Latest / Jeep Talk Show / Tom Zielinski Interview: Detroit 4Fest 2026, Tread Lightly & Moab Secrets

Transcript

Tom Zielinski Interview: Detroit 4Fest 2026, Tread Lightly & Moab Secrets · Jeep Talk Show

• 0:00
  (upbeat music)
• 0:02
  All righty, old boys and girls,
• 0:04
  it's time for another
• 0:04
  Jeep Talk Show interview.
• 0:06
  And if you've been here for
• 0:07
  very long, you know this face.
• 0:09
  This is Tom Zielinski.
• 0:10
  He is a lifelong off-roader,
• 0:13
  off-road event creator and operator,
• 0:16
  tread lightly board member,
• 0:17
  a former racer of many things,
• 0:20
  supporter of all things off-road.
• 0:22
  And Tom, I don't want you,
• 0:23
  I think the statute of limitations
• 0:25
  probably has ended by now,
• 0:27
  but it wasn't always legitimate.
• 0:29
  Off-road racing, I'm thinking.
• 0:34
  Allegedly, there was
• 0:36
  perhaps a time or two
• 0:38
  where we might've been somewhere where we
• 0:40
  weren't supposed to.
• 0:41
  And frankly, that's been a
• 0:43
  great piece of the motivation
• 0:44
  to serve on the board of tread lightly
• 0:47
  and hopefully repent for it.
• 0:50
  Don't be like me.
• 0:54
  Exactly.
• 0:55
  Yeah, you know, back in the 1800s
• 0:59
  when wheels were still made of wood
• 1:01
  and we were, the formative years,
• 1:04
  and yeah, we may have been some places
• 1:07
  that we shouldn't have been,
• 1:08
  but had some fun times in the process.
• 1:11
  You know, I'm a speed demon.
• 1:13
  And it's so funny, just
• 1:15
  the traffic in Houston
• 1:17
  and going back and
• 1:18
  forth in traffic so much,
• 1:19
  I learned that when I got off-road
• 1:21
  in the gladiator or anything,
• 1:23
  I have a tendency to ride
• 1:24
  people's ass on the trail.
• 1:26
  Move your ass.
• 1:28
  Why are you going so slow?
• 1:29
  And I'm thinking to
• 1:30
  myself, it's a trail ride.
• 1:32
  You're not trying to get home.
• 1:33
  Enjoy yourself, slow
• 1:34
  down, leave some room.
• 1:37
  It's so funny how we learn.
• 1:39
  We're from Detroit.
• 1:41
  There is, you would
• 1:44
  think it is the Audubon
• 1:45
  and there are no speed limits.
• 1:47
  Technically, I see signs
• 1:49
  that provide a suggestion.
• 1:51
  Exactly.
• 1:52
  But nobody's listening.
• 1:53
  It's a recommendation.
• 1:55
  We have the Beltway 8 out here.
• 1:57
  Now we have a Beltway
• 1:58
  99 as well, a highway 99.
• 2:00
  It's a big loop around Houston.
• 2:02
  I think the 99 loop is
• 2:04
  like 170 miles around Houston.
• 2:07
  It's huge.
• 2:08
  But anyway, Beltway 8,
• 2:09
  people get on the Instagram
• 2:13
  and whatnot and
• 2:13
  complain about how people drive
• 2:15
  on Beltway 8.
• 2:16
  And
• 2:16
  (beep)
• 2:17
  it, it is the Houston Audubon
• 2:19
  and we pay to drive on the Beltway
• 2:22
  because it's a toll road.
• 2:23
  That means we can drive
• 2:25
  whatever speed we want to go.
• 2:28
  (laughing)
• 2:28
  Makes sense to me.
• 2:31
  Detroit, for clarity,
• 2:33
  Detroit operates in a
• 2:34
  slightly different way
• 2:36
  and it is more of a not so much tollways,
• 2:40
  but just, hey man, I'm from
• 2:43
  Detroit, get out of the way.
• 2:44
  This is the Motor City.
• 2:46
  Yeah, I'm a speed demon.
• 2:48
  I try to be, I've tried to get better.
• 2:49
  In fact, I tried getting better
• 2:51
  by getting out of cars and into trucks.
• 2:55
  And then I went from full-size trucks
• 2:58
  because you're less likely to
• 2:59
  be tempted to race somebody.
• 3:01
  And I got out of trucks into Jeeps and
• 3:04
  Jeeps are wonderful.
• 3:05
  I still drive them too
• 3:06
  fast, but you know, it's a Jeep.
• 3:10
  Look, my recent past,
• 3:14
  meaning the last couple of weeks,
• 3:16
  I could give you a very compelling story
• 3:19
  about why trucks are
• 3:21
  not a cause to slow down.
• 3:22
  We just finished up the TRX
• 3:25
  launch at Red Bud Motocross
• 3:28
  and the new TRX would
• 3:30
  give you every reason
• 3:31
  to not consider slowing down one bit.
• 3:34
  Yeah, I love horsepower.
• 3:35
  Good God, I love horsepower.
• 3:37
  I'd love to have a V8 Wrangler
• 3:39
  or better yet, a V8 Gladiator.
• 3:41
  And I'm fine with you
• 3:43
  sharing any information
• 3:44
  that you may have about that.
• 3:46
  Because that was promised to us.
• 3:49
  I don't know what
• 3:50
  you're talking about, man.
• 3:52
  You know, you remember when
• 3:54
  you were on with Jim Morrison
• 3:55
  and gosh, it was several years ago
• 3:57
  and I tried to get Jim
• 3:58
  to commit to when you go,
• 3:59
  when are you gonna put
• 3:59
  a Hemi and a Gladiator?
• 4:01
  And he says, I wouldn't have a job
• 4:02
  tomorrow if I told you.
• 4:04
  So it's like, it was, so
• 4:06
  you're saying it's a possibility.
• 4:09
  Look, I hear all the same rumors you do.
• 4:12
  Oh,
• 4:13
  (beep)
• 4:14
  (laughing)
• 4:16
  You just don't wanna say, I understand.
• 4:18
  All right, so let me
• 4:19
  get, let's get off of this
• 4:20
  and just having fun.
• 4:22
  A couple of friends
• 4:23
  talking here on the podcast.
• 4:26
  Oh, and I'll mention really quick,
• 4:27
  a lot of the people that I
• 4:29
  talk to on the interviews,
• 4:31
  I have never met personally.
• 4:32
  I'm down here in Southeast Texas.
• 4:34
  I don't, you know, I don't go
• 4:36
  to a lot of events and stuff,
• 4:37
  but I have gone to EJS, love to go again.
• 4:40
  And I've met Tom on the
• 4:42
  two times I've been there.
• 4:44
  I mean, it was really nice.
• 4:46
  I think I even got to meet your daughter
• 4:49
  or one of your daughters,
• 4:50
  the last time I went with my wife.
• 4:53
  I'm so glad she went with me.
• 4:54
  It's just, it's an
• 4:55
  experience that needs to be shared
• 4:57
  with somebody you love.
• 5:00
  It is. And here's what I would
• 5:01
  say for any of the listeners
• 5:03
  that have not been to Moab yet.
• 5:06
  Here's what I would say.
• 5:08
  And I need to be far more
• 5:11
  grateful than I am sometimes
• 5:12
  about how often I get to be in Moab.
• 5:15
  And the great fortune I've had to be
• 5:17
  with a slew of different people on trail.
• 5:21
  And same thing for my
• 5:23
  kids to a degree as well.
