S2-E28: Inside Sponsor Games: Raw Day One Debrief from the PodHouse Mobile Studio

Summary

The Deep End with Eric Triplett

Episode S2-E28: Inside Sponsor Games: Raw Day One Debrief from the PodHouse Mobile Studio
Date: March 20, 2026

Episode Overview

This special episode takes listeners behind the scenes of Day One at Sponsor Games in San Antonio, Texas, a live event for creators and entrepreneurs focused on forging authentic, mutually beneficial sponsorship partnerships. Hosted by Eric Triplett (“The Pond Digger”), the conversation features Eric’s PodHouse partner Garvey and his brother Jason (“J.T.”). The trio debriefs candidly from their mobile studio, reflecting on the surprises, standout strategies, team dynamics, tactical homework, and lessons on both leadership and content creation gleaned from the event's high-impact, high-humidity first day.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Initial Expectations & Reality Check

• Eric describes showing up with some skepticism but open-minded curiosity, influenced by how much he learned from Justin Moore’s “Sponsor Magnet” book ([00:45]).

  • “Today was one of those days where your brain gets kind of just like cracked open…we spent the day surrounded by creators, entrepreneurs, and brands…not begging for sponsorships, but actually building partnerships.” — Eric ([00:59])

• The vibe shifts quickly from mild skepticism to blown-away appreciation for the event’s hands-on, strategic setup.

  • “Total game changer. I built it up, like, expect the worst, prepare for the best, and the worst didn’t show up…Today was really awesome.” — Eric ([08:41])

2. Shifting Mindset: From ‘Getting Sponsored’ to ‘Serving Brands’

• Discussion pivots from the old paradigm of chasing logos to the new mindset of delivering real value for brands.

  • “How do you serve brands?...If you want to get paid, you have to serve.” — Eric ([04:00])
  • “You have to hit their goals and…do research into brands and looking at…what is their big thing?” — Garvey ([04:11])

• The team reflects on their prior approaches, realizing the importance of understanding and aligning with a sponsor's core mission—not just taking “any sponsor.”

  • “I just wanted their logo on my shirt…But there’s more to it than that.” — Eric ([04:52])
  • “Finding out what their goals are…every brand is different, different things they want to do.” — Garvey ([04:11])

3. Event Structure & Immediate Takeaways

• The event’s opening evening (networking & registration) included some technical hiccups—microphone issues and a hot 97-degree Texas evening—but the Sponsor Games staff’s professionalism and preparation stood out.

  • “They already knew who I was, didn’t have a tag on…they did their homework…that was really impressive to me.” — Eric ([06:21])

• Justin Moore’s handling of on-stage tech issues is praised for grace under pressure.

  • “I think he handled it really graciously…his personality pushed through it. He did well.” — Eric ([07:42])

• The main event is revealed as a ‘mini-convention’ with five brand sponsors present, each with unique partnership angles.

  • “Justin Moore blows my mind. The whole event is built around helping [brands] help the audience and help the audience help them. It was so synergistic, it melted my face off.” — Eric ([17:12])

4. Team Exercises: Collaboration, Competition, and Self-Discovery

• Attendees were divided into teams tasked with collectively pitching sponsor brands, then shifting to individual pitches as both a practice and a competition.

  • “Each table is pitching the brand as a team and then pitching it individually. It’s really competitive, and I am a competitive spirit.” — Eric ([20:23])
  • “I want my team to kick ass on every team in the whole room.” — Eric ([21:09])

• Personal and team leadership traits emerge during exercises:

  • Eric uses voice-to-text/ChatGPT to format his pitch in a distinctive, kinetic way, contrasting with others’ more traditional paper/laptop approaches.
    • “I get up…I open ChatGPT…I start pacing the room and I’m just vibing into my phone…And I think I was the only one that functioned that way.” — Eric ([25:23])
  • “People are…creating content in their own different ways.” — Garvey ([26:41])

• Team members help each other sharpen and organize pitches, leveraging group strengths.

  • “I took [Joe’s] chicken scratch and just voice commanded into my phone…copied it into a note, made edits, corrected it and texted to him…he looked at me like, what kind of wizardry did you just do?” — Eric ([28:55])

5. Branding, Identity, and Leadership in Action

• The “PodHouse” team’s branded apparel draws attention and bolsters group identity.

  • “We just stand out in a crowd…it’s just natural for us. But wearing sweaters—like, chaos content sweater—these know what’s up.” — JT ([32:05])
  • “Karen showed up to our table: ‘You are the baddest in this room—the three of you.’” ([32:54])

• But strong branding can also ‘crowd out’ other elements of identity.

  • “This sweatshirt is my blessing and my curse. On stage…he couldn’t get past this jersey…So here I am pitching…He couldn’t get past the fact that PodHouse was not included in that.” — Eric ([34:19])
  • Discussion explores the challenge of multi-faceted personal brands and sticking to the right pitch for the right context.

6. Preparing for Day Two: The Assignment

• The next day’s challenge: Each team has to create a 60-second video for sponsor Shure (the microphone company), with unique themes and creative constraints (must feature the featured mic, be shot/edited within time limits, all team members on-screen, etc.).

  • “Ours is called ‘Overheard on the Riverwalk’…it’s observational—a team member walks the river, capturing ambient sound bites, narrates like a nature documentary, and the mic is the star.” — Eric ([55:35])
  • The prep reveals differences in tech approach and creative planning. Eric, as Director of Photography, calls “dibs” on creative control.
    • “Just so everyone knows right now, I’m director of photography tomorrow or I’m out. I don’t give a—if we have a problem with this.” — Eric ([47:32])

• The team discusses technical specifics and creative choices:

  • The video must highlight the mic visually for at least half the duration, use at least two built-in mic modes, and demonstrate the denoiser feature ([52:52]–[55:35]).

• Underlying all this is the high level of commitment, energy, and camaraderie—despite exhaustion and whiskey-fueled strategizing.

  • “None of these people are talking about this right now. None of these people have drinking a fifth of whiskey right now and live in a PodHouse.” — Garvey ([57:26])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On partnerships:
  “Not begging for sponsorships, but actually building partnerships…everyone’s winning together.” — Eric ([00:59])

• On brand research:
  “You have to hit their goals and…do research into brands…Every brand is different, different things they want to do.” — Garvey ([04:11])

• On teamwork and leadership:
  “When we broke into teams…I controlled it a little because…It wasn’t a team. I’m like, hey, we all need to line up, get together…read it together so we’re all on the same page.” — Eric ([22:23])

• On being prepared for whatever comes next:
  “Give us something that I can be creative with. Because when I’m motivated by something creative, it gets me excited.” — Eric ([40:44])

• On handling fatigue and expectations:
  “I just came off my big 4x4 by 48 challenge—sleep deprivation—traveled across the country…when we walked in, barely got there in time…but immediately…one of our teammates comes up: ‘Would you believe I’m the only person who talked to the sponsors this morning?’” — Eric ([15:17])

• On open communication and honest team alignment:
  “If there would’ve been friction when I said this, then I’d have known we’d have to outline it and get it figured out before tomorrow.” — Eric ([47:33])

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:45] — Eric’s intro, initial expectations, and framing of the event’s purpose
• [03:16] — Garvey’s first impressions and the breakdown of the brand collaboration process
• [06:19] — Registration/networking evening recap and Sponsor Games staff’s welcoming preparation
• [08:41] — Eric’s mindset shift after Day One: expectations vs. reality
• [14:48] — Lightbulb moment about ‘Lulu,’ the sponsor, leading to actionable business ideas
• [17:12] — Realization about event synergy and structure for maximizing value for all parties
• [20:23] — Team-based and individual pitching competitions: lessons in leadership, collaboration, and content creation workflow
• [25:23] — Eric details his unique, mobile content creation workflow (voice-to-text, ChatGPT, etc.)
• [32:05] — Impact of branding through apparel and presence among fellow attendees
• [34:19] — The double-edged sword of personal and project branding during sponsor pitches
• [40:44] — Assignment reveal and the importance of motivation and tapping into each member’s strengths
• [47:32] — Eric claims the ‘Director of Photography’ mantle—leadership style and aligning the team's roles
• [55:35] — The next day’s creative constraints and assignment details (filming, technical requirements)
• [60:48] — Event value affirmation, closing remarks on investment, camaraderie, and tactical outlook for Day Two

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Final Thoughts & Tone

The episode brims with authenticity, humor, and actionable business wisdom, much like being a fly on the wall at a late-night, high-stakes mastermind among contractors and creators. Eric’s “pushy” but growth-oriented leadership style is balanced by genuine care for team development and strategic learning. The candid tone, sprinkled with tough love, inside jokes, and real talk, delivers invaluable insights for anyone looking to master the art of turning sponsor relationships into meaningful partnerships—and doing so with grit, discipline, and camaraderie.

