He Sold Flannels Out of a Scion... Now He Does $150M a Year

Welcome And Style Talk

SPEAKER_02 0:05

Okay, so welcome to our podcast. This is a little bit different today because this podcast is a spin-off of our radio show. All right, so hey, so do you do you see my shirt I'm wearing? Yes. Love it. It's really nice. Yeah, this this is this is one of yours.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

I feel like it is a um, it's it's like a it's a color that doesn't get the amount of respect that it shouldn't.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

It's a great color. You're right. And you was funny. I met this lady and she uh she did this thing called a color analysis on me and what colors. So I wear black all the time, like your shirt wearing. I always wore black. I always thought everybody looked black. And she was like, let me do your colors and tell you what colors are good for you. This was like the number one color she picked for me, and she said, never wear black. She was like, It's dreadful on you. And I was like, I have all these black t-shirts still in the wrapper in my clock. I have like 20 black shirts. Right. Like to me, if I had to go to a dress event, it's a new black t-shirt. Right. Right? Absolutely. What brand is your red? That shirt right there.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Oh, this is actually so this is one of our new ones that's coming out. Oh, really?

Making A Better T-Shirt

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Yeah. So it's like, so our perfect tees, which one of the hardest things that we've ever done was actually making our own t-shirt. So, like, and you know, if you go back, like ah gosh, eight years ago, seven years ago, something like that, there's this blanks um issue. Like nobody had black shirts, and everyone pretty much just prints them blanks. Some other company makes them, they come here, people rip their tags out, they print on them. You know, that's just the way it goes. So I never wanted to be in that, like in those moments again of being able to go without it. So we're like, let's make our own blanks, but we're gonna make them like exactly to our liking. So we've been making t-shirts on those ever since then. We we order like, you know, 500,000-ish t-shirts a year, like just black plain shirts, and we print on them. So now we're working on a more athletic fit, you know, that's like a little bit higher in here. It's like a little bit more of a premium feel to it. That's a great idea.

SPEAKER_02 2:03

So I have been looking for the perfect t-shirt. I have gone, I spent so much money buying one, two, three different, you know, XL2X to see which one works for me. I bought every freaking t-shirt you can think of, and I have yet to find the perfect t-shirt. I have settled on a couple, right? But haven't found the perfect t-shirt. It's crazy because it is.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

It's actually a very complicated thing. It is, it is.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

I find it to be this, it's like one of the hardest, most understated things we've ever done. But it's like, you know, yeah, figured out flannel, like that's cool. It's like figuring out these t-shirts is, you know, one of the hardest.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

So that's not is that a Dixon that's for sale right now? No, this is a sample of it.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Yeah. So then we we also were testing like different, because then it gets down to like the weight, the weight of it. And then, you know, and and the plies and everything. Then we're checking out, like, okay, if it's made in Mexico, it looks like this. Currently, we make all t-shirts in um in LA. Like everything, you know, even though we do we do a bunch of stuff overseas and whatnot, um, every t-shirt that we make is in Los Angeles, California. And so we're trying to test out like other sources of cotton too, you know, going down to like, you know, um, other parts of like South America, stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 3:09

I met this dude about 10 years ago. It might have been might have been longer than that. And he it was at um uh well, actually, I was going to a clothing store and they were selling this brand of t-shirt because I have kind of a long torso, so it was like a XL Tall. And it was this weird brand. It was called ED Owl, was the t-shirt. And there were black t-shirts and they were really nice. And I bought a couple of them, and I was going to uh my son's baseball game, and this dude, I'm walking by, and this dude in the bleachers goes, Hey, you're wearing my t-shirt. And I was like, I don't know. I go, This is I this might go my shirt, that's my brand. He's like, That's my brand. And I was like, What? So we we connected, we became friends, and he was selling me, he had them at a couple, he was going to LA to whatever that place is, marketplace with the fashion place where people. And he would buy these shirts and he'd had them made, and he got them, he sold them at at uh the clothery, right? In the billboard. Right. And I was buying them all up, and then they stopped selling them. He said he would stop making them, but he had so I bought every single one he had in his garage. Every single one. And then and then they faded, and then they looked like crap, but they were my fancy black t-shirt. So again, now they're not around anymore. So anyway, that's wild. I can't wait to come again. Are you gonna do more than black or other colors?

SPEAKER_01 4:19

Yes, yes. So, like our perfect tea that we have on the market now comes in a bunch of different colors, and that's what we print all of our t-shirts on. It's out now. The one I'm wearing right now is gonna be the new one that we use. That's like there's gonna be like the perfect tea, which we use now, and there'll be the perfect tea at the perfect athlete. Are you calling it the perfect tea? Yeah, we have one called the perfect tea already, but this one will be the perfect athlete. I think they'd be trademarked already.

SPEAKER_02 4:41

No, the perfect tea? Yeah, I'll get back to you on that.

SPEAKER_03 4:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:45

I didn't even think about that. How do you start? How does it start for you? Like, how does it but just I don't know how many years ago it was. I it was a long time ago. I I went to your place and I bought like four or five uh flannels from your place. And I mean, it was a long time ago. I was gonna say 10 years ago. But and and I was telling my wife when I knew you were coming on, I said, Hey, I want to stop by his place and get a couple shirts because I uh I've lost some weight. I go, these are X two X's, they're pretty big. And she goes, Where? I go, it's in Tempe. I go, it's really cool. It's these like train cars, and you walk in and whatever. So anyway, I'm I when I plug in the the navigation, it's taking me away to Elliot. I'm like, wait a minute. I go, I don't remember it being over here. And like I go, I and I go, I thought it was kind of Tempe Marketplace, and then we're driving, we're driving, and we pull up, and it's a totally different place. Right. When did you

Moving Shops And Taking Risks

SPEAKER_02 5:35

move?

SPEAKER_01 5:35

So that was 2019. We moved there.

SPEAKER_02 5:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Um, and so the place you were talking about that was on Clark Drive, right? Right where you were talking about, is like right by um Tempe Marketplace. Um, we were right down the street from Rockford Fosgate and stuff. And um at that time we started out, our first place was 2,300 square foot in that building. And like at that time, we had one rack of clothing, and I was just like, wow, like we just you know, this is the craziest, scariest thing in my life. Like, how are we gonna pay this $2,300 in rent a month, you know? And you think, like, think about Arizona prices back then, $2,300 for right. Um, and uh, so then basically when the people next door to us moved out, it was it definitely wasn't the time for us to take that next that like next leap, but we knew it was in the future. And if someone else signed the lease, then we're gonna be stuck with that 2300. So we took over the next two and we um knocked down all the walls until it was about 10,000 square feet, and then that's when we put those um we put those containers in and made container offices. How'd you come up with that? I thought it was a lot of things. I I just thought like there was so much cool stuff that we could do in there, but it was like long and like rectangular, right? Because it was only, you know, it wasn't very deep of a place, but then it's 10,000 square feet basically back. And so the only thing I could think of is like if we were walking down, it reminded me of almost like a city where we have like we could stack containers on top of each other and stuff. I at the time I thought it was cheaper too, and so like that was a big thing. But you just came up with that. Let's get these train cars and turn them in. Yeah, I started. They make container like apartment complexes and stuff like that, and like found all this stuff, but then we were like, you know, we were looking for containers out here, you know, somewhere in the middle of Phoenix, somewhere that's like sitting in a lot, and um, and we're able to get some. And it's funny, I could say this now. I wasn't able to say this back then when we did it, and like I was on podcast, but I didn't realize that the roof was at a slant at that place. I didn't, you know, I just I assumed when I measured it over here it was gonna fit when they went up. So we went to go put them in, realized that the roof came down in a slant, and all these things were not gonna fit on top of each other. And I was like totally in committed already, and we didn't have a whole lot of money at the time. So it's like, you know, it what do we do? And so we cut into the concrete all the way down and sunk these things into the concrete. So, like when you went inside the offices, you'd actually have to step down inside of them. And so when we moved out of that place, we had to re-pour all this concrete because it was like, do we just like just saw cut this stuff? I found like somebody on on the side, like a buddy, like, hey, do you still do concrete cutting? Can you do that? He's like, You're not supposed to do this, dude. And I was like, Can't I just like leave the back door open? You come in here. Is there a business there now? Oh yeah, yeah. Now it's like it's all full. I don't know what business it is, but like we got it all back, like up to stuff, like and everything, so they can, you know, so they can rent it back out. But it was a you know fun part of the journey.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

But then you have I like how you kind of kept it in the new place too. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

So we took all those with us and like repurposed them at the new place. And then the new place, um, we took that over. And

COVID Band Collabs That Blew Up

SPEAKER_01 8:44

like at that time, I was too scared to take on any type of debt, even like healthy debt, really. And I kind of like bootstrapped the company all the way up. That's like a lot of part of the story, really. And um, and so we saved 60% down to put on this building because then it was like, okay, well, if sales dramatically fall, we could still like keep the doors open, you know. Like all we have to do is make like 30 grand a month and we'll be able to keep it open, right? And at that time, like even the store was like a you know an afterthought. We had one person working in the store. And um, and so like when we moved in there, I thought it was the end all be all. We were gonna make this place like this was headquarters, this was like this is where we're gonna be forever, you know. And I think um probably about a year in, we ended up having to get um we ended up having to get storage containers in the parking lot just to keep our overflow of stuff because we're already at capacity. We were growing so quickly at that time and it was during COVID. And it was like that's when we started doing band collabs because you know, bands couldn't go on the road, you know, and do shows anymore. So we were we kind of stepped in on that. Like, hey, we can make you guys money by like you know, by doing collabs with you, licensing your products, and we could take care of this stuff and sell it for you online, and then you guys make royalties, and they you know, they couldn't really make money any other way.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

So, like, what was the first band you did something with that with?

