From High School Dropout to Steel Empire

Summary

Living Your Legacy — Episode Summary

Episode Title: From High School Dropout to Steel Empire
Host: Rudy Mawer (with guest host Ricky Tierres)
Guest: Justin Bradley, Founder of JAG Metals LLC
Date: June 4, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of Living Your Legacy features Justin Bradley, a faith-driven entrepreneur and founder of JAG Metals LLC. Broadcasting from Miami, Justin takes listeners on his unique journey from small-town Texas roots to building a thriving, multi-state steel empire. The conversation blends behind-the-scenes entrepreneurial experiences, leadership lessons, and the importance of legacy—delivering a blend of inspiration, actionable advice, and candid stories for anyone seeking to build their own path.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Texas Grit & Roots (00:00–06:09)

• Upbringing & Small-town Values:
  Justin recounts his childhood in Brock and Weatherford, Texas, underscoring how rural upbringing and Texan work ethic shaped his perspective.
  • Quote: “Texas is different in the fact that we just do it. Texas is known for...the freedom inside of it and just the work ethic.” (Justin Bradley, 00:00)
• Unique State Culture:
  The Texas approach to business—less bureaucracy, more action—offered flexibility that allowed JAG Metals to scale quickly.
• Impact of Environment:
  Growing up “country or redneck,” as Justin puts it, means “you got to get up, you got to go make it happen.” (05:36)
• The Texas Triangle & Growth:
  Discussion of economic booms in Texas, especially in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Houston-San Antonio corridor. Justin credits this for both demand and the state’s business-friendly environment.

2. Navigating COVID-19 & Business Expansion (06:09–08:41)

• COVID as a Catalyst:
  While many businesses struggled during the pandemic, JAG Metals experienced explosive growth, doubling in size twice and transitioning to 24/7 operations.
  • Quote: “We blew all the way up. It was the most craziest time in the world...It exploded us to a whole different level.” (Justin Bradley, 08:09)
• Adaptability:
  The company’s rural Texas location meant lighter COVID restrictions, enabling them to adapt quickly and serve the booming construction demand.

3. The Evolution of Marketing in Steel (08:41–14:21)

• Embracing Traditional Media:
  Justin emphasizes the lasting power of radio—not just as an advertising medium, but as a cultural touchstone for his target demographic.
  • Quote: “Radio...it’s very much the foundation of how this is built.” (Ricky Tierres, 09:19)
• Targeting Future Customers:
  Strategic sponsorships and radio events connected with younger audiences, investing in brand awareness for future homeowners.
  • Quote: “I knew I had to take that Jag Metals...and brand it into their head because that's my future homeowner.” (Justin Bradley, 11:51)
• Tangible vs. Digital:
  Justin and Ricky discuss how, for their audience, tangible products (like CDs or steel) and traditional media still hold strong value, even as AI and digital marketing rise.
• Owning Your Niche:
  The conversation highlights the need to “market for” the customer, understanding their preferred channels and adapting accordingly.
  • Quote: “What really helped us in marketing is...our clients don’t market the way we do. So we had to market for them.” (Justin Bradley, 14:05)

4. Balancing Old and New: AI, SEO, & Social Media (12:44–14:21)

• Adapting to Technology:
  Justin shares early-stage experiences integrating AI and advanced SEO, noting both excitement and uncertainty around new tech.
  • Quote: “AI starting to scare people, right?...I’m not even versed on this yet. Well, I’m just digging into it because it just came live three weeks ago.” (Justin Bradley, 12:44)
• Legacy and Mindset:
  He stresses the importance of embracing change—“You can’t be [scared]. Because you’re training the old, the new, and the next and the next.” (13:19)

5. Core Values & Building a Legacy (14:27–15:34)

• Faith and Family:
  Justin credits his faith, his mother, and his community for his resilience and growth.
  • Quote: “Jesus Christ. Mainly. And my mama.” (Justin Bradley, 14:48)
• From Failure to Success:
  He speaks candidly about the necessity of failure on the road to success.
  • Quote: “You have no success without failure, right?” (Justin Bradley, 15:07)
• Defining Moments:
  Justin previews the upcoming Legacy Makers episode, which will delve deeper into his upbringing, pivotal moments, setbacks, and the decision to fully commit to building his steel business.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You get up. You got to go make it happen. Nobody’s coming to help you.” (Justin Bradley, 05:36)
• “So we tried to get on board and follow any rules that anybody had really come out with. We hung the clear plastics up for...our employees. Which employees didn’t like that at all.” (Justin Bradley, 07:10) (Humorous reflection on pandemic adjustments)
• “Even these AI power plants need your buildings.” (Ricky Tierres, 09:45)
• “If you break it, it’s 24 hours before you’re gonna hear it again. But that CD you’ll put on—” (Justin Bradley, 12:37)
• “I think people really...won’t say ‘I don’t listen to the radio.’ You’re not my audience.” (Justin Bradley, 13:25)