• 5:25
  My daughter thinks
• 5:26
  Moab's just a regular thing.
• 5:28
  Doesn't everybody do that?
• 5:29
  And-
• 5:30
  Oh, she's just used to it.
• 5:31
  Okay.
• 5:32
  Yeah.
• 5:33
  Just to her, it's like, well,
• 5:34
  yeah, in Moab and, you know,
• 5:37
  next week she was in Sonoma
• 5:39
  for the Ferrari challenge.
• 5:41
  And, you know, next
• 5:42
  week she's in Monterey
• 5:43
  for Monterey car week.
• 5:44
  So to her, this whole car
• 5:46
  world is a different thing.
• 5:48
  That's wonderful.
• 5:48
  She's experienced this and
• 5:50
  you want that for your children.
• 5:52
  It should be commonplace for them.
• 5:56
  Yes.
• 5:56
  But back to Moab, anybody
• 6:00
  that hasn't gone needs to go.
• 6:02
  If you haven't been
• 6:03
  to Easter Jeep Safari,
• 6:05
  that certainly is another
• 6:07
  level of Jeep engagement,
• 6:10
  I guess is a pleasant way to say that.
• 6:12
  Jeep overload.
• 6:14
  It is a little bit,
• 6:16
  if there is such a thing as Jeep
• 6:18
  overload, that is it.
• 6:19
  Oh, it's a good thing.
• 6:20
  Yes.
• 6:21
  And I had some new people,
• 6:24
  we guided some new folks
• 6:27
  this year that had never been
• 6:31
  kind of an executive program.
• 6:33
  And I'm telling you wide
• 6:35
  eyed, like, oh my goodness.
• 6:37
  Like a fighter pilot looking for bogeys.
• 6:40
  (laughing)
• 6:40
  Yes.
• 6:42
  And so those, like to me,
• 6:44
  those are super rewarding experiences
• 6:46
  and maybe people that
• 6:47
  are new to the industry
• 6:49
  that get out there for the first time,
• 6:51
  it's so rewarding to see them.
• 6:54
  And maybe one of the
• 6:56
  most heartwarming moments
• 6:57
  was the folks from Detroit Forefest that
• 7:00
  won the grand prize.
• 7:03
  Never been out there, had
• 7:05
  done most of their wheeling
• 7:06
  kind of locally around
• 7:08
  Michigan or whatever.
• 7:09
  And they said it was
• 7:11
  the most amazing thing
• 7:12
  they had ever done.
• 7:14
  You know, I'm kind of
• 7:16
  choked up about it going,
• 7:17
  wow, that's quite a send off.
• 7:19
  But yeah, I'm glad we get to share that
• 7:21
  with a lot of people.
• 7:22
  Yeah, I say it all the time.
• 7:24
  It's like being on another planet.
• 7:26
  It's just so different and so beautiful.
• 7:29
  Oh, a quick question for you.
• 7:30
  A lot of people seem to
• 7:32
  think that going to EJS
• 7:33
  is a bad thing.
• 7:34
  They say it's too crowded.
• 7:36
  I didn't experience crowded at all.
• 7:38
  I mean, it may be
• 7:39
  different if you're part of the,
• 7:41
  what is it, the Red Rock four wheelers,
• 7:43
  if you're part of their
• 7:43
  group and going on those rides,
• 7:45
  it might be crowded.
• 7:46
  But if you're doing it stuff by yourself
• 7:47
  or with a group of people,
• 7:49
  I didn't think it was crowded at all.
• 7:52
  Okay.
• 7:53
  Everybody has a little
• 7:54
  different take on this.
• 7:55
  There are certainly
• 7:56
  some curmudgeons out there
• 7:58
  that are like, oh, you
• 7:59
  know, back when I started,
• 8:01
  it was cool to do all that.
• 8:02
  And now there's people and all of that.
• 8:06
  I don't know.
• 8:06
  I don't wanna say that
• 8:07
  they're not a great part
• 8:09
  of the Jeep culture,
• 8:11
  but I'm not sure that that's necessarily
• 8:14
  what needs to be promoted
• 8:16
  is I don't wanna see any other humans.
• 8:18
  Right.
• 8:19
  I love being around all those folks.
• 8:21
  Yeah, are there moments where,
• 8:24
  cause we guide some big groups
• 8:26
  or if you run into the Red Rocks guys
• 8:29
  or whatever where
• 8:30
  there's a lot of people.
• 8:31
  Yes, of course.
• 8:33
  Sometimes you can't get
• 8:34
  into your favorite restaurant
• 8:35
  that evening.
• 8:37
  But what a great way to
• 8:38
  engage with the community.
• 8:41
  And to frankly, what a great opportunity
• 8:44
  to show all of those locals
• 8:46
  and whatever other
• 8:47
  tourists are there in town,
• 8:49
  how cool this off-road Jeep community is.
• 8:52
  And I think Rich Klein
• 8:53
  said that really, really well
• 8:55
  and kind of very publicly said,
• 9:00
  hey, you guys, if you
• 9:02
  don't wanna be there, don't go.
• 9:04
  But the rest of us, we'll
• 9:06
  all be there having fun,
• 9:07
  talking to each other, going to parties,
• 9:10
  and most importantly,
• 9:11
  doing great things in our Jeeps off-road.
• 9:14
  Well, I just mentioned,
• 9:15
  I got to meet you out
• 9:16
  there that I wouldn't,
• 9:17
  I mean, I've talked to you here,
• 9:18
  so I know you were friends,
• 9:20
  but I've never actually met you.
• 9:22
  I haven't met a lot of people,
• 9:23
  but going out to EJS,
• 9:25
  you get to meet the
• 9:26
  people that you've talked to,
• 9:28
  or for me, meet the
• 9:29
  people that you've talked to.
• 9:30
  I actually saw Matt's off-road recovery.
• 9:33
  I don't remember if it was,
• 9:34
  I think it was this
• 9:35
  last time I went in 2024
• 9:37
  that he was there.
• 9:38
  And I guess I was
• 9:40
  nervous, I interviewed him.
• 9:42
  I guess I was nervous
• 9:43
  because I realized I
• 9:44
  didn't introduce my name.
• 9:46
  My wife tells me I'm socially
• 9:47
  (beep)
• 9:48
  That's my excuse.
• 9:51
  Okay, that's fine.
• 9:53
  Introduce yourself, give them the name.
• 9:57
  I think it's, well here,
• 9:59
  I'll circle back to these guests
• 10:02
  that we had with us this year out there.
• 10:04
  And they got to meet all sorts of people
• 10:07
  from around the Jeep community,
• 10:08
  and went to all the cool
• 10:11
  industry parties and all that.
• 10:13
  And they were just floored by the idea
• 10:17
  that they got to go out off-roading
• 10:21
  with these people that have
• 10:22
  these giant YouTube channels
• 10:24
  and all these things.
• 10:25
  They're like, this is
• 10:26
  the most amazing thing.
• 10:27
  I can't believe we get to do this.
• 10:28
  So if that isn't a great
• 10:31
  part of the Jeep community,
• 10:33
  I don't know what is, and
• 10:34
  everybody's so accessible.
• 10:36
  And there's, I don't know
• 10:38
  anybody with any attitudes
• 10:40
  or I'm cooler than you are type stuff.
• 10:43
  Everybody's out there
• 10:43
  having a great time.
• 10:44
  Yeah, exactly.
• 10:46
  All right, so anyway, let me
• 10:48
  jump over to this other deal.
• 10:49
  I have not seen it,
• 10:51
  but I've seen some of
• 10:52
  the stuff on social media
• 10:54
  where you were in a big
• 10:56
  time recent interview.
