Order of Man - PETE ROBERTS ｜ Build a 100-Year Plan

00:00:00.000 So many of us are easily distracted and sedated by our temptation of choice and the next bright, shiny object.

00:00:06.600 But my guest today makes the case for why building a personal and professional plan that will last the centuries leads him to make more virtuous decisions and not only serves him, but generations to come.

00:00:18.040 His name is Pete Roberts, and he is the founder of Origin USA, a 100% made in America manufacturing company built in the backwoods of Maine.

00:00:26.840 Today we talk about the power of purpose, what it means to be a cowboy entrepreneur, how and why we distract and sedate ourselves, why hopelessness and powerlessness are a crippling combination, and doing the right thing for the right reasons.

00:00:42.940 You're a man of action. You live life to the fullest. Embrace your fears and boldly chart your own path.

00:00:48.800 When life knocks you down, you get back up one more time, every time.

00:00:53.480 You are not easily deterred or defeated, rugged, resilient, strong.

00:00:58.580 This is your life. This is who you are. This is who you will become.

00:01:02.780 At the end of the day, and after all is said and done, you can call yourself a man.

00:01:07.760 Gentlemen, what is going on today? My name is Ryan Michler. I'm the host and the founder of the Order of Man podcast and movement.

00:01:15.120 Welcome here and welcome back today. I've got a friend, a longtime friend actually, and a very, very powerful entrepreneur.

00:01:23.560 One of the things I hear a lot from guys is that they want to hear from regular guys, quote unquote regular guys.

00:01:29.200 And I'm telling you what, most of my guests, all of my guests are regular guys.

00:01:32.740 They're just doing extraordinary things. And Pete is no different. Pete and I have been friends for a long time.

00:01:38.660 We've broken bread together. We've spent time together. We've trained jujitsu together.

00:01:42.620 We've been in some business ventures together. We've done it all.

00:01:46.280 And I can tell you that not only is he a regular guy like the rest of us, he is doing absolutely extraordinary things.

00:01:53.460 And I'm excited to not only introduce you to him, but have him share with you some of his design for his life and the purpose and everything that he's doing.

00:02:01.260 Now, before I get into that, normally I would share this with this time about a sponsor of the podcast.

00:02:07.900 But right now I want to tell you that we are very, very excited to let you know that our brotherhood, the exclusive brotherhood for men and only for men is open at the orderofman.com slash iron council.

00:02:21.000 That's orderofman.com slash iron council.

00:02:23.040 I'm going to talk to you a little bit more about it later in the show.

00:02:25.740 But for now, I want you to know that this is a very powerful group of men who don't necessarily have everything figured out.

00:02:33.520 Some things figured out and we're learning and growing.

00:02:36.320 We're teaching and we're helping each other along the path.

00:02:39.320 If you're looking for a solid group of men who aren't perfect, who aren't way out ahead of the curve necessarily, but are on the path and in the battle and doing the work required to succeed and have a framework and a network to help you do it, then look no further than the iron council.

00:02:57.020 Go to orderofman.com slash iron council.

00:03:00.180 All right, guys, let me introduce you to Pete today.

00:03:03.500 He is the founder of Origin USA and Jocko Fuels, both of which are making products 100% made and sourced in America.

00:03:11.280 He is a visionary and at the forefront of the American resurgence of American manufacturing.

00:03:17.780 And if you want my predictions on a personal level, he and his organizations will in the future be a blueprint in how to grow back an American supply chain that leads to less dependency on foreign goods and services and restores the heart and soul to America.

00:03:34.740 He's a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, the founder of multiple nine-figure business, a father, a speaker, and a good friend.

00:03:44.840 Here he is, Pete Roberts.

00:03:47.780 Pete, man, it's really good to see you.

00:03:49.520 Typically, we would do these things, you know, in the backwoods of Maine, but circumstances have changed a little bit, so we're going to have to do this remotely.

00:03:56.240 I'm still in the backwoods of Maine.

00:03:58.060 You are.

00:03:58.560 Fair enough.

00:03:59.840 Let's set the record straight.

00:04:01.680 I don't think you're ever leaving, though, either, if I had to guess.

00:04:04.680 I don't know, man.

00:04:05.780 I'm starting to feel 45 and the weather is starting to catch up to me, so I'm not as much of a snow sport enthusiast anymore.

00:04:14.280 So Amanda and I, with both kids in college now, and empty nesters, we're thinking about heading south for the winter.

00:04:20.620 We'll see.

00:04:21.400 Oh, how far south?

00:04:22.820 Are we talking, like, Florida south, or what are we talking here?

00:04:25.340 At least North Carolina, right?

00:04:26.840 Because we have our big plant in Asheboro, and then we have a home down there.

00:04:31.640 So we'll probably spend a bunch of time there, and then probably some Florida, maybe some other locations.

00:04:38.540 She loves the El Mafi Coast in Italy, so we love Europe. 0.92

00:04:41.600 We love the old world, so maybe spend some time there, too.

00:04:43.520 Oh, so we're thinking about maybe, you know, international moving a little bit here and there.

00:04:48.220 Yeah, I think so.

00:04:49.600 Go see the world, man.

00:04:50.480 Awesome.

00:04:50.920 It's time.

00:04:51.420 Awesome.

00:04:52.260 It's pretty amazing to see what you guys have created.

00:04:54.560 I think when we, I was thinking about it this morning, because I knew we were going to jump on this call.

00:04:58.220 I want to say, I could be a little off on the numbers, but I think we probably first started talking about six or seven years ago.

00:05:06.420 I think we talked a couple of years when I was in Utah, and then I lived in Maine for four years.

00:05:10.480 Man, it might have even been a little bit more than that, actually.

00:05:13.120 At least 2017, right?

00:05:14.940 At least 2017, which was eight years ago.

00:05:18.840 Yeah, eight years.

00:05:19.700 And it is crazy to see what you guys with Origin have done over that time frame.

00:05:24.160 Do you feel like you're further than you thought you would be when you launched this thing?

00:05:30.120 Did you feel like you're about where you are, underperforming?

00:05:33.320 Where do you feel like you are in that time frame?

00:05:35.460 I never really thought about it.

00:05:37.300 We never really talked about revenue or we want to build a company this size or this fast.

00:05:44.160 It was always just talking about ideas, and I think that the growth has been a byproduct of those conversations about ideas.

00:05:53.560 And, of course, the power of purpose, I think.

00:05:56.240 When you think about purpose, everyone has ideas, and sometimes you've got to push ideas along.

00:06:03.360 And, of course, with the power of purpose, I think the power of purpose is more gravitational, and it pulls you.

00:06:08.760 And I think the ideas are lag, and the power of purpose is like lead.

00:06:13.360 So you're leading with purpose, and ideas are, you know, sometimes you've got to push.

00:06:18.500 And we always just talked about ideas and purpose, and the growth has been a byproduct of that.

00:06:24.800 Now, I don't know if I've told you this before, but I was telling Brian Littlefield, our friend and my business partner,

00:06:31.840 I don't know, maybe 2019 or 20, I was like, man, I don't think I can, I don't think I'm going to be able to run a company, like, beyond $5 million.

00:06:41.240 This could have been, I think, 2018, maybe 2018.

00:06:44.760 I'm like, I think when we hit $5 million in revenue, I'm going to probably be tapped out because I'm like a creative guy.

00:06:50.380 I'm not big on organization and systems and processes, and I know how important they are.

00:06:55.760 And I'm like, I'll probably have to, like, hand this baton off at $5 million.

00:06:58.660 And it's like, we are way beyond that at this point and still driving hard.

00:07:06.220 We don't really have a goal.

00:07:07.300 We've never set goals if we need to want to hit this number.

00:07:10.520 We've got, by this point, it's just, hey, we're going to do for the right things, for the right reasons.

00:07:15.240 And, you know, in the end, I think we'll grow.

00:07:19.200 Well, and as a private company, you have the ability to do that.

00:07:22.420 You're not beholden to shareholders or anything like that.

00:07:25.060 So if you think, you know, you've got business partners, Brian, Jocko, other people that, you know, we may not know,

00:07:31.740 but it's, you're not beholden to anybody but your guys' team and your vision.

00:07:37.620 And I think that's one thing you're actually really good at.

00:07:39.680 I was going to ask you before you even said that, is it frustrating for you at times?

00:07:44.160 Because I know you personally, I know you're an idea and dream guy.

00:07:47.280 Is it frustrating when the purpose outpaces the practicality of running an organization like yours?

00:07:57.020 Yes.

00:07:58.180 Yes.

00:07:58.740 I would say this past year has been the most frustrating for me.

00:08:04.980 And you know me, Ryan.

00:08:06.200 I'm like, I'll share anything and everything.

00:08:08.620 I'm really just a transparent individual.

00:08:11.480 I don't think there's enough information out there about the struggles of driving an enterprise.

00:08:19.160 This is the first year in my life I've worked this past year.

00:08:24.580 I just, I've always just felt like I get to do what I want to do every day.

00:08:31.300 And it's my passion.

