A (3:27)

Not too. That don't make me feel so bad that I didn't see on.

B (3:32)

And it's fine. Everything fall into place. You know, I've been like, I'm a firm believer in, like, you know, yeah, something will happen when. When you put your mind to it and you. It's going to happen. You got to both align together because you're. You have so much in common, you know, so to. For me to be on this. This podcast is an honor, man, for reaching out to me.

A (3:58)

Yeah, we're happy to have you, man. I think I'll give you. I don't make excuses ever. I'll give you reasons, but I don't make excuses. YouTube comments are redonkulous. Like, it's just if. If I go through those and read those, I took the advice, you know, not directly, but Joe Rogan a while back was like, man, you just post it and forget it. Like, don't even think about it. Don't look at the comments. Don't do all this stuff. And early on in my career, you know, I've been doing this a decade or better now. On the social media side, I would. I would read everyone because I thought it was really important that I made a personal effort to do that. And about halfway through it, just once, once the video started going viral, man, it would just be hundreds of the most ridiculous stuff. And I was like, all right, I can't read through all these. But where I do find is, like, in dms, like, if you can DM me through one of the other social media outlets, like we did, that's usually when I'm like, okay, I can screen these. Because most of the time you ain't. Listen, man, I'm gonna give you a real side A real side story. Real quick. I. I had somebody send us socks, like for our work boots probably like three weeks ago, maybe like a month ago. And I was like, man, I feel like I should make a video for these people. They sent us these socks. So I'm. I'm gonna. I'm gonna make a video. So I made a video posted like, hey, man, you know, check their socks out, whatever. And I get a dm. And the DM said, hey, can I buy a pair of those socks? I was like, yeah, go to the website and buy them. Like, no, no, no, not that pair. Like, like a pair you wore. And I was like, I don't think so. I'm probably gonna, you know, I try to be nice. I was like, we're gonna wear these and use them. He's like, and whoever it was, I don't know, man, sent me a message, follow up. He's like, yeah, I want them. I actually want them. After you've wore them completely out, like, I want them. And I was like, what in the world? So that. Just to let you know, the DMs don't always a really great filter, but yeah, it was crazy. So, yeah, man, I think. I think, you know, DMS are for sure the best way to do it. When you're investing in asphalt equipment, trust matters. KM International designs and builds sealcoat units, infrared heaters, asphalt hot boxes, and other asphalt maintenance equipment for contractors, municipalities and professionals across the industry. We run KM Steelcoat units because they're built tough, they perform in the field, and we trust the people behind the brand. Another big reason we stand behind km. Their equipment is made right here in the usa. Their mission says it best. Innovative asphalt maintenance solutions. To learn more, visit kminternational.com call 810-688-1234 or email sales kminternational.com man, it's just been. It's been a trip, man. And then to stumble upon your content and be like, okay, these guys know what to do. I seen another video. You did a. You guys did a. Obviously, in the south, the fire line is like all the time, right? Yeah, I have a machine with red almost now. Yeah, I learned that from. From first of all, my guy at asap. Landon as the wall always red stripe all the time. Had a machine with red stripe and where we're at, Wisconsin. Like, you don't do that. But I seen a video of you all doing a curb and you had the tip angled really good and was going around the edge. I was like, all right, yeah, they're obviously probably better skilled striping now at this point than I am. It'd be great to get you on and just kind of see what you all are doing. So, yeah, I appreciate you sticking along and, and following content whatnot. Give us a little bit of background. Because you said you got into this 2022. What was you doing beforehand? Because this isn't a occupation that a lot of people fall into, and it's definitely not one where they're like, hey, I'm going to start my own business doing this. Because once you, you pretty much flip how normal people live and you gotta be up all night and nap during the day, it's a crazy life choice.

B (7:52)

It definitely is, man. I had a guy reach out to me. He was like, hey man, turn around before he. It's too late. I'm already probably Charles Baker.

A (8:02)

That's probably Charles Baker up in Boston.

B (8:05)

It's a guy DM me and he told me that I was just like, ah, yeah. But a little bit about me. I mean, you know, I had, I had a few jobs. I mean my. The last job that I had before I. I always had like an entrepreneur, like spirit.

A (8:21)

Right, sure.

B (8:22)

Always. Always knew what I wanted to do, but I just trying to figure out what I was going to do. But before this, I played basketball. I played basketball at college level. Could have went overseas, could have continued to, you know, had a chance to try out for the Vipers. I mean, it's called the Vipers, but it's the Houston Rockets D League team.

A (8:41)

Okay.

B (8:42)

So I came here to where I'm at right now, which is a place called Edinburgh, Texas.

A (8:47)

Okay.

B (8:48)

I came here on a full scholarship. It's a school called utrgv. And I came here, I've played here, finished here. And then I met my wife.

A (8:58)

Oh, now?

B (8:59)

Yeah. So my wife ran track and cross country as well. She ran. So we met through athletics.

A (9:05)

Sure.

B (9:06)

And then from there I just decided to stay here, try to figure out what I wanted to do, and worked at a few jobs like Enterprise. It was like a rental car company.

A (9:16)

Yep.

B (9:16)

Learn a lot about running a business. You know, I took a lot.

A (9:19)

Customer service.

B (9:21)

Yeah, customer service. You know, always knew what I wanted to do. So like, each job that I would work at, I would take something from there, you know, so just like their core values that they live by, I learned a lot from them companies. So that's good. Stop working. When I finished working there, I went into like the pharmaceutical industry. Okay. So I worked in the pharmaceutical industry for like I think it was like two years. And then the pandemic happened.

A (9:47)

Okay.

B (9:48)

So, you know, I learned how to build a territory, and these guys were telling me, like, hey, this is your business. This is your business. So I became, like, one of the top guys in the pharmaceutical industry, like, in the company that I was in.

A (10:00)

Sure.

B (10:01)

So, you know, and then after that, after, I was like, once we couldn't see any of the doctors because of all the COVID stuff. You know what? I'm gonna just try something different, you know? So I got into Hot Shot Trucking.

A (10:18)

Oh, okay. Yeah.

B (10:20)

I did Hot Shot for like, two years after that.

A (10:23)

Okay.

