Ep 322. 38 Special Productions: The Media Company Behind PodHouse!

Summary

Side Hustle Squad Podcast: Ep 322

"38 Special Productions: The Media Company Behind PodHouse!"

Host: Mike Garvey
Date: April 2, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Mike Garvey sits down with Eric (aka "Pond Digger") and Jason Triplet to unpack the origin story of 38 Special Productions, the powerhouse media company behind PodHouse. What began as two drastically different personalities—Type 8 (Challenger) and Type 3 (Achiever) from opposite corners of the country—casually crossing paths at industry events, quickly evolved into a partnership blending entrepreneurial drive with creative chaos. The discussion digs into personality types, behind-the-scenes media company formation, branding nuances, and lessons learned in collaborative growth—all with candid banter and the signature Side Hustle Squad energy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Serendipitous Origin of 38 Special Productions

• Accidental Collaboration:

  • Eric, a California pond builder and trainer, and Mike Garvey, a New Jersey state trooper and side hustle podcaster, met at industry events (LCR Summit, Equip) and bonded over shared media ambitions ([00:52–04:12]).
  • Their connection solidified during deep discussions about the Enneagram personality framework.

• Personality Dynamics:

  • Eric identifies as a Type 8 "Challenger"—driven, direct, protective.
  • Garvey is a Type 3 "Achiever"—strategic, polished, performance-oriented ([11:50–13:00]).
  • The blend of a Challenger and an Achiever led to "a dangerous amount of forward movement"—both dynamic and, for some, intimidating ([12:00]).

"When you combine an achiever and a challenger, you get a dangerous amount of forward movement."
— Eric (Pond Digger) [12:00]

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2. Enneagram Epiphanies and Team Chemistry

• The Test That Changed Everything:
  • Garvey took the Enneagram test at Eric’s urging, revealing his Type 3 results—surprising both men, as Eric historically struggled working with "3s" ([05:31–07:58]).
  • This personality revelation kicked off meaningful introspection around compatibility and business roles.
  • Jason Triplet recalls learning his wife was a Type 9 and observing team dynamics in a whole new light.

"You have that favorite person you want to be around, maybe even aspire to be. There's part of that, too."
— Jason Triplet [32:00]

• Learning from (and about) Each Other:
  • Both reflected on prior work partnerships, identifying how clashing or complimentary types affected leadership and growth.
  • Eric explains the value—and sometimes the necessity—of "judging a book by its cover" for safety, leadership, and team building ([09:22]).

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3. Branding and Identity: The "38 Special" Name

• Homage to Personality & Leo (Law Enforcement Officer) Culture:
  • The company name merges their Enneagram types (3 + 8) and nods to law enforcement with a "38 Special" firearm symbolism ([15:17–16:45, 36:55]).
  • The branding is intentionally authoritative and professional, drawing attention, fostering trust, and standing out at industry events ([16:55–18:25]).

"The branding's like, on point, and I'm not just blowing smoke up your ass. That's professional, that's responsive, that's got a really clean look to it."
— Jason Triplet [17:25]

• Roots in Collaboration:
  • The name was hatched organically after a marathon week at industry events, solidifying over brainstorming sessions in Airbnbs and informal post-event gatherings ([29:37–30:59]).

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4. Why the Partnership Works

• Mutual Respect and Admiration:

  • Jason admires Eric’s teaching ability, style, and energy; he sees Eric as the older brother he never had ([32:00–34:27]).
  • Eric values Jason’s ambition and clarity in executing new ventures with speed and little friction ([34:27–34:49]).

• Power in Opposites:

  • Their different styles are a source of strength, bringing a unique blend of action and analysis to 38 Special ([36:01–36:53]).
  • Jason notices a pattern: he’s consistently drawn to Type 8s, especially in high-stakes or creative partnerships ([35:29]).

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5. Media Company Mission & PodHouse Philosophy

• Mission Statement:
  • 38 Special Productions exists to serve as a content engine, specifically for PodHouse, but designed to scale for broader creative and industry objectives ([40:30–41:45, 42:35–43:34]).
  • Its focus is on documentary-style content, brand and creator partnerships, and post-event debriefs that capture honest, chaotic, and insightful industry moments.

"It's not just podcasting. It's more of content, chaos, creation—all wrapped up in one."
— Eric (Pond Digger) [36:55]

• PodHouse Magic:
  • PodHouse is a relaxed retreat from the hustle of live shows—no distractions, no fanfare, just deep dives with plenty of unscripted moments.
  • The informal, content-rich atmosphere is fertile ground for authentic conversations and creative breakthroughs ([41:45–42:11]).

"PodHouse gives us that space...deeper connection with brands, deeper connection with content creators, deeper connection with content altogether. Documentary, the journey, and building our media."
— Eric (Pond Digger) [43:33]

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6. Lessons, Challenges, and Looking Ahead

• Learning by Doing:

  • First-year PodHouse events were more chaotic fun than serious content, but the team learned how to market, pitch, and build major buzz with brands by "taking over booths" ([37:59–39:05]).
  • The importance of personal branding—distinctive apparel, vibe, and coordinated presence—was reaffirmed as a powerful differentiator at industry expos ([44:23–45:21]).

• Ambition and Growth:

  • Up to 16 events are planned, with wider goals to expand PodHouse-type content, live streams, and larger-scale projects ([40:43–41:01]).
  • Strategic thinking around trademarks, scaling, and organizational structure is underway, with awareness of both tax and legal needs ([46:02–46:23]).