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For the Next Episode

Tune in for the Day Two debrief, where the team dives into the results of their video challenge, more sponsor strategies, team dynamics, and a behind-the-scenes look at who truly brought their A-game—and what happens when contractors, creators, and coaches step outside their comfort zones to compete, learn, and grow.

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Stay dangerous, thoughtful, and creative. Remember: Opportunities don’t come to you—you put yourself in the room, and then you execute.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Deep End with Eric Triplett, the pond digger. This is the show for contractors, tradesmen and entrepreneurs who want more from their business and from themselves. Eric brings decades of experience as a seven figure contractor with expertise in leadership, sales systems, and the discipline it takes to build something real. Shaped by years in the aquatics world, his insights are rooted in precision, craftsmanship, and performance. If you're done skimming the surface and ready to go deeper, it's time to dive in.

[B]

What's happening, rockstars? It's Triplett here. We're coming to you live from San Antonio, Texas, inside Pot House Mobile Studios. And today was day one of sponsor games with none other than Justin Moore, the guy who did sponsor Magnet Book. And I learned a ton from that book. And when I heard about sponsor games and the event that's happening here where he's going to like teach you live, I thought, yeah, it's definitely something that I should be attending and checking out. And I'll tell you what, today was one of those days where your brain gets kind of just like cracked open just a little bit. Like, you know, head hits the pavement, you know, like you're, you're like bleeding out, trying to figure out what to do. Seriously. We spent the day surrounded by creators, entrepreneurs and brands, literal brands that are sponsoring people. And we're trying to figure out how to work together in a smarter way. Okay, not begging for sponsorships, but actually building partnerships where not only the creator benefits greatly, but the brand is creating or benefiting in a massive way. But really the end user, the listener, the audience is really the winner. Like, it's a, it's. Everyone's winning together. So, like, that's how we figured out working with Justin Moore, like, makes this all happen. So tonight what I want to do is we're going to do a quick day one debriefing. And in this conversation, I'm with Garvey, my partner in Pothouse. My brother's in town with us. We drug him sass out to Texas. Jason Triplett, call him jt. And what we want to do here is we're going to talk about what, what surprised us, what hit hard, what strategies were, you know, like, we're already thinking about implementing one things that we didn't think about. And most importantly, we're going to, what we're going to do to attack tomorrow. Like, we have specific things that we're supposed to be doing tomorrow. We've already like had tactical strategical plans for tomorrow. We've been working on for audio and Video and voiceovers and text overlays. Like, we got homework to do and we put in the work to figure out how to make it work to our benefit. So if you've ever wondered how creators actually build real sponsorship deals or what happens when a bunch of hungry ass entrepreneurs get the same room to level up, you're about to hear it right now. Let's jump right into it. Garvey. What's up? How do you feel about today?

[C]

It was, it was a lot. It was a. I'm not sure it was exactly what I anticipated. I knew there was gonna be like some collaboration, some stuff with like teams and like, I didn't really know what to expect. But they broke it down, man. They broke it down. You know, numbers one through four on, this is the process. This is where you start and this is how you go and got like molecular into like talking to brands and how, you know, and even getting feedback from brands. Like, oh yeah, if I get that, I'm just deleting that, like email. Like you don't even know what you're talking about or whatever. So it's super insightful not just to

[B]

like talk to brands and get in their space, but how to serve brands. Yeah, like that, that's really it. How do you serve the brand? Because you know, if you want to get paid, you have to serve.

[C]

Yeah. You have to hit their goals and finding out what there is, those goals are and doing research into brands and looking at what is this brand and what is their, what is their big thing? Oh, well, they're opening a studio in New York City. Like that's going to be their, their. Everything's going into that and you know, finding that out. And you know, every brand is different, different things that they want to do. And I don't know if I never really, not that I didn't think of that, but I was always like, oh, I want to work with this brand because I. It's that brand.

[B]

Yeah, but how do you serve them?

[C]

How do you serve them?

[B]

You didn't know that?

[C]

No, no, no, no. I just wanted to like be sponsored by them.

[B]

Yeah, I just wanted their, their logo on my shirt and say that they pay me like. But there's more to it than that. But I want to be transparent about, you know, our, what happened last night because, you know, we traveled across the country. We, we met in the middle. Right. Texas. Right. And you know, I'm up at 3:30 in the morning, heading this way in the airport, you know, all this stuff and we get to the, like, the, the pregaming, like.

[D]

Right.

[B]

It's like just like the networking. Yeah, it's registration and networking and say hello and like, kind of hang out and they had a couple of games that they played. And again, I'll be transparent. I don't know if Justin will ever listen to this or not, but, like, when I was there, I was like evaluating things. Like, I was being maybe critical on things. Like what's working, what's not working, what. How are things work? You know, like, I was just really evaluating these things. And it's outdoors and it's 98 degrees. It's hot. You know, luckily it wasn't humid, which was fine. I can handle the heat. But I'm thinking like this as a group. Is this okay? You know, there's women here. There's, you know, guys that, you know, aren't as tough as us. You know, there's all sorts how you want to. However you want to take that, however you want to spin that. I don't give a. Yeah, but like,

[C]

we're like, there's people from all over.

[B]

Yeah. You know, and yeah, it was cool. It was like kind of a get together and a cocktail party and it was very, very. It was very done well. And, you know, when we walked in, we were greeted amazingly. Like the, the team from, from sponsor games, they were like, hey, like, they knew me. Like, they. I didn't have a tag on. I was going in to get my name tag and they called me by name. They already knew who I was. I was like, oh, they. They actually did their homework. They're. They're watching for people. Right? And so I thought that was really impressive to me. And then, but when, then, you know, it's. It's 97 degrees, we're outside and you know, there's food and drinks and charcuterie and like, it's cool. And then, then, then they get their audio out. Bianca goes up on stage and she's speaking, and it didn't hurt that she's, you know, gorgeous, beautiful to look at. You know, she's up there, like, talking and. But, you know, then the mic goes to Justin and he's having audio troubles, and I could tell immediately he's like, this is not cool. I'm really upset by this. Lots on the line. I've invested a lot. These people paid a lot of money, traveled all across the country, and now, like, they can't hear me and it keeps cutting out. I saw the frustration from Justin and I really felt for him. Did you catch that?

[D]

Yeah, I saw.

[C]

I caught it right away. And as I go to more of these, I pick up on all this stuff. I'm like, sucks.

[B]

I think he handled it really graciously. I think he handled it really, really well. And. And so I gave mad props to him on that. And then. But then it's at the end, and so, like, he's overcoming that frustration, and I think his personality pushed through it. I think he did well with it. And then we played a couple silly games, and it was just like, I had traveled all day. I'm in the airport. I left my family, my fucking. My. My dog's behind. Like, I'm in the middle of training him. And, like, my kids and my business and my. I'm trying to level up, and I have all this, you know, I. I got death threats going on. I'm hired security detail. Like, I. A lot going on, you know, Like. And I'm like, man, this is. I don't know if I'm digging this little game thing. Sponsor games, you know, Tomorrow we're gonna have a lot of fun. We're gonna do these games, and we're gonna. You know. And he's like, who's. Who can run around the most? I'm like, I'm not here to run around.

