Reckless Ben Breaks Silence on LEGO Lawsuit, Getting Arrested, & Losing Everything

Summary

Podcast Summary: Reckless Ben Breaks Silence on LEGO Lawsuit, Getting Arrested, & Losing Everything

The Iced Coffee Hour – July 10, 2026
Hosts: Graham Stephan (absent in most of episode), Jack Selby, Charlie
Guest: Reckless Ben (Ben)

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Overview

This episode dives into the wild, headline-grabbing story of YouTuber Reckless Ben and the now-infamous “LEGO Lawsuit” saga, covering his legal battles with a major company (implied Bricks & Minifigs), getting arrested (twice), viral internet activism, and his ethos as a creative disruptor. With candid and sometimes hilarious discussion, Ben explains how a supposed $200,000 theft of LEGO sets evolved into a powerful story about corporate greed, police overreach, and the "little guy vs. the system." The conversation ranges from the legal technicalities and viral impact to philosophy about money, happiness, and unconventional living.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. The LEGO Lawsuit: From Small Dispute to Internet Sensation

[02:08–04:32, 12:34–14:35, 34:25–36:17, 95:01–99:12]

• Ben recaps the origin: helping a man named Brian recover a LEGO collection placed on consignment at a franchise store. After a corporate takeover, the new owners claim all inventory — including Brian’s — is now theirs, despite lacking ownership or a bill of sale.
• Ben: “It’d be similar if I parked my car in their parking lot. They don’t just get my car. Like, it’s not their car to sell. It’s my car.” [13:18]
• The real story beneath “$200,000 of LEGO Stolen”: a fight against “corporate greed” where the company bullies those without resources.
• Rationale for the story's virality: frustration with injustice where “whoever has more money, they kind of maybe get this, like, it goes their way.” [03:46]
• Theme: Creativity, persistence, and the internet can empower ordinary people to hold powerful interests accountable.

2. Legal Fallout and Getting Arrested

[01:10–07:16, 28:15–30:56, 60:15–61:50, 114:04–114:51]

• Ben faces multiple serious charges: criminal stalking (for serving court papers), cyberstalking (for starting a GoFundMe), TROs (restraining orders), accusations of extortion (misinterpreted threats), and a $10M lawsuit.
• He claims to have submitted evidence, including uncut footage, disproving threats, but charges remain: “I have the raw footage… the police looked at it and they still charged me anyway.” [07:00]
• Total legal expenses: $50-70,000 on attorneys — refuses pro bono/PR-motivated counsel.
• Arrest experience: “It was pretty fun… but just really boring. I was in there by myself… kind of like solitary confinement.” [60:19]
• The threat of jail: “I actually didn’t find out about [the effort to deny bail] until after… I didn’t know that when I was in there, so I wasn’t really scared.” [61:26]
• Ben reflects, “It’s fun. I love it… My favorite thing in life is getting into a hard situation and trying to figure your way out.” [54:44]

3. Media, Message, and the Power of the Internet

[14:40–16:23, 95:39–97:13, 114:54–115:38]

• Ben: The case became viral not due to LEGO but due to exposing inequality and the struggle of the “little guy.” Viral impact emboldened more people and put public pressure on the company and authorities.
• “The power of the Internet is kind of underrated… If you have the power of public support behind you…it’s kind of one of the most powerful things in the world.” [114:54]

4. Ben’s Investigative Methods & Mindset

[11:23–12:34, 43:15–49:38, 99:13–100:38]

• Ben likens his strategy to chess: “The way I win is unpredictability… the FedEx thing, or something, they didn’t know how to react.” [11:23]
• Investigative process is loose, creative, and “outside the box;” analogies to testing hypotheses in science.
• Advice to others: “Try really hard and don’t take no for an answer… I sucked at balance… but I just tried harder than all my friends, and I actually ended up becoming, like, the best in America at slacklining.” [100:41]

5. The Franchise Model & Collateral Victims

[82:51–86:34, 109:17–111:41]

• Many Bricks & Minifigs stores are independently owned/franchised. Most are innocent victims of corporate actions and now face blowback, decreased sales, and reputational harm.
• Ben: “These are independent franchises. They have nothing to do with what corporate says. They didn’t sign this contract thinking corporate would steal from old people.” [85:08]
• Ben and the GoFundMe plan to help franchisees rebrand or get legal help so "innocent" parties aren't punished.

6. Money, Happiness, and Unconventional Living

[63:11–80:27]

• Ben rejects consumerism: “I pretty much own nothing… If I died right now, I would have worked my entire life to get money… for nothing. So I dropped out [of college], I’m gonna live a life where when I die, I look back, and I did it right.” [62:17, 66:01]
• Describes living on a beach for six months, selling slacklines for food, and valuing experiences over possessions.
• The hosts and Ben discuss money and relationships, agreeing that a “medium” amount of money is probably healthiest and most happiness comes from non-material things.
• “I want to be happy with no money. And then money is just sprinkles on top, you know?” [77:09]
• “Even if this Lego video flops and gets demonetized, I’m still happy because I had fun doing [it].” [79:22]

7. Dealing with the Police & Systemic Bias

[30:03–39:56]

• The local police’s bias is discussed—possible influence of shared religious background (Mormonism) and the expectation that a local church leader is automatically trustworthy.
• Ben: “If he made it this high in the church of Mormonism, he must be trustworthy, right?” [36:17]
• Systemic issues: police relied on false information in reports; even after body cam footage contradicted official claims, the police doubled down or shifted their stories.
• “I think the police department might actually make things right… but Bricks and Minifigs, I think they’re so stubborn they’ll never admit they’re wrong.” [98:27]

8. Viral Response & Advice to Viewers

[115:43–116:35, 100:41–102:17]

• Ben urges: “Don’t harass the independent stores!… Harassing the stores would be like joining corporate’s side, because the stores are being hurt by corporate too.” [115:43]
• Life advice: “Find out what makes you happy and then see if you can make money doing it.” [116:35]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• (02:40) Ben: “When you actually, like, watch it, it’s about corporate greed… bullying the little guy. Because they can… it’s kind of a theme of our justice system… whoever has more money, it goes their way.”
• (06:34) Ben: “I told him, ‘Once we make a documentary on this, it’s not going to be good for your brand.’ But he took that as ‘I’m going to burn down the building and everyone inside.’”
• (16:44) Ben: “I just like spending all my money on videos. Like, I don’t have money to invest.”
• (54:44) Ben: “It’s fun. I love it. My favorite thing in life is getting into a hard situation and then trying to figure your way out of it. It’s like solving a puzzle.”
• (62:17, 66:01) Ben (on living purposefully): “If I died right now, I would have worked my entire life to get money… for nothing. So I… dropped out. I’m gonna live a life where when I die, I look back and I lived it correctly.”
• (77:09) Ben: “I want to be happy with no money. And if that’s the case, but once I get money, that’s like the sprinkles on top.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:10–07:16] – Ben details the legal charges, misunderstandings with authorities, and lawsuit.
• [12:34–14:35] – Explains the consignment dispute and legal claims from different parties.
• [28:15–30:56] – Discussion of the arrest, police conduct, and consequences.
• [60:15–61:50] – What getting arrested was like for Ben.
• [63:11–66:01] – Philosophy on money, living on the beach, and rediscovering priorities after a near-death accident.
• [95:01–97:13] – Predicting the future of the Bricks & Minifigs saga and weighing the outcomes.
• [100:41–102:17] – Ben’s “secret” to success: persistence over talent.

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Additional Highlights

• Ben describes his “chess move” legal tactics, his passion-driven Discord “detective” group, and his distaste for “rage-bait” metaglasses YouTubers.
• Hosts play devil’s advocate, questioning if Ben’s methods border on harassment; Ben stands by his intent and transparency.
• Ben describes “most reckless things” (serving court papers, trick contracts, and investigating Scientology with hidden cameras).
• Bricks & Minifigs’ official response is read live—Ben explains where he agrees and disagrees; disputes their claims with direct evidence and inside knowledge.
• If the company wants to resolve, Ben claims, “Just do the chicken dance”—a running joke symbolizing public accountability.

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Conclusion

This episode is a wild, winding journey through true crime, internet activism, legal drama, and offbeat philosophy. Reckless Ben’s story illustrates the power of creativity, persistence, and community in the digital age. Through hardship, police run-ins, and lawsuits, his unorthodox approach to justice, life, and storytelling makes for one of the most entertaining and insightful conversations of the year.

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Key Takeaways (“If You Only Have a Minute”)

• A $200k+ LEGO consignment dispute became a viral exposé about corporate overreach and police misconduct.
• Ben’s chess-like unpredictability, transparency, and passion fueled both his successes and legal troubles.
• Money, for Ben, isn’t the goal—happiness and adventure are.
• He urges fans not to harass innocent franchisees or conflate them with the parent company.
• “If you try hard enough and don’t take no for an answer, you can do amazing things—even if you’re not naturally talented.”

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For the full story or uncensored bonus material, see Iced Coffee Hour’s channel membership or Reckless Ben’s YouTube.

Transcript

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[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Hi, how's it going? So, basically, my friend said that you guys have some of his Legos. You can go ahead and leave now. This story is so much bigger than and just stealing $200,000 worth of Lego.

[Co-host Charlie]

Tonight's story began with a missing Lego collection and ended with a SWAT raid.

[Co-host Jack]

What charges are you facing right now?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, my gosh. Okay. We got so much. We got criminal stalking when I tried to serve in court papers, cyberstalking when I made the GoFundMe. I've already been to court, I think three times for each of those, and those court cases could drag out to two years. I'm in a lawsuit right now. The lawyers are saying $10 million minimum.

[Co-host Charlie]

Are you stressed out right now with the lawsuits?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

No. It's fun. I love it. Well, it's exactly the same. Their logic is if I'm in jail, I can't release my documentary, and then they get away with their crimes.

[Co-host Jack]

It seems like they've done anything and everything to stop you.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

We play differently here. This is a classic example of corporate greed. Working with a lot of money, using the cops to sweep a crime under the rug. These are sets he has not been paid for. They're not going to get away with this. I am no longer allowed to even mention this mystery company or I will be in jail. They're trying to silence me right now. Now. But I'm just going to come out and say all of their secrets that they don't want you to know.

[Co-host Jack]

Reckless. Ben, thank you so much for coming on the Iced Coffee Hour.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, yeah, well, thanks for having me.

[Co-host Jack]

This.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

This place is sick.

[Co-host Jack]

Thank you. You have Created arguably the number one story of 2026. I never thought I would be so invested. I'm not going to lie. YouTube recommended me this video maybe 20 times, but I saw $200,000 worth of Lego stolen and I honestly could not care less. And then Graham said, you need to watch this series. Oh, yeah, Insane. And I watched the first episode in 10 minutes. I was completely hooked. It almost has nothing to do with lego.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, I mean, I feel you on that. I would never ever click on a video like an hour and a half long video on Legos either. I was kind of just banking off the fact I kind of exactly what you said. Like one or two people will see it and they're just going to tell everyone about it, you know, and they finally watch it and they tell their friends. I was like, okay, they'll. It'll just. It's not a good hook, but it'll spread.

[Co-host Jack]

You know, I need to correct you right there because it's not actually legos. It's actually just like.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, a lot of people have been saying that. It's like deer is what they say. Or fish. Yeah, you don't say deers, you just say deer. But it seems weird to be like, hey, can you please give me the LEGO back? Because then I think like, oh, there's just. He stole one piece of lego.

[Co-host Jack]

Lego.

[Co-host Charlie]

I'd agree with you on that.

[Co-host Jack]

I don't know if a singular LEGO piece can be worth $200,000.

[Co-host Charlie]

There are. There's a gold brick that's worth a lot of money and some of the minifigures are worth substantial.

[Co-host Jack]

Is it actually gold? It better be gold. Yeah. $200,000.

[Co-host Charlie]

Yes. I believe they only made six in the world. Whoa, 24 karat gold.

[Co-host Jack]

Maybe you should buy it. Good alternative investment. I would love beat your portfolio. I know, I was here international index once. I would love to. Anyways, $200,000 of Lego was stolen. What do people think this is about? And what is it actually about?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I guess, like from the clickbait, you're like, oh, I'm going to get a thing into like Legos. And so I don't really care about legos. Like, maybe I won't watch it, but when you actually, like, watch it, it's about corporate greed and like a, like a corporate entity that's in the wrong bullying the little guy. Because they can, you know, because they have power and they can get away with it. Even though they're not right. They can get away with it and it's kind of A theme of, like, our justice system of, like, because you're taught growing up, oh, if you're in the right, you'll win. If you're in the wrong, you'll get punished. But throughout this video, you kind of see it's like, whoever has more money, they kind of maybe get this, like, it goes their way. And then if you don't have money, even if you're morally and legally in the right, you can get screwed over just because you don't have the resources to fight.

[Co-host Jack]

What charges are you facing right now?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, my gosh. Okay. We got so much. We got criminal stalking when I tried to serve in court papers. Cyber stalking when I made the GoFundMe. I've already been to court, I think three times for each of those. And those court cases could drag out to two years. So that's the criminal side we got. I'm in a lawsuit right now. The lawyers are saying $10 million minimum for me and my friends. What we're gonna have to pay if we lose. But I think we. We're gonna try and fight that. Obviously, we got the tro, which could be a real restraining order. I got a second restraining order coming. They haven't served me yet. I'm still. I don't wanna say on the run, but they. They are not. They have what you say? They haven't served me yet. Mexico, that coming? Yeah, so that's coming. I haven't been to my house since this dropped because of. First we had a warrant for my arrest, but I got that dropped. We're dealing with that in court now. Uh, then right when that got dropped, I got a second restraint or the first restraining order. So I was like, ah, still can't show back up to my house. Then right when they served me by email. Now I have a second restraining order that they're trying to serve on me. So the police have just been after me this entire time. Um, they're trying to get me with extortion because they're saying that I told them if they don't give me the Legos back, I'm gonna burn their corporate headquarters down and everyone. So I guess that's extortion, which is, like, super illegal. I didn't do that. But there's.

[Co-host Jack]

Where did they get that idea of.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

So basically I. I just go up to him, like, hey, I mean, you saw in the video where I was like, you wanna do this the easy way or the hard way? You know, like the easy way. Implying, like, you could just give them the Legos. Back, like, you're obviously, like, not entitled. Like, you didn't buy those, so it, like, won't hurt them to give them the Legos back. That's the easy way. And the hard way is like, everything that's happening now, you know, it's like, we take them to court, we show the world that they stole the Legos and their brand drops because of it. Like, that's the hard way. But I think he thought the hard way was I burned down the building and everyone inside is what he took that as.

[Co-host Jack]

That's the hard way.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

That's what he's. I mean, I told him, I was like, hey, like, once we make a documentary on this, like, it's not going to be good for your brand is what I said. But he took that as, I'm going to burn down the building and everyone inside. And so immediately after I talked to him, like, I have the body cam footage, he goes. And, like, I have the security camera footage of the corporate headquarters because it was in discovery. And he just immediately calls the police. He's like, hey, this YouTuber just came in, say he's going to burn down our building. I'm like, what?

[Co-host Charlie]

Wow.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

And I submitted all the raw footage to the police that shows that I didn't do that. Like, you can see. I go up the elevator, I talk to him, I go down the elevator back to my car. No cuts. I submitted that whole raw footage of the police. I'm like, I don't know where he's getting this. And the police looked at it and then they still charged me anyways.