SPEAKER_01 10:01

Um, gosh, first one we did suicidal tendencies. Okay. So when we met with Mike Muir, uh I told him some ideas about that, and he's like, dude, you know, like he's actually a really good businessman. You never think of it if you saw him on stage or listen to the music, you know, and he like plugged us in with other other bands, and then we just started kind of going.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

You made flannels with their logos on it, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Yeah, so we like we'll do like we'll look at their um at their album art and we'll try to tell a story through the color, you know. So like we did a Metallica series, which is probably one of our biggest things we've ever done. And in Metallica, we'll do like we did the black album, we did Kill Em All, did Master of Puppets, and each one, the colorway of the plaid is all based off the art that was on the album. And then we take the like the artwork and put it in the in the neck label, yeah. And that's where like you know, a lot of people ask where did you guys like take off? And it was it was really from there, you know. It's like that was like this critical decision that like kind of came to my mind, and it was like I was really scared. Well, I mean, think we all were right, you know, you we didn't know what this thing was or what was going on, you know, or where a master not and whatever. And then so that that was like our answer to that. And so at that point, within a year, uh that whole warehouse is just like we we couldn't even fit in that anymore.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

But you pitch suicidal tendencies first. I mean, like to come up with that idea and to go after them, right? How do you do that online? Shoot them an email? Hey man, I got this idea.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

So it was just we were thinking of like people we know, people were like kind of tied to like, hey, we could do this. And one of our um one of our reps is with us now, Danny G. He was with Vans for like 17 years, and he recently left Vans to come to Dixon. Oh well, he had friendships, pretty, yeah, pretty big step. But like, but he was like, you know, he had some friends, so then we're like kind of talking to people like, hey, who do we know? Because before Vans were just another clothing company, right? This is like they get offers and free stuff thrown all the time, but this was like an idea where like it supported them at the time that they needed it, and it was a way for us to like really grow, you know, how many people, how many faces we need stuff.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

It's really unique, the flannel collab. So, when you when you talk about so so how how did it start for you? How did this thing start? It's freaking humongous.

From Motorcycle Shop To Flannels

SPEAKER_01 12:16

So it really started. Like where are you from? Um from Orange County, California. Okay. Um, so uh I was I had a motorcycle shop with my dad in Irvine, California, and it was like mom and pop's motorcycle shop, like little tiny place called Cycle City. And uh, we did all kinds of motorcycles, like Harley's dirt bikes, like the whole nine yards. And um I was I was like, man, we need to get flannels in here. And like it's funny because it's like as I'm thinking this, like I'm I'm starting to try flannels to see what to put there. And as I'm trying them, like you know, and I'm in my 20s, like early 20s at that time, and it's like I can't afford to have these flannels where like I buy them once and it's like say from a skate shop or something like independent or some brand like that, and then I wash them and then the color, the colors all messed up, right? And I'm so like I'm so weird and OCD and weird about like I think it's like my ADD that adds to all this stuff. I have sensory issues, so like I won't wear it, like I cannot. I can I'll look at it in the mirror and it'll bug me all day. And I if I see someone else wearing it, that's fine. But for me, if it's on me and it's wrinkle, I will go crazy. And so it's like, so I was like on this journey to try to find the best thing, and then like you know, and that kind of oddly set me on this journey of going there. So I I never went to like fit them, you know, or did any like kind of fashion stuff. I didn't know any of that stuff. Um, and it was funny because as you mentioned, those black t-shirts in in uh downtown LA, like that's that's where I ended up going.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

That's where you found the first flannel fabric. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

So you it was already a fabric, it was already so it was already it was already a flannel, and I remembered seeing them in like in t-shirt stores, like the buy, you know, five for ten stores you might see like down the street right over here. Yeah, like I already knew about that and seeing them in high school, and I was like, man, I don't think that those like wrinkled that bad, you know? And so I s I seeked them out and they were gonna stop making flannels. And then I so I went and talked to the owners and stuff in downtown LA. And I was like, you know, I think I could probably sell a lot of these if you guys let me put my own branding in there. They're like, we don't care what you do with them, but like we don't really sell enough of them. We're doing more of this or this, whatever now. And I was like, Well, I'll take you know what I can, and I only had 180 bucks, and so like I took the 180 dollars and bought however many of them I could, and like, you know, and and then I I designed this uh this one night. I I like got it in my mind what the logo was gonna look like, and it was and it's bad, bad. Like, I I mean you see pictures of the first one that it was like I used this Microsoft like 97 something at the motorcycle shop. This computer that's like covered in grease and dust in the back, and it was like, and I didn't even have design programs and I didn't know them, but I knew how to use PowerPoint from high school, so like I mocked up this like logo with like a crest in the back and these two hammers, and I took a picture of it on my phone, and you know, think this is like 2012 when this is happening. So, you know, we're we have decent phones, not what we have now, though right. And I sent it to this company and they digitized the art for free and put it on a label so that I was able to start going. And that was, I mean, and as long as I knew how to make the label, like I could, you know, I would be like, okay, cool. I found someone that sewed and like did that and then started on Instagram. And so where'd you sell it first? Where'd you put the label first? So the first ones, they were at first we were called Stay Gold Flannel Company, and we ran in a trademark issue, and um so so I do know about those trademark issues, and uh, and so we used to have this like the right where the pocket goes down, like this, there's a tag that stuck down and it said stay gold on it. And then in the back, we'd have this flap that just like we would rip them out, and my friend's girlfriend, one by one, she would do them after work, and she did like a bunch of them. I had like, you know, I don't know, 60 shirts or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

Oh, yeah for 180 bucks, you got 60 shirts, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Something like that.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

And so you put them in the store and sold them in the store.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Yeah, so so I basically, but I was like scared because I wanted to keep this separate, I wanted this for me, you know. Like I was like, because I was thinking, like, you know, with the thing with the shop was, you know, I just had, you know, my first son was born, broke, you know, and like living Huntington Beach. We're just like basically living just to pay rent, you know, and didn't know what we're gonna do next. And like, so I I needed to find something where I could make money while I wasn't using my hands, or like, you know, or or when I was sleeping, really. And so this was like my side thing.

Selling From A Car On Instagram

SPEAKER_01 16:42

So, like, so I uh got rid of my truck and got this little, you know, really masculine um Scion XB, you know, so I could keep all my planners in the back there. So when anyone asked about them, like I'd be like, yeah, come here. I'd take them back to my car and like pop up the trunk and sell them for my car, you know? And and even like years later, when I moved here in like 2015, I was still working for Harley and I'd do the same thing. And like I'd, you know, people would come because they saw it on Instagram and they they'd come into like the parts counter I was working at in time or or in the service department or whatever, and I'd go outside and meet them and like sell them so I'm a shirt. So like 20 bucks, yeah. It was like I yeah, 39 bucks or 30 bucks, something like that.

SPEAKER_02 17:24

So wait, how so you went from your dad shop to Harley?

SPEAKER_01 17:26

Yeah, so like um, so once this side thing, you know, it was gaining momentum. It was like it was.

SPEAKER_02 17:33

When you say momentum, are you bringing in a monthly income from this thing?

SPEAKER_01 17:37

So I want to say that we've I figured out how I think in the first year we did about 120 in sales, 120 grand.

SPEAKER_02 17:49

You're you mean from the day you bought the 80 hundred the 80 dollars worth of sale?

SPEAKER_01 17:53

Oh no, I mean after that I would I would go back like weekly and I'd take anything I had and put it back down and take it. From the same company, the same guys, yes, okay, and so that was like a thing that I would do at that point, like you know, weekly.

SPEAKER_02 18:06

So now you're making 120 grand selling product for your car.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

So I think in the first the first annual, we did 120. And then the next year we did about 350. And so at this time too, I also like I didn't know anything about business in the sense of you know, in the sense of taxes and whatnot. I just thought I was I had this like side PayPal hustle. Like it was like this little mad money fund like nobody knows about. That is not the case.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Oh wow, man. That's a whole nother story years down the line.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Taxes. Yeah, I was just like, you know, I mean, I I was young and I was like, wow, look at this, like we're doing it. But you know, the most disciplined thing I'd do is I could take the money and reinvest it over and over again. Um, but yeah, later it, you know. So you pull in 350 and you're working at Harley now? Yeah. So at this, so once we got to the point where we made like 350 that year, we had now moved to we moved here to Gilbert, and and that was mostly for like for the kids for education, and then also for um for overhead. We knew that like at that time we're not gonna be able to buy a house in Orange County. You know, we're like in that weird generation gap where like our parents bought really low and sold, right? And they're on, you know, and then you know, people that were a little bit older than us were like in mortgage and they're killing it. Right now we just watch the world meltdown.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

Right.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

We're like now, it's like okay, and the prices have bottomed out, and you still even at bottomed out, like we you know, you can't afford at that age to buy a house for 400, you know, 500 grand, which you know, now that doesn't even exist.

SPEAKER_02 19:40

But so what how do you get to Gilbert? What how does Arizona come up?

SPEAKER_01 19:44

So Arizona came up. My um, my ex-wife at uh my wife at the time, she um she had family in Scottsdale, like you know, that you know we weren't like close with, kind of new. So there was like it was almost like there was somebody around, right? And she's like, I'd like to move out there. I was like, I was kind of like down for whatever. I knew that I was just gonna work hard.

SPEAKER_02 20:04

You were just gonna you were gonna bring this was your thing, yeah. You were coming here and with Dixon. Yeah, but at this point, is it Dixon?