[C]

I'm here today.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And so I had. I. But I was like, okay, all right. Okay, cool. Like, I'm here. I'm gonna make the most of it. I'm gonna get the roi. Today, though, we go in total. Total game changer. Because I had built it up as. Like, I built it up, like, expect the worst, prepare for the best, and the worst didn't show up. I think it was. I think. I think today was really awesome.

[C]

Oh, it was. It was sick.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Actually learn. I actually learned some things today. One thing, though, I noticed, and it's just, you know, me looking. Looking the outside because there's what, 50, 50 people here? 50, 60 people.

[B]

About 50.

[D]

I. I understand the sponsors that are here, that. That's really cool for me personally, aside from maybe. Sure. You know, they don't really do anything for me. It's not. It's not like I'm. I need to have those things. Right. That's what I'm saying. But my point is. So when I found out the sponsors, I'm like, okay, that's cool. I know they'll probably be good for somebody, but it wasn't really in my. In my wheelhouse contractors.

[B]

If you're sick and tired of not making enough money, you Might suck at sales and you don't even know it. Or worse, you suck at sales and you actually think you're good. Before you get upset with me, I sucked at sales too. And for a long time. Here's the difference. I pulled my head out of the sand and I forced the change. That's why I know what you're up against and how you too can turn things around for you and your family. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I got really uncomfortable. I trained hard. I studied books and podcasts, videos, courses, role playing, and I took guidance from mentors and coaches while spending thousands of dollars. But trust me, it was all worth it. I mean, I turned my struggling company into a profitable seven figure construction business. I put together a list of the critical sales techniques that I use to flip my business from surviving to thriving. And I call it my contractor Sales Secrets. I want to share the list with you with no, no expense. Just to get you moving in the right direction. It's my way of contributing and giving back to my community and the construction industry that I know and I love. The list is available to [e-mail] I promise you, with these sales secrets, some grit and discipline, I know you can dramatically change your life. So stop what you're doing right now and go to Contractorsalesecrets.com that's contractor sales secrets.

[D]

When I decided that though, my thought was, you know, I'm gonna learn while I'm here because these may not be the sponsors that I'm seeking, but I can definitely learn something from, from what's transpiring here. And this is all new to me. And like, here I go in here. I think I'm pretty, like, tech savvy and I understand what's, what's going on, especially being in a musician. But before got a shit ton of sponsors on my own, I didn't have much help. I just went out and did it. But this is a different. This is a different scenario. This is more business related. And like I said, they may not. The. The sponsors may not be for my thing, but I'm learning a ton of things here. Especially when we did the whole. What was the thing we did before the package? Oh, when you kind of ride out when you're soliciting for a sponsor and you write up and you want to make like the pitch. Yeah, the pitch. There you go. That was extremely helpful to me.

[C]

Like, yeah, that initial.

[D]

It really was, man. It really was.

[B]

You're looking to connect with the safety like a PPE brand.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

For your business and what you do. Yeah.

[D]

So it's extremely helpful. And even writing it out and, and understanding. Yeah. It's not for the same thing, but it's that, that that pitch is designed to help you in anything that you're tactical. Yeah, yeah. That you're going through.

[C]

Thoughtful.

[D]

Here I thought I had my own thing, but like, this helped me narrow it down and focus into a smaller. Smaller things, which is just very helpful. I. I learned a lot today. I really did. So that was very cool.

[C]

Yeah. I mean, same here. It got again, like, to the MOLEC. 1, 2, 3, 4. And. And to collaborate with. We're talking with people from.

[B]

We would never see these people walking across Africa.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

That's crazy, right?

[B]

He's trying to get clean water for people across the world.

[D]

That's so commendable, dude.

[C]

Yeah, I'm hot. Yeah.

[B]

Oh, it's 97. Yeah.

[C]

Oh, you're right.

[B]

So, yeah. But hey, it's funny. It's because you're back to hot, you know? So when they were up on stage on day one, like the pregame, and it was hot outside and the mics were failing, the wind, the wind comes through. It's almost like a tornado. And he's like, oh, pardon me for the tornado. Like, he handled it really, really professional. Yeah, he was, he was pretty tight like that. But so back to today. I had some expectations of like a bunch of silly games. And, you know, one of the first things that happened when I walked in and I was trying, like, absorb the room, you know, he's like, going to see Lulu. And I have no idea what Lulu is, like, branding wise, like, Lulu, what do they do? Like, I literally, I swear to you, since his wife did all the makeup and all that stuff, right. I was like, is this Lululemon?

[C]

Yeah. What is this? Yes, this is a makeup brand.

[B]

I'm a contractor. I don't know what Lulu is. And then to find out that it's, you know, this. They publish books and they publish on demand. I'm like, I could even use this. That. That struck me. I was like, okay, cool. Like, this is gonna be great.

[D]

You know, on the outside, it was. I. I almost saw like a light bulb go off in your head because you, like, immediately went to business mode, bro.

[B]

You saw it.

[D]

Oh, dude. I was like, oh, my bros on some.

[C]

Oh, yeah, dude, something. You just gotta scan the room and you're like, really? He's like.

[D]

You're like, hold on, hold on. I'm thinking, I'm thinking right now, Yep. Okay, he's let him go.

[C]

He just flips the switch.

[D]

It really is, like, cool to watch. It really is like that.

[B]

So. But here's the thing. When I walked into the room, we came in a little bit late. You know, I just came off my big 4x4 by 48 challenge. Sleep deprivation. Then I traveled across the country. I only had like four hours sleep. And then we drank a pith of whiskey last night. And like, so like, like I needed a little extra sleep. When we walked in, we barely got there in time. We ate breakfast here, we ate breakfast here instead of eating there. So we have a little bit more time. Walked into the room, and immediately when we went to sit down, like, I didn't really understand what was happening. But, you know, one of our teammates comes up to me and he's like, would you believe I'm the only person who talked to the sponsors this morning when we got here? And I was like, oh, shit. No, no, shit. I. I didn't even think about that. Like, I didn't know. So, like, he was the only person in the room that came in early, talk to all the sponsors that were there. It was like a mini convention. There's five sponsors at the event. And so consider that a mini convention.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And so he comes in early and talks to all five sponsors to the show to try and figure them out, what they do. He'd really done his homework really well, and I was super pumped for him for that. But then I really, like, I thought about that poor sponsor, those five sponsors that put in all the money and put in all the effort and paid sponsor games and Justin Moore and they, they flew across the country and then they set up a booth and they're here. And like, they have a lot invested into it. And day one, one person comes and talks to them, and I'm like, these poor vendors. I. I would like to know more about these vendors. I would like to maybe see how I could help them. And that's how where my heart was. And I thought, man, these poor guys, they're gonna be like, how are they gonna recoup what they've invested into this deal, right? And then Justin Moore blows my fucking mind. And the whole event is built around helping them help the audience and help the audience help them. It was so synergistic. It fucking melted my face off. I had no eye. I did not see it coming.

[C]

No.

[B]

And as I was evaluating the room, I was like, trying to plot, and it was like I couldn't figure it out, watching it unfold, I was like, wow, this has done really well. Justin. Congratulations, sponsors. Congratulations to you members that are here today. Congratulations to you. This is going to be a really cool event.

[C]

Yeah, you're going to have 50 or whatever, whoever you want to pitch to. Right. Like these sponsors are going to get so many leads and get to pick whoever they want to work with.

[B]

Yes.

[D]

Well, I think part of that though, some of the, and just again, my personal. I'm just, I'm giving you my, my thought on this. There's, there's some people in there that have no need for those particular sponsors.

[C]

Absolutely.

[D]

But they're so jazzed on this scenario right now and they're like, like me, they're, they're small time. Like, I'm looking for sponsors, but I

[C]

know I want the right one.

[D]

I know internally these aren't the ones.

[C]

Yeah, you've said that since you walked in.