[Co-host Charlie]

How much money have you spent so far on lawyers?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Want to say about 7:50 to 70,000, I think. I feel like it'd be in a

[Co-host Jack]

lawyer's best interest to help you out for free because they would get so much publicity.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

So everyone advising me has said, don't do that. Because the people that are in it for free are probably not going to do the best job. They're doing it more for publicity and not necessarily to win. So they. I've been. Because at first I thought the same thing, but basically everyone I talked to says, make sure you don't get a lawyer for free. Make sure you pay them. Because then there's like, accountability. If they don't do the right thing, it's like, oh, I paid you. You know, where there's kind of an out if they do it for free. Like, hey, he's not paying me, so maybe I don't have to. I tend to go above and beyond.

[Co-host Charlie]

I Agree with that. How did you first discover the story about missing lego?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

So I just put the end of my previous video. I said, hey, if you have a problem that the police can't solve, email me this email. And I had made a whole email just for ideas, and I got probably like 10,000, like email ideas. And I posted it on the way to Burning man. And then it started raining, and so it was like muddy at Burning Man. It was like a 24, 26 hour wait to get inside. So me and my friends were just going through all the ideas and we would just like, starl the ones that we thought were the best. And we came with like, probably 20 ideas that we started on. Some of them didn't really work out because, like, as you could tell, like, when I first did the LEGO video, the first thing I do is I walk to bricks and minifigs and I'm like, I just want to hear their side of the story, you know? And then obviously they kick me out and they, like, get upset at me. So a couple of the video ideas were like, okay, let's hear their side. And it's like, oh, well, it turns out this is kind of a misunderstanding or something. Or like, I guess they weren't actually the bad guys, you know. So that happened, a couple of video ideas. And the bricks and minifigs was kind of just one of the ones where I was like, okay, let me hear their side. And they just got super upset at me. So I was like, okay, let me just keep pursuing this, you know, because it seemed like there was like a huge injustice. So I was like, okay, I'll just keep doing this, you know.

[Co-host Charlie]

What were some of the other ideas that people sent in?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, my gosh, there were some amazing ones.

[Co-host Charlie]

Like, what's the craziest one? Because I'd imagine if you just say, hey, give me a case the police can't solve, you're going to get like, yeah, wild stories.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Well, I'm currently working on 12 of them side by side. A lot of them I'm still undercover, so I don't really want to, at least on the record, not go into them yet, because then all the audience, it just takes one troll in the audience to be like, oh, I'm gonna tell this company that Ben's undercover in them right now, you know, and. And then it ruins the whole thing. And I'm like, I'm like deep in some of them, you know.

[Co-host Charlie]

Tell us the ones, though, that you're not doing that were just crazy. Like, are you getting like, Cases.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I'd say, like, slightly below that. You might have to censor this one out, I can tell you, but maybe just put, like, a sensor over it or something, like a bleep or. I don't know, or silence it. But this is one of the cool ones I'm working on. There was this guy. It's like, literally the exact same plot line as the Lego video. And so we go in, we're like, hey, we solved this case for you. You know, and they're like, if you don't leave right now, we're calling the cops on you.

[Co-host Jack]

And now I'm like, completely. This is, like, one of the most horrible things I've heard in a long time.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

That's what I'm saying. It's like. It's like a few steps down from.

[Co-host Jack]

Some of the things that I see you do are, like. I would say categorically genius. Like, being able to come up with, we steal from old people is the company name, and tagline is bricks and minifigs doing that. Or, like, you know, covering up their sign and getting this woman to sign a document, like, months in advance before you actually ended up using it because you were posing as, like, a FedEx delivery person or whatever. Like, all of these things, it's like, layer. It's like a game of chess. Move after move after move after move.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I'm curious.

[Co-host Jack]

What would you say your, like, actual value is, like, your skill set? Like, what do you attribute this to? Are you like, a PI. An investigator? Like a detective?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I actually like the chess analogy, and I use that analogy a lot. I'm like, this is like a game of chess, and the way I win is the unpredictability. So I. I like chess a lot. I go to a chess club every Thursday. But it's like, okay, so if I play, like, a normal, like, E4 opening, you know, and stuff, and you play a normal opening, it's. It's like, I might win, I might lose if we're, like, the same skill level, you know? But say I. I have, like, someone who's just, like, a beginner at chess and doesn't know anything, and they just make some really weird moves I've never seen before. They might beat me just because of how weird they're playing, and I don't know how to, like, counteract. Like, counter their moves, you know? So I kind of do the same thing. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna cope with some weird, like, strategies. So outside of the box, you're never gonna see it coming. And even though it's the stupidest thing ever, I might, like, beat you, because you won't know how to react. You know, it's like, this is like. You're right. Like, the thing where I'm like, the FedEx thing or something. Like, they didn't know how to react when they saw it. Signed document. So they literally would just close their store. Like, they stopped calling the cops on me, and they would just close their store down. And we're like, yes, like, we won. You know, because it wasn't, like, a good idea at all. Like, it was a terrible idea, but they just didn't see it coming, so they didn't know how to react to it. And it worked.

[Co-host Charlie]

So how were the LEGO sets missing?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

It's kind of being debated how much the LEGO sets are actually worth. And he already got paid out $17,000 from the previous owner. So he wasn't owed $200,000, but that's just an easy number to use. But he puts his LEGO sets in the store, and the store didn't have enough money to buy them from him, so he said, let's do a consignment. So they're still your LEGO sets, but every time one gets sold, you keep, like, 70% or whatever. How much percent they're giving him, and we'll keep, like, the other percent, you know, as a thank you for, like, selling them for us. And so it's working out fine. He already got paid $17,000 in this. So every time sites would get sold, he'd get the majority of the money. They keep a small amount, but then corporate comes over and takes over the store for whatever reason. That's not really any of Brian's or my business. I guess there was a business dispute that's completely unrelated. So they take over the store. And they said everything in the store is now ours, including these sets that weren't the stores to give him. You know, it'd be similar if I parked my car in their parking lot. Like, they don't just get my car. Like, it's not their car they sell. It's my car. Yeah, yeah. So his. His Legos are kind of like, yeah, car parked in the parking lot. Like, they don't just get his Legos, but they're claiming they do. So when he shows up, he's like, hey, can I have my Legos back? And they say, no, these are our Legos now. This is our inventory. And he's like, what do you mean? And like, well, you. He's like, I have this contract. And, like, well, we're not a part of this contract. In order for us to be under agreement, we have to sign something. And we didn't sign this contract. So we don't have to listen, we don't have to follow the contract because we didn't sign it. And. But what they are failing to understand is when they take over the business, they take over any of the agreements that are in the business, including that contract. So since they took over the business, they are taking over that contract now. Which their response to that is, well, if you want your legos back, you can sue us, but by suing us, you'll spend more money on court than your collection's even worth. And you'll just lose money. So you'll lose time money. It'd be much easier if you just let us keep the LEGO sets. And that's where he was at.

[Co-host Jack]

And why did this video then break the Internet if it seems like it's just someone stealing Lego?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I think because of the last sentence I just said. So the corporation says, we know we're in the wrong, but we can get away with this because we have money and you don't. And I think people are tired of, like, big corporations, like, hurting the little guy. You know, it's like the punching down. You know, people hate that. And so I basically went to Brian. I was like, hey, you know what? We're gonna stand up to this company and show them that the little guy can't get bullied anymore, you know? And I didn't do it from, like, a Mr. Beast perspective where I was like, okay, we're gonna, like, pour all this money and, like, do all this, like, stuff, because then it wouldn't have had the impact of, like, the little guy standing up to the big guy. Like, I did it from the, like, from the story of, okay, we have no resources. How can we use our creativity to take down this big company? You know? And it kind of really relates to people that, like, don't have resources and can't stand up. And so I think the message is really, like, if you're creative and if you, like, really put your mind to it, you can't stand up to the big guy. You just have to, like, be creative and, like, make a voice, you know,

[Co-host Jack]

speaking how the little guy can win me being a little guy. I suppose I tried to find out if any public company had interest in bricks and minifigs so I could short it and I couldn't find it.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

We were. We were joking about that right before we posted the video. Yeah, it's not publicly traded.

[Co-host Jack]

I. I wanted to do, like, a Chris Camillo arbitrage trade. And I'm, like, aware of all this information this company is getting hit with. Like, you know, they have to spend all this money on lawsuits. They're getting all this negative press. I'm like, I can short this company and make a lot of money. No, there's no public interest.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, we were definitely joking about that right before we posted the video. We actually looked it up, and then we were very disappointed when we saw that there was. I've never, like, invested in stocks or anything my entire life, but. But this will change that.

[Co-host Charlie]

At the end of this episode, we're

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

going to change that. Dang. Yeah. I've never, like, invested in anything. I think, Okay, I invested, I think, 20 bucks in Bitcoin, like, right when it started, and it turned to, like, 500 bucks, I think. But that's the only time I ever.

[Co-host Jack]

I was like, oh, that didn't make you want to invest more like 20xing your money?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I probably should have.

[Co-host Charlie]

Yeah.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know. I just. I just, like, spending all my money on videos. Like, I don't have money to invest. I just. All my money I just put right back into the videos.

[Co-host Charlie]

How much do you spend per video?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Not a lot. I think there was, like, a less than 2. It was like we spent gas money to get up there. That was the biggest expense. And then the Airbnb and hotels and then food. That's about it.

[Co-host Charlie]

When you.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I bought, like, maybe, like, 400 bucks of Lego props. Like, we brought, like, the Lego costume. We brought some, like, Lego. Like, maybe, like, I'd say, like, probably $2,000 budget, maybe for the whole video.

[Co-host Charlie]

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[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Well, yeah, that's. Of course, that's why I went and heard their side. You know, I feel like I'm just documenting my experience so I can't be wrong in my experience. So I'm like, okay, I heard Brian's side of the story, and I'm like, okay, Brian could be wrong, so let me hear their side. So I go to their store, then they call the cops on me, and they're like, leave, leave, leave. So I'm. There's nothing wrong. And I'm just like, here's what happened. I'm just here to share my experience, and I'm not wrong in sharing my experience.

[Co-host Charlie]

So what do you think is the biggest misconception people have about this story?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know. There's the. The spy glasses. It has the wrong timestamp at the bottom. It's like 2019. So a lot of the reaction channels watching it, they're like, he's been working on this for seven years. Like, what the heck? Like, this is insane. I'm like, no, we're. And then they're like this. And then It'll be like, 2020. And we use like six or seven different pairs of spy glasses. They all have different dates at the bottom. So it looks like we filmed it over like six years or something, but we really filmed it in, like, four or five days. I'm trying to think of the biggest misconception, like, storyline wise. I don't know. We just. I just tried to be like, hey, like, we went in, just tried legal stuff, you know, we're like, I don't know if this is gonna work or not. Let's just try it. And we just did it, and we just shared our experience, I guess. I guess.

[Co-host Jack]

Okay.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

The biggest misconception, I think, is everyone the entire time is saying, like, get a lawyer. Get a lawyer. You know, like, like, if you had a lawyer, you would have solved this immediately. Well, first off, Brian's wife is actually an attorney. So we did have a lawyer with us the entire time. And most of the idea is we would pitch to her. She's like, that's the worst idea I've ever heard. And we're like, sick. That means it's going to be awesome, you know, because I've always thought that, like, the ideas lawyers gives are, like, really boring. But at the same time, we wanted to do it from the perspective of someone who doesn't have resources for a lawyer, you know, and because a lot of people, like, say, I just, like, threw, like, $50,000 to this video, and we did it, like, the right way, and we got the Legos back, like, easy. Then the people watching at home are like, oh, well, he could have only pulled that off because he has money, you know, and it's not, like, inspiring me to, like, stand up to my bully, you know? So I wanted to do it from, like, the point, like, from the perspective of someone who literally has nothing, you know, that way, when you watch my video, it's like, there's no excuse. Like, if I can do it, you can do it. Like, go out. I want it to be inspiring for people, you know, like, if I could do this with literally nothing, you can stand up to your bully. You can stand up to the person pushing you around. And so how did it go from

[Co-host Jack]

something as simple as just standing up to your bully and, like, wanting to make something right. Some guy had his Legos stolen. You just want to return his Legos to you. Then being. What would you call, like, charged with six crimes? Like, how did.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

How do you bridge that gap?

[Co-host Jack]

Because I'm sure a lot of people wondering.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

So at the end of the first video, I wasn't charged with anything. You know, we were just having fun. I guess the cops were kind of. Which makes sense. Like, at the end of the day, it is a civil matter, and the cops really aren't supposed to get involved. The cops are kind of being dicks. But we. I talked to the chief of police afterwards, and he said that the police messed up. They were given false information and wrote false information in the police report. And since the police were going off the information in the police report, they were going off false information, didn't know the whole story. So they apologized for that, and they gave me, like, a personal apology, which I really respected. And then it wasn't until we went to Utah, where things started getting crazy. And I think this Is once they f. So the whole first video, they just thought I was some kid. Like, remember the phone call? He's like, are you just some kid? Like, this isn't how the world works. Like, you're just some. He's like, are you young? You know? So they just thought it was some, like, stupid idiot that they could, like, bully around, you know? And then in the second video, I think this one, they find out on my YouTube channel, because when we did the lawsuit, I had to, like, pull my information in the lawsuit. And so I think they were like, let's look this kid up, you know? And they found my YouTube channel. So, like, okay, this guy's doing a video on us, and that's bad. So let's make up reasons to get him arrested is what I think they were trying to do, because why else would they be acting like this? So I think they're just making up reasons to get me thrown into. Because their logic is, if I'm in jail, I can't release my documentary. And then they get away with their crimes.

[Co-host Jack]

So it originated in Oregon. That's where this whole store, like. Yeah, the store was. That stole the Lego. And then you went down to Utah, because that's where they closed the store.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, yeah. And that's where the owners live.

[Co-host Jack]

They close the store, and that's where they live. And so you're effectively trying to create a lawsuit because you couldn't sue for this exact infraction because the store was closed, whatever. So you try to create a secondary lawsuit of other people having their. Their Lego stolen on consignment from the same owner. It's a little bit complicated. Just trying to understand.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Well, that's. That's the whole point, you know? Yeah. It's like we're trying to make it confusing, and if it confuses you, it probably confuses them. And if they're confused, then we win and we get the Legos back.

[Co-host Jack]

And so you. You went all the way over to Utah, and then this is where the problems really started happening, because that's when they started charging you with, like, stalking and this and that. And I'm curious, because Graham actually had an interesting opinion. He said that there's actually a fair argument to be made of, like, okay, this could be cyber stalking or, like, in person stalking. I want to hear what your opinion is on the matter.

[Co-host Charlie]

Yeah. See, I was thinking, if the roles were reversed and some YouTuber comes to you, would you think this is brave journalism, or would you think it borders harassment? And I was.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Did I Steal old man's collection and bully him.

[Co-host Charlie]

I think, I think there's an argument to be made because I am, I'm on your side here, but I'm just trying to play devil's advocate. I think there is an argument to be made that this guy did take over the store. The prior owner has really poor record keeping. A lot of this you can't prove without forensic accounting and anything he says is going to be used against him in a lawsuit, that it's best for him to just shut up and let the legal system kind of work through its thing. I think it was really irresponsible for him to say anything and to make any threats or like, anything.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, it was great. He should have, it was, it was amazing that. Yeah. Because most people do just shut up. And he was, just kept talking.

[Co-host Jack]

He was the one making threats to you. You made.

