← The Championdrive Podcast
The Championdrive Podcast
Episode 2.18 - Guests Cade Dannhaus & Dani (Berry) Andersen - Young Entrepreneurs Doing Big Things!
01:05:26
This week, we’re thrilled to welcome two inspiring young entrepreneurs—Cade Dannhaus and Dani (Berry) Andersen! Cade shares the journey of turning his vision into reality with CD Livestock Sculptures, while Dani reflects on her show career and how it led to launching her new business, Soak’d Lake View. Tune in for their incredible stories and the latest industry news in this episode!
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- [00:02]
Kaitlyn
Now entering the ring, another episode of the Champion Drive podcast, presented by Novel Designs with your hosts, Kaitlyn, Sister Urban and Steva Robinson.
- [00:22]
Steva Robinson
Well, Sister, we're back. It's been a few weeks. You've been under the weather, had a little bit of a surgery to take care of, but you managed to make it through your, like, two and a half weeks of not talking, right?
- [00:35]
Sister Urban
Yeah. And at one point, I didn't think I was going to make it through there. I did not like it at all that I couldn't talk. I figured out there's two things that I like to do more than anything. Talk and eat. And when you can't do either one of those, it's not very good.
- [00:49]
Steva Robinson
Well, Sister is back and doing better. So we are back with the podcast. This week we have, I'm really excited about this one. We have two young entrepreneurs on. We have Kade from CD Livestock Sculptures, and then Danny Anderson, who some of you might know as Danny Berry. She has a new business venture called Soaked. So we have those two on. And I think it was really interesting. You know, I knew Danny through college and through showing Livestock. She grew up in Iowa. We both went to Iowa State. And so, you know, you kind of meet a lot of people that you cross paths with for the rest of your life through college or whatnot. And so it's neat to catch up with her again. And she has a lot of really good ideas. Their new business that they're starting kind of challenges a lot of the status quo where they don't just do well. This is how it's always been. It's a lot of, well, why can't we do it this way? And it's really neat. So her segment is really good. Sister, let's talk about the segment you did.
- [01:45]
Sister Urban
So, yeah, I caught up with K. Danhas, who owns and operates TD Livestock Sculptures. And I'm sure many of you guys have seen some of the sculptures that he's done from previous winners or even the Blue Bloods Live Sale sculpture, Traveling Trophy. And he's also just recently did the Red Raider one as well. He was really interesting. He's not one that I would, that I've honestly ever talked to before the podcast. But I feel like it went really, really well and it was just really good to just get more of his story and why he does what he does. It was one that, you know, I, I, I think it's really cool, the things that he has done and the things that he's done for himself. And he mentioned in there that he's he's had to carve his own way in the stock industry that he didn't ever, you know, maybe win a big win. And I think that's something that we're all so focused on, is just getting the handshake at a major show or at a state fair or anything like that. And he mentioned that this was his sculpture business, was his way of carving his own path. And I thought that was pretty interesting and kind of just a reminder that, you know, there's so much more than just getting a handshake in the ring and there's so much more that you can accomplish just from the experiences that you've gained in the. In the show ring. So his was really, really good and one that I hope that I hope to see him be successful later on in life. And it's going to be interesting to follow his path.
- [03:11]
Steva Robinson
Yeah, it's interesting. You talk about handshake. Danny talks about that in her segment too, about how, you know, the handshake sometimes is the biggest blessing or sometimes it's not. You know, sometimes it means you're the winner, sometimes you're not. And the handshake teaches you a lot. It teaches you how to be a humble winner and it teaches you how to be gracious and defeat, too. So I think these two segments tied really well together. We'll get into both of those in a second. But let's talk a little bit about the Texas Sale weekend. I know a lot of people in our industry are headed south for the weekend. This weekend on Friday night is the Big Gun Sale, which is ran by SC Live. That's in San Angelo and is at 7:30pm on Friday night. And then on Saturday night, SC also has the Young Guns at 7pm on Saturday night in San Angelo as well.
- [03:58]
Sister Urban
Blue Bloods is also this weekend, May 17th in Miles, Texas. On Friday night, May 16th, there is a preview at 5pm and then the sales start time is 1pm on Saturday. And I know last year it was, I think maybe the second year, if I remember right, for that sale. And I got to go down there actually with Steven. It was a fun time. It's. It's always interesting seeing, you know, new sales like that start up. And what's been even more interesting to me is the fact that I've been watching, you know, Next Gen post on their social media and stuff, just different consigners and things that they won last year, you know, sheep from that sale that sold in that sale and stuff like that. So that's been interesting. To kind of follow along. There was multiple champions at majors that sold out of there last year. So be sure to get to Miles, Texas on May 17th.
- [04:48]
Steva Robinson
The whole weekend is one of my favorite sale weekends in terms of consignment sales. Just because you can kind of the schedule works where you can go to the both the sales in San Angelo, you can go to the Blue Bloods and then Neff Livestock has their open house where you can kind of see all the bucks and all of that. So it's a fun weekend to kind of wrap up sales season for a lot of us because I feel like sales season has been 13 months long. It hasn't ended and it needs to end. And for for me, the sales season ends here after the party, which is the 24th, which we'll talk about that later. But that one is kind of the end of sale season. And I think I can speak for most people that we've worked with on stuff is we are ready for sale season to end. We need a little break and there's not really much of a break this year because people are already breeding for Fallborns or have a Fallborn date coming up. So it's definitely a busy time and I know most of you guys are pretty tired. So hopefully you have a good trip to Texas. For those of you who are going, what else do we have for Sales.
- [05:48]
Sister Urban
Impact Camps has their lateborn sale coming up on May 25th. I was looking at their ad this morning on Champion Drive and they had many past champions out of this age group that have sold in this sale in the previous years, including some grands and reserves at OIE National Western, San Antonio Rodeo, Austin and Houston. So that's one you won't want to miss on May 25th.
- [06:11]
Steva Robinson
Yeah. And I think they also have an online production sale coming up June 11th. If I remember seeing that right on Champion Drive as well. Brian and Calvin always put together a really nice set of use for that. So that's on June 11th to kind of have on your radar as well. As I mentioned, the party is coming up May 24th. That's a really fun event. There's a handful of consignors for that. I think there's nine or ten of us. And it's a really laid back weekend and it's truly is kind of a party feeling, a relaxing vacation type feeling. And championdrive.com does our annual golf outing in conjunction with it that the golf outing is Saturday morning, May 24th at 9:30am it's at this golf course in Helsted, Kansas, which is just a few miles from Hobbs's, which Hobbs is where the party sales at. And this year we're doing it a little different. Most of the people that golf. The number one question I get for people on the golf are like, well, I'm not a very good golfer. Can I still come? You'll fit right in. There's golfers of all levels. Some of us are, are all right. Some of us aren't good and some of us are real good. And there's probably more on the not real good than real good side. No offense to anyone, but it's been a really fun time. I tend to be a little bit shy or more shy I guess is the correct word. And I don't really like golfing with other people. But that's one of those times where I really have met some people that I've gotten to be really good friends with through the golf outing. Kind of gives you a different way to, you know, visit with people about livestock or people you might not, you know, spend an hour and a half, two hours golfing with. But the prizes for this year, we've adjust them a little bit. We have the award for top four man scramble team, which are going to have some pretty sweet green jackets, kind of like the Masters, but not quite as classy, but they're really nice. And then we also have some award categories for most lost balls. That's a new one. We thought that would probably fit in with some of our, our participants, most bunker shots. And then we have three hole challenge holes like longest drive, closest to the pin, closest chip shot, etc. We picked those out the day before, but so that's Saturday, May 24th. It's in conjunction with the party which is in Newton, Kansas. If you're thinking about going, you definitely should. There's Friday night, there's a preview, a band and a cornhole tournament that I believe Showbird sponsors. Saturday mornings, the golf outing. Saturday afternoon they do an educational session. And Saturday night is the party and. Or the sale, which is called the party and more live music. So it's a really good weekend for those of you who can attend.