B (10:23)

And I was just gone so much. Yeah.

A (10:26)

It's a big time commitment.

B (10:27)

Yeah. Three, four weeks at a time. Missing. I just had a. My baby, you know, so my wife was just home, you know, it's like, I need to be home helping her out and stuff for the kids. But at the same time, too, I'm making a sacrifice to, like, better my family, you know? Yeah. So. But that's always that Mark.

A (10:46)

There's a ceiling right there, man, where, like, you can work a regular job and. But you're going to settle knowing that there won't ever be an upper echelon that you can strive for. But then when you get to a certain point where you're like, hey, I have to sacrifice some hours sometimes, and all these things with the family.

B (11:06)

Yeah.

A (11:06)

But it'll get us to here. Right. And give us an opportunity to do other things. Is a. I don't know, it's kind of like a bittersweet moment when that happens because you're like, all right, this is that point where I'm either gonna go left or I'm gonna go right and figure it out. Shout out to chanting Vasa. He's Hot Shot trucking. Plus doing landscaping, plus doing merch stuff up in Minnesota. And he's always just committed and made that time sacrifice. The thing I think that I learned from him was if you can bring your family along on the journey, then all of a sudden, you kind of hack that system. You don't have to go left or right. You kind of can forge your way up the middle a little bit, but, yeah, it's a huge commitment, man. So after you did Hot Shot Trucking, then what?

B (11:50)

After that, I. And I set it down. The race was super crazy at the time. Like, I kind of got it. I kind of got in the industry at the wrong time. You know, it was. It was bad. The economy was going down. The race was super low. Gas prices were super high. I don't know if you remember when Diesel was like $5 a gallon.

A (12:10)

Yeah, man, I remember. That's what the seal trucks take is diesel, bro. And it's. It hurts you a little bit.

B (12:17)

It was horrible, you know, So I had to make a decision. I was like, do I want to keep going through this or I just shut it down and wait for it to kind of get back better. So I shut it down and then I came outside home. I had a little bit of money saved up.

A (12:31)

Okay.

B (12:32)

I had sat home for probably about six months trying to figure out what I was going to do. And my wife's like, early, you got to do something.

A (12:40)

You know, Isn't that who usually rings in somebody like, hey, this is. You ain't gonna be able to sit idle for too long. They always know.

B (12:48)

Yeah.

A (12:49)

Every few years, the construction industry comes together in a big way. And that event is Con Expo Con ConExpo ConAG takes over Las Vegas this March, bringing contractors, manufacturers and innovators from all around the world together. This is where you see the equipment, technology and ideas that shape the future of construction. We're excited to be partnering with ConExpo Con AG to be part of that conversation. You can use code MARVIN20 to save 20% on your registration. And to learn more, you can head over to conexpocanag.com so I was trying

B (13:24)

to find the cheapest thing to do, like the startup cost, start looking up service based business. You know, the cheapest way to start off. So I started looking into pressure washing.

A (13:36)

Okay.

B (13:37)

I started looking into pressure washing and I started buying like all the little stuff from like on Amazon and things like that. And then I came across a video of line scrapping. It was like, it's this guy out of Louisiana. Billy Davidson. Yep, Billy Davidson. And then I started seeing Chris.

A (13:55)

Chris Welsh.

B (13:57)

Yeah, I started seeing Chris Welch. And then I connected with Chris Welch. I had joined his Discord and like me and Chris, we started talking and stuff like that. But I didn't, I never joined his course or anything like that. You know, he, I'm pretty sure he does. He knows he's very informational. Like, he's very informative and he does good, you know, work with what he's doing and pretty sure you're helping a lot of people. But yeah, I joined up with Chris. Chris showed me how to start my, the, my first scraping machine. Like, I called him one day, jumped on the phone with him like, hey man, this is how you do it. So I started My first machine, and I didn't know what I was doing, but I didn't know what I was doing. I knew I had bought this machine, and I just got it there in my garage. And my. And my wife is like, hurley, what are you gonna do with that thing? And I think I had got it from Asphalt Kingdom.

A (14:48)

Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Was it the Titan 850?

B (14:52)

No, the Titan 3500.

A (14:54)

Good job, man. Good hallelujah.

B (14:58)

No, I. I see too many bad, bad things about that 850.

A (15:03)

Good job doing your research, man. That's. Yeah, that's the best I still run. I still run that 3, 500 I've had for a decade now. Now Eli's got his own. We got a 4500 too. We don't use it all that often. It's a big machine, man, and you could run two guns and you can put a beating system and stuff on it, but most of the time, it's just me and him will run two, three, five hundreds. And we do a lot of work.

B (15:27)

Those 3,500, man, they built me that. That was like my foundation. Those things are like workhorses, you know?

A (15:33)

Yeah.

B (15:34)

But eventually I'm hoping that Titan could come up with something with like an auto layout or something. Like, I happen, bro, you know, I

A (15:41)

don't think it's ever gonna happen. I think they're committed. They know their spot, they know their niche. I think they're just going to rely on that most of the time. And Graco is so far in front of them in that world. But, you know, honestly, between me and you, I've heard rumblings of, like, the next jump is like GPS robotic, like, just completely mapped out, put into digital, and the machines run themselves. And you've seen Those machines, like 10 line and the turf tank and stuff like that. I just seen another one we did a video with at Dirt World Summit Civ or CV Robotics, some company like that. And they can do. They don't do the auto lines, but they can do the auto layout for you. You literally just put this robot or two or how many you want on the lot. Push play. And if it's got the blueprint in it, it'll go mark everything out, like auto layout. So then you just run behind it with your. If you have a place, like, I would. Yeah, just would run it, you know, so it's pretty cool. Like, but that's the next step. But yeah, I mean, them Titans, you can build a business on those.

B (16:43)

No 100%, man. The one that I first started off with, I had bought. I bought two of them, and then a buddy of mine is like, hey, man, would you sell me the other one? I was like, I had already bought the graco machines and stuff like that, so I was like, you know what? I'll sell it to you. Because he's a big titan guy. So I sold it to him, and it's been helping him be more efficient, you know, so. Yeah, but the one that I initially started off with, man, I'll never forget. Get rid of that machine. Because it's more like a. Yeah, I still have it, man. It's more of a sentimental value to me.

