← Digital Social Hour
Digital Social Hour
He Survived a Heart Attack While Running His Company | Bobby Mesmer | DSH #1851
00:37:04
Loading summary
Transcript235 lines
- [00:00]
K
I would love to have a conversation with Jesus, you know, just because he was so purposeful in his time, you know, like when you read about him in the Bible and this and that and then. And you know, just not because I want anything. I just want to hear what you have to say, you know, because if you can be as just nonchalant as he was in life. Yeah. I feel like there's, you know, like that's what we're all aiming for, right? That, that peace. Foreign.
- [00:32]
Bobby
Guys thought he mesmere here, a fellow from New Jersey.
- [00:35]
K
Awesome.
- [00:36]
Bobby
Great to be here. Absolutely.
- [00:37]
K
First time in Nashville, right?
- [00:38]
Bobby
First time.
- [00:39]
K
We are in Nashville right now. Well, technically Brentwood, right? Yeah. So we were just talking, catching up.
- [00:44]
Bobby
Absolutely.
- [00:44]
K
How you liking it so far? It's only been a couple hours.
- [00:46]
Bobby
I love it now. The people I met been great. Everyone seems to be community focused, which I like and, but, but yes sir,
- [00:53]
K
there people endorse opening.
- [00:55]
Bobby
You said New Jersey.
- [00:56]
K
No, you again.
- [00:57]
Bobby
Total healthy New Jersey. You know, you're a North Jersey boy
- [01:01]
K
and I'm a South Jersey boy. We don't get that in South Jersey either. Yeah, not in the, the Garden State, man. Angel Garden friendly over there, that's for sure.
- [01:07]
Bobby
Yeah.
- [01:07]
K
How long were you out in Jersey for? I was born and raised there, so. Yeah, born and raised in Seattle County, New Jersey. My. One of my main offices is in the Ulster county, so Seoul area. And so we just decided, my family and I guess about a year ago we actually officially moved down here to the Nashville area. We're loving it. It's just, you know, the energy, the vibe, just everything you talk about.
- [01:32]
Bobby
No, it just makes it, makes it comfortable, makes it happy to be here. Yeah. As long as you're an entrepreneur. Jersey journey. Did that start in Jersey?
- [01:38]
K
It did, yeah. My. So I grew up. My father owned his own business for like four years and so I grew up in that family business, put me to work when I was a kid, worked summers and weekends. And so I started my, my business back in 2000, so 24 years ago. And it started there and just kind of expanded and now we're, you know, what do we have four offices. Seoul, Montana, Seoul, New Jersey here in Franklin, Tennessee and another one in Costa Rica. Wow.
- [02:06]
Bobby
And you're approaching billion dollars in the next two or three years.
- [02:08]
K
We are approaching a billion dollars with a four and a half billion dollar valuation and know going to continue to grow on that and look for a sale and continue to the entrepreneurial journey and helping people and consulting and you know, buy Businesses and see what else I can do, you know, whether or not I can get into it.
- [02:25]
Bobby
Yeah, no, I love that. So did your father do the same industry as you? Did he teach you the ropes to all this?
- [02:30]
K
I. He taught me the business side of it. He didn't really teach me this industry. Right. My father, his, his company was a masonry construction company and so different business. I'm in the steel business. Um, so different business, but it's still in a structural world. But I learned a lot from business. From it, but old school business. Right. Like you know, you go back to, you know, to, to old timers that done this business. Everything was done, you know, with spit in your hand, in the handship and you know, that was your contract and because your contract was your word. Nowadays it's, it's different. I still try to do business that way to a certain extent, understanding the concept that I still have to be in the contract world and understand that. But integrity is everything. Integrity is what I push on. And at the end of the day when I say it's going to get
- [03:11]
Bobby
done to get stuck, I love it. How tough was it to penetrate the steel business? Because that industry's been around for a while. So a lot of old timers, like you said, right?
- [03:18]
K
Yeah, a lot of old timers. Believe it or not, the business segment that we work in is a very specialized segment. We work in the pre engineered side. And so what that is, is, is it's your dollar generals you see popping up everywhere. I'm sure you've seen them. All the standalones, famine dollars are out of the oak parts. But we do the big airplane hangers, warehouses, very specialized business, not a lot of people. And we kind of fell into it. So I started this business as a very large general contractor doing federal municipal. Went out, tried to do an airplane hangar, couldn't find an erector to erect the building for me. Put the other tiva guys that I already had working for me. We go out there, put my boots on my tool belt and erect it. When I got done, I stood back, I'm like, shit, that's it. That was easy. And then we bid a second airflight hangar on the same military base. We didn't get the job. Another private contractor got it and he couldn't find an erector. He comes to me, asked who erected that one? And I'm like, well we did. He goes, can I hire you to erect it?
- [04:15]
Bobby
This is. There it is. Well, how does this sound? So you find a gap in the market.
- [04:18]
K
Found a gap in the market, monopolized, delaying. And now we're the largest in Europe.
- [04:22]
Bobby
Nice. Right place, right time.
- [04:24]
K
Absolutely.
- [04:25]
Bobby
Yeah.