SPEAKER_01 20:10

Yeah, by this time it's Dixon, and by this point, it's like I didn't know what it was yet. Like I didn't know what to really think of it, like how it was all gonna go over. Because I at this point, like I'm working six, seven days a week, and then on the side, packing all these orders and stuff, you're like, is this sustainable? You know, I don't know, or just stumble upon a phenomenon, you know.

SPEAKER_02 20:30

You're mailing the stuff out yourself, you're spending all this time doing it, and that's time consuming and frustrating.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, so once we got to Gilbert, so and like, so this is another thing. I never I'd never been to Gilbert at all, right? And um, I just I did all this research on city data forums and like all this stuff, and I was like, Gilbert, Arizona sounds wonderful. Like, you know, it's like and I mean, we don't have we don't have a beach, but like there's there's a lake somewhere over here, you know. Like we can figure it out. I'd only been to Phoenix like once, you know, and so uh, and that was like uh my brother-in-law like took me out in Tempe, and I was like, wow, that's crazy. When like saw Mill Ave, like that was pretty much it. Right. And um, so anyways, we moved, we moved here, and as getting here to check out jobs, I just like pulled into Chandler Harley, which is funny, he's right down the street from our headquarters now, and went in there and and you know, with my experience at that age, like I'd already been doing motorcycles for seven years or so, and I was you know, I was in my 20s, so like so they were like, wow, like you got a really strong background, and like you know, stuff that they don't see usually. And so they made a position for me and worked in parts. They didn't have anything available, but you know, I work really hard at whatever I do. So I ended up.

SPEAKER_02 21:46

So you get a job at Harley working in parts. Yeah. Meanwhile, your side gig is pulling in 350,000 a year.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

I'd say at the end of that year is when we did 350. Wow. So the year before, I don't I don't even think that like I didn't even really. Run reports. I was just like bringing it. Bring it in. Like repay it. And then, like, you know, then when I'd I'd owe more money on like ordering something. So I'd do these like, you know, quick pay, like PayPal loans for like 20 G's, you know, but it's at like 28% or something like that, you know? But it would automatically take it back out. But I was just doing anything I could because you know, my mom even asked me a couple of times, like, well, how are you doing this? And I was like, and I told her, Oh my god, that's crazy. Why would you pay those? And I'm like, because I want to do it my way. Wow. Because I want to do it with me, just me. Like nobody else gets to touch this. This is mine, you know. And it's like, and that's cool. Like, if you know, if your parents believe in you and step in for something like that, but it was like, I kind of grew up like the screw-up kid. So like I I always wanted to make my parents proud. Like there was something that didn't really ever hear from them, you know. Right. I was the one that always like was I was the disruptive one in class and got kicked out of school and all that stuff. My sister was like, you know, she's the cheerleader and the you know, the the one that's really good at sports and like you know, and did everything the right way. And I was not, you know. It's just you two, yeah. It was just two of us. She was older or younger? Uh, she was younger. Okay, she she hated that I was her older brother because she ended up switching schools. She said she like got to school and the teachers didn't like her, none of the boys will talk to her. Because of you, yeah. She's like, I had to switch schools, but you know, but anyway, so like, so I mean, at that point, like, I I wanted to make my parents happy. I and I think I realize now looking back at it, that it's like that was something that drove me a lot was like I might have this thing in the world, I don't belong anywhere, you know. It's like I'm I'm this like guy that doesn't fit in. I'm like really at that time extremely socially awkward. I still am, but like, you know, like much worse back then. And like, and I just like I carved out this little spot for me, and then that worked, you know. And and so it was like, so seeing that was like starting to be like, okay, like, but how sustainable this is this? Is it it? It's almost like it's too good to be true, yeah. You know, so then I got hit with that tax bill.

Taxes Loans And Hard Lessons

SPEAKER_01 24:01

Did that just come in the mail? That came in the mail and I think that year they started doing the 1099Ks, and it was like, you know, and it just like popped up, and it was like, you know, over those two period time, and it's like you owe taxes on you know, three to four hundred thousand dollars, you know. I was like, how much taxes were that? How much was your bill? You know, I can't remember. But it was like drive. I just remember freaking out. I was, you know, I was working out. I at that time, by then it was like the end of end of 2014. I had gone to Scottsdale, Harley Davidson. So I had very affluent customers there. And you know, I still like there's still someone I talked to, they took care of their bikes and stuff there. And um, and uh so I'd asked the banker guys, like, who's your tax guy? Like, what's up with this? And like the I'm just like they send me these places, and they're like, What do you got? And I'm like, Oh, here you go, like, you know, like this piece of paper written down, like printer, $300, iPad, you know, like I was like, here's my deductions. They're just like, dude, what like where where's all the income? And I was like, Well, I just reinvested it over and over again, you know. But the you know, the catch at this point was that I took a hundred thousand dollars out because I couldn't believe it. Like, we got over a hundred thousand dollars in our bank account, like you know, liquid cash, right? And I'm in my 20s, and I'm like, dude, we got if I put this down in this house in Queen Creek, then if like if all else fits and everything falls down, I could get a job at Target and pay this mortgage. So paid it like way down so that it was like, you know, our house payment was like, I don't know, 1400 bucks a month or something. And I was like, dude, I could do that, I could float forever like this. You know, this could be the house, this could be the last house we ever live in.

SPEAKER_03 25:50

Right.

SPEAKER_01 25:51

It's like at this point, how many kids do you have? Uh two, okay, two boys. So um, you know, it's it's funny because talking back to the you know, all the beginnings of the stuff, it's so different than it is now, but I I refer back to it a lot. Um, especially like right now, it's like we've grown and like you know, at those times, like shoot, 2000 by 2016, we might have had four or five employees, and um, right now we have about 200. And it's like it's wild because um a lot of people ask, like, did you ever think that you could turn it into this? And then the true answer is I didn't know it existed. I did I did you didn't even know that you could get there, right? I didn't, you know, there wasn't really a visibility online that there is now. Like I remember searching and stuff about you know, stuff like behind the scenes of clothing companies and stuff like that. I didn't know much about it. So it's like I did I didn't know what I was shooting for. All I knew is that I just I just kept on going.

SPEAKER_02 26:52

Well, if you go to now, are your parents do you feel your parents are proud as hell now? Yeah, yeah, definitely right.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

Yeah, now you know, but the thing is like so what I what I find out where I'm at now. So um what they're proud of now is the man that I am. Right. This is and this is something that gets lost in translation of in this story. And the story like that cool story keeps on going, you know, and I start making a lot of money.

Addiction Divorce And Losing Control

SPEAKER_01 27:26

And that person who is just really driven, stays really driven, but then like doesn't know what it doesn't know, fucking extremely arrogant, and and like I I lost myself a lot, and like it was so dark that it was like the money I thought like everything that I could do, like I could I could make my relationship happy if I made enough money, you know. But then you learn that you can't turn a house into a home, you know? And then and then you realize that like you know, you're just running and running and running, and you think that this elevator, like all like at some point, these elevator doors are gonna like open and it's gonna be like you made it. This you made it feeling, and it never comes. And it's like, and no, so no matter what, you just keep pushing and pushing and pushing and pushing, and you become more and more addicted with the you know, this is the success, is it is it attention or is it success? Is it money or is it attention? And and then at that point, is the attention like good or is it bad? And at that point, are you playing a character or is it really you? And where does that character begin and end? And which part of it is really truly you? And it's like this whole thing that I don't think that I like I don't know if anybody could be prepared for that really, right? But it's like that's something that became very, very dark. And I rested on the fact that I was successful financially because well shit. If I mean, if I'm doing this well, then that means that I must have figured it out. So, like, this is just part of the plan, you know? And um, and it wasn't, you know, and so like so today, as as today, like my parents are proud of me because of who I am, right?

SPEAKER_02 29:12

Um, not the money you made, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 29:14

My um, I'm proud of me. I can say, and this is probably the first time I can say this. I'm proud of me for the person that I am. I'm proud of me for you know, what I've done is great, you know, but what I've overcome, that's the stuff that I'm proud of. Personal obstacles you've overcome?

SPEAKER_02 29:31

Yeah. Have you talked about those obstacles? You know, a little bit. Maybe someone's watching, it's like, well, this guy's obscenely successful. Yeah like what obstacles, what what dark spots did you have to overcome?

SPEAKER_01 29:41

I've always tried it, I've always tried to be like pretty open, but like, you know, I'll say, like, you know, really fast forwarding into the way the last couple years are. So, you know, like, so right now I'm married. I have um, you know, I have a daughter, she's 12 years old. Um, I I also have two sons for another marriage, don't really get to see them much. But um, but the thing is, is like my my life and focus on family right now is absolutely incredible. It's like I'm um I'm just sober as well. So, which is oh, so you went through that? Yeah, okay, definitely. So so I'll start with that really, because that that's really a lot of the issues too. So I um I'm extremely um my I have like a really small social battery. It's not like I I have I have to recharge like right away. I don't have the capacity. And so like I um I'm I'm like really awkward as far as like social stuff comes to. And by now I've done it so much that I I have picked up social skills along the way, but like my ADD is just so bad and uncontrollable, and there's a slew of other issues that I've you know found out in there, like a real good cocktail, just like throw all that stuff in there and grind it up, you know. Um, but but in you know, it also makes me extremely creative. And so as long as I'm like locked in my box and I get to be creative, I'm great. And and what I realized is like I made this factory, this little fun factory of everything that I'm good at and how I work. Like there's different little offices all over the place, so I could run all over and and stay focused, but like in my way, you know, and there's music blasting over here and then room that's dark, and then there's like this other place that's a completely different color, so I'm good there. You know, I I could I could exist in many different ways. But then I started, I think that what I really did was I masked the parts that I wasn't doing well by working more. And once I needed to work more, I thought that I was more creative when I was drinking. Once I needed to create, like be drinking more, and then I had to be able to show up in person, then I needed something to keep me straight and make sure that I didn't look like I was completely, you know, completely messed up. So then I was doing cocaine to keep that straightened out, and I operated like that for a while, and and it wasn't sustainable at all. I did it so that my you know, I was working 18 hours a day, you know, I had the bank account to, you know, to show for it. I had all the great cars and everything, but really silently, you know, my whole world was falling apart. Wow. My my entire everything inside of me, I didn't know who I was. I I couldn't like really recognize myself. I'd say about like um five years ago, like five years, four years ago, it was like it was it was a dark, dark place, man. It was like you go through really hard, gnarly divorce, you know, and and it's like you know, the when you have to deal with like the price tags of everything, you know, you start realizing you're only like a dollar amount to people, you know, and it's like that was a really tough pill to swallow, you know, and like and uh it's just like it takes something from you every every like a little piece of it, and then you know, and then when you're when you're doing it publicly and you know, everyone's got something to say about it, you know, and like all their fucking opinions on whatever is going on in your life, and you're just like, dude, I I don't know. You're like, I'm not, I don't want to ever be an expert in going through that shit. Wasn't never setting out to do that, you know.