• 10:57
  And I think you were talking about
• 10:59
  being an event coordinator.
• 11:01
  I don't know the name of the show.
• 11:03
  And I say it's a big time deal,
• 11:05
  because it wasn't like Zoom.
• 11:06
  It wasn't like you were in
• 11:07
  Michigan and I'm in Houston.
• 11:09
  It was like you were sitting across a
• 11:10
  table from somebody.
• 11:11
  Tell us about that.
• 11:12
  What was going on there?
• 11:14
  And how much did it cost you?
• 11:16
  Welcome to the automotive advantage.
• 11:18
  What's your background?
• 11:19
  How did you get to be one of the leading
• 11:22
  automotive experience
• 11:24
  experts in the world?
• 11:25
  Well, I think it goes
• 11:26
  way back beyond just that,
• 11:28
  because that's the fun part, right?
• 11:29
  That's the part that pays
• 11:31
  the bills and does all that.
• 11:32
  But as a kid, I was a Detroit kid
• 11:35
  and I had cousins that loved cars.
• 11:39
  Okay, let's get, great.
• 11:42
  Let's clarify on that.
• 11:44
  I don't wanna make that sound
• 11:45
  like it was such a big deal.
• 11:48
  But I had lights, right?
• 11:49
  And multiple cameras.
• 11:50
  I mean, this is a big time deal, man.
• 11:51
  They did.
• 11:53
  And yes, it kind of is.
• 11:56
  Like, it's still funny to me.
• 11:58
  So the name of that podcast is called
• 12:02
  automotive advantage.
• 12:04
  Pardon me, automotive advantage.
• 12:06
  Yes.
• 12:06
  And it's hosted by
• 12:10
  some just amazing folks.
• 12:13
  Dr. Jamie Meyer used to
• 12:15
  be the president of PRI
• 12:17
  and headed up General
• 12:18
  Motors Performance at one point.
• 12:21
  And it is just a legend.
• 12:24
  And then of course, Justin
• 12:28
  Chesler from Drive Line Studios,
• 12:30
  who is arguably one
• 12:33
  of the great automotive
• 12:36
  photography artists around the space.
• 12:40
  And these guys also
• 12:40
  have this amazing podcast
• 12:42
  that talks about the
• 12:43
  business of automobiles
• 12:46
  and the auto business,
• 12:48
  particularly meaningful
• 12:49
  here in Detroit, of course.
• 12:51
  Oh, sure.
• 12:52
  But they've got, you know, whatever,
• 12:53
  a zillion listeners and all this stuff.
• 12:56
  And so yeah, we talked about event stuff
• 12:59
  and it's been funny,
• 13:01
  the response that I got.
• 13:02
  And it's a huge
• 13:03
  compliment to them because I said,
• 13:06
  you guys-
• 13:06
  You being on the show was
• 13:08
  a huge compliment to them.
• 13:09
  Is that what you're telling me?
• 13:10
  Nope, not a bit.
• 13:12
  This is a huge compliment to them.
• 13:14
  The number of people
• 13:15
  that reached out to me
• 13:17
  that saw that and listened to it-
• 13:19
  Oh, that's great.
• 13:20
  That are a pretty big deal
• 13:22
  around the auto business.
• 13:23
  And I kind of went, "Huh, they've got
• 13:27
  some really big names
• 13:29
  listening into what they're talking about
• 13:32
  and they deserve all
• 13:33
  the credit for that."
• 13:34
  And I just-
• 13:36
  It's hard work.
• 13:36
  And they said, "Come on in."
• 13:39
  And we talked about some stuff
• 13:41
  and mostly we told stories and laughed.
• 13:46
  But I'm honored to be
• 13:47
  on that stuff for sure.
• 13:48
  Oh yeah, that's really cool.
• 13:49
  So when was the episode?
• 13:51
  Is there an episode number, episode name,
• 13:53
  or if people were looking for it?
• 13:56
  I'm sorry to spring this on you.
• 13:57
  I can just put it up on the screen.
• 13:59
  I'll look it up myself.
• 14:00
  I don't know the, it's
• 14:01
  automotive advantage.
• 14:02
  I don't know the episode number,
• 14:05
  but it was a week or so ago
• 14:08
  and those guys do just a great job.
• 14:11
  And I love working with them
• 14:13
  on all manner of other
• 14:15
  automotive projects as well.
• 14:17
  We're working on some other things
• 14:18
  around our cars at the
• 14:20
  station event coming up
• 14:22
  and around Woodward
• 14:23
  Dream Cruise next week.
• 14:25
  And this weekend is-
• 14:26
  Oh, I remember the next.
• 14:28
  Yeah, Chris has been to that.
• 14:29
  Leno showed up to the
• 14:31
  Woodward thing, didn't he?
• 14:33
  Or does he?
• 14:35
  I think he does.
• 14:36
  Yeah, we had a great experience with Leno
• 14:40
  working with another auto manufacturer
• 14:43
  a couple of years ago.
• 14:44
  And once again, I end up
• 14:47
  involved in these things
• 14:49
  and literally I'm looking around going,
• 14:51
  huh, I don't fit in here.
• 14:56
  There's a lot of really, wow.
• 14:58
  And so I'm just,
• 15:00
  I'm grateful that I get to
• 15:01
  do some of this fun stuff.
• 15:02
  It's really cool.
• 15:02
  Yeah, yeah, I agree.
• 15:04
  Well, it's just like me.
• 15:05
  I mean, who am I?
• 15:06
  And I'm not in the area you're in.
• 15:09
  Chris gets to do a lot of
• 15:10
  stuff because he lives up there
• 15:12
  and it's a great place to be.
• 15:13
  The show is doing a lot better
• 15:15
  because Chris lives where he lives
• 15:16
  and Chris is a great guy, sales.
• 15:18
  He can talk and talk and talk
• 15:20
  and he's a lot more
• 15:23
  presentable than I am.
• 15:24
  So we're very lucky to have him,
• 15:26
  but it's more than that.
• 15:28
  You can't just be in the right place.
• 15:30
  You have to perform or
• 15:32
  at least be cordial enough
• 15:33
  where people don't get off.
• 15:35
  So, and this is good
• 15:37
  that we talked about this
• 15:38
  because I've never asked you this before.
• 15:40
  How the do you accomplish this stuff?
• 15:44
  I have heard and it
• 15:45
  may have been from Chris,
• 15:47
  no, I can't remember.
• 15:49
  Anyway, I have heard.
• 15:50
  No, you told me, I think that Jim said
• 15:53
  that you have more
• 15:54
  contacts and Jeep than he does.
• 15:57
  And if he's something,
• 16:01
  I don't know that.
• 16:02
  If we wanted to do
• 16:03
  something big and Jeep,
• 16:06
  it'd be better to talk to Tom than me,
• 16:08
  something along those lines.
• 16:09
  I don't remember where I heard that.
• 16:10
  I don't remember if
• 16:11
  it was on the interview
• 16:12
  or if it was after the interview or what,
• 16:14
  but I remember that and
• 16:15
  I'm thinking to myself,
• 16:16
  who the hell is this Tom guy?
• 16:19
  And by the way, it's not,
• 16:21
  I'm not trying to minimize this stuff,
• 16:22
  but you guys came out and got Chris
• 16:26
  at the Toledo Jeep Fest.
• 16:28
  And that's how we got to know you
• 16:30
  is because you saw Chris walking around
• 16:32
  in that whole red
• 16:34
  jumpsuit and Jeep talk show.