[Co-host Charlie]

Correct. So I think he was an idiot. But I also think there is an out there that he could say, listen, the prior owner, I had no idea what's going on with this. Bring me, you know, some sort of civil action or something. But until then, I'm out of it. I don't know what's going on. The prior owner, they're a mess and leave it at that. And then maybe it wouldn't have gone to such an extreme.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah. But at the same time, also, like the prior owner, she gave us pictures of all of the Lego sets in the store still when they were kicking her out. So there was proof that at least a bunch of these LEGO sets were still in the store. And so, and he said, like, you guys can have them back, you know, and then when we show up, they just try to call the cops on us. So, like, if it was truly the previous owner, like, I, I, I cut a lot of this out of the video because I thought it was kind of boring and it didn't really lead to anything. But there's a lot of parts in the video where I'm trying to team up with him. You know, I'm like, hey, let's, if, if you're saying the previous owner stole these sets, let's team up together and get the previous owner. But right now she's sending me a bunch of pictures of these Lego sets still in the store with the metadata timestamps on them. So it seems like you guys took the set.

[Co-host Charlie]

You know, we're skipping ahead a little bit, but I saw in the Coffeezilla video the prior owner did admit that there is a chance of sloppy record keeping.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, she Might have stole some too. Yeah, I think there's a equal chance that the previous owner stole some and the. The new owners stole some.

[Co-host Charlie]

But I tend to think, just from my own opinion here, that it's maybe not theft, but really just irresponsible placement, record keeping. You probably have employees who are in there. Sets get misplaced. Sets are sold, not recorded. Money goes elsewhere. And it's not maybe intentionally trying to like money, but it's just these are people who maybe weren't the best business people who.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, that's what the previous owner seems like. And it seems like. So her response to this is because I've asked her. Like, I asked. I try to be equal with both sides to bricks and minifigs and Crystal. And so when I asked Crystal that, her response is, yeah, maybe I did underpay Brian for some of the sets we sold. But when I ask, I was kicked out of my store without warning, and I lost all my inventories. I lost all the record bookkeepings and stuff. And when I ask for that back so I can see how much, like, I underpaid Brian, they won't give it to me. And they said I can sue them for it, but that's the only way I'll ever get it. And so it. She. It seems like she wants to make it right for if she did underpay Brian, but Bricks and Minifigs won't give her the inventory to let her do that.

[Co-host Charlie]

But just the fact that she would underpay Brian tells me right off the bat, I don't trust her numbers. I don't trust her accounting. I don't trust anything.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, I want to make that clear, too, is, yeah, she could be just as bad as bricks and minifigs in this situation. You know, Like, I think she could be just as.

[Co-host Jack]

I think that there is a pretty big difference, though. One is hiding behind, like, the courts, and one person is willing to have a conversation with you whenever you want.

[Co-host Charlie]

Yeah.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

But she's open and she's willing to, like, say, hey, I. I'm. Here's all the evidence I have. Here's everything. Like, let's work through this together. And she's always been open to try and solving this. And then Bricks and minifigs just calls the cops on me every time I try to solve it with them.

[Co-host Charlie]

Yes.

[Co-host Jack]

So what I want to know is you get charged with, like, six different crimes. Explain how you ended up getting to the point of, like, getting sent to jail for this.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Um, it's because when I tried serving Papers. They said the paper, it was not a real lawsuit. And so they had to arrest me because if it wasn't a real lawsuit, then I, you could make an argument I was just being there for the sake of being there. And then that is stalking, like you guys were saying. But because they were real court papers, I did have a legitimate reason to be there. And we were serving the papers. But so they arrested me because they thought it was a fake lawsuit. And so because it was fake, then that makes me being arrested.

[Co-host Jack]

But they didn't actually think that it was fake because in the released.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah.

[Co-host Jack]

Then the body cam, really body cam footage where it's.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I post the video where it says like, is this a real lawsuit? And she says, yes. So they have to change their story. So they make a press release. The chief of police comes out with his, his ASMR voice and she goes, the, the court case was real. We verified it was real. But the papers have already been served. And because they've already been served, Ben was just reenacting this for YouTube views. And then the unredacted footage gets released where they, the police officer says, have, have these papers been served yet? And they're like, nope, they still have to be served. He's like, okay, so they still have to be served. And he's like, yep. So then they got caught in another lie and now my guess is they're coming up with another lie to counteract that. So basically the pattern is let's lie. Proof comes out to show they were lying. So we change our story. More proof comes out to show that the change story is a lie. And then they change their story again. So it's a pattern that we're seeing. Basically every plot point of the story is. Follows that same formula.

[Co-host Jack]

But is there going to be any actual material consequence to the police department's malfeasance, Their inability to actually serve good justice?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I hope so. I've been thinking about this a lot. So the part that kind of pulls at my heartstrings is if I sue the police department, it. It's not the police that are paying for it doesn't come out of their budget or anything. Like it comes out of the taxpayers money. And it's like, why do the innocent taxpayers have to pay me for what happened? It just seems weird. I would argue it's worth it.

[Co-host Jack]

Like if someone wanted to sue my corrupt police department, if I had it, I would be happy. Like, even if it meant that like there was more budget, there's already money being wasted, literally.

[Co-host Charlie]

Everywhere.

[Co-host Jack]

Not to say that a little bit more budget wasting is a good thing. It's the same way of saying, like, oh, this TR everywhere. I'm just going to throw trash on the ground. Not the same. But I will say you're a victim of someone spending your taxpayer money. You're also a victim of being subjected to a corrupt police department. So, like, it's. It's bad either way. It's just like, which one is the lesser evil? And I think you want it anyway. Yeah, I think you want to have.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, I have heard that they have a budget just for like, lawsuits and stuff. Like, they have a budget allocated for when people sue the police department. So I think that's already, like, written in the budget or something.

[Co-host Charlie]

And probably also have insurance parents to a certain degree to cover lawsuits.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

And then also a lot of stories have been coming out recently of people saying, like, thanks, Ben, for exposing this. Like, the American Fork police has been harassing me in the exact same way. Like, I got falsely arrested. They're doing all this. Like, I. I've seen some crazy stories of this police department that have come out and people just don't film it. You know what I mean? And so you're right. Like, by suing them, it might, I hate to use the word, like, teach them a lesson, but it might, in a sense, like, make them not do this to other people. Because it, for me, it's fine. Like, I turned into content and I've capitalized off this. So to me, it's worth it. I'm happy this happens personally, but to literally everyone else, this happens too. That isn't capitalizing off of it. And it hurts that, you know, like, sometimes, like, this is happening to people, it just. They're innocent and it just destroys their life, you know, and that makes me really sad and it makes me want to do anything I can to make sure that never happens again to more people.

[Co-host Jack]

The problem is when the people that are supposed to be arbitrating or mediating something like the referee, the umpire, when they're biased, then there's no rules. There's no common language that you can, that you can use to try to find equity or equality. And so, like, the same thing happens with freaking SGA in basketball. Okay? He can flop as much as he wants, but it only actually makes an impact when he's not called on it. And he's able to do it as much as he wants. Same thing as 08. Like, a big reason why the recession happened is because all of these, like, mortgage backed securities or whatever, they were, like, rated or, you know, there's 500 data points within it, and they were supposed to rate each 500 data points, but they were selective and only rated a couple. We had like, a whole episode on this. And so, like, they would approve them as, like, very safe investments, when in actuality they weren't. It's like the referees, the people raiding the. The thing like the umpire, the referee. When those people are corrupt, that's when nothing can be trusted. And that's exactly what's happening here. So I'm actually more frustrated with the police department than I am with bricks and minifigs.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

That's about equal. Yeah. I'd say the police department was super frustrating. When you do look at some of the unredacted body cam footage, some of it makes a little bit more sense when, because I didn't know they were threatening, that I was trying to like or people, you know, because Josh is telling them, I tried to the manager, you know, and I'm trying to their house and stuff. It's like, you have to get rid of this person. He's trying to kill me, you know, and so if I'm a police officer, like, that's like, I don't want to take that chance of someone dying. Like, I might just arrest the person that they're saying that about.

[Co-host Jack]

But even so, when they approach Josh in the body cam footage, he says, just take him away for anything. Yeah, he says, whatever it is, just get him away from here. I don't care. Charge him with anything. That does not sound like someone who wants to use justice or, like, reason or any system of fairness to try to, like, find the. The clear truth. When they talk to you, you're very composed and you're very patient. People in the comments were joking in the released body cam footage that you should be called not reckless, Ben, but patient because of your extreme exhibition of Pat. These, like, insane things that are happening to you.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I've never really had, like, bad encounters with the police. I've had a lot of police encounters, and it's always been good. And I guess I've always just been taught, like, if you show the police respect, they will show you respect. You know, it's always worked like that for me in my life, except for, yeah, pretty much this and I guess, like, maybe a few other videos, but mostly this. This was. It's like I show them respect and I expect respect back, but then I just get met with them arresting me.

[Co-host Jack]

So why is this any different when you have facts and logic and, and data on your side and evidence, and you're showing it to the police. This other person, you know, bricks and minifigs, has no evidence, no facts, no logic. Like, why are they siding with him as opposed to siding with you?

[Co-host Charlie]

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[Co-host Jack]

When you have facts and logic and, and data on your side and evidence, and you're showing it to the police, this other person, you know, bricks and minifigs, has no evidence. No facts, no logic. Like, why are they siding with him as opposed to siding with you?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Do I hate to say the whole Mormon thing, I know that's been kind of like a viral thing. It's like a Mormon conspiracy. I'm like, not a conspiracy theorist. Like, I hate conspiracies. I'm always like the logical. Like, okay, here's what's actually happening. Like, let's prove this with facts and stuff. But it is weird that every time they talk to Josh and Brandon in the body cam footage, the first thing they always say is, I'm on like this board of people of the Church of Latter Day Saints. You know, they're like, I'm like high up there. So I think from the police's point of view. It's not like, oh, they're like my Mormon friends, like it's a Mormon cover up. But I think it's more of a, of, oh well, if he made it this high in the church of Mormonism, he must be trustworthy. Right? Because Mormons don't lie. It's against their like religion to lie and steal. So this person saying a Mormon lied, this YouTuber comes from California. Like, and also I feel like Los Angeles is a bit very like anti religious, like stereotype to it, you know. So like this guy comes from Los Angeles. He's probably like some anarchists, like, you know, like acaba person, you know how like he's like defund the police probably type of person because he's from Los Angeles, you know. And so he, this hooligan comes from here to this person who has. Is really high up in the Mormon church, like saying that he is lying and stealing. That doesn't. The YouTuber must be lying, you know, and so I think just which makes sense because I feel like most Mormons don't steal and lie. So I feel like it's like a very rare for a Mormon to steal.

[Co-host Jack]

And you know, there's no way after your videos, let's just say this entire series across all the reactions, all of the, just the overall exposure of it, there's no way you don't have like 500 million positive impressions about you and negative about bricks and minifigs and this person in particular. So there's no way this, this, this justice system or this police department is not getting inundated.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah.

[Co-host Jack]

With people saying, listen to Ben now.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know, like, maybe if I showed back up again and tried to serve papers, it might go a little differently now. But uh, this all happened before I released any videos or anything. So.

[Co-host Charlie]

Do you feel like though at the time being a YouTuber really hurt your credibility?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, and I don't really blame them for this because I feel like most YouTubers that do the meta glasses thing, you know, like, they are what I mean, you know, it's called like rage baiting. So they show up and the mentality is the more I can piss this person off, the bigger of reaction I'll get. And the bigger reaction I get, the more money I make. So it basically is if I make you mad, I make more money. And I think that's a net negative for society. I think most people agree, like would agree with that. And so. But that's like what it's kind of come to, I guess what the like, meta glasses Tick Tockers do. And it's very, very rare you find someone like me who's actually trying to tell like, a genuine story and actually try and like, do something that's not for the clicks. Like, because I'm not doing it for the clicks and likes and stuff. Like, if I was, I wouldn't spend nine months making a video with no reward, you know, Like, I'm doing this because I literally want to, like, help this guy and do it at any cost. And like, I want to tell the coolest story in the world, you know, that's like my motivation.

[Co-host Jack]

So what you said was actually a really interesting point. It was by the time part two had been posted and like all of these things that you're documenting on your YouTube channel, there actually had been no public postings.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I posted part one and part two on the same day.

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah, okay, so, so th, that's, that's actually fascinating because I as a viewer was kind of under the impression that like, by the time part two had, had rolled around, part one had already been posted.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

No, I posted on the same.

[Co-host Jack]

Even with all these millions and millions and millions of views, this police department is still just like completely ignoring it. But then you also said that they had actually listened to your responses and then came back with a change story.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

That was in the press release. Yeah, so that was after I posted. So after I posted the video, then they did a press release because I think they were getting a bunch of hate like you said, and then they changed their story to say, oh, it was a real court case. He just hasn't, he just already started the papers and now he's recreating because I thought they, by saying that they could get out of it. But then the unredacted body cam footage released and we got to see that that was a lie.

[Co-host Charlie]

But at any point, legally, do you think that maybe you took it too far?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I, I, I try to, to do a thing and everyone has a different line, you know, of what's too far. But for my personal line, I, I so say, like, there's a line right here. I try and see, like, okay, how far can I go? Like, how close to that line can I get without crossing? That's my personal goal, you know, because I think that's just like the most fun for me. Like how, like that's been the whole thing with everything. Like, I don't know, you've, you've seen my slack hunting videos. It's like, how, how dangerous of a trick can I do without dying, you know, Like, I want to get close to, like, where it could be, like, really dangerous, but, like, I'm still going to be, you know, how close can I get without crossing it? And so I try and do that with, like, every aspect of my life, I guess. And maybe for some people, I think the line is here. Like, a lot of lawyers reacting to it. Their line is, like, down here, you know, so just by me, like, like the first 10 minutes of the video where I don't even think I did anything yet, they're like, oh, Ben's already crossing the line, you know, so everyone has a different line.

[Co-host Charlie]

The one thing I saw was that a lawyer was breaking down. You having people sign a document without knowing what that. What was in the document. Or you, like, changing, like, a little line in the document and adding it in and then, like, like sneaking it in. And a lot of them were, oh,

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

are you talking about the McKamey banner?

[Co-host Jack]

Yes.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

So I don't know, I just cope with, like, legal, like, ideas, I guess, that just kind of pull out my butt. I'm like, this would be funny. Like, I kind of like the chess move. Like, this is like the stupidest chess move in the world, but maybe they won't see it coming, and maybe that's how I can get away with it. And I just, like, I was at a, I was like a mechanical engineer, like a science major in college. And so in science, you just kind of come up with something. You're like, let's test it, you know, let's see how it works. And so that's what I try and do in my videos. I'm like, here's a hypothesis. Here's some legal thing that may or may not work. Let's try it, you know, and, and let's document the results. And so, yeah, I, I, I, I'm happy to admit that all my ideas are garbage, but maybe it's not. Maybe one works and it, it's not garbage. But I think what you're saying with the. I try to make sure that the stuff I'm doing isn't harmful, though. So in your thing where it's like, okay, I'm tricking her into signing the document, a lot of people are saying, like, that's illegal. But I'm pretty sure the actual legality of that is because she doesn't know what she's signing. It's as if the contract doesn't exist. So as long as I don't try to hold her up to, in, like, pressure her into Fulfilling the contract that she was tricking to signing. Then it becomes into fraud territory. But, like, I brought it up in a joking way. I'm like, what about this contract that, you know? And, like, obviously the story. Yeah, I'm not gonna enforce that. Like, I'm not gonna, like, 5,000.

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I'm not gonna show up and be like, oh, you actually owe me 5,000. It was a joke, you know, like, there was something else in the contract. I think she had to call me, like, Lord Ben or something. So it's. It's not anything. I'm, like, actually enforcing. I think we said that, like, do the chicken dance in it, I think, was one of the things we said. But so none of the things we're actually trying to enforce is just goofy for this.

[Co-host Charlie]

How do you come up with these ideas? Like, the other one was the lottery.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, yeah.