- [04:25]
K
And right place, right time is always a good point because, you know, you missed a boat. You never know what's going to happen.
- [04:32]
Bobby
Be sitting here today because now it's gotten more competitive, right?
- [04:36]
K
It is more competitive, but it's still a niche business. There's still not enough of us out there. And, you know, so we're always pushing. I know for myself, I'm always pushing for people to. To really get into the business. You know, like, I'm a big advocate of not forcing everybody to go to college. You know, I'm not saying. Yeah, I'm not saying that college is bad, but college doesn't serve a purpose for everybody. Right. You know, you get a lot of people to go to college and they don't know what they want to do. The trades are a great place to go. You know, you can make a lot of money. My average employee, my average field employee, guys working out the field make about $150,000 a year. Holy crap. Yes. So they do really well. We pay them really well. They have benefits. They have 401ks. Like, they have all the stuff. So you can do really well. And then if you're a business owner, it's unlimited to what you could do.
- [05:20]
Bobby
So when you're hiring employees, what are you looking for if the college isn't important thing to you?
- [05:24]
K
I guess good attitude, willing to travel, willing to learn a trade and take pride in the trade. You learn and willing to understand that you're. When we walk away from a building, we created something. And not everybody could say that. And there's a lot of. There's a lot of pride in that. So, you know, so we're just looking for the right attitude of people, you know, and it's a great. And. And being that we're a national company, we're a traveling company, the. You know, you get to see the United States. You're in a different city every couple months, you know, different area, different territory. Sometimes not even in a big city. You're out in the middle of nowhere. You know, I got guys working up in the middle of Montana, four hours away from civilization, you know. You know, and it's. But it's beautiful country. And the guys come back, they're like, this is amazing. Like, you know, I don't want to leave.
- [06:06]
Bobby
Yeah.
- [06:06]
K
So it's just about attitude.
- [06:07]
Bobby
I love it. There's a lot you can learn from traveling.
- [06:09]
K
There is a lot you can learn from traveling. And here's what's funny. Most people don't even travel this country that we live in and don't know the beauty that's here.
- [06:15]
Bobby
Right.
- [06:16]
K
You know, United States is an amazing place. How many people have actually been to the Red Rocks out in Utah and you know, Wyoming and seen the mountains and you know, people don't do that and they really should. And so, you know, to be in a traveling company where you have that opportunity to see the country, you know, 90% of people in this country have never seen the entire country. Yeah.
- [06:36]
Bobby
When it comes to leadership, was that something you were just naturally good at or did you have to get good?
- [06:41]
K
I think I had a knack for it. I think, I think you're, I think a lot of people are born with a certain knack for leadership. They're driven to lead people. I think there's leaders and followers and so that's a belief of mine. But I think that you also learn through adversity and through your mistakes. And I definitely learned through some of mine.
- [07:02]
Bobby
Do you think it's something that could be teachable being a leader if you
- [07:07]
K
don't have the knack for it? No. No. Because again, you're being a leader, you, you can't be afraid of making decisions, you can't be afraid to take risks. And that's the difference. You know, too many people want to be a leader, but they don't want to take the risk. They want to be a decision maker. They think too much about decisions. And sometimes in, in a fast paced world you gotta, you know, you gotta quick. Right. You know, and so I think that it's not something that if you're, if you don't inherently have that within you, then I don't think that you're gonna be, you may be able to be a leader to some extent, but you're never gonna be able to be a large capacity leader. Yeah, I think you can learn certain things, but I still think you're gonna be lacking.
- [07:46]
Bobby
Do you feel that way about entrepreneurs also, entrepreneurship in general?
- [07:49]
K
I do. I, I look at last year, just go out and Google how many companies, startups went bankrupt in 24. And these are companies, these are people that are entrepreneurs that had an idea that went out there and took hundreds of millions of dollars of venture capital and that they had basically a good idea, but they're bankrupt now. Why? Why? Because you lost focus in the leadership. Just because you have a good idea doesn't mean you have the ability to implement and create the operations to implement the idea, right?
- [08:23]
Bobby
That VC bubble with nuts.
- [08:25]
K
It's crazy. I agree. It's crazy because you got. Everybody wants the big hit, right? And including all the VC companies, they want that big hit and they believe in it. But then you take companies like mine who are what they consider high risk. I ain't bankrupt. You know what I mean? With Terra running around, they're like, oh, you want $300 billion, here you go. And 12 months later they're bankrupt. And I'm like, give me $300 billion and let me, give me, give me $300 billion. I'll turn it into 10 billion, you know, like easily. And, and, but they won't. And so it's, it's, it is a crazy market.
- [08:59]
Bobby
That's interesting. So a skill considered high risk because of the injury potential.
- [09:02]
K
Injury potential.
- [09:03]
Bobby
Construction industry is high risk.
- [09:05]
K
Those tanks don't want to play in the construction industry because of, you know, the, the ups and downs of the market. And, you know, it's, it's. People don't pay the bills, contractors don't pay their bills, GCs don't pay us. I'll consider the sub developers. You know, there's, there's all sorts of adversity around this. Until you get to be really big and create a tremendous amount of cash flow and have a lot of cash on hand, then they want to deal with you. But at that point, in my opinion, it's too late. You could, you could go pound sand. I don't want to deal with you now because what do I need you for? I got millions of dollars in the bank.