00:08:32.760 And this past year, these past 12 months have been just straight work, bro.

00:08:36.980 Like, my job consists of talking with lawyers, bankers, and human resources.

00:08:45.920 Those are the three things I do on a daily basis.

00:08:48.600 Lawyers, bankers, and human resources.

00:08:50.680 And I don't get to do what I'm really great at, which is building the brand, telling the story, like I am on your podcast right now.

00:09:00.780 Like, telling the story, designing, being creative.

00:09:05.100 I don't get to do that anymore.

00:09:06.540 And so, it's been a really challenging year for me as I've had to adjust into this role as a CEO.

00:09:16.840 And I don't think I'll be able to sustain it for a long period of time for two brands.

00:09:22.960 You know, of course, because I'm the founder and CEO of Origin.

00:09:25.940 And technically, I'm the founder and CEO of Jocko Fuel also.

00:09:29.840 And so, on a daily basis, I'm going right brain, left brain for one brand.

00:09:34.580 And five minutes later, I've got to go right brain, left brain for the other brand.

00:09:39.300 And it's okay when I'm using my creative side.

00:09:43.100 I can just jump between the two.

00:09:44.560 It fits my ADHD personality really well.

00:09:47.140 But when it's more about, like, systems and processes, and we've brought in operators in both companies, you know, we have all these business units built out.

00:09:55.940 I'm just not the smartest one in the room.

00:09:58.520 I never intended to be.

00:10:00.920 But I think sometimes what I feel is that because I'm kind of this cowboy entrepreneur, I'm at times not taken too seriously.

00:10:12.560 And so, I've really focused on changing the way I lead, which is I'm just leading through vision and executive initiatives.

00:10:20.980 And then I kind of let the team build around those initiatives, you know, executive strategies, strategic initiatives, and then long-term strategic vision.

00:10:31.600 And how are we going to get there?

00:10:32.860 Please go put a plan together for me holistically.

00:10:36.300 And so, that's what matters.

00:10:37.680 I think we're a lot alike in that.

00:10:38.860 Yeah, you're saying these words, and I'm like, ugh, my brain's already, like, shut down.

00:10:43.780 I don't want to hear about it.

00:10:45.180 Yeah, yeah.

00:10:46.680 It is interesting, and I haven't told you this, but, you know, obviously we have mutual friends, and every once in a while I'll reach out or somebody will reach out to me, and they're like, how's Pete doing?

00:10:55.420 I'm like, I don't know.

00:10:56.740 I don't talk to the guy anymore.

00:10:58.460 If I shoot you a message, I'm like, Pete, just point me where I need to go because I know how consumed you are with everything.

00:11:05.100 So, you said something interesting.

00:11:07.660 You said you're not taken too seriously.

00:11:09.460 Would you say that by your executive team or the industry, or what do you mean by that?

00:11:13.700 No, I would say, and that's kind of a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that, like, I haven't – I didn't come from, like, a big organization, right?

00:11:25.160 So, I didn't come from a Fortune 500 company.

00:11:27.320 I didn't come from a Nike or a Reebok or Under Armour or Adidas or on the nutritional side from a, you know, a Kellogg's or a Keurig Dr. Pepper.

00:11:37.080 Like, it wasn't – I didn't cut my teeth in corporate America.

00:11:41.340 I haven't really cut my teeth yet, you know.

00:11:44.380 I mean, from – I think where we are and where we're going, I would say I'm still – I still got baby teeth, man.

00:11:50.120 I still got that baby skin.

00:11:51.900 I still got to wear some of it off.

00:11:53.300 And so, sometimes I'll ask for things that seem impossible or it's not the way you do it.

00:12:02.120 You know, well, that's not the way it's done.

00:12:03.860 This is how it's done.

00:12:05.040 This is how it's done in, you know, big business.

00:12:06.900 And sometimes I need to step back and really check myself and say, okay, well, then let's do it that way.

00:12:16.440 You know, if that's the way it's done in other times, I'll lean into what I think should happen based off of the vision I have for the brands.

00:12:23.700 And I'll try to drive a different behavior.

00:12:26.860 And sometimes that behavior creates chaos.

00:12:29.700 I would say that Jocko is kind of adjusted the same way.

00:12:33.120 Like, we've talked about it a little bit.

00:12:35.600 You know, we'll be on a call and he'll be like, well, why can't we just do this?

00:12:38.280 And he's like, hey, listen, I know, like, I don't know when I say that what effect that has on the team.

00:12:44.320 I don't know what that has on finance and supply planning and logistics.

00:12:48.860 Like, I don't know.

00:12:50.100 So I'm just saying it because that's what I feel.

00:12:52.480 But I don't know how it affects the team.

00:12:53.980 So if you guys are telling me this is impossible, like, let me know.

00:12:57.420 So but I'm in it every day, right?

00:13:00.020 So I'm in the trenches every day.

00:13:01.340 And so sometimes for Jocko on a weekly call versus me on daily calls, I just find myself, especially over the past year,

00:13:11.060 just like questioning, I guess, my abilities to drive the business.

00:13:15.180 And what I have found out, Ryan, and this is the insight for you, is nobody knows.

00:13:22.980 I bet.

00:13:24.260 Nobody knows.

00:13:25.680 There is no silver bullet.

00:13:27.720 There is not one single person that actually knows exactly what to do.

00:13:33.360 And it is the sum of the parts, like, living in to the vision that actually makes it go.

00:13:40.820 And it's a person driving behavior towards that vision and making micro adjustments along the way.

00:13:47.800 So that's my job with HR.

00:13:49.100 I try to drive behavior of micro adjustments to get the team.

00:13:53.580 And I figured out that I got to have two hands on the wheels.

00:13:56.260 I can't drive with one hand on the steering wheel.

00:13:58.440 And so I've learned a lot, man.

00:14:01.840 I've learned a lot this past year.

00:14:03.720 And I'm in a better place now as we go into fourth quarter.

00:14:06.760 But, bro, it has been challenging.

00:14:09.960 Most challenging year I've had since, like, early, early business.

00:14:16.300 It's interesting that you were talking about not coming from a Nike or an Under Armour or a Kellogg's or one of these big brands.

00:14:23.220 But what's interesting to me is you're now hiring those people.

00:14:27.020 And so, you know, you might not be, quote, unquote, taken seriously, but there's something serious about, you know, what it is that you guys are doing.

00:14:37.980 And I think the biggest story here, at least for me and the way I see it, I know a lot of guys listening will see it, too.

00:14:43.560 I don't know if I've told you this, but a lot of times guys will be like, I just want a regular guy on the podcast.

00:14:48.360 That's what they'll say.

00:14:49.260 Yeah, right.

00:14:50.000 And I understand the sentiment because they want to be able to relate more to whoever that guest might be.

00:14:56.800 And somebody like Jocko, he's inspirational, motivational, but a lot of people might not be able to relate on a personal level to his life.

00:15:06.240 Sure.

00:15:06.640 And so I think what's so great about what you guys are doing is, with all due respect, you are a, quote, unquote, regular guy.

00:15:14.320 And by the way, so is Jocko.

00:15:15.840 Sure.

00:15:16.120 And so are these other people I've had on the podcast.

00:15:18.000 They're just doing extraordinary things over long periods of time.

00:15:22.140 Yeah.

00:15:23.700 Yeah, I've learned a lot about that, too, right?

00:15:25.680 Like, there's, that's why I kind of started out with, like, the power of purpose can pull you, like gravity, but ideas are fleeting.

00:15:35.980 So, yes, I talk about ideas.

00:15:38.740 I try not to talk about people too much.

00:15:40.560 I try to talk about ideas mostly.

00:15:43.100 But without purpose, like, ideas, and that's why so many businesses fail, because someone has a great idea, right?

00:15:50.920 I mean, it's why you've been so successful, because you actually have, it's a purpose-driven organization.

00:15:56.280 Right.

00:15:56.560 You have a purpose-driven mindset.

00:15:58.740 And so ideas die all the time.

00:16:01.620 They die every day.

00:16:03.240 Well, some of them, you do them, and they're just like, that didn't work.

00:16:05.820 Yeah, that's a bad idea.

00:16:06.340 And that's what you would call a tuition payment.

00:16:07.680 A tuition payment, yeah.

00:16:08.580 So I think purpose-driven businesses, brands, enterprises, they have staying power.

00:16:18.620 You know what I mean?

00:16:19.160 Like, it's like jiu-jitsu, man.

00:16:21.160 It's going to take 10 years to do anything great.

00:16:25.340 Like, 10 years.

00:16:26.900 And most people can't think beyond, like, next year, or even next month, or even next week.

00:16:32.100 And it's like, man, I'm committing, like, 12, 15% of my life.

00:16:38.960 I'm going to commit 15% of the time I'm alive to this thing.

00:16:44.020 You've got to have purpose in order to do that.

00:16:46.100 So I think people don't understand that.

00:16:50.660 That's how high the stakes are when you get into a business like that.

00:16:55.780 And, of course, on my side of things, it's two businesses.

00:16:59.820 You know what I mean?

00:17:00.320 There's two brands.

