The Pillow Guy: Came to America With $300. Built a 9-Figure Company. This Is His Story. | DSH #1689

Summary

Podcast Summary: Digital Social Hour #1689 — The Pillow Guy: Came to America With $300. Built a 9-Figure Company. This Is His Story.

Overview of the Episode
In this episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly dives into the inspiring entrepreneurial journey of "The Pillow Guy," founder of the custom pillow empire All About Vibe. From humble immigrant beginnings with just $300 in his pocket, to building a 9-figure business supplying custom pillows to celebrities and major brands, The Pillow Guy (Russian-born, half-Jewish, half-Korean) shares an unfiltered account of grit, perseverance, and the immigrant mentality. The conversation explores his early struggles, the power of focus, the role of family, and how his running addiction shapes both his mindset and success.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Educational Roots and Humble Beginnings

• Early Academic Struggles
  • The Pillow Guy candidly reveals that school was never his strength, dropping out after the seventh grade.
    • “School, it's definitely not my thing. I can't even write... in three languages, I can read. But you don't want me to write.” (00:09)
• Arriving in America with Limited Resources
  • Immigrated with only $300, bought a junkyard car, fixed it to get to a factory job in Chicago.
    • “I came with $300 in my pocket. Literally $300, that's it.” (03:48)
• First Job Experience
  • Entered a production job with no English; relied on hard work and determination.
    • “I didn't have any English, so it's all I could find.” (04:09)

2. Building the Business — All About Vibe

• Garage Startup
  • Began making pillows in his father’s two-car garage, using an old sewing machine.
    • “Two car garage, just me and him. Old sewing machine, older than me. Plastic table. That's it.” (02:02)
• Growth and Scale
  • Now operates in a 20,000+ sq. ft. facility, producing thousands of pillows per day.
• Celebrity and Brand Partnerships
  • Supplies custom pillows for celebrity events, parties, and partner brands like the Kardashians, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, and more.
    • “Kardashians, every party, they do the order from us.” (00:58)
• Breakthroughs and Consistent Growth
  • Growth has been slow and steady rather than a result of one big break.
    • “No, not really. It's just consistent work. Never, you know, there were very bad times, but just I never quit.” (02:24)

3. The Immigrant Mentality and Work Ethic

• Rooted in Necessity
  • Discusses why immigrants often succeed in America: “We have no choice here... If you go to my country, I was comfortable like my parents there. But here I’m uncomfortable. I have no parents. I have nobody.” (04:45)
• Contrast with Europe
  • Praises American opportunity compared to Europe, especially the availability of credit and business capital.
    • “Opportunities in America, you can't compare.” (03:21)

4. Family and Support System

• Wife’s Role
  • Met his wife soon after immigrating; she became an essential support system during tough times and business failures.
    • “She’s been the biggest asset and the biggest skin [in] my success… She supported me, so the relationship was never an issue.” (05:31 & 06:46)
• Raising Kids
  • Believes in leading by example rather than pushing traditional education, emphasizing entrepreneurship and problem-solving.
    • “Problem solving skills. That's the best skill you can teach your kids… By example.” (24:03)

5. The Power of Focus and Product-Market Fit

• Narrowing Down
  • Success accelerated when he focused solely on custom-shaped pillows, dropping other products.
    • “As soon as I made a decision, get rid of everything, focus on one product, the custom shaped pillow took off.” (08:09)
• Sales Milestones
  • $60 million in sales in the last five years by focusing on one unique product with little competition.
    • “Last five years we did almost 60 mil already.” (08:26)

6. Marketing, Networking, and Mentorship

• Celebrity Outreach
  • Built the brand by aggressively DM’ing influencers and celebrities—an approach inspired by Gary Vee.
    • “DM everyone... Let me make some pillows for you.” (11:57)
• Mentorship
  • Self-taught through podcasts and videos—a “virtual mentorship,” not direct.
    • “I did listen to a lot of videos and a lot of podcasts and a lot of people. So not direct mentors, but I did learn a lot.” (09:22)

7. Mindset, Running, and Physical Toughness

• Running as Transformation
  • Running, especially marathons and ultra-distance events, is central to his personal development and resilience.
    • “The only time I cried [was] when my first daughter was born and when I crossed my first marathon, it was the exact same feeling.” (15:03)
• Mental Toughness
  • Draws parallels between endurance sports and entrepreneurship: the discipline, the struggle, the refusal to quit.
    • “How you do one thing is how you do everything, they say.” (20:51)
• Lead by Example for Children
  • Has inspired his 10-year-old son to run daily for two years straight. Even his two-year-old daughter enjoys running.
    • “I lead by example. Right here. Oh, I love it.” (21:44)
    • “[My daughter] is not even 2 years old, and she was running.” (25:38)
• Views on Fight Sports
  • Background in wrestling, advocates for every man learning self-defense for confidence—even if never used.
    • “For sure. I mean, one hand. Yes, one day. Why are we going to fight at this point?... But you need to know how to defend yourself for sure.” (28:06)

8. On Education, Parenting, and Advice

• Skepticism Toward Formal Education
  • Despite his own lack of schooling, he runs a 9-figure business; prefers to foster entrepreneurship and practical skills in his own children.
    • “I'm not really push my kids to… school. Like, it's my wife taking care of it.” (23:35)
• On Siblings
  • Strongly advocates for giving children siblings so they aren't lonely.
    • “We have to have [a] second kid so they can grow together so they can be friends.” (24:21)