- [09:35]
Bobby
Interesting. I didn't know it was that type of an insert.
- [09:37]
K
It is. I. I had to bootstrap my entire company. Wow. No funder, no funding, zero funding, zero credit line, zero private equity, zero venture capital, nothing from the start. And I've gotten to where I am via bootstrapping and, and it's taught me a lot. It's made me a better business person. It's made my company stronger. We're a zero debt company and we finance all of our own stuff. Do I have relationship with a bank? Yes, I do. Is it a. Is it a relationship where I have a $10 million credit line? No, because I don't need it because I finance everything on my own. And it's a little bit of adversity on my side too, because I look at those banks and I remember all them turning me away when I really needed them, when I needed to make payroll. And I wasn't getting Paid and they're turning me away now. When they come to me, I'm like, you can kiss my. I like. I'm like, nah, I don't want shit, you know? Or I'll roll them through the ringer and I make them. I get them up to a point. I'm like, you know what? I changed my dial. They're like, what do you mean? I'm like, yeah, well, remember when you wasted my time?
- [10:34]
Bobby
Yeah. Yeah.
- [10:35]
K
How's it feel?
- [10:35]
Bobby
So you hold some grudges.
- [10:36]
K
I was doing in that. In that respect, yeah. What do you.
- [10:40]
Podcast Host
I would.
- [10:40]
Bobby
I try not to, but it's tough.
- [10:42]
K
Yeah, it's.
- [10:43]
Bobby
I think sometimes it can perv you. You know what I mean?
- [10:45]
K
It can, I think if once you're in the FU position, which again, you're never really there, but in my mind,
- [10:51]
Bobby
I feel like I'm kind of here there. Yeah. I say like 50 million plus fu money.
- [10:56]
K
Probably.
- [10:57]
Bobby
Yeah.
- [10:57]
K
Because it's earning you two and a half million a year.
- [10:59]
Bobby
Yeah.
- [10:59]
K
You know, an interest on a simple. On a simple, you know, investment, 5%. So, yeah, I would agree with that because now you can pretty much name what you're doing.
- [11:08]
Podcast Host
Shout out to today's sponsor, Quince. As the weather cools, I'm swapping in the pieces that actually gets the job done, that are warm, durable and built to last. Quince delivers every time with wardrobe staples that carry you through the season. They have fall staples that you'll actually want to wear, like the 100 Mongolian cashmere for just $60. They also got classic fit denim and real leather and wool outerwear that looks sharp and holds up. By partnering directly with ethical factories and top artisans, Quince cuts out the middleman to deliver premium quality at half the cost of similar brands. They've really become a go to across the board. You guys know how I love linen and how I've talked about it on previous episodes. I picked up some linen pants and they feel incredible. The quality is definitely noticeable compared to other brands. Layer up this fall with pieces that feel as good as they look. Go to quint.comdsh for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. They're also available in K Canada too.
- [12:14]
Bobby
Dave Ramsey would love your business model. No, dad.
- [12:16]
K
Oh, yeah. He's a big advocate for that. His building is actually not far from Harry's up there.
- [12:20]
Bobby
Yeah, his.
- [12:21]
K
He lives over in Franklin. His building is. I pass his building building every day on my way home. For what? And I look at his building and it's funny because I'm like, I want that building. You know, one day I'm gonna buy that building.
- [12:30]
Bobby
Does he own it or is he renting?
- [12:32]
K
I, I think he owns the whole complex. Yeah, he's, and it's a nice building. Like it's like two like six story buildings connected by like a, a breezeway in the middle. And then he just built some new entertainment or some kind of marketing building in the back. It's actually really pretty. Yeah.
- [12:45]
Bobby
Even though I don't agree with his philosophy, I, I study him.
- [12:48]
K
Damn.
- [12:48]
Bobby
Because he's one of the best monitors in the world.
- [12:50]
K
It's yeah. He pretty good. I, I, why don't you agree with his philosophy?
- [12:53]
Bobby
I, I think you could take on debt personally.
- [12:55]
K
Yeah.
- [12:56]
Bobby
If you are smart with it. Yeah. I think for most people you can't. But there's certain people that have a really good plan and can make, make an R line taking on debt.
- [13:03]
K
Agreed. Agreed. I, I think it's based on the right type of debt though. And I think that's what people miss.
- [13:08]
Bobby
Right.
- [13:08]
K
So debt is good. But, but the right type of debt is good. And that's what I think that the gap is there. Nobody's really teaching everybody what the right type of debt can be.
- [13:17]
Bobby
Right.