00:17:01.200 And I just got to stay with it.

00:17:06.860 Not because, like, oh, you got to, like, you got to have that grit and tenacity.

00:17:11.760 Muscle through everything.

00:17:13.000 Yeah.

00:17:13.080 It really isn't that.

00:17:14.920 It's not that that pulls me through it.

00:17:16.820 It's the power of purpose.

00:17:19.180 Like, I have a purpose on this earth.

00:17:21.180 And I need to live into that.

00:17:24.740 And even when I'm tired and I don't want to do it, it's still there.

00:17:29.200 Like, eating is there.

00:17:30.540 I have to eat to live.

00:17:32.340 Like, working out is there.

00:17:33.280 Like, jujitsu.

00:17:33.940 I need jujitsu for my sanity.

00:17:36.240 Like, those are all purpose-driven things.

00:17:38.520 Like, I got to survive.

00:17:39.640 I got to be healthy, body, mind, and spirit.

00:17:41.360 And if you can apply that to business, like, there's a bigger purpose beyond making a pair

00:17:47.460 of jeans or a pair of boots or, you know, or a hydration beverage or something, then that

00:17:53.400 has staying power.

00:17:56.340 Yeah, I think you're right.

00:17:57.660 I mean, I feel that way, too.

00:17:59.560 There's days where I don't have to muscle through anything, but there's days where I'm like,

00:18:03.760 this sucks, or, you know, I don't want to do this, or, you know, maybe I screw something

00:18:08.920 up, or, you know, who knows? 0.98

00:18:10.440 Lose, you know, a couple thousand dollars on a dumb decision for apparel or merchandise, 0.64

00:18:16.600 whatever, right? 0.97

00:18:17.420 Yeah.

00:18:18.120 But I've never felt like I had to muscle through anything.

00:18:21.760 And, in fact, as I was going through the throes of some of the most difficult years

00:18:25.300 of my life, which you're familiar with, there was a time where I even thought, man, I should

00:18:29.820 probably, I need to sell this business.

00:18:31.460 And I didn't entertain that thought at any one point for more than about three to five

00:18:36.900 seconds.

00:18:37.300 But now I'm not doing that, because it's so purpose-driven, even in spite of everything

00:18:42.180 that I may have been dealing with, a lot of it's self-inflicted, this purpose doesn't

00:18:46.940 change.

00:18:47.400 And this is what's going to propel us forward.

00:18:49.380 Yeah.

00:18:50.520 Yeah.

00:18:51.060 I think that's important, man.

00:18:52.380 I think more businesses and more dreams would succeed.

00:18:56.740 And if you think about, well, why, what was this American dream thing back in the day?

00:19:03.620 Well, you've got to understand that there was a universal power of purpose in the immigrants

00:19:08.960 that came here, because they came for nothing.

00:19:11.620 So their purpose was to build a life of meaning and send the funds back to support their families.

00:19:20.500 You know, when the Irish and the Greeks and the French and everybody else came over, like

00:19:25.320 they're coming from places where there's an aristocracy, there's no middle ground, and then

00:19:32.180 there's peasants.

00:19:33.460 There was no opportunity for education if you didn't have name or title.

00:19:39.500 So where are they coming from?

00:19:41.320 They're coming from a place that they can't change their trajectory in life.

00:19:44.960 They're unable to go beyond being a farmer.

00:19:49.180 Or I think coming to America, they can be anything.

00:19:53.600 They can be educated.

00:19:54.660 They can learn trades.

00:19:56.360 They can build wealth in a family here.

00:20:01.060 And that purpose-driven mindset, it seems to have been lost.

00:20:06.980 You know what I mean?

00:20:07.500 Like, it's just not here anymore.

00:20:09.780 And I was actually writing a speech recently.

00:20:14.380 And it was about like, well, origin feels different because nobody's said it in a while.

00:20:20.520 But I stole their purpose.

00:20:23.380 I stole the purpose of the folks who came here originally through Ellis Island in New York City.

00:20:30.500 They came for the American Dream.

00:20:32.300 And I'm like, well, our purpose, our mission is to breathe life back into the dream.

00:20:36.100 That's it.

00:20:36.860 It's what they did.

00:20:38.720 It just feels new because nobody's done it for so damn long.

00:20:42.360 Nobody's built a factory in the woods in a while.

00:20:45.000 So yeah, I think more people understood, like, before they start something, an enterprise,

00:20:52.320 why am I doing this?

00:20:54.880 Simon Sinek is really good with this.

00:20:56.860 He has a book called Starts With Why.

00:20:58.460 But like, why am I doing this?

00:20:59.960 Why do I want to open a sub shop?

00:21:02.480 You know, what is the purpose behind opening this sub shop?

00:21:05.140 Well, I want to make the greatest subs on the planet.

00:21:08.500 I've always loved subs.

00:21:10.200 I'm going to have the greatest meatball sub in the world.

00:21:12.480 Like, I don't know.

00:21:13.160 Like, I use subs because my papa, that was his dream to have a sub shop.

00:21:17.620 And that's what he did.

00:21:18.820 He had sub shops in Massachusetts.

00:21:20.240 So I'm just using it.

00:21:22.200 And he did it for his whole life until he died.

00:21:24.820 He had sub shops.

00:21:25.840 It was his purpose to give his family a better life.

00:21:29.380 So what do you so you said it hasn't been done in so long.

00:21:32.700 And I would agree.

00:21:33.480 I mean, there's there's pockets of this.

00:21:35.200 There's individuals.

00:21:35.880 But collectively, I would agree with that.

00:21:38.640 So if people aren't pursuing purpose, generally, what then are they pursuing?

00:21:45.520 Is it is it just, hey, I need to make some money and put food on the table?

00:21:48.460 Is it like what?

00:21:49.500 What exactly do you feel like has replaced?

00:21:51.320 Because something has to replace it.

00:21:52.800 So what has replaced that purpose?

00:21:56.500 Oh, distractions.

00:21:59.420 I mean, I think we're the most distracted we've ever been in the history of the world.

00:22:05.040 People are getting their fulfillment, dopamine from things that are meaningless.

00:22:13.020 You know, I mean, without factories in Maine, people get it from drugs and alcohol.

00:22:16.640 But, you know, you also get it from social media.

00:22:19.980 Um, television.

00:22:22.700 I mean, you can get it.

00:22:23.860 You can get it a lot of different places.

00:22:25.320 And it feels it feels good.

00:22:27.740 Right.

00:22:28.440 To shopping.

00:22:29.840 I mean, that's another way people get it is purchasing cheap goods on she and her team 1.00

00:22:35.720 you these days.

00:22:36.480 Right. 0.99

00:22:37.000 So another porn photography. 0.97

00:22:39.360 Uh, there.

00:22:40.100 So there's a lot of there's a lot of ways people get the feeling of, uh, of purpose.

00:22:45.840 But I think it's a false narrative.

00:22:48.160 I don't think it's real.

00:22:50.080 I know it's not real.

00:22:51.920 Um, and it's not sustainable when it's, it's why, it's why friendships, relationships, why

00:22:57.620 things fall apart.

00:22:58.600 Um, because, you know, religion, you know, a lot of times would provide that, that purpose

00:23:04.200 for people.

00:23:04.760 Um, um, church would provide that purpose for people.

00:23:08.260 Jiu-jitsu does that.

00:23:10.160 Jiu-jitsu does it.

00:23:11.420 Um, it's, it's real.

00:23:12.680 It's fulfilling.

00:23:13.600 You're, you're building community.

00:23:15.280 Are you familiar with like Maslow's hierarchy of needs?

00:23:18.100 Sure.

00:23:18.700 Yeah.

00:23:18.900 Yeah.

00:23:19.260 So like that sense of community, you know, you've got to have food, shelter, and water.

00:23:22.920 And then the next thing is love and belonging and community.

00:23:25.340 Right.

00:23:25.760 And I think people, people don't really get beyond that third thing.

00:23:30.660 Right.

00:23:31.220 In this, in this, I'm, I'm all about self-actualization.

00:23:35.740 Like I want to self-actualize, you know, I want to get to the top of the top of the pyramid.

00:23:40.160 And I don't let that pyramid drive my life by any means, but I think it's a good, you

00:23:44.380 know, it's a good litmus test, um, against what you're doing in your life where you stuck

00:23:48.660 here at a lot of people like food and shelter, and then, you know, they never get to community

00:23:55.760 or love and belonging or anywhere above that.

00:23:58.100 I think people get really comfortable in that mid range.

00:24:01.400 Um, and, and, and, and that's fine as long as they're living a purposeful life.

00:24:06.500 I, I, good examples like, um, Lenny Davis, right.

00:24:10.420 Lenny Davis, who was the last guy in Maine that knew how to fix looms.

00:24:16.520 And he was on that fixed art, our loom and brought it back to life and then passed his

00:24:20.120 knowledge on.

00:24:21.720 And he, he died right recently, recently Ryan, a couple of years ago.