[Co-host Charlie]

How do you come up with this?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know. I just try to think of, like, what would a lawyer tell me to do? And then how do I do the exact opposite kind of. Or I just think of things. I don't know. I just have a weird brain, I guess. So the way I cope with the lottery, specifically, was I try to. My storytelling is I try and take complex things and simplify them so anyone can understand. And so I had no clue what, like, a civil crime versus criminal crime was. Like, I knew they were, like, legal words, but I didn't really know what they were. So when I'm looking them up, I'm looking up, okay, so these are civil crimes on this side. Like, it's something the court deals with. And these are criminal crimes, things that the police deal with. And, like, it's just. We voted on, like, okay, so there's two types of crimes. Like, one the police deal with, one the court. And, like, we just vote on which who deals with what type of crime. And so I'm going through, like, trying to educate myself on this. And a way to make it easier on. I was like, what if we just take one of these criminal crimes and see if we can reframe it as, like, what's happening, you know? And so I'm looking through, and the one that seems easiest to me is the stealing from a lottery. You know, that falls under a criminal crime. So I was like, well, technically, maybe we could frame this as a lottery. You know, like, if we actually run a lottery, like, there's still brines to give out. Like, maybe we just sell one as a prize, and then it could be a lottery. So I Thought that was an easy way to illustrate to the audience what a criminal crime versus civil crime was. And. And they were like, okay, now let's just act it out. You know, let's do it in real life. Let's do a lottery, and they can pick it up at the thing.

[Co-host Jack]

And.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

And it ended up not working out, but I thought it was worth a shot. It made for some funny footage.

[Co-host Charlie]

And how much legal research do you do? Like, do you have a lawyer at just, like, to bounce ideas off of or.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

No, no, because they'd probably tell me it doesn't work. And then what's the fun in that? You know, like. Like, maybe it does work. You know, like, at the end of the day, I think it worked. Like, we shut the store down, and I think we would have won the 10 lawsuits if we would have actually gone through with it, because I think it would have worked, you know, But I don't know. Like, it's worked for me every single video so far. Like, McKamey Manor. Like, everything we did to him ended up ultimately working. We shut down. I was the last person to ever go through that haunted house. So everything I've done has always worked so far.

[Co-host Charlie]

So what do you think is the strongest argument Bricks and Minifigs has against you?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Huh? Well, right now they've lied so much that I don't really know. So there. I'll just say what their argument is. So their argument is that Crystal owed them $200,000, which, I don't really know. Their business dispute. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. She's claiming that they locked her out of her account. So she tried to pay that $200,000, and they wouldn't accept it. And I've had. I've talked to probably four or five other franchise owners that they've done the exact same thing to where they get owed money, but they don't let them pay it. So it seems like Crystal's story holds up. But anyways, that seems. That's none of my business, I guess. But Bricks and Mayfigs story is that Crystal owed them this $200,000, and they took over the store to reimburse for the $200,000. So Brian sets being in the store is part of Crystal's reimbursement. So Crystal was forced to sell them sets she doesn't own, and now they're legally. Cause it says they're Brian sets until sold. So they're like, it was a bill of sale. That happened. It's our sets. But then when I Question them on the bill of sale. They don't have a bill. They said there was a bill of sale, but there isn't one. Like, they couldn't provide it. So that's their story is that they bought Brian sets from crystal. Now Crystal owes them the money. But I don't think that's how that works. I think it's like the car analogy. Like if. If my car was parked in the parking lot during the corporate takeover, does corporate also get to keep my car? Because is Crystal now have to pay them for my car that they took from me? Like, that's not how that works, you know?

[Co-host Jack]

Who do you go to for advice?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Just myself. Uh, I don't. I just think on it. I don't really need advice, you know, I just think of something and I'm like, well, let's test it out. You know, I guess the world. It's like you just come up with a hypothesis and you're like, okay, let's. It's just a test, you know, and we just simulate the tests and then record the results and post it online.

[Co-host Jack]

You said something really interesting in a piece of content I saw where you said that you have like, this, like, legion of people in a discord group of people that are hackers, people that are experts.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Like, they're the ones that helped me with the previous video I was just telling you about. That's how we found the guy in like, two weeks.

[Co-host Jack]

So ex. Explain to me this. This, like, group of people. Like, where are they from? How did you encounter them? And what is like the. What is the actual idea of the group?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

What's the process? There's probably, like, I'd say like less than 10 of us. It's very small group, but. And I wouldn't say we're like, skilled. They're all kind of like people like me that are just like, really, like, passionate, you know, with like, little skills, but, like, very pat. Because I think passion will beat skill set any day, you know, as long as you're passionate about something, like you put your mind to something, like, we'll solve it. And so that's kind of what these people are. They're just people that are like, super, like, dude, I want to solve this thing, you know, that don't really care about, like, getting super famous or anything. Or don't really care about, like, yeah, like, anything else except for, like, I. I have a problem. I want to go to any means necessary to solve this problem and not take no for an answer. And that's what this Group of people is like. And I just put. At the end of my video once, I was just like, hey, anyone want to help me investigate things? And I had, like, a couple people hit me up and I just put them in a discord, and we just started going to town, I guess.

[Co-host Charlie]

What skills do you think are the most important to solving mysteries like this?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, just not taking no for an answer. I think you can be as skilled as you want, but if you're not passionate about it, you're not gonna. I mean, this is like you. You'll hear every YouTuber say this. Like, I hear Mr. B say this all the time. You know, he's like, I don't want necessarily the best editor in the world. I just want someone who, like, won't take no for an answer and will just grind. Because that person, like, the only. Because that's how you become good, you know, is just by, like. Because the more you practice something, the more you try, you're gonna get better naturally just from the hours you put in. So I think that's what separates a good person from a not like a talented person. For a not talented person. It's not like, like, I was just born talented at this. You're like, no, I'm good at this because I was passionate. I tried hard, you know, and because I was so passionate about this, I became the best at it. And that's like, literally the only thing stopping people is like, either they don't care enough or they just don't want it badly enough. But as long as you, like, want something badly, like, you'll figure out a way to achieve it.

[Co-host Charlie]

Is there something you couldn't solve?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know, actually. May probably. Yeah, I. I think so. Like, some things. But then it just. We don't put it in the. There's definitely a lot of dead ends. I'll say that. And then. Cause I. I like my stories to be like, this leads to this, which leads to this, which leads to this. And it always, like, one thing leads to the next. Like, I hate dead ends where it's like. Because it's like, why did I just go down this dead end just to go back? Like, why didn't that not lead you anywhere? So I hate doing dead ends. I like everything to lead to the next thing. So there are a lot of dead ends. I'll just cut them from the video usually.

[Co-host Charlie]

But I would love to see you solving cases, like find serial killers.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, I think that'd be cool too. I. I've thought about it. So there's two things with that. First off, I don't want to because, like, if I go after and stuff, they could just kill me because they're, you know, so they're already killing people. They might kill me. And if I'm. I can't do more future investigations. So that's kind of scary.

[Co-host Charlie]

It solve crimes that were maybe like 30 years ago or maybe now.

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah.

[Co-host Charlie]

A little senile. And they might not be as like, like, yeah, quick.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah. And the other thing is, like, I like to have fun with my videos. You know, it's kind of hard to like, talk about, like, someone's like, I guess. And like. Because if I'm like having fun doing that, then people are gonna be like, oh, why is he taking such a light hearted approach to a murder? Like, why isn't Ben being serious? And then it kind. Because I, I do this not because of like views or money or anything. Like, I've never made money my entire life or like my whole career. I've never made anything like. Like I used to be an engineer. I was making way more in college as an engineer than I am as a YouTuber right now. So, like, I'm not doing this for my. I'm doing this because it's fun for me, you know, and if I start, if it starts not becoming fun, then

[Co-host Charlie]

I thought you would be making way more money with the amount of views that you've been getting.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Well, from the Lego thing, I'm finally starting to not have to worry about money now. But before, I guess even McKamey Manor is when I could finally be like, okay, now I can finally pay rent and not be scared about paying rent and food. But before McKamey Manor. Yeah, I was like, I don't know how I'm gonna pay rent this month. Like, I don't know how. Like, I remember, like eating Thanksgiving just like plain pasta. No, Like, I couldn't even afford pesto sauce. I was just eating. It was so sad. And I was like, one day I'll be able to afford pesto sauce was my thinking.

[Co-host Charlie]

What were you doing though? Like, month to month to pay the bills.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I would just take like random gigs and stuff. Like, I was a cameraman for some of my friends. They would pay me to like hold the camera for them, like filming their videos and stuff. And just like stupid jobs. I don't know, like, what, what kind of job?

[Co-host Jack]

Like handyman jobs.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

So I would hold the camera a lot. That was kind of one that was just like, I'll just do that for like two hours and make like 100 bucks, you know, and if you do that 10 times, that's like rent. And then I was making some money from Adsense, but I would. It was just so unpredictable because, like randomly, like, I'll just get demonetized or my video will get taken down for no reason. That's been like my whole YouTube career. I don't know. I did a TV show called the Go Big show that paid kind of well, I guess. I think I made $5,000 from that. So that lasted me like five months because I was my. I split a room with my friends, so we only had to pay $500 a month for rent. So it was a thousand dollar room that we like. It was a teeny tiny room and me and my friend both lived in there. So we like split rent and we would just eat like canned chicken and wrap it in a tortilla every day or like, like plain spaghetti.

[Co-host Charlie]

That's crazy to me because, Because I see this now as like, oh my, you're so talented. As like a filmmaker. I wouldn't even call them YouTube videos.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Well, that's why I always thought that I was always like, dude, I'm making the best stuff on YouTube. But then my stuff will just get demonetized and taken down like within an hour. Like it'll go like super, super viral. And then like one or two hours in, it just like gets restricted.

[Co-host Charlie]

And because you've been making videos now for like 10 years, how do you not like six years in and be like, dude, I'm like, it's campfire.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I mean, I don't need money to be happy, you know, Like, I don't need anything to be happy except for like having friends and going on fun adventures. And just like, that's what I want, you know, like when I'm 90 years old, I'm not going to be like, oh, I'm happy because I made a lot of money. I'm going to be thinking, I'm happy because I went on cool adventures with my friends, you know. So yeah, it could be a mechanical engineer. Like I went to college for sitting in a cubicle making a bunch of money, you know, and. But then like, I'm gonna be 80 years old and I'm gonna look back on my life and I'm like, wow, I threw my life away for money. I actually saw a really scary, like Instagram video. I think it was this morning when I was waking up, like on reels. It was like animation. And this guy, he's. He Walks into, like, a store, and he's like. He's like, I want to give you 10 years of my life for, like, a thousand dollars. Like, it's like, kind of a metaphor on, like, corporate America. And I don't know, it's just really scary to me that you can, like, give your time away for money. And so, because I don't get any happiness from money, you know, like, things don't get make me happy, like experiences and hanging out with friends, that makes me happy, you know? So the more I want that, even if I have less money is kind of my goal.

[Co-host Charlie]

Are you stressed out right now with the lawsuits?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

No, it's fun. I love it. So I've always said I think my favorite thing in life is getting into a hard situation and then trying to figure out your way out of it. You know, it's like solving a puzzle. That's what a puzzle is. You know, it's like, I have something hard, and I'm going to solve this, you know? And this is kind of the same thing. That's what McKamey Manor was. It's like, put yourself in a really scary, hard situation and try and get out of it. So it's kind of the same thing. It's, oh, I'm in a really scary lawsuit. Let's probably. If we. If we're creative, then we can come out on top, you know? And this is, like, exactly what I look for. This is. This is so fun for me.

[Co-host Jack]

Speaking of problems that you're not able to solve, I'm curious if you've ever considered looking into the federal or, like, local budgets of the government.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Ooh, I was thinking about it. I was actually talking about this. I think yesterday we were like, what if we looked into all the fraud the government does? Because I think the Pentagon has, like, trillions of dollars that are just unaccounted for. It's like, where does that money go? You know? And it seems like that could be, like, a big thing to investigate. But there's two things with that. The first one is, like, am I actually gonna be able to, like, solve anything? You know, like, you might need, like, really high clearance for that. Like, all of my antics are just kind of like you saw in the Lego video. Like, there's stupid things I'm just pulling out of my. Like, I'm a good storyteller, but, like, when it comes to, like, real, like, deep state corruption, I don't know if I'm, like, the man for that. Maybe I am. I don't know. But and the other thing is then say I do happen to solve this, like where there's trillions of dollars of, of debt went, or like this trillions of dollars of uncare money went. Like, are they gonna like kill me if I like I'm about to release this secret, you know? I feel like they would kill someone for like a trillion dollars, you know?

[Co-host Charlie]

Yeah. What do you think about Nick Shirley?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I, I haven't really watched many of his videos. I think he investigates some like, really important problems to investigate. And I've, I've heard some people don't really like his investigative style. I guess. Like he, he's kind of similar to me, I guess, where we just kind of are stupid about it. So I, I don't know, I, I, I gotta watch more of his videos. I don't really have an opinion on him, but I, I, I have heard some of the things he's uncovered is like really insane. Like all the fraud and stuff he's uncovered is pretty crazy from what I've heard.

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah, yeah. Maybe you could start with something like, like local government funds misappropriation or something instead of going straight for the Pentagon. Because I also think that realistically that's gonna be impossible.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, I think, I think the government is really inefficient and they're really like wasteful. So I think we need people like us to hold them accountable, I think, you know, and like shine light on it or else. Because I think the thing with like they say with businesses, right, like you have like Apple and Microsoft competing to be the best, right? And so because there's that competition, they're both gonna do the best they can to. Because if they don't, if they're not trying their absolute hardest to make the best products, then their competition is going to make the best product and people are gonna buy from them instead of, so competition forces you to make a better product and to like do things ethically. And then with the government there's no competition. So like, oh, I can just do all this fraud and stuff and no one's gonna keep me accountable, you know, because I'm the government. They have to like keep paying their taxes. Like there's no competition with that.

[Co-host Jack]

Who's gonna get mad at the Pentagon for failing? Like they've never won an audit. Yeah, they've only ever failed, but it doesn't matter. No, it's not.

[Co-host Charlie]

I think it's more relatable to show these stories like you're highlighting with Lego that it is a normal person dealing with a Company with a lot of money and legal resources behind them, I'm

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

down to do whatever. Like, the 12 videos I'm working on, they're all kind of the same, where it's like, oh, I'm just some dude solving these crazy crimes, you know, but all the crimes are different, you know, like, they're all very, very different things, like, ranging from like, some of them are silly, some of them are very serious, but. But all of them have a good story and all of them are like, from the perspective of like a guy with just like, no resources, which is how they're all connected.

[Co-host Charlie]

How many times have you been arrested now? Really quick, I just want to say that when Jack and I first started the podcast, we had to figure out everything ourselves. From the best cameras, the best editing equipment, how to get our guests. Every single day was a brand new challenge. That's why if you're starting or growing your own business, you know how valuable today's sponsor is. And that would be Shopify. For those unaware, Shopify is like having an all in one business partner. They support millions of businesses worldwide, from big brands like Heinz and Gymshark to everyday people just starting out. It doesn't even matter if you've never sold anything online before. Shopify gets your storefront up and running without any of the technical headache. This includes the part that most people get stuck on, which is checkout. Shopify makes it fast with saved info and one tap for returning customers, so more people actually complete the purchase instead of dropping off. And then once the checkout's not something you're worrying about, your time shifts from building the store to actually growing the business and bringing in more sales. A fun fact here, but I was actually using Shopify personally for the last like five years or so when I was selling coffee online. And they've been absolutely fantastic to work with. It was so easy. Everything was in one dashboard. I had zero complaints. They've been fantastic. That's why with Shopify, nothing stands between your idea and a real business. So go and make it one. Start your free trial at shopify.com ideaich with a link down below in the Description. Again, that's shopify.comich or click the link down below in the description. Shopify.comich how many times have you been arrested?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Twice. And there were two days in a row for the Lego video.