- [08:46]
Sister Urban
Yeah, definitely sounds like there's going to be a lot of partying going on there.
- [08:50]
Steva Robinson
I don't know, it's. It. There's definitely a lot of partying, but if you're not a big party scene person, there's, it's still a good time. So it's just kind of a good laid back vacation weekend.
- [09:00]
Sister Urban
I think you do need to Add to your awards for like, if I was there, you need to add like the most talkative person on the golf course because I think I'd maybe win that one.
- [09:10]
Steva Robinson
Yeah, I think you probably would.
- [09:11]
Sister Urban
Most questions asked 100.
- [09:14]
Steva Robinson
100.
- [09:15]
Kade Danhaus
So.
- [09:15]
Sister Urban
So speaking of the party, Steve, I know you mentioned that there's going to be an educational session at the party on Saturday afternoon. Do you have any input on kind of what all that's going to be about or what all you have planned for that?
- [09:28]
Steva Robinson
Yeah, in years past I think they've had RSG or last year I believe it was Zen Pro. This year Megan asked if Novel Designs would be interested in doing the our so you suck, which has been our segment from the podcast on marketing. That's been really well received and I wasn't expecting it at all and it kind of caught me off guard. But I think it'll be really good. Both Bugalka girl or two of the three Bugalka girls that work for us. Kaylee does a lot of your ads or social media graphics or design work. She'll be there. She always comes with her family. I'll be there and then Bryn Bogolka, who works with us on the branded side will be there. So the three of us are into kind of a panel discussion. We're going to talk a lot about different marketing ideas, but mainly what we want to do is like a question answer session or like what do you want to talk about? Like, well, we have some stuff planned for it, but mainly we want to kind of see what the people in attendance want to talk about marketing wise. And it kind of goes off the whole so you suck campaign because like I said, I get a ton of people every time that say, oh, that was I, you know, I'm trying to do what you said or I'm, you know, that was a really good idea. I've never thought about it that way. I listen to your segment on the podcast, so I'm glad everyone enjoys it. Know I was kind of caught off guard when we got asked to do the educational segment this year, but I think it'll be really good and we're really excited for it, especially to hear from those two girls too. They have a lot of really good ideas and are a big part of what we do here. So I hope you guys can attend that. I think the educational part is at 3pm on Saturday. Well, let's get into our first segment.
- [11:00]
Kade Danhaus
Well, Kade, before we get started here, I know you were playing in a golf tournament today with Trace and a couple of your buddies. So do you mind telling me how that went for you?
- [11:10]
Kaitlyn
Hey, it went good. It was. I. Let's just say this. We were reserve. You know, it could. We weren't grand champion. We were reserve champion. Especially. We were. We were reserve champion by one stroke. So that hurts a little bit. It was a four man scramble and we were 15 under. We got beat by the team that was 16 under. I'm not sure if, you know, if they put their hand on a bible and say that, then I might believe it a little bit more. But hey, it was a good day.
- [11:37]
Sister Urban
It be.
- [11:38]
Kaitlyn
It beats a day of work. A bad day of golf beats a good day of work. So I can't complain too much for sure.
- [11:44]
Kade Danhaus
So for those of you that don't know, Kade, I know that you're the vision behind CD Livestock sculpture. So before we get started, do you mind telling me a little bit about yourself, kind of where you grew up and how you got started in the livestock industry?
- [11:58]
Kaitlyn
Yes, ma' am, you bet. So for anybody who doesn't know, my name is Kay Danhouse, I guess you could say I'm the. The owner and operator of Kate Danhaus Livestock Sculptures. I live here in Lubbock, Texas with my wife. I went to South Plains College up here in Levelland, so. And then she went to Tech and would have graduated this past December. So we've just kind of settled down here, at least for a little bit. And we really like it up here. But anyways, I'm originally from Needville, Texas, which would be about an hour southwest of Houston. A lot of people will know the Callous family, Dwight Callous and Brandon Callous, is just about every show in the nation. He would have. I grew up working for Dwight there and Needville all throughout high school and everything. And he's kind of the one, I guess that you could say got me into the. To showing and everything. And so I grew up showing goats. You know, I showed a couple sheep here and there just at our county fair and a calf one year. But I, I think goats is really kind of what I fell in love with and where my passion kind of lied. And, you know, I tell you, I'd be in school and, you know, I'd have math homework or whatever and I'd draw goats on my math homework. And I'd just be thinking, you know, while I'm at school, I couldn't wait to get home and get in the barn and, you know, figure out how to get. Make these things better, what we need to change, feed and exercise or whatever. And I don't know. I guess you could say that's kind of where it all started for me. And now I'm here, I guess.
- [13:25]
Kade Danhaus
Yeah. And after, you know, your time in high school, I know you went on to judge at South Plains, and you finished up there just about two years ago. So do you mind telling us a little bit about your time there? Because I know you had a pretty successful judging career there as well.
- [13:39]
Kaitlyn
Yes, ma' am. Yeah, man. I'll tell you, for any kids thinking about going the. The judging route and doing at the collegiate level, especially juco, I think it's a number one. It's just the people you meet, the places you'll go, and how much better of evaluator I think it'll make you is unparalleled. We had a really, really fun team there, and we actually. So it would have been Connor Newsom was our coach our freshman year, and then Connor Brew came in there kind of at the end of that, and he would have been our coach or my sophomore year. And, man, we had a lot of fun, and I. I learned so much. We. We had a really good team. You know, it was. I'll tell you, it was hard for us, so maybe always get on the same page. We never won a big one, but we'd always be up there. We had, you know, some kids that were really good at giving reasons, a couple of us that were really darn solid at marking cards, and I don't know that we ever just put it together perfectly, but again, I'll just. I can't say enough good things about the experiences you'll gain from. From going that route than the people you'll meet. I. I don't. I think I wouldn't have had it any other way. I truly enjoyed every second of it, and I. Anyone thinking about. About judging collegiately, I. I'd strongly suggest it. Yeah.
- [14:59]
Kade Danhaus
And like you said, it's not always just about winning. You know, getting to experience those experiences and meeting those people are kind of what makes this whole livestock industry what it is, so.
- [15:09]
Kaitlyn
Yes, ma' am, without a doubt.
- [15:11]
Kade Danhaus
So let's talk a little bit about your sculpture business. I guess, you know, you mentioned already that you used to draw your goats and stuff on your math homework, so kind of how. I guess at what point did this sculpture business come into play? Kind of. Can you give a little bit of history about how it all started up?
