Latest / The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast / #86: Charles Oliver-AAU T&F National Chairman

Transcript

#86: Charles Oliver-AAU T&F National Chairman · The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

0:05
Welcome to the Orthotics connections podcast.
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I'm your host Mike Cunningham national sales manager for Gil
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Athletics. Our goal today is to connect you
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with coaches, from around the world, to learn their Journey.
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Share their stories, and just figure out who they are and what
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they're all about. So, without further Ado, let's
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get on and find out what today's guest has in store for us.
0:31
Alright, and welcome back. Once again, another awesome week
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here in the brand new year, can't believe it's 20, 21, but
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welcome back here to the Gill Athletics connections, podcast,
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excited for today's guest, you've already seen them on the
0:44
description here. I'm just going to get right into
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it because he's a dear friend, a mentor if you will.
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I'm just so blessed to have this guy on the podcast today.
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Help me. Welcome coach.
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Oh, mr. Charles Oliver.
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Charles. How are you, sir?
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I'm doing good. I'm doing well, and I appreciate
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the opportunity to be on here with you Mike.
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So do I call you Charles to call you?
1:03
Mr. Oliver? Kocho, what's what's our moniker
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for? For today's conversation?
1:09
I am coach owes more than fine this morning.
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All right, good good. That's how everybody knows, you,
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I'll sometimes mention your name and they're like, yeah, and I
1:17
like yeah, coach. Oh, oh, coach.
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Oh, that's awesome. So, Charles again.
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So thankful and grateful, you'd be with us.
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Today, you know, we you and I have known each other.
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I don't know. I'm pretty sure as ever since I
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was at Troy University. So over 20 years and have seen
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you do a bunch of different things and have been blessed to
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work with you on some different projects and stuff.
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So I'm excited to kind of peel back the layers of the onion
1:44
here and get to learn more about you and your history in our
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great sport today. All right.
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I'm looking forward to it. Well, let's start with today.
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You are you have an interesting position.
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You always have interesting. You don't do anything.
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That's boring. I've noticed that's that's one
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thing. I have known for the 20 years.
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I've known you. But in today's roll, one of your
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roles is Chairman National chairman of AA, you track and
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field for us that maybe you don't know a lot about a you and
2:13
specifically, a you track and field outside of it's been
2:16
around forever. It's a juggernaut in our sport.
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Tell us about they you track and field and your role as the
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national chairman for track. Okay.
2:24
Well, my role is National chairman for track and field.
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The first of all, I'll say that we currently have a little over
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63, you know, thousand youth ages, you know, five to
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eighteen, my position, as I see, it is to provide Direction and
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guidance for the Youth of America.
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We truly believe that we are developmental program for up for
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track and field here in this country.
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Everybody, you know, especially in this.
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Upcoming years and Olympic year. And everybody is watching
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Olympic Games and want to be a gold medalist, you know, and all
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that. But you don't start at the
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Finish Line, you know, and we want people to realize that
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although you don't start to finish on there is a starting
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line and we pride ourselves on being the start line and getting
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kids involved and developing them to where they can go on and
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be, you know, successful one not only just in the sport of track
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and field but also in every aspect, you know, of life.
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So my role is to provide developmental programs, you
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know, in this dire our kids in Positive Directions and there's
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some people, you know, as we get into the conversation at that
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that you met while you know, and in Troy that provided that type
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of Direction, you know, for me. And I'm so appreciative of all
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of that and I keep all of them, you know, in my thought
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processes and I utilize those experiences to try to pass it
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on, you know, to the Youth of America.
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That's a Unique portion of a you versus like I don't want to come
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and competitors but maybe a in the same vein the usatf series.
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So, you know, they have Youth and of course Masters and such.
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But you on a you side Focus only on the 15 to 18 year olds when I
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will focus is on is on the on the youth 5 to 18 within the
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last five. Six years since I've been
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National chairman, you know, we implemented an opening Masters
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division, you know also, okay, we can actually provide
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programs, you know, for all age groups.
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So we say, you know, from five-year-olds, you know, all
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the way up. You know that there is something
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up under the, a you, you know, umbrella, you know, for you and
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just trying to, you know, be a an entity that's there, you
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know, for the sport instead of waiting on a polished
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individual, you know, to come. Us we're trying to provide the
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groundwork to, you know, the foundation for the future.