[Co-host Charlie]

What was that like, getting arrested?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

It was pretty fun. I like new experiences. So it was a new experience because normally I feel like I'm on the other side where I'm like, oh, like, I'm getting you in trouble, you know? So now I get to kind of like, like, see what it's like for a criminal to go through it.

[Co-host Charlie]

How is it fun? Like, did you actually go in the cell and everything?

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

That sucks.

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

That was boring. Yeah, I was in there for. It got boring after, like, the second or third hour where I'm just sitting there without a phone. I'm just like, like, what do I do? Like, it's like the middle of the day. I tried to sleep, but I was like, I'm not tired. So it was, like, just kind of boring. I was, like, wasting time. Like, I could be filming. I have so many cool ideas I want to do, and I'm just sitting here not able to do them. So that was frustrating. But, like. Like, getting, like, my bug shot. That was pretty fun. Talking to the police officers, that was pretty fun.

[Co-host Charlie]

And when you're in a cell, are you in there by yourself or.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, with other people? I was by myself. If I was with other people, probably would have been fun. But, yeah, just being by myself, it was kind of, like, in solitary confinement, pretty much. It was just really boring.

[Co-host Charlie]

Did you worry about going to jail for a long time? Because there was that incident where they were trying to get out of the bail.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I actually didn't find out about that until after it released, so I wasn't really scared. And then afterwards, I found out. I'm like, wait, they're trying to take away my bill? What the heck? And so I didn't know that when I was in there, so I wasn't really scared. I was kind of just, like, chilling because I was like, oh, you know, I made a gofundme. You know, like, I can get out on this. This will be easy. I didn't think they would just hold me for, like, a month. But then later, after I get released, I look at the paperwork, and I'm like, oh, they weren't trying to hold me until my court date. That's insane.

[Co-host Jack]

We had a very, like, limited conversation. We took, like, a small 15, 20 minute.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah.

[Co-host Jack]

Because Graham wanted to bid on some items on heritage auct auctions. More like Jack Skeleton Skellington or whatever. Like, art.

[Co-host Charlie]

Original art.

[Co-host Jack]

I don't even know, but Skellington. During that, like, we had, like, a very brief conversation about not caring about money. Because I asked you, would you want some of this original art they used in the show or movie? And you said, no. Material possessions mean nothing. Yeah, I want to dive deeper into that.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I Pretty much own nothing. I just have my computer and my hard drives. It's pretty much all I own. And maybe, like, some, like, cords and I. I guess, like, some GoPros and stuff. Actually just bought a drone, because I think that could be a really cool shot. But that's pretty much all my, like, belongings that I own. I don't really buy things. Yeah, I just. Basically just put all my money into videos and stuff. I mean, I. I used to be different, where I was, like, a mechanical engineer and in a cubicle, and then I ended up breaking my neck and almost died. Like, clogged my artery and stuff. And so there was, like a week period where the doctors were like, oh, you could just, like, dying. And, like, you could just, like, be dead soon, you know, because they were like a. They didn't know if it was, like, fully clogged. It ended up being fully clogged, which is good. But if it was partially clogged, I would have got, like, a blood clot, would go to my brain and have a stroke and die. So it's, like, kind of scary. And I just kind of started thinking. I was like, wow, like, if I died right now, I would have worked my entire life to, like, get money, you know, like, to, like, go to do a job I don't, like, like, study, like, a subject that I'm really super passionate about just so I can have a job I don't like. So eventually I can. The reward of money at the end, you know, I was like, if I just died now, like, I just wasted my whole life for, like, nothing. So I, like, instantly just, like, dropped out of college. I was like, I'm gonna live a life where when I die, I'm gonna look back and be like, my one chance at life. I lived it correctly, you know, where I'm just gonna do things that actually bring me happiness, like friends and experiences, rather than just, like, getting money for things. And so. But yeah, dropping out of college. I just had a bunch of college debt because I was in college for, like, three and a half years. I think it was, like, right before graduating, so I dropped out. And. And so I just have all this debt and no money to my name. And, yeah, I was just like. I was like, oh, I'm just gonna travel around. So I just started traveling for, like, two years and just going to, like, different parts of, like, the world and meeting people. It was really fun. And I had, like, nothing. I was just traveling for, like, two years, and then I finally landed in California, and I just Lived at the beach for, like, six months and just. Yeah.

[Co-host Charlie]

What do you mean, lived at the beach?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

So it's like a slackline park. I was trying to become the best slackliner in the world.

[Co-host Jack]

It's like Venice.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, okay. Santa Monica.

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah, I know. I've seen the people slackline.

[Co-host Charlie]

Oh, yeah, they're good.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah. So I would just, like, live at the Cyclone. I just wake up cycling all day and go to sleep. Wake up cycling all day. Where would you sleep? Just, like, a sleeping bag on the beach. Because I didn't have money for, like. Like a house or anything, you know, I didn't have any money, so I was just living there. How did you afford, like, food? So I. I created my own brand of slack lines, and so I just had to sell, like, one slack line a day, and that would make me food, and so I would just, like, have, like, all the people there, like, knew I was, like, selling slack lines. It was, like, a really touristy area. So sometimes I would sell like, two or three in a day, and then that's like, food for, like, two or three. How much do you sell the sock line for? Like, a hundred bucks. But then I would have to pay for, like, the materials and stuff. So I'd probably make, like 50 profit per cycling I sold.

[Co-host Jack]

And you just lived like this for six months?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah.

[Co-host Jack]

And did you enjoy it?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, it was fun. It was awesome. I got to, like, meet really cool people. We went on, like, cool adventures and stuff, and it was. It was awesome. Yeah.

[Co-host Jack]

And traveling the world. What was your favorite place you went to?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Mexico was pretty fun. We did some cool stuff. I lived in Mexico for, like, a month, and there's just, like, no rules in Mexico. You can just do, like, whatever you want. Like, we set up a slack load over a nightclub at one point, and we started doing, like, backflips over the people. I remember thinking, I was like, you don't need, like, a waiver or anything? Like, is there insurance? They're like, no, you can just do it. Like, the club owner's like, yeah, you can just do it. Okay. He's like, I trust you. I'm like, dude, we would never be doing this in America. This is insane. It was so fun.

[Co-host Charlie]

So what does that teach you then, about life? And what do you think most people get wrong about, like, taking a traditional path?

[Co-host Jack]

Path?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know. I was definitely way happier doing that than is, like, a mechanical engineer, you know? So I don't know. I think a lot of people, like myself included, there's taught as a kid, you know, like, this is your life purpose. Like you're gonna get a job, make money, provide for your family and stuff. And I don't know, I think a lot of people end up like just wasting their lives because of that, which sucks. Cause like you only have one chance. You're like, why waste it? You know, like we don't get a reading. Like you're probably gonna be like 80 years old and be like, oh, I wish I could have done something different. But then it's too late, you know, like you can't change it. And I think a lot of people, at least for me, like I always knew death was coming, but you kind of just like put it on the back burner. It's like, ah, it's a low priority for me. You know, I'm dealing with this other stuff. And then. But then like once death becomes like your main priority, like if you have like a near death experience, then, then you start to prioritize like living life more, I think.

[Co-host Jack]

How did you break your neck?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I think it was like a double front flip360 and I over rotated and they call it like a scorpion. So I landed on my face and then the rest of my body just like went forward. So I like.

[Co-host Jack]

On what? On a slack line?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

No, I think it was on a trampoline. Going to like the ground. I was going for like trampoline transition to the ground and it was really bad. Yeah.

[Co-host Jack]

Have you trampoline since then?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, I still do it. I just did a cycling competition when I was in Mexico. It was fun.

[Co-host Jack]

Did you win?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

No, I got 10th place or 11th place.

[Co-host Jack]

I imagine that's good.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

It was like the top 20 people in the world showed up. So. Holy cow. I'm still like top 20 in the world, I guess. Would you say? No.

[Co-host Charlie]

I'm curious. When you broke your neck, what did it feel like?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Actually, surprisingly not much pain in my neck. I hurt my shoulder a ton. It hurt, I felt all the way out of my fingers. But I remember I didn't even go to the hospital for like over 24 hours. I actually went on a camping trip the next day. We went into the woods. I was like, we're on like a six mile hike. And because I thought I just pulled my shoulder, I was like, oh, I probably just like, I didn't feel that much pain. It was all my shoulder that hurt. I guess it hits nerves and stuff, but. And then finally I was in so much pain. I didn't take any pain medicine or anything. Which was probably stupid. About 20. It was about the 24 hour mark. I started like throwing up because I was in so much pain. And then like kind of passed out and I just like pushing myself, you know. And so this was like my full like, moment. And I started having kind of like a panic attack because like, no matter what I did, like, I couldn't like rest my shoulder. I was just so exhausted at this point, you know, where no matter what I did, I just couldn't stop the pain. I just had a panic attack. And. Yeah, sort of like throwing up, kind of almost like passed down. My friends, like, took me to the hospital and finally did an X ray and they're like, oh, yeah, I have a broken neck. And I was like, ah, makes sense.

[Co-host Charlie]

And how could you take. Take a hike and like go 24 hours with a broken neck? How is that even possible?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know. I mean, it was good vibes, you know, like we were having fun. It was me and my friends, we were chilling. But then I remember. So what happened was like, we were just having a good time. I think it's like the mental state I was in was just like, good. And then. Cause we were all having fun, you know, like, this is like our vacation. Like, we all. We've been playing this for like months. I guess it's like camping trip. We were gonna go down to like New River Gorge Bridge Day and watch all the base jumpers jump off and stuff the bridge and. And then I remember my friend's dog like, ran away. So all my friends went to go, like, find the dog. And so I'm just sitting there by myself. And that's when like the positive vibes left me, you know? And then it's just me and my thoughts. And then I started like, it was like my first time ever having like an, like a panic. Like I had like a real like, panic attack where I was like, I don't know if I can deal with this pain, you know, like, this pain's like more like. It was like so overwhelming. And I have like my friends to like, because like, we were like making jokes and stuff the whole day and it was all chill, but. But then once it was just me, it was bad.

[Co-host Jack]

What did it feel like to have a panic attack?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know. You know, like, if you ever take like a bunch of acid or something, you have like a bad trip. It was kind of like that, I guess if you just like a really bad, like, I. I don't know. That's probably the Best way I could describe, like the way people describe like bad, like DMT experiences or something. It kind of feels like that where like you're just, your thoughts are in control of you, you're not in control of your thoughts, you know, and, and I don't know, it's just like you're having too many thoughts. Like you're having thoughts faster than you can process them. And then you just.

[Co-host Jack]

And how did you physically experience a panic attack?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know, I just started like throwing up and I just felt like I was gonna pass out. And then my friends came back and they're like, oh yeah, Ben's not good, we gotta take him to the hospital. I don't know, I just remember like sitting there, just like I remember like no matter what position I kept like trying to change position, every time I changed position it would just get worse. And I remember like, I cannot deal with this pain, but at the same time I can't do anything about it. So I, I don't know.

[Co-host Jack]

And how long after this near death experience did you decide to change the course of your life?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Probably like the next week. I'd say, I don't know, maybe like two weeks later. No, I went to work. I remember I was working at cubicle at the time. So I went to work for probably another like couple weeks and then I was like, I'm gonna drop out. This sucks.

[Co-host Charlie]

What did your parents think when you were living at the beach?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, they were pretty scared. I think they thought I was gonna become like some like homeless crackhead person. But I was like, functional, you know, I was like training to be like the best cyclone in the world at the time. And yeah, I was just like, just training. Like it was just wake up, just train and then go to sleep. Wake up.

[Co-host Charlie]

Did they ever offer to like send you money for food?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

No, I, I, I, maybe they would have, but I wanted to like be able to do it on my own, you know, I didn't want help from people because I was like 20 something. I was like probably 20 years old.

[Co-host Jack]

And what's interesting is that like, I sort of share that same sentiment of like, I don't really find the value in like acquiring more money. I feel like I'm just supposed to get more money, you know what I mean? Like for me, like if, if you know me, I mean, most of the time I'm just wearing like, you know, shade options.

[Co-host Charlie]

Jack, why do you do that?

[Co-host Jack]

I, I like the, I like growth. Like for me it's really fun. So like like, an easy. Like an easy thing to grow is. Is money by selling options. But, like, for the most part, like, these shorts I bought at ross for, like, $11, and I've been wearing them for four years. I don't really care about material things, and I just feel like I'm supposed to want to acquire more money, and so I just kind of do it for the sake of that. But I also know that it is.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Actually there's a part of it that's

[Co-host Jack]

very responsible, because while I may not need or want very much money, I know that in the future I will have a family that does. And I'm curious, like, do you have a girlfriend?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah. No. I think about the same thing, too. Like, eventually I do want money so I can, like, give my kids a good life, you know? Like, it would suck if my kids don't have anything. And, yeah, it would definitely suck. And also the other thing I want money for is to hire, like, editors. Because right now it's like, I film for this much and edit for this much, you know? So if I can, like, like, edit less, I guess if I can, like, delegate that to other people, then I can film more things, you know, and then I can. And then therefore, like, live a better life, I guess. Because now I'm going on more adventures and doing more things to help people, and I can take on more of these cases where people are like, oh, I'm in need of reckless Ben to help me. You know, that can help more people. How old are you? I just turned 30.

[Co-host Jack]

Really?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah. I look super young, but now I'm. I'm old.

[Co-host Jack]

Interesting, because I would have assumed that, like, if.

[Co-host Charlie]

If.

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah, if you were 30. Like, I've felt this pressure for, like, a long time. It's like, I. Like I said, I don't need money, but I know that, like, I. I don't even have a girlfriend. But once I get a girlfriend, she's probably going to want to be taken out on dates. And then once we become married and have kids, like, I have to pay for the wedding, I have to pay for my kids.

[Co-host Charlie]

Maybe she's the one who makes the money, Jack.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, she does.

[Co-host Jack]

Well, she.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

That's the thing is you're a woman

[Co-host Jack]

that makes a lot of money, and you're really attractive and you're funny and lighthearted. You know where to find me in the descriptions. My Instagram. So.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah. But also, if you look at, like, rich couples and, like, poor couples, I wonder if there's, like, if rich couples have a better relationship. Than poor couples. I don't know.

[Co-host Jack]

Well, one of the biggest reasons for divorce is financial infidelity. So it's like. Like, really? Yeah. So I. I think that it depends. It's probably a bell curve, you know what I mean? Like, if you're super, super, super wealthy, like, all of those wealthy people, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, all those people have gotten divorced. But then again, like, if you have no money, then that's just another thing to argue about. And so I'm sure that there's probably a healthy medium.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, yeah, I've heard. Yeah. Like, once you're, like, super poor, it's like, a big stress in your life because it was stressful. Like, Like, I guess living at the beach wasn't that stressful because I was like, I just wake up, train, just have fun all day and go to sleep. There's not much stress in that, I guess. But with, like, when I first started, like, living in a house, it was like, how am I going to pay rent this month? Am I gonna have to do something I don't want to do in order to. Am I have to give away my time in order to pay this rent? And that's. That's like, the worst feeling ever, is, like, having to give up your time in order to, like, be able to just have basic needs, you know? So that definitely sucked. And. And so I guess you're like, once you start making more money, you don't have to worry about stuff like that. But then once you have, like, a bunch of money, then I feel like it gets kind of crazy again, you know, where now people just want you for your money. They don't want to actually have a good relationship with you because of you. They just, like, maybe there's other intentions there and stuff. And so I feel like there's that, like, medium point that's, like, the perfect amount of money to have, you know?