- [13:18]
K
Know I'm a big advocate of not having debt, but because I'm in construction. So for me and my accountants are always telling me, they're like, wow, like you gotta take all debt. And I'm like, yeah, but here's the thing. When I look at it, I look at it as sustainability. So when the economy goes down and, and there's not a lot of work out there now I'm a national company, so I can always fill the void. But my, my gross, my gross revenue is still gonna come down. It allows me to continue to operate without the stress. It allows me to not have to worry about all the truck payments, all the debt payments, the jet payment. None of that matters because it's all paid off. So I can weather the storm better than the next guy who's competing with me because he has all those beepants and he can't weather the storm. And now also on top of that, I look after my employee base. I don't want to have to lay off people. And that does, and that allows me not to lay off people because I can weather a storm. I have money saved. I have no debt. The money doesn't have to go to the debt free first instead of payroll. And so now I keep my people on board and they, and they get paid and, and, and everybody still has a job. So when we come out of it, we're just astrology.
- [14:25]
Bobby
I love it. No, that's cool. When you put it that way, you probably grow a little slower. But it's more safe, right?
- [14:30]
K
It is very much more safe. It's sustainable. You know, you build, you work so hard as a company to build a team around you that does what they're supposed to do, that, that, that buys in, that understands company culture, that, that, that steps in. Like everybody works together. People are willing to help from department to department. Nobody's like stopping and saying, well, that's their department. You work so hard for that. And then when the economy becomes something where you have to lay off, you're almost starting over because you're never going to get the people back. That's the problem. So in this particular case, I don't have to worry about that because everybody's still there, everybody's still working. And you're not retraining people constantly, which most companies do. You know, look at the, look at the tech companies. 3,000 people here, 5,000 people there. You know, it's. But now you're never going to get those people back if, when they have to go rehire, what did Google just lay off 3,000 or 5,000 people when they get to go, have to pull those people back. They're not pulling the same people. So now there's a sense of retraining that has to happen culture. And I think it's more difficult.
- [15:30]
Bobby
Yeah, no, the training takes time. My mom works at Amazon, Twitter a year to get trained. So imagine doing that just on repeat, just constant.
- [15:36]
K
Right. I mean, that's why they have a, most of those companies have in house headliners who are just constantly hiring higher and higher. And I, and I understand that concept, I understand that philosophy, but I don't know that. I totally agree with. I rather keep the people in place because it also breeds, it breeds culture from the employee base that they know that there's security. You know, I believe that if you ask any of our employees, our executives, down to our field employees, if you asked any of them, are you secure in your job, are you secure with the way the company operates? I almost guarantee that they would with 100% of them and say, absolutely. Wow. Because they know that, that we're sustainable. They know that they're not getting laid off, even if the shit hits the face.
- [16:17]
Bobby
Yeah, right.
- [16:18]
K
They know that, that this is truly, it's, it's a family.
- [16:21]
Bobby
Right.
- [16:21]
K
And that's that's the idea.
- [16:22]
Bobby
But at the same time, you don't want them to be too comfortable where their work productivity isn't there.
- [16:26]
K
Correct. But that's a matter of finding the right people.
- [16:29]
Bobby
Right?
- [16:29]
K
Because everybody's working to the tank, the same greater good. Right? So. So the. The way around that is, is to. Is to. Is to elevate the people from themselves.
- [16:41]
Bobby
All right?
- [16:41]
K
So. And think you're probably looking at me like, what the hell that mean, right? What that means is, is you elevate them via performance. So I say to you, if you work for me, I say to you, look, the bar is here, okay? This is where I'm setting the bar. You're going to look at me, you're going to be like, I can't reach that. You're probably going to get upset. You're probably going to think you're not doing a good job. You're probably going to think you're letting everybody down, all of these things. But here's the thing. I believe in you. I believe in you. That's why I said it there. You hit the bar. I believe that you can do it. I wouldn't have said it at that height if I didn't believe that you can hit it. Believe in yourself. I'm here to support you. Hit that bar. And what happens is, is. Is. Is it creates you to want. Want to get to that level, want to hit the bar. And when you do the gratification that you have because you didn't believe in yourself in the first place, you're like, holy shit, I could do this now. When I raise the bar now, it's more of a challenge. You're like, oh, yeah. Like, I. And then what happens is you're the best that you can be for you. And that's what we go for. Look, I don't need you to be the best that you can be for the company or even for me, all right? I work for the company just like you do. I want you to be the best you can be for you, because by default, you are the best for the company. Wow. You first, company second. I love that. Come in. Be the best you can be. Company will by default do well. And that's what breeds that culture of people wanting to do well. And then. And then now everybody, when they buy into that and they understand it, they're. They work towards it, and they're just like, this is. And everybody just kind of steps in, you know, and does what they're supposed to do.
- [18:11]
Bobby
Yeah, that's powerful. You Built a really good culture. And you also use we instead of I all the time. Well, I will tell you what's the
- [18:17]
K
rationale for that, because it's not about me. It's. It's about, it's about us as a group. So why are we doing this? What do we think we will. I say it to customers, you know, so I get customers that say to me, what do you got pals in your pocket? You know, literally they're like, I'm like, no, because it's us, it's me as a group. So if I'm on the phone with you, we will let, let us figure this out. We will figure this out. And I think when, when the, the customers hear that, the, the vendors hear that, the employees hear that again, it's about making them feel like they're part of what we're doing here. It's not individualizing everything. So it's a big push to do. To do the we.
- [18:56]
Bobby
Absolutely. Now you've gone through some, some stuff, my man. We got to talk about this. So 2016, $3.5 million loss.