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Say I wasn't aware of the the Masters portion of a you because
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I'm still so young and young at heart.
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So I don't, you know, I'm not there just yet.
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I'm still a feel like in my wife, accuses me.
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Sometimes it still acting like I'm in the five-year-old
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category. So that's that's more where my
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realm is, but I do love how you put that though about everybody
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wants to become the gold medalist or whatnot.
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Whatever your goal is. A goal is at the finish line.
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But you don't start there. You have to start at the start
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line and they you provides that that start line.
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I love that. We, I'm so glad.
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Well. I was gonna say so, talk to me
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about you said, you've been the chairman now for the past five
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or six years. So tell me about your start line
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of becoming the chairman. Well, I, it it goes back on.
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I'm trying to turn the seed to be the national chairman.
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I think it goes back to when I was actually the Au Junior
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Olympic Games, meet director working at University of
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Tennessee. A, you came to Knoxville and a
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part of my job, as at the University of Tennessee.
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And at this time, I had got out of coaching out and I was in the
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event management, so for the event to come to this.
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City of Knoxville visit Knoxville law, you know, at that
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time, that organization Sports commission came to the
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university and asked us, you know, we be receptive to hosting
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the meat. So my job was to handle all of
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the the financial arrangements and contracts.
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And all of that. Not only just, you know, for the
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for the sport of track and field but to make sure that we had all
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of the venues and stuff, you know, secure, so we did that and
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the meat was no barefoot. That's probably why it went
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well. And I was the local guy after
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they left the current national chairman at that time, you know,
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left the organization. I left that role and they asked
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me, would I be interested in being meet director?
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And at that time I had no thought process is about doing
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anything outside, you know, the university and so I said, I
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would consider it and I, you know, tried it, you know, for
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you and found out that I love it, you know, so I said, hey,
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this is something that I'll really, you know, go after and
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after doing that for a number of years, the position there was an
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election for National, you know, chairman and some people around
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me thought that I might, you know, be good, you know, in a
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position. And so I decided to run in and
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the reason, you know, really that I decided to run because
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there's some things in the sport of track and field.
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As I said, go back To go back to the first of all, you know, some
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people at Troy University and back to.
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When I was in high school and the people that are part of my
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foundation and I looked at being National, chairman was an
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opportunity to give back and to implement some things that were
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near and dear to me. But from a much bigger platform
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than anything that I was already, you know, a part of.
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So I was like, well, hey, if I can be National chairman, you
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know, that I can be in the front of the A Shinobi a part of the
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foundation in strengthening the foundation for programs.
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That would be, you know, strong for development of kids.
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What up, when you become a national chairman of a of a
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sport for a you as a two-year term for your terms.
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Will you turn for your so you're on your second term?
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Yes. Yes, you must have done
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something, right? If they voted you for another
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term because they could have said no.
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Yeah, they chose to re-elect me for a second term.
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And I look at it as an opportunity.
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As I said, now to continue with some of the program's we've put
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in place and just to build upon, you know, the future do they
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have a term limit or just something you could pursue in
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the next four year cycle currently the end of term limits
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other than, you know, like I say a four year limit, but every
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four years you can you can run. And if you were elected, you
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there for another four years, don't sound too enthusiastic
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about That coach got something that you want to do.
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Some time. They say be careful what you ask
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for. It's a lot of fun work.
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A lot of fun work. Yeah, fun and work, right?
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That's right. This, there's no vacation on
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this. This isn't a honorary title.
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This is a working title. Yes, you mentioned something
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that I found quite interesting. You talked about and we'll get
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into it more here in a little bit later.
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Out the management side of specifically to a you meet, when
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you're at Tennessee you held the a you held a meet this summer.
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I think right? Or fall a, I'ma call it, a
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modified National Championship. Is that a proper Union, b games
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as Comics? Yeah, what goes in and we'll put
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a pin on the actual championships here in a second.
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But what goes into you hear a lot of times when you're
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listening to chatter on the internet, and I know everybody's
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going to say don't listen to it, but Everybody's on it.
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So we're all listening to it. But when they talk about like an
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example of Hayward Field is hosting the division 1 national
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championships for many, many years in a row and they talk
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about well gosh, it should be in New York or it should be in
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Miami or whatever, but they're forgetting.