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Important Timestamps

• Texas Grit and Upbringing: 00:00–06:09
• COVID Pandemic and Business Model Shift: 06:09–08:41
• Radio, Marketing, and Building the Brand: 08:41–14:21
• AI, Technology & Market Adaptation: 12:44–14:21
• Core Values & Legacy Discussion: 14:27–15:34

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Conclusion

This episode offers a rich, relatable portrait of how old-school grit, adaptability, and a deep commitment to both community and technology can fuel entrepreneurial success. Justin Bradley’s story is a testament to the enduring power of hard work, personal values, and building legacy in a rapidly changing world. Whether you’re hustling in your own business or seeking insight into thriving in tough times, these lessons from “the steel empire” are both inspiring and actionable.

Find out more: jagmetalsllc.com
Stay tuned: For the full “Legacy Makers” deep dive into Justin’s journey and philosophy on next week’s episode!

Transcript

[Justin Bradley]

Texas is different in the fact that we just do it. Texas is known for is the freedom inside of it and just the work ethic. You know, when you're born country or redneck, whatever you want to call us, you think differently. You got to get up, you got to go make it happen.

[Narrator]

Justin Bradley is a faith driven entrepreneur and the founder of JAG Metals llc. Drawing from his journey in construction and business ownership, he builds companies rooted in service, fitness, family values and community impact, while creating opportunities that extend far beyond the work itself.

[Justin Bradley]

What really helped us in marketing is it made us understand that our clients don't market the way we do. So we had to market for them. I knew I had to take that Jag brand, the Jag Jag Metals, and brand it into their head because that's my future homeowner. It spans the globe like a super high cold Internet Elvis.

[Podcast Listener/Caller]

Brandon, 5:3.

[Justin Bradley]

Today, Apple is going to reinvent event.

[Podcast Listener/Caller]

It's not over until I win.

[Justin Bradley]

The Living youg Legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary.

[Podcast Listener/Caller]

The impossible has happened. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan Open Chicago. With the lead Usain Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.

[Ricky Tierres]

Welcome back to another episode of the Living youg Legacy podcast. For Inside Success, I am Ricky Tierres. Joining me today is Justin Bradley. Justin, I've got so many show notes here. Justin, why are you here? What brings your awesomeness to our studio today?

[Justin Bradley]

Well, my social media girl Benna and myself, we've been, you know you're always promoting the brand, right?

[Ricky Tierres]

Yes, sir.

[Justin Bradley]

Everything's about the brand and we thought it was time to get the story out and kind of see where this went.

[Ricky Tierres]

You are here as the co founder

[Justin Bradley]

of Jack Metals llc.

[Ricky Tierres]

Jack Metals, llc. What is Jack Metal, sir?

[Justin Bradley]

So obviously we're a Texas based company, Wild Weatherford, Tex. We're based out of Parker county and that's where we started anyway. That was the original one ten years ago. Right on. So in Texas, you come in, you buy your I beams, your purlin, things that you don't know what I'm talking about. But it's all the structural components that makes a metal building.

[Ricky Tierres]

I'm sure some folks will, I'm sure

[Justin Bradley]

there's a lot that's gonna understand that. And then we manufacture all your seats and trim four to 10 days. You've got a metal building now that, that. Yeah. I mean, and that, you know, that's gonna be from storage facilities, all what we call Barnominiums, you know, yeah. House inside. Yeah. You know, and pretty much a lifetime. It's not like a house. You're not repainting it. You're not sticking a new roof on it. I mean, this thing's ready to go. It's built out of steel. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. So that's. That's where it started. Obviously, we've grown, created a secondary company, sister company that called Fab Forward llc. That was when Jaden came in. So Blake Bailey, obviously my original partner, brought Jaden in a few years later. Jaden and I had worked together way in the past. Super smart engineer, way smarter than I am. And we started doing bolt ups. We actually have bullet ups here in Florida.