- [15:28]
Kaitlyn
Of course. Okay. So how it started, it's kind of a long story, so bear with me. I'LL kind of. I'll. I. I get. I guess I'll give the story that I give everybody. But. So it had been what. How I made my first sculpture. We'll go with that. So my wife, Courtney, we were showing goats at Houston, and that'd be the COVID year. So 2020, March of 2020. And, you know, that's Covid had been kind of a thing. You know, we had heard. Seen about it on the news, and, you know, everyone had talked about it a little bit, this and that and the other. And we were actually. It'd be Houston. They show two divisions the first day and then to the next day. And I think we both had to show the next day. So we were. Let's see, we were getting lunch or something like that. And I remember her mother called her and said, hey, they're. They're doing the entire show today. They're shutting down Houston. We've got to go get to the pins right now. And so we hauled butt over there, and we're like, hey, what's going on? They said, again, the COVID deal, they. They was. They. Long story short, they had to show everything that day. You know, usually they would space it out over a couple days, and they said, hey, we're not doing waybacks. We're not doing drug testing. We're just going to roll through this thing. And that's what they did. So, anyways, all that aside, she ended up reserving Houston that year. And we had been dating, no, probably just handful of months at that point. And I guess that was still trying to get her and her family to really, really like me. So, like I touched on earlier, I've always been pretty artistic, but never had done anything like that. And I just figured, man, I bet if I make her a sculpture of this goat that she just reserved Houston with, I bet they'd really, really like me. And so I. I remember I had a band saw in our barn, and I'd had a dremel tool that I'd had from whenever I was younger, just piddling around or whatever. And so I remember I did a little bit of research and kind of found out what was supposed to be the best wood for carving. And I ordered two blocks. I started on one and broke it within about two hours. And then I said, all right, well, this second one's got to work. So I took my time, and I bet I took shoot three weeks making that dang goat sculpture anyways. But, yeah, I made that one of her. Houston, go through, reserved it, gave it to them, and they fell in love with it. And then would have been about five or six months after that, she won the State Fair of Texas. So then I made that go forward, too, because I like the first one so much. And then, you know, I guess it took some time for it to progress. You know, I think I posted those on Facebook or something, just kind of saying, hey, you know, I did this, whatever. And I think I might have got a couple people interested, a couple orders here and there. But then when I think back on, when it really took off, it would have been because, you know, from that point, you know, for the next year and a half, two years, like, I. I had, you know, a handful of orders, and I fooled around with it a little bit, and it was fun. But it would have been the summer of my sophomore year in college, I must add, probably 20 orders or so. And Courtney and I, we were on a vacation in Mexico. And I remember because I still had to, you know, judge that fall and that spring. So it was hard to juggle everything. You know, making sculptures with school and judging, you know, it's hard to make it all work. So I figured, hey, it's July. Right now, we need to make a post saying, if you want a Christmas. If you want to. A sculpture done by Christmas, we need. You need to get on the list now. So we made that post. It would have been in early July. And I tell you what I couldn't believe. I had people calling me. My phone was ringing off the hook, people messaging me. And it just absolutely opened my eyes because, I mean, by the end of that week, I had. I went from probably having 15 or 20 orders to having 50. And, I mean, it absolutely blew my mind. And I never, you know, that before that point, I thought, you know, this will be a hobby, and I like to do this for a long time. I enjoy it. But, you know, that's probably when it really opened my eyes. And I thought, man, there's a real chance I could do this for a living. I've been busier and booked up more than ever. But that's. I know it was kind of a long way of saying, but that's kind of how it all. The genesis of it all and how. How we got to where we are now.
- [19:32]
Kade Danhaus
Yeah. And that's pretty special. You know, that Courtney, your wife, was the first two sculptures you ever made. So that's cool.
- [19:39]
Steva Robinson
Pretty cool story there.
- [19:40]
Kaitlyn
You betcha.
- [19:41]
Kade Danhaus
So, you know, going forward, you said you.
- [19:43]
Kaitlyn
Me.
- [19:43]
Kade Danhaus
You mentioned that, you know, you had a lot of people reach out to you. So kind of how long does it take for you to make a sculpture now as like prior, like your first one? You know, you said you really took your time. Three weeks or so. So how long does it.
- [20:00]
Kaitlyn
Okay, so I. Well, I'll say so. Like in those first ones, you know, I said it took three weeks and it did. I mean, it might have been taken a month. It took a long time. But also, you know, you gotta think I was in high school, so I was pretty well just piddling with it in the evenings and then, you know, on weekends and stuff like that. So. But now, like, whenever people ask that question, I kind of just tell them, like, as far in hours, you know, sheep and goats, those will take me about 30 hours. And that's, you know, from, hey, a rectangle block of wood to finished product, taking pictures of it, getting ready to ship it off, they're roughly 30 hours. And, you know, those, you know, hair does and things like that, where you've got to carve each hair in there, that obviously takes a little bit longer. You know, those ones, you know, you do the grand champion, go to Kansas City, you're going to want to take just a little bit more time with that. But I would say roughly, you know, roughly 30 hours on the sheep and goats. And I think another thing, another part of it is I've done so many of them that it's. It's almost just down to a science for me. I. It's just so I've done so many of them that I just. I've kind of figured out the shortcuts and how to get from point A to point B a little bit quicker. Now, the cattle and hogs, they definitely take, I would say, closer to roughly 40 hours from start to finish. And I think, because, you know, always if. Unless it's a slick steer, you're going to be carving each hair into them and, you know, there's just a little bit more detail, I think, that comes with that. So. But roughly, yeah, that's probably in terms of hours, that's the best way, I think, to break it down in a digestible fashion. But that's. Yeah. Yes, ma' am. That's roughly how long it takes.
- [21:32]
Kade Danhaus
So for someone that doesn't know. So I know you already mentioned, you know, you take this block of wood or whatever. So how, like, what's the process from start to finish? Do you do multiple ones at at a time? Do you start one and finish it all the way or kind of what's.