A (17:16)

Yeah.

B (17:16)

And I would not sell it, man. It's like a trophy, you know? So I. I started off with that machine, and I just. I won't get rid of it now.

A (17:23)

At west coat, we got. We got, like, some of the very first brooms and spray guns and everything hanging on the wall. Yeah. Because I'm like, I won't get rid of them. And then my brother, he's got some of my. He's got some of my older equipment, and I'm like, yeah, you can use it, but you don't ever get rid of it. Like, it's coming back. And even our seal truck now, I'm. I'm well aware that it's over 20 years old, but it runs perfect. And I'm. I keep telling Eli, I was like, we're never getting rid of this truck. Like, if I get to be an old man, we'll just put a truck bed on it, and I'm just going to run it and stuff. But yeah, once you. Once you make it, you get a chance to look back. I mean, you're going to be closing in on four years now, Right? So, I mean, once you get a chance to start looking back and you're like, man, all I got to do is keep doing this, and I can make it. You start to get. I don't know, you get an attachment to the equipment. And then me, where this industry took me from where I started, I grew up really poor. You know, I didn't have a lot of influence around. I had people that gave me opportunities, thank God. But, you know, when I started wiscoat and then I realized what wisco was, it was like a. Like a lightning rod, like a connector between the asphalt industry and me to change my life.

B (18:40)

Yeah.

A (18:41)

And now, like, that thing is like a living whiscoat itself, is like a living, breathing thing. Dude, I gotta make sure. I'm married to it. Right. So I gotta make sure it's happy that I'm feeding it what I need to feed it. That way, it gives me back what it gives me back. It provides for my family.

B (18:56)

Exactly.

A (18:57)

And I'm like, okay, I got a little bit of a. A sentimental value to it nowadays, you know, so. And it's been in so many videos now. Like, if you say Wisco, people think of me, you think my name, then people think of whiskey, at least in our industry. So I still like to have the merch and whatnot and different things. And some people will show up, bro, with, like, shirts that I forgot we made or hats that I haven't seen in, like, forever. And I'm like, dang. Yeah, I wish I would have kept those. You know what I'm saying? So it's a. It's a pretty. It's a pretty unique thing. But tell me about, like, the early days when you started going. You had that titan, you know? How did you get locked into some business and get things going? A lot of line stripers start by being hooked up to sealcoaters or paving companies or whatnot.

B (19:42)

How did that. Well, I mean, I was going door to door. I mean, I honest. Like, I've built businesses for, like, I have a business, like, on the side. I just makes money. So I understand how to build.

A (19:56)

Right.

B (19:56)

I know how to build a brand. Yep. So the first thing I started doing, which is going around, I went to my chambers of commerce, got my epic move.

A (20:06)

That's Epic move. That's my first move anywhere. First.

B (20:08)

First. My first ever job was my chambers of Commerce. My chambers of Commerce. So I went there. Yeah, I went there, talked to my. I'd never met him before.

A (20:19)

Yep.

B (20:19)

But I talked to him. You know, I just. I didn't charge. Try to break the bank on them or anything like that, but I wanted to go and just kind of prove myself that I could do it. You know, I have been running the scraping machine with water and, you know, like, when you.

A (20:36)

Wait, wait, wait. You striped the Chamber of Commerce?

B (20:38)

Yes. Right. The chambers.

A (20:39)

Oh, I thought you meant you joined the Chamber of Commerce.

B (20:42)

Yeah, I joined the Chambers of Commerce. And then I also striped it, too.

A (20:46)

Okay. Yeah, that's a good move.

B (20:49)

Yeah, that was my. That was actually my first ever job.

A (20:52)

So you almost kind of traded it out, like.

B (20:55)

Yeah, we traded it out.

A (20:56)

Yeah. It was like, when you said your first job, I thought you meant, like, your regular 9 to 5 job. Like, you worked at a chamber of Commerce. So that you knew it was. But you knew that was your first line striping job was at a chamber of commerce.

B (21:07)

That's the first place I went to. I went to my chambers of commerce,

A (21:10)

you know, you did the job. Traded out, like, membership and whatnot. Yeah. Go for a smart.

B (21:16)

I still made a little bit of money off of it, but, yeah, you got to.

A (21:19)

That's what I did with radio stations early on. I would go and be like, because I'm not paying for radio ads, bro. Like, it.

B (21:26)

Yeah.

A (21:26)

I think it's just about dead, you know, But I will seal code and line stripe that thing for radio, you know, because it's a minimal cost. So that's my. That's one of my secret moves. Still is. Like, I'll go to radio stations and be like, yo, we'll freshen this up, put us on for a year, give us an interview, do whatever you do. But that's a good one. The one thing I'll say, I think I put out chamber of commerce videos every year. But the one thing I will say about chamber of Commerce, like membership or joining is it's like buying that Titan. You didn't buy the Titan and just sit there and look at it and say, do the work, Titan. Yeah, you have to work it. And that's kind of how your Chamber of Commerce is. Like, they'll host the events, they'll invite all the people, but you have to go and network and use your Chamber of Commerce to make it jump up the work you want to work. But the thing is, anybody that's at a Chamber of commerce is. Is a player. Like, you know, there's. They're legitimately probably connections where you can get real work. Right. And they're meeting you at the chamber. They already know you're legit. Yeah, it's a. It's a really good hack if you.

B (22:34)

If you utilize it. Yeah, most of the time I'm so busy, I don't really have time to make it to the events, but that's good. I try to pop in every now and then and show face and meet people. But, yeah, that was my first job, but most of it was just kind of like brand building. I focused on just building my brand at first. Focus on my Google business profile. I work with. I would talk to paving contractors. I would reach out to a bunch of paving contractors, seal coding contractors, guys that really don't like to do this scraping. So it's very like, they look at it as, like, very tedious. And, you know, so I was like, you know, I. I might have found a little niche, so I would just try to connect with contractors and stuff like that.