[Co-host Jack]

I would agree, but also, I'll contend with that a little bit. Like, I think if it's a girl that wants you just because of your money, like, what. What amount of money would you say that is?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, shoot, I don't know. Yeah, I definitely would hate to be with someone if they're like, oh, Ben's rich, so I want to be with him.

[Co-host Jack]

But I think it's a lot of money. Because the type of girl that would want you for your money would not go after a Dude who has $5 million.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, like, she would go after a

[Co-host Jack]

dude who has, like, 50 million.

[Co-host Charlie]

There's always going to Be someone Like, money.

[Co-host Jack]

30 million. Like a. Like, those are the people that they would realistically go after. Not some guy who has 5 million. If you're the person that prioritizes that as, like, number one.

[Co-host Charlie]

But it's also how loose you are with your money. It's not the dude with 5 million. It's the dude with 5 million who spends 5 million.

[Co-host Jack]

Sure. But he's living like he has 50. Like, the idea is, like, if you. If you're living like you should, if you have five, like, you're probably not going to get a bunch of women that are chasing after you for your money. But it is probably a good thing. And I could be wrong here. Challenge me if you think I am. That a girl does. Does want the guy, or at least just like the unit in and of themselves to be able to be financially comfortable.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Like, that is, I would say.

[Co-host Charlie]

I don't know. I think more women would be attracted to the dude who's just, like, sleeping on a sleeping bag on the beach, living his life, having a good time.

[Co-host Jack]

I think. Yeah. At a younger age. But I think once you want to have kids, like, I think they want

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

the security because the, the woman, too, wants the best thing for her family, you know, and the guy just sleeping on the beach isn't going to be able to provide for his family.

[Co-host Charlie]

Yeah, but that guy is carefree, he's exciting. He doesn't have any sort of, like, expectations. That is an adventure. And I think a lot of women would rather the adventure than the. The cubicle.

[Co-host Jack]

I think they cheat on the cubicle guy with the guy who's going on.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, but I don't think.

[Co-host Jack]

But they're not going to get married to the guy who can't, like, you know, financially support their kids.

[Co-host Charlie]

But do you want to be the dude that the girl's just gonna, like, settle with to marry? Like, is that. Which life would you rather live?

[Co-host Jack]

We, us three, I think, need to

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

figure out what goes on.

[Co-host Jack]

We. We know what women want. Yes.

[Co-host Charlie]

Three men.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah.

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Well, my. My mentality is I. I want to be happy with no money. And if that's the case, but then once I get money, that's like the sprinkles on top, you know what I mean? So it's like, I don't want to not have money. You know, like, now that money's coming in because of this Lego thing, it's, like, awesome, you know, I'm like, super happy, but it's like, I don't need that. You know what I mean, it's just like the, the extra on top. Like, I'm already happy without the money, and now I don't need the money to be happy. Cause I think what happens a lot of times is people are like, oh, once I get rich, then I can be happy. And then they get rich and they're not happy, you know? Know, but I'm already happy. So now that I'm, like, starting to, like, see money come in, it's like, well, now I can be happy with that too, you know?

[Co-host Jack]

I agree with you fully on that. In high school, I was very, very, very happy, like, running cross country. I had like, my core group of friends. I loved life. And then, like, I started working really hard and I started making good money at like the age of 21. I'm 27 now, so I had like six years of like, aggressively saving. Like, I really never spent more than 10, 5 to 10% on like, personal things. Obviously I had like, other expenses, like mortgage and whatnot, but, like, on personal things, I hardly spent any money. Money. The problem is that once you, like, I, I save so aggressively to develop a nest egg, but once you have a nest egg, then you have something to lose. And so, like, yes, it may be fun, like in the beginning, but after you, like, grind and, you know, scrimp and save after a certain amount of time, I've noticed that, like, maybe the relationship with money can actually get a little bit less healthy because you're worried about losing it.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, it's interesting. I, I haven't ever gotten to that point yet, really, but I think now

[Co-host Charlie]

it really makes a lot of sense why you're not bothered by a lot of the things that have happened to you, like getting arrested, these lawsuits.

[Co-host Jack]

If you got sued, you have nothing to lose.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Co-host Charlie]

It's like going from where you were and you were happy, living on the beach, going day to day, essentially. It's like now you getting hit with a lawsuit, it's like, who cares? Who cares?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

It's.

[Co-host Charlie]

It's nothing. Like, your worst case scenario is you go back to doing what made you happy to begin with.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Ye. No, I think the same thing. Yeah, for sure.

[Co-host Jack]

People that, like, it takes at least somewhat of a while to earn money. Like, not just like one year, two years, but if it takes you like five years to like, have somewhat of like a nes egg, they're very scared of losing it.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

But that's, that's because they did something they don't like to get that money, I think. So for me, like, doing this whole Lego thing was super fun for me. Like, I had a blast at. In the editing room when I'm like, editing this, I'm like, come up with ideas. I'm like, this is so cool. I get to tell this story and I'm having so much fun. So it's like, even if this Lego video flops and gets demonetized, I'm still happy because I had fun doing. Like, it was the adventure that made me happy, not the destination, you know?

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah, but the thing is, you never know what you're going to end up enjoying in the future. And what if the thing that you enjoy in the future actually doesn't make any money? And that's like. Like, while I do love what I've done and I love what I'm doing right now, I do worry, like, randomly on a random Tuesday evening probably four years ago, I realized I love pickleball. What if I wanted to go be a pickleball pro? Like, realistically, I'm not going to make any money until I become really good. And so, like, I want to open up my optionality. Like, in the future, I want to be able to do whatever I want to do.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I'll do both. Do podcasting and be a pickleball pro.

[Co-host Jack]

True. But then I also love chilling.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Well, then chill.

[Co-host Charlie]

Also, Jeff likes doing a lot of things.

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah, I get excited.

[Co-host Charlie]

Over 5% of them making no money. They have negative money.

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Dang. We'll just do everything. That's been my life philosophy. If it's fun, go do it. How much do you sleep? I try to get eight hours of sleep a night. I. This month hasn't been good on me, but before this month, I tried to get eight hours a night. Cause I. I think even though you're sleeping, like, for more than like, say someone who sleeps like four hours a night, the person who sleeps four hours a night isn't gonna be as productive during the day. Cause they're tired, you know? So, like, I think you're more productive to sleep more because then you get more done during the day.

[Co-host Jack]

That's what I always thought about Elon Musk. Elon Musk claims he's like, yeah, I sleep like three to four hours. And really, like, when I'm really.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

But he's also like a weird, one of a kind. Yeah, I don't know if that applies to, like, people like me, you know, like, I need my sleep or else. I mean, it's not productive.

[Co-host Jack]

I agree. Like, everyone makes, let's just say like 3,000 decisions a day. But I feel like it's really, like, down to 15 decisions that actually make a material impact on your life. And you want to make sure that you're in a really good spot, like, mentally to make those 15 important decisions.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, I think he has, like, Asperger's or something, so I think his brain works. He says his brain's always on. Like, I think he had probably realizes. Yeah, he realizes that his brain's different than other people. So maybe Elon Musk can get away with it, but your average person's gonna need their sleep.

[Progressive Insurance Narrator]

I agree.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

They need more.

[Co-host Jack]

I think we just solved the Asperger's too, actually. No, we didn't solve that, but we did solve lack of productivity. You just need more sleep.

[Co-host Charlie]

How much money have you raised so far for your legal defense?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Well, the GoFundMe is at half a million dollars. So what we. The plan is, is obviously Brian's first priority. Let's refund him, get him his legal fees. Because why are they going to sue Brian? Like, why are they going to steal from him and then sue him? That makes no sense. So let's get him legally protected, then. I'm probably the second priority because if I get sued, I can't make any more videos on them. And I know the public definitely wants to see more videos coming out. So me and my friends were probably the second priority. And then after that, I still think there's a lot of money left after that. So we're giving it to all the franchise owner, because we've seen a pattern of Brandon and Josh, the same people that took over Crystal Store, they do the same thing where they, like, don't let them pay money or something. And then they're like, oh, you broke your franchise agreement. You know, like. Or they'll do something that they got approval for, and then they steal the store from them and they steal their life. So say I'm just some, like, small business owner. Like, I want to start my own bricks and minifigs. I'm going to invest my life savings. Like, a lot of times it's like 400, $500,000, like half a million dollars. I pour this into this business, and then corporate just steals my whole store from me and I get nothing in return. Like, that sucks.

[Co-host Charlie]

You know, why would someone open a franchise of bricks and minifigs? Why not just open up your own store? And just.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Because before this, bricks and minifigs was a very. Before my video on them, they were a very, very respected company. So say I open Up Bricks and Minifigs. Yes, I have to give them 6% to use the brand name, but I might get get 15 to 20% more customers because Bricks and Minifigs is a well respected name in the community. And so if I open up Bricks and Minifigs, more customers are going to come in. You know, because it's a trusted name. It's like the reason people buy like Cheerios rather than the off brand, just because it's a. Even though it's basically the same product, you're gets literally the same like ingredients and everything. But I want to buy Cheerios because it's the main brand. I'm familiar with that brand.

[Co-host Charlie]

You know, since a lot of these stores though are independently owned,

[Progressive Insurance Narrator]

how do

[Co-host Charlie]

you feel for the people who are not involved in this at all who have just operated honestly? Hey, by the way, really quick, if you want extra content just like this, as well as early access and a bonus post show posted every single week, including an extra conversation with Ben that's almost an extra hour long, feel free to join as a channel member to get immediate access to all of that as well as early access to everything else that we post along with priority responses to all of your comments.

[Co-host Jack]

Comments.

[Co-host Charlie]

So if that sounds cool, feel free to join. Would love to have you on board. Thanks so much. We'll get back to the podcast. Now. How do you feel for the people who are not involved in this at all who just operated honestly?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, it sucks because they did nothing wrong and corporate making the decisions they've made is what's screwing them over. And so that's why. Yeah, with the rest of the GoFundMe money, we're trying to get them all lawyers so they can sue Bricks and Minifigs for basically like, hey, hey you guys, like we paid you money to have a good brand name and you're destroying the brand name. So can we like sue them so we can like change our name?

[Co-host Charlie]

Let's just say Bricks and Minifigs doesn't have any money to pay out and all these franchise owners get together, then they're going to be throwing basically just burning money into a black hole because there's nothing to collect.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah. What I think they want right now is not necessarily money because they've experienced like two weeks of, of like no sales, which at the end of the day isn't like that. It's bad, but it's not like, like closing down their store bad, you know,

[Co-host Charlie]

so it might be depending on how some of these franchises are operating because they're expenses of employees and rent and utilities. And there's. There's a lot that goes on. My guess behind the scenes, where if they don't get business for probably one to three months, I'd bet a chunk

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

of them, well, we're working right now to get them all lawyers so they can change their name from a Bricks and Minifigs to like, like their own, like, small business, you know, like their own Lego business, like you were saying, you know, and that way they can disassociate from the brand and they don't have a bad name anymore. And I think the whole time I've always been saying too, like, these are independent franchises. Like, they have nothing to do with what corporate says. Like, yeah, they're paying corporate money. But they got into this contract before when they thought that Bricks and Minifigs was a reputable brand that doesn't steal from old people, you know, like, they didn't sign this contract for saying, like, oh, for the next 10 years, I'm going to give you like 6% of my royalties. If they thought that they stole from old people, you know, so all that information came out after they signed the contract, and now they're locked in these contracts and they have no choice. They can't talk bad about it or else they get their sources and their life savings gets taken and now they can't provide for their family. And so it makes total sense, like, why these franchises did this. And I, so I've always been saying, yeah, like, don't go out and harass the franchises and everything. And, and like, it makes total sense, like, they're not supporting this theft that happened. They're just trying to have their own local store, you know, like, going and harassing this innocent store. There's nothing to help the problem.

[Co-host Jack]

So who's the main bad actor in all of this?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I think there's the McNeff family is the CEO who, oh, I guess Brandon and Josh technically are the ones that got hired by Bricks and Minifigs. So they're all working together. It's. It's the McNeff family and Brandon and Josh. Josh. And they like to say they're separate, that they have no relation to each other. But we found out someone dug in newspapers from like the 1990s or something, and Josh and the CEO actually went on a Mormon mission trip together. And when you're on a Mormon mission trip, like you ha. You're not allowed to separate rooms for like three months or something or like, or two years. I don't know how long Mormon mission trips are, but from what I've heard, you can't even shower because they're afraid. You're, like, doing sinful things in the shower. So you have to shower with the door open. So there's no privacy when you're on your Mormon. So these guys are closer than any two human beings can be, pretty much. And it's funny, now they're saying, like, oh, we're completely separate. Like, we. We're not working, you know, so it is kind of just like one entity of these people. Like, they're just this. So it's Brandon, Josh, and the McNeffs. The Mc Neffs are the CEOs kind of. That kind of hired Brandon and Josh to take over these stores illegally. And. Yeah, so I guess that that's who it is.

[Co-host Jack]

And then the police department as well.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, I mean, there were some cool police officers, but then they lied.

[Co-host Jack]

I mean, they changed the story. Like, they have no goal of making things right. It's just protecting them.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, it's hard to tell who the good police officers and bad police officers. Like, there were definitely some good police officers who would. Like, in the body cam, you can see they're, like, pushing back. They're like, wait, we can't do that. It's illegal, you know, and. And they're, like, fighting back for, like, us, you know, like, behind the scenes, which you can see in the unredacted footage. But most of the police officers, I feel like, kind of sucked. Yeah.

[Co-host Charlie]

Speaking of that, why did so much footage get redacted? And then how was some of it leaked?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I. I don't know. I'm still trying to figure this out, but so I was, like, pissed off when they just redacted everything. And then it turns out that some of it was just them turning off their body cameras during the most important part. So even with the unredactions, there's still. And like, the most important part is, like, right before I get, like, they find out the court case is real, they turn off their body cam for, like, 10 minutes, and then they arrest me. So it's like, what happened during the 10 minutes?

[Co-host Charlie]

Is it illegal to turn off your body cam?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know. Maybe it's.

[Co-host Charlie]

It seems like it defeats the entire purpose. If you could just turn it off.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

In Oregon, they don't even use body cam, so it's. Every state's different. Yeah, we could look that up. I don't know. But yeah, during all the key moments, they turn off the body cam. Same with The. The heroin incident, like, during all the key moments, they turn up the body. So even in the unredacted stuff, it's like, we still can't find out. But see, all this stuff that got redacted, I. I kept arguing. I was calling with them for, like, two months, probably, like, every day, like, hey, like, can we get this unredacted? And they're like, oh, no, it's protecting the victim. I'm like, but he's making claims about me. Like, don't. If I'm being charged with these crimes, don't I have a right to know what I'm being charged for? And they're like, yeah, but if we tell you, then school, I actually show up to court. And I'm like, I don't even know I'm in court right now. Like, you guys redacted all of the claims against me. Like, you guys, please tell me why I'm here. And then the prosecutor says, well, I'm hesitant to give him the footage because if we show him what he's being accused of, then he's going to use it for likes and clicks on his YouTube channel at the expense of our victim. And. And it's going to hurt our victim if we tell him what he's being accused of. I'm like, well, then what am I doing here in court? You know? And they're like, okay, we'll schedule another court hearing.