00:24:25.860 Um, he had such a strong pop, like, like purpose to pass that knowledge on to the next generation

00:24:33.380 because it would have died with him and nobody would know what they were doing when it comes

00:24:38.360 to building and weaving and making fabric, you know, he was machines.

00:24:43.840 I'm like, I don't even know what I'm looking at here.

00:24:46.620 He was, he was the last one.

00:24:48.080 So I just think it's really important to figure out what, what that is for an individual.

00:24:53.220 And I think once somebody can figure that out, then they're less apt to succumb to like

00:24:59.780 vices of the sorts that we talked about, uh, whatever that is, we all get caught up in 0.99

00:25:06.140 looking at shit. 0.96

00:25:06.760 I mean, I, I'll sit on Instagram reels and I get caught up on that and I'll be, I was 0.99

00:25:11.720 actually last night I was looking at one and then a reel popped up and it said, you have

00:25:15.900 reached the end of Instagram reels.

00:25:19.480 It was congratulations.

00:25:21.040 Yeah.

00:25:21.440 Congratulations.

00:25:22.240 You've succeeded.

00:25:22.880 You know what it was when we were kids, you knew you were watching ESPN way too long when

00:25:27.520 it started the whole cycle back over.

00:25:29.660 Do you remember that?

00:25:30.560 Yes, I do.

00:25:31.380 Yeah, I do.

00:25:31.940 Yeah.

00:25:32.980 So, yeah, I mean, it's all, it's all okay, but, um, I think purpose is not having purpose

00:25:40.140 is, um, leads to like hopelessness.

00:25:43.100 And I think hopelessness is, is like the worst feeling in the world.

00:25:48.120 I think it's what's wrong with our nation right now is there's hopelessness.

00:25:52.440 Um, and then I think, I think when you have hopelessness, then you, you also become powerless

00:25:58.480 and like those two are like the perfect storm, hopelessness and the feeling of power being

00:26:06.000 powerless.

00:26:06.880 Um, yeah, nobody, nobody wants to be there and that's when distractions are the best.

00:26:12.060 And once you get into that cycle, you kind of never get out.

00:26:14.480 So, man, just stepping away from this, uh, powerful conversation for a minute, exciting

00:26:20.540 news.

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00:27:48.200 Do that right after the conversation for now.

00:27:50.260 Let's get back to it with Pete.

00:27:52.140 You know, it's interesting as you were talking about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and it's

00:27:55.580 been a while admittedly since I've, I've seen that, that chart, but I think when it

00:28:00.980 comes to food and security, shelter, finances, that sort of thing, which are the basic fundamentals,

00:28:06.040 right?

00:28:06.660 Is that people have a hard time getting out of it because what I've realized is they're

00:28:11.100 not good stewards with the resources they have.

00:28:13.580 So food, for example, and shelter.

00:28:16.460 Let's say you create a position of financial prosperity where, you know, the food's taken

00:28:21.300 care of.

00:28:21.900 You never have to worry about a mortgage payment.

00:28:24.220 And I've been there.

00:28:25.040 I have.

00:28:25.960 And then what people do is instead of graduating to that next tier of, of in the hierarchy,

00:28:31.060 they make bad decisions that are antithetical to what got them the abundance in the first

00:28:37.680 place.

00:28:37.940 So they become gluttonous or greedy or over consumptive, uh, or they make bad purchases.

00:28:43.860 And so they just habitually stay stuck in the first level and then ask the question, why

00:28:50.100 can I not get to the next level?

00:28:52.120 You're making bad choices.

00:28:53.260 It's human nature, human nature, man.

00:28:56.940 It's like, I used to see this thing where I would have, so I were, I don't know if I

00:29:00.660 told you, but I worked with a lot of, uh, dentists primarily coming out of dental school

00:29:05.020 when I was running my financial planning practice.

00:29:07.340 And these, these kids essentially, you know, 19, 20, 22 year old kids were used to living

00:29:14.340 for anywhere from four to eight, in some cases, 10 years on roughly negative 30 to negative

00:29:20.100 $50,000 a year.

00:29:21.680 That was their life.

00:29:23.560 And the minute they had income, they thought to themselves, I've arrived.

00:29:28.600 And the ones who didn't do that, the ones who said, you know what, I'm going to live the

00:29:34.300 same way, a little bit better.

00:29:35.760 At least I'm not going to go into the negative every year, but I'm going to live about the

00:29:38.460 same way I have been for three to five years are in a tremendous position of financial

00:29:45.020 prosperity right now.

00:29:46.220 Debt is paid off, buying practices, buying into other practices, growing their own hiring

00:29:51.920 associates and the ones who said I've arrived are still in that debt cycle.

00:29:57.880 Yeah.

00:29:59.080 Oh man.

00:29:59.960 That's a tough cycle to get out of.

00:30:01.700 Right.

00:30:02.340 Uh, no doubt.

00:30:03.640 I, I, uh, I, I don't, I haven't done things the traditional way.

00:30:08.160 I actually, I, I joke around with, you know, Joe Masi Antonio, my president at Jockle Fuel

00:30:13.680 about, Hey, Hey Joe, sometime just get ready.

00:30:16.560 Cause I'm going to come live in a teepee at your house.

00:30:18.600 Just because it's, it's like, I like, like capital, I don't look at it the right way.

00:30:25.940 Uh, I, I never really have.

00:30:27.840 Again, I like focus on ideas and sometimes I'm just like go all in on those ideas, which,

00:30:34.500 you know, as I've gotten a little bit older now, I've started to recognize how to use and

00:30:41.120 leverage capital.

00:30:42.020 But like, I would have been one of those dentist kids, a hundred percent.

00:30:46.280 I would have been like right up until 40 years old, I would have been in the same situation.

00:30:53.020 Um, I think because like the education isn't out there, it wouldn't have been, I didn't,

00:30:58.900 I came from nothing.

00:30:59.680 So like, I wouldn't have known what to do or how to do it or how to leverage.

00:31:03.380 You see a couple of dollars hit your account and you're like, good to go.

00:31:06.700 Let's go, let's go do something, you know?

00:31:09.820 So, yeah.

00:31:11.360 So, I mean, I, now it's different, you know, years of tuition payments.

00:31:16.020 You gain, you know, a bit of wisdom, but man, for kids, it must be, it must be really

00:31:21.760 hard these days.

00:31:23.080 Oh, when you're throwing multiple six figures at them right out of, not right out.

00:31:27.540 I don't want to discount the work it's taken them to get there by any means, but if they

00:31:31.600 go from negative 50 a year and now they're at a quarter of a million dollars out of, out

00:31:35.780 of school.

00:31:36.260 So yeah, time to buy the new car or the new, you know, the new house or get, get a whole

00:31:42.940 new wardrobe, whatever, whatever it is they do with, with the money.

00:31:46.920 Um, yeah, that's a tough one.

00:31:48.840 But I think one thing that you, that you've done, and I imagine you have is you can go out

00:31:52.600 and buy a new vehicle or you can go out, invest in new equipment or new resources or hire somebody

00:31:59.420 to help run a division of the company.

00:32:02.620 I am curious about one thing, and I don't know if you remember this conversation, we're

00:32:06.180 talking about ideas now, and you've got this new line and you have new lines that pop up

00:32:11.320 occasionally, but this has been a little bit different and a lot bigger, I think, than

00:32:15.100 some of the other ideas that you've had is this hunt line that you've got going on.

00:32:20.300 And I don't know if you remember this conversation, but years ago I had mentioned something about

00:32:25.640 it and you're like, I'll never get into hunting again.

00:32:28.840 And I think you may have been jaded by some past marketing experience or something, but

00:32:34.320 I'm really curious about the switch, where that came from and how you moved into this

00:32:38.080 really disruptive process for, uh, us made hunkier.

00:32:44.380 I'm not saying it's a good, it was a good idea.

00:32:46.440 First of all, time will tell that.

00:32:50.960 Um, yeah, yeah, time will, time will certainly tell, you know, I think, you know, when you

00:33:02.580 introduced me to Kip Falks, I think a while back, I think that's how I first met him through

00:33:06.260 you, right?

00:33:06.640 Yeah.

00:33:07.520 Um, and Kip, the reason I said I'd never get into hunting is because I spent the first 0.87

00:33:12.520 like eight years after I dropped out of college building hunting brands.

00:33:17.440 Like I worked in the industry, um, we worked for a few different brands and, um, and there's

00:33:26.320 a lot of like egos in hunting.

00:33:27.780 There's a lot of egos.

00:33:28.760 And, and when the recession hit and I had to shut my business down, my first business,

00:33:34.300 right.

00:33:35.080 And in my mid twenties, um, hunting was one of those things that I was just disgusted by

00:33:41.200 the industry, not, not the activity, not the lifestyle, but the industry of hunting.

00:33:47.440 Uh, and, uh, I was like, that is, that is an industry I'm never going to go back into.

00:33:53.100 Like, I never want to do anything with hunting again, uh, because of my experience in the

00:33:57.860 industry.

00:33:58.480 Now you, as you know, Ryan, my, my family, my wife's family, they're huge hunters, you

00:34:04.680 know, like I'll get out in the woods once in a while, but I'm not like planning week or

00:34:08.740 two week long trips to go hunt elk.