A (23:19)

How long. How long were you in? Like, the dry spell when you first started? As this industry grows, the logistics behind it are getting more complicated, not less. Bulk Source is a software platform built to simplify how producers, haulers, and buyers will work together all through one integrated system. From quoting and dispatch to ticketing and payment, Bulk Source takes the moving parts that slow jobs down and brings them into one streamlined workflow. What matters to me is this. I personally know the owner and I've watched him build Bulk Source over the years, specifically for the asphalt, aggregate and concrete industries, not generic software trying to fit into construction later. If you want to see how it works, you can request a demo@Bulksource.com or reach out directly@infobulksource.com via email.

B (24:13)

For me, I'm the type of person like. And I don't, I don't. I don't like to wait around and, yeah, stuff to happen.

A (24:20)

There's free time. You're about to make something happen.

B (24:22)

Yeah, Like, I, I still go back to the basics right now, like where I get out if things start to, like, slow down a little bit, which it hasn't really been slowing down, but I, I will go back to the basics, like, you know, and go out there and pass out flyers.

A (24:38)

Yeah.

B (24:38)

You know, have conversations, have conversations, you know, talk to people. Like, even if they doing the same thing I'm doing, you know, I still talk to them. You know, like we colleagues, like. To be honest, I don't really look at people as like a competitor or anything like that. My biggest competitor is myself.

A (24:56)

Yeah.

B (24:56)

You know what I mean? Yeah.

A (24:57)

I'll try to be better than who I was yesterday.

B (24:59)

100.

A (25:00)

So sometimes I find myself, like you said, like, I didn't go to the chamber or whatever. There's been a couple events and I'll be looking. I'm like, marvin, you're lazy. You're being lazy about this, bro. Like, you, you took some, you took this day off. Like yesterday. We had Sunday afternoon off and I sat there for a few hours and I was like, they say you don't feel this, don't feel right. You know, you gotta keep. We gotta keep moving a little bit.

B (25:22)

Yeah, no, I work pretty much almost seven days a week. You know, sometimes I try. Some days I take off, some days I don't.

A (25:29)

But it's important if you start feeling it.

B (25:32)

Yeah. No, some days I. Some days I take Off I do a bunch of Chick Fil A's. So this is my second year with Chick Fil A.

A (25:39)

Nice. Congrats.

B (25:40)

Yeah. So yesterday we did some sand blasting last night and a new layout because they're changing like all their drive throughs, so.

A (25:51)

Well, let's, let's not pass over that little moment right there because it's not where I'm at. It's 9:30 in the morning. We. We're record. We started recording at 9. I asked you, I said, man, you look fresh. You look.

B (26:02)

Yeah.

A (26:02)

This morning you must have got some sleep. You're like, yeah, I did. I got home at like 4am Yeah, I got some sleep. I was like, all right, cool, Cool. I've never, I've never, to be honest with you, I've never striked through the night unless I was like hanging out with like Marc Estrada or, you know, some of the other stripers where they invite me out to like go out and stripe with them at night. I try to stripe early in the morning or late at night, but not like past like 10:00pm, you know, so I have never lived that life. I know there are a lot of line stripers that live that life and it's really unique. So I want to kind of ask you, like, you've had, like I said, you closed in on four years. Congratulations, by the way. You make, you make it past two, more than likely you're going to be all right. So you've had all this time, you've had all this experience. Now you also do crack sealing, you got. Do you do like seal coating and patching?

B (26:54)

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

A (26:56)

All right, so you got the full gamut. You did it backwards, by the way. Most people seal coat and then they start line striping and then they say, man, seal coat sucks. They get rid of it. I can't. Or I'm at. We have to do everything. A lot of the line striping we do is on our own projects. Yeah. So far out in Wisconsin. Right here in Nashville, that's a different story. So now that you've had a chance to do it all and you, you own the business part of it and whatnot, what do you love most? You think about what you do. Like your business. This industry, asphalt maintenance side. Some people, it's a different thing. Some people just like staying busy. They like the before and after, you know, that satisfies them. I'm a. I actually enjoy the customer experience. Like that's probably my favorite part of it. And some people, just to be honest with you, Some people love making the content, like Eli. Really? Eli loves, like, recording the videos and making the content and stuff, which he ain't now. Now he's wrestling, working on that D1 scholarship, son, right?

B (27:54)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

A (27:56)

He's, he's, he's. He's striped a little bit this summer. But he started school at the beginning of August, and he straight went into training for wrestling. So he's working on a D1 scholarship and winning state and stuff. So he's been taking a background a little bit. Now he's starting to record content when he's in the gym or wrestling, whatever. So he has a training, but he's ready to get back to work. I. I sent him a couple videos from Wisconsin when I was striping up there, and you could tell he was like, man, I wish. I wish I was there because he gets paid good, he works hard. I mean, there's good money, there's good opportunities for everybody in this industry. So. Yeah, that's what I love about it. What about you? What do you love most about what you've been doing?

B (28:34)

I mean, of course I love. I love. I mean, just.

A (28:39)

It's all right. You can say it.

B (28:41)

I mean, I love. I mean, the most important thing is just being able, like, to have that time with my family, to be there with my kids. Freedom, too. Yeah. You know, my freedom and, you know, making my own schedule and stuff like that. That's the most important thing. My family, you know.

A (28:56)

Yeah.

B (28:57)

So I'm really, like, big on, like, with my hanging out with my kids and taking them different places, just being able to do things for them, you know? Yeah. Another thing, too, is just, you know, making sure the customer is happy. Like, I get, like, a thrill of making customers happy.

A (29:13)

There's a little satisfaction comes with that.

B (29:15)

Yes. You know, I had, like, you know, in the little time that I've been in this industry, like, I. I sit back and think. I look at my customer, like, portfolio, and it's just like, I have a lot of repeat customers. Yeah. And I get a thrill out of just, you know, it's all right to

A (29:33)

have a little bit of pride, too.

B (29:34)

Yeah.

A (29:35)

I work with some big companies that are, like, iconic brands where we live and stuff. And I'm like, damn, dude. Like, we're working with Taco Bell.

B (29:43)

Yeah.