[D]

So I'm not going to go and like waste their time and try. Although I will pick their brain may learn some things, but I know I, I have a, there's a, there's a part of me that sees some of these people have no need for these guys, but they're going to go try to hit them up anyways.

[C]

Oh yeah.

[D]

Is it, is it for practicing purposes? Is it, is it just like, are they learning something from this? Or they do they generally want it or they just want to say they, they got, they can chalk it on their belt and say, I got a sponsor.

[C]

Like, I think it's a mixture of all the above.

[D]

I think there's got to be some kind of, they gotta look in where it say, okay, look, these generally aren't for me, you know, like, don't waste, My point is don't waste their time on some nonsense, you know, like, I know you're learning, I know you're, you're educating yourself and trying to grow your, your platform or whatever it is you're doing. But some of these people have no business trying to try and approach these people. And that's just my personal thought. I could be wrong, but it's just kind of something I noticed and I certainly don't want to waste people's time. That's my main thing.

[B]

Okay, let's get to the real point of the way that the sponsor games was set up because I think it was done really well in the fact that boom sets up teams and then each team is trying to create, you know, a pitch to the brands that are in the room. And so what's interesting is this is real life stuff. I. I have a couple of books that are unfinished and it bothers the shit outta me all the time. And I could leave it on the shelf for a long time and, like, go on to other things. I can. I had a lot of irons in the fire, but the fact that Lulu's here and they're talking about it, I want to fucking get it done, you know? And it struck me like that I am that person's client.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Now the paper form guy, like, it doesn't hit me, it doesn' strike me. But a different team, a different table, it's striking them. And so, boom, boom, boom. It's all clicking, right? So I think. I think. I think Justin lines it up really well. So that's clicking with me. Right. But the way it was designed, it's like each table pitching, you know, you got. Let's just say you got eight people at each table, and each eight people are pitching the brand as a team and then pitching it individually. So it's really competitive in a. In a way, like, I am a competitive spirit. And the fact that this is. I am. And the fact that it's like, I want to compete as a team. I want to compete with my team and I want every. I want to. I want my team to kick ass on every team in the whole room.

[D]

We're not losing tomorrow, bro.

[B]

Well, but listen, listen. I want to be real. I'm going to be real. Like, this is. It's. It's a competitive team. Like, there's going to be individual prizes, there's going to be team prizes, like the team set up. I want to win as a team. I want to dominate, but trust and believe. I want to win. Everyone on my team, like, I want to win. And Joe does too, and you do. And they like. I think it's really interesting. But I. I learned things about Garvey today as the 38 special productions. Like, that. I was like, that's good to know about Garvey. I want to talk about that in a minute. But, like, I want to. I want to. Like, Like Joe. Joe gave us that information today that was really important. And I'm trying to bolster Joe and build his spirit back up. He got broken down real easy today.

[D]

That kind of surprised me, bro.

[B]

Like, shrug that up, bro. You're gonna be fine. Yeah. Like, let's build.

[C]

Some people just can't take a while.

[B]

I want to. Yeah, I want to build him back up, but trust and believe. I want to win. If I can, you know, I would do.

[D]

You did creep into the number 12 position, bro.

[C]

Right there.

[B]

Show up on a table today.

[D]

I was like, I was like, damn,

[C]

dude, they pulled that file off the LinkedIn.

[B]

So I, I want to talk about my style today. Okay. Because when they, when we broke into teams, like, everyone's teaming together and I felt like I controlled it a little bit because, like, our table was like, these two people are talking. These two people are talking. It wasn't a team. I'm like, hey, we all need to line up. We need to get together. Like, stop talking individually. Let's, let's get back. Let's read it together. So we're all on the same page. We follow the rules correctly and we don't get disqualified because, like, you didn't, like you didn't know the rule on page seven. Like, we need to know this. Right? So I was trying to be a leader in that regard. And. I remember I was going with this.

[C]

Oh, the 30 minutes. Were you talking about the. You want to talk about something that I did?

[B]

I do, but that's not this. That's not it.

[D]

You need to pull everybody in because we're all getting sidetracked on other things.

[B]

Yeah. So I, I was real focusing on that leadership part of it. But I, we, I got lost here somewhere. It'll come back, it'll circle back. But so when we're working as a team, that's one thing. Right. But then, oh, I know we individualized each other. It's like, hey, you guys work as a team to do this. And then we did it. And he's like, okay, next everyone goes to themselves and like we're all sitting at the table together and we're supposed to be working on ourselves. We're sitting at a table. Hold on. Excuse me. Are you a contractor looking for growth training and to level up your contracting business? If so, join the TWT Contractor Circle. It's our free Facebook group where like minded professionals go to share insights of success, strategies for growth, and a place to find some accountability. In fact, we have a powerful accountability call every Friday with a live Q and A session at the end. And whether you're seeking advice, collaboration, or just a supportive community, this is a place for you. Request the to join today and start building a valuable connection with me as well as our amazing network of contractors. Tango Whiskey Tango. That's TWT Contractor Circle on Facebook. I'll see you on the inside. Now back to the show. And I looked around the room and all the tables were sitting There talking to themselves like they were all like doing their own thing. And then you got the film crew coming around, and then you have cameras coming in and clicking and moving and things. And I was like, I can't be here. This is not. This is not how I function. This is not how I work. And so like, boom, I get up, I push my chair out of the way and I get up and I get my phone out and I like, open ChatGPT and I press and I press record. I press like voice to command. And I start pacing the room and I'm just, just like vibing into my phone. Like it's on my face. Like it's kids, like, kissing my face. Like I'm talking into the phone and I'm looking around the room and the entire room is like bent over their table, like doing something. Some people are on laptops, some people are on paper, some people are on their phones, whatever. And I'm pacing, just right, ripping into my phone. And then I, I, like, I literally did like a 10 or 12 minute prompt. We had. We had 15 minutes. Yeah, we had 15 minutes. And I talked for 12 minutes into my phone as a prompt and press go boom Chat. GPT organized my thoughts and put it in a format. And then I looked at it and I copy pasted it into a note program, went into notes and then edited really quick, deleted this paragraph, changed something to this. Walk back to the table, sat down, I'm like, okay, I'm ready to go. But like, I. I think I was the only one that functioned that way. And, And I don't. I'm not saying that to Flex. I'm just saying like, people, computer, paper, you know, like voice to command. Like people are, are. They're creating content in their own different ways, you know?

[C]

Yeah. And some of it's. I don't think it's the most efficient. You know what I mean? Like, some. But like, you know, and you got me. I'm like, oh, man, I need to. I don't do it in as in depth as you. But like, like I'm gonna use this tool to help me build what I need to build out.

[B]

But you were typing, you were both texting.

[C]

I was doing both. You voiced as I voiced it, but for not maybe two minutes.

[B]

But I had to voice, like, while

[C]

I'm walking, you need to be in your element.

[B]

I wanted, I wanted to headbutt the wall, dude.

[C]

Is that what you do at home?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

In the office a lot of times.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah, I'll walk the ranch.

[C]

Walk the ranch, just working out, spitting

[B]

into the phone, you know?

[D]

You know, it's funny to me. Like, I don't like to write. I don't like to write down. And the fact that I didn't. I didn't realize about chat GPT, but I was actually really fascinated about the pitch scenario. Like, I literally wrote four pages.

[B]

I liked how you wrote it.

[D]

It was cool of my ideas.

[B]

But you, you'll like the way I do it for sure. So here's the. So we went that. And I. And I had my pitch. I went up on stage. That's why I'm in 12 spot.

[D]

Which you did very well, by the way.

[B]

That's why I'm in 12 spot. Because I did that voice command.

[D]

I agree.

[B]

And I fixed it and I went on stage and that pitch was pretty okay.

[C]

Did really well.

[B]

I'm still confused by it and I want to. I want to push back a little bit. On. On.

[D]

Did you watch that video yet, by chance? No. It was really good. Dude.