9. Business Vision and the Future

• Exit Strategy
  • Intends to sell the company within five years, targeting a deal over $100 million.
    • “Well, the goal is over 100 mil... I'll be happy.” (11:22)

10. Authenticity, Focus, and Contentment

• Avoiding Distractions
  • Stays away from parties and social distractions. Dedication is to family, business, and running.
    • “You’re not gonna see me any parties, any birthdays… If you invite me, you’re going to be sad because I’m not going to show up.” (28:51)
• Healthy Addictions
  • Running is his addiction—his substitute for other vices.
    • “Running is just like, it's crazy. It's my meditation. It's my biggest addiction.” (29:19)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I can't even write, you know, I can speak in three languages. I can read in three languages.” – The Pillow Guy (00:09)
• “I came with $300 in my pocket. Literally $300, that's it.” – The Pillow Guy (03:48)
• “If you quit, then anything you're going to do, you're going to quit. That's why I'm intentionally keep doing it.” – The Pillow Guy (20:32)
• “How you do one thing is how you do everything, they say.” – Host (20:51)
• “My kid is doing wrestling too... My son is wrestling. My son is doing judo. They follow my steps, they follow my example.” – The Pillow Guy (27:55)
• “Running is just like, it's crazy. It's my meditation. It's my—it's my biggest addiction.” – The Pillow Guy (29:19)
• “Last five years we did almost 60 mil already.” – The Pillow Guy (08:26)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:03 — The Pillow Guy’s early school experiences and language skills
• 02:02 — Startup origins in a garage with his father
• 03:48 — Immigration story and starting over in America with $300
• 04:45 — Immigrant mentality and success
• 06:31 — The role of his wife and importance of trust in relationships
• 08:09 — Pivoting to focus only on custom pillows, sales milestone
• 11:13 — Plans to sell the business, inspired by Alex Hormozi
• 14:23 — Running as the core of his mental and physical discipline
• 20:32 — Lessons from running applied to business and life; never quitting
• 23:05 — Skepticism of formal education, learning by example
• 24:21 — Advice on siblings and family dynamics
• 25:38 — Viral toddler running videos and leading by example
• 28:06 — Philosophy on self-defense, masculinity, and raising strong kids
• 29:19 — Running as a healthy "addiction," avoiding negative influences
• 29:52 — How to order custom pillows (allaboutvibe.com or pillowguy.com)

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Summary Takeaway
This episode is a candid and energetic journey through the mindset and life of a self-made entrepreneur. The Pillow Guy’s story exemplifies tireless perseverance, the value of focus, the immigrant drive, and the disciplines of both business and athletics. Above all, it’s a testament to building not just a company, but also a legacy of example—for family, for fellow immigrants, and for would-be entrepreneurs everywhere.

Transcript

[Host]

Yeah, I don't think I'll send my kids to public school. Why do you think that's the move?

[Pillow Guy]

Honestly, school is not my thing. I dropped school one. I didn't make it to middle school. Seventh grade. That was my last grade.

[Host]

Wow.

[Pillow Guy]

So school, it's definitely not my thing. I can't even write, you know, I can speak in three languages. I can read in three languages.

[Host]

Can't write English.

[Pillow Guy]

I can't. I mean, I can write, but like, you, you don't want me to do that.

[Host]

Okay, guys, we got someone on I've known for probably seven or eight years now. He sent me my first custom pillows. We got some here on the desk right now too. The first ones you sent were Jersey champs.

[Pillow Guy]

One Jersey champs? Yeah.

[Host]

First company.

[Pillow Guy]

And I still have your jersey that you made for me.

[Host]

Oh, sick. Full circle, man. It's good to see you though, man. How you been?

[Pillow Guy]

Likewise.

[Host]

Been good with the pillow stuff.

[Pillow Guy]

Busy, busy. It's a busy time now. Back to school. It's pretty busy season for us.

[Host]

Yeah. What are your biggest clients now? Because you work with so many celebrities and all sorts of companies, you know.

[Pillow Guy]

Celebrities are not the biggest clients. The director consumer is the biggest business. But we do work with a lot of celebrities. I don't even know a lot of brands as well. I mean, Kardashians, every party, they do the order from us.

[Host]

Wow.

[Pillow Guy]

All the kids parties, all the, like, celebration, like birthday, they always order from us. We don't work directly with them. So they're like event planner. But yeah, they've been our customer for a long time.

[Host]

It's impressive, man. Yeah. Eminem, DJ Khaled, Paris Hilton, the list.

[Pillow Guy]

Goes on and on and on and on and on.

[Host]

Is that sort of like a marketing vehicle for you, just partnering with celebrities.

[Pillow Guy]

Just for the brand awareness and product awareness? Yes.

[Host]

Yeah, I mean, it's good quality, man. Like, you can't really get this. You can't just walk in a store and get this, Right?

[Pillow Guy]

That's why I'm the pillow guy, man. I'm the only one who made this pillows.

[Host]

You know, the first time I found you was through Logan Paul.

[Pillow Guy]

Yep.

[Host]

You were on his YouTube, right?

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah, I made pills for him a while ago. His dog, his podcast, you name it. I worked with him for a long time.

[Host]

That's how I found you, man. So well done. Yeah, you. You do really well with branding and marketing. And you've been doing this for what, 10 years now?

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah, 10 years.

[Host]

That's impressive.

[Pillow Guy]

I would say about 10 years not.

[Host]

A lot of businesses last that long.

[Pillow Guy]

Well, my brand, the All About Vibe, the actual custom shape pillow brand, has been like focus five years, but I've been trying it for over 10 years.

[Host]

You started in your father's garage?