- [21:47]
Kaitlyn
Your process like the Process. Okay, here, I'll answer this. Answer the second part of that question first. You know, it honestly depends on kind of what I'm working on. If. And I've gone back and forth. I don't know, I'm kind of weird. Like, if I'm doing sometimes what I'll do is, you know, say, hey, I want to get two or three done this week. I'll get them all drawn out on their block and get them all cut out and then kind of start on one and go all the way and finish it from there. Other times, you know, I will say this. I've kind of learned this over time. I don't really like, you know, working on a sheep, getting it halfway done and then say, all right, let's start on a pig. Because they're, you know, in my mind, yes, all livestock represents the same type and kind. Good livestock, at least. But, you know, there's definitely different angles, different proportions, and, you know, doing a sheep versus a hog. So I've kind of. I guess now I've just decided that I like to pretty well, hey, start one, finish it, be focused on that one the entire time. That way I'm not kind of thinking about something else. I like to be laser focused on the one, the project at hand, you know. And so we talk about the process, how it starts. Like I said, really how it really starts. I use tupelo wood. So that's a. That's a. That'd be a tree that grows in the swamps, like in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida. It's a tree that goes in the swamp. So someone will have to go in there, cut down that tree, drag it out of there, and then they'll. They'll take it to a wholesaler, whoever. They'll cut it up and put it into different sizes and shapes and whatever. I'll buy it from them all. My blocks are roughly about a foot to 14 inches long, about 10 inches tall, and then 4. 4. In terms of thickness, they're about 4 inches thick. Once I've got that block, what I like to do is sand it down the face of it, sand it down real smooth. I have, say, I'm, you know, working on a go. I'll have the family, you know, send me as many pictures as possible. Then we'll decide which one we want to go off of which, you know, we talk about the silhouette of that animal. I'll pick a picture or maybe even a combination of those pictures, and then I'll draw that silhouette onto that block. And then from there, once that's done, move over to the band saw and I'll cut out the silhouette of it. And again, the best way I can describe is if you just think you're looking at an animal on the profile, his silhouette, that's kind of what it looks like after it's cut out there. You know, then after that I'll find the perfect center of it. And like I said, my blocks are four inches wide. So that's usually close to two inches, two and a quarter somewhere in that variety. But you want to find the center of the sculpture all the way around it. Because you know if you don't do that, if you're just a little bit off of that, your proportions aren't going to be right when you're looking at it from above or behind or in front of it. So it's very important you find the dead center and then can make everything match around that. Then I'll cut out with a jigsaw. I'll cut out in between the chest to turn it around it's rear, rear end, you know, cut out in between the legs and everything. That's all kind of the boring stuff. I. It's just when I'm doing that, I'm just trying to get it done because after that really the next 15 hours will be just carving and peeling all that wood off. And you're just trying to shape it up to start resembling that animal. And you know, I've got 100 different Dremel bits, you know, that each kind of do a different thing and you know, can one or some are more aggressive. One will kind of smooth it up a little bit. But you know, for the, the vast majority of time you're just shaping that, that block up, trying to make it look like that animal you're going after. Then after that, you know, say, then I've got it pretty dang close. Then I'm going to sand it down. I've got a hand sander and a belt sander. I'll get it as smooth as I can with those tools. Then after that I'll go over it with 220 grit sandpaper. Get it the whole entire thing as smooth as I possibly can because. And the nice thing about that wood is it doesn't really have much of a grain, especially once you sand it. I mean it's literally. It may as well be as smooth as glass. I mean it gets really, really smooth and then it takes paint and everything just a lot easier. Once it's smooth, I will go through and you know, say we're working on a hog. I'll draw each one of those hairs on there with a pencil, carve out his dew claw and his hoof and everything. And the ear notches and the eyes, eye socket, nose. I'll go in there and draw that on there with a pencil, because then I'm going to get that Dremel tool again and carve each one of those hairs in there and the do claw and the eye and everything. Just going to carve all that in there. And that's. That's very tedious and time consuming, I guess, but for me, it's probably one of the most rewarding parts because, you know, that's when you see it go from a hunk of wood into what, you know, really looks like that animal you're trying to replicate. And then, you know, kind of after that, you know, then it looks really, really, really good. It just needs some paint. So then I'll start painting that thing. And that's probably where, like, I love. Nothing makes me happier than just late at night turning on some music and just zoning out and absolutely getting dialed in and just painting for as long as I possibly can. Because, you know, every single time I try to make them look more and more lifelike, and that's, I guess, even more so than the detailed part. That's when you really see that thing come to life and really, really look like the animal I'm going after. And my. My whole deal is every time I make one, and. And until this happens, I don't think I'll be content. But I want it to look like once I'm done with it, hey, that thing can walk off that base. It looks so real. But anyways, I'm sorry, that was a long way of giving you the. The process, but that's pretty much how you make a sculpture.
- [27:12]
Kade Danhaus
No, I really enjoyed that. And I think that, you know, the detail and the depth of, you know, just attention to detail that you do, and every single one of them, because I personally don't have one, but I've seen multiple of them, and they are like. They look like they can walk off there and relax.
- [27:30]
Kaitlyn
I hope so.
- [27:31]
Kade Danhaus
I think you're doing a very good job.
- [27:33]
Kaitlyn
Thank you. Thank you very much.
- [27:35]
Kade Danhaus
Yeah, so kind of going forward a little bit, I know you mentioned, you know, first you started off, like, just kind of doing a few of these at home in high school, and then.
- [27:42]
Sister Urban
You moved to college and you were.
- [27:43]
Kade Danhaus
Kind of doing them. So, like, do you have a workshop or do you just kind of, like, maybe work out of your garage or an extra room or kind of. What does that look like for you?
- [27:51]
Kaitlyn
So. Yes, ma' am. So my, I guess the, we've got a two car garage which is the workshop back when I live with Trace, which I just, me and my wife, we got a house here about oh, four or five months ago and but anyway, my workshop has always been the garage, at least with Trace and now with my wife now. But it's, hey, it's pretty handy. It's a two car garage. I've got workbenches all the way around it. And I just, I've, I told her from the get go, I said, hey, if sculptures is how we're going to make a living, then we're not ever going to put these cars in the garage. That's going to be the workshop. And it works great. Really because I can, if it's too hot in the summer, I can shut that garage door and just blow some fans on me and it keeps it a little bit cooler. Same thing in the winter. I know one day, you know, my dream is one day I'll have a, you know, I've, every day I sit there and think about the perfect workshop. So whenever it comes time I'm, we'll have to do another podcast and I can tell you all about my dream workshop. But for now it's just a two car garage.
- [28:51]
Kade Danhaus
Yeah, but hey, that works. Nothing fancy.
- [28:53]
Kaitlyn
Yes, ma' am.
- [28:54]
Kade Danhaus
And that's what matters.
- [28:55]
Kaitlyn
And I'll tell you what, it's pretty handy because my bedroom to my workshop is about all of 15ft. So if I, if it's a late night, it's not far to to find.
- [29:05]
Sister Urban
The bed, that's for sure.
- [29:07]
Kade Danhaus
So I know you mentioned, you know, when you're in Mexico, you made that post and you had a lot of people calling you. So kind of what's your wait list like now if somebody's wanting to get a school.
- [29:17]
Kaitlyn
Oh, that was a question I was afraid you're gonna ask. I'll say this, you know, I don't, it's long but I will say this. I, I try and do my very best of, you know, working with people say they've got, you know, hey, we've got a birthday in, you know, a few months. We really want to try and get it to then I will do everything I can to make that happen, you know. Now obviously if someone texts tonight and says, hey, I need it by next week, that's just not in the cards. I guess I can put it this way. I'm booked up to where I don't have to worry about finding a real job in the foreseeable future. And I guess if I say a date, I know I'll get held down to it. And then, you know, I'll probably make somebody mad because I. I might be a little bit behind that date, so. But pretty booked up, but always taking new orders. How about that?
- [30:09]
Kade Danhaus
Yes, absolutely. And I thought of this question earlier when you were talking about, you know, shipping these things. Have you ever had something go wrong when you're shipping them?