"When you connect with the achiever and overachiever—number three—right? That's what happens."
— Eric (Pond Digger) [46:16]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• "When you combine an achiever and a challenger, you get a dangerous amount of forward movement."
  — Eric (Pond Digger) [12:00]

• "You have that favorite person you want to be around...maybe even aspire to be. There's part of that."
  — Jason Triplet [32:00]

• "The branding's on point...that's professional, that's responsive, that's got a really clean look to it."
  — Jason Triplet [17:25]

• "It's not just podcasting. It's more of content, chaos, creation—all wrapped up in one."
  — Eric (Pond Digger) [36:55]

• "PodHouse gives us that space...deeper connection with brands, deeper connection with content creators, deeper connection with content altogether."
  — Eric (Pond Digger) [43:33]

• "When you connect with the achiever and overachiever—number three—right? That's what happens."
  — Eric (Pond Digger) [46:16]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Personality Types & Enneagram Discussion: [03:00–08:39]
• 38 Special Productions: Naming & Law Enforcement Branding: [15:17–18:27]
• Formation of PodHouse & Chemistry Between Partners: [29:37–35:27]
• Mission & Philosophy of 38 Special / PodHouse: [40:30–43:33]
• Lessons Learned & Forward Vision: [37:59–41:01]
• Final Reflections & Partnership Dynamics: [43:33–46:30]

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Conclusion

This episode provides a front-row seat to the convergence of personality, vision, and hustle that birthed 38 Special Productions and PodHouse. With humor, honesty, and insight, Eric (Pond Digger), Jason Triplet, and Mike Garvey reveal the heart and hustle behind building a next-gen media company for the green industry—and beyond. For side hustlers, podcasters, and entrepreneurial collaborators, the lessons in branding, partnering, and executing are invaluable.

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For more Side Hustle Squad content and to connect with Mike Garvey, check out the links in the show notes.

Transcript

[Mike Garvey]

Are you ready to kick back and get inspired? Grab your favorite drink, pop the top and join the side Hustle Squad with Mike Garvey. This podcast is the perfect resource for anyone who's already started their side hustle or is just considering taking the lead. With in depth interviews featuring guests from the green industry and beyond, you'll gain valuable insights and learn what it takes to succeed in running a business while juggling a full time career. From personal stories to practical tips, the Soc side Hustle Squad podcast has everything you need to turn your passion into a thriving business. Now, here's your side Hustle Squad host, Mike Garvey.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Today is more of an episode about how two completely different personality types. A type 8 challenger, me and my dear friend Mike Garvey, a type 3 achiever, accidentally started building a media company together. Total accident media company. Like, listen to this. Listen, listen, listen, listen. Mike Garvey, a New York Jersey state trooper, security detail for the fucking governor. You know what I mean? Like, this is serious shit security detail. And here I am on the other side of the country digging Ponds. Entrepreneur training guys how to be the best version of themselves. Building Ponds, California. Two completely different worlds. But when we started breaking down the Enneagram and what we want to do together and how our two visions align, we realized something really weird. I didn't even realize this. This actually came from Garvey and. And you're going to get a chance to hear from this more specifically. But I was speaking at LCR Summit and I, I went really deep on any Enneagram personality types and the whole room was mesmerized by was. It was actually a really special conference for me. And in a nutshell, if I just tell you I had a slide presentation and it somehow failed and they didn't have it for me. So I had to like roll without a slide presentation and talk to, you know, 50, 60 contractors with no cues, no prompts. I just went hard on it. But it was really powerful. And because of that, I didn't have the cues correctly. I was like in a silence mode a little bit more and I was like a little bit more thoughtful, a little slower cadence and it hit it a little whole lot different. But when I went into the personality types, you know, a lot of people in the room came up to me at the end of the conference said, I want that test. I want to figure out who I am. I want to know more about myself so I can be a better version of myself. And Garvey was one of those guys. And we Determined. He was a type 3, which I'll just be straight up. Like, threes are almost the worst for me. They're, like, almost the hardest person for me to. To jive with. But he ended up as type three. I'm a type eight, and you know, Garvey and his big juicy butt. Like, somehow him and I, like, hit it off, and we're, like, really cool, everything together. But he's a three, and I am an eight. And together, somehow he came up with it. Scissors. No, not scissors. What? This is my brother old conversation. Somehow, somehow, together.38 special. Okay, so today we're going to unpack what that actually means. And, yeah, let's kick it off. Let's kick it off with Garvey, and let's. Let's. Because I think it was a real eye opener for him to figure out what. What his three personality even meant, because I knew what the eight meant to me, and like, that unfolded. So let's. Let's take it off, Garvey.

[Jason Triplet]

So you made me take this test of equip, and I knew about this.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

It was LCR Summit, by the way.

[Jason Triplet]

At the LCR Summit. I took this test years ago together in the trades. I found out my wife was a 9, and I guess I was a 3. But I didn't really pay much attention to what it was. So I knew what the enneagram was a little bit. Didn't learned about it. Someone presented on it, but never it came back up when we were at equip and LCR Summit. LCR summit. Sorry.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah, there's. They're synonymous between us. Like, it's like they go together.

[Jason Triplet]

Right. I mean, we were together for a week. A week. So, you know, all meals, everything. And was like, take this test. Take this test. And I didn't take it until. Oh, man. I think, like, the Thursday night or something like that. And you're like, all right, what are you? What are you? And I'm like, I'm a three. And you're like, oh, God, the worst. The worst. But you're like, wait, hold on. And then you're like, I think you're. You're a different type of three. I'm like, yeah, that's good, right?