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah, my father, car garage.

[Host]

Beginnings. Was that in the us?

[Pillow Guy]

Yes. Yeah. Two car garage, just me and him. Old sewing machine, older than me. Plastic table. That's it.

[Host]

Wow, that's nuts. Did you ever think you'd get this big?

[Pillow Guy]

No, I never thought, but I never stopped. Today with like 20 plus thousand square feet manufacturing, man. Doing thousands of pillows a day.

[Host]

Holy crap.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah.

[Host]

When you look back and think about specific moments that were like breakthroughs. Do any come to mind during the business?

[Pillow Guy]

No, not really. It's just consistent work. Never, you know, there were very bad times, but just I never quit.

[Host]

Okay.

[Pillow Guy]

Kept pushing, you know.

[Host]

It wasn't like a big order.

[Pillow Guy]

No, it wasn't any big order. It was just like incremental. Kind of like slowly growing and slow and steady. Slow and steady.

[Host]

Immigrant mentality, man. Hard work. I get my work ethic from my immigrant parents. Both of them are immigrants.

[Pillow Guy]

From where?

[Host]

China and uk.

[Pillow Guy]

Nice.

[Host]

Yeah, but the China, oh my God. They work hard, those Chinese people.

[Pillow Guy]

Well, I'm such a mix too. I'm a Russian born half Jewish, half Korean.

[Host]

Holy crap, you're Korean?

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah, my father is Korean. I'm Oligly. My name is Lee. My last name is Lee.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

Oh, wow.

[Host]

I would have never guessed that.

[Pillow Guy]

I was born in Russia, raised in Israel, now I live here.

[Host]

And you like America the best?

[Pillow Guy]

Yes, of course.

[Host]

Not close, right? No.

[Pillow Guy]

Also, I have three kids now. That's why I love where my kids are, you know?

[Host]

Yeah. I always thought it was weird that people complained about America.

[Pillow Guy]

I. I travel Europe a lot lately. Definitely love a lot about Europe. The culture, the food and everything. But opportunities in America, you can compare. Yeah, I can see myself living in Europe, but I can't make money in Europe. Here you can. That's the biggest thing about America.

[Host]

You'd be limited in Europe.

[Pillow Guy]

100.

[Host]

You can't walk in a bank and get a fifty thousand dollar credit card.

[Pillow Guy]

I mean, I'm forever grateful for America.

[Host]

Yeah. Like I have like 40 credit cards. Like I could start any business I want right now. You know what I mean? You can't do that in other countries.

[Pillow Guy]

I came with $300 in my pocket. Wow. Literally $300, that's it.

[Host]

Would you invest in it when you.

[Pillow Guy]

Got in the car? 200 in the car to buy it from junkyard hundred hours to fix it, like the. The light or something so I can drive it. That's it. On the job. Start working.

[Host]

What was the first job?

[Pillow Guy]

Production.

[Host]

Damn.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah.

[Host]

For 10 years job, bro. In Chicago. Chicago.

[Pillow Guy]

I didn't have any English, so it's all I could find. You know, just like hard work. And I call every job and say, okay, come over. I'm like, how do I go there? I'm like, all right, I need a car. I have $300. I bought a car. Yeah, it was fun process. I've been here for over 20 years at this point.

[Host]

Wow, that's impressive, man. My mom came here with 20 bucks. Similar story. She worked in the kitchen, dishwashing, didn't speak English, scrubbed floors, became. Became a millionaire.

[Pillow Guy]

Well, yeah, that's how you say the immigrant mentality.

[Host]

Yeah, immigrant mentality. American dream, man. It's. It's crazy. I have a lot of respect for. For her for doing that. I know we disagree on academics.

[Pillow Guy]

You know, I think when we're looking for office space and we'll keep growing and growing in our real estate, she. She asked me, she's like, how come you immigrants come here and you're so successful? And she got me thinking, and I'm like, you know what? Because we have no choice here. If you go to my. If you go, come to my country, where I came from, let's say Israel, Right. My. My last country, I'll probably not. I'm not going to be as successful because I was comfortable as my parents there, but here I'm uncomfortable. I have no parents. I have nobody. So I really. We don't have choice when we come here. That's what makes us successful in America.

[Host]

You're all in.

[Pillow Guy]

All in. I mean, again, you don't have choice.

[Host]

Yeah, it's a good point.

[Pillow Guy]

You have to do it.

[Host]

Yeah. If you fell, you're ashamed to go.

[Pillow Guy]

Back, and then you get a kid and then that's it. Now it's crazy.

[Host]

When did you meet your wife?

[Pillow Guy]

As soon as I came, 20 years ago.

[Host]

Okay.

[Pillow Guy]

She was one of the first people I met. She's still with me 20 years later.

[Host]

She spoke English. She didn't.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah, yeah, she spoke English. I didn't even have a car. She would pick me up, take me to gym, you know, drive me around, like, you know, my errands and stuff. But she's been the biggest asset and the biggest skin. My success because she's been around me for 20 years, supporting me, you know, for my lowest. Me working in construction and Switching jobs, starting one business and another. Cause I tried many businesses and I failed. Lost a lot of money, too. But, you know, keep trying. Never give up.

[Host]

That is beautiful. She stuck with you?

[Pillow Guy]

She stuck with me, yeah.

[Host]

Shout out to her, man. Three kids now, two kids later. How's that been challenging?

[Pillow Guy]

The first kid was challenging because the business was kind of small and growing, and having the first kid was really hard. Yeah, but now it's the best thing. I mean, I. That's all I live for, is the kids.