- [19:02]
K
Yeah.
- [19:03]
Bobby
So you're in debt.
- [19:05]
K
In debt, yeah. You know, my company's always been successful over the years, but with ups and downs. Right. And a loss like that will put you to your knees no matter how much money you have. So, you know, and it's also a reputation situation. So you have to, you got to pull from your reputation and you got it's integrity. You know, you don't want that to get out there, that, hey, you're not paying your bills, you're not doing this, you're not doing. And that's what that happens there. So you're pulling money out of your pocket now and out of reserves to make sure you're cleaning that up. So the debt load on that gets larger. The reputational damage. Yeah, well, that, but also the money damage too. So it just amplifies through. So took that. And that was also at the point where we reevaluated the company. It was right at the milestone where we were transitioning from being a GC as Steel Erector to just a full time steel Erector. And that transition really helped it. That transition really put us into a position that that hit was, you know, I'm religious guy, so I believe that God did that on purpose because this was the direction that he said I needed to go. And, and so I look at that, I reflect on that and I understand why he did it. And what's funny is, is I can look back for the 15, 16 years prior to that in business. And I have a clear understanding. All the things that he lined up and all the things that he did were where literally I could see the path as clear as day that lined me up to get me to that point. Wow. And so. So to me, that was very profound. And so. And in my reflection, I. I used that. I internalized it. And, And, And I. And I re. Refused the company. The company is still what it was. We basically reorganized the company. We moved the corporate to Montana, and then we just. And then we continued to move forward. I got myself back out there, put my boots back on, went to work every day, traveled with my crews, and just kept building it. And so from that point to now, you know, here we are.
- [21:00]
Bobby
Incredible. So what actually cost? That hit the 3.5.
- [21:03]
K
So it was a customer who I was doing a lot of work for on the GC side who basically I did. Did like, four projects for. And he was like, yeah, go pound sand. I'm not paying this.
- [21:14]
Bobby
Wow. So you guys don't get paid up front, the door?
- [21:16]
K
Oh, definitely not now.
- [21:18]
Bobby
It's after.
- [21:19]
K
Yeah. So it's. It's normally through the course of the work. So it's based on. They call it percentage of completion. So if I was to build this table, so like, if I put the leg on the bottom, so say that it's 25%. 25%. Got it. 5%. And then the finish is 25. So now you got 100%. So if I do that leg and I make that leg, I can bill you for 25%, because that's complete inverse. Say it's stalled. Right. And so on and so forth. So as you do a project, you have all these components to it and you're building or you're billing for those percentages through that percentage of completion. There's never a deposit. There's never money up front. So you have to fund. Typically. Typically you fund the first 60 days of the job because you can't bill when you start. You bill at the end of the month. So if I started in, say, the beginning of September, like any project I start right now, I can't bill until the end of September, but they're not paying me until the end of October.
- [22:12]
Bobby
Gee.
- [22:12]
K
So the first 60 days on any project, I'm funding all that out of my Bakken labor material. All of it. And so so basically, these projects, I did them very fast. They were large. We did it quickly, and it basically put us in a position where, like, I wasn't Even I had my first bill and we were done by our second bill, but the second bill wasn't, or the first bill was even paid yet. And he had the power of the pen and he was like, you know, basically f you.
- [22:41]
Bobby
Wow. I can see why banks don't like this industry now.
- [22:43]
K
Yeah, yeah. And that's what happens. And it forces you to sue. It just, it just gets messy and it's just. It's a. It's a nasty. It's a nasty business, you know, It's a nasty business. And it's different sectors of the. Of the country that make it nasty, you know, if that makes sense. So, you know, so there's areas that we just won't work at. Like. Like, we don't do a lot of work in New Jersey.
- [23:02]
Bobby
Does they help us?
- [23:03]
K
Because everybody's just going, you know, shout out to Jersey. Yeah, shop Jersey, man. You know, I mean, but that's what it is. It's the reality of it. Like, and you ask any subcontractor, like, it's impossible to get paid. You know, the contractors, they take the money, they run with it. They don't pay that. They drag you out. They want to pay in 90 days, like. And so we don't do a work there just because of that.
- [23:21]
Bobby
Damn.
- [23:22]
K
You know, that's messed up, man.
- [23:23]
Bobby
People don't value their reputation these days, huh?
- [23:25]
K
Nobody. Nobody wants to go out and break legs anymore. If there was somebody out there busting kneecasts, there'd be a lot of people paying.
- [23:31]
Bobby
Probably back in the day. That was. Back in the day, there was a thing.
- [23:34]
K
That's why people pay their bills.
- [23:35]
Bobby
Seriously bother, right? Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. With the casinos in Vegas. That used to be a thing out there.
- [23:41]
K
Oh, yeah. Well, dude, you know, mob red, you
- [23:43]
Bobby
know, your vets, you're. You're. You're buried in the city, you're cutting a best thing. Exactly. It Ally. And then another battle in your personal life in 2021 with the health stuff, right?
- [23:51]
K
Yeah, the health stuff is ongoing out of the blue, just kind of on shock. So, yeah, 21. So 21 was actually a multitude of things. So a tornado hit my house in literally September 1st in NAFLA, in. In New Jersey.