- [30:19]
Kaitlyn
Hey, yes, ma' am. And it sucks because. And, you know, honestly, we have. I've done FedEx UPS just about every USPS. I've done them all. And I'd say they're all equally as bad about making sure they find a way to break stuff every now and then. And I'll tell you, I mean, we pack those things just about as good as you can. I mean, I bubble wrap them up, I put. I fill the box filled up with packing peanuts. And, you know, and, and. But never, there's never doubt. Every now and then you'll have, you know, an ear or tail or something break off. And it's just one of the things that happens. And I've kind of, you know. And I'll tell you, that's why anytime I can, you know, meet somebody and bring it to them or, hey, they're going to be at this show. Can I just hand deliver it to you? I certainly prefer to do that. But, you know, at some point, you know, there's people that live all over, and they want them. I understand they want their sculpture soon, so we gotta ship them. And that's. That's part of it. When that does happen, I, you know, I take full responsibility. I'm gonna. I'll make a new one, and I'll make it right. It just. It sucks because, you know, you can. Matter of fact, I was just at the. The post office today, and every single time, I beg and plea with them, hey, guys, this is very fragile. Please put fragile stickers on it. Please handle with care. And it's like it goes in one ear and out the other. I mean, I literally, I hand it to them, they turn around and they just toss it on the ground. I mean, they absolutely do not care. And again, I guess it's probably. I'm partial because I understand how much work went into that piece to get it looking like that. And then, you know, you know, people, they don't. They don't know what's in there. So Obviously, they don't care a whole lot, and it's. It's nothing to them. But it's just, again, I say it's kind of something I've had to deal with. I've. I think now I've kind of learned some different ways to maybe secure them a little bit better and package them just a little bit better, where I've kind of mitigated that a little bit more. But I'd say in the beginning stages, it was something I dealt with quite a bit, and it was definitely unfortunate.
- [32:18]
Kade Danhaus
I guess you'd say yes for sure. But, you know, you making it right with your customers means everything about your customer service. So I think that's very, very good.
- [32:28]
Kaitlyn
Yes, ma' am.
- [32:28]
Kade Danhaus
So wrap this up. I have a few fun questions are actually kind of okay, but you've had the opportunity to create trophies for the Blue Bloods and the Red Raider sale for next that NextGen puts on. So what is for you to get the opportunity to create something like this that, you know, that will be passed on from different breeders and also, you know, with your buddy Trace and his family, that puts that on?
- [32:52]
Kaitlyn
Well, hey, I'd be remiss if I didn't just give a shout out to Brent and then Trace and really the whole Titus family because they've been so good to me, you know, all throughout me and traces our juco career and then back even when I was living with him, whenever he was, he was still going to tech. You know, Brent has, like you said, the Blue Blood sale that we did last year, that trophy I did for them. And then we did another one just real recently for that, that Red Raiders sale. And it's fun because, you know, he says, hey, here's what I. Here's the idea I have, but just go hog wild with it. Have fun. And he really lets me be creative and just try and make something really, really cool and do even something near than we did the last time. So I, again, I'd be remiss if I didn't just give a little shout out to him. But what it means, you know, it's really cool for me. I'll just put it simple because like I said earlier, you know, as I never want a big show, but, you know, for. I think this has kind of been my way to, you know, almost kind of carve my own path and then, you know, get to meet so many great people, make all these great connections. That's been so rewarding for me. And, you know, we were at the exclusive last weekend and I. Where I gave. I made the. The trophy for that deal, and they're just sitting in there, and, you know, all the titans of the goat industry all around you, and they had that trophy up there on the block. And, you know, it's kind of surreal for me to just look around and be like, man, I had the opportunity to. To make this. It's so cool, you know, and I completely understand that all these sales, you know, the consigners, they're going to bring their best stuff. You know, they want to get a good check regardless. But you've got to think, too. You know, all those guys, they want to take that trophy home, too. You know, that'll look pretty good up there on the mantle. So it's been. I can't thank Brent and them enough for trusting me to do that, and, man, I greatly appreciate it. It's been really awesome for me to get to do those things. Yeah.
- [34:50]
Kade Danhaus
And I really like how you put that into perspective of just getting to, like, carve your way, because I think that's something that, you know, at times, like, I know when I was showing, like, I was so focused on just winning the big one.
- [35:01]
Kaitlyn
Right.
- [35:01]
Kade Danhaus
But there's so much more to life than just winning a livestock show, and there's so much more to life that you can give back, and you can find different ways to give back to the livestock industry. So I like what you've done. I think it's interesting, and I think that you're definitely no stranger to the livestock industry, so you've definitely carved your way.
- [35:19]
Kaitlyn
Yeah. Well, I appreciate you saying that. I. I'll just kind of piggyback off what you said. I. For any kid or really anybody listening to this, I think, you know, I think, like you said, we all get so caught up in wanting to win. I can tell you I want to win as much as anybody. It keeps me up at night. But I will say, I think there's more to life than that. I think being a better person, trying to better yourself every single day. Like you said, how you can give back to the community that has given us so much, and how can you can help people out, I think that might be just a little bit more important than winning. So I don't. I wanted to say that. I think that is. That's definitely important.
- [36:01]
Sister Urban
Yes.
- [36:01]
Kade Danhaus
I agree with that 100%. So kind of going back a little bit to the sculptures, I know we've talked a little bit about, you know, some male problems that you've had, but how often have you had to restart or fix different details to make it perfect.
- [36:17]
Kaitlyn
Okay. So, you know, honestly, not as much as you would think, I guess, because I'll tell you, whenever I'm doing the. What I would call the detailed phase, I'm so meticulous and just OCD about it, I go so slow. So, like, whenever I'm carving a ditch down a goat's back or something, like, I truly. I draw it out, and then, you know, I do a little bit, sand it down, make sure it's. It's looking right, do a little bit more. I mean, I just go so slow that there's not really, I guess, a whole lot of room for error. Like, I would almost see the mistake happen as it happens rather than, you know, hey, do it. Oh, you know, it's just. I would see it happen before it happens, I guess, is what I'm trying to say, because I go so slow and, you know, I will say it's happened a few times where I just sure enough, I think I might have been in a rush or whatever it was, and I sure enough just messed up. And, you know, but at that point, like, when that's happened, I say, hey, Kate, that ain't good enough. We got to be as perfect as we can. And I'll restart it, because at the end of the day, I. I understand that, hey, these people are paying really good money for a piece of art that they. I want them to cherish for, you know, many years to come. If I'm not giving it, you know, my all, then. Then I don't think it's worth it. So whenever. I guess what I'm trying to say is whenever that has happened, I no doubt I will restart it real quick and do it right. But, yeah, it doesn't happen probably as much as someone would think, just because I am so meticulous and go so slow in that process, for sure.
- [37:48]
Kade Danhaus
So is cd, lifestyle sculptures all that you do, or what else can people find you doing?
- [37:54]
Kaitlyn
I tell you what, I wish it was all that I did because I'd be a lot more caught up than I am. But, no. So my. Like I mentioned earlier, so my wife Courtney, she would have graduated this past December, and, like, this spring, we've done quite a bit of clipping and picturing and marketing for goat breeders here in Texas, a little bit in New Mexico, and we're actually in North Carolina a couple weekends ago, so we've done quite a bit of that. And then she pictures for Devin Sisk. So whenever I say, whenever I'm not working on sculptures. And she's not picturing shows. We're probably picturing goats. And that, that's, that's kept us really busy. You know, I enjoy it because I get to see those goats when they're babies. And, you know, I enjoy that just going to all the different places and seeing them. But whenever I'm not doing that, I also help out quite a fam. Quite a few show families here in Texas with their goats. So, you know, I'm always going to sales, I'm always going to checking on goats. And even when I'm home and I'm not checking on them, I'll have people send me videos and pictures of everything. So it makes Courtney so mad because I will stay up till midnight just looking at these videos, watching them over and over and over again, trying to figure out, hey, what do we need to do? I mean, it, it, it sounds crazy, but like most people, it just consumes me. It's all, Whether it's sculptures or show goats, it just, it's all I think about every single day. And it, it just consumes me. So I guess I am as healthy as I can say. I'm the busiest person I know because, I mean, well, this sounds hypocritical because, yes, I did play golf this morning, but I promise, whenever I got home, I, I got back to work. But aside from today's golf tournament, I can't remember the last time I've had an off day because that, you know, I guess I feel like whenever I'm not working, I'm getting behind, and that was just a wasted day. So I'm either clipping goats, picturing goats, checking on goats, or making sculptures of goats, for sure.