[Host]

Really?

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah.

[Host]

You put your kids before you?

[Pillow Guy]

I put my kid. You know, it's funny because I tell. I explained this way. I put myself first as a priority in the family, in anything. Because if I'm the one who's, you know, bringing the money, I'm the one who's, you know, doing all that stuff. Like, my mindset is the most important. Because if I'm not in the right place, nobody will be happy.

[Host]

Right.

[Pillow Guy]

So I do put myself as a priority in the family. I have to be happy in the right place, first of all, so then I can focus on kids and my wife in the business.

[Host]

I agree.

[Pillow Guy]

So, but if you ask me, wife or kids? Wife. No wife, no kids. Are you serious? You know, kids will grow and they leave, but wife will stay. Wow. She's been proven 20 years at this point. You know, she's a friend, she's a partner. It's more than. It's more than a wife. It's very important. I would tell. I mean, I don't like giving advices and stuff, but, you know, when you have somebody you dating and you. You don't trust or, like, there's all this, like, you know, conflicts and stuff. You can't focus. She gave me that focus. I could trust her all those years. You know, she never doubt me. She supported me. So the relationship was never an issue. It was always solid and clean and quiet and, you know, supportive. So I could really focus on business. That helped me a lot. But, you know, if you fight, you can focus.

[Host]

You kind of like, because you come home, there's more issues. Right.

[Pillow Guy]

You can't focus finding the right partner. It's. It's important for, you know, to grow and succeed.

[Host]

I agree. Focus is everything, dude. A lot of young people struggle with it right now. I see it every day.

[Pillow Guy]

I guess when you ask me what was the biggest change, you know, that happened in the business and when I actually start focusing more on one thing, because I was like, I started 10 years ago with a bunch of different products.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

But you know, after like five, six years, you know, I switch focus on pillows only. I had the pillows, but I had a bunch of other products. This is where I was not making money and not growing. But as soon as I made a decision, get rid of everything, focus on one product, the custom shaped pillow took off.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

Last five years we did almost 60 mil already.

[Host]

Holy crap. I also think it's a very unique product. Like, it's. I don't know about now, but back then it was hard to get something like this right.

[Pillow Guy]

Nobody else is doing it still. It's only still. Yeah. Wow. We work with like Netflix shop, Paramount Pictures. Their customers like spongebob pills, Ninja Turtle pills, Stranger Things, you know, all these newest shows. We, you know, the solar products, all our pillows.

[Host]

Well done, dude. That's so cool.

[Pillow Guy]

We know when they look for the product, there's nobody else they can find, so they come to us.

[Host]

Right.

[Pillow Guy]

I don't even know at this point all the brands and celebrities who work with. Because I don't get involved in the production anymore. So I'm just kind of like focused on marketing.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

Our own brand marketing. So. But when, sometimes when I look, I'm like, damn, I didn't even know we're making pillows for like a Stranger things or like squid games, you know, we make pillows for them for all these big shows.

[Host]

That's. Heck, dude, 60 mil in five years without any mentors. No, that's crazy.

[Pillow Guy]

No mentors.

[Host]

Imagine if you had one.

[Pillow Guy]

Maybe. Yeah, I thought about it. Now do I want one? I feel it's like a distraction to me at this point, really. Like, I'm pretty self, kind of focused, self made. I'm pretty good self learner. I mean, you know, I'm saying I didn't have any mentors, but I did listen to a lot of videos and a lot of podcasts and a lot of like, people. So not direct mentors, but I did learn a lot.

[Host]

Yes. You didn't have like someone you could text, but you had videos and courses.

[Pillow Guy]

I listen. I learned, you know what, I listen what they say, you know, I just follow and I do it. It's the same thing. If I had somebody, probably in person, I will ask him and they'll tell, hey, you tried. You have to try this.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

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[Pillow Guy]

I'll do it. So I did the same thing. Just like, not directly by, but I consume a lot of videos, a lot of information, same.

[Host]

Do you have an end goal for this? You want to sell it?

[Pillow Guy]

Like, yeah, I do want to sell it. Definitely want to sell it. Probably the next five years.

[Host]

Yeah. I mean, that's impressive revenue. You could get a good multiple on that, I bet.

[Pillow Guy]

Well, the goal is over 100 mil.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah, I'll be happy.

[Host]

Alex Hormozi just did that.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah, I know.

[Host]

Did you see that launch?

[Pillow Guy]

Yep.

[Host]

Holy crap. He inspired me, man. I'm not going to lie.

[Pillow Guy]

No, no, he. I watch a lot of his videos. Not lately. Back in the day, sometimes now again, a lot of stuff. I already. I'm doing it, I'm using it. But sometimes I go back and I watch something. It's definitely great.

[Host]

I mean, I just met him last week. And here's the power of podcasting and media. He recognized me as soon as I walked in his office. I was like, holy shit. Like, media is important. You know what I mean?

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah.

[Host]

He would have never talked to me if I didn't have a podcast.

[Pillow Guy]

I talk to him on social media. I DM everyone.

[Host]

Yeah, that's.

[Pillow Guy]

That's my. My kind of thing I do how I work with a lot of celebrities. I just DM everyone. Hey, what's up? How you doing? Let me make some pillows for you. So I talked to him a bunch of time on social media on, like, Instagram. And then I met him once in Vegas. And I can't say he remember exactly him, but I say, hey, the pill guy. He's like, oh, yeah, I think I remember you.

[Host]

That's how I started. I DM'd everyone with jersey Champs. Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

That's how we connect it. Yeah.