[Ricky Tierres]

Right on.

[Justin Bradley]

So we've got bolt up shipped to about 25, pushing 30 states now. Right on. So where are you from? I'm so I'm from Parker County. I started in Brock, Texas, which is right outside of Weatherford. But my parents didn't keep me there long. It's a huge, thriving community now. I mean, there, it's where you want to live. But, you know, when I was there, there was about 12 kids went to school in each class.

[Ricky Tierres]

Wow, wow, wow. Talk about that massive change of where you come from. Till today, literally sitting in Miami in the studio talking about you're about to reveal and talk about your story for our episode.

[Justin Bradley]

We are, we are. We're going to talk about that.

[Ricky Tierres]

As a matter of fact, you and I are doing the interview together.

[Justin Bradley]

So. Perfect.

[Ricky Tierres]

So where do you begin?

[Justin Bradley]

I guess you start in Brock, Texas. So obviously I was born. I was born in Fort Worth, but you know, when I was a young, I was in Brock, Texas. I have two older brothers.

[Ricky Tierres]

Right on.

[Justin Bradley]

They went to Brock. My mother didn't allow me. We had a brief stint. We moved down to Houston for about three months with my dad's business, trucking. And that didn't work out. So we come home and so I went to school the whole time in Weatherford, Texas. So that was where I grew up. And now we're just a little east of there. Still home based in Weatherford, but I actually live in Alito with my family now.

[Ricky Tierres]

Yeah, every time we talk about Texas, I'm like, I lived in Austin for three years. It was during COVID and I lived than Lakeway, which is not anything near remotely what you would see in Austin, Texas. Talk about the Texas grit. A lot of folks that. A lot of folks that may be listening don't understand what that means, but I do. And I would love for you to give Us, kind of like the. The. The modern version of what that means, the Texas grid.

[Justin Bradley]

You know, my daughter plays volleyball, and we travel. I don't know. I've been in more states for volleyball than I have with working, and I've been a lot of states working. But Texas is different in the fact that we just do it. Oh, for sure, right. And you have one thing that makes Jack Metals LLC so successful is anything outside of a city limit. You don't need a permit. Really. No. You know, stick in there. We're gonna make this happen. Right. And I think that's one thing that Texas is known for, is the freedom inside of it and just the work ethic.

[Ricky Tierres]

Yes, sir.

[Justin Bradley]

You know, when you're born country or redneck, whatever you want to call us, dude, you're just on a different. You. You think differently.

[Ricky Tierres]

You get.

[Justin Bradley]

You got to get up. You got to go make it happen. Oh, yeah. You know, nobody's coming what's coming to help you. You got to get up, you got to go make it happen. And, you know, Austin, great city, right? Austin's a great city. It is. And you can see. Yeah, right. But you can see the growth around that. And so right now you have this. It's somewhat like a triangle. And if you go from dfw, Dallas, Fort Worth, what's war? From you go straight down to that Houston, straight over to San Antonio, Inside of that somewhat triangle, you have the biggest movement going right now that probably anywhere in the nation completely. It's crazy.

[Ricky Tierres]

I would say Miami and that area are fighting for it because that energy flow from New York and the west coast of San Francisco, everybody was migrating to Austin, or somehow everybody was migrating in Miami. Talk about your experience with COVID and how everything changed because of COVID and. And. And how it was. Was it good for you? Was it bad for you? I feel like Covid was a primer to your story.

[Justin Bradley]

So prior to Covid, when Blake and I started, we had doubled pretty much in every year once we started. Right. I mean, we didn't even know anything about steel. I'd pour the concrete, do the dirt work. He'd stand the building. I'd go finish the inside out. And then we started making metal, obviously. And, you know, we were very blessed in that momentum of how it went. And as we started opening more stores, we, you know, it's like, yeah, you know, you've never had that size. I mean, we both had good sized construction facilities. But when you're talking the scale we're at now, your brain has to kind of start recalculating on what you're. You're figuring out. Rona hits and then everybody's like, what are you. What are we going to do? And, you know, so we looked. We had to look deep into it. Thank God. Being in Texas, it's a little different scenario. You know, there wasn't all this mass. We're going to jump on everybody, or at least not in the county that we live in. And very aware. So we didn't really know. And so we tried to get on board and follow any rules that anybody had really come out with. We hung the clear plastics up for, you know, for our employees. Which employees didn't like that at all. You know, took away that aspect. Like you and I sitting here, right? I mean, that's a. This is a very personal aspect. And. And when you're selling, it doesn't matter if you're selling steel or selling that drink. I mean, that's. That's the job between people, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We blew all the way up. It was the most craziest time in the world. We went. I can't even explain what happened. We doubled at a number that was nearly going to be possible to double at.