- [39:48]
Kade Danhaus
But also, you deserve a day or two off every once in a while.
- [39:51]
Kaitlyn
No, you're right. You're not. Yes, ma' am. That's right. I just, I gotta remind myself of that every now and then, I guess.
- [39:57]
Kade Danhaus
Yes, I agree with that. So I know that, you know, we've already mentioned that you're building this business throughout high school and college. So where do you see this business going in the future?
- [40:08]
Kaitlyn
Hey, that is a great question. Again. I guess I probably made it clear how aspirational I am in this podcast, but I like to set big goals. You know, it's all I again, how I can grow this business is probably what I think about. You know, late at night, early in the morning, that's another thing that consumes me because I'm so hungry and so driven and I, I, and, and I I want to work hard and succeed at whatever I'm doing. And I guess if I take a step back and you know, look at the last, say two years and then how much it grew from, like we talked about whenever we made that initial post, that when everything kind of popped off, you know, how much it's growing from now till then. Now I just hope that, you know, this, we keep the same pace up. And I'll say I'm not quite ready to kind of say what they are yet, but I've got some really, really neat things that we're working on. We've got kind of coming down the pipeline. I think people will be really impressed with, really surprised with that, that I did what I'm going to do. We've got, we, we. I did a nativity scene deal this past Christmas that everyone loves. So I think I'll probably be making quite a few more of those things. And I've done what I've been like you mentioned earlier, those trophies for the, for the sales, I, I, I, that's always fun. It's kind of a different project and it's neat. So I'd like to do more of that stuff. Recently I did the trophies for the Angus show up in Reno. That was the, you know, I got to do a bunch of bronze Angus heifers and Angus bull trophies for him. That was really cool. I've got to do the Brahmin show, the 50th anniversary Brahmin show, state show here in College Station here in a couple months. I've got to make all the trophies for that. So, you know, kind of expanding in it. Expanding it, I guess. And you know, I guess in even more than that, I want to keep making the best ones. You know, whenever someone, you know, hey, we just won Kansas City, I want you to make our goat. Nothing gets me fired up like that. You know, whenever I see, I'm at this show and you know, I see this animal win, I can pretty well count on getting to replicate that thing. I tell you what, that, that really gets me fired up and I guess that's what keeps me hungry and what, what keeps me going for sure.
- [42:25]
Kade Danhaus
And like you said, just being open minded to expanding your business is something that is definitely going to help you as a business owner.
- [42:31]
Kaitlyn
Yes, ma' am, no doubt.
- [42:33]
Kade Danhaus
So my last question I have for you is not one that I had sent you, but. So my granddad used to make ducks.
- [42:40]
Sister Urban
Like just kind of how you do.
- [42:41]
Kade Danhaus
I'm kind of familiar with the whole process and stuff, but he had, like, a little notebook and he numbered every single one of his ducks. And so you can. You could look in that notebook and you could see exactly where every single one of them went. Do you have anything like that or how do you keep track of kind of how many you've done?
- [42:57]
Kaitlyn
Everyone who knows me thinks this is the funniest thing in the world. But, yes, Courtney has made me spreadsheets. People have offered to make me spreadsheets, but I'm old fashioned. So I have got every sculpture I've ever done on a center pulled out of sino pads from every. It's every sculpture I've ever done. What it was, what it won, who bought it, you know, where, all of it. I've got it all here in my binder, and I highlight them when I'm done with it. But every time I pull it out, whether I'm home or, you know, I'm updating the list or whatever, because this, this is the list as unorganized as it is. If someone's over and they see it, they just say, kate, what in the hell do you have going on here? Because it looks like a hot mess. But as crazy as that is, truly, it is all organized in my mind. Like, I can look back at, you know, whatever sheet and say, okay, yeah, this one, we did that. And probably a year ago, I thought, man, maybe we should just, you know, move to a digital spreadsheet or something like that. But then I thought, you know what? I want to look back in 20 years at this big old stack of papers and remember each one I did. So, yeah, I guess I do have something kind of like that.
- [44:01]
Sister Urban
Absolutely.
- [44:01]
Kade Danhaus
And you know, it's unique, it fits you. You have to have a spreadsheet or.
- [44:05]
Sister Urban
Anything like that, because that fits you for sure.
- [44:08]
Kaitlyn
Yes, ma' am.
- [44:09]
Kade Danhaus
Well, Kate, it was a pleasure to sit down with you and learn more about your business. Before we go, though, do you mind telling our listeners about where they can find out more about your sculptures?
- [44:19]
Kaitlyn
Of course. So on Facebook, I believe it's just under K Dan House. And that'll go to my. I don't have a personal page. It's just. Or I guess my. My sculpture page is my personal page. Whatever. So you can just type in Kate Dan House at C A D E D A N N H A U S K Dan House. That'll come. Pull up the sculpture page. And I think on Instagram, it's CD livestock sculptures. So you can go check it out. I'm always posting, you know, the latest one I did or what's in progress. And you can also like, if anybody's interested, they can send me a message on either Facebook or Instagram or my phone number, whatever it is, all that's listed on both those social media sites. So anybody with even if you're just have questions about it, I mean anybody, please feel free to reach out. I'll be more than happy to assist in any way I can.
- [45:10]
Kade Danhaus
Well, thank you so much, Kate. I really enjoyed this podcast.
- [45:13]
Kaitlyn
Oh, hey Dalen. I want to say how much I appreciate you having me on. I as a guy who listens to probably 10 or 12 hours of podcasts every single day, I love them and I commend you on what you're doing. I sure, I sure appreciate you having me on this evening.
- [45:28]
Kade Danhaus
Thank you.
- [45:29]
Kaitlyn
Yes, ma' am.
- [45:35]
Sister Urban
Well, it is. We're getting heavy into breeding season. I know many people have already been breeding for full borns, but even if you don't breed for fall borns, I hope you guys have been checking out our stadium showcase on Champion Drive because, because every week we are getting new Sudram showcases up. But this week we have a buck 45, which is a King Kong out of a unicorn. Pop, can you. Which is also Frog's mom from Alanukum. He's RRFD and he's owned with Charmerson.
- [46:00]
Kade Danhaus
Livestock and Anderson Livestock for headliners in.