00:34:10.480 It's like, I'll, you know, go sit and, you know, in, in Turkey hunt. 0.93

00:34:15.420 I like duck hunt, you know, or a deer hunt once in a while with a family, but they're

00:34:20.360 like my whole family.

00:34:21.400 And we live in the woods.

00:34:22.420 They're avid hunters.

00:34:23.120 I'm just, I'm not focused on it.

00:34:25.040 I'm focused on, on, on building these companies.

00:34:27.380 And so every extra bit of time I have goes into, into work.

00:34:31.500 Um, same reason I stopped competing in jujitsu.

00:34:34.320 So stop hunting, stop competing in jujitsu, like just to build these companies.

00:34:39.360 But Kip, when he came on, he was like, I think we can do this in America.

00:34:43.140 And I even told Kip, like I used to work in the industry.

00:34:45.920 There's, you know, there's like a lot of egos in the hunting industry.

00:34:48.780 And part of the reason I didn't want to get back into it was, you know, was all these

00:34:52.840 folks back in the, in the late, in the late nineties, early two thousands when I was

00:34:57.280 in the industry.

00:34:58.180 Right.

00:34:58.600 And I was like, is it the same way?

00:35:01.800 And he's talking about these personalities.

00:35:03.680 Is that what you're talking about?

00:35:04.860 Yeah.

00:35:05.360 Personalities.

00:35:05.900 Like there's a lot of personalities, you know, in the late nineties and early two thousands.

00:35:10.340 Um, and I worked with these guys who owned these companies and I'm not going to mention

00:35:14.780 the companies, but you know, they were just all really overly competitive, you know, arrogant,

00:35:20.880 competitive, uh, you know, I just, it was just a strange time, you know?

00:35:26.140 And he's like, oh, there's still egos in hunting.

00:35:28.300 Um, he's like, but you know, the, the power of purpose, right?

00:35:33.200 Like our customer is purchasing hunting gear made in China.

00:35:37.160 That doesn't make me feel good.

00:35:39.020 You know what I mean?

00:35:39.700 And like, we have the, we have the capabilities to bring something meaningful to market and

00:35:46.100 hunting.

00:35:47.100 Um, should we choose to invest in that?

00:35:49.940 And, and so that's, that's what we did.

00:35:53.040 Now we, we've invested time and money and capacity into it.

00:35:57.020 Um, and it's something we provide, but like origin isn't a pure play hunting brand.

00:36:03.000 You know, we build things.

00:36:04.620 We like the things we make are built for the young, for the unknown.

00:36:08.040 The things we make are built for the unknown.

00:36:10.500 And part of that unknown is you need camouflage apparel, right?

00:36:14.180 You need camouflage hunting gear.

00:36:16.080 Um, but it's not like, Hey, we're a hunting brand.

00:36:20.120 We're, we're origin.

00:36:21.160 We, we build things for life.

00:36:22.780 We build things in America.

00:36:24.060 We build things that are going to hopefully, you know, get you through whatever, whatever

00:36:28.920 venture you're, you're going on in business life, um, or going after wild game.

00:36:34.660 So, uh, time will tell if it's a good idea or a bad idea.

00:36:38.340 I'm not sure yet.

00:36:39.900 I mean, I, well, yeah, you know, it's funny because a lot of people from the outside looking

00:36:45.020 in and I'm obviously not familiar with the financials by any means of what you guys are

00:36:49.300 doing, but I imagine a lot of people will look in and see how much you're selling or

00:36:53.620 see what kind of revenue you're doing or see how much product you're moving or see your

00:36:57.280 presence on social media and automatically equate that to success.

00:37:01.800 But what they overlook is cost of machinery, cost of materials, cost of bringing new people 0.97

00:37:08.040 on cost of consulting, cost of making dumb decisions.

00:37:12.140 Like, so just because a company looks on the outside, like it's doing well, that doesn't

00:37:17.320 paint the entire story and it takes actually a lot of time to build something into a very

00:37:22.980 profitable product or, or movement.

00:37:25.640 I think what people don't understand and need to understand is like our enterprise this year.

00:37:33.500 So origin and Jocko fuel.

00:37:35.980 And the reason I put those together is because origin, you know, we started origin started

00:37:40.300 Jocko fuel, right?

00:37:41.500 It was origin, uh, labs before Jocko fuel.

00:37:44.360 We had the nutritional line and then we started the Jocko brand.

00:37:48.180 Um, so it's like origin is the, is the kind of the company that sits above that owns the

00:37:54.600 majority of, of Jocko fuel.

00:37:56.300 So when I talk about the enterprise, I'm talking about the two, the two brands within the enterprise

00:38:01.460 holistically.

00:38:02.940 So, um, never did I think I was going to have a 30, $40 million line of credit.

00:38:07.640 Um, I mean, I'm tapped into that thing, like heavily, man, like heavily tapped into that

00:38:15.060 thing.

00:38:15.800 You know, our revenues will finish the year probably over 200, right?

00:38:20.500 And next year we'll push to three, three 50.

00:38:22.580 So like, that's a lot of zeros.

00:38:24.900 It's a lot of zeros, but, but regardless if you're doing $3 million a year or $300 million

00:38:32.580 a year, like things are, things are as they seem.

00:38:38.260 It costs money to build scale.

00:38:42.020 It costs money to hire good people to go eat market share, to protect your market share,

00:38:49.040 um, to develop new products.

00:38:52.200 I mean, product development, to develop new textiles and product and, and fabrics to develop,

00:38:57.020 you know, new, uh, nutritional products, you know, in, in the, in the team's got to scale

00:39:03.120 and then you've got to add more people, better people aren't less expensive, better people

00:39:07.240 are more expensive.

00:39:08.740 Like it, it doesn't, it doesn't like just get easier.

00:39:12.520 Uh, you know, more, you ever heard like more money, more problems, more money, more problems,

00:39:16.960 you know what I mean?

00:39:18.100 So yeah, it's, it's more zeros, but the, and you have more business units and sometimes

00:39:23.640 those business units want to work in an echo chamber and you've got to kind of keep them

00:39:28.700 together, you know, and it, and it's hard.

00:39:31.220 And so you need, um, you need good leadership and then you have multiple locations and then

00:39:35.960 you start spreading your costs, costs across those multiple locations.

00:39:40.180 And then you need to make logistical changes because your warehouses aren't close enough to

00:39:44.440 your primary customer base.

00:39:46.140 And there's just, it's just expensive, dude.

00:39:48.760 Like, like, like we're spending tens, we're spending, sorry, I'm, we're spending hundreds

00:39:54.500 of millions of dollars a year.

00:39:57.140 It's crazy.

00:39:58.960 Um, and, uh, and sometimes it's hard to get the margin to the bottom line you want because,

00:40:04.340 because a growth company, it has one source of fuel, the monster.

00:40:11.440 It eats one thing.

00:40:13.020 It eats cash.

00:40:14.780 If you're a growth company.

00:40:16.580 Now, if we wanted to run the businesses flat, like if I was like, Hey, listen, we're not

00:40:21.740 going to grow from 24 to 25.

00:40:24.000 We're going to run the businesses, both businesses completely flat.

00:40:27.600 And I want you to go optimize our supply chains.

00:40:30.200 I want you to go get cogs, cost of goods down.

00:40:32.860 I want, I want to get real efficient on our manufacturing lines.

00:40:36.540 And I want 15% to the bottom line.

00:40:39.760 I want, I want to make $30 million on, or $45 million on 300.

00:40:44.120 Could we, could we get there?

00:40:45.620 Yes.

00:40:46.100 But guess what?

00:40:46.760 We're not, we're going to spend that $45 million to scale.

00:40:50.920 So it's just, uh, it's like, what do you, what are you trying to do?

00:40:54.640 And why are you trying to do it?

00:40:56.600 Um, and, and, you know, I have had to look at this.

00:40:59.980 I talked to you like the last 12 months have been really hard.

00:41:02.280 I've had to look at this really, really up close and personal the last few months.

00:41:07.000 And what I've decided and what I put out to the team is on the origin side is we're only

00:41:15.120 going to grow a little bit next year, a little bit, like less than 20%.

00:41:20.900 I don't want a hundred percent kegger.

00:41:23.140 I don't want a compounding annual growth rate bigger than 20%.

00:41:28.020 Why?

00:41:29.180 Because I want to make North Carolina the best pants factory in the world.

00:41:32.880 I want to make it the best jeans factory.

00:41:34.520 I want to invest in that.

00:41:35.720 I want to get really efficient.

00:41:37.440 I want to make a jean for less than a hundred dollars. 0.92

00:41:40.440 I can't do that.

00:41:41.540 Uh, I'm sorry, sell a jean for less than a hundred dollars.

00:41:44.360 I want to find supply chains.

00:41:46.060 I want to purchase cotton direct.

00:41:47.860 Like there's things, there's things that we can do on our supply side, uh, and then efficiency

00:41:53.240 side.

00:41:54.320 And I want to give the customer only what they, what they need next year.