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Well, you know, I'm being like, I'm an eight. I'm driven. I want to achieve. I pressure leadership. Like, I'm. I'm a grinder. But let's face it, there's guys on skid row that are eight. You know, they're in the gutter.

[Jason Triplet]

Yeah.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

And they're you know, they have their vices and addictions and whatever. Like, there's eights that are suicidal. I'm not. You know, like, that was a real eye opener for me, like you being a three, because I didn't, I, I, I recognize threes because I, because I'm so, I, I could be so triggered. And I can see through a three really easy. But I didn't, I didn't get that vibe from you. So it's like, oh, okay, cool. Well, maybe he's a three. That I don't realize yet. So that, that was a real eye opener for me.

[Jason Triplet]

Are there a lot of threes that you don't realize?

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Oh, probably. But the, the crew chiefs in my past, in, in my career that I hired as crew chiefs that were the most problematic for me over my career

[Jason Triplet]

were threes or threes.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

And in hindsight, I can see that now, but in the beginning I didn't. And so like, I was just like, oh, three. You know, like bane for me, you know, and, but you know, it's interesting because I love Ed Mylett, I love Tony Robbins. And they're threes. They have a three personality type. I'm like, these are high, high level three personality types that, you know, want to want the most out of life. High level achievers. And when you tested as a three, I was like, wow, I didn't see that coming because I didn't get that one up kind of personality. And I didn't get, I didn't get any weird, you know, like, trigger vibes. Like, threes have a tendency to over exaggerate. To me as an eight, I'm like, oh, you're lying to me. You know what I mean? But like two or three is like, oh, I just stretched it through the little bit.

[Jason Triplet]

No big deal, right?

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah, I got a 24 inch fish. Was actually only 18 inches. I just stretched a little bit, you know, like. So that, that's kind of like, for me, I didn't get any vibes from you like that. So I was like, okay, cool. He could be just like a high level three, like a Robbins or a Mylet that I then I don't know that, that well yet. So. Yeah, that was cool.

[Jason Triplet]

No, and like, I remember we were at dinner, like at the end of the week, I'm shot out. It's like the whole thing of like, you know, pod row, speaking engagements, sitting in class at LCR summit. Like, it's a long, it's a long, grueling week.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah.

[Jason Triplet]

And then we're Sitting at dinner. Like, I'm gonna tell you. Like, I'm a. Hey, I'll take this. Let me take this. Let me concentrate. Took it. I'm a three. You're like, oh, God. And I'm like, wait, what? What's wrong with me? Yeah.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah.

[Jason Triplet]

You know,

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

so there's threes. That's me trying to figure you out. So, like, I do. I do judge booker by cover. I'm not gonna. I don't care. You can be mad at me if you want. Don't judge a book by the COVID Like, I kind of do. Like, I evaluate the group, I evaluate a room. I make some assumptions, I make some predictions, I make some speculations, and I move on them and move around it. Right? And so. And. And I. I don't. I. I'm not. I'm not totally upset by that. Like, you know, I. I would push back on. Don't judge a book by cover.

[Jason Triplet]

Oh, absolutely.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

You know, I mean, because if it's 100 degrees outside and you're in the store shopping and some guy walks in with a hoodie, like, you should judge the book by the COVID Like, this is. This doesn't matter. You know, Like. Like we're. We're being protective. And, like, that's. A Challenger is very protective. So, you know. Jesus Christ. Put this on mute. Take your headphones off.

[Jason Triplet]

That's what he's adding to the jt. It's okay. You're fine. No, you can keep it on. You keep it. Put it back on. We want to hear from you.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

Yeah.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Mute.

[Jason Triplet]

This way. No, he's okay.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

He's ok. Never, bro. I'm sorry.

[Jason Triplet]

She's got a little tickle.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Are you done? I haven't said drink. Yeah. You've been parents three times in the podcast. You haven't said a word.

[Jason Triplet]

I keep watching. Eric.

[Mike Garvey]

Look over it.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Jesus. Muted.

[Jason Triplet]

I don't.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

Oh, so he doesn't have me muted.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Okay.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

Hey, this is your fault, bro.

[Jason Triplet]

This is excellence in broadcasting right here.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

I literally said, I'll go do this. You hand listen in. I can't help it, dude. I'm sorry. We're on a plane filled with nasty, sick people, dude.

[Jason Triplet]

Okay, little capsule.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Are you done? Thanks.

[Jason Triplet]

Jeez. I love you with the triplet brothers.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Okay, here we are. So. Okay, so here's the origin. I mean, if you don't know the challenger, like, the eight is a challenger, three is an achiever. So here's the weird origin story. So two guys, opposite sides of the world, opposites of the country, building something you know, you got a pond guy, you got a New Jersey state trooper, both podcasters, side hustle guys, content junkies. And somehow we start building this media company together.

[Jason Triplet]

And it's funny because we only met a year ago. Yeah, well, year and a half.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah, but you hit me up less than. You know, like, probably we'd only know each other for less than a year. Like, probably right? At a year. And you're like, let's start pot house. Let's do an llc. Let's get a website. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second, Mr. Achiever, I'm gonna challenge you.

[Jason Triplet]

You know, I want two LLCs. One in one in LA. Yeah, so one in New York.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

So let's describe this. An enneagram type 8 is a challenger. So aggressive, protective. A builder does not like being controlled. Don't tell me what to do off. I'll lose my. I like to create movements. Like, that's kind of like the. That's my aura. Right? Then you got the three, the achievers. Strategic, polished, highly performance driven. Wants results, knows how to win publicly. Like, really thoughtful about this. Right? That's. That's the high level three personality type. And that's. That's Garvey to the T. Right? That's me. I think to the T. Call it a flex or whatever you want. That's how I think. And whether I'm winning at all corners of my life. Yes, no, maybe, whatever. But that's the way I think. So when you combine an achiever and a challenger, you get a dangerous amount of forward movement. Like, it can be scary to some personality types. Like your partner, for example. He's like, wait, what the are you guys doing? You're in the bankrupt us,

[Jason Triplet]

right?