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Sometimes they're forgetting that people have to put the bid
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for those and bidding process and the actual running, the meat
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is a lot bigger than just running the meat.
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What goes into hosting a meet of this caliber.
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Of a national championship of Jos.
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Anything like this? That what's goes, what goes on
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the background that maybe we just don't see.
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We just show up and watch the kids run.
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Well, I tell you, one of the, I don't know what I'm going to
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call it. The funniest things are the
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biggest joke or the most ironic, you know, statement that I hear
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on a regular basis, you know, people will ask.
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Well, when do you start planning, you know, for you
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know, the event. And to me, that is so, Unnie.
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And so ironic, the Clause planning to me, never stops, you
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know, I'm the type of individual that if I'm involved in
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something. I like to plan it a year out.
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Okay, so literally, while I am going within six months of the
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current meat that I'm getting ready for, I'm starting the 12
11:37
month plan for the next one. So there's a six.
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Imperial why I am literally planning to even same time.
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And just to give you an idea of a you Junior Olympic Games, and
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I'm gonna get into some specifics about the planning
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process. But when I first came on board
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with with, with a, A you, for example, we in Knoxville, I
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think we had about sixty five hundred athletes in Knoxville.
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My first year of being the meet director, we had 85 hundred
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athletes. This past year at North Carolina
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A&T. We had 13 thousand six hundred
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and one, you know athletes. So when I when I tell you we are
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the largest youth me in the world, you know, I from
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research. I don't know of any other track
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meet that have kids 5 to 18, ages, 5 to 18 that have had more
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than 30. The Olympic Games is a huge
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event, but a never had that many athletes.
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So thirteen thousand, six hundred and one.
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Um just there in a planning, you know, process for the for the
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officials, you know, you have I think you would put that meat we
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utilize 216 officials that we brought in, you know for that
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meat. You're bringing them in from all
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over the country. We had we had officials from
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Bahamas, Puerto Rico Bermuda, that came in As a part of our
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officiating group, so we had officials from all over the
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country, some parts of the world.
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You had to house them, clothe them feet, you know,
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transportation for all of that. Then you have to plan for the
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actual, you know, track meet itself in terms of a time
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schedule, you know, we spend months and months in hours.
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Looking at first anticipating. Whatever location we are going
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to, we spend hours just anticipating the potential
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number of athletes that we could possibly get and then having to
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put a track schedule, you know, together to accommodate that one
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of the pet peeves on the event management side for myself and
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people that are around me. You had a lot of times that
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Spectators they go to a track meet and they expect to be there
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all day. They it's understandable.
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If your owl or your two hours, you know, behind schedule
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because that's track and field. I totally disagree, you know,
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with that, and I'll say, some people won't want to agree with
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it there. What what I'm saying, but if you
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spend the time, you know, on it, then you can put together a try
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schedule that that that that's something that you can live with
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and people don't feel like they're, you know, just all day.
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One of the things at the, at the track meet, we have, we do a lot
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of Statistics during the track meet and I can literally tell
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you, from the time, a kid checks in to the clerking area, till
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the time he crosses, the Finish Line, how long he was at each
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station? So we yes, we know how long that
15:03
kid within is. It's within our guidance and If
15:12
and I staff know that I am so anal that if a race is supposed
15:17
to go off at let's say 11 a.m. Probably not 10:00 10:00, 10:15,
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10:30. I'm visibly upset and I'm
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sharing that you know with my staff in specific terms because
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and eleven o'clock rage means 10:59.
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It does not. 11:05 11:30 1150, 12 o'clock because you have
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people that have came to enjoy an event.
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They paid to come from all over the country.
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So they should should be treated with the respect of us spending
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the time and putting together schedule.
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So, we spent a lot of hours working together on the
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schedule. And then, even after the event
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is over, I can go back during the course of an event and tell
16:08
you about the time, my plane lands.
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Back at home. I know where we were behind
16:12
schedule and we were rarely. Barely more than about 15, 20
16:17
minutes behind schedule. And if we are 15 20 minutes
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behind schedule at 11 a.m., I can tell you that I expect to be
16:24
back on schedule, like 12:00 12:30, 1:00 o'clock.