00:41:58.880 And I want 10% to the bottom line, uh, minimum.

00:42:02.980 So I want 10% minimum to the bottom line next year.

00:42:05.560 So that's like, Hey, little, little bit of growth in the right, in the right categories

00:42:11.380 for the right reasons and efficiencies.

00:42:14.700 And it's okay.

00:42:15.680 We're not a public company.

00:42:17.420 We're not a public company.

00:42:19.840 The only one we answer to is the, the ownership group.

00:42:24.700 We answer to me, uh, Jocko, the Deco and the market a little bit too, right?

00:42:28.740 I mean, not shareholders, but the market's going to determine, Hey, you're, you're, you're,

00:42:33.040 that's how I view it.

00:42:34.220 Maybe I'm wrong, but I view it and think, okay, the market's going to tell me whether

00:42:37.920 this is good or not.

00:42:39.060 For sure.

00:42:39.960 Yeah.

00:42:40.140 The market will tell you for sure.

00:42:41.520 And on the Jocko fuel side, it's a complete opposite.

00:42:45.140 Hey, go give me 80% growth rate.

00:42:48.360 Right.

00:42:49.360 With, with still like a, a bottom line number, uh, EBITDA, you know, uh, number.

00:42:55.080 So, and man, it's just, um, yes, the companies are huge.

00:43:00.360 It's a huge enterprise.

00:43:01.600 Like at this point, I mean, it's, I think it's, I think it's worth like a billion dollars,

00:43:05.880 you know, like on paper, you know what I mean?

00:43:09.060 Like I live in the woods, man, bro.

00:43:11.180 Like on paper.

00:43:12.140 People will think that they're like, if he sold his business, he'd get a billion dollars.

00:43:15.840 You wish.

00:43:16.780 Yeah.

00:43:17.180 You wish.

00:43:18.280 We could probably, you would have sold it by now.

00:43:20.080 Yeah.

00:43:20.260 We could probably come pretty close.

00:43:22.620 Um, we could probably come pretty close, but like, that's not the, that's not the plan,

00:43:26.980 especially for origin.

00:43:27.820 That's not the plan.

00:43:28.680 It's a, it's a hundred year plan.

00:43:31.220 We're 10% into that.

00:43:32.560 We're 10 years in.

00:43:33.800 So it's a hundred year plan.

00:43:35.060 It's a plan that'll transcend me.

00:43:36.760 It's a, it's a vision for the future, uh, that, um, we're going to keep this thing private.

00:43:42.900 It's never going to go public.

00:43:44.820 And so we've got to do the right things for the right reasons.

00:43:47.400 And on Jocko fuel, it's a little, obviously a little bit different.

00:43:49.880 And we want to, we want to get the product within, within arms of reach of every household

00:43:55.380 in America.

00:43:56.420 And at some point, you know, the plan is to, we either merge with a bigger company that

00:44:00.920 can do that distribution to a hundred thousand locations.

00:44:04.620 And you make that arrangement with one of these big, uh, companies.

00:44:08.140 And the by-product of that is, is a lot of money, right?

00:44:12.660 So it's perfect because a lot of money will allow origin to never have to sell its soul.

00:44:21.060 Right.

00:44:21.580 That is the play.

00:44:22.580 It's been the place in state one, since Jocko and I shook hands in Portland, Maine over a

00:44:26.720 stake and a handshake.

00:44:27.440 That was the plan.

00:44:29.420 Um, and that plan is, is going to come to fruition here at some point.

00:44:33.780 So, um, again, what was the purpose, power purpose?

00:44:37.920 Why do you do what you do?

00:44:38.920 Um, and that's really what a brand is, right?

00:44:42.460 That's like soul that's brand, you know, marketing and advertising and media.

00:44:46.940 That's all like ways to, to tell people about the brand.

00:44:50.740 And, and so, yeah, anyways, I kind of rambled there.

00:44:55.960 No, it's good.

00:44:56.840 So with, with regards to, uh, Jocko fuels, you know, having a Walmart deal will certainly

00:45:03.260 get you closer to getting that product in the hands of every American.

00:45:06.260 You got it.

00:45:07.040 You got it.

00:45:07.600 So, so Jocko fuels interesting because we just closed Walmart, right?

00:45:12.000 And we just went into Walmart stores in August and that's, it's awesome.

00:45:15.400 We're in Walmart.

00:45:16.340 I got to go check it out.

00:45:17.400 By the way, I got to like record a little video.

00:45:19.060 I haven't even been in to see, but, um, so do I, I need to go see if it's in, if it's

00:45:22.320 here in your local one.

00:45:23.260 Yeah.

00:45:24.000 Um, yeah, yeah.

00:45:25.560 And, and, and it's two, it's two different purchase intents, right?

00:45:29.560 So like this, like I'm drinking a Jocko hydrate right now.

00:45:33.240 I drink for a day.

00:45:34.540 It's, it's like a commodity.

00:45:35.940 I'm going to cons, it's a consumable.

00:45:37.840 I'm going to drink it every day, all day.

00:45:40.120 And so my purchase is 10 is that I intend to purchase this to consume every day.

00:45:46.040 On origin, the purchase intent is different.

00:45:48.180 I'm going to invest in this and I'm going to try to wear it for the next five years.

00:45:53.020 Right?

00:45:53.500 Like it's two totally different mindsets.

00:45:55.900 And yeah, that's a mileage out of it.

00:45:57.880 Oh man.

00:45:58.320 It's really difficult because you're talking to two different minds, like two different

00:46:03.020 mindsets.

00:46:03.620 I didn't think about that.

00:46:04.220 Two different purchase intents.

00:46:06.480 Um, so.

00:46:07.860 But everybody has both, right?

00:46:09.200 I mean, like, and that's the beauty is one customer actually one physical person is actually

00:46:15.280 both customers.

00:46:16.460 It is, but Ryan, if you think about like when origin had Jocko fuel on our website, so you'd

00:46:24.240 go to origin, then you could buy like Jocko fuel.

00:46:26.920 Only 5% of people purchased a clothing item and a nutritional product.

00:46:31.900 Why?

00:46:32.860 Because people came to the website and they intended to purchase a 30 day supply or something,

00:46:37.400 or they intended to purchase an investment in boots or jeans or hoodies or jackets or whatever.

00:46:42.340 So it is the same customer mostly, um, except Jocko fuel, 30% of our customer base is women

00:46:49.320 and an origin 99% of our customer, customer base is men.

00:46:53.600 So it's the same mindset.

00:46:55.840 It's the same mindset for sure.

00:46:57.740 I'm not sure it's the same customer all the time, but it's the same mindset.

00:47:01.200 I mean, that makes sense.

00:47:02.140 It seems like just based on what you're saying, if somebody came to buy boots, you know, that

00:47:06.540 new mock toe boot you have, for example, it seems like maybe based on, it is amazing.

00:47:11.340 I love those boots.

00:47:13.220 Admittedly, I don't have them on right now.

00:47:14.740 I'm barefoot right now.

00:47:15.520 I'm barefoot too.

00:47:16.280 But if I weren't, that's what I'd have on.

00:47:18.220 I just took mine off actually.

00:47:19.860 That's what I was wearing this morning, but I'm barefoot right now.

00:47:23.400 Um, it seems like based on what you're saying, customer intent, that it would be easier to

00:47:28.100 sell that individual who came for a pair of boots, a pair of jeans, and the person who

00:47:32.520 came for the hydrate to sell them, uh, you know, maybe some pre-workout or something

00:47:38.100 like that because of the way they're looking at their purchasing in that moment.

00:47:41.920 Exactly.

00:47:42.660 Exactly.

00:47:43.400 Yeah.

00:47:43.640 So that's, um, when you talk about this hundred year plan, you're talking about something

00:47:49.660 that obviously is going to transcend your life.

00:47:51.720 And it's not just your life.

00:47:52.660 It's, it's, it's going to, uh, transcend your kids' lives, your grandkids' lives.

00:47:58.960 Why is that important to you?

00:48:02.300 Oh man.

00:48:03.060 Cause I think, let me say it this way, maybe preface this.

00:48:05.480 Yeah.

00:48:05.840 Do you think that if you didn't spread this plan out over this, this hundred year plan

00:48:10.960 and you said, you know what, I'm worried about the next 30 or 40 or, you know, whatever

00:48:15.280 it is.

00:48:15.520 Do you think you could maximize or leverage income and revenue if it was this type of plan

00:48:22.200 versus spreading it out over a hundred years?

00:48:25.200 Meaning personally, could you have more today than if you spread it out over a hundred years,

00:48:29.740 which then becomes your legacy?

00:48:31.920 I don't know.

00:48:33.500 Um, I, I had to set such a long-term plan that it drove behave a certain behavior of myself.

00:48:42.040 I had to set a plan in motion that I knew I would be in the ground by the time it comes

00:48:47.660 to fruition in order to make the right decisions.

00:48:50.420 Now, if, if I was going to, if I said like, Hey, we're going to run a, this thing over 25

00:48:55.480 years, like it would have driven a different behavior.