[Host]

I think I made you the jersey and you made me some pillows. And DMS are underrated, but that was.

[Pillow Guy]

Inspired by Gary Vee, by the way. Yeah, he said it, and I started doing it, and it was a big breakthrough.

[Host]

I think I DM'd like 100 people a day when I was younger. Now I do about 25. I still do 25 a day.

[Pillow Guy]

Now. I don't DM. Like, if I found somebody interesting, I would DM them. But I'm not sitting every day in DM. I don't do this anymore.

[Host]

I DM 25 people a day that I want to have on the show. Usually about half of it for the show.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah.

[Host]

Yeah. Half of them respond, and then maybe, like, 10 of them end up booking a podcast with me. And that's how I get all my guests. And we're in.

[Pillow Guy]

Paris Hilton has been a good friend. I DM her.

[Host]

Yeah, exactly. You know, look at everyone that's been on the show. I've had 1800 guests. I probably DM'd half of them.

[Pillow Guy]

Nice.

[Host]

Crazy, right?

[Pillow Guy]

Yep.

[Host]

Like, people don't realize. You could just.

[Pillow Guy]

You need to tell people, and they still don't do it. Like, you just can. DM one of the only spine. What do you care? Just try. Yeah, I don't.

[Host]

I actually got a couple no's yesterday, and it made me even more motivated. I got a couple people not wanting to come on. I was like, shit, I got to grow this thing even more than. You know what I mean?

[Pillow Guy]

Why would they say no?

[Host]

Worst thing that. Because I have on controversial guests. But that's the worst thing that happened is they say no because, you know, you know, who cares?

[Pillow Guy]

There's so many other guests.

[Host]

Yeah. People are so scared of, like, denial or, like, being open, being vulnerable.

[Pillow Guy]

Well, that's how most people are today.

[Host]

Yeah. You know, but I think times are changing. I think people want the truth and authenticity now.

[Pillow Guy]

Yes. I mean, yes and no. I personally don't care about a lot of it that's going on because I'm. I'm very focused on family and business and. Ignore all the noise, you know, ignore everything. Do I care deep inside? Of course. You know, I care about people, obviously. You know, but, you know, my wife is Ukrainian, I'm from Israel, was born in Russia. There is mess everywhere going on.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

But I. When I say I don't care, I just don't consume it.

[Host]

You don't give your attention.

[Pillow Guy]

I don't give my attention. Yeah.

[Host]

That's the difference. Right? You still care about people, but you're not going to focus on it for hours a day. No, yeah, I agree with that. Your main focus, or not your main focus, but a big focus for you now is running.

[Pillow Guy]

Running has been a big part of my life. It changed me a lot. Improved me a lot. Actually. The business did, grew a lot since I started running.

[Host]

Really? How did it change you?

[Pillow Guy]

It's hard to explain, but it's so hard. And when you run a marathon, let's compare it to workout. When you work out and it's hard. Okay. Another minute and you're done. Another two minutes and you're done. When you run a marathon, the moment you get tired, it's probably another two hours. Another two hours and you already like, I can't do it anymore. And another two hours. So in these two hours you quit in so many times in your head and the fact that you don't quit in the end and you cross that finish line, that feeling is insane. The only time I cried when my first daughter was born and when I crossed my first marathon, it was exact same feeling. It was this satisfaction of accomplishment of something like truly important, like creating a kid, you know, or like crossing the finish line when it was so hard, you know, I know how hard it was in my head that I was quitting. So now I intentionally do it. Last year I ran 14 marathons.

[Host]

Wow.

[Pillow Guy]

I intentionally put myself in this mental and physical situation. So when I come back, it makes me a better father, better leader, better husband. Because it makes you like stress proof and it helps a lot.

[Host]

I attribute a lot of my success in business to my distance running days. I was a track runner and cross country runner in high school. So I did the mild 5k and.

[Pillow Guy]

You did the speedrun.

[Host]

800 was my quickest event, the two laps. But man, it trains you to be tough when you got to run an hour a day at a seven minute mile pace. Like it's, it's not easy.

[Pillow Guy]

I ran this morning seven miles. It took me about 47 minutes is like six 20 mile pace. Yeah.

[Host]

So you're fast.

[Pillow Guy]

It was my 5:00am morning ground before the flights here.

[Host]

Gosh. What's your 5K?

[Pillow Guy]

My 5K? 19 minutes.

[Host]

Oh, that's it.

[Pillow Guy]

I only did one. I only did one official 5K.

[Host]

Yeah, you're way faster than that.

[Pillow Guy]

I. I'm sure I can do faster.

[Host]

Mine is 1730, but you can.

[Pillow Guy]

I showed up randomly, wasn't prepared, wasn't thinking. Just 5k. Okay, done.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

But I never tried it again. I believe I can do like around 17, 18 minutes easily.

[Host]

Because if you're doing seven miles at 720. Yeah, you could do five. You could probably do 16. Yeah, easily.

[Pillow Guy]

I gotta try. I don't have those goals anymore. I have the goal to qualify for Boston, which is the biggest marathon in the world. I don't know if you know.

[Host]

I do. How do you qualify for that?

[Pillow Guy]

Well, I have to run under a certain time. So for my age group it was three hours, five minutes and finish time and I ran a 255, so that qualified me for Boston.

[Host]

What minute per mile pace is 255?

[Pillow Guy]

641.

[Host]

Holy crap, bro. You could do a 5k in like 15. Man. This guy's being humble out here.

[Pillow Guy]

Dylan, that was tough. Wow.