[Ricky Tierres]

Wow.

[Justin Bradley]

We doubled down again. We were run. Our guys, Blake and I were never going home. That's when we finally moved into bringing in more help. Flipping the shop to 24 hours a day versus trying to make it all happen, you know, because at our heaviest, you know, I don't. There was days Blake and I never went home, you know, so. But the Ronan was. It was. No matter how horrible it was to the rest of the world, ever, what happened for us, it. It exploded us to a whole different level.

[Ricky Tierres]

Wow. Where are you today? Like, you briefly mentioned that you've done radio. I'm kind of curious. How does one get into steel?

[Justin Bradley]

First time I ever stepped up to a mic, I didn't sound near as good as I do right now

[Podcast Listener/Caller]

because.

[Justin Bradley]

What. You know, I was in a movie. Andy's here, our lawyer. We did a movie together. And acting was easier than sitting in front of a mic.

[Ricky Tierres]

Oh, I'm sure.

[Justin Bradley]

You know, but so radio, commercials is what I do. So I. That's. We. We cut all of our own radios. We're fantastic. We've got, I don't know, four or five radio stations, you know, inside of Texas, Texas itself. So.

[Ricky Tierres]

But it's. But it's crazy that you mentioned radio and folks are called radio typewriters, fax machines, these things are. May sound archaic for Folks in tech, but in your line of business where it's literally just creating these, these f applications, this is speaking to a older culture holder generation that folks think that's going to disappear. No, sir, it's not. It's very much the foundation of how this is built.

[Justin Bradley]

I don't think it'll ever go away. I think that's where everybody gets mistaken.

[Ricky Tierres]

So even these AI power plants need your building.

[Justin Bradley]

I mean, yeah, we actually, we moved to Abilene to help them. I mean, to be honest, I mean, it's a 500 billion dollar project going out there, right?

[Ricky Tierres]

This is like, it made the Tesla factory, the cyber trucks this big. Oh, you got an Amazon factory Q. Let's build an A, right? Like factory. Yeah, that's where we're at.

[Justin Bradley]

It is massive out there, right? And that. That's where our. Our latest production facility went. But radio, I think people. So we have a. Our original radio station is 95.9 the Ranch in Fort Worth, Texas. Right. Right on. Dude. It's red dirt country, right? It's a Texas thing. If I said artist on it, some of y' all are going to know who it is. Not all you're gonna know I'm even talking about, but there's a brand in there. So Jerry had this music series and it was every Wednesday night, I believe at the time. And so they're like, you know, Justin, we think you need to do this. And I'm like, okay, I get. I guess I think it's 26 shows week after week after week. And I'm like, okay, we're gonna do this. And I made every show just by the way. And I didn't have wife and kids then, but I did make every show. And everybody was. There was like 18 to 24, right? And everybody's like, you're crazy. You're crazy. They. They can't afford the product. It's not gonna work. And I'm like, but all the other guys that do what we do, they've got that generation of that 35 to 50 or 60, right? Yeah, we're not going to get that market. So I knew we could pick a few of those people away over time and as we were moving along. But I knew I had to take that Jaguar brand, the Jag Jag metals, and branded into their head because that's my future homeowner, that right in that. And so we doubled down, we did that. We got inside of the livestock sales for the kids showing animals. We went to buying that we went to. And it Just. And then, you know, like, we've been on our social media, girl, we just kept like compacting all that. Taking that to Facebook, taking it to whatever network there is out there and just shoving it out there and trying to, to learn to build the brand. But radio in our direct area, maybe not as a whole, well, all of them, but especially that one singular radio station branding us inside of our region completely.

[Ricky Tierres]

It's fantastic because you understand your niche, you understand your audience. I'm. I'm friends with the, the Garth brooks tribe and Mr. Garth Brooks himself. He's old school. He knows his real money is on actual compact discs at Walmart. He's like, I'm not going digital. The hell. Old people don't know how to run Spotify. I cann not make money on Spotify. So I will sell my CDs at Walmart. It works.