- [24:07]
Bobby
Oh, what? Yes, there's fairly.
- [24:08]
K
A New Jersey never tornado came through, literally hit my ass September 1st. So that was. And I was like a thing. We were like, holy crap. So now we're like homeless, you know.
- [24:18]
Bobby
Wow.
- [24:19]
K
Figured it out. Got all that taken care of. But you know, over time and then in October, so Apparently I had a. They call it a. An episode with my heart, but apparently it was a heart attack. Didn't know I have it. My heart went into afib, but I didn't know I was an afib.
- [24:36]
Bobby
Wow.
- [24:36]
K
Lived in afib for literally a week.
- [24:38]
Bobby
What?
- [24:40]
K
And on top of that, I'll even surprise you more. I was in a race car racing in Watkins Way, New York, while in Aphid, thinking I was sick.
- [24:47]
Bobby
I probably didn't hope.
- [24:48]
K
No, I guess it didn't. Getting your heart made up. Yeah, I was surprised I didn't die, to be honest with you. But yes, the real pain or. Well, yeah, I felt the chest tightness. I felt. But I thought I had a chest cold. Like, I just. It just felt like a chest cold that I had before. And so I was on some medicine for it, like, you know, like over the counter stuff, just thinking I had a chest cold. And finally, you know, a week later we. I wake up and it was a Sunday morning. I wake up and I'm like, something's not right. And my wife scoops me up, takes me to the hospital. I check into the hospital. Like, my heart rate was like 187. Just sitting there. Like I'm sitting right now, and they're like, immediately the room fills up with doctors and they're like. And I'm like, wow, this is a really good hospital. A lot of doctors. My wife's like. My wife's like, this is not good. The more doctors doesn't mean it's good. And I'm like, ah.
- [25:33]
Bobby
I just thought it was, you know,
- [25:34]
K
I was special or. So it's been a. And so, yeah, so they put me on a. On a drip to slow down my heart rate. My heart recorrected itself, pumped out blood clots. And then I had a massive stroke. Well, lost the whole left side of my body. Oh, stroke. They put me on the tpa. The clot buster medicine has its own set of problems, but that helped me out. And. And then. So I've been good since. Since that episode of 21. I was good. January of this year, I went back into afib. And so I had an ablation done in March. And then just this past April, I had a. Had another stroke on my yacht in my eye. So my left eye, I'm actually partial blind right now in it because I have two blood clots, one on the artery side, one on the vein side in the eye. So they're still working to figure out how that happened. And actually I'm flying up to New Jersey tonight. As soon as I'm done here, I'm going to head to the airport, go jump on the jet and fly to New Jersey because to tomorrow morning, I'm actually have a surgery on my nose for confused blood bleeding that I had. Oh, it's not. Yeah, they're going to go in and cut the arteries. So, yeah, I'm just a walking ass,
- [26:43]
Bobby
you know, you do any of this is stress and juice?
- [26:45]
K
No, it's, it's, it's. I'm having, I got stuff going on and like. So I had, I. Last year, 23, I diagnosed with RA in the advanced form, which is felties, which felties basically attacks your bow and arrow, stops you from producing white and red blood cells. So I had that going on. So R. Tuxin infusion. So it's just a culmination of things. Believe it or not, my stress level is higher when I'm not doing anything.
- [27:09]
Bobby
Really?
- [27:09]
K
Yeah.
- [27:10]
Bobby
Yeah.
- [27:10]
K
It's funny because my, my wife picked up on this. I was one of the last times I was in the hospital and I was on the blood, the blood pressure cuff. And I'm sitting there, I'm relaxing, and I'm just watching tv and my blood pressure's hot. My phone starts ringing. I get on the phone and my blood pressure.
- [27:23]
Bobby
That's hilarious.
- [27:24]
K
And she's like, she's like, you are messed up. And I'm like, what? I'm like, you know, I find relief in doing what I do. Yeah.
- [27:33]
Bobby
You know, it's the same way. I can't sit through a movie, man. Oh, not at all. Get itchy. I get anxious, you know, when I'm working. That's my element.
- [27:39]
K
There you go. But that's a testament of who you are as a person.
- [27:44]
Bobby
Right.
- [27:45]
K
You know, that's why you're successful. It's why you do the things that you do. Because you want to be great. You want to aspire.
- [27:51]
Bobby
150 episodes in a year and a half.
- [27:53]
K
That's amazing.
- [27:53]
Bobby
Yeah. I'm actually going to hit up Guinness because I think that might be a record.
- [27:56]
K
Really?
- [27:56]
Bobby
I mean, I don't know anyone doing close to that.
- [27:58]
K
Is this 851?
- [28:00]
Bobby
It's somewhere on there. A long dry.
- [28:02]
K
Well, I'm glad to be a part of it. If you are part of Guinness, congratulations, man.
- [28:05]
Bobby
I jacked out for you, dude. That's crazy, though. Do you take your, your physical health really seriously?