[Host]

Well done, dude. That's not easy. That's years of training.

[Pillow Guy]

Three years.

[Host]

Three years.

[Pillow Guy]

Three years. Probably four attempts that failed. So if it was three or five, I did three, nine, three or two, three or five. Because you have to go also like about 10 minutes under the required time. That's how they do. So if they say three or five, then they cut another like five, ten minutes.

[Host]

Oh, really?

[Pillow Guy]

So I was very close, but not close enough many times until I got it done. My goal is to run all states. I already ran 20, 20 states.

[Host]

Which state was the most difficult course?

[Pillow Guy]

I can't remember. I mean, Utah was 110 degrees.

[Host]

Holy.

[Pillow Guy]

Pretty hot.

[Host]

That's hot for 26 mile run.

[Pillow Guy]

Miami was super humid. I went to get, you know, the little ivy right away. New York was fun, kind of hilly. I can't remember. There's so many and so many at this point.

[Host]

110 degrees. Oh my God, you're a beast.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah.

[Host]

So you've done 20 out of 50. You want to do all 50 states?

[Pillow Guy]

I'm going to run next. End of September, I'm going to run two marathons back to back. I'm going to North Dakota, running it on Saturday and driving to South Dakota and running.

[Host]

It's a no recovery.

[Pillow Guy]

No.

[Host]

Aren't you super sore after a race though?

[Pillow Guy]

I am, but you know, again, that's part of the fun. Wow. I love that soreness. That's Kenyan. They love that. That's why we do it, for the soreness, for the metal, for the Strava, you know. Wow. I'm a bad example too. If most, if you talk to most of the trainers, things the way I do it, I'm a very bad example. I don't train, I don't prepare. I am like, I do things differently.

[Host]

You don't train for America?

[Pillow Guy]

I don't train around. I run 10 miles a week and then I run a marathon.

[Host]

What the.

[Pillow Guy]

And I'm not saying at all because just like as soon as I did a few times, I know it's a mental game mostly than physical. I know my body can do it. It's mostly mental. And I know I can push myself.

[Host]

That is interesting because most people are the opposite. They train the physical.

[Pillow Guy]

I did 50 miles around 9 hours non stop. After that marathon becomes easy, you know, as far as, like, mentally easy. Yeah.

[Host]

Yeah. That's some David Goggins stuff right there. Yeah, I mean, David Goggins, that guy's a beast. Would you ever do those? Those. What are those races? Spartan, I think.

[Pillow Guy]

Spartan. I did a lot of Spartan.

[Host]

Oh, you've done those?

[Pillow Guy]

I did a lot of spartan races in 2021. I actually podiumed on like five of them.

[Host]

Damn.

[Pillow Guy]

Got second place and I think three second places and two third places I wrestled back in the day.

[Host]

Okay.

[Pillow Guy]

So I'm pretty, you know, fast and strong on my hands, upper body. So they helped me a lot with the, you know, Spartan racing.

[Host]

That's the. Is Spartan the one in the mud or is that a.

[Pillow Guy]

It's a mud. It's like you run like half marathon and you in a mud in the water and you climbing ropes and pulling heavy stuff. It's fun. I'm going to be back doing it at some point.

[Host]

What was. What was the toughest race you've ever done?

[Pillow Guy]

I think the 50 miles was one of the toughest. This is where. 50 miles race where. This is where I was like, it was 100% rain. I was fully wet from the beginning. And it's just mile one. You're all wet, your shoes are wet, bro. So like every mile, like, okay, it's not gonna work today. It's a bad day. And like, okay, you, you mile 21 and then mile 26 and mile 31 and every mile you're like, I'm done. I'm taking Uber. I'm going home. The amount of times I quit on this race, it's insane. But I never did.

[Host]

Have you ever quit a race?

[Pillow Guy]

Never.

[Host]

Wow.

[Pillow Guy]

Never.

[Host]

Even if you got injured during the race or.

[Pillow Guy]

Never. I got injured multiple times. Just finish it slower but never quit.

[Host]

Damn.

[Pillow Guy]

That's part of the game. It's like you working on your mental. If you learn not to quit, no matter what you're going to do in life, you're going to get it done. So. But if you quit, then anything you're going to do, you're going to quit. That's why I'm intentionally keep doing it. And if I find myself quitting at some point, then I got to change something in me.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

Something is wrong, you know, I got to improve something.

[Host]

How you do one thing is how you do everything they say.

[Pillow Guy]

Exactly. That's the point. That's the biggest thing.

[Host]

Would you say your mindset is the number one reason you're successful in business?

[Pillow Guy]

Mindset is everything. I think it's the mindset.

[Host]

People ask me why I work so much, why I work so hard, how I film so many shows. I think I just love what I do, dude. It's the mindset like I'm locked in.

[Pillow Guy]

As soon as people change their mind, everything is changing. But not everybody ready to change it. You know, they have to realize what they need to have the why, why they want to do it right. You know, for me, I had those whys.

[Host]

And family.

[Pillow Guy]

Family, of course, makes your kids proud. Make your family proud, you know, be a good dad.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

My son, you know, I've been on the running street for five years. Every single day. I haven't skipped a day on for five years. So my son is already two years and he's only 10 years old. So when he was eight, he started running every single day. He never skipped a day.

[Host]

Wow.

[Pillow Guy]

And I don't push him. I don't tell him to run.

[Host]

You lead by example.

[Pillow Guy]

I lead by example. Right here.

[Host]

Oh, I love it. I didn't even know you had a child before.