SPEAKER_02 33:08

So was there was there one thing that hit you where you're like, I'm done drinking, I'm done doing drugs, I'm done.

SPEAKER_01 33:13

So like I really like weaned myself off. I was really careful for a while, you know, and like um, you know, because it's just going through Did you do it yourself or go to rehab? Um, in the end in rehab, but like, but at first, like just saying, like, no, I I gotta stay away from this, like blah, blah, blah. Keep like work, work, and my other part of the life was fine, you know. And then like, um, and then really realistically, when, you know, when custody stuff changed and I didn't get a chance to like see my kids anymore. Oh wow, it was when, and that just turned me into like fuck it mode. Oh, and that killed me. And I fuck, man. There's just I wouldn't wish I wouldn't wish like I'd upon my worst enemy, not the worst person in the world would I wish things like that to have to go through. And but not saying that I didn't put myself there, right?

SPEAKER_02 34:03

It's like how old are your boys right now?

SPEAKER_01 34:06

Uh, 14 and um 11. And you don't get to see them very often. No, and um, but it's like, you know, the thing is, is so then you know, I have a 12-year-old daughter as well, and and she's my stepdaughter. But oddly enough, you look at her, she looks like I met her. Yeah, oh yeah, the sun's game. Yeah, Lucy looks like my biological daughter. Most of the time, people think that Allison's her stepmom. It's like other way around. It's funny, but you know, it's like she's just like me. And I actually learned a lot about my um my challenges. Like it, she's ADD and like slightly on spectrum, and I'm a little bit the same. So it's like there's things that she does that I'm like, why the fuck does she do that? You know, and I was just like, so weird. And then I I do the same thing, you know. When I first met Allison, she's like, God, you remind me of my daughter so much. So weird, you know.

SPEAKER_02 34:55

Are you can you work on repairing the relationship with your sons? Or is that you think that's severed, or you have to wait till they're 18?

SPEAKER_01 35:01

No, what what that really was is yeah, I will have to wait. Yeah. Uh what that really was is in the end, I was like, This is way too much of a battle that you know, I I'm not willing to put them through. Oh, and that was a very hard thing, too. I mean, I I really fell off really bad after that, too, because it's like I made that choice and I had to live with that, you know, and and it's like it's not giving up. You're trying to choose um better, you know, form of peace or whatever. But it's uh, you know, it's hard. And and the but the thing is like I I will say this, and I must say this with it just for anyone who's listening, they're in a very safe place, and their mom's a great mom.

SPEAKER_02 35:35

Oh, that's good.

SPEAKER_01 35:36

You know, she's a great mom.

SPEAKER_02 35:37

Um but did she get half a Dixon?

SPEAKER_01 35:39

Um back then, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:41

Yeah, so still is she like no no no no.

SPEAKER_01 35:43

We yeah, we're like we divorced and we're separated and everything. So that was like about six years ago. Um you've been sober how long? Um, eight months. So this is so this is this is like a you know a recent thing, yeah. You know, so then it's like my addictive personality is what also makes me extremely good at what I do, and that's the dangerous thing. That is the dangerous part of this whole story, is that I can focus and do stuff like nobody else can. It's like it's my superpower, but at the same time, I'm that way about everything. I just have to make sure that I'm full I'm going in the right direction.

SPEAKER_02 36:22

You're full and workaholic though. But you love it, yeah. You can be at work all day.

SPEAKER_01 36:26

So if you but then the same thing, it's like if I'm drinking, I do that all day too. Oh, yeah, you know, it's like and if I'm in an if I'm obsessive about something else, like you you won't see me, you know, go towards any other direction, you know. So it's really wild like that. And and I think that like learning that about myself was you know, that was something that was that was very very difficult.

SPEAKER_02 36:44

Therapy involved with that?

SPEAKER_01 36:45

Oh, yeah, tons, really, yeah, tons of therapy, man. And it was like and that was that's that really hard work that um, you know, it's easy for me to get on these things and say, like, I've done this, I've done that, like I have all these cool plaques and magazines I've been in, you know, it's like look at all these cool cars that won all these different awards and stuff, that's really neat, you know. It's like this is a ton of stuff, but it's like I could also sit down and and tell people, like, you know, for those of you that are down in the dumps and you think that like you're the only person, it's like you definitely are not. And if you think that it would all change if you had money, it definitely will not. You know, it's like that person in the mirror that you have to that you have that you're trying every fucking thing you you can to numb sing is still gonna be there.

SPEAKER_02 37:34

I got a guy I gotta introduce you to. Do you know a guy named Joe Polish? You ever heard of Joe Polish?

SPEAKER_01 37:38

I have not, no.

SPEAKER_02 37:39

Oh my, I gotta introduce this guy. This guy is one of the most successful and amazing human beings I've ever met, and he knows everybody, and he and he's from here. And he has a company called he it's called Genius, the genius network, where he he markets all these but all these people. I mean, like RFK and everybody. Yeah, and he also has he went through rehab and he started a company called Genius Recovery.

SPEAKER_00 38:04

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:04

And he's got this incredible recovery program, and he has people speak. Give me goosebumps talking to you. You remind me so much of him because he's a freaking genius. This guy is awesome, man. And he's I'll have to look that up for sure. I'll just connect you with him. I think you guys can help each other with stuff. Yeah, definitely. And probably help. I think when people see your story and see what you're going through and what you went through, I think you could help change lives.

SPEAKER_01 38:23

Yeah, it's you know, it's a crazy thing. I think through the recovery process, I have met a lot of cool people, you know. I mean, because it could basically what happened because I did end up going to rehab. I went one time before, but I think it it was never in my mind for like for long-term sobriety. Like I just thought like I needed a break, you know, and I just like go chill out, Malibu, for a little bit, you know, be fine. I was just overwhelmed, you know. And then I started going through like full-on, you know, um breakdowns, like just full-on mental breakdowns. And then my wife, Allison, saw me go through this, and she's like, you know, she realized it is the pressure of everything with work and and the pressure of the social media stuff is really the big part of it too. It's like you mean like haters? No, not I've I've like learned how to manage all that because I just I I simply just look at it as like, you know what?

SPEAKER_02 39:16

Wait, everybody next time the Sun's game, I said, Hey, I shot you a DM. I go, and and and you go, I got rid of that stuff eight months ago. You're like, I got rid of it eight months ago, and so it was all that's the timing of it, right?

SPEAKER_01 39:30

So basically, like I I had this crazy mental breakdown, and I was like, you know, at the time, like I had been doing really well too. Like, I you know, it's not like eight months ago, I I was just like using every day, and I was just like, you know, all that kind of stuff, like you know, going to the gym and I was doing really well and all this stuff, like um, but it's crazy. So the last day, and I don't think that I this part I haven't talked about on a podcast or online or anything.

Rehab Therapy And A Reset

SPEAKER_01 39:58

It's one night I go outside and I'm at my house, and uh it's probably like seven, eight o'clock at night, something like that. And and I'm just like, I can't explain it. There's a war inside of me. It's not that it's going on between with anybody else, and so it doesn't have to do with like you know, um, other people or anything, it's it's a really a me versus me thing, and it's just like this war inside of me battling on you know the truth of who I really am. What am I doing here? What's going on, you know, like and and why am I not feeling great? And I ask God, you know, straight up. And I'm sorry if I you know to bring faith into this. Do it, but um, I go outside and I'm just like, God, I I don't understand, man. Like, what are you trying to do with me here? I'm trying my best, like I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do. Like, why is it that I feel like this? And I'm looking at it and I'm like, I have just the most beautiful wife in the world. God, she's incredible, she's a cheerleader and a supporter. I have this beautiful daughter, and that's you know, she she chooses me and loves me every day, you know. And it's like, and I'm I'm so lucky to have that. Um, but there's something inside of me that is just fucking raging on. And it's like, and I have everything else in the world that anybody would ever want. And I'm just so fucked. Like, what is going on? And I'm like, and I'm doing good in interim times. It's like, it's not like it was the really dark times when it's like every day was bad, and I was just blasted. And I ask, and then the next day, um, you know, it's like day like any other, any other. And I think like I had something to celebrate, and I decided to like just get drunk. And then once, once I was drinking, like I took on kind of like a whole different, like I wasn't happy anymore, I was sad, and then it was like, then I found like some coke and like you know, did some coke, blah, blah, blah. And I found that every time, like, basically I would do anything, and I knew that I was doing bad, even though it was way less frequent. It was like my like my uh the consequences would the severity would worsen, you know? And so that night I was just a crazy mental breakdown. I just broke down completely, lost my mind, and it's just like a war of myself. I broke everything around me. Like it just, I I just I didn't even know what I was mad about anymore, you know. Like it was just like I don't know why I was so so like you know, so uh like what was going on. And after that night, I the next day, like I basically um I was faced with losing everything or you know, or fixing it. And so I decided to go to rehab and I took it very fucking seriously. And this is the first time I ever took anything like that seriously.