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

I'm like, shut up. What are you doing?

[Jason Triplet]

Like, yeah, he's the one.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah.

[Jason Triplet]

Yeah, right? Yeah.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

So he's. He's extremely analytical, cautious. Yeah, like, he's like, what the perfectionist

[Jason Triplet]

needs to tell you when he thinks that you're doing wrong. Yeah, right.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Anger. Anger.

[Jason Triplet]

Triad perfectionist. And he goes like, bro, what are we doing with all of this pot house? And then you started roped also. You started robotic outdoor power equipment. So we're a dealer now for cress. He's like, all within a year. You crazy. What do you. You're gonna bankroll. You're gonna bankrupt our main business, which is the lawn landscape business.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

We're not getting any younger. Let's go.

[Jason Triplet]

You're right. Let's go.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Okay, so let's. Let's talk.

[Jason Triplet]

But he goes, I love how your brain works. Yeah, but he has to tell me his concerns.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

I love how he cleans the kitchen and makes food.

[Jason Triplet]

Oh, it's amazing. Yeah, right?

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

He's a chef. Like, the chef and the pothouse one. He was unbelievable. Oh, but did I say we're shooting from Pot House Studios? Number two. Number two, San Antonio, Texas, in the house. What's up?

[Jason Triplet]

What's going on with. With Jason Triplet Coffer. Triplet, Jason.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

Hey, I'm minding my own motherfucking business. That's what I'm doing.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

So when we Talked about the 3 and 8, like, it was like, it's funny because it really hit you. I learned about personality types and disc profiling and all that stuff. I learned about it, you know, 20 years ago. And, like, it's kind of moved on me over the years and kind of escalated. You already knew about Enneagram and things of that nature. You took the test with me again, but somehow it hit you differently. And you're like, well, what are you and what is he? And what. What is my. You know, like. And I'm like, you're a three, I'm an eight, he's one, he's a nine, he's a six. And you're like, okay, let's do a media business together. You're a three. Like, you're an eight, I'm a three. Let's. Let's get this. And then tell us about how 38 Special came about.

[Jason Triplet]

I don't really know. I mean, I was like, racking my brain about, like, all right, you know, well, you should really fun pot, you know, fun pot house with a production company and have a parent company. You don't want Pothouse Productions. Right. Because what if. What if something else breaks off? Right? And who knows? We might have.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah, who knows? Number three stink.

[Jason Triplet]

We might have, you know, 20 different series. I don't really know where this is going to go. So let's start a production company, 38 Special Productions, which produces Pod House, which then, you know, who knows where. Where it goes? And I thought it was cool to have to pay homage to the Enneagram and our. How we discovered our 3 and 8 and combined it into, you know, 38 special.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

But it's also Leo, like, Right, of course. So, yeah, that 38 special came after. It was like, Well, I don't know. It was like Pod House was coming together. And then you mentioned 38 special. And then I was adding my. My. My Malinois to my construction team, like, had an Leo vibe to it.

[Jason Triplet]

Do it. Yeah.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

And I had just rebranded my company with my red stripe that kind of had this firefighting kind of thing. Yeah. And so it was like.

[Jason Triplet]

Which I saw in Vegas. The. The. The Las Vegas cop was next to us. Like, I think you had to move over and he, like, led you over or whatever it was. He was, like, looking at.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Talk about that.

[Jason Triplet]

Oh, look at this guy. Like, I was sitting in the backseat and I was watching this Las Vegas police officer, and he kind of just checking out the truck and he's like, oh, like, like it's got that, that. It's got that authority, authoritative, like, vibe to it, and it's professional.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

He paid attention to us, right?

[Jason Triplet]

Yes. I saw it without question for a while. Yeah. At a. At like an intersection. Yeah. And it's like canine unit, right?

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah.

[Jason Triplet]

And like, it's all like, it's perfect. It's like, man, the branding's like, on point, and I'm not just blowing smoke up your ass. It's like, wow. It's like, that's professional, that's responsive. That's like, got a really clean look to it.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

So I want to talk about this Leo vibe because when you said because 38 Special came up, and I thought it was funny and I thought it was cool because I have. I've had Pond Digger productions for years, Right. You know, I was like, do they make this a ponding of productions? No. Well, it's like something new. It's like Garvey and me. It's not like me. Right. So when you say when you like the achiever mind the way you thought, you're like, hey, it's called 38 special. And I was like, that's got a great Leo vibe to it. Right. But what I wanted to tell you is, you know, I just came off my 4 by 4 by 48 challenge. So I'm a little bit sleep deprived. You know, for every. Every four hours, I've either walked or rode a bike for an hour.

[Jason Triplet]

That's insane.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

For 48 hours straight. So, you know, we started at Sun's Sunset, which was like 6p. We started, finished at 7.