A (29:44)

Like, we work with Taco Bell, and my big one up home is cargo glass. And I'm just like, dude, I'm so proud of the work we do there. And then when they ask you to come back, it's like, they were telling you, man, you guys did great work without really telling you you did great work. Because they're like, these. These guys take care of their business, and it makes you feel proud about what you do. And I think that's not a bad thing to be proud of what you do and to have pride in what you do.

B (30:07)

Yeah, no, I love what I like. I love taking pride in initiative. Like, I just going over and beyond, you know? So that's what has helped me, you know, to where I'm at right now today. And I'm excited to see where I would be, you know, in five to ten years from now. Like, I'm excited.

A (30:27)

What do you think? What do you think when you look ahead? Like, what do you. Are you. Are you one of those guys that. This is what I am? Okay. And it's not really. My mentors. My business mentors would be like, this is one of your biggest flaws. But I'm a big, big dreamer. Like, I dream big, and then I don't really develop a plan on how to get there. I'm just like. I'm like, this is what I want to do. And they're like, all right, reverse engineer that. And I'm like, I don't know the steps to get there.

B (30:52)

Yeah.

A (30:52)

I'm so. I'm like this guy that just goes forward like this and hits his head and plows his way through. And then one of my really good friends is Cam Roberts. And Cam Roberts, the. You know, he does stripe it like his hot podcast.

B (31:05)

I know who he is. Yeah.

A (31:06)

He would not take a step without knowing what that step was and if it was leading him to where he wanted to go. He'll reverse engineer every single step. And I love when we work together, because I'll dream big and whatever, and he'll be like, whoa. And then he'll be like, we'll get off a call, and I think he's not going to message me or nothing. And then he'll start to, like, send me a message. I was thinking about what you're saying. If you do this next or we do this next or we do that next, we can make. You could get there. You can make it. So he'll start reverse engineering my dreams and stuff. Yeah, yeah. I'm really. I get excited about that. And I have a unique experience. Right. Because we. We have a booth at Paybacks this year, which is really exciting for me.

B (31:49)

I'll be there. In Louisiana.

A (31:52)

One of the biggest challenges in concrete work is control. Control over quality, control over Timing and control over cost. Cementech designs and delivers volumetric concrete mixers that are some of the most accurate and technologically advanced in the industry. Their equipment gives contractors real control over schedule, budget and concrete quality, allowing crews to mix exactly what they need when they need it, without the waste and limitations of traditional barrel mixers. I've been in the same industry circles as cement tech for years, and I've interviewed contractors who run their equipment every day. It works, it delivers. If you want to learn more or to find a dealer near you, head to cementtech.com so the show floor will be open and one day we're going to be doing a striper meetup at the booth. We're going to give away some striping stuff and give away some cash, which is really good for people because it's going to be Mardi Gras and I know they're going to be spending money on stuff they probably shouldn't be spending money on. So we'll help them out a little bit. And then the next day is the sealcoder meetup at the booth. So we're gonna be doing a couple things at the booth. I'm gonna be on Jacob Buck's panel and then we're doing a after party as well. So make sure you come to that because that'll be. It's a blast. It's on Wednesday night, so we don't interfere with anything Paybacks does. You know who the. The hosts of Paybacks and the people that run that show. I do really good to make sure we're swimming in the same stream, going really good together. And yeah, man, that's so my experience. What I love most is the off season because I'm in that unique position to be like who I am in the industry. And man, it feels so good when I like when I get to meet people who I spoke to over the summer at an event finally. And we're just like, man, how's it going?

B (33:38)

Good, good.

A (33:38)

I do. I'm so hype you're here. Like, I get pumped about that because I know that if they do it well, like you have, it can change their life and it can give them the things in life that they aspired to have. If they were working a regular job, they wouldn't be able to have. I know it's possible. I've seen it happen too many times. So I get excited when people get there because I remember when I first started going to some of those shows, I would get there and I'd be like, I just would dream I'd be like, whoa, I see an asphalt mill. I see a Lee Boy 1000 with a legend screed. I see that Dyna Pack CC 1200. And I was like, I would love to do to have all this stuff. Now my path went a different way. I'm probably never going to need or have all that stuff because I'm doing this. But what's funny is we were at World of Asphalt last time and Eli was there, and Eli was like, whoa, I want one of these pavers one day. Dad, how come we don't have my friend Matt? Stanley was raised on Blacktop. Shout out to Matt. Yeah, they had the X room sweeper there. He's like, I want one of those sweepers. Like, I want one just like that. And I was like, dude, you can have it. This industry, whatever you want to have as much or as little as you want, you just gotta work and thank. Thankfully, our industry, like you experience with Chris Welsh, thankfully, in our industry, we're full of people who are willing to help other people achieve because they were in a spot when it was tough too, you know, like, man, I don't want anybody in my industry to suffer. And we have to do a good job of representing our industry well in a way that makes people who are young want to work in this industry, like we have to. Otherwise we're going to, we're going to run out of good workers and good people in this industry. We, you know, you hear about it quite a bit already and it's like, then we need to be showing them like, this is a good industry to be in. So, you know, people like yourself on TikTok, who's showing, hey, man, you can do satisfying work. We work all the time. People can make a good living doing this. People like myself, Daniel Wright at Proline, proline, plm. You follow their, like their Tik Tok, their Instagram, they always show like, hey, we're hiring new people. We're looking for new people. We're hiring more people. And you see like they're doing huge, satisfying parking lots where they're out spraying.

B (35:45)

They.

A (35:46)

Yeah, they're spraying Sealcoat and then line striping it. And they listen, Daniel's a friend of mine, they got a ditch runner. So I know they have a spray bar back there. If they wanted to, they could.

B (35:55)

Yeah, yeah.

A (35:56)

He's got these guys out there with the spray wand still, man, on these.

B (35:59)

Yeah.

A (36:00)

J.J. or whoever's out there, I'm like, man, run that ditch runner for these guys. Yeah, we're faster we're faster with the spray one.

B (36:07)

But I actually. I actually brought a. Not to cut you off. I have a DA350.

A (36:13)

Oh, really? Dang.

B (36:14)

Right on Squeegee.

A (36:15)

Yeah.

B (36:15)

Yeah.

A (36:15)

I got my spray bar on the back. Or just.

B (36:18)

I don't have the one with the spray bar. I just got the squeegees, but I used one before.