SPEAKER_02 42:50

How long are you there for?

SPEAKER_01 42:51

Um I went there for 30 days, so I went there, did that, um, went to the Hope House in Scottsdale, and um, and it was hard, you know, it was like it's a cool place and everything. You live there for 30 days, yeah. And so um, you know, and and I'm fortunate enough that like, you know, my I I could work while I was there too, but like everyone really wanted me to, you know, um really be in it and not really have to worry about work, you know. So while I was there, I didn't really have social media. And so then I was like, so then I went 30 days without that, and then like and I was just trying to do my thing, and like I did a lot. I I mean I did like six hours of therapy a day and really dove in deep on things from childhood to you know, then you know, like growing up in my teenage years, you know, basically like like forgiving myself in some senses, and then trying to run the tape back to to figure out where certain things of my DNA come from, you know? And then um, and then unwinding some of the like, you know, some of the shit that you go through after like, you know, losing your kids. Is your is your sister proud of you?

SPEAKER_02 44:01

Do you talk to her?

SPEAKER_01 44:02

I don't talk to her a whole lot. We just don't have a tight relationship. But um, but you know, like but my parents from where I was to where I am now are very proud.

SPEAKER_02 44:12

Are they still married?

SPEAKER_01 44:14

They're not. They're um they're separated. Like they separated as I was an adult though. So I grew up with them, right? You know, um being together. But in my 20s, they separated.

SPEAKER_02 44:23

Does your dad still have the motorcycle shop?

SPEAKER_01 44:24

Uh no. I actually like I basically forced him to retire and got someone to buy it. And then I moved him out here. Oh, you did? Yeah, yeah. That's awesome. And actually recently, now um my stepsister and stuff is having kids and you know, or is going to soon. And um, and they're all based in Temecula. So my stepmom's side of of things like are all based out of Temecula. So um me and Allison actually just got them a property with like the biggest garage that he's ever seen.

SPEAKER_02 44:53

Is that great for you to take care of your parents like that?

SPEAKER_01 44:56

It's it means the absolute utmost. Right. It's so cool. But um, you know, so during all that that time that was like a really hard thing. I just I leaned in on God and tried to see like what you know, what was my purpose? Like what you know, what is it here? And and I found it, you know, and like um uh to take someone like me who is like I was never into faith when I was young at all, actually like staunchly against it.

SPEAKER_03 45:26

Right.

SPEAKER_01 45:27

And um I always had a chip on my shoulder. I never I always had a problem with authority, you know. I did and I thought it was just because of like the way my brain worked or something like that, and it wasn't, it was my choices. I was never willing to like look at my choices and like and and really like say like wow, like I could have done that differently. That's my fucking fault. I would do it for the sake of saying it probably, but I don't think I'd really like leaned into it. But now you're into it, you go to church, and so now, or no, I I guess like in looking at myself, I wouldn't take um accountability as much as I should, I guess. And so, but yeah, like even even like that year before rehab, like I I had really started getting into my faith, and that's when things were really changing in my life, you know. And so I just man, I what I found out, I think the most powerful takeaway from it um that would be the message for the rest of my life, is that the strength in a man, in my opinion, is what you will surrender and not what we will overcome. So when we talk about things, it's like we have to keep on going. Like that's what makes us strong. But we're taught really to just like to shove it all inside, put on a shiny, you know, a shiny appearance on the outside. I'm gonna play this fucking character of Danny Dixon. I'm the happiest guy, I got a smile this big, and I got fucking money in the bank, you know. I have a, you know, look at my wife, blah blah blah. Check it out. I have life's made, man. Look at me, and I did it from fucking nothing, right? You know, so it's like that's that's who I'm supposed to be, but that's not who I was supposed to be, I don't think. Is I'm I'm supposed to be, there's this beautiful, imperfect, fucked up part of that. That's like the mess is like becomes my message, right? You know, and so it's like where it really is that now I can show people that you could have all that, like it's achievable, yeah. But if you don't do it in the right way, you're gonna get it, and it's not gonna mean a damn thing to you. And until you're willing to look at yourself in the mirror and realize that all of it you can lose and know why you have it and why you're here and what your message should be, is like you won't you won't really respect any of it.

SPEAKER_02 47:37

When you talk about like all the stuff you're going through, did you relieve? Because I I was at your shop and I went and I got a tour and I saw your gym and I saw the cold plunge and I saw the sauna. Like for me, every day I am pushing weight, doing everything I can to release what you're talking about that's inside. Absolutely. Like, do you work out every day? Are you saunning every day? Are you doing does that help?

SPEAKER_01 47:58

Yeah, it does. And and I got into that like um three years ago or so. So like I was doing that a lot too. But then, you know, I was also, you know, I was also like weekend warrior partying and stuff like that, too. So you sit in the sauna, let all those chemicals out of your body, right? Right. I figured out how to get rid of hangovers, right? But yeah, that's a huge part of it now, too. Like, um, so we just moved into a new place and sold our last place, which it was really cool. You know, got to I got to like check off the list. I I love design, so I got my house was on HGTV and on the news a bunch, stuff like that. We just sold. That was cool.

SPEAKER_02 48:35

Because what it was an out-of-control house, you had like some fun stuff.

SPEAKER_01 48:38

Yeah, we built built huge, like you built the house, yeah. The or no no no we um added on to the house, but like, but it's an older house already, and it was right behind the the um the big temple in Gilbert, uh-huh. And the backyard was just insane. It was just like just an incredible resort-style backyard that had absolutely everything you could want, and the garages were insane, like it was awesome, you know. Um, but selling it was nice to let go cold close an old chapter, you know. And so it was like um it was really nice, and and it was at that point that I like kind of I looked at things, I really wanted a lot of different things. Like I, you know, I like I wanted a gated neighborhood so like my my daughter could be you know safe riding around her bike and making tons of friends. I wanted to be surrounded by like-minded people, you know.

SPEAKER_02 49:28

So, where'd you move to?

SPEAKER_01 49:29

Um to the pecans in Queensland.

SPEAKER_02 49:30

Oh, yeah, I have some friends that live there.

SPEAKER_01 49:32

Yeah, it's it's an amazing neighborhood, man. It's so amazing. But then on top of that, you know, after I got sober, and this was an amazing thing too, actually. When I got sober, my wife said, Um, you know, I did I just asked her if she was still gonna drink and and I didn't expect anything at all. And she's like, No, I'm right beside you. Like, you know, this is so so we're both sober, and so um, and I never expected that at all of her, but she supported me every step of the way, and she, you know, and was like, we need to change our surroundings. There's big things that we have to do in our life, you know. And she she'll talk about it so she's in tears today to say that, like, you know, we were put here for something that we are yet to find. And she's like, I think I know what it is, and it's really getting our message out there that you know, in in like what I was talking about, saying, Um, you know, by um surrendering, it was time for me to surrender to myself, but also surrender to the fact that like I can't try to control the world on one side, and then on the other side of the fence, I'm kind of leaning towards like I trust you, God, but like at the same time, just in case, I'm gonna take care of all this, you know. And it's like you can't do that, you can't do like everything half-assed like that and expect for it to like you know to get better. I had to jump into it and just say, you know what, like it's time for you to take the wheel. I'm just gonna do everything that it feels like you want me to do, and trust the outcome, and you know, and just go for it. And and I'll tell you that you know, today uh the first time that I could probably tell you that I'm happy, probably in my life. You seem happy to me. I I feel great. Yeah, you know, it's like I mean, I'm not saying that every day is perfect. Did you find you saw it already today? Yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:15

So do you have it at your house or you just go to your place?

SPEAKER_01 51:18

Okay, so in the new house, like the they had this um there's this area that was built for their um for the lady who they built it for originally. This was built in 2014, had like a um like a little mini salon, and it's in the master. So the master bath, there's like a shower over here, and on this side there was a little salon. And so by the time we got there, there was like there's plumbing there already. I mean, you couldn't really tell. It's like, what is this room for? It's like a room and it's glass on one side. So built this little like a drain thing and this little enclave for one of those barrel saunas that has like the um or are the I'm sorry, the barrel um cold plunge that's like aluminum, but the outside's like yeah, I know exactly and then put like one of those corner saunas in the corner there. Those are cold though, those cold plunges. Oh, dude, right?

SPEAKER_02 52:06

32 degrees, but then you because of the metal, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:08

Right, I know I've been in that one before. Oh, yeah. And so I have that set up, and it's like it's so nice now that like I can get that thing kicking in like 10-15 minutes, the cold plunge is ready to go. The sauna's up and going in 30 minutes, and so like I don't feel right if I don't do that every time. And I do it every time.

SPEAKER_02 52:23

I did it before I came here too. Yeah, I sauna and cold plunge. I I cold plunge about two or three times a day. Doesn't it? It's crazy. Yeah, it's like a good mental game too to get in there.

SPEAKER_01 52:32

Absolutely. Yeah, there's I mean, the the test of that is like there's not many other things in my life that like I could think of that I do repetitively that you don't get good enough at to where like they don't give you anxiety anymore. I am anxious as to get inside that thing every day.