00:48:58.740 I would have it.

00:48:59.660 I would have a different behavior actually.

00:49:01.880 I would take on private equity.

00:49:03.600 I would be selling off chunks of the company.

00:49:05.600 I would keep operational control for sure.

00:49:07.780 But like, it would be a different, it would be a whole different thing.

00:49:11.020 And the reason I only set it to a hundred years, um, is cause it seems, it seems crazy

00:49:20.440 to people.

00:49:21.060 And when I tell people like, well, China's got a thousand year plan and I've only got 0.56

00:49:27.300 dynasties.

00:49:28.440 I've got a hundred year plan to help course correct this thing.

00:49:31.840 Uh, then it's like, Oh, it's not so, it's not so crazy.

00:49:34.340 Um, but like, we're not chasing any other brands.

00:49:39.520 Like we're not chasing any, anybody else.

00:49:41.320 We're not chasing Under Armour or Lululemon or, or any, any, any other company.

00:49:47.400 It's not that at all.

00:49:48.760 I actually don't care what they do.

00:49:50.600 I don't freaking care.

00:49:51.820 I don't care what they're doing.

00:49:53.020 They're publicly traded companies.

00:49:54.500 Um, they're, you know, they're, they do, they make decisions based off the market and making

00:50:00.940 sure they show growth to drive shareholder value.

00:50:03.620 They're public companies.

00:50:04.900 Fine.

00:50:05.460 We're not, we're not. 0.57

00:50:07.300 And, and so we're not even swimming in the same damn ocean, you know, like everybody

00:50:13.220 has to have great product.

00:50:14.460 That's a, that's a part for the course, right?

00:50:16.780 These, these days, in this day and age, everybody's going to have great product, but why we do what

00:50:21.140 we do built by freedom.

00:50:23.160 Like that's not just made in America.

00:50:24.940 That's built by freedom.

00:50:26.140 Like every component, every piece of thread and labor is on American soil.

00:50:32.100 It's because that is an insane mission.

00:50:34.120 And it's going to take, it's going to take a few decades just to, just to get people

00:50:40.580 back there.

00:50:42.160 It took three decades for it all to leave.

00:50:44.280 It's going to take a couple, two or three decades to get it all back.

00:50:47.760 And origin can be the pioneers of that Renaissance.

00:50:51.620 I think that's what we're about.

00:50:53.780 We could make anything.

00:50:54.740 You could put the origin logo on anything and say built by freedom.

00:50:57.880 And people will be like, I trust that.

00:51:00.280 That's cool.

00:51:01.180 This company's cool because they're doing the right thing.

00:51:03.240 So the right reasons.

00:51:03.880 It doesn't even have to be clothing or footwear.

00:51:06.040 It could be anything.

00:51:07.580 So I think when you understand that, that, that wave of freedom, that logo, it's the

00:51:12.480 wave of freedom, reshoring, restoring, reclaiming machineries, knowledge, and communities.

00:51:19.080 Like that's, that's powerful.

00:51:22.140 I think it's the, I think it's the strongest brand that's ever existed in my opinion, outside

00:51:27.880 of maybe the, the American flag, which America is the strongest brand.

00:51:32.260 I think Rome probably, you know, was at one point the strongest brand, but I think, I think

00:51:37.660 America is the strongest brand in the world.

00:51:39.220 Um, and I think that wave of freedom is represents what America once was.

00:51:43.800 And so that's why I think when it comes to product, that's the strongest brand that's ever existed.

00:51:47.960 And even Kip, who was the co-founder of Under Armour said to me one time that he believes origin is the greatest American brand that's ever existed.

00:51:57.880 And that's from a dude that built a freaking $5 billion company, right?

00:52:03.680 Nobody's following this where we're going.

00:52:05.500 It's, it's not doable.

00:52:07.380 I know this.

00:52:08.360 I know it's not doable.

00:52:09.280 What I want to do, I know it's not doable right now.

00:52:13.300 I know it's not doable right now.

00:52:15.980 I don't live in the now.

00:52:17.980 And I think that that actually leads to some of the problems that we were discussing earlier in the conversation.

00:52:22.520 I don't live in the now.

00:52:23.480 I live in, I, I, I live in, in projecting the vision and then making decisions to make sure that vision is realized.

00:52:33.000 That's not a dream.

00:52:34.160 That's action on ideas.

00:52:36.420 It's action on ideas, um, pulling with purpose.

00:52:40.600 So that's a lot of, that's a mouthful, but yeah, well, it's, you know, it's interesting when people look at it from a brand perspective, it's easy to see how, and we've seen it.

00:52:50.520 We've seen the demise of brands, uh, something that immediately comes to mind is when they don't stay current and relevant and up to date, uh, consider, you know, Blockbuster, for example, that, that could have bought, I think Redbox or Netflix early on.

00:53:03.160 And chose not to out of arrogance or ignorance maybe.

00:53:06.320 Um, so we can see how a brand like that will go away.

00:53:11.040 But one thing that's interesting is I don't think we see it the same way with America.

00:53:14.540 You talked about America being the greatest brand, but if you look at even just servicing the debt, I think, I think I heard, and don't quote me on the numbers, but this will prove the point that the interest on the debt that we're paying as Americans just surpassed $1 trillion.

00:53:28.500 It's the third highest line item in our budget behind, uh, I, I don't know if it's defense, but I definitely know it's social security and Medicare.

00:53:40.720 And we, I don't know what it is, but Americans refuse to see that that is it using your language going to threaten the brand.

00:53:51.240 If you want to, if you want to say it that way, but we see it in business, but we don't see it in America the same way.

00:53:56.100 And that's, that's a little scary to me.

00:53:57.380 That's a lot scary to me, actually.

00:53:59.080 Yeah.

00:54:01.320 I mean, that's a whole box of, that's Pandora's box.

00:54:04.500 You know, like, so I don't know how much we want to jump into that, but yeah, I don't know how much time we have to discuss it, but yeah, it's, it's our peers making decisions.

00:54:12.720 I mean, Gen Xers are about to inherit the earth. 1.00

00:54:15.700 So it's our peers making decisions.

00:54:18.140 Um, yeah, I just, I'm trying to have it.

00:54:21.240 Have a, a voice and, you know, make some relevant noise from the outside and, and trying to influence things through relationships and scale, you know, like, yeah, you can have influence a couple of ways.

00:54:33.540 You can kind of be at the top or you can, you can have the capital to drive true change.

00:54:39.260 Um, cause companies drive America, like American companies drive America, American companies drive the world.

00:54:46.520 Like it's greedy, greedy corporations.

00:54:49.220 It's great.

00:54:49.860 It can't be, it's runaway capitalism.

00:54:51.920 It's, uh, it's, yeah, it's predatory capitalism is what it is.

00:54:56.620 And I'm a capitalist, crony capitalism, crony capitalism.

00:55:00.060 Yeah.

00:55:00.280 I mean, so, you know, we was going to get some good people in there that, uh, don't have ulterior motives and you're never actually going to get people in there that have ulterior motives.

00:55:11.760 But it's just everybody, all of our politicians go in with nothing and they all come out with so much, so much, so much, but, um, you know, they're making trades and, and on policy and earmarks and all that other bullshit. 0.93

00:55:28.620 So it's a scary place.

00:55:30.500 And that's how you end up, you know, that much in debt, you know, that much in debt.

00:55:37.560 Um, gosh, I don't know what the answer is, man.

00:55:40.220 Well, I mean, I think you guys are, are part of the solution.

00:55:43.680 You know, I don't think it's, it's the only piece, but it's definitely part of it.

00:55:47.280 And I see companies like, and these, you know, I'm really proud of the people who, the people and organizations that we're partnered with.

00:55:54.040 You know, you guys obviously, and good friends of, of both of ours, Sorenex, Exercise Equipment, Montana Knife Company, like these are companies that are doing the same thing in different markets.

00:56:06.220 Yep.

00:56:06.740 Yep.

00:56:07.060 Are there other organizations now?

00:56:08.980 Cause I know when we talked seven, eight years ago, you're pioneering this stuff and you still are and you, and you will continue to do so.

00:56:15.960 Are there companies now that are getting some hope and popping up and saying, wait a second, they're doing something.

00:56:22.040 So maybe we can, cause I don't think that existed eight years ago.

00:56:26.000 I think there's, I think there's a few different things happening.

00:56:29.920 I think there's, you ever heard of this term greenwashing?

00:56:33.860 No.

00:56:34.480 It's like greenwashing is like, um, Hey, we're going to build this environmentally, uh, sustainable thing.

00:56:43.780 And we're going to, and then, so you see this as in the marketing of the, of the brands, right?

00:56:48.840 You see like greenwashing, like we're going to do this wonderful thing for you.

00:56:53.600 But what you don't see is that in China, in order to get it that way, you know, we're going to, we're going to dump, you know, a million gallons of poison into the rivers and kill all the fish. 0.91

00:57:04.880 Right.

00:57:05.320 So you, you see one side of it and you don't see the other side.