16:27
So maybe behind schedule is totally not acceptable, but to
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get back to, you know, did a big point that you have, you know,
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you spend a lot of time, you know, working anticipating the
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number of athletes you would get putting together.
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Those schedule to accommodate those being able to make
16:48
necessary adjustments. But a big part of that is also
16:52
sharing your philosophy with those 216 officials that they
16:57
understand that there's a big picture here.
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And what is my role, you know, in this picture and that they
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must manage their role in this picture and in the big picture.
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Because if they do not, then Wheels comes off, you know,
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Well, it may not be with you and your old, it may be someplace
17:18
else. But if you're five ten fifteen
17:20
minutes, slow or behind schedule or whatever.
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It just amplifies as you go on. So that's kind of the big
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picture. You know, of the event
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management side of it is far as I'm concerned is the number of
17:35
officials. Recruiting a pill, fischels
17:37
having a philosophy working on working on the schedules.
17:42
I'm sorry. What about like?
17:44
There's marketing of the meet you mentioned, people pain.
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And while obviously some of that is the parents and such, but
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there still are people fans in the area that will come to pay.
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So there's marketing, you know, take a full step back.
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There's finding the venue's people bidding on the actual
18:00
venue itself. Yeah.
18:03
With, with the events that the, the size and magnitude of what
18:08
we are able to do in a you right now, we have some of the largest
18:13
youth meet, you know. Jaga said a you Junior Olympic
18:16
Games, we expect 11 to 12 thousand every year.
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Wherever we go. That's the momentum.
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We've had up to 13,000. Will have 6,000 athletes, you
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know, at Disney we were up to almost 3000 and I will end or,
18:29
you know Championship. So these are some of the largest
18:32
meets in the country up on the any, you know, umbrellas, you
18:35
know, Outdoors indoors, you know, and stuff.
18:38
So, as I say, they again, we spent A lot of time, you know,
18:45
marketing, you know event. Some of my my thought processes
18:49
are different from some other people.
18:52
One of my analogies is you know, the old baseball movie I think
18:56
with Kevin Costner if you build it they will come.
18:58
Yeah, I disagree because if they don't know you built it how they
19:03
go, no to come. Okay.
19:06
It's in the middle of the dogon cornfield, right?
19:14
Built it and why they should come, you know, so I strongly
19:19
believe in marketing, you know, aspect, you know of it.
19:24
We're fortunate enough to have to have events and some of the
19:27
best facilities, you know, you know, in, in the country, we
19:32
always try to go to places that I've seen both sides of the
19:37
industry. We try to go to places that
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actually want us to be there, and want to be a part of the
19:42
product that we are putting. Eating out not just from the
19:46
perspective of okay, we say we're going to go and now they
19:48
can set back in this, you know, it's all over no help us put
19:52
together a positive product because one of the one of the
19:55
philosophies that part of philosophy, I had at the
19:58
University of Tennessee when I was managing events at Tennessee
20:02
and we would have we had some of the top events, you know, in the
20:06
country while I was there NCAA Championship usatf
20:11
championships, you know all the way down.
20:15
But my thing of it was, you should always protect your
20:18
house, you know, because when people came to the University of
20:22
Tennessee, lot of times, they wouldn't say they came to the
20:26
track meet. They would say, Hey, you
20:29
remember, when we was at Tennessee country.
20:32
The people they were talking to they came to that check meet,
20:36
you know, so they know we're track me to talk about, but if
20:38
saying, you remember when we was at Tennessee, well, me and my
20:41
staff. We were the at Tennessee.
20:43
This Was our house. So we want to make sure that
20:47
when you left you had a positive experience in a lot of times, a
20:52
positive experience isn't always just attract me because the
20:57
people are sitting in the stands.
20:59
If they have a problem in the parking lot.
21:01
They're going to bring it into the stadium and when it gets to
21:04
me, they're going to be pissed off and I don't know why they
21:07
pissed off because the track meets going fine right on the
21:13
outside. But I'm getting in the gate.
21:16
So that's our little part of marketing and promotions is
21:19
making sure. And this is part of my, in my
21:22
idea of event management, managing the entire event,
21:27
making sure that our customers that are sitting in the stands,
21:31
that, that athletes come in. They have a positive competitive
21:34
opportunity there to facility that Mom and Dad, you know, have
21:40
have a have a good time because even in youth Athletics, Little
21:44
Johnny five-year-old. Little Johnny.