[Jason Triplet]

So that's 1212 loops, 121 hour exercise,

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

121 hour legs in 48 hours. Wow. And, you know, you know, if you think about it like a lot of people, like, oh, whatever, you know, it's not that big a deal. Like, I wouldn't do it. I want to sleep. Right. But it's interesting because especially if you drive somewhere, like. So we drove to the beach so, like, we've. We've timed it so it's like sunset. You know, sunset and sunrise, and then two middle of the days and two in the middle of the nights. Right? You know, like, and consecutively. So we went to the beach and watched the sunset, but it took me two and a half hours, two hours to get to the beach. And then we hit the beach and, like, gear up, get my dog out. Boom. We take my. My dog down to the beach, and then we put in work for an hour, and then you got to get back to the truck and then drive two hours to get home. And then it's like, okay, go into the next loop because, like, we've already.

[Jason Triplet]

Right, you're wasting.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

We've already wasted the time. You know, and then you do in, like, you do. You do the. The work, and then you're hungry, and then you, like, you're tired and, like, should you wash your balls?

[Jason Triplet]

It's time to do it again.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

And then it's time to do it again. And, like, it's. It's just a constant.

[Jason Triplet]

Oh, yeah.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

For 48 hours straight. So I'm coming off of that. I'm a little bit loopy, but I wanted to share with you in confidence and, you know, the rest of the, you know, three people listen to the podcast or whatever, but, like, one of my dear friends, I mentioned to him about my canine unit and the dog, and he's like, oh, whatever, Eric. You're like little, you know, your little charade or whatever you're doing, you know? You know what I mean? Like, you jump the shark thing. And did you hear the jump the shark? Do you hear about that whole scenario?

[Jason Triplet]

No, tell me.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Okay. The jump the shark. Hey, guys.

[E]

Adam Fullerton here with Branded Bull as a proud sponsor of the Side Hustle Squad podcast, we're all about helping lawn care and landscaping business make their mark and stand out from the competition. Visit [e-mail] to learn more about our professional branding website and graphic design services and how we can help your business look awesome and grow.

[Jason Triplet]

Hey, what's going on, guys? With Jobber, you can easily manage jobs, track your team, get paid faster, all from one simple app. Join thousands of satisfied lawn care professionals who trust Jobber to keep their business growing strong. Visit the link in the bio today and start your free trial.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

There he goes.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

You know the Just about when Fonzie did it.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

Happy days.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah. Do you know what I'm talking about?

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

No, but I know Fonzie did it, and so it must be true. I'm just saying.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Okay, so here. Here's the nutshell.

[Jason Triplet]

Explain it to the listeners.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

I will.

[Jason Triplet]

And me that.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Hello.

[Jason Triplet]

I don't really know. I'm a little slight. Happy Days. That's.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

This is. This is important.

[Jason Triplet]

Right.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

So I'm millennial. I grew up on Happy Days. It was a great show.

[Jason Triplet]

You're an ex.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

You are not a millennial.

[Jason Triplet]

I'm a millennial.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

I'm gonna sl. One day. No.

[Jason Triplet]

Yeah.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

I thought. I'm. I'm. I'm a. I'm a Gen X. And I grew up on Happy Days. And millennials don't really know.

[Jason Triplet]

Right.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Happy Days.

[Jason Triplet]

That much I know of it. I don't know what it is, but

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

there was, like, the Fonzie. He was cool, you know, and he would smoke. They would smoke cigarettes or whatever, you know, and, like, he would get all the girls. And so there was a. There was a moment where I think it was in, like, I don't remember the late 70s, that they had been on, like, 10 seasons, you know, like. Like, there hadn't been a lot of seasons of, like, the sitcom scenario.

[Jason Triplet]

And they were in season 10.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah, they're like season 10, I think. I don't. Don't quote me exactly. But, like, they were kind of running out of ideas, you know, like, there's the car crash and the race and then, like, the girl at the dance and the dis and, like, how many things you go through. Right. So it's like season 10. They don't know what to do. And they're in, like. One of the writers is like, let's get Fonzie, like, to water ski in the ocean wearing his leather jacket, you know, because he was like, the cool guy. Like, if. If the jukebox wouldn't work, he'd hit

[Jason Triplet]

the jukebox and it would work.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

And it would work, you know, and the song would come on and, like, you know, so anyways, he jumps the shark in the ocean, and, like, apparently at that moment, like, jumps, like, he. He went. Like there was a ramp. It was like. It's like a literal ramp.

[Jason Triplet]