[Co-host Charlie]

Why represent yourself, though? Why not get a lawyer on your behalf to maybe argue some of these claims that are against.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know, because I think the whole point of the video was to show, like, it's like standing up to the bully with no resources, you know, can the little guy stand up to the big guy? But if I get a lawyer now, it's the big guy standing up to the big guy, and there's no incentive for the little guy. And so I wanted to really show, like, if we're creative, the little guy can stand up to the big guy, you know, Like. Like, that's the whole, like, theme of the video. And I think getting a lawyer involved would have defeated that purpose, because then people would write it off. They'd be like, oh, he only won because he has a lawyer, you know, not because he's right or not because he was creative or not because he stood up for himself. He only won because someone. He had to hire someone to stand up for him, you know? And so I think it just completely defeated the message.

[Co-host Charlie]

Is there anything that they could offer you to just say, all right, you know what? I'll shake hands, put this to rest. And I moved on.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, I would love to move on. I thought I was gonna move on a long time ago. I didn't think they would. I thought they were gonna do the right thing a long time ago. First they have to look at, like, give us the inventory, because they still haven't given us the inventory yet. That way we can see where the sets are, you know, still haven't done that. Second thing probably, like, end the lawsuit against us, because, like, like, that's just silencing criticism, you know? So, like, stop that. That sucks.

[Co-host Jack]

Sucks.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Well, I guess basically, if they said they were sorry, they would end the lawsuit. Because by them doing the lawsuit, they're saying, like, we want to silence you. The next thing would be, I think I want to do the chicken dance. I think that would have them show their sorry. I think that's something we said.

[Co-host Charlie]

Who does the chicken dance?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I think all the bad people at Bricks and Minifigs that caused Brian harm and the American Fork Police. I think if they did the chicken dance, that would show that they're sorry. And what is it?

[Co-host Charlie]

What is the chicken dance?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know, but I think you probably look up on YouTube, probably you go like this or something. You go like this. Flap your wings. Yeah, because we had it in the contract. They signed. So they signed. They have to do it already. But, yeah, I think that would be, like, a good way to show them that they're wrong and that they're sorry. I think that would, that would be proof that they're sorry for me. Yeah.

[Co-host Jack]

Would you like them to be sent to jail?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

No, I don't think anyone deserves to go to jail. Except for, like, maybe like, and, like, rapists and stuff. Well, it depends. I, I, I think, I think jail, I don't like jail as, like, a punishment thing of, like, oh, you did this bad thing, so now as punishment, you're gonna go to jail. I think that sucks. I think if anything, it just makes the problem worse because don't people that go to jail come out even? Like, worse people, you know? So I think jail, though, is effective. It holding someone back from doing something bad. Say there's a there I kill people, right? By sending him to jail, you're going to save people's lives, you know, because now he's not out on the streets, like, people. So if Bricks and minifigs looks like they're going to keep doing this to people and, like, keep stealing people's, like, life savings, how There's a pattern of them doing this to multiple franchises. If they're going to keep this pattern of behavior without any sign of improvement, then jail might be a good way to keep them away from the public, to keep screwing people over, you know what I mean? But like, if they've learned their lesson, they're like, hey, we actually want to become a good productive member of a society now. We want to stop scamming people and we want to start helping people. Then I think there's no reason for them to be in jail, you know, because like, I don't care about like revenge, you know, I just, I don't know, I think jail is a revenge thing, is stupid. But as a way to like keep them safe from harming other people, I think it can be effective, I guess.

[Co-host Jack]

Can you find any sympathy within your heart for the bricks and minifigs executives right now?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

No. I've tried so many times. I guess if they're willing to talk to me, I'd still be down to talk with them. I think it'd be so funny. Me and my friends always joke about this. How funny would it be if we both just get set up to lie detectors, you know, and just have a like hour long conversation, like no cuts or edits, you know, we just sit down like me and Ammon both with lie detectors and we just have a comfort and just talk out the whole thing, you know? Know, I think that would solve a lot of problems because then we know who, if we're lying or not, you know, and because every time I've tried to talk to him, he just lies and he's like, oh, we already sent the inventory list, we already reimbursed Brian, we already did all this stuff and it's like, and so the conversation goes nowhere. But if we both had lie detector like tests on and we could talk to each other, it'd be a productive conversation. Maybe, I don't know. But I think I, I, if he's down dueling to have a conversation with me, I'm still down to give him like a 30 second chance, you know, I think everyone deserves like a 30 second chance sense and. Yeah, but so far every time I try and talk to him and like, hey, let's solve this, it's just I'm calling the cops on you, you know, and like if you want this back, you gotta sue me. But it's not gonna be worth it for you because then you're gonna lose even more money, you know, and that's what every conversation with me and him has been like, so. Yeah, I mean, so at this point, it's kinda like, oh, I've given you every chance. Like, at this point, you've screwed yourself, you know? But I'm always willing to help him get out of his situation.

[Co-host Jack]

How do you predict this will all end?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Shoot. I think he's going to destroy his whole company. And I think. I think he's not going to admit he's wrong. I think even, like, we'll keep saying, like, hey, we'll work with you, you know, and we'll try to make things right. He's not going to accept it. He's going to destroy his whole company. I think the franchises will all be forced to rebrand to something else and hopefully survive this, I guess, is the goal. Because now it's kind of getting to the point where it's like, okay, like, we've already destroyed corporate. Like, how do we save the franchises now? And I think the only way to save the franchises is to have them rebrand to their own thing.

[Co-host Charlie]

But what are the biggest lies being told about the story right now?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I think the first one is that they tried. So bricks and minifigs main narrative right now is we tried to give Brian his Legos back. Brian just didn't want them back. Like, we tried to give him the inventory list and show all this, but he didn't want to it. And in my third video, you can I have that footage them saying that? I think he said it on every single podcast he's been on, every single news station he's been. He said at every public appearance he's been on so far, which is like, probably at least like six or seven at this point. That's the main narrative they're saying. And then in my video, it just cut straight to their, like, email thread. And Brian's like, can I please have my stuff back? And they're like, like, like, we have no obligation to ever give you your Legos back. This matter's closed. And he's like, well, like, can I please have them back? Like, nope, we're not giving them back to you. Like, you are not getting the Legos. And then they go on Fox News and they're like, we tried to give him his stuff back, but Brian was the one that didn't want it. It's like, well, like, obviously, like, I don't know. It's just there's evidence and then there's what bricks and minifigs is saying. The two things just don't match.

[Co-host Jack]

Is anyone believing bricks and Minifigs?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

No, because they have. No. If they would provide evidence, then maybe people would believe them, but they can't because it's everything.

[Co-host Jack]

So even on, like, news stations and stuff, are they. Is there any pushback or are they just, like, going with it?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

The new stations are kind of just going with it. They're kind of just like, huh, okay. Like, if you say so. Okay. Because I. I think the news stations don't really know the story that well, and they don't really. You know, they're kind of just trying to, like, hear his side, which is good for new stations to do, you know, because if they push back. Yeah. And bricks and minifigs would be like, oh, they're pushing back. Okay, this is a hit piece on us. Let's not do anymore. So it's good what they're doing, you know, because they're getting them to talk. So I'm. I'm all for it. Like, they're not pushing back.

[Co-host Charlie]

How do you balance your videos with, like. Like, escalating things? Because it seems like sometimes you'll do something and it just escalates the situation sort of, you know, settles it, calms it down.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't know. I always start with the calm thing, and then I feel like you're right. I'm very strategic when it comes to. I think. So, like, first I went in, very politely asked. I'm like, hey, one of my friends has his Legos in your store. It's like a big Star wars collection. She's like, get out right now. So I always let them, like, ask.

[Co-host Charlie]

It's like, is that your first interaction with her?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, yeah. And then within literally 15 seconds, she's like, get out. I'm being harassed. You know, I'm like, well, I'm not, like, harassing you. I just politely asked. But it's like a game of chess, you know? Like, I'll take, like, a defensive. I'll let them make, like, a stupid move, and then I'll make a stupider, you know, And I. I try to, like, match their energy. So. So I. I'll come in, like, calm, and then if they, like, I'll start in calm. If they bring up to here, then I'll match them here, you know? And if they bring up to here, I'll match them here. So. So I feel like I don't ever escalate something more than their, like, I just try and, like, bring my side to match their side, you know, because otherwise they'll win, you know?

[Co-host Charlie]

So what do you think is the most realistic outcome.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I think, like I said, I really think bricks and minifigs is not going to apologize. I think the police department might apologize. I feel like they have more to lose, you know, I think. I think the police department might actually kind of like, make things right. Because it's like, I feel like. I don't know, I feel like the police might make things right, but I think the bricks and minifigures, I think they're so stubborn that they'll never admit they're wrong and they'll just destroy their company and all the franchises will have to figure out a way to save them somehow.

[Co-host Charlie]

I'm also curious, because of the virality of this entire story, do you think in the future, when this is kind of wrapped up up, do you think that companies out there are just going to shut down as soon as they see you approaching?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Well, they shouldn't, because, like, I feel like it's like, I don't know, like,

[Co-host Charlie]

is that going to make it harder for you? Because now a lot of people have seen your face and as soon as

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

you walk it harder. No, it's going to be easier because now I have, like, more resources, more people behind me. If anything, it just makes it easier, but because I can always just like, send someone in on my behalf, you know what I mean? Like, it doesn't have to be me going in. I can just send someone else in they don't recognize. So that's not a problem at all. But yeah, if they see me come in, just shut down. I don't know. That would be good, I guess, you know, because ultimately the goal, I always say, like, like every single video shoot I've ever done, I always tell everyone involved, like, our first priority is to have fun and make sure, like, we accomplish our goal. The second priority is to. To get the foot at Geo and like, to tell a cool story. But that's never the first priority. It's like what we said in slacklining. Like in slacklining, I would always say, say, first priority is have fun. Second priority is look good doing it. And then third priority is be safe, you know, so that's like my checklist. So the first one is have fun. Like, and part of having fun is like, accomplish our goal, you know, so, like, get the Legos back in this example, that's our first priority. Second priority is, okay, like, let's film this and like, tell a cool story, you know, and make it good for the audience. And I guess the third priority then is be safe and don't get in trouble. But that's. I tell every single person we film with those three rules, like, that's our priority checklist.

[Co-host Charlie]

What's your advice for other people who want to follow in your footsteps?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, that's a great question. I think my main piece of advice is I'm not really, like, naturally talented at anything, but I just try really hard and I don't take no for an answer. So I think that's probably the best advice is I think a lot of people don't do things because they're like, oh, well, I'm not as talented as him, or I'm not as. As good at, like, talking, or I'm not as creative as it. But it's like, I don't think I'm, like, naturally creative or anything. You know, it's just. I just try really, really, really hard, and I don't stop until I accomplish my goal. So if that's your mentality, you're going to be successful, you know, and like all my friends that are successful and not successful, the only. I've never seen someone try really hard at something and not give up and not be successful. The only time people are not successful is when they end up giving up, up. So as long as you just want it bad enough, then you'll achieve whatever you want in life, you know? Like, I sucked at balance. Like, I remember my first time on a slackline. I was with 10 of my friends, and I was the worst one in my friend group. And, like, out of every single person, I was naturally the least gifted person at slacklining. And then. But I just tried harder than all my friends, and I actually ended up becoming, like, the best in America at cyclining. And now people see me and they're like, oh, I wish I was born with as good of balance as you. And it's like, if only they knew that was, like, had the worst balance, you know, when I first started. So people will just write. They'll see someone who's talented and skillful and just write that off as, oh, they were born that way, you know, and when really it's like, no, literally, I was born not that way. I just tried harder than everyone else. And that's the only difference that separates me from other people is I just try harder.

[Co-host Jack]

What's the most reckless thing you've done?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, shoot, we might have to censor this. But. But. That was exciting. But that has to be censored. We can't say that yet. We're allowed to talk about that. But that was fun.

[Co-host Charlie]

What's the most reckless thing you've done that you could talk about, I guess

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

one that's on my Patreon right now. I had a 10 day standoff with the police. We were trying to turn this skyscraper into like the world's biggest, like, dick, I guess, like for an art piece. And we tried turning a whole skyscraper into like a giant RP. We had a 10 day standoff with like a hundred police officers. There was like two or three police helicopters at all times. We'd like hire people from Craigslist, like, throw us in food and stuff. That was pretty crazy. It's funny because I did that right before the LEGO Video and I didn't get arrested on that. And then we did the other thing that I just told you about, which involves like the Secret Service and stuff. Didn't get arrested and then. And I do a video on Legos and I get arrested twice. So it's like maybe serving papers to Josh. That's the most reckless thing I've ever done. That's the only time I've ever been arrested. So, yeah, I shouldn't have. It was dangerous for me to serve them those court papers. Or maybe making the Gofundme. That was pretty reckless, making that. It's the only time I've ever been in trouble.

[Co-host Jack]

You infiltrated Scientology?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, that was pretty cool. Yeah.

[Co-host Jack]

What is like the. The conclusion, overall thoughts of Scientology, their practices, like, give us the. The.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

The general idea. So Scientology is interesting. I was living in my car at the time. So I was off the beach and into a car at this point. And I was. One of my friends lived right across Scientology. So I'd hang out with him at his house sometimes, like, take a shower and stuff. And it's literally his house, Scientology, like, right across the street. And I'm like, what goes on inside there? You know? So I'm googling it and like, basically all I could find is that people pay like millions of dollars to believe in an alien that a science fiction writer wrote about. And everyone's like, why do they believe in this? Like, it's obviously science fiction, you know, like. Like fiction means not real, but they think it is real. Like, how does this make any sense? So the more I looked into it, just the more questions there were with no answers. I'm like, why has no one just gone in with like, secret cameras and just filmed inside? You know? It was pissing me off that no one's thought to do this. Because I wanted to find. I'm like, I want to see the Footage of what goes on inside. You know, I. The harder I looked, I couldn't find it. So I was like, you know what? What? I'm. I've never done a documentary. I was just a slackliner, just living on the beach at this point, you know. So I was like, you know what? I'm going to be the person to go in. Like, I don't do documentaries, but I'm gonna. Sorry about that. Bang. I was like, I'm. I'm gonna go in and be the first person to find out what actually goes on inside Scientology. I'm gonna answer this question for all of us. And I did it. I posted online. It. I think it was kind of viral, I guess. And. And I was just like this like surfer extreme sports dude, just like taking down this like huge religion, I guess. And people liked it, I guess I was like, I guess I'll just keep doing it. It's pretty cool. You know, I like solving mysteries and stuff that have never been solved. It's kind of like a fun thing for me. So I was like, maybe this will just be my genre. You know, I'll just. Because I was kind of getting to a point where every month I was going to the hospital for cyclin, like I was just breaking a bone, like every single month. So I was like, yeah, maybe this will be a good, like, change of careers for me. You know, I can like, not have to like go to the hospital all the time.

[Co-host Jack]

I'm curious, if you could distill Scientology down to like one general conclusion or idea, what would it be be?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I think they've hijacked how the brain works. So our brains aren't really always the most logical. Like, we only remember things the way we last remember them. Like, our brains are like, very flawed. And I think they take advantage of that and put like false memories in people's brains and stuff. And so that's how they can get people to believe in things that aren't true.

[Co-host Jack]

How do you put false memories into someone's brain?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

So for me, what they did is they had me start with like a story story that was true. And then they would have me keep repeating the story with, I had no breaks, no food breaks, no bathroom breaks for 10 hours. And I'd repeat this like three minute story over and over, over for 10 hours. And they would change the story like this much each time. So obviously they're like, say it again. But like, say it more. Like exaggerate this, you know, and so if you. If your brain repeats a lie Enough, it's gonna think it's true, because that's. You just literally are rewiring your brain. Your brain's like a muscle, so you can rewire it, you know? Know. And so you will literally believe that a lie is true in your brain if you say it enough times.