21:46
He can't get there. If Mom and Dad don't bring it so
21:50
bad. Getting get getting mad, Mom and
21:52
Dad don't come back Little Johnny ain't coming.
21:54
You're not going to have that 13,600 one just became 13,600.
22:00
It keeps going that way. So a part of my basic philosophy
22:05
is not just about the athletes on the track, but also a
22:10
positive, you know, experience throughout because you take it
22:13
off stepfather. If coach do them doesn't like
22:16
what happens at the event coach doesn't bring the 16 17 18 year
22:20
old to your event. So you have to try, we try to
22:25
put together. Items that makes it, you know,
22:29
something for everybody that everybody's happy.
22:32
So the pre-planning process starts minimum of a year before
22:37
and obviously from hearing your passion about not just little
22:43
Johnny and the vent that he or she is doing.
22:48
But you are accountability. Level sounds fairly high as
22:50
well. And I know from knowing you
22:51
personally, I know your personal accountability is really high.
22:54
So I think that's why it translates least.
22:56
That's what I hear when Talking about the gate and the parking.
22:59
What are you doing? Normally during the meat itself
23:03
that you, the guy who's running your, the meet director.
23:06
I'm assuming you're not in the gate, taking tickets.
23:09
You're not down, starting the races.
23:10
So what is your job duties, entail?
23:13
The day of I might answer to that is twofold one.
23:21
A lot of times my staff, you know will say that, you know,
23:26
people look at me and say where you don't you're not you don't
23:28
do anything at the trade me and I like that perspective because
23:36
we spent a year of track meeting, you know, meetings
23:41
conference calls, you know, talking with people.
23:45
Researching stuff planning. So when you track me, come, you
23:52
know, hopefully, you know, you're implementing that process
23:56
and always say there that I think are like couple of type of
24:00
individuals that attract me Spectators and people they
24:05
understand when they see you and you're running around, you know,
24:08
there's a lot going on, you know, and stuff they get that.
24:12
Because hey, you're handling your business in my mind.
24:15
And no, because if I've got to run around and do all that
24:20
stuff, something's wrong, you know, so I'm not really showing
24:23
you that we are under control. I'm actually showing you that
24:27
that that there is a problem, you know, because something that
24:31
we've spent 12 months, you know planning, then that that is not
24:37
working, you know, so that's one of the, you know, the things
24:41
that we really look at as we're trying to plan and In handle,
24:46
you know, a track me and I try to let my staff know, educate
24:51
them so that they can go forward and Implement different
24:56
processes. Whatever we talk about this in
24:59
my head the whole time socially because of Tennessee.
25:01
I'm picturing an outdoor track, but you mentioned some other
25:05
meats. Well, how many meats and what
25:06
meats are you doing throughout the year?
25:10
Whoa, um, two hands there. As National chairman of a you
25:17
got approximately 100 track meets up on the mountain
25:19
Briella, really? Well, yeah, we have eight
25:25
national championships. We have 28 to 30 Regional
25:31
championships. Then you have about 40 District
25:34
championships and then just a licensed, you know, a you meet.
25:40
So trying to put together procedures and stuff where
25:44
people get the same quality eat event as they're going through,
25:49
you know, a you and, you know, obviously me.
25:52
Me myself or my staff, you know stuff.
25:55
We cannot be, you know, at every event but it's a lot of spending
25:59
a lot of times with the meat directors and making sure that
26:02
they understand what they see at the top meet that.
26:07
How do you get it to come down, you know, today event, but also
26:11
just my personal company coach. Oh, you know, event management.
26:15
I think I was looking we are scheduled to manage about 18 to
26:20
20 events, you know. Is anywhere from meats that my
26:26
company personally owns two collegiate, meet II do five.
26:34
Five me to you Clemson's, indoor facility company, manages that.
26:38
And we also consult, if there's any other outside events
26:43
conference championships or anything, come like that.
26:45
My company is actually on site, you know, to manage whatever,
26:50
you know, needs to be managed for Clemson.
26:52
But swac cross-country indoor and outdoor championships.
26:57
I've done the SI C indoor. I mean, outdoor cross-country
27:00
and championships and that Mississippi State, you know, on
27:04
the schedule, we've done Coastal Carolina meet.