[Pillow Guy]

Your example, not your advice. I actually think it's not yet just child. Anybody, no matter what you're gonna say, people not gonna listen. But they're gonna watch what you're gonna do.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

It's so true. In business, in relationship and you know, being a father anywhere, I think it's.

[Host]

More powerful than learning by words. I think if you show someone nothing.

[Pillow Guy]

Words are just words.

[Host]

Yeah, they just. I never paid attention to words in high school when I was learning from people.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah, you know, you got to watch the people that you want to be and you got or you got to be what your kids want you want them to be.

[Host]

You know, you said the 10 year old. The public school or how do you approach the teaching from others?

[Pillow Guy]

Public school. Yeah.

[Host]

Really?

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah.

[Host]

In Chicago. Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

We're moving to Florida now, by the way.

[Host]

Miami.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah, I move in next month actually.

[Host]

Okay.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah.

[Host]

Yeah. I don't think I would send My kids to public school. Why do you think that's the move?

[Pillow Guy]

Honestly, school is not my thing. I dropped school one. I didn't make it to middle school.

[Host]

Wow.

[Pillow Guy]

Seventh grade. That's where. That was my last grade.

[Host]

Wow.

[Pillow Guy]

So school, it's definitely not my thing. I know nothing. I don't even. I can't even write. You know, I can speak in three languages. I can read in three languages, write English. I can't. I mean, I can't write, but like you, you don't want me to do that. But I can type, but not like write.

[Host]

So when you're typing an email.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah. I'm misspelling every single word.

[Host]

Whoa. And you're running a nine figure company?

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah.

[Host]

Holy crap, that's crazy. What about numbers? Like can you do math?

[Pillow Guy]

All the company haven't making fun of me in the way I send emails and slack messages. Translator for you.

[Host]

Can you add, subtract, divide, multiply?

[Pillow Guy]

Math calculator, man. Wow. Very basic math. Seven grades. What did I learn in seven grades?

[Host]

I think that was. Was that even algebra?

[Pillow Guy]

And think about it this way. I immigrated to Israel when I was 11 years old. I think third grade or something. It took me a few years to adapt, you know, learn the language, adjust to, you know, to culture. So I didn't really learn anything. And then I stay in school for another like four or five years or whatever. That's why school, it's not my thing. I don't really push my kids to. To school like it's my wife taking care of it.

[Host]

Yeah. Are you pushing them to pursue entrepreneurship?

[Pillow Guy]

Yes, mostly.

[Host]

How are you doing?

[Pillow Guy]

Problem solving skills. That's the best skill you can teach your kids?

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

By example? Just a little by example.

[Host]

Yeah. I'm gonna bring my kids to work and stuff when I have kids.

[Pillow Guy]

You planning to have any? Yeah, any soon? Sorry.

[Host]

Yeah, yeah. I'm getting married in two months.

[Pillow Guy]

Oh, nice.

[Host]

So we were waiting until that, but yeah, I want like at least two, three kids again.

[Pillow Guy]

I hate giving advices, but like I first kid, you have to make the second kid right away. It's not for you. It's for the first kid. Like when we had the first kid, you know, like we have to have second kid so they can grow together so they can be friends. And they're friends now. They don't really need anyone else. They can just have fun together. We go vacation by themselves.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

And when I see people with like one kid and then they say, oh, I don't want a second kid. I'm Like, I get it, but, like. And I feel a little bit sad for your kid because they're lonely, you know, they need. They need a friend.

[Host]

That's how I grew up. I was an only child.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah.

[Host]

Lonely. Super lonely, man. It was.

[Pillow Guy]

You don't want this for a kid?

[Host]

No, I wouldn't, like, if I can. And I have the ability to have two quickly, right away to her, obviously. But, like, I'm down, you know, I.

[Pillow Guy]

Think, in my opinion, it's the best thing. But again, I don't want to give advices. People have different lifestyles and, you know, things.

[Host]

So you want more? Are you good with three?

[Pillow Guy]

I'm good with three.

[Host]

Yeah. Three is the magic number.

[Pillow Guy]

I mean, my wife doesn't want more, but I'll probably have another one.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

Yeah, It's a lot of wear and.

[Host]

Tear, you know, Three kids.

[Pillow Guy]

I can say the last one is my favorite one. My little girl, really? Actually, she's also a runner. She's been running. Oh. I have, like, few videos that went viral. Like, they got almost 2 million views where she's just running. She's not even 2 years old, and she was running.

[Host]

She's gonna be an athlete because she.

[Pillow Guy]

Follows me, and I go for a run, and she's like, I want to go with you. I want to go with you. And then she goes, me, she run a little bit, and then I have to carry her back home, and then I have to go do my run. So I don't want to take her, but she follows me every single day, every single morning.

[Host]

Wow.

[Pillow Guy]

So at some point, I recorded her, and I posted a video, and it went viral. I'm like, all right. People loved it. So I recorded another video, I posted it, and it went viral. Now I'm posting her. A bunch of videos are just running after me, running with me with, like, Nike outfits and stuff.

[Host]

That's cool. She's gonna be a.

[Pillow Guy]

She's gonna be good.

[Host]

Yeah. She's running at 2.

[Pillow Guy]

Watch the video. She's running, too. It's crazy.

[Host]

I need to watch that. I know kids that aren't even walking at five. So he's. She's running at two.

[Pillow Guy]

She's run.

[Host]

Well done, man.

[Pillow Guy]

It's. Again, it's a good example. Lead by example.

[Host]

Were you an athlete growing up?