A (36:23)

We used the Seal Master 300.

B (36:26)

Yeah.

A (36:26)

And it had the spray bar on the back. Well, we did a hospital. That should have took me, like, eight days and, like, two days with that thing. My dad had that in high. We're just going. Just giving it. He actually. He actually sprayed the curb, and we had to clean it because he just was going wide open like a nutcase, man. But yeah, dude, that's good.

B (36:45)

I'm excited to use that thing.

A (36:47)

Yeah. Oh, you ain't got to use it yet.

B (36:48)

I haven't used it. I landed my first job. It's a government job, and the government shut down. Was. It's back up now, but.

A (36:56)

Yeah.

B (36:58)

Yeah, mostly. But I had to wait. I'm still having to wait. I should be ready to go in a couple of weeks.

A (37:04)

That's fun. Yeah, it's gonna be exciting. I can't wait. That's gonna be some sweet videos on that thing.

B (37:08)

Yeah.

A (37:08)

So what would you say then? What would you say to people who are in a position that you were four years ago and they're studying and getting into the industry? What would be a piece of advice you would say to them?

B (37:21)

Well, the first thing I would say, man, is just get as much knowledge as you can, you know, do some research before you get into it. And just whenever you do it, man, just go hard at it, man. Like most people. Yeah. Whenever you just. Just be a student of the game. Always be a student of the game. Whenever it comes to being in this industry, you know, like, all those people you were naming, you know, I've seen, you know, they all give knowledge, you know, like, and just take something from one of those guys and just continue to just build and put your foot. Keep every. Just take a step forward every single day. Just keep going. You know, you. You never know. Like, it. On average, it takes five years for a business to actually really flourish. So, like, if you're willing to go through the process of the ups and downs, the, you know, sacrifice. The sacrifice. The long days, the long nights when you. When you feel like you're tired, like, you just. Like when you. Because in this industry, you're gonna have so many thoughts. You got to Go through so many emotions, you know, like, and sometimes it

A (38:27)

breaks down, bro, your truck breaks down one time, you immediately are like, I'm going to work at Sam's club. I ain't doing this. I'm done. Yeah. On your way to a huge job where you can only get there and do it that day.

B (38:38)

Yes.

A (38:38)

That truck breaks down, you're like, this ain't worth it. I'm out. But it's just a, it's a ridiculous thought that we got to realize. The problem is, is we've never had that type of stress and anxiety before. So it hits you and you're like, I can't do it. But man, everybody, everybody after five years has a story like that.

B (38:53)

Yeah. So just, just keep going, man. And like, right when you, you about to give up, man, you might be just about to just hit it. Like, you know, you about to hit that peak where you land a big customer and. Or, you know, like, just keep going. That's.

A (39:06)

Yeah, I've never, I've never met anybody, Hurley, who kept going, like, really, really kept going to where, like that was it. And didn't make it. Like, I just, I can't. I can't.

B (39:20)

I. Yeah.

A (39:21)

I never met anybody who didn't do all the research and didn't make it.

B (39:26)

Yeah.

A (39:27)

Like, I.

B (39:27)

You.

A (39:28)

If you are honestly, truthfully, and I don't know whether or not they're honest or not with themselves on whether they really did absolutely everything they could.

B (39:35)

Yeah.

A (39:35)

Succeed. I can kind of observe, like I could ask a few questions and then it gets uncomfortable because then they realize they didn't actually do everything they could have done. But if I find somebody who, who did, most of the time they're running a quote unquote successful asphalt business. So I, I think that's a really good piece of advice. Like. Yeah, you just gotta keep going forward.

B (39:55)

Yeah, yeah, no, for sure. Like, and, you know, another day I just try to make sure, like the way I'm structuring my company, I want to be a one stop shop, you know, so that kind of gives you an advantage, you know, whenever it comes to being in this industry. If you're a guy that's just doing line striping, I mean, you also, most of the time you're just going to get subcontracted out or you know, you know, but if you're doing, if you're providing a product to a customer and like you got everything and you backing it up on what you're saying and you just keep doing it and keep doing it, yeah. Eventually you're going to put yourself in a, in a category where you're just gonna be like, hey, that guy right there does everything. Yeah, whatever I need, I'm gonna call him. So I'm getting to that point now where a lot of people are starting to trust me with different things, you know, throughout their parking lot, you know, And I know it's gonna be, it's a process, you know.

A (40:51)

Yeah, well, that relationship building, right? I mean, yes, you might be striping the lines and then get a conversation, be like, do you want me to fill the cracks here? And they're like, oh, you fill cracks? Yeah, we do everything. And then when they're in a meeting with like their superiors and they're like, hey, we need these spots patched or like that side paved. They'll be like, who do I know? I only know, like, I know this guy. I should ask him if they do patching or paving and then they'll call you. And that's your moment. Early on, I said, no, we don't do that. But later on once I, I met some mentors and they're like, Marvin, you don't actually have to do it to be able to provide it. If you're serious about the pavement industry, you need to be at Pavex. The pavement experience is coming to New Orleans this February, bringing together contractors, manufacturers and leaders from across the industry. This isn't just another trade show. It's about education, connection, and seeing what's next for the payment industry. We're proud to be partnering with Payback and be part of the experience. You can Register now@pavexshow.com. we have a, we used to have a group called the Blacktop Banner Success Group. We, we kept that group and we've added to it. It used to be cost to get in. Now we don't. But we meet once a month at least. But we talk in a chat group all the time. We all help each other out all the time. I usually like extend an invite to people to join that group. And before I would be like, hey, you can join for X amount of dollars each month. And it was, it wasn't a good vetting process for me. I want to control the culture in there. And we're, we're doing a call on Wednesday and Nick Yass, who I attended his class at Paybacks last year on subcontracting and you know, for me, not getting subcontracted but subcontracting, it was full of great advice. So this Wednesday, Nick's going to join Us on this call where people who, like, have that thing where they're like, hey, you know, I do striping and crack filling. I don't do paving, but these people are asking paving, and I'm just giving it away.

B (42:56)

Yeah.