And there's the ocean.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah. And there's, like, this giant circle of, like, weighted netting, and this shark's doing circles in the netting, and he jumps the whole circle in the netting, like. Right. So there was a moment where, like, it was around 1985, if I remember this pretty quick. Clearly in 1985. They talked about in 1978 or whatever, when Fonzie jumped the shark. That. That's when he. They ran out of ideas and. And happy days went downhill from there. Now they still had lots of reruns and all that stuff, because it was, like, back then, there wasn't a lot to do. But jumping the Shark meant, like, it's over for that company. Like, it's over for the show. And I had come in, and someone. One of my customers had told my wife that had been with me for, like, 15 years and loved everything that I did. He saw me add valor to my fleet and put canine unit on the truck in special operations. And, like, my dogs in my truck. He's like, babe Pondinger jumped the shark. He jumped the shark. Like, it's over for him. He doesn't know what to do, right? And I had walked in the kitchen, and I was like, what the. Does that mean, Jump the shark? And my wife's like, I'll tell you later. I'll tell you later. And I went out and, like, went to work. And then I. Then I later learned, and it was just interesting to me because he thought when I added the canine unit to my company, like, I was just trying to, like, strive for attention or something, right? And so I did a whole podcast on it. I loved that podcast, actually. It was really good. But what I want to circle back to is. And if you want to know more about that, you just have to go listen to that show. It's not too long back. Jump the Shark. But when we did the 4x4x48 challenge, we went back to this. You know, it's a fundraiser for our wildlife foundation, and we're, like, back at the thing, and my buddy that I love and adore, even though we have incredibly different political positions, you know, we're like, we're still really good friends. And I was telling him about Las Vegas, and I was like, hey, there's this really cool moment. You know, it was on my truck. I didn't even have my dog. Unfortunately, I wanted him there, but I didn't. And the Las Vegas PD had saw my truck, and they're like, hey. And they fucking stopped traffic for me. They're like, boom. Stepped into traffic. They're like, hey, boom. Boom. They, like, stopped traffic for me, and they let me in. And then my friend, he's like, well, that's what happens when you're deceptive about marketing and. And, like, it. It pissed me off. I was so upset, and I'm like, what? What's deceptive about it? You know? He's like, well, you know what? What is your dog gonna do as a military Dog. I'm like, he can be a military dog, but he's not doing military stuff. He's like, how's. How. What kind of police stuff does he does? I'm like, he doesn't do anything police related. I'm like, I'm not. I'm not an Leo. But this brings it back to 38 special. I'm like, I'm not an Leo. But it does have that. It does have an aura about it. Yes, it does have an aura that it's Leo canine unit operations or whatever. But, you know, I can have a dog on my team to. For a wildlife abatement from a golf course pond or, you know, a home pond. You know, we could. We could flush wild geese and get them to get back in the air so they can migrate correctly. Like, there's a lot of really cool, cool fashions for that. I just ran them through rattlesnake aversion training, and, you know, like, that was incredibly cool. And then literally the next day. I didn't tell you this, but the next day I was trying to work in my. In my trash bay at my ranch, and he came into that trash bay and did a little circle and came out and. And then he sat out there, and I was trying to get him to come back in. He would not go back in. It was like, identical to his rattlesnake aversion training the day prior to that. He's like, I'm not going in there. Something's not right in there. And I literally was like, I think there's. I think there's. Ralph's thinking here, which is like, the pr. The area is begging for it.

[Jason Triplet]

Really?

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah. And then the weather was perfect, and he was just like, we should not be in there. He kept pulling me back, and I'm like, all right, well, I'll go out. We'll come back here later, you know, and we left. So, like, it was a real cool moment for me. So, you know, my friend, he was like, I think he wants to razz me a little bit, but at the same time, it's like that truth. And, like, I'm on whiskey right now. He wasn't on whiskey, but he was just like, oh, it's deceptive. And I'm like, there's nothing deceptive about it. I'm not being deceptive. And so. Yeah, but that. That takes us back to the whole 38 special variety of it. Like, I. I don't want. I don't want stolen valor. I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna act like I was. Went to the war and, like, did something I didn't. But, like, I have a canine unit on my team, and I believe in the police. I believe in the. You know, the firefighters. The firefighters saved my ranch in the. In the fire. You know, like, I. I am so grateful to Leos, so to have that as a. As a kind of a lever in our. In our marketing effect. As long as it's not stolen valor, I'm, like, really good with it. I love it. When you said 38 special. I, like, gave me a chubby.

[Jason Triplet]

We're getting tattoos of it, right?

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

Yeah.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

So where did it come from? What made you think of it?

[Jason Triplet]

I don't know. I wanted to. Again, I go back to the creation of Pod House and that. The whole experience of that week, and by Thursday night, we're shot, or Friday night, we're shot out. We're like, oh, my God. And I brought you back. You came back to the pot out. To our Airbnb to stay. And we just came up. We were podcasts and came with the idea, like, let's develop Pot House. Let's have a creation space that's not at the show. That's like this. And that's not me inviting someone back, hey, come to my hotel room to podcast. And then to find out more about myself being a three. And then find out that you're an eight. Like, what had. And then kind of, how do we tie into the. All of that? And that's what I came up with. I don't know. I mean, It's just, you know, something to tie into us coming together.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Let me ask you. Can I go hard on you?

[Jason Triplet]

Sure.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Isn't that what I asked that guy today on the other side of the table?

[Jason Triplet]

Yeah. Yeah. And you're like, dude, yes, that was bad.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Okay, but why me? I mean, you already have a business partner. Like, Naylor was like, you already work with Naylor. I just asked to sleep on your couch. Like, I. I was. I was. I was a speaker at that. At the show that day. And we kind of hit it off and had a good time. We laughed and everything. We're on Pod Row together. I'm like, hey, I'm either gonna drop 400 on the. On a room for three hours to sleep and then go to the airport or, like, you know, I'll pitch in or whatever, and can I just sleep on your couch? And then you went to bed, and you came out, and you're like, guess what? You're my new partner. We're doing 38 special. We're doing pod House. Like, we're like, why me? What happened?

[Jason Triplet]

I think I have a. Somehow, I don't know. I think I have a way of recognizing people. I want to work with people. I admire people. I want to aspire to be like. And you're one of them. I like listening to you. I like watching you. I like watching you interact with people. I like listening to you. I watch you teach us. You're one of my favorite people to watch teach in. In sales, in all of the stuff. You know, you have that favorite person that you like to be around to that you want to aspire, maybe even aspire to be. There's part of that. I think. You're 17 years older than me, never had an older brother. I like people to surround myself with people. Even at work, in the state police. I have, like, a lot of people that are older than me. Older brothers. Like, they're my brothers. I see you as one of them also, and I think we can really create something special together. We're on opposite sides of the country, which is wild. But again, you're in a area like my. That is close to me. My wife is from the area that you live in. I think there's just a lot of synergy, and I think we can really make something special. I don't know. Like, I'm so excited to see where it goes as from Pot House 1 to Pot House 2 to. We're looking at Airbnbs in Phoenix and Nashville and all this stuff. Like, I'm like, it's so excited. I talk to you more than some of my closest friends that I've known since the first grade, and that's okay. Some of your closest friends again, too. Just because you picked them early on in life doesn't mean that they're always. You know, you're. You have people coming to your life that at different points, and I don't know, there's some connection there. I don't know exactly what it is, but we're gonna see where this goes.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Were you surprised at how fast I agreed, or did you just know what was gonna happen?