[Pillow Guy]

I was a wrestler.

[Host]

Yeah. Like, at a high level.

[Pillow Guy]

I was in the Israel national team. Yeah. Wow.

[Host]

Did you want to do that professionally or.

[Pillow Guy]

No? No, I'm 41 years old.

[Host]

No, I meant back then, though.

[Pillow Guy]

Back then, yeah. Of course. I was doing professionally? Yeah.

[Host]

And you thought that was the lifestyle you were going to live?

[Pillow Guy]

Wrestling, I think wrestling is the best sport, is the toughest sport in the world in my opinion. Again, it's pretty mental, pretty physical and.

[Host]

Toughest sport in the world, huh?

[Pillow Guy]

I would argue, I'm not, I don't like arguing, but I would argue this is, I, this is the toughest sport.

[Host]

I think it's up there. It's definitely up there.

[Pillow Guy]

Tell me which one is harder.

[Host]

What do you mean by tougher?

[Pillow Guy]

I guess like, like mentally. Mentally and physically. If you started like 6 years old, what will make you stronger, faster, smarter?

[Host]

I think running's up there. You think wrestling's tougher than running?

[Pillow Guy]

100.

[Host]

Really?

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah. Wow.

[Host]

What about MMA?

[Pillow Guy]

I'm an example. I'm a wrestler and I can run. Yeah, right. So because of my wrestling background, it's much easier for me to run. Okay. Because my endurance is good.

[Host]

Yeah. You were going on runs anyways when you were wrestling.

[Pillow Guy]

I mean, the wrestling endurance is tough.

[Host]

What about mma, Jiu jitsu?

[Pillow Guy]

Well, mma it's not. It's a different sport. It's a mix.

[Host]

Yeah. Wouldn't that be tougher though?

[Pillow Guy]

Jiu jitsu? I don't know. I tried it. It's compared to wrestling, it's a little bit on the slower side, more technical. Again, in my opinion. Wrestling, American football, I don't know, I didn't try. That's tough, bro.

[Host]

Rugby, Rugby's tough. That's what's rugby stuff. Yeah. No, but wrestling's up there for sure because it, because the weigh ins, you.

[Pillow Guy]

Gotta like always maintain cutting weights and all that stuff. Man, that's tough.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

My kid is doing wrestling too.

[Host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

My son is wrestling. My son is doing judo.

[Host]

Nice.

[Pillow Guy]

They follow my steps, they follow my example, you know.

[Host]

Do you think every man should learn how to fight?

[Pillow Guy]

For sure. I mean, one hand. Yes, one day. Why we going to fight at this point? You know where. Right. Nobody fights. But you need to know how to defend yourself for sure.

[Host]

I think it's important.

[Pillow Guy]

It's.

[Host]

It is important and it gives you that confidence too. Like even if you never use it, like in person, like it just.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah, in this point. Yeah, I, I mean I just have it. So like I don't think about it, but if I didn't know how to fight, didn't have it, I would probably be. It gives you the confidence for sure.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

You can like, you know, stand up for your family and stuff.

[Host]

Did you.

[Pillow Guy]

But again, where did you encounter that stuff?

[Host]

At this point, I haven't personally yet.

[Pillow Guy]

Like, if you're smart enough, you avoid those places on this moments, those situations.

[Host]

I use my mouth to get out of situations, but sometimes you can't. Sometimes it's just past that point, you know, maybe hasn't happened yet, knock on wood.

[Pillow Guy]

But I really don't go anywhere. I focus family and business. You're not going to see me any parties, any birthdays, any. Like, my friends know me. Don't invite me. You don't invite me. I'm grateful. If you invite me, you're going to be sad because I'm not going to show up and you're going to be why you didn't show up. Yeah, I don't want to go anywhere. I don't want to do anything. Wow.

[Host]

So what are your guilty pleasures?

[Pillow Guy]

What do you, I mean, spend time with my family. We travel a lot, you know.

[Host]

You don't have any like, addictions or.

[Pillow Guy]

No, I mean, running is my addiction.

[Host]

I would say that's a healthy addiction.

[Pillow Guy]

Running is just like, it's crazy. It's my meditation. It's my. It's my biggest addiction.

[Host]

Yeah, I miss getting runners high.

[Pillow Guy]

Oh, you don't get it every time, but once you get it.

[Host]

Yeah. I would go on these when I was in high school, everyone would run during the day. I would run at midnight because I wanted that runner's high. Because when you're the only person out there just feels different.

[Pillow Guy]

Yeah. You know, plus when you're running, you know, you. None of your friends are doing it right now. It makes you feel even better.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Pillow Guy]

You're being different, not like everyone else.

[Host]

Facts. You're working late hours. Well, man, what's next for you? How can people order some pillows and. And find you?

[Pillow Guy]

Well, my website is all about vibe.com or you can go to pillow guy.com as well. It's going to get you redirected. You can upload any picture, anything you like. And it's, you know, you're going to see an instant mockup preview and it's pretty simple to place an order. We ship mostly in like within three, five days.

[Host]

Nice.

[Pillow Guy]

Because we make everything in house. Depends on the season. If the season is busy, a little bit behind, but in general, three, five days, you can get any custom pillow, any size, any style, any shape.

[Host]

I love it. Guys, check them out.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

Got some pillows.

[Host]

Thanks for coming on, man.

[Pillow Guy]

I appreciate you, man. Yep.

[Host]

Peace.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

I hope you guys are enjoying the show. Please don't forget to like and subscribe.

[Host]

It helps the show a lot with the algorithm. Thank you.