[Justin Bradley]

It does.

[Ricky Tierres]

There's still a niche there, and Walmart is still huge.

[Justin Bradley]

But it's tangible.

[Ricky Tierres]

Yes.

[Justin Bradley]

Everything on our smart. That's not tangible.

[Ricky Tierres]

No, it's all digital. It's mostly in our imagination.

[Justin Bradley]

It is. And then if you break it, it's 24 hours before you're gonna hear it again. Yeah, I know, but that CD you'll put on.

[Ricky Tierres]

Oh, I know. You pop it on there.

[Justin Bradley]

I think people think that we're going away from it and AI starting to scare people, right? Because we do, you know, we're doing SEO throughout the stores. And now you've got. Coming in, they're like, look, you can't buy AI like you bought Google, right? And so it's like, well, how do we do it? We got to have coders. Oh, yeah, right. So now you, now, now you're in a whole different. And I'm, I'm not even versed on this yet. Well, I'm just digging into it because it just came live three weeks ago. Right, Right on.

[Ricky Tierres]

But you're jacked up about your job.

[Justin Bradley]

I'm not gonna lie. You're pretty excited about it.

[Ricky Tierres]

I mean, you're not scared of it at all. You're emotional.

[Justin Bradley]

You can't be. You can't be because you're training the old, the new, and the next and the next.

[Ricky Tierres]

Yes, sir.

[Justin Bradley]

And you have. And I think people really from that. And they won't say, I don't listen to the radio. You're not my audience.

[Ricky Tierres]

Yeah, I've heard of a podcast.

[Justin Bradley]

Right. And so my wife, you know, my wife walks every morning, whatever. And that's what she does. She listens to that. We're out there in the field. I'm still listening to the radio stations that we sponsor.

[Ricky Tierres]

Yes, sir.

[Justin Bradley]

Or that we buy ads through. You know, no different than. And then that's what you force your people to. Same with your. Whether it's Facebook, Instagram, anything that we're out there pushing, you're looking for those people. People. And then it. Mark marketing it. What really helped us in marketing is it made us understand that our clients don't market the way we do. So we had to market for them. So we send. We send Ben out. She drones, everything that's out there. We put their videos on our side.

[Ricky Tierres]

Yep.

[Justin Bradley]

You know, and. And that's a danger in that our competitors are going to go poach them.

[Ricky Tierres]

Sure.

[Justin Bradley]

But in the end game, we're still responsible for them. So that's the partnership.

[Ricky Tierres]

So how can folks learn more about you? Actually, let's rewind. What are we going to learn about you in your legacy makers episode?

[Justin Bradley]

I'm sure we're going to dip it a little into my childhood because I think there's a funny story I got to get out.

[Ricky Tierres]

Okay.

[Justin Bradley]

And then we'll move along. We'll move along into what? That looked like kind of what shaped me into where I am, who helped me get there.

[Ricky Tierres]

Yes, sir.

[Justin Bradley]

Which is a lot of people. Jesus Christ. Mainly. And my mama. But you know, we're going to move from there and then, you know, we'll get on to what actually made me decide to like, I gotta. I gotta dig in this time. I gotta make it happen. And this time. This time.

[Ricky Tierres]

I'm curious how many times

[Justin Bradley]

you have no success without failure, Right?

[Ricky Tierres]

Right on, sir.

[Justin Bradley]

And then we're gonna get into Jag and what made it and when we fired it up and when I thought was gonna go broke and the first time. And then we'll go from there.

[Ricky Tierres]

Right on, man. I can't wait to hear the JAG journey.

[Justin Bradley]

Dude. That's gonna be great. So get a hold of us. Is jack met llc.com it's always jagmetals llc.com we do have a south division, but if you go to that main division of Jagmetals llc, you'll find us.

[Ricky Tierres]

Right on, dude. Justin Bradley, thank you so much for your time and energy, my friend. We are literally going to walk down this hall into studio one and begin filming your episode.

[Justin Bradley]

Perfect.

[Ricky Tierres]

I'm ready, dude. Thank you so much for your time and energy with that. That concludes another episode of the Living your legacy podcast. And we are inside Success.

[Podcast Listener/Caller]

Sam.