27:06
So right now this year, I think we about 18 weeks, that we
27:11
either owned or managed. Wow, that is a, you know, I
27:15
think about it when I coached, you know, we would host one or
27:18
two meets a year and then we would attend, let's say, I don't
27:21
know, 12 meets a You're doing, you know, 10x of that.
27:27
Now, a year in different capacities, of course, but man,
27:30
that is a man. How do you keep up with all of
27:32
that? That's a lot of meats.
27:34
Great staff. Great.
27:37
Yes, so we asked Twitter for questions for our guests.
27:42
And that's a great segue to one of the questions we had for you.
27:45
A good friend Cory mistretta head coach of Southeast
27:48
Louisiana. He asked he must know you well
27:52
enough because he asked is it seems like you never tire and
27:56
you never age and if you're watching us on YouTube You'll
27:59
see this guy looks like a million bucks.
28:02
Let me tell you what, I hope one day.
28:04
As old as you coach. Oh, but I look I already got the
28:08
hair going. I'm pretty matching up with you
28:10
there, man. I gotta get that cool.
28:12
This little goatee thing you got going on.
28:13
It's pretty cool. I like it.
28:14
Actually. So coach mistretta says, it
28:16
seems like you never tire and you never age and if you've been
28:19
around coach, oh, you know, it definitely seems like you never
28:22
Tire. You're the Energizer Bunny when
28:24
it comes to that my friend. How do you stay?
28:26
So enthusiastic and young especially with how hard you
28:29
work all year. Coach.
28:30
Mr. Eddie wants to know. Well, I really I enjoy what I
28:36
do. It's is not work.
28:39
It's fun. It's a Leisure activity.
28:42
I enjoy being around the sport of track and field.
28:45
I enjoy the individuals such as yourself that are in track and
28:48
field. So, yeah, I never look at it as
28:53
work. It's fun, more fun, and more
28:56
fun. And I would say a lot of times
28:59
for for me some time off. I will actually leave.
29:05
Leave my office, which is is that my home?
29:08
I'll leave my desk and just to take time off and I'll go to
29:11
another room and I'll watch TV. Well while I'm watching TV, on
29:15
my left side is my cellphone in. On the right side of me, is the
29:19
iPad and on every commercial. I'm going to pick up one of them
29:23
and send a text message, email or read an email or something
29:28
like that. So I just really enjoyed the
29:31
sport of track and field and the people in the sport of track and
29:34
field. I just can't get enough of it.
29:36
Well, before we get into your back story, because it's super
29:39
interesting. Let's learn something a little
29:41
bit off the track for you. You mentioned, you're watching
29:43
TV. And of course you got your
29:45
iPhone and your iPad which begs the question.
29:47
Why does anybody buy commercials nowadays?
29:49
Because I think that's most of us soon as the commercial comes
29:51
on where we're picking up our devices.
29:54
What do you what do you watch when you were watching your
29:56
Netflix, or your ABC or whatnot? What's your shows?
29:59
What are you into? I knew you were going to go to
30:02
that question. I think this is a funny story,
30:06
but I will see what everybody else thinks.
30:09
And as I was talking to my grandkids, my grandson one day
30:17
and my grants is my grandson said, Granddad.
30:21
Why are you why do you always watch the great Channel like
30:24
great channel to figure out the great Channel.
30:30
Well, the Great temple is the cowboy pictures.
30:33
It's their black and Colorize them.
30:36
So he's like, what a great day. Why you always watch the great
30:39
Channel? Even now when we got home here,
30:44
I literally turned the TV to the great show and I've got a
30:48
cowboy, a pizza, you know, all mute, you know here now, so I
30:53
will watch Cowboys and when I was, when I was growing up on
30:57
the weekend, I, I got up on Saturday mornings with with a, I
31:02
think Roy Rogers and He probably went to bed on that night with
31:06
long range, overall hat. You know, so I love watching the
31:10
great channels. I love hearing the thoughts of
31:14
young people, you know, they see it differently than we do.
31:16
We wouldn't have called it, the great Channel be like, I just
31:18
want to watch cause that's what I watch when I was young and
31:20
they're thinking, oh, it's a great.
31:21
You like, you know, we got color now, right?