- [46:05]
Steva Robinson
The headliner section, we have Low Livestock. They have a sale set headed to Young Guns and then also a pen sale set of sheep as well. That's May 17th and 18th in San Angelo and that's held in conjunction or the pen sales held in conjunction with Young Guns. And then like I said, they have a set for Young Guns as well. It features their 3-9- flush AI group, which was sired by contagious King Kong in Chief. And Lowe's were actually on our last podcast, I believe, and they also raised the reserve Grand Champion Market Lamb at Hawaii. The other headliner we have up right now is for Steve Robinson Showstock, which is myself. We have a Blue Bloods weather we're taking. He's from our Frog group. We leased Frog last year off the Exchange and got a really nice set of babies out of him. And kind of the standout from that group, I think is what we're headed to Blue Bloods with. He's a Frog America. He's in early February. I think that one is pretty interesting. So stop by and see him in Miles, Texas at the Blue Bloods. Let's get into our next segment with Danny Anderson. Hey Guys, I'm here this morning with Danny Berry, who's now Danny Anderson, and she has some pretty exciting stuff going on. As you might know, Danny, from Showing, the Berry family in Iowa has had a very successful run and have been mainstays in the sheep industry. Her dad, Keith, and her brother Tanner judged the American Royal last fall, and we had Keith on for that. And I think most of us at some point have either fed a Berry sheep, got beat by a Berry sheep, or. Or have some genetics that go back to Berry Farms. But Danny has a really cool business going, and so I thought it'd be a great time to have her on. So thanks for joining me this morning. Why don't you tell us a little bit about your background?
- [47:52]
Danny Anderson
Okay. For those that don't know me, Danny Berry now, Danny Anderson. I grew up in Sac City, Iowa, on the farm with my parents, Keith and Shelly Berry, my two siblings, Tanner and Lexi, which some of you may know. I'm the oldest, wisest, and I'm the only one that lives more than a mile away from my parents today. Growing up to this day, my family still raises and lambs out about 500 head of ewes. We also farm have corn, soybeans, and alfalfa. Back when we were growing up, you used to find us picking up rocks, baling and unloading hay on the hottest summer day and sorting, using the pasture with dad watching him throw his pliers at every you that got by him. A lot of sports, mainly basketball and softball. And yeah, then I got into showing right away. When I was young, we used to have live sales all the time, unlike today. You know, everything's online. We'd take 30 to 50 head of lambs to a sale. That's kind of where I learned how to show, talk to people. All those lambs had to be sheared and blanketed and numbered. So that's so different than it is today. We also had the MPCLA association. For those of you that were part of that, I would say that was definitely the glory days, so how family oriented that association all was. But it sure is funny to look back over the past and kind of see how the showing industry has changed for us. We used to have at least 20 lambs on feed between my brother and I. And then Lexi kind of came into the picture probably a little bit after I was done showing. But, you know, with 20 lambs on feed, we didn't have the leg wrapping and all that that we do today. We used to shear it off. So that has totally changed. And it's just been fun to be a part of this industry, see how things are changing. But, yeah, that's kind of how I grew up and sure wouldn't change it for the world.
- [50:15]
Steva Robinson
Yeah. And, you know, you had quite a run. Your family's had a heck of a run at the Iowa State Fair. I mean, like, you're not one to brag, but you did have, I mean, multiple grand champions there. And you guys showed, like you said, all the time across the country and did it at a really high level. You were a good athlete in high school, too, right?
- [50:33]
Danny Anderson
I don't know if I was a good athlete, but I enjoyed it. Yeah. Basketball and softball.
- [50:39]
Steva Robinson
Were you the best athlete of the Berry kids?
- [50:41]
Danny Anderson
Absolutely.
- [50:42]
Steva Robinson
I knew you were going to say that.
- [50:43]
Danny Anderson
Just ask them.
- [50:46]
Steva Robinson
So for those of you that don't know, those three kids have a very competitive attitude. So I wanted to lob a few up there for you to make sure we could drive that point home to everyone in the sheep industry that you were the best Berry athlete of the family. So after you got done with high school, you went to Iowa State. Tell us a little about. About that. Like what? You majored in stuff like that.
- [51:08]
Danny Anderson
Yes, went to Iowa State. Had the time of my life, as you probably know for sure.
- [51:14]
Steva Robinson
We did have a good time. There was a good group of us there.
- [51:16]
Danny Anderson
There was an awesome group. And you were senior and I was the little freshman. So have to say thanks for showing me the ropes there.
- [51:27]
Steva Robinson
Yeah, it was fun.
- [51:28]
Danny Anderson
Yeah. Yeah, was fun. We had a good time. Well, you guys had a great class, too, so it. It was the best. Both worlds there. So I ended up majoring in liberal studies. I don't know. I didn't really know what I wanted to do. And honestly, it was. I ended up. I was hoping to go for, like, sports kinesiology, and then I ended up just switching anyways. I focused on communication and marketing as well. So, yeah, college was. Was great. Never forget the. The little coaches corner at Applebee's every Monday night with you guys, with old coach Dan McCarney.
- [52:15]
Steva Robinson
I forgot about that. Yeah. For those of you that don't know, I would say you said football coach Dan McCarney and he'd have a call in show at Applebee's on Monday night. I forgot we used to go there and they had like a special on like the big Brutus beers or whatever. And I don't remember what else. We'd always go there and for the call in show. Forgot about that.
- [52:31]
Danny Anderson
Yes. Yes. So, yeah, that was great. But Loved my time at Iowa State. Tons of good egg kids there. Beautiful campus. Yeah. I loved every minute. And I would totally go back.
- [52:46]
Steva Robinson
I would too. Those are the best days.
- [52:48]
Danny Anderson
Yeah.
- [52:49]
Steva Robinson
So after college, bring everyone kind of up to speed. Like, what did you do from after college to where you are now?
- [52:55]
Danny Anderson
I ended up moving back to Carroll, Iowa. I actually ended up working for a while as a travel agent, but that was also cool. I got to work with some egg groups and in student groups with the egg groups. We brought a ton of people from Brazil to the Farm Progress show in Boone. So I was kind of in charge of like lining up tours for them to do. They wanted to see the agricultural side, whether it be the livestock or the farming aspect, you know, so we. We tried to squeeze a little bit of both those in for them. And then actually my next job was at a sleep study center. We did sleep studies for people and got them medical equipment after if they needed it. So I did that until 2019 after I'd had our second kiddo. And then I started working from home and I do all of our book work for our livestock trucking company. Which brings me to my husband, Mike. We got married in 2013. We have three kids. Our boy Brooks is 9. He's our sports kiddo, Andy. Our girl is 6, and she's kind of our animal lover, big hearted kid. And our little firecracker is Barry. She is 3, and she's gonna be the death of me. So anyways. Oh, man. Yeah.
- [54:42]
Steva Robinson
They said the same about Lexi, right?
- [54:44]
Danny Anderson
Yes, absolutely. It's that third child, I tell you. Gray hairs all day long. We have a livestock and tanker trucking business. We currently have around 19 trailers that are running now. Mike dispatches them and then I do the book work and the billing side of things. And then in 2017, Mike didn't want to pay somebody to get it spray foam, so he thought he would do it himself. That's kind of how that project got started. Learning the ropes there still, but that's been good. Seems like there's always that people that are redoing old buildings and. And the new is always going up as well. So that's been good as well.
- [55:30]
Steva Robinson
Very neat. So you guys juggle a lot of irons in the fire and now you've got another new business and it's called Soaked. I followed along on social media. It looks awesome. I never thought I would say I would probably be looking into booking a mini vacation to Lakeview, Iowa, but it's probably gonna have to happen. But so tell Us all.