[Jason Triplet]

I just knew it was gonna happen.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

You already knew it was gonna happen. You're like, hey, this is what we're gonna do. And I was like, okay. You're like, okay, let's go. Like that. Was it that simple?

[Jason Triplet]

Yeah, I don't think there was. I knew there was going to be no resistance, no friction. No,

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

that's a. That's a. The achiever right there, bro. The number three. That's why it's 38 special, bro.

[Jason Triplet]

Again, I remember the idea saying, let's. Let's create this. And then like, like, holy. Like, I think we just.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

But you need you. You knew you needed my. My position, my. My.

[Jason Triplet]

Like, I need, like, yes, I need your drive. I need, say tonight. Right? I'm not going up to Mario from shore right away like that. Like, I might dabble around a little

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

like who the triplet talks about.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

Ready

[Jason Triplet]

people and what I found out because I've done a lot of more enneagrams since October that I'm. I surround myself with a lot of aids. I don't know what that is. I surround myself with eights at work. One of my head bosses and eight. Some of my really, like, closest confidants and advisors and mentors are eights. Something like jives with me with that.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah.

[Jason Triplet]

So like come. You know, finding that out too. I'm like, oh, my God. Like, that's. But then my business partner is totally different and he's great in his own way. You know what I mean? But for this specific endeavor. Doesn't always need to. You don't have to force something that's not a great fit. I think, like, new friendships can blossom and new ideas can come. And this year alone, it's between pot house starting a new dealership for robotic power equipment with Crests starting a new branch for my fertilization business. I don't think I'm stretching myself too thin. I just want to be very methodical on how I do this stuff.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah, cool.

[Jason Triplet]

Cool.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

So let's just get back to the symbolism. Why 38 special? Symbolism? He's a 3M and 8. It's Leo Vibe. 38 special. It's a gun. Clearly, for those of you don't know that, it's law enforcement, tactical precision, high standards controlled power. You know, the pod house hq, you know, and then. Then, you know, to be real specific, like, this isn't just pod House podcasting. It's more of content, chaos create like chaos, content creation, like all wrapped up in one. And one of the things that we did is con. The Con Expo was a great place to kick the whole thing off, but, like, it was still like in its infancy. We weren't really sure how it was going to come about. And then was. It was kind of funny because it was so overwhelming. And we had some great, like, booth takeovers that came out. Like that was somehow happened, which was cool.

[Jason Triplet]

It didn't somehow happen. We came. We strategically, you Strategically planned on what we should be doing the next day, and let's hit A, B, C, and

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

D. But it happened.

[Jason Triplet]

We executed it. It didn't just somehow happen. Okay, you're being very.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah, okay. We did make it happen. But, like, you know, it was funny because when we came back to do content at the. At the debut Maiden voyage pot house, like, we kind of just degassed and we did, like, four or five podcasts and just recorded stuff, and then we did that. Fun. Like, I don't even want to think, but it's like you have a person in someone else's hands, and then we're mixing mixed drinks. And so, you know, it's funny because when I. When I looked at that Garvey, I was like, as a brand looks at this, they're going to just be like, how is this helping my brand? How is this helping my bank or my SaaS company or my. How is this helping sell boots? Were you guys just being silly doing making mixed drinks and old fashions? They're, like.

[Jason Triplet]

With someone else's hands.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah, like someone standing there and someone else. Their hands are there. But you almost got my hat. Yeah, it was just. It was just funny and, like, it was like this. It was almost like a weight off our chest. Like, hey, we kind of figured it out. Let's just Degas and be silly and have fun. A little bit of chaos. So I think there was more chaos than serious content the first year, the first Pod House, but I still think it worked itself out. I think it was really good.

[Jason Triplet]

I think we found out a lot of things like Podhouse one and how to talk with brands, how to market to them and say, hey, you know, we're gonna. We're gonna bring the crew and we're gonna take over your booth.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Like, this is our booth.

[Jason Triplet]

Wow. Yeah. This is gonna be our booth for a half hour. Yeah.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

You're not talking to anyone anyway, so

[Jason Triplet]

when we're done, you're gonna. Your mind's gonna be blown.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah. And when we're done, you'll have, like, an hour and a half for the people to talk to you, because they're going to want to be here.

[Jason Triplet]

And that's what we saw. We saw that happen in real time. People started get seeing the sweatshirts, seeing what's going on, the interviews, and then people start gathering around. This person's over there talking with the other person, and they're coming in and want to know what's going on. It's building a buzz. Yeah. Yeah.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

So let's Talk about the mission. What is 38? What? It's 38 special productions actually. Doing what? What are we about? What are you thinking?

[Jason Triplet]

I mean, number one is Pothouse. And, you know, Pothouse three, Pot House four. I mean, it's going to continue. We have up to 16 events this year on the. On the calendar.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Don't tell Larry. He'll freak out.