31:22
Grandpa, like the worlds in color, we get to see everything.
31:26
Now, your momma figure out the Grinch and I just couldn't get
31:30
it. I was like, oh, that's awesome.
31:33
How old is he? He's 11.
31:35
Oh, my, that's precious. That's awesome.
31:37
I got a ten-year-old. So I could I could see that.
31:39
Yeah, that's so awesome. Well before we get to your
31:44
background, but back story and how you got into track and
31:46
field. I did want to ask you mention
31:48
about these the meat management and obviously it just seems so
31:53
there's just so much to it. I mean, I picture this like
31:56
thousand-piece puzzle. Like here's a little puzzle
31:58
piece puzzle for marketing. And here's the athletes, and
32:00
here's the officials, and here's our inclement weather plan.
32:06
I mean so much maybe A lot of planning goes into stuff that
32:10
never even happens, right? I mean the contingency plans
32:12
that never even occur. Well, one of those pieces of
32:16
puzzles that no one would have thought.
32:18
A year ago from today would have been the covid puzzle piece,
32:22
right? And you guys held a successful
32:24
Junior Olympics down in Florida. Where was that?
32:27
I was at Miramar Satellite Beach Satellite Beach.
32:31
Okay, and so you held a successful Junior Olympic meet
32:35
there with how many athletes did you end up having?
32:39
A little over 2,000 think 23, which is probably far below your
32:44
normal numbers. However, that would probably was
32:47
the largest meat we had last year, I think so.
32:51
Yeah, I think I would think so, for sure.
32:53
And from all I can see lots of success.
32:56
I mean, kids came in, everybody was healthy officials, Etc.
33:00
What, what did you learn going into that meat that we can use
33:05
in this upcoming season? We're still going to have some
33:08
Restrictions, I guess maybe is the word to put it, but we're
33:11
gonna have to make sure we're doing some things differently in
33:13
this upcoming season. What are some things that maybe
33:15
you guys learned or post learned that maybe we can that you're
33:18
going to be implementing in your meats that you're hosting and we
33:21
could learn from. And in our Meats, what, I think,
33:25
one of the biggest thing was and a lot of people, you know, don't
33:29
do they don't reach out to the assets around them.
33:35
You know, they they have a track meet and They think that they
33:39
are in entity unto themselves and their there's nobody, you
33:43
know, to help them. We spend a lot of time really.
33:48
We did more of it this year and I will tell you it was harder
33:53
work for 2,300 athletes than it was thirteen thousand six
33:57
hundred and one just before uncle covid and say another
34:01
thing is when you go through the pandemic and it everybody say
34:05
well, we're going to follow All State.
34:08
Federal and local gatlin's, you know, but what do they actually
34:12
do? And where are they getting that
34:14
information, you know from and as the information go through
34:17
the chain of command it's like gossip, you know, it has a
34:21
tendency to change and stuff is so fluid even now, you know
34:26
within the pandemic. But what some of the things that
34:28
we did, we work directly with state federal and local, you
34:33
know, agencies, getting whatever the current information today.
34:38
You know, is and even as I was talking to different individual,
34:42
they were called, they were no. Hey, are you going to have the
34:44
meat, or what's going on? I started out by saying what at
34:48
this moment. This is the situation because I
34:51
want you to understand, if you call me back in five minutes,
34:55
five hours or five days. I may tell you something totally
34:58
different and I didn't lie to you.
34:59
I told you what was, you know, you don't worship at that
35:03
moment. So, we spent a lot of time, you
35:06
know, working and getting information.
35:08
Knows those organizations, but also as it pertained to the
35:12
actual Indy event with, with the covid, guidelines, and social
35:16
distancing and keeping people, separate and sanitizing, you
35:21
know, everything. What is an appropriate
35:22
sanitizing agent, you know, what does because it says on the
35:27
bottle that doesn't mean that it does what you needed to do.
35:30
So we had to educate ourselves, you know, up on that.
35:33
How do you? And one of the things I would go
35:36
back and say that that we were Adamant, you know all about
35:40
during this process was keeping the sport of track and field
35:44
intact, they tell you and one of my examples, you know, you got
35:50
to stay six feet apart. Okay, and I get you got to stay
35:54
six feet apart, but you go to you go, you go.