[B]

I want to push back on it a little bit because I feel frustrated and excited and I want to learn. I haven't watched it yet, but I think that's why I'm in 12 spot because of what I did. So. But then after that, the next thing was about something else. And Joe got into a dark spot and he was all upset and he was excited about something and I was like, let me help you. And I only went to help my teammates because I want my whole team to win. Right?

[C]

Yeah. That's awesome.

[B]

And so I had this cool moment with Joe.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Because he was like, what about this question? What about that question? I was like, this is important. That's important. He's like, oh, yeah. And like we were taking notes together and I'm like, give me your chicken scratch. Because it was just a. It was just like he couldn't even read his own writing.

[D]

I couldn't read.

[C]

No.

[D]

He couldn't read his own writing.

[B]

Yeah. What are you, a doctor? So I'm like, what is this? What is this? What is this? And I was like, can I organize this for you? He's like, okay, like, like, how are you going to do that? Right? And I took his chicken scratch and I just voice commanded into my phone. And he's watching me talking to my phone, like reading his chicken scratch. And there was long pauses. I was like, wait, wait, wait. I think I know this.

[C]

And I'm like, you're making it work.

[B]

Yeah. And then I handed him back his paperwork and I pressed Go. And then it came up and I, I copy pasted it, put in a note. I made some edits, corrected it and texted to him. And he read it and he was like, he looked at me like, what, what kind of wizardry did you just do? It was cool. And then, and then it like pulled him out of the, out of the ditch, you know, like, oh, I'm ready to go on stage again. You know, it was cool. So, yeah, I mean I, I really liked the dynamic of the whole room and I think, I think Justin was very good about not being. Showing favoritism and like just picking one person all the time.

[C]

No, no, he was like, hey, I would skip people.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Deliberately, like to get to people.

[D]

I noticed that he's like. I was like, okay, yeah, okay.

[C]

Like when you're in school.

[B]

Yeah. Okay. Jimmy, you can't raise your hand.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Seconds before.

[C]

Jimmy, we already heard from you.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Right? Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. So I think he did really well like that. But. So let's talk about. I want to talk about tomorrow because we have our assignment for tomorrow, which I'm amped out of my face about. I'm, I'm so psyched about. But let's.

[D]

Dude, if we don't win this assignment.

[B]

No, I don't. I'm not going to go there. I'm not going to go there.

[C]

Not even going to happen.

[B]

I'm not going to go.

[D]

That is ours.

[C]

This is your element. We have to, we have to focus.

[D]

We have to just tell us what to do.

[B]

Yeah, I just have to focus. You know, it doesn't. I, I don't want to jinx it, you know?

[C]

Yeah, I can't wait to talk about it.

[B]

Let's talk about that. But let's, let's talk about our pod house gear today.

[D]

Yes.

[B]

So, dude, first of all, it's 97 degrees. It was, I knew, I checked the weather. It was gonna be 97, but I checked this like it was gonna be like cold in the morning. I was like, well, maybe I'll pack my sweatshirt. Maybe. And literally it was 3:30 in the morning. I found my sweatshirt and I grabbed J.T. at his sweatshirt. I wasn't gonna, I wasn't gonna go to our, our apparel line and pull out a shirt for him because I was like, it's gonna be hot, dude.

[C]

Right, Right.

[B]

I don't wanna, I don't wanna drag this around. And so, but last second I pulled, I pulled our hoodies out and loaded them in in luggage and boom, off to the airport. We get here, it's 97. Like, you just. You look outside and you start sweating.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Right? And then. Then day two, what's high of 60?

[C]

Perfect.

[B]

How did this happen?

[D]

Weather, bro.

[B]

Okay, so. So tell us about what we're wearing. Our. Our pot house content creation hoodies. We go to the event. Tell us. Tell us a scenario.

[D]

Well, basically, I mean. You got it. You know what? I think, aside from the sweaters, initially, we. The three of us together, hold ourselves in a certain way. We just kind of stand out in a crowd. Okay. It's just natural for us. But when we're wearing sweater. We're like, chaos, content sweater, sweater detail. Like, these know. What's up, dude? Like, you know, just.

[C]

Where do I get one of those?

[D]

Like, okay, these are legit. You guys are like, our security details.

[B]

Security guards.

[D]

Security guards are like, oh, the purple hair? Yeah. She was like.

[B]

Is that what she said?

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Yeah. She's like, you guys are like, our security. And Karen.

[B]

Karen showed up to our table. She's like, you are the baddest in this room.

[C]

That's awesome.

[D]

The three of you.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[D]

That was awesome.

[C]

And it's just by wearing shirts like, no. Carrying ourselves.

[B]

The bald head. It's the muscle.

[C]

All right.

[B]

Right, fat ass.

[D]

She's looking at that ghetto booty, bro.

[C]

The badonka dog.

[D]

Crazy, dude.

[B]

How much. How much does it cost you to get pants? Custom fits around your.

[C]

A lot. Got to get them from overseas.

[D]

You know what? But where Eric's going with this. Where Eric's going with this is. I think it comes all back to the branding and marketing of.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Of what we're doing. I mean, the sweaters are dope as they are. Like, I'm not a guy who typically likes to have stuff on the front of a shirt or especially my sweaters. My sweaters I'm pretty particular about. But, dude, this sweater is dope, and it stands out. It's. It's.

[B]

Dude, it's got. It has a purpose. It's a pothouse on the pocket.

[D]

Yeah, it has a purpose, dude.

[C]

It does. Yeah. It's just.

[D]

And even at the airport, like you said the other day when we were walking through, I was noticing everybody was reading the sweaters. Everybody was like, yeah, Checking them out.

[B]

Yeah. We're at the airport in Ontario, coming to the airport, and he and I had the same sweatshirt on, and people are like, slowing down. Stop looking at you. What are these guys doing?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay, let me get to this sweatshirt. This sweatshirt is my blessing and my curse. On stage with Justin Moore it literally

[C]

is because he can't see past it.

[B]

He can't see past it. That's exactly the point. When I went on stage, I was wearing this thing. He couldn't get past this jersey. No, right. He even said, hey, before we get started, tell us about pothouse. I was like, so here I am pitching. Did I pitch it okay to the group? Dude? I just.

[C]

Just hit on the stage.

[B]

Home run, like, right off the cuff, right? So he's like, tell us about pothouse. So I tell him about pod house, and then I sit down. He's like, pitch Lulu. And I pitched Lulu as pond digger and. And who I am with my books and my coaching program. But he couldn't get past the fact that pod house was not included in that.

[C]

In that pitch.

[B]

And it. The whole thing up for me.

[D]

I don't think. I don't think it faked that up.

[B]

No, no, no.

[D]

He even said, everybody in here has their special thing. Eric obviously has a niche.

[B]

My book has nothing to do with pot house, though. You see what I mean? My book, right? My book has nothing to do with pot house. It has everything to do with my coaching program. It has everything to do with my. My 30 years of building pots, right? The pothouse is five months old, and he couldn't get past the fact that we have to.

[D]

No, that's not a bad thing, though, bro.

[B]

I know, I know, I know it's

[D]

not a bad thing.

[B]

I'm not saying it is, but it is. It's my blessing and it's my curse is what I'm saying on stage right there. And so. But it did help me expand my eyes and my. Open my mind on some stuff. But it. It's so big that it. It, like, stifled. It stifled 30 years of fucking content creation.

[D]

Sorry.

[B]

You know what I mean?

[D]

I would get stifled it, bro. I think, if anything, I think it added to the mystique of the pond digger because the pond digger.

[C]

What do you have a pod? You all have a pod? You have one podcast. No, no. And then it, like, that's what I'm saying.

[D]

The mystique of Eric Triplet is. Yeah, Eric Triplet is not Eric Triplett. He's got, like, umbrellas of, like, two hands of.

[C]

Right.

[D]

You know? So it's like he's a. He's an author. He's an inventor. He's a business owner, entrepreneur, marri, podcaster, father. Father. Like, he's got so many elements.

[B]

Manufacturer. Don't leave that.

[C]

Are we missing anything?