- [55:50]
Danny Anderson
Yeah.
- [55:50]
Steva Robinson
Tell everyone about it and kind of how it got started and whatnot. And then I have a whole bunch of questions from there.
- [55:56]
Danny Anderson
Well, the Soaked idea came about when my husband was golfing with his buddy, who had a very clear vision of wanting to bring Nashville to central Iowa. We all know how great the ideas get after several rounds of golf and a case of beer later. So Soaked is, like, located in Lakeview, Iowa. Population's only about a thousand, give or take, but is a tourist town with a lake and campgrounds and a bike trail that happens to be right at the corner of our bar. And so we got together. We have some wonderful partners in this. Andrew and Kirsten Phillips. They live right down the road from mom and dad, actually. And just kind of started brainstorming what we all liked, what we wanted to get out of this, mainly what hasn't been done around here, what would make us unique. So we wanted to bring an experience to town, something you can't get anywhere else. So that's a little bit on kind of what we wanted. We ended up purchasing an old laundry mat that was about two blocks off the lake. We tore it down the end of 2013, or, excuse me, 2023. And then construction started the spring of 24. And then last weekend, we actually had our grand opening, and we served over 800 pizzas. Oh, my goodness. Amazing. Yeah. So that was fun.
- [57:40]
Steva Robinson
Yeah. I thought the reason I wanted to have you on for this is I thought a lot of, like, what you guys are doing is very unique. Like, what you said, or it's different. Like, I feel like a lot of people get stuck stuck in. In our marketing stuff and, like, the status quo of, like, oh, well, it's always been that way. And it seems like a lot of your ideas are like, well, that's neat. Why can't we do it? And yes, like, everything, like, all of your branding marketing is really good. Like, everything from the pizza boxes to, like, I don't know the technical term for it, but, like your beer deal that you can put your logo on in the bottom of the cup. I don't know what.
- [58:11]
Danny Anderson
Yeah, Yep. Bottoms up, bottom.
- [58:13]
Steva Robinson
Yeah.
- [58:14]
Danny Anderson
Yep.
- [58:15]
Steva Robinson
Yeah. So, like, everything looks like it's really well done. Like, the marketing of it has been really good. And obviously a lot, you know, are always looking for something different to do. So I thought it was interesting. Like, how did you come up with some of those ideas? Where was kind of your inspiration for a lot of it?
- [58:32]
Danny Anderson
Yeah, I mean, a lot of our ideas were just, we're we're both. Both couples are the same age, you know, so we're around, like, 35 to 40 years old. Can't believe that already, but we are. And, you know, we've. We've all traveled and. And love to go to places, check out new things. A lot of our inspiration was just from, like, hey, what. Do you remember what your favorite thing was at a bar, you know, that you went to? Or just trying to piece together unique things to take us to the next level and kind of set us apart from other places. I would have to say it's. It's. Nashville was kind of the vibe and the goal. Let's bring them any Nashville. The little Lakeview, Iowa. So we have a lot of those kind of touches, like old red, the bar, and, you know, Nashville or Vegas, It's. It kind of represents a little bit of that. We have a second story level with the railing that you can watch your favorite band play. We have a giant LED screen on the wall, a bar upstairs, the main bar downstairs, just. And. And our goal is to bring live music. We have at least one, if not two people coming every week to play live music. Come in, relax on the patio. We have a brick oven that cooks wonderful pizza. Have a cold beer that, like you said, we did the Bottoms up tap system. It's been very cool. It fills from the bottom up. And we've been using magnets for advertising for local companies. I mean, it doesn't have to be local, but it was fun to get a lot of local companies in on it. And when you get to the bottom of your beer, you see the magnets. So that was fun advertising for everyone. But, yeah, just wanted a fun place for us to go. We want our kids to be able to come there as a team, you know, after a softball game or baseball game, whatever it is, bring your team. Let's celebrate and relax and. And enjoy it.
- [60:55]
Steva Robinson
So we definitely nailed the old red theme because when I showed Jason pictures the other day, he's like, that looks like the Blake Shelton bar in Nashville. And that was funny because I didn't know if that was what you were going for or not.
- [61:07]
Danny Anderson
Yeah.
- [61:07]
Steva Robinson
But, yeah, and like, I said, like, I thought the. Just the. Like, all the touch points are really well done from a marketing standpoint. You guys have done an awesome job. How did showing livestock prepare you to run your own businesses and I guess, like, being able to multitask with being a mom running other. Other businesses and everything else.
- [61:28]
Danny Anderson
Yeah, we're definitely still trying to find the balance there of of this, but hopefully that comes with time and we get comfortable with where we're at with things. But it's also making us step outside of the box and be uncomfortable a little bit, too, which is great. Means you're growing. But I guess I really don't even know where to start with the life lessons that the show ring has. Has taught me. You know, whether it's teamwork, discipline, work ethic, responsibility, integrity, confidence, be humble, be kind are some of the main ones that, that come to mind for me. I was laughing, I was thinking about this last night, and one thing that totally comes to the top for me is it's all about the handshake for me. It can be the best thing, it can be the hardest thing. Your hand can receive the congratulatory shake for winning. It can also reward someone else with the handshake for winning. And I just feel like this is going to follow you your whole life. Be fair, celebrate the wins, but also learn how to be a gracious loser. And I just think, you know, strive to. To be better, to do it through work ethic. I might lose, but it's not going to be from the lack of putting in the time and the effort into my project.
- [63:04]
Steva Robinson
Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I think that is definitely a really good point. And I think I've mentioned once to someone I was like a lot like the successful people in the livestock industry could go and do whatever they chose to do and they'd still be successful because they have the basics. Kind of like you talked about, right? Yes. Being able to be a gracious loser or take, you know, take your success in stride and keep focused on the goal. And so when I saw your soap deal, I definitely wanted to get you on because of that. And I think it definitely, like, kind of ties to a lot of things that we always talk about of, like, seeing the big picture and just, you know, keeping your head down and working hard. So with that, I will let you get back to the rest of your day. I'm sure you have a busy day juggling everything, but for those of you who are on social media, be sure to give soaked follow on Facebook. It's a really cool place. And maybe when you're in the area checking out babies in the spring, you can go check out sheep at Keith and Shelley and Tanner's and then you can head in custom and discuss them at Danny's bar. Yes.
- [64:05]
Danny Anderson
Perfect.
- [64:08]
Steva Robinson
Thanks a bunch. Best of luck. And we'll definitely be making a stop through.
- [64:11]
Danny Anderson
Sounds great. Thanks, Steven.
- [64:18]
Sister Urban
Well, to wrap this up. I know the jackpot season is in full swing, so we try to track down as many jackpots results as we can. But if you're ever at a jackpot show or you know, you have success anywhere, just be sure to send them into us. It's a champion drive. And to stop by and see Casey and Steve at Blue Bloods or Young Guns. They'll be down there for that weekend. And then the last thing I have to leave you guys with is before we got on this podcast, I was actually listening to another podcast and it was kind of funny. It was this quote that I came across right before me and Steve started recording. But somebody said that 80% of what you do is pretty much what everyone else is doing, like during a General Day. But 20% of what you do can make 100% of the difference. So I guess go out there and take that for what it's worth.
- [65:11]
Kaitlyn
Sa.