• 16:37
  And after finding out who you are
• 16:40
  and the contacts that you have,
• 16:41
  Chris and I are just amazed, frankly,
• 16:44
  with all the contacts
• 16:45
  and stuff that you have.
• 16:46
  So I know you've spent years doing this,
• 16:48
  but what's the magic?
• 16:50
  I don't want you to give away the magic,
• 16:53
  but I don't think anybody
• 16:54
  could copy you at this point.
• 16:56
  What's the magic?
• 16:57
  There is, seriously,
• 16:59
  there's no magic to it.
• 17:01
  It's being in the mix every day.
• 17:05
  You know, I often joke,
• 17:07
  and I've said this to Chris as well,
• 17:08
  I often joke, I only
• 17:10
  work a half day, most days,
• 17:12
  six to six, seven to seven.
• 17:15
  And-
• 17:16
  12 hours, I gotcha.
• 17:18
  Sometimes later, but
• 17:19
  that's only a half a day.
• 17:20
  Right.
• 17:21
  Tonight, I'll go on much later.
• 17:23
  We've got a dinner that follows this,
• 17:25
  but seriously, it's a
• 17:29
  matter of being in the mix.
• 17:30
  And then I think you
• 17:32
  just described it well.
• 17:36
  Don't be an idiot and be cordial.
• 17:40
  And if you say you're gonna do X,
• 17:43
  follow through, do X, do stuff,
• 17:47
  but be accessible and be in the mix
• 17:50
  and some opportunities come along.
• 17:51
  And yeah, for sure there's times
• 17:53
  you're grinding away
• 17:55
  going, what was I thinking?
• 17:58
  Why do I even do this?
• 18:00
  But the rewards come and you just gotta
• 18:02
  keep hanging in there
• 18:04
  and in that podcast that you referenced,
• 18:07
  a lot of conversation about events.
• 18:10
  And some people wanna do
• 18:12
  events to be a cool guy, right?
• 18:15
  Right.
• 18:16
  Because they saw on
• 18:17
  Instagram or they saw on YouTube,
• 18:20
  they saw Cletus and they
• 18:22
  went, oh, Cletus does events,
• 18:23
  I'm gonna be cool like
• 18:24
  him or whatever it might be.
• 18:27
  It's kind of not the best move.
• 18:29
  And I suppose there's a number of people
• 18:33
  that know who I am these days,
• 18:37
  but I'm fine being the
• 18:40
  guy back behind the curtain.
• 18:41
  I'm just doing all the
• 18:43
  things to try and be good at it
• 18:46
  and then deliver when these clients,
• 18:49
  when our clients need something
• 18:51
  and Jeep being primary among them,
• 18:54
  although recently doing
• 18:55
  some more stuff with Ram
• 18:57
  and we just, we love
• 18:59
  working with all these folks.
• 19:00
  So that's kind of how
• 19:01
  it ends up developing.
• 19:03
  And you say yes too often, Tony,
• 19:05
  when you say yes, they call you more.
• 19:08
  Well, that's good.
• 19:09
  So I'm gonna go out on a limb here
• 19:11
  and I believe this is true
• 19:12
  based on our prior
• 19:13
  conversations and stuff.
• 19:15
  You're not doing
• 19:15
  events to be the cool guy.
• 19:17
  You're not doing events so that you,
• 19:20
  I mean, certainly you
• 19:21
  make income from it,
• 19:23
  but you're doing the events
• 19:24
  because it gives you the
• 19:26
  ability to be involved in things
• 19:28
  that you love, that you really enjoy.
• 19:31
  And I think too, for
• 19:32
  me anyway, it would be,
• 19:34
  I get to talk to people off the record
• 19:37
  and find out what's
• 19:38
  going on about the subjects
• 19:39
  that I'm really interested in.
• 19:41
  Now I'm not telling
• 19:42
  you to give us any info.
• 19:43
  I'm just saying, I
• 19:44
  think you get to get some,
• 19:45
  a lot of good background information
• 19:47
  about what's really
• 19:48
  going on in the industry.
• 19:50
  There's no doubt.
• 19:51
  And does that inform
• 19:54
  our business decisions
• 19:56
  as we work with various clients?
• 19:58
  Yes, of course it does.
• 19:59
  Does that give us insights
• 20:01
  into what consumers are thinking?
• 20:05
  Like tip of the spear
• 20:06
  level of consumer insights?
• 20:08
  Absolutely it does.
• 20:10
  Cause we're right
• 20:11
  there in the mix with them.
• 20:12
  I get to hear what they have to say,
• 20:15
  Chris would tell you at my own events,
• 20:18
  I walk around and try to talk,
• 20:20
  obviously when there's thousands and
• 20:22
  thousands of people,
• 20:22
  I don't talk to everybody,
• 20:24
  but I try to talk to a lot of people.
• 20:26
  And I think just as importantly,
• 20:27
  try to talk to every
• 20:29
  vendor, every partner,
• 20:30
  every sponsor that we
• 20:31
  have at these events
• 20:33
  and see what they're thinking.
• 20:34
  And it seems to pay dividends
• 20:38
  and it means we get some calls
• 20:39
  and get to be involved
• 20:40
  in some great projects.
• 20:42
  But yeah, being a little
• 20:45
  bit lighthearted about this,
• 20:46
  I think sometimes
• 20:48
  these OEMs kind of use us
• 20:50
  because we have not just an off-road part
• 20:56
  and all of that,
• 20:57
  but because we do have
• 21:00
  insights into real data points.
• 21:04
  Not the stuff that they
• 21:06
  look at on a spreadsheet,
• 21:07
  not an Excel spreadsheet
• 21:08
  worth of this many clicks
• 21:10
  and all that stuff,
• 21:11
  but real consumer interactions.
• 21:14
  And I think our efforts to
• 21:17
  try to teach off-road 101
• 21:19
  a good bet and bring new people in
• 21:22
  that are intimidated to get in
• 21:25
  also is a great point of entry as well.
• 21:28
  Well, that's a relationship that is,
• 21:31
  it solidifies the
• 21:32
  relationship between you and them.
• 21:34
  Anytime you can teach somebody something
• 21:36
  and they're terrified and
• 21:37
  they come out of it thinking,
• 21:39
  that wasn't that bad.
• 21:40
  That was fun, that was exciting.
• 21:42
  Pretty much everybody
• 21:43
  loves a roller coaster.
• 21:44
  I love a roller coaster that you can
• 21:46
  control a lot better
• 21:47
  because I don't know how the roller
• 21:49
  coaster was engineered.
• 21:51
  Is it gonna come apart?
• 21:53
  Fair point, like an airplane, right?
• 21:55
  Exactly, so at least
• 21:57
  if I'm in control of it,
• 21:58
  I have a feel for the machine.
• 22:02
  All right, so you mentioned events.
• 22:04
  Now, we're gonna talk about your events
• 22:07
  that you have coming up.
• 22:08
  And I know you have one
• 22:09
  coming up in September.
• 22:10
  Chris is gonna be there.
• 22:11
  So how did the events happen?
• 22:15
  How did it happen initially?
• 22:16
  Did somebody say, hey,
• 22:18
  I got a piece of land,
• 22:19
  let's put on a show.
• 22:21
  I mean, was it
• 22:22
  somebody, was it a corporation
• 22:24
  that said let's do
• 22:25
  this or you got trainers?
• 22:27
  Will this get people out here?
• 22:28
  I mean, how did you come
• 22:29
  up with your first event?
• 22:32
  Well, that goes way, way, way, way back.