00:57:09.660 And so I've changed the term greenwashing to greedwashing because it's absolute greedwashing.

00:57:15.000 So I think to answer your question, I think that, you know, things aren't as they seem until there is a fully transparent, 100% transparent supply chain on where your products are made and who's making them in the total like carbon footprint and environmental impact they're having.

00:57:35.360 Like, I don't, I don't think, uh, I don't think anything is truthful.

00:57:40.260 I think we're coming as close as we can, as any company has come to that.

00:57:44.520 Like, I think we're talking about our challenges, um, and how we're going to overcome them and try to reverse the damage.

00:57:51.060 Um, and I think other companies have recognized that whether on their own or maybe through our story, I know some through our story, uh, are doing the same thing.

00:58:02.020 But dude, there isn't anything that's 100% like, like good to go, you know, like, oh, this company's like good to go.

00:58:11.820 Like if you make something, you're going to have waste.

00:58:15.420 If you make anything, you're going to have waste.

00:58:18.800 If you make a t-shirt or a pair of jeans, you're going to have waste.

00:58:21.760 You're going to use energy.

00:58:23.660 You know, you're going to use water. 0.99

00:58:25.800 You're going to use like, you're like, you're like, you're going to use shit. 0.99

00:58:29.760 I think, I think, I think that you, you can, you'll never be able to, to use electric cars. 0.99

00:58:38.400 Like, okay, cool.

00:58:39.480 It's electric, but like the battery, like, like, how do you make the battery? 0.99

00:58:43.220 Where does that shit come from? 0.94

00:58:44.860 Oh, you know, like somebody was like charging their car, electric car recently with a generator. 1.00

00:58:50.580 I'm like, let's charge our electric car with a generator.

00:58:55.460 So a gasoline engine charging an electric motor.

00:58:59.100 Well, that makes a lot of sense.

00:59:01.120 Um, I think, I think though the consumer is start to the consumer.

00:59:04.600 The consumer needs to demand things to change and then companies and brands will have to

00:59:09.760 change until they do that.

00:59:12.180 Greed will win.

00:59:13.240 Greed will win because greed plays in all circles.

00:59:17.280 It doesn't care what side of the aisle you sit on. 1.00

00:59:19.760 It doesn't give a shit. 1.00

00:59:21.500 Greed will win. 0.99

00:59:23.220 Uh, so consumers need to drive change.

00:59:26.680 Well, you guys are doing it, Pete.

00:59:28.180 Um, why don't you let the guys know where to go?

00:59:29.920 Um, obviously you've got a new fall lineup with the mock toe boot, um, the denim.

00:59:34.520 Uh, I think you've got some new, I think I saw flannel.

00:59:36.920 Yeah.

00:59:37.360 Yeah.

00:59:37.720 We just woke some flannel.

00:59:39.080 I know.

00:59:40.100 Yeah.

00:59:40.460 So this, uh, you've got the hunt line as well.

00:59:42.380 So yeah.

00:59:42.800 Yeah.

00:59:43.120 I mean, and, and if folks haven't, haven't tried origin, like you should, um, you should

00:59:49.440 because, uh, it's built by freedom.

00:59:51.740 And I think that's really important, especially for your listeners, Ryan, to know where your things

00:59:56.660 come from.

00:59:57.220 Um, and I think what you do in the dark is important.

01:00:00.120 And I know for our customers, when they step onto the street and a pair of boots or jeans

01:00:05.200 or a hoodie or something, they're proud to wear it.

01:00:07.860 I've heard this thousands of times.

01:00:09.780 Uh, they're proud to wear that wave of freedom because they know like all the material fiber

01:00:14.340 manufacturing labor came from American soil and that's important to them.

01:00:18.780 And of course we try to build things that last lifetime.

01:00:22.500 We hope you wear them out though.

01:00:24.100 We promise they'll never fail you.

01:00:25.400 Um, that's originusa.com, uh, where you can find and everything on that website is dirt

01:00:32.440 to shirt field to finish fiber fabric made in America without compromise.

01:00:35.620 Nobody else is going to say that.

01:00:37.140 We are going to say that.

01:00:38.900 Uh, so, and of course there's Jocko fuel to Jocko fuel.com for, uh, if you want to try

01:00:45.000 to be better, it's a good, good way to start.

01:00:47.800 Yeah.

01:00:48.220 Well, I love the hydrate.

01:00:49.140 I mean, that, that stuff is, it's good for you, but it's also delicious.

01:00:51.940 Is it the orange, it's the orange flavor.

01:00:53.560 I don't know exactly what it's called, but that one's my favorite.

01:00:56.160 Yeah.

01:00:56.540 Oh, you got it right there.

01:00:57.220 Yep.

01:00:57.580 Island orange.

01:00:59.100 Island orange.

01:00:59.800 That one's the best, I think.

01:01:00.960 So, and the boots are the best out of the package.

01:01:03.440 You know, you know that I used to be a Red Wing guy.

01:01:06.520 Oh yeah.

01:01:06.920 No, I know.

01:01:07.580 And I'm sure it broke a little piece of your heart every time I wore those around you.

01:01:10.800 No, it did.

01:01:11.300 But I didn't have a Mokto, so I couldn't say anything. 0.99

01:01:13.560 I know, but you do now.

01:01:14.340 No, we do.

01:01:15.300 Now I can call you out.

01:01:16.100 And I'm glad because I, I'm a hundred percent origin boot guy.

01:01:20.100 I was probably like 70% before that.

01:01:22.560 Yeah.

01:01:22.820 Well, it's funny because I sent a text to my team after getting my first pair of Moktos.

01:01:27.140 And I said, you know, guys, I've always liked our product and now I love our product.

01:01:32.720 Like there's a difference there.

01:01:33.980 I've always liked what we're building for product, but I absolutely love this.

01:01:39.240 It's the best in class.

01:01:41.320 It's in, it's the fact that it's Goodyear welted and it's got that cork midsole and Mokto.

01:01:45.620 It's like, it's a best in class boot.

01:01:48.200 It just gives me, I get my dopamine there.

01:01:50.620 It gives me real excited.

01:01:52.240 Boots in jeans built America.

01:01:54.260 So when everybody's like, why are you building boots and jeans?

01:01:56.820 Cause to rebuild America, it's going to take boots and jeans. 0.96

01:02:00.840 And that's why we start with that.

01:02:02.560 But good stuff, man.

01:02:03.960 I appreciate it.

01:02:04.920 Awesome.

01:02:05.660 Well, we'll sync it all up.

01:02:06.480 So the guys know where to go.

01:02:07.460 Pete, appreciate you and what you're doing.

01:02:09.000 And of course our friendship as well.

01:02:10.340 We'll, we'll have to connect soon.

01:02:11.760 I'm going to make it out.

01:02:12.560 I tried to make it this year to immersion camp, but I'm going to, I'm going to commit

01:02:15.860 and get out to immersion camp because that is, that is a great event.

01:02:19.140 So I got to get out there, see you, see the team and see everybody else.

01:02:21.860 Pete, appreciate it, brother.

01:02:22.820 Appreciate it.

01:02:23.220 Thanks, Ryan.

01:02:25.540 Man, Mr. Pete Roberts, I hope you enjoyed that conversation.

01:02:28.440 And I hope you took notes because this is a visionary.

01:02:31.200 And I've, I've had the luxury and the opportunity to sit down with Pete and have countless hours

01:02:36.600 of discussions about life and business and growth and everything and anything in between.

01:02:42.580 So if you're looking for a good resource and somebody you can be motivated, inspired by,

01:02:48.100 then Pete Roberts is your guy.

01:02:49.920 And we talked a lot about some of their products as well.

01:02:52.300 Their hunt lineup, their mock-toe boots, which I'm a huge fan of personally, their jujitsu gear,

01:02:57.560 their supplements with Jocko and everything in between.

01:03:00.580 Look no further than originusa and jockofuels.com to find all of those supplies and products.

01:03:08.380 Guys, please connect with Pete on Instagram, social media, Twitter, YouTube, wherever you're

01:03:13.740 doing your thing.

01:03:14.820 Let people know what you listen to, share this.

01:03:17.020 We need to make this message reach the masses.

01:03:20.360 And you can do that by just taking a screenshot and tagging Pete, tagging myself and letting

01:03:24.060 people know what you're listening to.

01:03:25.760 Outside of that, join the Iron Council at orderman.com slash ironcouncil.

01:03:29.800 We're going to blow this thing out of the water this year.

01:03:31.600 And you are going to be a big part of our growth as we roll into the fourth quarter of 2024.

01:03:38.800 All right, guys, you have got your marching orders.

01:03:41.480 We'll be back tomorrow for my Ask Me Anything with Kip Sorensen.

01:03:45.080 Until then, go out there, take action and become the man you are meant to be.

01:03:52.100 Thank you for listening to the Order of Man podcast.

01:03:55.020 You're ready to take charge of your life and be more of the man you were meant to be.

01:03:58.800 We invite you to join the Order at orderofman.com.

Order of Man - September 17, 2024

PETE ROBERTS ｜ Build a 100-Year Plan

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