SPEAKER_02 52:47

Some of my wife the other day I go, Well, I get we're in the hot we have a hot tub with a cold plunge, and I go, I'm gonna get in that cold plunge. I go, I don't want to. This is the part, this is the mental part. You gotta get in there and get in there. I do, I do I do it at 3 a.m. every day. Exactly. Yeah. So the house that you sold, because you said it was so outlandish. Who bought that? Was it another personality, like uh someone like you? Or is it just some normal dude?

SPEAKER_01 53:07

He's like he's from Seattle, and um, I think he recently sold his company or something. He's like he's chatting around. Um, like he has a new jet. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 53:19

He's he's doing well for himself.

How Dixon Operates Now

SPEAKER_02 53:21

Hey, as far as the business goes, so you don't have to is that on autopilot? Like that's just now it's so massive now that it's just massive, right? I mean, you guys are like we're all over the world. Do you have a bunch of stores? How's that work? What what's what's with with Dixon Flannel?

SPEAKER_01 53:34

A bunch of stores probably is what comes next. Um, we have but you're in a bunch of stores already, right?

SPEAKER_02 53:40

You're in stores.

SPEAKER_01 53:41

We're in um, I believe somewhere around 400, 450 doors right now, as far as like retailers and stuff. Um, and then we are as far as our stores go, we have Tempi. We have one in Sturgis, which um stays open year round.

SPEAKER_02 53:57

Oh man, that's probably a big moneymaker.

SPEAKER_01 53:59

Yeah, that during the rally, that's it's crazy. The rest of the year, it's I mean, Sturgis is only only a town of 7,000, but I wanted it, it was really important to me to give back to that community. Right. So it's run by you know, by locals, it stays open for the locals. We're like, you know, most of the stuff on Main Street down there is like it's dead all the rest of the year, and then rally comes and everyone from all the different you know states comes in, makes all their money in jams. And so like we wanted to, you know, stay apart there and like really give it into the community. Um, yeah, so in the UK, um we we have we have one there, and then they just brought on being able to do like the Europe side, you know, UK and Europe.

SPEAKER_02 54:43

And then um then we have one in Australia, and then these things out of a scion 15 years ago, 12 years ago. What the hell? How did it was there a moment? Was there somebody that that you I know you said you did everything yourself, but is there somebody that was like, hey, they gave you some advice, and that advice took you to the next level, or this is just all in your head that turned into this huge thing.

SPEAKER_01 55:06

You know, there's a lot of things along the way, and but um I'm not good at like you know, conversation for too long. And so, like, so sometimes like I would take like little bits of it and stuff, you know, but it was really like kind of figured it out as we gone as we went on. One of the early things that that I coined a phrase and I'd tell my staff all the time was Fitfo. And it was because they would be like, Hey, like, I don't know, I've never been like a you know, whatever their title, I've never been a shipping manager before. Like, how do I do this? And I'm like, Well, I've never been a CEO before. Figure it the fuck out. So that's FIFO. Fitfo is figure it the fuck out.

SPEAKER_00 55:43

So to this day, like one of my holdings companies called like Fitfo.

SPEAKER_01 55:48

And we keep like, you know, we hold like properties in there and stuff. And so um right now is a whole new time for learning, just as much as that stuff was. I think you know, there was a shift at some point where I realized that I, you know, like I'm like I'm a student of life, and that and that was probably like you know, five, six years ago or something, and I've it humbled me a lot, you know, and then um, and then things, you know, changed. And obviously, when I got sober, there's even more, like, you know, a lot more humility came. And so that so there's like it gave me like a new essential thirst for um for life, really. And so, and so a lot of the stuff that I was good at before, rather than like doubling down on that and doing it over and over again and just not paying attention to stuff that I didn't like, because that's where it's kind of gotten to to answer your question as far as it running on autopilot. I don't really have to do the things that I don't like to do. And so there's better people in those places than than there is me. And I did it so I wouldn't have to do those things.

SPEAKER_02 56:45

So you uh, because you're not CEO now, right? Are you CEO?

SPEAKER_01 56:48

I am.

SPEAKER_02 56:49

Isn't it are you like a founder or something like that? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 56:52

I'm more like on the founder side, but I am currently CEO as well. Um, but I think I think in the future you'll see a change in CEO. What about CEO? I've actually never said that on the forest.

SPEAKER_02 57:04

Will there be like a huge company that'll come in? Is that the end goal for to buy Dixon Flannel for like $10 billion or something?

SPEAKER_01 57:09

Well, I think that there will be a shift in change just as far as as an executive level where I'm at. And I and the reason why I say that is because I really care about my people. And at some at some point, I have to make up my mind that like their careers are gonna be better in the next person's like hands that can take it to the next level. I've gotten it to this level and it's great. I mean, dude, we I mean, we do this next year, we'll probably do close to 150 million, and like, and and that's great. And we do it well too. Right. That's the thing, is like it's like a well-oiled machine.

SPEAKER_02 57:47

Yeah, like it's incredible. Where did that go from the the the guy you're buying all the stuff from? Like who makes your shirts now?

SPEAKER_01 57:52

Like oh, so after that, we you know turned into like this whole thing of finding the rap factories and learning all that stuff, you know. It's like that's a huge part of it, you know, being able to control the quality of your products and then learning about you know the different the different ways of making things, that's been really a big part of our story. Like we venture into sunglasses, like, do we need to do that?

SPEAKER_02 58:12

Yeah, no, I saw you saw your sunglasses, and what I like about them is like I have a big head and they look like they would fit big heads. Yes, yeah, they definitely do. Yeah, that was cool and soap. Hey, and I got the socks. Oh, yeah. Yeah, bro.

SPEAKER_01 58:24

Okay, so for example, socks. A lot of people make socks, right? The footbed in our socks that we came up with a long time ago is like is a performance footbed that's like extra thick. It's almost like um the perfect sock that you could work in. Like you could wear this in work boots in construction all day long, but in styling, we take those same, like those same properties and make it so that you know you can wear them every day and and really put comfort at the forefront of the form and the function. And that's what I really try to stay very true to is that we're not gonna make things just to make them, we want to make them so that we can make it better than what else there is. And I want to make it so it's still affordable. So when I look at that, and and prices on everything are going up, we're maintaining price levels for years over years, the last 10 years, just like Costco, exactly Costco hot dogs, and because it's like I look at it as like yes, which are incredible, but there's just something about that hot dog, right? And it's um, you know, it's like I look at it as like we're we're we have enough, we're good, you know, and my my employees are taken care of, everything's great. We're you know, we're growing and not like super rapid, right? We're growing at a nice healthy level, and it's like and life's good, you know. So when I look at it that way, do we need to go up? We should, like, you know, if if like you know, if if the financial side of things, if they could have their way and telling me what they want to do, then yes, we would go up.

SPEAKER_02 59:52

But I'm just so you have a bunch of advisors now, yeah. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 59:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 59:56

And what's the when you when you talk about your shirts, for example, do you know which is the best seller? Like, is there one that's like this is the number one shirt we have?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:03

So yes, and no. It's hard because we have different number different levels of how many we'll make. And so it's it's hard to like really put it all on the same level and say, oh, this one did way better than this. Like we could say, you know, Metallica did way more than this, but that's because we may only have made 3,000 of this one and made, you know, 25,000. But there's no more Metallica ones, or are there?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:26

They're those are gone. Like, if I would have brought in one of the shirts that I got from you maybe 10 years ago, could you have seen that shirt and go, whoa, we don't make those anymore? Oh, yeah. Like you got them all memorized because when I was in your store the other day, you have thousands of shirts.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:39

Yes, thousands.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:40

We we drop like two to three drops a week, and that's each each drop is probably like two main shirts and then accessories to go with it. So I mean, when it comes to how much stuff we come out with, we're we're at one. I mean, we're we're the leaders of it. And and truth be told, if you look in the production department, I mean, I I'm already designed out two years ahead of time. Really? Yeah, it's like it's pretty wild. Sometimes I'll look at it and be like, wow, I had a really productive year. Like, did a lot of shit.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:13

Are there have you ever seen a Dixon knockoff? Are there are there? You have.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:17

Yeah, there's there's t-shirts now. Somebody started sending sending me t-shirts, like these pictures of t-shirts in places that were like, I was like, what is that? And you could tell it's just like it looks like it's like AI generated. Oh, you know, I'm like, well, what have you ever had to send a cease and desist anybody? Yeah, we I mean, we've gotten knocked off quite a few times.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:38

Yeah, you like you found out the companies and you're like, shut that down.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:41

I I leave it to I just leave it to the legal guys.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:44

So now you have a legal department, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:46

Yeah, wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:46

I mean, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:47

When I say like, you know, all the stuff I don't like doing, is it it's really you know, it's like I I focus on the ideas of what come what goes on as far as the creative goes, you know. But then at the same time, now that there's like like I got this one kid, um Los Um Carlos started working with us, he's been there for maybe seven years now, and we were his first job after Baskin Robbins. And like, so I've watched this kid become like an amazing graphic designer. Wow, and and it's like that's what he wanted to do. And he was doing like coupons as like a side job, like in mailers and stuff like that before. And um, and he's like, he's probably one of my best producers now. And I've watched him buy a house, I've watched him, you know, like buy his first cool truck, I've watched him take care of his family, watched like I've watched that happen with a lot of different employees now. That's like you know, that's a big part of it. And so when I when I said led on to before, like there might be a time for me to step down as CEO, it really means that I'd probably just, you know, do pretty much what I do now, but just have a person that's more in the driver's seat and really wants to like you know put the throttle back down to like go full speed ahead. Because my my main focus right now is just me, my life, my family. And I really I I like I let work kind of take a back seat, you know. That's important. I do what I do what I can for my people for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:15

What about charities? Do you donate to charities?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:16

Oh, yeah. Like, I mean, we do at least two drops a month that go to charities. Really?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:21