• 22:35
  I was, we had a couple of
• 22:37
  power sports dealerships
• 22:38
  and we sponsored events
• 22:41
  like so many dealerships,
• 22:43
  power sports or automotive
• 22:45
  dealership sponsor events.
• 22:47
  And we came back from
• 22:49
  another event that was not good.
• 22:53
  And literally I kinda, I said to myself
• 22:56
  and to some of the team, I'm like,
• 22:59
  we're gonna do our own events.
• 23:02
  And of course, those
• 23:04
  around me looked at me like,
• 23:05
  wait, how do we do that?
• 23:09
  And honestly, I didn't know either.
• 23:10
  So it was born a
• 23:12
  little bit out of, you know,
• 23:15
  naive or cockiness or whatever,
• 23:17
  but we just started trying.
• 23:20
  And then along that path
• 23:22
  had some amazing mentors,
• 23:24
  had some failures.
• 23:27
  Of course.
• 23:29
  Yeah, but that's how you learn, right?
• 23:31
  Exactly.
• 23:34
  But had some great
• 23:35
  people that mentored me,
• 23:38
  a couple that attempted
• 23:41
  to give me sound advice
• 23:42
  that I didn't listen
• 23:43
  to from time to time.
• 23:46
  Of course.
• 23:46
  For those that may end
• 23:47
  up listening to this,
• 23:48
  they'll know who they are.
• 23:51
  (laughing) And so it just kinda grew.
• 23:53
  And fortunately ended up
• 23:55
  being able to get involved
• 23:58
  in some really amazing things.
• 23:59
  A great mentor of mine, Eric Parenard,
• 24:03
  ended up getting me
• 24:04
  involved in things like X Games
• 24:06
  and events with Red Bull
• 24:08
  that we ended up putting on
• 24:09
  and all these things.
• 24:10
  And in the absence of
• 24:12
  him and other people,
• 24:14
  I don't know that I would
• 24:15
  have ever figured it out
• 24:16
  on my own, seriously.
• 24:18
  I don't know.
• 24:19
  And then, you know,
• 24:21
  the off-road park thing
• 24:23
  was kinda born from guilt.
• 24:26
  Because, well, you
• 24:27
  brought it up when we started.
• 24:30
  As a kid, allegedly,
• 24:32
  we're back to allegedly, Tony,
• 24:34
  I may have snuck into a few gravel pits
• 24:36
  to ride dirt bikes and other things.
• 24:39
  So when this off-road park
• 24:41
  thing was brought up to me,
• 24:42
  I'm like, I need to help out and do
• 24:44
  whatever I can with this
• 24:46
  and do my best to try
• 24:50
  and bring some cool events
• 24:51
  and do fun things for this opportunity.
• 24:55
  And so that's where
• 24:57
  that was kinda born from.
• 24:59
  Because I was that,
• 25:01
  you know, kinda dumb kid
• 25:03
  that would sneak in,
• 25:04
  rip around on my dirt bike
• 25:06
  until somebody chased me out
• 25:08
  and then find a different way in.
• 25:11
  That's a spirit of adventure.
• 25:14
  Yes.
• 25:14
  And I don't think that, I mean,
• 25:16
  I know legally and
• 25:19
  morally and all that stuff,
• 25:21
  but we need people that
• 25:22
  have that spirit of adventure.
• 25:25
  And if you have a park
• 25:26
  that you can go to, wonderful.
• 25:28
  Sometimes you just wanna be bad
• 25:31
  or you just wanna have it convenient.
• 25:33
  This is right here, I
• 25:35
  think I can get away with it.
• 25:36
  And I'm not saying that you should do it.
• 25:38
  You know, I have to
• 25:39
  do the liability thing.
• 25:40
  I'm not saying you
• 25:41
  should do it, but come on.
• 25:43
  That's what young people do.
• 25:46
  They have that spirit of adventure.
• 25:47
  And it often, if you survive,
• 25:50
  it often makes the
• 25:52
  world a lot better place.
• 25:54
  Like what you've done.
• 25:56
  Well, I would use as examples of that,
• 26:00
  number one, if you
• 26:01
  are in an off-road park,
• 26:05
  which certainly doesn't qualify as a
• 26:06
  controlled environment,
• 26:08
  but it's an appropriate environment
• 26:09
  for some level of shenanigans.
• 26:11
  Yes.
• 26:14
  That's great.
• 26:15
  Where it all goes wrong is
• 26:17
  when we do so on public lands
• 26:20
  or in ways that affect other
• 26:22
  people in a very negative way
• 26:25
  or ruins whatever fun it is
• 26:27
  that they're having and so on,
• 26:32
  that's not good.
• 26:33
  And worst of all in this moment,
• 26:35
  because it's especially evident today,
• 26:38
  is the idea of land
• 26:41
  trails getting shut down.
• 26:44
  In some cases, because
• 26:45
  of a lack of funding,
• 26:46
  in some cases, there's lots of reasons,
• 26:49
  but there's no question
• 26:50
  that there are some negatives out there.
• 26:52
  Sometimes it's the
• 26:53
  side-by-side community.
• 26:56
  That doesn't mean the Jeep community
• 26:58
  gets off scot-free in
• 26:59
  that because I've seen-
• 27:00
  No, no, they do, they're cool.
• 27:02
  It's the side-by-sides, I agree with you.
• 27:03
  And the Broncos, maybe
• 27:05
  a Prius here and there.
• 27:07
  Prius, we don't see that often.
• 27:10
  They're quick. But there's no question.
• 27:11
  They're in and out very quick.
• 27:13
  Yeah, quietly too, I heard.
• 27:14
  Exactly. I don't know.
• 27:17
  But I will say that,
• 27:20
  if you divided up 1,000
• 27:23
  incidents that led to,
• 27:27
  let's say law enforcement being involved
• 27:29
  or things like that,
• 27:31
  there would be a much higher percentage
• 27:33
  that involved side-by-sides.
• 27:35
  And I'm not blaming side-by-side owners.
• 27:40
  In many cases, it's
• 27:41
  literally an element of education
• 27:44
  because look, I operated
• 27:47
  power sports dealerships
• 27:48
  for many, many years.
• 27:51
  I know for sure I had
• 27:52
  salespeople on the floor that said,
• 27:55
  "Man, this thing will rip, it's super
• 27:59
  fast, they're great.
• 28:00
  "You can go anywhere in it."
• 28:03
  Well, if you go buy one, your
• 28:06
  salesperson just told you that,
• 28:08
  what are you gonna go do?
• 28:09
  Yeah.
• 28:11
  Gonna go do that.
• 28:12
  And a lot of people in
• 28:13
  the side-by-side world
• 28:14
  are completely new to
• 28:16
  this off-road space.
• 28:18
  So I don't wanna sound like I'm defending
• 28:21
  side-by-side owners,
• 28:22
  because we're on Jeep Talk Show.
• 28:24
  But the fact of the matter is
• 28:26
  there's an education element
• 28:27
  across all of it and
• 28:28
  that's maybe a police step.
• 28:29
  I mean, what are you gonna do?
• 28:31
  Again, it's that sense of adventure.
• 28:33
  Are you gonna go and ask somebody?
• 28:35
  And back whenever we were
• 28:36
  kids, there was no internet.
• 28:38
  There was nothing, nobody really to ask.
• 28:41
  There wasn't a lot of off-road stuff.
• 28:42
  Or if there was, they
• 28:45
  were too cool to talk to me.
• 28:47
  So, I mean, how are you gonna learn?