[Jason Triplet]

Right. But, you know, I don't know what else this goes to. I mean, do people want to see this more on video, too? You know, do they want to see a live stream? Do they want to see this in real time? Okay. After the booth, you know, after the show's shot, shut down. This is almost a totally different podcasting space than. Than Pod Row. It's totally different. There's. There's a lot going on there. There's a lot of people around. You want to get content quickly. This is like, way more. It's very relaxed. I don't know what. What, like.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Well, you don't have distractions, though. Like, at Pot Row. It's. It's very like people are coming in and people are kissing babies.

[Jason Triplet]

Yes.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Sometimes signing autographs and handing out stickers and like.

[Jason Triplet]

Yeah.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Taking selfies. Like, it's. It's a really, like a community kind of connection. But this is like the. The unravel connection. It's the unravel content dump. It's unravel, you know, that you don't get at the other places.

[Jason Triplet]

No. You don't get the big debrief of just like, okay, this is what happened. This is what went well. This is what didn't go so well. This is what I wish I would do differently, but for the production company, I mean, I don't know what's next. I don't. Who knows what's going on in here.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

You knew there's something bigger. So, yes, 38 Special Productions supports POD House. I see it as content creation heavy, that debriefing, creating a space for the debrief that. That has never happened because you go, you. You pod. Pod roll all day long and you see people and do content. You come back to your hotel room and take a deep breath and eat dinner. And like, no, Pod House gives us that space to do that says, hey, you come back to our facility. We're going to interview you. Hey, we want to do that. Like, those kind of things. Right. So deeper connection with brands, deeper connection with content creators, deeper connection with content all together documentary, the journey and building our media. Like, I feel. I almost feel like it's like 38 special media productions. You know, it's like, yeah, like, absolutely. It's a media company.

[Jason Triplet]

It's a media company.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah. So it's like we're building the media around the contract contractors and creators and the. And the industry leaders. Like, that's what I think it's about. Right. So it's interesting today because we didn't have like, we, we all traveled in and went straight to like the, the event evening party. Like, hey, you showed up early. It's connect. Right. And it's 97 degrees outside in Texas. Right.

[Jason Triplet]

And then it turned into a tornado.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah. And we had our cool pod house gear that we, we made for our last event. We're going into the summer. Thankfully, it's going to be in the

[Jason Triplet]

60s tomorrow, so we can rock it.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

I'll wear it. I don't care. If it gets to 70, I'll be sweating. I don't care. Right. You know?

[Jason Triplet]

Yeah.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

So I think, I think our gear tomorrow that we wear is going to draw more attention, guys. And we're hanging out together. People are going to be. Because like, you saw the people today. There was nothing that stood out. Nothing. Nothing.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

Well, there were two things.

[Jason Triplet]

Okay, go ahead.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Did you talk about Bianca's toes?

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

Rosie o' DONNELL look alike.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

And then the.

[Jason Triplet]

And the only. Rosie o'. Donnell.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

And the purple hair.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

Those two things just.

[Jason Triplet]

And, and.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

But I digress.

[Jason Triplet]

And our teammates shirt.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

Yes.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

But he's solo. He's so it doesn't matter. You have. There was one guy on the purple team that had like kind of a flamboyant shirt. Y like paycheck shirt, right? Yeah.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

But we're gonna be the only team there tomorrow.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

We'll look like focus. Look like a crew. Yeah. So we're gonna turn heads tomorrow for sure. There ain't no bad about it.

[Unidentified Guest/Producer]

So not only that, but we make

[Jason Triplet]

those sweaters look good and we're all bald.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

The Golden Globes.

[Jason Triplet]

The Golden Globes.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

All right, cool. So we have just a general idea of what 38 special means and like from where we're going, like foundationally. So cool. You have any final thoughts about it? Anything that I'm missing? Anything you want to add to it?

[Jason Triplet]

No, I hope you're okay with it because I like, you know, I was like, hey, we need to work on like trademarking all this stuff and we production company that. I hope you're good with it. You're like, all right.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Oh, God. It just means more money. Like, there's another trademark, there's another llc.

[Jason Triplet]

There's another LLC that's gonna have to get paid and the disbursements do. Yeah. Or all that.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah, that's what happens.

[Jason Triplet]

Or to pay taxes.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah, that's what happens when you connect with the achiever and overachiever. Number three. Right.

[Jason Triplet]

So not just the regular, right?

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

Yeah.

[Jason Triplet]

But not just a regular.

[Eric (Pond Digger)]

The top right. So all right, let's bring this thing. Let's bring land this plane. Like okay. So cool. Thanks so much for yours and attention to the podcast. It means the world to me. And like, that's the story behind 38 special productions media company two guys, two personality types, one mission. Create great content. Work with badass amazing brands. Build something bigger than either of us have planned together. Or like, I shouldn't say plan together. Like build something bigger than either of us had planned. Like solo. Like putting it together is the real, really cool part of the puzzle and the craziest part. We're just getting started, so if you're listening to this podcast right now, you are witnessing something in its infancy. So that's it. Hope it's inspired you. Hope you're going to go out there and do something great. Until next download, I hope you're getting after it, getting better. Best version of yourself. Catch you on the next one.

[Mike Garvey]

Thanks for tuning in to the side Hustle Squad podcast with Mike Garvey. We hope you enjoyed this episode and gained valuable insights to help you succeed in your Side Hustle journey. Connect with Mike using the links in the podcast description. If you love the show, please leave us a well worded five star review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback and support help us grow and continue to provide you with the best content. And don't forget to follow the show to be notified when the next edition of the side Hustle Squad Podcast is available. We have many exciting guests and topics lined up so you won't want to miss a single episode. Thanks again for listening and we'll catch you next time on the side Hustle Squad Podcast.