Yeah, either they're shirts about, or you mean you drop off shirts at a like a goodwill or something?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:25

Oh, both, actually. So like every other Wednesday we drop off stuff, like we'll drop like returns that we can't resell and blends, like if they're slightly blemed or something like that. We donate those every other week to a local shelter, and then so um, you know, those go out like in Tempe and Phoenix and all over the place. What about a collab with the charity? Oh, yeah. Like we do um, we do like keep a breast, I think is the last breast cancer one we do. We do breast cancer twice a year.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:52

We should do a bunch of stuff like that. My wife and I have two foundations, and one is a dog rescue. Oh, yeah, we should do a Dixon dog rescue. Yeah, that'd be awesome. Have you ever done a dog rescue before? We have.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:02

There was like um, it was a while back. It was actually that guy I brought up earlier, Danny G. Um, so Danny G, like when he was working for Vans, he was also doing a bunch of work with the shelter by him in Oceanside. And we did this, um, we did this dog one, but I mean, gosh, that was eight years ago, something like that. That'd be dope to do one. We do a bunch of stuff.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:23

Oh, yeah, we met Lemon, the dog, he was chilling out.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:26

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:27

She wouldn't let him fell in love with Lemon or walking around. Dogs are just kids. We have we have we have uh five dog rescues. Now one just passed away, but we have our own shelter with a bunch of dogs at the shelter. Oh wow. It's called Love Pop. We get a Love Pup Dixon shirt. That could be cool. Um, when we were at your store though, I saw the world's biggest truck. What truck is that, man? What the hell is that?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:46

Dude, so that was like it's made out of like an Econo line, um lifted one with a F gosh, like F650 or something.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:56

Did you have it made or someone said to you, hey, you want to buy this?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:58

So somebody else had it made, and then he asked me if I was interested in it, and he's in the Midwest. Really cool dude. And and um, and then he told me that this other clothing brand was like maybe gonna buy it, and I was like, no fucking way.

unknown 1:05:11

I want it.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:12

I was like, and like I don't even think I've ever driven it, like maybe once take it out to a person. Yeah, we take it out to events when they when there's gonna be a lot of companies set up, we'll take it out because it just steals the show. Oh, it sure does. You know, it's like or it's like low riders and and then all of a sudden you get this gigantic truck, you know. That's huge. I mean, when I when I really like think back to it and all the stuff that we've done over the years, there's you know, because because I did talk a lot about dark stuff today, there's been so many cool moments, man. There's so many things that we've done that like have brought us to tears just being able to do them, you know. Um, we've worked with um the um Make a Wish Foundation a lot, and man, we've seen we've been able to help make a couple of those wishes come true and we've been present for them. Man, it's like I watch my staff and like the pride that. There and it's like it's something so different. The feeling is so fulfilling, and it's like, and that really has become more so like what I really, really enjoy about my job. Is the you know, is being able to get a message out, being honest, like and being being completely upfront and honest about all my shortcomings, and then you know, and and making a difference through them, you know. So I think that um that kind of goes into also when I said before, is like is the first time I've been happy. I think that a lot of that has to do with that too, is being able to like I can finally own all those good things because I kind of shy away shied away from them before because I wasn't willing to own the bad, but once you own all the bad, and you look at that guy in the mirror and you can be like you know, very very proud of who you're looking at and knowing who who it is, and that you're honest, and that that person is looking back at you, willing to fight for everyone that's around you and yourself, you know, at just the same amount. At that point, you can own all the good too.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:02

Yeah, the good is important. It is. I have this thing, I was just telling the story the other day. I have this friend of mine who told me that life is about experiences, and so sometimes you know, go ahead and spend that money and do this because it's an experience. And I was just curious because you talked about how uh the crazy house you have. Is there anything? Let me ask you a couple have you gone on any trips with like your best favorite vacation? Where was it? What'd you do? Or do you never go on vacation?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:28

Uh we travel a lot, actually. Um, so we're getting ready to go to Bora Bora, which I've been wanting to do that for a long time, but that's like you know, way less, like way more kickback. Right. Um lately we've been on a lot of our travels have been like with our other properties. So we bought a house, uh, we bought a brownstone town home in Brooklyn, and um, we're going, we're kind of doing this like you know, the bi-coastal deal. And um, and like I really wanted my daughter to be able to have, you know, Arizona's great, it really is, and she's tucked back in this like perfect little enclave of community, right? Um, but she's very creative, like I am, and I want to do something that's gonna foster that creativity in different ways, and wanted her to be around a more vibrant place and culture and arts and whatnot. And so, um, so we will be doing Brooklyn half the year, and then you know, and then be over here the other half of the year. Oh, that's cool.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:23

Yeah, it's here in California. You don't really hear Brooklyn, yeah. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:28

Like when we tell people, they're like, Oh, where'd you guys, you know, what what real estate deals have you guys done late lately? And we're like, Oh, yeah, we bought this house in Brooklyn. They're like, No, I heard Brooklyn.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:37

But Brian's my brother-in-law's from Brooklyn, and I know that I think I know the area you're talking about because it's gotten really nice. Oh, yeah, it's like really nice.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:44

You walk down these streets, and it's like this little area of park slope that we that we live in, it's like you just see a bunch of baby strollers, and it's basically like I almost would say it's like people my age, and usually if you're in the city, they kind of have kids a little bit later, right? And um, you know, and they're they're like, you know, pretty, pretty successfully living there, and and it's like you bump into people in the coffee shops that like that will be from somewhere completely different, it blows your mind, right? You know, and it's like you you brush elbows with like which people who have just these incredible stories that I just don't get a chance to do here because you know, I you pull in your like car in the garage and don't say anything to anybody, you know. I like that part a lot.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:21

I like that a lot about that here. I like that a lot about it.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:23

But as far as um travels, uh dude, we were running like crazy uh couple years ago, and this last year I really battened down the hatches, like you know, really like focused on being present.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:37

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:37

And and I kind of looked at like, you know, and I don't mean to put this in a dark twist too, but it's like I kind of looked at it as like I was I was running for a long time, and it was like I was like, boom, I'm here doing this, and like here's me on a yacht, like doing this. I've always wanted to do that, which you know is super rad, but you know, it's like I was doing all kinds of stuff, but it was because I never had to stay, I never had to stay put and deal with my shit. Right. Like I would be running and you know, hey, you can't get a hold of me, like whatever, you know, see you later, right? And so like now I'm facing everything, and I've really made myself stay put.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:10

And so um and it's and it's working for you, I mean it is right, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:13

Yeah, it is, it really is. Um, you know, sobriety is a great thing. I think that you know, most people, if you can do things in in um moderation, that's not a word that's really familiar to my cat. You know, I'm the same way.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:25

I know exactly what you mean in moderation. For me, it's food, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:29

Dude, same. So I think right now, like I've been going to the gym basically. Like, I don't look like I'm gonna go to the gym every day. I go to the gym so I can eat dessert every day.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:39

Probably that gym you put at your work is a sick gym. Oh, right.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:44

So actually, going to the wellness part of that, and it's a big part of our program there. Is like uh Monday, Wednesday, Friday, we have a uh dedicated trainer there for the employees. So they have they all have like little groups that they go in during the day sometime and hit that gym. And then Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have a um a yoga studio upstairs, and we have a yoga instructor that comes and does that. So they have the access to a bunch of different stuff that really keeps their you know their their um health and everything. That's so great.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:14

Yeah, also you're I also I really liked how your the Portage on is a changing room. Right, yeah, dude. You do some crazy stuff that's cool, it's very

Tattoos Biohacking And Closing Stories

SPEAKER_02 1:11:22

cool. Can I ask you about some of your tattoos? Yeah. So, like well, first of all, when I first saw you at the Suns game, I was like, that might be the coolest motherfucker I've ever seen. And then and talking to you, you might be the coolest dude I've ever met.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:34

I really appreciate that, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:35

But I was so when you get a tattoo, you gotta think about it a lot, right? So when you get it on your face, what kind of thought process goes through that? Because it you change you're changing, right? And that like, does your did your daughter this one you have right here, did did your daughter, did you already have her when you had that? Or did you get it later and you gotta explain to her that you're getting a tattoo on your face? Now you look different. Like if you see your beard, she'd freak out.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:57

Oh, yeah. Like she um, she actually she's seen me without a beard and she's like, You need to grow your beard back, it looks really weird, right? But um, yeah, I already had I was pretty much tattooed. So I've been heavily tattooed for a long time. Okay, and and so it's like it's very different now than it used to be. 20 years ago, if you're heavily tattooed, like it, you know, there's a huge stigma attached to it. It was very tough. Oh, yeah. You know, now you see, like, I mean, it's actually creatures. Yeah, yeah. Now it's kind of sad. It's like these kids, you look at them like, dude, you're 18 years old, you just tattooed your whole face. Like you have a whole life ahead of you. Right now, you're pissed off at the world, and all the things that you think are right or you know, they're all gonna change, and you're not gonna look that cool, like in a polo shirt, like but um, but at the same time, I was told all the same things, you know. Right. So, and and it's it's funny. My wife is heavily tattooed as well, she might even have more than I do. And when we met, um, we had a lot of the same tattoos, and so we're like, oh my, why did you get that? Like, that's weird. Like, I I have that too. Check this out, you know. It was like we would kind of like go back and forth, and she loves it for she really likes getting tattooed. I hate it. I and so I don't get tattooed that much anymore.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:09

Like, when was the last time you got a tattoo?

SPEAKER_01 1:13:11

Um gosh, probably about a year ago.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:15

What was the longest it took for you to get a tattoo?