A (42:57)

Nick's gonna come in and be like, okay, this is how you can still make money in. Be the one stop, shop and subcontract. And this is how you do it. Well, to protect yourself and make the margin you want to. He helped me out, get my first job here in Nashville, and I subcontracted to all star, seal and stripe. Matt Massey in them.

B (43:13)

Yeah.

A (43:14)

And I was happy. Matt was happy, the client was happy.

B (43:18)

Yeah.

A (43:19)

And now they're like, marvin can do anything. You know what I mean? So it's a. It's a really good piece of advice, I think. I think you just gotta. I'll be. I'll say this, and I think you might agree your. Your attitude is going to determine a lot of your outcome.

B (43:35)

Yeah.

A (43:35)

100. It's hard. It's hard to get into this tough making money, doing whatever. If your attitude is like, man, I see all types of people all over the place making money. Go ahead and figure out how to do this, because I know there's a way and I'm excited about doing this.

B (43:48)

Yeah, it changes.

A (43:50)

It changes your outcome. It really does. So I cut you off. You apologize for cutting me off, but I cut you off earlier. Where do you see yourself in five years? What's it look like?

B (43:59)

Man, this can be. It's going to be a great life.

A (44:05)

Yeah.

B (44:06)

Like me, I'm a type of person. I don't like to say it's going to be a great year, it's going to be a great life, because I look future, you know, but can I

A (44:15)

ask you a private question? How old is your oldest child?

B (44:18)

She's eight.

A (44:19)

Okay, so you're gonna have a. You have a teenager in five years, bro.

B (44:22)

Yeah.

A (44:23)

Yeah.

B (44:23)

And they already expensive.

A (44:26)

Oh, yeah. If it's a girl, for sure.

B (44:28)

I got two girls. I have two girls.

A (44:30)

Yeah, I do, too. They're expensive, man. The boys, I can get by with cheap. Eli makes his own money now, so I ain't even worried about the girls. They just ask. I'm like, yes, yes, yes. And it feels really good to be able to do that for them because I feel like, here's the thing, when it comes to kids, like, for the boys, my role is to teach them how to be the type of man that takes responsibility and earns his own way and how to do it and provide for his family. Now with the girls, I feel like it's my responsibility to show them how their. The man that comes into their life should treat them.

B (45:05)

Yes.

A (45:06)

You know what I'm saying? So they get both in. The boys. Both sets of boys would be like, this is not fair. And I'm like, no, it is not.

B (45:13)

Yeah.

A (45:13)

And it ain't gonna change. They get whatever. You all are gonna have to work.

B (45:17)

Yeah. No, I wish I had. Well, my dad was a carpenter, you know, but my dad was really good at what he did, you know, And I would try to mess around his tools and, you know, saws and all that stuff. He's just like, man, go. You know, like, focused on basketball, you know? And I don't know, maybe he. He kind of regrets it now because he didn't, like, when I was a kid, you know, he didn't take out the time of, like, hey, this is what you do.

A (45:45)

Yeah.

B (45:46)

You're a carpenter. I don't know nothing about carpenter work, but I've been messing up, dibbling, dabbling, doing stuff around the house. Fix her up and stuff like that. And I'm learning my dad didn't do that with me. And, you know, when I saw. I. I saw your son, like, I saw one of your videos, like, a while back, but he was pushing the. The Titan 3500. You know, I'm searching Titan 3500, and I see a kid pushing.

A (46:08)

Yeah.

B (46:08)

I'm like, and it was seven years old, bro.

A (46:11)

Yeah, little.

B (46:13)

He was little. You know, he was. Now he's bigger. I've, you know, seen videos of him. But see, that's the thing.

A (46:19)

Now he knows how to stripe, Hurley. So now. Now I tell him, focus on wrestling. Like, yeah, you. You know, this trade. We can go back to it. But also, I feel like I worked and did everything that I did, and I wasn't really able to chase my dream. Thankfully, I kind of fell into what my dream is, and I didn't really know what it was, but he has a big dream. I'm like, all right, I want. So I get your dad's angle of, like, I want you to be able to achieve some. I at least want you to take the opportunity that I've provided to achieve something great.

B (46:53)

Right.

A (46:54)

But I also had Eli with me early on and was just teaching him attention to detail, how to strike, how to seal coke, so he knows a trade. I'm like, okay, now go try to achieve some great stuff. If you get a chance to sit down with him, and he tells you what his dreams are. At first, if you didn't know him, you'd be like, okay, whatever, kid.

B (47:16)

Yeah.

A (47:16)

But once you get to know him and you see what his regimen is and how he trains, he tells you he wants to do, he'll say, I want to win a gold medal for Team usa. I want to be UFC champion. And I, Yeah, I believe him.

B (47:31)

Yeah.

A (47:32)

Like, if I didn't believe him, I don't. I don't invest my money stupidly, and I invest a lot of money in him. And it's not just because I, you know, because I love him or. Or because I'm just, like, hoping, like, I believe that he probably could do this. Yeah. Maybe that's because of the way I brought him up, but it's. It's a really cool thing, and that's what gets me excited when I was asking you, like, how your oldest is and whatnot, because they're gonna start dreaming. And as a father, your father, I'm a father. It's a really good feeling to know that we can help them possibly achieve some greatness. Yeah, it's. It's a cool thing. Now, Eli will tell you that I've already done that. He's like, oh, my dad's. My dad's already great. He's done these cool things and did all this stuff. Yeah. But for me, I'm like, well, I still got. I still got an uphill climb here. There's still.

B (48:18)

Yeah.

A (48:18)

Place I want to get. But, yeah, it's. It's a really cool, cool thing. All right, I'll cut you off again. Which I asked you how old your oldest one was in that five years, and you're like, I'm gonna have a great life. So what do you see? Sometimes this industry gives us more than a paycheck. It gives us the chance to give back. Dream On 3 creates custom sports dreams for children living with love, life altering medical conditions, moments to give families hope, joy, and memories that last a lifetime. This isn't about attention or headlines. It's about showing up for kids and families during some of the hardest moments of their lives. We believe in the mission of Dream on 3, and we're proud to support and help raise awareness for the work they're doing. To learn more, visit dreamon3.org and follow them on Instagram @dream on 3. Underscore on underscore 3.