[Co-host Charlie]

And what if it's a positive lie? What if it's an improvement? Like, they could make you think that's how they start. Like, you're a successful person in the world. You are talented at everything that you do, and you walk out of it thinking, oh, man, I got this amazing confidence. And then it spirals.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

And that's how they start. Yep. So they start with, that's what they did to me. They. The story I told them was about my broken neck.

[Co-host Jack]

Neck.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

So it was, like, probably one of those, like, scary moments in my life, because almost. And then they turned it into a positive thing for me, and that's how they get you hooked. They're like, oh, my gosh. Like, I turned this negative memory into a positive memory. Like, Scientology is the best, you know? And so that's what gets people hooked. But then they start to say, okay, like, now our mission is to, like, defend the world from this Zenu alien, you know? And they start saying stuff like that. Like, basically, if. If any of your friends or family don't believe in this Xenu alien that we have to defend from, then they're. They're on Zenu side, and we have to, like. You have to block them from your life. You can't talk to them. They're evil now, you know? And also, you have to give us all your money. Like, you saw what happened to the braille skateboarding guy? Oh, no. Did you see it? Oh, he was this huge YouTube channel who basically, Scientology took over his life. He had, like, fire all his employees. He had a warehouse just like this with, like, huge, like, giant skate park. It was helping the community out. He had to sell it, give it all to Scientology to fight Zenu knew it just destroyed his whole life, basically. So it starts out positive, like, that. You're right. And it's like. It's like doing heroin, you know? Like, maybe doing heroin, it gives you a good feeling. You know, when you first start, you're like, oh, this is great. I should just always do heroin, you know? But then you can see it ruins your life. You know, if you, like, no heroin addicts gonna be happy they did hair. Even though the very initial stages of heroin might be positive, but then it just destroys your whole Life.

[Co-host Jack]

I totally forgot we have like a standard content. Really?

[Co-host Charlie]

Police? Oh, yeah.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

With this?

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, nice. Oh, no, I'm signing without reading it, you guys. Oh, Jack, you just say I owe you $5,000 for every police officer called.

[Co-host Charlie]

Oh, that's the last thing here.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

You should. You should trick someone sometime and make them sign something, like really weird.

[Co-host Jack]

That would be a good idea. That would be funny. Yeah.

[Co-host Charlie]

So, the latest update. I just want to get your reaction on this and I'm going to read it to you. This is the bricks and minifigs requested. I share this latest statement.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Wait, really?

[Co-host Charlie]

So Internet Anarchist did a video?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, I haven't seen it yet.

[Co-host Charlie]

So you'll get your real reaction to this. This is their official statement. We have worked diligently to resolve the Mansell collection issue. This is an isolated and unfortunate incident related to a single location and does not reflect the integrity of more than 300 other franchises.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I agree with that. Yeah.

[Co-host Charlie]

Okay. Much of the reporting on the issue includes inaccurate information, most notably the collection's value, which is far than the reported $200,000.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, it could have been like, I think they said the thing that was on the set was about 107,000, 120 the most. Plus maybe some more sets that weren't included on that list that Crystal didn't put on that inventory. So maybe it was around 150,000. But yeah, I guess that excuses they only stole a hundred something thousand, not 200,000. They're good. Yeah.

[Progressive Insurance Narrator]

Okay.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, we can let them off that.

[Co-host Charlie]

At no point did we make any legal attempt to seize the Mansell family GoFundMe account. Nor did.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I was on the phone with GoFundMe. GoFundMe told me they did.

[Co-host Charlie]

Nor did we ever approve consignments as an authorized sales process.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Again, that's between Bricks and minifigs and Crystal. That's not. That doesn't excuse for them to sell. Steal Brian's stuff.

[Co-host Charlie]

Following a thorough legal investigation of this matter, we have determined this location operated in contrast to corporate's procedures and expectations for franchisees. As a result, we have implemented three immediate changes across all of our locations. More rigorous record keeping and inventory management. Transparency in the buy, sell and trade process, and comprehensive staff training on professional conduct and corporate protocol.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

My experience with bricks and minifigs is they say they're going to do something and they don't do it. That's what the history shows. So I would be surprised if they are going to. But maybe, maybe now with all the public pressure, they will it sounds like they're trying to do a good thing according to that. But also, I mean, they said I could have the Legos back if I just walk in. And I walk in and they call the cops on me. They said they would give me the inventory list if I email them. I email them, and they say, if you email us one more time, we're going to call the cops on you. You. So they always say they're going to do things and they. So maybe I'll get proven wrong. But I think the world is skeptical right now. You know, we got this last sentence.

[Co-host Charlie]

We remain committed to resolving this issue in a way that all parties can endorse.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah. I think. I think the world wants to see them follow through with what they're saying. I think they're saying the right things, you know, except for the GoFundMe. They did try to take the GoFundMe.

[Co-host Charlie]

How do you know they tried to take the GoFundMe?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Because I called GoFundMe. They said, hey, hey, we received this letter. Like, we. We can't keep this up. I was on the phone with, like, some top people from GoFundMe and we were talking, like, all night, and they were. They're like, hey, bricks and minifigs is going to come after us if we keep this up. And they're like, they're sending us, like, the TRO and stuff, kind of like they did with the Patreon. Wow. They're probably also going to say, like, oh, we never tried to take Ben's patreon down. Then they do like, here's the thing about bricks and minifigs that we've realized is if they say something, 99% chance it's just not true. So that's kind of how we've been working. So if they say something, it's about, say, about 98 to 99%, I think, is what probably about I'd say is an accurate thing of, like, what they say is not true. So, yeah. So it's just. I would love for them to follow through with what they're saying because they are saying a lot of times they do say the right things. They just don't. Actions speak louder than words, you know, And I think that's why they're getting so much hate right now, is because they say. They always say the right thing and then they do the wrong thing. So we would love to see them do the do the right thing instead of just say the right thing. I would. If they do the right thing, I will Give them credit for it, you know, I will be like, hey, bricks and minifigs finally did the right thing. Let's, like, applaud them for this. I would be happy to do that,

[Co-host Charlie]

but it seems very easy. All it would take is just about a hundred grand to make it all go away.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Because he's already been paid for some. Maybe Crystal stole something. You know, like, we're not. We're not asking for bricks and minifigs to pay for maybe what? Crystal underpaid him, you know, so if Crystal did take some, they would owe him less than 100 grand, you know?

[Co-host Charlie]

Yeah.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

So I think they only need to pay him what they owe him. And. But they won't do that for whatever reason. But I don't think they need to pay him more than what they owe him. Just. Just what they like, just the sets that they still have of his, you

[Co-host Charlie]

know, and they have to do the chicken dance.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

And the chicken dance. Yeah, because at first they wouldn't have to do the chicken dance, but because they brought it on this long and because they've done this much harm to us, I guess. And Brian, I think the chicken dance is now a good measure, you know? Like, I don't think, like, sending someone to jail is really, like, I would feel bad, honestly, if I sent someone to jail for, like, punitive reasons. If you're, like, a danger to society, then you can go to jail. But as long as they are, like, okay, we're improving, we're not a danger to society anymore, then I think the chicken dance would be a fair.

[Co-host Jack]

You're not asking for much. Yeah, I mean, it seems pretty reasonable.

[Co-host Charlie]

What do you think the percentage likelihood is that you somehow end up in jail?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I don't. I don't think it would happen. I think the Internet under.

[Co-host Charlie]

Yeah, under a half a percent.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Like, so small, I think. I mean, they're. They're trying as hard. If you ask bricks and minifigs, I think they would say probably like 70 to 80% because they're confident they're sending me to jail. But for me, me, like, I mean, I film everything, so everything they're accusing me of, I didn't do. Like, you know, like, they're saying I made all the. Like, the main reason they're trying to send me to jail right now is for making all these, like, death threats and stuff against them and, like, trying to burn the place down and stuff. And it's like, I. You can go. You can have my whole hard drive. Like, I didn't do anything. You Know, like, I've already submitted most of the footage to the police already, so the police already know, like, what really went on, you know?

[Co-host Jack]

Yeah. So through this all, what is the main lesson that you've learned? Learned.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Ooh. I think the power of the Internet is kind of underrated, like, because you can. I think a lot of people are like, oh, I'm scared that I'm, like, to do the right thing, because, like, maybe I'll get sued and stuff, you know, but, like, if you have the power of, like, public support behind you, it's kind of one of those powerful things in the world, you know, like, we're kind of doing what to this corporation what they were doing to Brian, in a sense, you know, like, oh, we're gonna win because we have more power than you. And now with the power, the Internet's kind of doing that to this company, which is crazy that the Internet has that much power now. But I guess it really speaks links to how powerful the Internet is.

[Co-host Jack]

And what would your advice be to the average viewer watching this right now?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

First off, don't harass the stores. Like, we're actually trying to help the stores right now because. Because they are suffering because of something that's not their fault. So they're kind of in the same situation Brian was in. You know, Brian was suffering for something that corporate bricks and minifigs was doing something that wasn't his fault. And it's now all the stores are kind of in the same situation. So harassing the stores would be kind of like joining bricks and minifigs aside. Right. Because the stores or bricks and minifigs, corporate is hurting these franchises. And now if you're also going and harassing these franchises, you're just teaming up with corporate bricks and minifigs, which makes you the bad guy. So I'd say, first off, don't do that. I want to help these franchises, not hurt them. You know, I think they're innocent, and we need to do whatever we can to help them. That's probably number one message right now.

[Co-host Jack]

What about any message outside of the whole bricks and minifigs thing? Just something about life in general.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I'd say go out and do whatever's, like, fun for you. And I think. Think, like, I'd say, if you want to improve your life, probably just sit down and think, like, what truly makes me happy, you know, like, for me, it's like helping people and, like, having fun adventures with my friends. So that's what it's like with thing. You know, I'm Like, I get to help someone and I get to have fun adventures with my friends, and we get to experiment and do cool things. And so I'm like, that's what makes me happy. So I'm going to go out and do it, you know? And I think if you truly do what makes you happy, then life will reward you. And now I'm finally seeing monetary benefits for it too, so. So I think it's just the best way to live life, I think, is find out what makes you happy and then see if you can make money doing it.

[Co-host Jack]

And we'll also just let you know, like, however much it is that you owe us. So if you could just send that via wire, that'd be great.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I should have read it. No, I was joking about it. What's it say? Oh, no, I sent it being recorded. Is there a funny thing? What's it say every time I say yes? Yeah. Nope.

[Progressive Insurance Narrator]

5,000.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, you got me. Well, it's a legal contract, so I guess I gotta do it. It's the. What is it called? The duty to read contracts law.

[Co-host Jack]

Take this.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I have a. I have a. Like Nathan Fielder, I have a duty to read contracts. And I didn't read. I don't need to read it every

[Co-host Jack]

time I say yes, yeah, no or nope. I owe the iced coffee hour $5,000 per occurrence. Each individual instance is billed separately and the amounts are cumulative. I understand that compensation, if any, for my appearance will be discussed separately and is not guaranteed by this agreement. Nods, head shakes. Yup. And na count two at productions discretion. So it's. And we'll count everything.

[Co-host Charlie]

We could easily just settle for roll the clips.

[Co-host Jack]

There is no limit and no refund, and there is no one that didn't count. So.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Duty to read Contracts law. I should have read the con. I have a duty to read and I didn't read it. Your contracts.

[Co-host Jack]

Unless it's like 30 pages. Because that's just. That's just way too much time.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

But if it's like a short contract,

[Co-host Jack]

I mean, you have no excuse, no reason.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

You see how short this is?

[Co-host Charlie]

Yeah, they didn't even want to, like, glance.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I think I made that joke while we were.

[Co-host Jack]

You were like. You're like, ah, look at me not reading a contract.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, no, I'm signing without reading it. You guys, you just say I owe you $5,000 for every police officer called.

[Co-host Jack]

No.

[Co-host Charlie]

Oh, I thought for sure you're gonna be like, wait a second, let me read the contract.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

All right, well, there you go, guys.

[Co-host Jack]

We're Gonna. We're gonna frame this and put it up.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Nice. Thank you guys so much for watching.

[Co-host Jack]

Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. It was a really enjoyable episode. I think what you're doing is extremely noble. And one thing I like is that it does not seem like it's your goal to take corporations down. Like, your goal is to not take a company down. It's to make something that's not right.

[Co-host Charlie]

Right.

[Co-host Jack]

By whatever means that is. Like, you went and actually tried to get information from the company. Like, you try to.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah.

[Co-host Jack]

You gave them the honor or like, you seek justice.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Well, I don't really want to take them down. I just want to see him do the chicken dance. I think that would be. That would be a win for me. You know, they.

[Co-host Jack]

They're probably listening to this.

[Co-host Charlie]

Oh, yeah, their lawyers are for sure.

[Co-host Jack]

My advice.

[Co-host Charlie]

Thing.

[Co-host Jack]

My advice would be, I would say do the chicken dance.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

It's funny. The lawyers are probably, like, in a meeting with them right now. Like, all you have to do is do the chicken dance.

[Co-host Charlie]

Do the chicken.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

And can get business back on track again.

[Co-host Charlie]

You know, it would be an easy thing to do. The problem is that it sets a legal precedent that if they admit to any wrongdoing here, it could open them up to liability elsewhere.

[Co-host Jack]

Well, just. Just reach out and. And you guys can come to an actual, like, contractually binding agreement involves a chicken dance. And that is so much easier because realistically, from the way you're speaking, it really does. And the way that the court of public opinion, it sounds like you guys are going to go bankrupt.

[Progressive Insurance Narrator]

But.

[Co-host Charlie]

But the thing is, all you need is mediation is just getting in a room with you, you and just talking for a few hours.

[Co-host Jack]

Could you. Could it be in private?

[Co-host Charlie]

Yeah.

[Co-host Jack]

In front of you.

[Co-host Charlie]

Mediation.

[Co-host Jack]

No, no, I'm saying the chicken dance, though. Or does it need to be posted?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Oh, we can always negotiate the. Like, what if it's just you and them and they're just like. Yeah, yeah.

[Co-host Charlie]

Just a lawyer in the corner in a chair just, like, taking notes.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Yeah, that's like a creep of, like, oh, this is, like, for my personal entertainment. That's weird. I think that's.

[Co-host Jack]

I think that's the sign to call it. Guys, thank you so much for watching. It really means a lot. Shout out to the members if you guys want to see the Uncenso censored version. Oh, yeah, we will still censor the things you requested us.

[Co-host Charlie]

And by the way, you post it

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

later once I post the videos. Yeah, I'm still undercover someone's gonna contact them if we really like I'm still undercover I guess so there's a lot

[Co-host Charlie]

of bonus content for all the members out there. You get full access to this podcast and there's a lot you'd probably want to hear. So we recommend joining the membership and you also get access to our next episode before it goes live live. So if you want early access to all of our episodes join the membership really helps out tremendously. We'll also link to your GoFundMe down

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

below in the description.

[Co-host Charlie]

Does that open us up to liability?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

I'm sure it's fine.

[Co-host Jack]

And if we get sued can we use some fun?

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

For sure.

[Co-host Jack]

So if we get sued by bricks and minifigs then we have that's money

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

for so anyone bricks and minifigs sues. We're gonna try to equal it up as equal as we can and try and get everyone lawyers.

[Co-host Jack]

Guys thank you so much for watching.

[Ben (Reckless Ben)]

Really appreciate it much.

[Co-host Jack]

Till next time see you.