• 28:49
  So right now, and this
• 28:50
  is one of the reasons why
• 28:51
  we try to say, for
• 28:52
  tread lightly, do it right.
• 28:55
  If you pack it in, pack it out,
• 28:56
  the Blue Ribbon
• 28:57
  Coalition, all that stuff,
• 28:59
  because we wanna keep the lands open.
• 29:01
  Because a lot of people,
• 29:03
  they're not off-road people.
• 29:04
  They don't even think people
• 29:05
  should be walking on stuff out there.
• 29:07
  It should be pristine.
• 29:09
  It's not for the ugly people to be out
• 29:11
  there, not even them.
• 29:12
  And they wanna shut it all down.
• 29:13
  So for that reason alone,
• 29:15
  we try to educate people,
• 29:17
  and we don't do it often
• 29:18
  enough, about what to do
• 29:19
  and make sure that you
• 29:20
  don't give them any ammunition
• 29:23
  to shut a trail down.
• 29:24
  Well, I think that
• 29:25
  nails it really effectively.
• 29:27
  Let's not give those who are inclined
• 29:31
  to not want motorized recreation anywhere
• 29:34
  ammunition to shoot us with.
• 29:36
  Right.
• 29:38
  That's not a good thing.
• 29:39
  And it's, you know, and
• 29:41
  there are great organizations
• 29:43
  out there, obviously,
• 29:44
  I'm tread lightly biased,
• 29:47
  because I'm on the board,
• 29:48
  but there's lots of
• 29:49
  great organizations out there
• 29:50
  trying to do the right thing
• 29:53
  and trying to
• 29:55
  preserve those opportunities.
• 29:57
  And some of it has to be
• 29:58
  done by way of education.
• 30:00
  There is probably a time and a place
• 30:03
  from in certain circumstances
• 30:05
  where legal action is necessary.
• 30:09
  It's not what we do at tread lightly.
• 30:10
  It's not how I wanna view the world,
• 30:12
  but, you know, there's a
• 30:14
  time and place for everything.
• 30:16
  And I think that the
• 30:19
  moves being made also by SEMA
• 30:24
  in parallel in partnership,
• 30:26
  or now completely taking over ORBA,
• 30:30
  also have lots of
• 30:31
  opportunities to engage at that level.
• 30:33
  And everybody's gonna have a
• 30:36
  role in what happens out there.
• 30:39
  And I think that we've got
• 30:40
  some unique opportunities
• 30:42
  to be very engaged and do better,
• 30:45
  I guess is the best way to say it,
• 30:47
  to help preserve these public lands.
• 30:50
  And by the way, to
• 30:50
  your point, public lands.
• 30:54
  Yeah, that means all of us folks.
• 30:57
  Exactly.
• 30:58
  Not a very small vocal minority
• 31:01
  that don't want this or don't want that.
• 31:03
  That doesn't mean we
• 31:04
  take over all of it either,
• 31:05
  but man, there's a lot of
• 31:07
  ways that we can all enjoy
• 31:09
  all of our recreational
• 31:11
  pursuits and have a great time.
• 31:12
  So I'll get off my soapbox now.
• 31:14
  Yeah, it should be for everybody.
• 31:16
  And if you don't wanna go out there,
• 31:18
  is this like you were
• 31:18
  talking about going to EJS
• 31:20
  or just going to Moab when it's not EJS,
• 31:23
  if you don't want to be
• 31:24
  a part of it, don't go.
• 31:26
  If you don't wanna be off road,
• 31:28
  I mean, just hiking, don't go.
• 31:30
  Bicycle, motorcycle, whatever, don't go.
• 31:33
  But don't make it, don't
• 31:34
  take it away from everybody else
• 31:36
  that does wanna use the earth.
• 31:39
  And anyway, yeah, don't get me started.
• 31:42
  So let's talk about events.
• 31:45
  You have an event coming
• 31:46
  up next month, September.
• 31:49
  That's the next event for you?
• 31:51
  Yeah, here, I'll make
• 31:53
  this super funny for you.
• 31:55
  And my wife does not think
• 31:57
  it's my most intelligent move,
• 31:58
  but we actually have
• 32:00
  back-to-back weekends of events.
• 32:03
  We have a big event here in Detroit
• 32:04
  called Cars at the Station,
• 32:06
  down at the Michigan Central Station.
• 32:08
  About 20,000 people
• 32:10
  show up, it's amazing.
• 32:12
  Just a giant festival of car culture.
• 32:15
  And what better place
• 32:17
  than in Detroit, right?
• 32:19
  So we've got that one
• 32:22
  followed immediately
• 32:23
  by Detroit Forefest
• 32:25
  the following weekend,
• 32:27
  near and dear to everybody's heart.
• 32:28
  Detroit Forefest powered
• 32:29
  by Jeep is a big one for us
• 32:34
  is a little bit more complex in many ways
• 32:38
  than our cars at the station event
• 32:40
  in the sense that we have
• 32:43
  rock racing competition.
• 32:45
  We have bands, yeah, NRA,
• 32:49
  National Rock Racing Association
• 32:52
  is partnering with us this year.
• 32:53
  So we'll have an NRRA
• 32:55
  event happening all throughout
• 32:59
  the mix of Detroit Forefest.
• 33:01
  So that's a pretty exciting piece.
• 33:04
  Plus all the things that Jeep does there
• 33:06
  and a hundred plus off-road
• 33:09
  vendors and music and food
• 33:13
  and all of the things it
• 33:14
  makes for an amazing day.
• 33:16
  Most important, nearest
• 33:17
  and dearest to my heart,
• 33:18
  the fact that everybody is
• 33:20
  out on trail and enjoying
• 33:22
  and trying to do
• 33:24
  really fun things out there
• 33:25
  with their Jeeps.
• 33:26
  And so we just, I love
• 33:30
  it after that weekend.
• 33:33
  Anybody in my circle will acknowledge
• 33:36
  we've got one corporate
• 33:37
  event the following week
• 33:39
  and then I'm going to
• 33:40
  disappear probably somewhere in Moab.
• 33:43
  Oh, nice, good.
• 33:45
  So on the event thing,
• 33:47
  you mentioned the 101.
• 33:49
  Are you gonna have 101 going on
• 33:51
  at the next Forefest
• 33:52
  event there at Hollyoaks?
• 33:55
  Absolutely, last year, hope
• 33:59
  none of my team gets mad at me
• 34:00
  because I don't remember the exact count.
• 34:02
  It was a, we did in excess of 200
• 34:05
  off-road 101 courses.
• 34:08
  And kudos to my amazing team,
• 34:13
  the folks at Wicked
• 34:15
  Jeeps, it's a Jeep club,
• 34:17
  are a gigantic help.
• 34:19
  I won't call out any names that stand out
• 34:22
  because they'll be embarrassed,
• 34:23
  but the whole team does a great job.
• 34:26
  We've got amazing instructors and the
• 34:28
  number of compliments
• 34:30
  that we get for doing that is,
• 34:34
  it's as I've said
• 34:36
  earlier, very, very heartwarming
• 34:37
  and we love welcoming new people in.
• 34:39
  And we look at who becomes a Jeeper
• 34:44
  and we look at, did they
• 34:47
  come back the next year?
• 34:48
  Did they become one of us?
• 34:50
  Are they continuing to participate
• 34:52
  in a surprisingly high
• 34:53
  percentage become one of us?
• 34:57
  Yeah, so if people wanna,
• 35:01
  is it too late to get
• 35:02
  set up to go to the event?
• 35:04
  I mean, do you still have openings?