[D]

And I'm not trying to flex for you, bro. I'm just saying. I'm just being honest, bro. At the end of the day, look, some people are gonna do name recognition, and some people aren't gonna know. They're not gonna look at the Eric Triplet, the. The author and the inventor. You know what? If they remember you from one thing, if they remember you from the pot house, that's awesome. If they remember you as the pawn builder, well, hey, that's cool, too.

[B]

Just. Just remember, if I. If I wasn't wearing this pothouse thing when I went on stage, that pitch might have worked just as is. I. I swear to you.

[D]

It was a good pitch, though. It was a good place, though.

[B]

I. I do believe that. So let's get to our assignment tomorrow. Can we pause for just one second?

[C]

Sure.

[A]

Contractors. Let me ask you something. How many calls do you make every day just trying to get on the same page with a customer? Describing a problem, explaining a solution, guessing what you're walking into. Now imagine skipping all of that and seeing the job before you ever roll a truck. That's what liveswitch does. Live switch lets you connect face to face with homeowners instantly. Live video, real time diagnosis, faster decisions, and better trust. This isn't just another app to slow you down. It's the difference between speed to lead and race to the face. Contractors using live video close faster, waste fewer trips, and show up as the expert before the competition even arrives. If you're ready to work smarter, communicate clearer, and win more jobs, go to liveswitch.com and sign up for a free trial and see what Race to the Face really looks like. And be sure to tell them the pond diggers sent you.

[B]

Okay. Okay. Let's transition to our assignment for tomorrow, which I'm psyched out of my brain about. I'm.

[C]

So this is in your wheelhouse. Director of photography, too.

[B]

So. So explain the end of the night. What he said was what everyone had to do tomorrow morning. And they. They were going to sign, like, the details, share that with what that looked like to you.

[C]

Oh, at the end of.

[B]

It was like almost the end of sponsor games.

[C]

Everyone's like, day one, they're like, okay, everyone's gonna. Team captains come up and you're gonna get a scenario. Right. That you need to build for. Sure. Microphones. Right. Every one of them is different. Right.

[B]

We had film content for them.

[C]

Film content for them.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Every and everyone has a different task in a different. How would you say? It's like a different.

[B]

It's a different theme Theme? Yeah, like, hey, you guys are gonna theme this, you guys are gonna theme that. I was a little worried about the theme.

[C]

I was like, I hope we get. And we got something great.

[B]

Yeah. But so imagine there's. I don't know, there's nine teams, nine people, nine team captains go up randomly assigned randomly, pull a number, and they're like, hey, you're gonna be. You're Gonna BR through 9. Right? And so they were reading them off. The funeral one got me weird. Like, I didn't like that one at all. I'm so glad we didn't get a funeral.

[C]

Wasn't like, using the people walking as your. As your. Like, people attending your funeral. Random people.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, it was. It was a really. That was a tough one. I feel sorry for those guys, but. But maybe someone on the team really has. It worked out that that's the cool thing about content creation. You got, you know, 50 different people in the room. You got 50 different minds. Even Joe said, like, one of his big takeaways was, Joe's our team captain. For those of you listening, he took away, like, hey, I'm sitting here with a bunch of guys, and they think differently than I do. And I didn't imagine that I should think like this. And by hearing them interject their thoughts has me thinking differently. That was cool.

[C]

That's cool. Yeah, it's cool to hear.

[B]

So when I was. When I was back there, I'm like, give us something good. Give us something good. Give me something that I can be creative with. Because I am very driven by a motive. Like, when I'm motivated by a, you know, something creative, to me, it gets me excited.

[C]

And I've seen it.

[B]

I can lean in. Like, yeah, when we did our goodbye video. Goodbye video podcast one, you're like, you saw how pumped I was.

[C]

So fun. We just go like, oh, that's awesome.

[B]

Yeah, do that, do that.

[C]

Like, for, Like. Like. Like you're. You're the. At the helm, and I can't wait to see it tomorrow. You're gonna be direct, like, quiet on the sound.

[B]

So that was. That was really cool. So it's exciting for me to know that each team has to create a video for one of the. For the brand there. And we're all creating for the same brand. We all have the same requirements with

[C]

different themes with the same technology.

[B]

Yeah. And we're all shooting from an iPhone. We gotta edit it and whatever. So it's cool, you know? So I think we have several, you know, a couple hours in the morning to do this. And so tell us your thoughts of my. Like, you felt pretty comfortable. This is what I'm going to go back to. I think we. We evaded this.

[C]

Yeah, I want to. Yeah, I want to step back. What are you saying?

[B]

Something I learned about you because, like, I was locked into LULU Publishing. You know, like, the publishing books and stuff. Because it's something that I think I could lean into and I could. It could serve me, and I could serve them, and, like, it just really locked with me. But, Kit, for some reason, you were, like, locked in on them. They're in New York. You're in New Jersey broadcasting. Like, and it aligns with me and Pot House and all that stuff. But, like, I was so locked in the lulu, trying to figure out how that would work. But I saw behind the scenes, like, Kit was really special to you.

[C]

Yeah. Something. And I want to know. And it's not just the podcast studio in New York City. It's. I want to learn more about what they all. They offer all this other stuff, like email campaigns and stuff like that.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But I was like, oh, man. Like, if you're opening, like, you're. You're opening something in New York City, like. Like, it's serious and it's going to be super focused. And then when I saw the. Hey, you know, the requirements to apply is like, hey, you're gonna have to be committed to come to New York. And, like, that's a huge commitment for people that are not from around that area. So I'm like, oh, man. Like, this kind of. This might work.

[B]

Yeah. So when. When there was a part in the sponsor games where it's like, lock in individually. And I, like, leaned into you, I was like, let me help you individually. Like, you want Kit. Let me help you lock it in so you can pitch it to her. And you're like, no, no, I'm not the pitch guy. Like, you looked at me like, nope. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You got this wrong. Triplet. That's not who I do. That's not how I roll. Like, that's what happened today. And I don't know if it was a timing thing and a travel and, like, or if it was just like, hey, I'm. I want to make, like, you know, a lot of things happen behind the scene. I want to create the. The thought and the vision of it all, but I don't want to. I don't want to be that person.

[C]

Correct. I think that's what I saw today. Yeah. Like, you're like, you need to get up there and be on the. The stage. And I'm like.

[B]

You're like, no, no, no, You. You know, I'll help here.

[D]

Yes, you do that.

[C]

Yes. Can I give you the ideas?

[B]

I was like, like, okay, guess what? You. You lock in all the Airbnbs, and I'll do all the films.

[C]

Perfect.

[B]

Filming. Yeah. We'll think together. I'll go up and I'll. I'll do the pitch. Like, yeah, dude. It became apparent to me today, that's

[D]

where everybody has their real.

[C]

But that's what it's all about, right? It's like, yeah, like, we don't know each other. We've known each other for a year, and we're learning more and more about each other. Some I'm not super, like, in your face. And, like, me. It's all about me. And I want to brag and, yeah, I'm a three, right? But I'm not. Like, I want to be at the center of the attention. That's not me.

[D]

Strengths and weaknesses, bro. Yeah, most people know their strengths and weaknesses. Like, I have absolutely no problem when my bro takes charge.

[C]

I love it.

[D]

I'm like, yeah, dude.

[C]

Yeah, you're on it, bro.

[D]

I know it's gonna happen.

[C]

How can I help you? And like, like, even today, like. Like, oh, like, what is it? A three? You give me, like, a little bit of appraise, right? Like, I'll thrive off that, right?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[C]

So, like, it was with. I'm like, hey, we had 30 minutes to do the three things, like, break down the pitches for the packages and. Yeah, yeah, the packages. No, it wasn't the packages with the pitches. I think, yeah, whatever, but we had to do this, and I'm just, like, looking at the clock, and I was like, I think we should dedicate 10 minutes to each one of them. We have six minutes left with number one. He's like, yes, that's awesome. That's a great idea.

[D]

And I was like, you were the timekeeper.

[C]

I'm like, like, he loved my idea. Like, that's.