SPEAKER_01 1:13:17

Oh gosh. I had like when when I got my back done a really long time ago, I was doing some long sessions on that and it really hurt a lot. Um, but like, you know, tattooing my head was really bad. Unfortunately, like God didn't grace me with like full head of hair, so it was like, you know, it's either that or you know, be bald. Dude, my head, I have my head, I have tattooed hair. This is all tattooed. Oh, really? Dude, I did that too, actually. I thought that was a micro, what is it called? Microderm or something.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:42

Yeah, I've done it like three times. I freaking love it. You start losing your hair and you'd like to do it. It's so crazy how it, like, how it yeah, you know, but I can see how it's addicting because I think it feels good. Yeah. I never put it on like, oh no, like I had mistaken.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:54

I'm gonna go like go to sleep, check out some nuts. Let's get my head tattooed.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:57

But it's funny, but my head tattoo is of hair. Like the one you have right here, what's this right here?

SPEAKER_00 1:14:01

Uh I'm trying to remember. Is that A right there? Yeah, I can't see it.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:06

No, I don't know what it is.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:07

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:08

But when you put it on your face, are you like are you like, all right, you can put it, it's gonna cheat. You're are you already successful when you're gonna tattoo your face?

SPEAKER_01 1:14:16

Yeah, okay. Yeah. When I did I did my head and everything, like right here, and most of my neck within the last 10 years.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:24

Yeah. So everything else though was from quite a while ago. Um, but everything that that you see like here and up here, then that's stuff's all. What do you say? Oh, yeah. So actually, a lot of this, you know, um, for the first time I went to rehab, I found out a lot about um meditation and about I was doing yoga all the time and you know, and stuff like that. I found I found a way that I was able, you know, as being someone with really gnarly social or I mean um ADD, like I was able to meditate for like 45 minutes to an hour and I couldn't believe it. I've never been able to sit so in my life, you know. And so it's still meditating? I I don't, you know, that's something that's missing a little bit. I think when when I really dove into faith and stuff, I really kind of left a lot of those things behind.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:14

But I just meditates every day with a group of people live on face on FaceTime or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:18

That's so amazing. I love that.

unknown 1:15:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:22

What time you wake up? I I wake up generally somewhere between 4 30 and 5 30 every day. Oh, really? Yeah, even and that's like even if I'm tired, it's still that way.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:32

You have a routine, a morning routine that you go through every day?

SPEAKER_01 1:15:34

Yes. So like I I wake up and in the morning I try to get done anything that like just is on my mind and get it out of the way. Because I feel like my brain's so cluttered and so just so clustered that like I won't be able to take care of the stuff that comes my way. So I pretty much wake up and I'll I'll like get some work done for the first couple hours before anybody's up. And um, you know, like my wife or my daughter, whatever. Um, and then uh it's good having that time to yourself, isn't it? Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:01

I know, I love it.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:02

I like to do the um generally my wife's up, like doing her stair stepper, and then does like the red light thing and her little oh the vibration plate. Yeah, the vibration plate thing. So she she has uh autoimmune disease, so she tries to get everything flush out and stuff. What disease does she have? Um, she has uh ulcer clitis, pancreatitis? No, it's uh lupus.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:23

Lupus. Yes. I think I can help with that. Yeah, really? It's almost like almost every podcast this slides in uh stem cells in Mexico. I go to Mexico, get stem cells. I have two friends that have autoimmune diseases, one session of stem cells gone. No way, really. I'll look into it for lupus for you and I'll send you the information if you want. Oh, dude, I would love to game changer. She will geek out on that stuff for sure. Especially since she already does all this biohacking stuff. Yeah. When she finds out about this, I've had the scientists in here before. I Blake and I, we've gone uh what eight times to Mexico to get it done. It's uh so awesome. Yeah, dude. It'll especially uh maybe for you too. How do you think about what do you feel about peptides? I love peptides. Are you guys on that right now? I'm on everything.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:05

Yeah, that's how I feel right right now. My wife's really into it, so I'm just like this pin cushion.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:11

I don't even know. Yeah, but she's on BPC 157 because her shoulder hurts and TP5. My son tore his ACL. We put him on BPC 157, it healed his AC. Oh, and this and we did the stem cells too. He tore his ACL stem cells, no surgery, it freaking healed. Wow, yeah, but like, yeah, all the all the peptides. That big, big, big fan, big thing, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:17:32

So wild, it's so it's so cool what is out there. Like, I um I I partially believe that like I think that God like kind of took away some of my pain as far as he's like, I've never had a like an urge to ever like drink or use or anything ever again after going through that. But it's so much fun looking at all these things that like the biohacking you're talking about. Like, there's so many things at our fingertips right now that that are like so positive in our lives, yeah, that it's just it it's I meet more people every day that it make the choice to not you know be drunk all the time, you know. And it's like it's so wild. Instead, I find that these conversations are so different. It's like you look at the table, nobody's drinking, and everyone's talking about baptizing whatever.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:18

Like, what do you do in the morning?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:19

Like, oh, no way. Like I gotta try that. Like, oh, you got the whatever retro shot this morning.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:24

I took my testosterone this morning. I took a freaking uh thing here. Tomorrow I'm doing the NAD plus right here. Oh I'm doing it. I do it, I do everything, and I'm a big believer. And the one thing that to me is the biggest of them all, which is illegal here, are the stem cells. Oh, gotcha. I will uh I'm gonna get I'm gonna connect you with those people. Definitely. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I will. You've blown my mind. I was not expecting this conversation today to be like this with you, and I'm so glad that it was, and I'm so glad that I met you, and I'm so glad that you sat down. It's funny how things happen. Like I bump in you at the sun's game, like it was wild. You know, your daughter taking a picture of the gorilla. That's the thing about life's about experience. She's gonna remember that the rest of her life.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:05

Man, she loves that. I I can't say good enough good things about like the staff there, too. Yeah, you know, it's like we we're season ticket holders, and then we've like moved down, gotten closer and closer and stuff, and working with them's been great. Um, going to the rah-rah room is such an incredible thing, right? Like that, that's like my big thing this year is like we became members of the rah-rah room.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:25

The only problem, here's the only problem I have with that is that with the tickets, you also get all this food anyway. I know. So I'm already want to overeat there. Yeah. And then some friends might let's go to the raw room. Like, I go in there, I'm like, wait a minute. All this pasta and bread, or over here I get ribeyes and sushi, right? So I'm like, I'd I'd rather go to the raw room another time when there's a concert or something.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:46

You know what? So I'm I'm actually the same way. I think the same way because I I know if I go to the raba room, like that carbon's pasta is like the whole time.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:58

It's like ice cream sundae that they get there, just put whatever you want. These bring massive amounts of ice cream. But meanwhile, you with your ticket to the Suns game, you get all this other food, right? So I feel like I'm I'm wasting my money.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:11

And then you go you go into a Nexus lounge and you're just like got the sushi chef right there doing all the crazy stuff. The you know, the prime rib and everything, just oh, dude, the the seafood tower upstairs. It's so sick.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:22

Maybe you go to the rah-rah room, that's too much.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:24

Yeah, that's too much, man. I love taking my daughter in there and watching her eyes glow, like when she sees the candy room.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:31

Like oh, the candy room of the raw room is the I gave up all that this year, too. Trying to with the with the peptides. I always look like I'm doing all these peptides, but if I eat candy or eat ice cream, I'm gonna screw this all up. So I'm trying to stay away from it. Gotcha. But that's just me.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:46

That's my next step, then. Because I'm all you inspired me. I need to start looking into that. Hey, you're already doing everything.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:52

We're already doing the same things this the cold plunge, the red light, the sauna.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:56

Well, I feel like right now, though, I'm like single-handedly keeping Bahama Bucks open. Oh, you're like they're just like waiting for my order every night. Like, here it comes, it goes, and then I'm like, I gotta try another one though. But I have to have another one because the first one, I still have to get what I always get because I know I like it. What if I don't like the other one? Do you eat pretty clean or no at home? Yeah, so like I mean, most rest of the time we eat clean. Like we're pretty, and even my daughter is like she's very meat and potatoes kind of gal. So um, you know, very protein forward. But desserts is like where it gets me.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:31

I know what you mean, man. Well, man, I'm grateful that you came on my podcast, man. I hope you I wish you the a thousand times more success. You're a great human being. Thanks for having me. So thanks. Thanks for popping in, man.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:39

I really appreciate you having me and giving me, you know, a platform to share some of that stuff. A lot of that stuff is the first time I've ever said it. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:46

So really appreciate you, man. Thanks, Daddy. Dixon Flannel, man. But on a side note, I was talking to this girl at the gym today. I don't know if you heard this before, but I was like, I was because I was at the gym and I was showing people your gym on my phone. They're like, where's that? And I go, Dixon Flannel. And she goes, Is that a gay bar in Flagstaff? I was like, that was terrible. That is okay. I've heard a lot of them, but that's the first time I never heard of that. Dix and flannel.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:13

Okay, that's not what I said. I mean, everyone always hits me up with the cider comment or like something like that. But I have never heard that. That was But what a great like that completely misunderstood.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:26

She thought that's what I said. She wasn't trying to be funny. She was like, What'd you say? Dicks and flannels that and I was like, she was a gay boy and flannel. It took me a second, I was like, what? And then I actually thought about I go, should I tell him that story? And I thought he's probably heard that a million times. There's no way that's the first, and it was the first time. Wow, Dicks and Flannel. That was Tara said that today.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:47

Well, if we end up having to talk about what my next steps are, they may have changed now. There will be signs. Let me smell a little too.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:57

All right, brother. Thank you, man. Thank you. All right, thank you, John Jay. Okay, so welcome to our podcast. This is a little bit different today because this podcast is a spin-off of our radio show.