B (49:09)

I mean, of course I'm going to get into the paving industry. That's the next step, you know, so big money I watch those guys raised on blacktop all the time. Arrogant pavement. And the owner, that, he's just. Man, he has an aura to him. So he just. Like, I'm always watching the videos, but I definitely want to get into paving. That's my next goal. I'm already looking for, like, a little Leeboard 1000. I've been searching. Yeah, I've been searching, you know, something to start off like that, to get my feet wet. And, you know, that's why I'm going to paybacks, just to kind of soak up a lot of knowledge and, you know, and like I said, it goes back to just being a student of the game, you know? Like, I. As I've been in this industry, I'm starting to notice a lot of things, you know, So I want to kind of invest in myself to. To grow, because, like, the only way I'm going to be able to. It's like playing. It's like planting a seed. The only way I'm going to be able to grow into what I want to be if I'm planting that seed, to be able to. Because I feel like I'm not going to grow into that until I do what I need to do to take that next step. So my goal is to be into, like, paving and doing pretty much everything. Just like everything, you know, make sure you do.

A (50:27)

Make sure you do what you've been doing. And when you get to paybacks, you know, like I said, we're gonna have a party. I say party, but it's not like we get crazy most of the time. We hang out, have some drinks, eat some food, talk to each other and network, and you can develop some really good relationships. Yeah. And those relationships are pretty much what have allowed me to achieve what I want to achieve. Because if you want to get into paving, you shake hands and exchange cars and become friends with the people who have done it.

B (50:53)

Absolutely.

A (50:53)

And they're like, okay, I'll show you how I did it. And due to you, next thing you know, you're putting a bunch of money towards something, and you're like, man, that was a lot of money I put towards this. But the confidence level you have is, like, working with the safety net. Because you're like, dude, they did it. And they're. I can do it if they did it. And if I run into any trouble, like, I'll run into striping trouble and stuff still. Because I'm not the great world's greatest. But in the moment, I. I know I can text Cam. I know I Can text Charles Baker. Charles Baker will give me some. But he'll tell me it at least, right?

B (51:26)

Yeah.

A (51:26)

Or, you know, or Mark. I'll call Mark once in a while and ask for help on this. That Mark's helping out with paint selection and stuff a lot of times. And you just humble yourself a little bit, become friends with the greats. Next thing you know, you're sitting at the table with the greats. You're being invited to go here, invited to go there. And then pretty soon, somebody's gonna hit you up on a. On a tick tock comment. They're gonna be like, hey, Hurley, I commented a while back and you didn't. You didn't respond to me when I was asking you, hey, how you got into this business? And you're gonna be like, oh, sorry, man, we're so busy that, you know, it's hard. It's hard. It's hard to keep up with everything, but it's a good thing. So, my guy, I. I think it's a great thing. I love following your journey and what you all are doing. I'm really excited for you to be at Pavex. If people wanted to follow along with everything you have going on, where can they find y'? All?

B (52:15)

Well, they can find us on, of course, me on TikTok, Hurley the Striper, at Hurley the Scraper, and they can find us at PM Stripe. That's our website. We're also on Facebook, too. The company name is Primark Asphalt Maintenance and Striping Services. It's a little long name, but I did it on purpose.

A (52:35)

Yeah, for SEO purposes.

B (52:38)

Yeah, SEO purposes. So I. I understand all that stuff, you know, so, you know, that's where they can find us at, you know,

A (52:46)

And I was, well, I'm gonna make sure that we put it in the notes and stuff where people can find you. I. I'll tell you a little inside joke real quick. I always told people that if I started another business, which I have started another asphalt business, I was going to name it the greatest asphalt maintenance company and striping company in the world, llc. That way people, when they say, who'd you hire, man? I hired the greatest asphalt company in the world. You know what I mean? Oh, really? What's their name? The greatest asphalt company in the world. You know what I mean? For me, I was like, man, that'd be just genius. And then you put on the shirt, right? Says, the greatest asphalt company in the world. Yeah, I've. We'll see if that ever happens, but.

B (53:25)

We'll see.

A (53:25)

But Man, Well, I'm really excited to get to hang with you. Thanks so much for joining us today, man, and for everything you put out on social. A lot of people don't realize that just by showing their work, they're helping the future generations stay interested in our industry and learn some things and get curious about industry. And I think that's key if we're all going to survive and keep going. Obviously it worked for you when you was looking up what the heck you wanted to do. Cool, man. Well, I really appreciate it, as I said. And we'll probably, I mean, we'll see In New Orleans.

B (53:54)

Yeah. 100.

A (53:55)

All right, first one's, first one's on me.

B (53:57)

All right, all right. All right.

A (53:59)

Sounds good. Hey, everybody, thanks so much for joining us today. It was really exciting. And thanks to Hurley as well for joining us. You can find us on social media@inthemix MJ and that's on YouTube, Instagram, tick tock. Of course, I think we're on going on X now. I don't say Twitter anymore. I say X transition. And of course, if you look up my name on LinkedIn or Facebook, you can find us there. Marvin Joel's LinkedIn's been going crazy. Yeah, Tick Tock's been going crazy. We got a lot of stuff. So as always, if you're curious about working or partnering with us, whether you would love for us to consult with you if you're an asphalt company or you're an asphalt manufacturer or something supplier, we would love to do that. And you can find out all information in that regards. Where to listen to the podcast, where to find us on social@inthemixmj.com Hurley, my friend.

B (54:50)

Yes, sir.

A (54:51)

Thank you so much for joining us.

B (54:52)

Yes, sir. Appreciate you.

A (54:54)

All right, everybody, as always, ask for all this opportunity. Hurley proved it.

B (55:01)

Thanks for hanging out with us on in the Mix.

A (55:04)

For more on the world of blacktop,

B (55:07)

head over to marvinjols.com and don't forget to follow Marvin on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for extra content, behind the scenes looks and industry insights. Be sure to follow the podcast so

A (55:20)

you never miss an episode.

B (55:22)

And if you got value from today's

A (55:24)

show, leave us a well worded five star review. It really helps more asphalt pros find us. Catch you next time on in the Mix.