started as a engineer, after that show, I started as a lead engineer. I got my certifications, did all that. And I was like, I hate this. (laughing) I do not have the patience for people. - Yeah. - Like, it got to the point, I'm like, if I'm gonna quote, sure, you better be doing concepts, you better be doing something that's big, because I know you're gonna have the commitment, I don't need people that are gonna be on for two months and complain. Oh, this is, I'm trying to teach you how to change your whole lifestyle, it's not just a quick fit. And so at least that's my concept of going around there, right? - Yeah. - So how can I help you maintain it? I mean, I can, sure, you gotta get ripped. - Right. - Two months later, you're gonna be double the size if you do it wrong. - You need to stick to it, and stay consistent. - Yeah. Yeah, I did the powerlifting when I was playing baseball for a couple, I worked with some of those guys. So I was talking with Mike on the gym, the big Mike. He trained with some of the both, he knows Bill McDonough, and oh yeah. - Yeah, he's a, dude, Mike's like an OG man. He's got a, he's been around the block, that's for sure. - Yeah, wrong with him, it's tough though, like-- - Big boy. - You're on the bottom, he's on top, oop. He puts that cross face on you. - Yeah, he's a big boy. He knows how to use his weight well, let's just say. - Yes, and he's very methodical in his movement, so he waits on there for a long time. - There's no worse feeling, at least, when you're smaller than someone when they go neon belly. The cross face sucks, but like just the neon belly is just like, oh fuck. - Yeah. - Well, before we end the show, should we announce we're gonna announce? - If you guys would have us, we would be honored to sponsor your show for sure. - Absolutely, absolutely. - We would love to have you. - Yeah, we'd love to have it. - Thank you so much. - Absolutely, man. - Thank you so much for all the products and coming on the show, and yeah, we're excited. We'll shout out the show, or shout out Captain Bierko. - Yeah, I owe you a couple of body watches, so that's one of our newest products, and definitely been game-changer. - Smells fire, yeah. - I'm excited. - Oh man, I'm pumped. I can do the ad rates if you want. - Yeah, be great, I love it. - Yeah, absolutely, that way they're, I know I'm not forgetting anything. - Yeah, same here. We always end the show with one more question. We're gonna call it the Tombstone game. - Okay. Realize Gabe, what's it saying in Tombstone? - Entrepreneur. - Fight for freedom. - Yeah, fight for freedom, regular guy. I don't know, I mean, that's a tough one. I would like to be a father sooner or later, I just, I don't know if that's in the cards. Part of me, is like, you know, I'm not gonna force something that's not, you know? We're trying, it's just one of those things that's just, you know, we're gonna let life take its course, and if my, you know, if the reason I was brought into this world is to impact a lot of men, I think that's, I'm cool with that. You know, if I don't end up with my own men that I got it raised and, you know, to me, I'm cool with that as long as I can create an impact, you know, somehow it's, you know, I'm, I'm cool with whatever happens, you know, a lot of people go through their life just kind of having this fear of death and I just don't really walk my life that way. I really believe that I'm on my purpose right now and it's just one of those things that I'm not going anywhere until it's done. And if that stubbornness keeps me alive, great. But I really think that's why I'm headed, man. It's just entrepreneurship has always been my goal. And so, you know, how I see myself, probably very similar to Andy's life, to be honest with you, you know, worst case, hopefully a kid to do in that mix, but not that's just building big businesses and creating a lot of impact. - Love it. - Awesome, man. - Perfect, man. Well, thank you so much for coming on and thank you so much for having me. - Thanks for having me. - Thanks, Co, for all the products and the sponsorship and the hats and all the stuff. So, you know, thank you so much. So, guys, if you guys enjoyed the show, make sure you comment below, hit that subscribe button, hit that like button, and we will see you next time. 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