[A]

I like that.

[B]

But did you see I executed on it? I'm like, yeah. Because Joe was trying to go, like, the team captain was trying to go to a different spot. I'm like, no, no, no. Shut the up.

[C]

You're killing it.

[B]

Yeah, right, right, right back here now

[C]

taking that, like, 38 special.

[B]

38.

[C]

Yeah. So, like, yeah, I love that you're learning more and more about me, but you know what?

[D]

To give Joe credit, he didn't Mind either.

[C]

He didn't eat.

[D]

He was like, yeah, you know what? You're right.

[B]

He's like, okay, okay, okay. And in fact, he was.

[D]

Was.

[B]

He was. And I don't know if it has to do with the shirts or our bald presence or whatever it was, but he's like, hey, you guys got locked in. I feel comfortable with you guys, like, helping me.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, so it would have been different, like, if we were all wearing different shirts and had our hat backwards and going, guys in thongs and one guy's in a short and one guy's in pants. And like, we're just like, if anyone's

[D]

wearing a thong, it's this.

[C]

I don't know, where's the.

[B]

You're wearing thongs right now, bro.

[C]

Wasn't there something you were wearing? Edible underwear?

[B]

Edible chillers. Transparent edible chill panties is what you wear. Okay, we digress, we digress, we digress. But. But you and I locked in like, you said, hey, we should do this. And I said, I agree. And I. I said, great idea. Boom. Execute on it. And I was pushing people to it, like, I don't care. This is how it's going to go down. And I had a little bit of. I. I hit. I hit things off at the pass early with Joe because he's got a lot of. A lot of knowledge. He's got a knowledge, a lot of traction and a lot of conviction on YouTube and things of that nature. And then I made this fun little comment to see if there would be friction. I wasn't doing it to flex. I wasn't doing it to be a devo or demanding. I did it to see if there

[C]

would be friction and then had to deal with it.

[B]

And had to deal with it. And how would we deal with it? Because when we go to. To the games tomorrow, we're going to hit it off. Because if there would have been friction when I said this, then I'd have known we'd have to outline it and get it figured out before tomorrow. So I was like, hey, just so everyone knows right now, I'm director of photography tomorrow or I'm out. I don't give a. I'm director of photography anyone has done.

[D]

Even though I know you're right now,

[B]

tell me right now if we have a problem with this.

[D]

Even though I know. Even though I knew you were kind of kidding, but no, he wasn't. Hold on. You were kind of kidding, kind of serious. I knew where you were going with that. Dude. Everybody fell in line.

[B]

That's an 8 I wasn't gonna let him.

[D]

I didn't mind. I didn't.

[B]

I don't want him telling me tomorrow, like, oh, we got to film this. Like, no, no, no. Just, just listen.

[C]

Just, just listen to what I have to say.

[D]

Well, that's where I got. We got to give judic because he knows that we're in the podcasting world and that we kind of have the knowledge of this. So he was like, you know what, you're right. Let's do it.

[B]

I don't think. Oh, you know what's interesting? I'm gonna find out from tomorrow morning. This is a really important factor that we don't know right now. We're sitting here right now. I'm looking across the stage at you two guys right now in Pothouse Studios number two, San Antonio, Texas. Joe did a lot of homework on all the brands and things of that nature. He showed up early and saw the people. Do you think he knows that I have155,000 followers on. I mean, subscribers on.

[D]

He probably knows now.

[B]

I don't.

[D]

I. I don't think he knew ahead of time.

[C]

So.

[D]

Because he's added me on all my. Has he added to you on all your. On all your stuff?

[B]

I don't know if he done it on YouTube.

[D]

Interesting.

[B]

Hey, it's Tripla here. Let's be real. In a world of reels, swipes and virtual trends, it's easy to forget what really moves the needle. Pawn trade magazine isn't chasing clicks. It's preserving the craft of water features, arguably the last stronghold of long form education in our industry, where real pond builders, koi pros and innovators share their knowledge. Unfinished, unfiltered and unrushed. You won't find gimmicks or clickbait in pond trade. You'll find depth, detail, strategy, story. From advanced filtration systems and aquatic plant care to retail strategies and contractor spotlights, pond trade is where the best in the business speak freely and where the next generation of pond builders learn what it really takes. If you build ponds for a living, maintain them, design them, or dream about doing it all better, this is your magazine. Delivered free, written by professionals, respected by the entire industry. This isn't just content for the algorithm. It's content for legacy. Subscribe [e-mail] stay connected to the heart of the pond. Now back to the show. I don't know if he's already done the. The research and he knows that I'm double him on YouTube and he just

[D]

conceded or because he's got 71, 000 followers right now that I'm looking at.

[B]

Subscribers.

[D]

Subscribers?

[C]

I don't think so.

[B]

Yeah, so I'm gonna ask him tomorrow. I was like, hey, I saw your YouTube last channel. Have you seen my YouTube by chance? Let's do that tomorrow because that'll be. That'll be a little interesting piece because I want to do another debriefing after day two so we can document this. So this will be an interesting twist to find out if he conceded knowing that I already had a bunch of followers, or not not knowing, but just by our presence and by our. Our jerseys. You know, their jerseys are sick. They. They should. Must know what they're doing. Okay, okay, so let's get back to this. So we have specific rules tomorrow. Tomorrow, you know, someone's doing a funeral procession. That was so weird. I don't even know.

[D]

I didn't think about that.

[C]

And are we all going to be on top of each other or will we spread out?

[D]

You want us to be on top of you, don't you?

[B]

No, we have. We have the whole river walk. We have the whole.

[C]

But it's not like just right outside the museum. Okay.

[B]

I can do whatever we want.

[D]

I think there's naturally. We need a person walking. We need maybe some change dropping in a distance. We need some birds chirping. We need to capture some water flowing,

[C]

which should be easy, but could you paint the objective?

[B]

Okay, so we have. We have this list, and I'll just. I'll just briefly do it. So this is brief. One out of nine. And this is specific to us. They pulled Nambers out of the hat. So. So we're shooting for a new product from sure Mike or sure sure, the brand. Right. And they have a cool new mic that we're going to be using that attaches to your iPhone. And we're going to be, like, capturing a video and audio from it. So here are the terms, the rules. So the universal rules for all teams. The universal rules for all teams are the video's got to be 60 seconds or under. We're going to be using the Shure MV88. It's a USB C. It must be visible for a minimum of 50% of the video. So this is really, really important. Okay. So it has to be visible in the video. So we have to be filming it while it's catching the audio. That's going to be fucking hard. Dude. I just figured this out.

[D]

Not really. Why? You don't want to know why. Say for Example, we're shooting boots walking, right? If I can put the boot, the microphone on the pants and somebody's shooting, you could see it. I'm just gonna shoot. We gotta shoot with this attached to something.

[B]

No, you have to, you have to. They have to see the. They have to see the mic in the.

[D]

That's what I'm saying. So like the, the mic would be like clipped on the pant leg or something.

[C]

It might give us more than one. I don't think that's gonna solve it with that.

[D]

I don't think it's gonna be a problem.

[B]

Okay, that, that's potential Solution from a 3:38 special. So we're going to ask. We need two mics. Okay?

[C]

We need two.

[B]

So it's got to be visible in 50% of the videos. No other microphones can be used. All team members must appear on screen at least once in. In. In any capacity. So we have a smaller team because we have lost two members. So we have four man team. And then. So we can't swear or offensive language can't be used. We're done. Wind it up F. We're out.

[D]

Okay.

[B]

So we have to be on our best behavior. Watch your fucking mouth. Okay. And then we must include a sponsorship disclosure somewhere in the video, which means, hey, this is a paid sponsorship. I'm sure we're microphone, but it all do, you know, like we have to do something fun and cool, right? Deliverable. How we have to upload it so they can have it as they can show it. They can present tomorrow at the. At the event. And then all videos will be viewed together during game six feedback.

[D]

So we can edit it in any way we want. See, my only thing is, so we're going to shoot the video. We can upload it into Riverside FM and then just put it together that way, right?