• 35:05
  And if they go over to
• 35:08
  forefestevents.com or they can,
• 35:11
  is there other tickets?
• 35:12
  How do you, what do you do as far as
• 35:14
  not only going to the event,
• 35:15
  but getting signed up to do the 101,
• 35:17
  if that's what's
• 35:19
  something that you might wanna do?
• 35:20
  Yep, they can do both on the website,
• 35:23
  very straightforward,
• 35:24
  super easy to register.
• 35:26
  I will say this, register early.
• 35:30
  As Chris may have told you
• 35:33
  at our Detroit
• 35:34
  Winterfest event this year,
• 35:37
  we had to cut it off.
• 35:38
  We literally just, it's a great thing.
• 35:43
  We could not have more
• 35:45
  people attend the event.
• 35:47
  And so we're conscious of the idea of,
• 35:51
  you know, safe and
• 35:53
  effective and all that.
• 35:54
  And we want a giant crowd of people
• 35:56
  and we can handle a lot, a lot of people,
• 35:59
  but there is a gigantic interest
• 36:01
  in being part of these off-road events.
• 36:05
  And obviously the Jeep
• 36:07
  community, as you're well aware,
• 36:08
  is a very strong community,
• 36:11
  particularly here in Southeast Michigan.
• 36:14
  We have one of the strongest Jeep
• 36:16
  communities in the country
• 36:18
  and it helps being 20 minutes
• 36:20
  from Jeep
• 36:21
  headquarters as well, of course.
• 36:22
  Oh yeah, no.
• 36:23
  And the new Jeepers
• 36:24
  are born all the time.
• 36:26
  They get off their dead ass
• 36:27
  and get that Jeep that
• 36:28
  they've always wanted.
• 36:30
  I think most everybody wants a Jeep
• 36:32
  at some point in their life
• 36:34
  and they don't get it
• 36:35
  because it's impractical,
• 36:36
  it's a gas guzzler,
• 36:38
  people are gonna make fun of me
• 36:39
  because of midlife crisis or something.
• 36:41
  The
• 36:42
  (beep)
• 36:42
  with them, get a Jeep, enjoy it,
• 36:45
  see what it'll do.
• 36:47
  Yeah, we tend to approach that
• 36:49
  from a little different angle
• 36:50
  and we make fun of those
• 36:52
  people that don't have a Jeep.
• 36:53
  So just for whatever reason.
• 36:55
  I was just gonna ask you on the 101,
• 36:57
  because I know you got people out there
• 36:58
  that aren't in Jeeps.
• 36:59
  Do you have the trainers say,
• 37:01
  "You know, this would be a
• 37:02
  lot more fun with a Jeep.
• 37:03
  Here's a card to help you out."
• 37:07
  I'm not gonna dive
• 37:08
  into some of the things
• 37:09
  that may get said.
• 37:12
  We did have a lady and
• 37:14
  I was witness to this.
• 37:15
  I tried to show up at the beginning
• 37:18
  of at least one of the classes
• 37:19
  because I just love
• 37:20
  engaging with these folks.
• 37:22
  We had a lady, we were just asking,
• 37:26
  how many of you are off-roaders?
• 37:28
  How many of you have been off-road?
• 37:31
  How many of you have had
• 37:32
  your Jeep in four-wheel drive?
• 37:34
  Those kinds of questions.
• 37:36
  And I asked the group that was there
• 37:39
  and it had to be 25 or
• 37:40
  30 people in this group.
• 37:43
  And I said, "How many of
• 37:44
  you have used your lockers?"
• 37:46
  And we had a very
• 37:47
  enthusiastic lady step up
• 37:49
  and she said, "I use
• 37:50
  mine every single day."
• 37:53
  And of course I
• 37:54
  immediately responded and went,
• 37:56
  "Wait, you, what?"
• 37:59
  And she said, "Yeah, even
• 38:01
  when my Jeep is in the garage,
• 38:03
  I hit the lockers
• 38:04
  when I pull it in there.
• 38:05
  Whenever I get to
• 38:06
  work, I hit the lockers."
• 38:09
  And as you might guess, I went,
• 38:13
  "Thank God."
• 38:13
  Today we're gonna learn
• 38:14
  about some other lockers as well.
• 38:17
  Yep.
• 38:18
  That's why she has a big name, Chirpy.
• 38:22
  (laughs)
• 38:25
  It was a wonderful moment and
• 38:29
  she's been back, by the way.
• 38:31
  So she became one of us and I'm positive
• 38:36
  that she will never
• 38:37
  ever hold up her key fob
• 38:40
  and tell everybody that
• 38:41
  she was using her lockers.
• 38:43
  There's a scene on a house.
• 38:45
  House is just one, he's
• 38:47
  such an arrogant, smart
• 38:48
  (beep)
• 38:49
  I love him.
• 38:49
  So there's a scene on
• 38:51
  house where the inhaler
• 38:53
  that this lady was
• 38:54
  using, she was complaining
• 38:56
  because it wasn't helping her.
• 38:57
  He goes, "Can you show me
• 38:58
  how you use the inhaler?"
• 39:00
  And she goes, "I know
• 39:01
  how to use an inhaler."
• 39:02
  He goes, "Humer me."
• 39:03
  And she was doing it like perfume.
• 39:04
  (laughs)
• 39:10
  If you don't know, you don't know.
• 39:12
  It's important to know how things work.
• 39:15
  I rest my case, there you go.
• 39:18
  So anyway, it's fun that we
• 39:20
  get to do this with people
• 39:23
  and that we get to engage them.
• 39:25
  Lots and lots and lots of
• 39:28
  females, lots of husbands
• 39:31
  that just step off to the side and say,
• 39:33
  "She wants to learn.
• 39:34
  This is amazing."
• 39:36
  So it's great.
• 39:37
  Yeah.
• 39:38
  All right, so four Fest events coming up.
• 39:39
  What do you got after,
• 39:41
  what was the dates on that?
• 39:43
  September, is it 15th?
• 39:44
  September 18th and 19th.
• 39:46
  18th and 19th.
• 39:47
  It's at Holly Oaks.
• 39:48
  Tell me the magic about Holly Oaks.
• 39:49
  One of the reasons why it's so popular
• 39:51
  is because it's very close
• 39:53
  to a densely populated area.
• 39:55
  So people don't have to drive a long ways
• 39:58
  to play with their jeeps.
• 39:59
  Well, that's a great way to explain it.
• 40:02
  It is really the only
• 40:05
  suburban off-road park in America.
• 40:09
  This park is literally
• 40:11
  located in a suburb of Detroit
• 40:14
  and naturally Detroit, the Motor City,
• 40:17
  cars, all that stuff.
• 40:19
  But around the five
• 40:21
  county area or six county area,
• 40:23
  I think maybe we call
• 40:24
  it six counties now,
• 40:26
  there's something on the
• 40:28
  order of 4 million people.
• 40:30
  Right.
• 40:30
  And it gives them a
• 40:32
  playground that even if you're
• 40:34
  on the outskirts of that
• 40:35
  is perhaps 90 minutes away.
• 40:38
  Right.
• 40:40
  The great news for us is that that event
• 40:43
  has now built into
• 40:44
  something where we have people
• 40:46
  from I'm not sure, 16, 17
• 40:48
  states and Canada as well.
• 40:52
  We love welcoming our Canadian friends.
• 40:54
  I don't know if we're
• 40:55
  as welcome there anymore,
• 40:56
  but we welcome them with open arms.
• 40:58
  So are there tariffs?