- [28:11]
K
I do, I do. I mean, I, I, I try to stay in shape the best I can. You know, I don't Work out as much as I used to. Although I'm a pretty big guy. I say, that's the Polish in me gun who keeps me big. But, you know, I try to eat as best as I can. I don't. I don't smoke. I don't do drugs. Drinking. I basically quit. So even before that, I was like, I'd have a drink on Friday night at dinner or something like that, but nothing. So, yeah, there Was always very conscious of that. And then now with all of this, obviously, I need to be a little bit more conscious what I'm doing and what's going on in my life because, you know, I'm a pretty sick person. You know, with everything I have going on. You know, immune systems, you know, compressed. You know, I had this. Another thing. I just had a CAT scanned on, and my.
- [28:54]
Bobby
My art.
- [28:55]
K
Two arteries to my brain are compressed or. Yeah, they're thinking I possibly have a sacular aneurysm at the base of my skull, so they're looking for that. So we're working through that situation. So, yeah, I got so much going on, but I'm like. And everybody's like, gosh, you need to stop. Even slow down. I'm like, for what?
- [29:10]
Bobby
Why?
- [29:10]
K
For what? What are we gonna do? Sit at home and ponder on what I got going on? No, I. You know, I say to everybody, too, and take it for what it is, but I say to everybody, like, if I. If I can't be good for myself, how can I be good for you? It's my favorite saying right now, you know, like, if I can't be good for me, how can I be good for you? And so, you know, I want to be the best I can from people that I'm around and for what I'm doing, you know, and the people I need to help or I want to help in business and in. In my. You know, in my social media and, you know, I want to help people, and I can't do that if I'm not out there doing it. And I hope that people take it as an inspiration, too. Right. You know, take it that, you know, you could bury your head in the sand or you could get up and do something about it. And, you know, so for me, I choose to do something about it and use myself as an example to be like, look, I'm still plugging away here until I can't. I'm still.
- [30:00]
Bobby
What an interesting take, because most people would have these health scares and just quit.
- [30:04]
K
True.
- [30:04]
Bobby
But you're leaning into it.
- [30:05]
K
I'm Very much leaning into it. I, I. Until I have to, you know, like, you know, depending on what happens with the brain stuff, I don't know if that's. It's an operating, it's an operable thing. It could be, you know, it could be fixed without major downside. So if that's the route we go, I'll be right back too. You know, you mark my words. Day. Day two, after I'm done, I'll be on my phone. You know, I'll be calling you, being like, yo, let's go. What do we do?
- [30:33]
Bobby
It sounds like you're really in touch with your purpose.
- [30:37]
K
I think so. It's come a long way for me to find that right. You know, I talked about where God wanted to put me in my journey, and I feel like this is where he wants me now, too, because I'm happy to help. I like to help people. I like to give that back, to let people learn from my experiences, take something from it. And how can I educate you to reflect on what you're doing? How can I educate you to learn yourself to say, all right, how do I not do this? Or how do I do this? Learn from my mistakes? All of the downfall you're talking about, I love to talk about, because I want people to know that it's okay to fail. It's okay to have missteps, it's okay to do wrong, because how do you create purpose for yourself without it, you know? And so. And if I can inspire one person to do better or to say, I want to do what he's doing, or I want to be like him, or I. Or. Or somebody who's even going through something. I talked in Philadelphia earlier this year, and there was a woman who had a stroke who was there listening in the audience, and she came up to me and she was. And I remember her saying to me, she started a business training dogs, but she was, because of her stroke, she was ready to quit. Like, the business. Yeah. And she got off. And when I got off stage, she hunted me down. She found me, and I talked to her for a minute, and it was inspiring. And this is what I love about it, because she was like, I was ready to quit, stop what I'm doing, because, you know, like, I've. I, I'm. I can't recover from my stroke. Like, she's walking with a cane. Like, she had very much stroke condition that she's living with. And she said, she goes, I am so inspired by the fact that you're moving forward.
- [32:22]
Bobby
Forward.
- [32:23]
K
She Goes. So I'm staying in it and I'll move it forward. Wow. And. And. And that's. That's the purpose, right? If I can touch that one person like that, that's the purpose.
- [32:32]
Bobby
Yeah.
- [32:33]
K
And that's when I. I could stop right there.
- [32:36]
Bobby
Think about snowball effect on that. Absolutely. Top like a hundred people, they have kids, they have families, you know?
- [32:40]
K
Yeah, absolutely.
- [32:42]
Bobby
Thousand percent love that, man. Thousand percent. Yeah. I'm still figuring online, but I think this podcast is really on me. I don't know, man.
- [32:47]
K
You got a good purpose going on here. You don't have to really long do. You're giving an outlet for people like me to talk and to. And to help. To help inspire. And you're an inspiration yourself for what you're doing. I mean, I. I don't know, man. Looks to me like you got a good purpose.
- [33:01]
Bobby
Thanks, dude. Yeah, it's crazy. I had three near death experiences myself.
- [33:04]
K
Oh, you really?
- [33:05]
Bobby
Yeah. Call me.
- [33:05]
K
Yeah. Yeah.