[C]

We're going to do two edits, right?

[B]

Yeah, we're going to do two edits. We're going to do one on the phone through Instagram edits or something like that. And we'll do a cap cut on computer, whatever, Riverside FM or whatever. But so our tone is like. So ours is considered. The briefing for us is overheard on the Riverwalk. So we're in San Antonio, Texas, the Riverwalk. And what their hope is, they want a cinematic tone, observational. A team member walks the river, the Riverwalk, capturing ambient sound bites, water, footsteps, boats and narrates like a natural, like a nature documentary. And the mic is the star. This is gonna. I got. I'm gonna spend some Time on this tonight after we finish this bottle of whiskey. But the concept is done, but we must include. We have to switch between at least two sound modes on the mic. So tomorrow we have to test the sound modes and see which we like the best.

[D]

That should be no problem.

[B]

I know, but we have to figure out which ones we like the best because they have like four or five different. Different choosings from 1, 2, 3, surround sound. Four. They. Well, they have four. We have to show at least two. So we're going to do that. And then we have to call out or demonstrate in real time the Denoiser feature. They have a Denoiser feature which we still haven't figured out. We have to figure that out. Like, oh, I'm going to try my Denoiser feature to block out this sound. To do that. Like, we have to. That's an important factor. So. And on. All team members must appear on screen at some point. So they have guidelines. Slow, deliberate, handheld movement. So the guidelines for us might be different than someone else. Right, right. Than the other team members. And then we have to have a. We have to keep the framing wide and environmental and let the. The scenery breathe around the mic so that it has to be these wide shots. And that's interesting because I'm shooting horizontal.

[D]

I don't think it matters.

[B]

I think we should do, like, we have to choose one. One format.

[D]

I don't think it matters.

[C]

For Instagram. It doesn't matter.

[D]

Right. Just know that if you shoot this way, it's gonna be more problematic, bro. I think we should just use.

[B]

I'm planning on vertical.

[C]

Vertical.

[D]

So you want to do. You want to do this way?

[B]

No, that's horizontal.

[D]

Okay. Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm saying. If we go horizontal, it's gonna be more editing and.

[C]

Yeah, we don't. We're only gonna be on a time crunch.

[B]

Yeah. But we have, like, this is what's cool about this game is, like, we have this really specific task and we're competing against. And I want to win. I want to destroy everyone.

[C]

Right.

[B]

I want to melt their faces off. Right.

[C]

I love it.

[B]

So there's do's and don'ts. And so that, like, that's kind of what we're up against tomorrow. So as far as I know.

[C]

You know, also, none of these people are talking about this right now.

[B]

None of these people have drinking a fifth of whiskey right now and live

[C]

in a pot house.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

That's why we have to win, bro.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Although Joe's Awake right now, laying in bed, trying to like.

[C]

He said he's not sleeping tonight.

[B]

He's reviewing this right now.

[D]

No, apparently he was going to the

[B]

gym, so we should send him a text after this with a bottle of whiskey. Be like, hopefully they make it tomorrow. Then he definitely won't sleep tonight.

[D]

I'm totally gonna.

[B]

He just doesn't know that's when we work best.

[C]

Right?

[B]

Yeah. So. So we definitely have, we definitely have this work cut out for us and I'm, I'm super excited about it. But this is important.

[C]

This is right in your wheelhouse.

[B]

I'm a very close up kind of guy. Like when we shot the, the, the, the, the farewell video for Pot House 1.

[C]

You got very close to my ass.

[B]

Yeah, I did lots of close ups. Lots of close ups.

[C]

You know, they were great and they were shot so not like.

[B]

Well, I think, I think, I think

[C]

this, we do it very similar to that.

[B]

I'm gonna do some. I mean there was a lot of wide angle stuff too, but I. There's a couple of close ups that make the wide angles feel more bigger. You know what I mean?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm gonna mix in a couple.

[C]

And do we put music to this?

[B]

I think, I think we're gonna attempt music to it for sure.

[C]

It's a big.

[B]

Yeah, well, because, because we don't have, we don't have any restrictions against music. It doesn't say that. So we can do that.

[C]

Cool.

[B]

So I don't know, we're gonna play with that a little bit, but I'm excited about tomorrow.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

And you know, I don't even know what's in store. We still got two and a half days here, right?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. All day tomorrow, all day the next day. One and a half in the morning. One and a half days. Yeah. Hey, it's Triplett here. Listen. In a world where quality is often overlooked, Helix Life Support stands proud, bringing you American made excellence for your koi ponds and water gardens. And I want you to know I worked in the field for over 15 years and had professionally built nearly a thousand ponds before I designed my own proprietary filtration equipment. So trust and believe when I say that Helix Life Support is a product line that was crafted for those who demand durability, advanced technology and a deep commitment to fish friendly designs. Now at the heart of the product line is our patented, award winning Helix pond skimmer. Built with the safety for your koi and other fish as our top priority. No sharp edges, no unnecessary risks, just an innovative fishing friendly skimmer. You can trust. And every piece of Helix equipment that's made is with high quality materials, so you can get a filtration system that's as tough and reliable as it is efficient. Whether you're a first time pond builder or professional contractor looking to elevate your game, my team and I are ready to help you realize that vision. For personalized pond design assistance or to get your hands on Helix Life support filtration equipment. Give us a call today at 800-522-5043. That's 800-522-5043. Support American craftsmanship and choose Helix life support for your pond. Built for Koi. Built for life, built for you. Let's land the plane here because first of all, it's sponsor games has been amazing. It's worth, you know, all the stress.

[D]

It's definitely been worth it, dude.

[B]

It's stressful leaving our companies and our businesses and our homes and our animals to come to an event like this. But as it stands right now, I'm like, I'm super pumped.

[D]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

I mean, it's, there's, it's a no brainer. It's, it's been working for us. So you have any final words, Garvey?

[C]

No. Looking forward to tomorrow and being on the set.

[B]

Dude on the set. Quiet on set.

[C]

Tell me where to be. Tell me what to do.

[B]

I can't wait for the debriefing after day, day two.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Triplet, you got anything?

[D]

No, I'm excited for tomorrow, man.

[B]

All right, well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna rock this out. Okay? So listen, hey, rockstars, thank you so much for your ears and attention to the podcast today. Hope you found some value to it. Hope you're hearing about how special the sponsor Magnet book is and Justin Moore and his whole team of sponsor games. It's really, really, really cool. So this is the debrief from sponsor games here in San Antonio, Texas, from the Podhouse studios and remotely here in San Antonio. So we're recording all of this from Podhouse Mobile Studios, it's content creation room where we're traveling 16 major events across the country. Right now, my partner and I, Mike Garvey, are inviting different podcasters to come and record content with us in our mobile hub. And if you're interested in doing something like that, we want you to reach out to us. And there's no, there's no like for sures. We have lots of commitments already and we want to make sure everything's just like lined in. If it's perfectly but. So tomorrow we're heading back into the Arena Day 2 for the sponsor games. We're super pumped about it. More conversations, more strategy, tactical pieces of the puzzle. More chances to turn ideas into actual partnerships. So tomorrow we're going to see like who steps up and who executes and who's going to actually listen to me when I start to get pushy when it comes to director of photography. And trust me, I will be pushy and I will be demanding. But these convers of what's going to turn into real opportunities for us and real learning factors from the whole thing. So. And when we come back tomorrow night, we're going to tell you exactly how it went down. Trust me that we will be recording our, our efforts like win, lose or draw, however that looks, we're going to record and tell you what that looks like. Tomorrow we'll be updating that as well. So like, until then, I want you to stay dangerous. I want you to stay like thoughtful and creative. Creative. And I want you to continue to become the best version of yourself. And remember, opportunities don't just show up, okay? You have to go out there and get them. You've got to put yourself in the room where they happen. And when you're in that room, you have to execute on them. So that's it for tonight. Hope you learned something from everything and I will see you on the next one. Over and out.

[D]

Sam.