• 41:00
  Do you charge them tariffs
• 41:01
  when they come into the park?
• 41:02
  No Canadian, no tariffs,
• 41:04
  no anything, just open arms.
• 41:06
  If you're one of us, you're welcome here.
• 41:10
  Often say Jim Orson is a great guy.
• 41:13
  The only problem he has
• 41:14
  for me was he was Canadian.
• 41:18
  Oh, he still is.
• 41:19
  Oh, is he?
• 41:20
  And we love to tease him a little bit
• 41:25
  about his Canadianism.
• 41:28
  I will say this in defense of my
• 41:31
  wonderful friend, Jim,
• 41:35
  and we love him dearly.
• 41:37
  He is not very Canadian
• 41:40
  in an awful lot of respects
• 41:43
  and certainly is well adapted to loving,
• 41:50
  all things America.
• 41:52
  Oh, of course.
• 41:52
  And obviously you know
• 41:53
  where he is stayed and remains.
• 41:56
  So I think that's the
• 41:57
  strongest indicator I can give you
• 42:00
  as to his loyalties and his affinity
• 42:04
  to particularly Metro Detroit.
• 42:06
  Yeah, so I know you
• 42:08
  speak with Jim occasionally.
• 42:10
  I wish Jim was back at Jeep.
• 42:11
  Jeep has done a lot
• 42:12
  of good stuff recently
• 42:14
  in getting rid of the
• 42:15
  European guy that was in charge
• 42:17
  and trying to make Jeep
• 42:18
  into a luxury vehicle.
• 42:20
  They seem to be a lot more Jeepy,
• 42:23
  appreciative of Jeep
• 42:24
  people than what they were.
• 42:26
  But if they really want to do it right,
• 42:27
  they get Jim back in
• 42:28
  there because I trusted Jim.
• 42:30
  Jim did a really, he was a Jeeper and
• 42:34
  I've said it before,
• 42:35
  I want the person that's in
• 42:37
  charge of my Jeep being built
• 42:39
  and future Jeeps that
• 42:40
  I'll buy to be somebody
• 42:42
  that understands the Jeeper
• 42:44
  and understands why we like having Jeeps.
• 42:47
  So and let him know we'd
• 42:49
  love to get him on the show
• 42:51
  here anytime in the
• 42:52
  future, anytime it's a different.
• 42:53
  I'm gonna talk with him here very soon
• 42:56
  and grateful that he and
• 42:58
  I still get to solve some
• 43:00
  of the problems of the
• 43:01
  world from time to time
• 43:02
  over lunch and so on.
• 43:03
  But in fairness, we
• 43:07
  won't mention his name,
• 43:08
  but the individual, the former CEO,
• 43:13
  I can't think of anything great to say.
• 43:17
  But the team that is
• 43:20
  assembled and is working now,
• 43:24
  I'm very, very grateful for and impressed
• 43:28
  with the directions that they're taking.
• 43:30
  And I feel as though things are in.
• 43:34
  It makes it, there's a difference.
• 43:35
  You can tell.
• 43:36
  You can tell even
• 43:37
  down here, you can tell.
• 43:38
  And prayers for Bob.
• 43:39
  I mean, Bob and his cancer
• 43:41
  diagnosis, that's horrible.
• 43:43
  I hope he comes out of
• 43:44
  that with flying colors.
• 43:46
  All right, Tom, you're a busy man
• 43:48
  and we need to let you
• 43:50
  get on to your next thing.
• 43:52
  So we mentioned forefest.com.
• 43:54
  I did wanna mention treadlightly.org.
• 43:57
  That's a good organization
• 43:58
  to be a part of, to donate to.
• 44:01
  If you're out at EJS, you
• 44:02
  can sign up to go out there
• 44:03
  and help the tread
• 44:04
  lightly, do a trail cleanup
• 44:06
  and put up fences and all kinds of things
• 44:08
  that the Jeep Talks has been a part of
• 44:10
  for several trips out there.
• 44:13
  You've carried fence posts personally.
• 44:18
  No, the guys give me a hard time saying,
• 44:21
  what you were supposed to be helping.
• 44:22
  I said, I was smoozing
• 44:24
  with the goober smoochers.
• 44:25
  I was talking to people
• 44:26
  about this show and stuff.
• 44:27
  So I'm not gonna claim I
• 44:29
  did any work out there.
• 44:31
  Okay, well, next time I'm gonna hold you
• 44:33
  to a very high standard in that regard.
• 44:36
  But yeah, thank you for
• 44:37
  mentioning all those things.
• 44:39
  We're just grateful to be
• 44:40
  part of this amazing community.
• 44:41
  And it's wonderful to
• 44:45
  see all of those things.
• 44:46
  And keep in mind,
• 44:47
  tread lightly has events,
• 44:51
  has trail cleanups, has
• 44:54
  projects, building projects,
• 44:55
  all that stuff all over the country.
• 44:57
  In fact, I'm gonna go
• 44:59
  have dinner with James Boyd,
• 45:02
  the executive director here momentarily.
• 45:04
  And then we will be headed down to,
• 45:08
  plugging somebody else's event here,
• 45:10
  but headed down to the Toledo Jeep Fest.
• 45:13
  Chris is gonna be there.
• 45:15
  And Chris and I
• 45:17
  already talked about that.
• 45:19
  And we will be plotting and conspiring
• 45:22
  the whole time we're there.
• 45:23
  And just love being part of all of it.
• 45:26
  And love plugging anybody's Jeep event,
• 45:29
  because we love them all
• 45:31
  and wanna be in all of them.
• 45:32
  So I'll give you a warning.
• 45:33
  He has a inflatable
• 45:35
  camper on his gladiator.
• 45:37
  Make sure the door stays open.
• 45:39
  That's all I'm gonna say.
• 45:41
  If you go in there.
• 45:42
  (laughs)
• 45:43
  He had it out at Hollyoaks last week.
• 45:46
  The camper you made?
• 45:48
  Yeah, I was very suspect of
• 45:49
  what he had going on there.
• 45:50
  So I had one of the
• 45:52
  guys go flag him and say,
• 45:54
  "Hey, what are you up to?"
• 45:55
  If the discall ball is on,
• 45:57
  you don't wanna be in there.
• 45:59
  All right, Tom, I'm gonna let you run.
• 46:01
  Thanks so much,
• 46:02
  forefest.com, treadlightly.org.
• 46:05
  You got anything else that
• 46:06
  you need people to go to?
• 46:08
  No, let's yeah, keep
• 46:10
  going out on the trail.
• 46:11
  Keep being part of the community
• 46:13
  and have a great time out off-roading.
• 46:15
  So many cool places to go.
• 46:17
  I haven't seen them all,
• 46:18
  but I'm trying really hard.
• 46:20
  And until we see you
• 46:21
  again, Tony, thank you.
• 46:22
  You're my friend, you're my new friend.
• 46:26
  I'll let the video
• 46:27
  stabilize a little bit.
• 46:28
  I've noticed that when I first start,
• 46:30
  it's a little choppy.
• 46:32
  So I wanna give it a second here.
• 46:35
  Usually I just dive right in.
• 46:37
  Nothing worse than an
• 46:38
  unstable video or an unstable guest.
• 46:41
  Great to date though.
• 46:42
  Women, unstable women are great to date.
• 46:45
  Tipperarily, short-
• 46:46
  For a minute.
• 46:47
  Yes. Just for a minute.
• 46:48
  Well, I don't like to
• 46:49
  brag, but at least two minutes.
• 46:51
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• 46:54
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• 46:55
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