- [33:06]
Bobby
Well, first one. So my dad was an alcoholic and a drug addict. I walked in the house one day, 10 years old, guns pointed at me. Whoa, he's hallucinating. You think someone's breaking in the house? So that was the first one. Second one, I was on Xanax while I was in college. Had some mental health problems. And they didn't tell me this, but when you cut Xanax, you're supposed to lean off. I just stopped completely. So I had a seizure. Wow. So that was pretty crazy.
- [33:30]
K
You recovered 100 from that?
- [33:32]
Bobby
Yeah, I was really high on marijuana while I was having this. I caught weed completely. I was a big stoner at the pond. I've been sober since. Good for you. Yeah, that was a big one. Good for you. And the third one happened recently. I got locked in in my Tesla. My battery died. I almost overdid it in Vegas.
- [33:46]
K
Really?
- [33:47]
Bobby
Yeah.
- [33:47]
K
You didn't try to like break the window or anything?
- [33:48]
Bobby
I tried. I even called the cops and they wouldn't come. Get out of here. I swear, I got to get in that car for it. It was crazy. That's unbelievable. Dad. It wouldn't come. I was locked in a parking garage. 100.
- [33:59]
K
I could easily. They wouldn't come, you know, get yourself one of those little window breakers, man.
- [34:03]
Bobby
I need to. That was scary, man.
- [34:05]
K
I bet it was.
- [34:05]
Bobby
I didn't have my phone on me. I don't know.
- [34:08]
K
How did you get out?
- [34:08]
Bobby
I had to look up on YouTube how to manually open a Tesla.
- [34:11]
K
Holy crap.
- [34:12]
Bobby
Yeah, YouTube saved me.
- [34:13]
K
Just talk to Elon.
- [34:14]
Bobby
About that. No, He's a dream guest, though.
- [34:16]
K
Is he? Yeah. I bet you, if you, if you hit him up on Twitter and tell him that story, I guarantee I Miami,
- [34:22]
Bobby
it'd be like, yeah, we need to talk about that. Yeah. You could have dinner with anyone in the world, dead or alive. Who would it be and why?
- [34:28]
K
Wow, that's a really loaded question that I'm not prepared for.
- [34:33]
Bobby
Deep one.
- [34:34]
K
Yeah, that is a deep one. You know, because I think there's so many people. Right. You know, I, I think, you know, they're, wow. Geez.
- [34:44]
Bobby
For me, it's Yvonne.
- [34:45]
K
Is it?
- [34:45]
Bobby
Yeah.
- [34:46]
K
He's so brilliant.
- [34:47]
Bobby
So brilliant.
- [34:48]
K
I mean, he's just. And I, I love the way he talks because he talks with such brilliance, you know? Yeah.
- [34:52]
Bobby
He stayed social media, in my opinion. I agree with the truth. Yeah. Because all my stuff was getting censored. I just. Not banned on TikTok yesterday.
- [35:00]
K
Did you really?
- [35:00]
Bobby
I interviewed Tulsi Gabbard and he banned
- [35:03]
K
you for it to that one.
- [35:04]
Bobby
Yeah, that's.
- [35:05]
K
I just can't believe they're doing it. Yeah. What do you think about the, the X Band in Brazil?
- [35:09]
Bobby
Oh, Brazil, now France, the rest of the telegram. CEO. It's looking weird in Europe right now.
- [35:14]
K
It's going nuts. Yeah. I think, you know, like, I, I, I would love to have a 30 minute conversation with Trump, you know, just because I, he's, he's a smart guy. Yeah. You know, take it, take everything out. Everybody has an opinion. He's a smart guy. He really is. And so I think, I think there's that, you know, I would, I, you know, I go back to, it's probably cliche, but I would say, I would say I would love to have a conversation with Jesus, you know, just because he was so purposeful in his time, you know, like when you read about him in the Bible and this and that and then. And you know, just not because I want anything, I just want to hear what you have to say, you know, because if you can be as, as just nonchalant as he was in life.
- [36:01]
Bobby
Yeah.
- [36:02]
K
I feel like there's, you know, like that's what we're all aiming for, right? That, that piece.
- [36:05]
Bobby
Right.
- [36:06]
K
You know, so. Yeah, I think that would be too. I'd have to think about some more.
- [36:10]
Bobby
No, those are two great answers, man. I would have both on the podcast.
- [36:13]
K
Here you go, Bobby.
- [36:16]
Bobby
It's been fun. I got a really young audience. Any inspiration or closing messages you want to leave the crowd book?
- [36:21]
K
Yeah. Listen, believe in yourself. Believe that you can do what you set your mind out to and just go do it. Don't worry about everybody else's stinking, don't worry about your friends, don't worry about anybody else. Just do it and see where it goes. And take time to reflect on what you think is a mistake and put yourself around people that know and just listen. Too many young people want to talk too much and outward. Just listen. Listen to the people. Put yourself in a room and listen to people who have done it. Listen to what they're talking about and gain knowledge. That's what I would tell.
- [36:53]
Bobby
Love it. Thanks so much. K man. Thanks man.
- [36:55]
K
Appre you.
- [36:56]
Bobby
Absolutely. Thanks for watching guys, as always. See you next time.
- [36:58]
Podcast Host
I hope you guys are enjoying the show. Please don't forget to like and subscribe. It helps the show a lot with the algorithm. Thank you.