35:59
You're not going to tell a bron James to stay six feet away from
36:02
that guy with that bomb. Okay, but you can't Change the
36:08
sport of track and field and do something as totally without the
36:12
with outside of the realm of the sport and think you're going to
36:16
still have, you know, the same sport.
36:18
So our goal was to be able to keep the sport as it is and have
36:24
a safe, you know, environment. And so with this, you know, we
36:29
put together the number of athletes that we thought that we
36:31
could accommodate, you know, safely in the facility, put the
36:36
parameters in place where we felt like we could actually, you
36:38
know, still stay, you know, on schedule we looked at what
36:43
events that we thought we could or could not or should or should
36:46
not do at that time, you know, it was still fairly early and
36:50
nobody really had any ideas on how to do the pole vault and a
36:55
high jump across to the poorest, you know, Landing Pad.
36:58
So we time, you know, on that and I can tell you that we spent
37:05
I would say four weeks of a day. Lee conference call Monday
37:09
through Friday at 5:00 p.m. To go over all of this for a
37:15
month. We would spend at least an hour
37:17
five days a week. And that's just that conference
37:20
call. One day.
37:22
I spent eight hours on the phone, you know, one day talking
37:26
to, you know, a variety of individuals, you know, and
37:31
stuff, you know, just in the planning, you know, possible.
37:34
So that, that was what we spend a lot of time.
37:37
Just trying to make sure we would head parameters to keep
37:39
people safe well in success because a great meeting was held
37:43
and kids that didn't have any season last year.
37:47
In twenty got at least a meat, if they didn't get a couple of
37:51
meteor. Might let me, can I share with
37:53
it? Basically, I'm really proud of
37:56
another thing that we did. First of all, we hosted we
38:01
hosted an event. And in a you, what I would go
38:04
was, is to show you how to host. The show individuals how to host
38:10
an event every not everybody what people said in bag saying,
38:14
well, you know, first of all, you can't do.
38:17
Everybody knows what you can't do.
38:19
But what can you do? All right, how do you do it?
38:23
So what we wanted to be able to do was take the lead, show
38:27
people how to host, you know, a safe.
38:31
If not everybody sitting back talking about what you can't do.
38:34
What can you, you know you do. And then after We set the
38:38
parameters to, to host an event. We realize that High School
38:43
seniors didn't have a place to compete, and they were losing
38:49
scholarship opportunities because they didn't have the
38:52
marks, but it's in your you. So what we did, we had already
38:56
set the number of athletes that we thought that we could
38:59
accommodate for Junior Olympic Games.
39:00
We had that all set, we looked at the Dynamics of the situation
39:05
or with high school seniors, and we came back as a little, we've
39:07
got to try. Do something for these kids to
39:10
give them opportunity, you know, to compete.
39:13
So they're not just totally left out so we can back and
39:16
specifically invited. You know, I think 14 to 18 year
39:20
olds to come into our track meet and compete and that you do my
39:25
opportunity to show the college coaches, you know what they were
39:30
able, you know, you know to you know during this year, so we was
39:34
really pleased with that. And on another vein.
39:37
I'm almost there. Because it ties into this just a
39:39
little bit without with your high school and athletes and
39:42
development. The year before, when we had
39:46
Junior the games at North Carolina, A&T is a part of our
39:51
developmental, you know, program and giving you a, promoting our
39:54
kids, we went, we went and identify all of the division,
40:02
the Collegiate programs. Okay, all of division, 1 2 3,
40:06
junior college, and all of this identified all those coaches.
40:09
And we, I we invited 343 division one.
40:14
Wants to come to North Carolina A&T and we invited them over
40:19
there. Wanted them to wear your
40:21
Collegiate, paraphernalia of the biggest brightest.
40:24
Are we wanted you to be seen? We want you to see, you know,
40:28
the kids and have an opportunity to talk to the kids, the parents
40:32
or whatever the NCAA rules allowed for you to do at that
40:36
time. We also reached out to the NCAA
40:38
and made sure that whatever everything that we were doing
40:41
was in CAA, you know, legal but we invited 300.
40:44
And 43 division, one programs to come into any to come into the
40:52
meat and do you think, you know, whatever you need, you know, let
40:56
us know. Because we want you to see that
40:58
these kids because they they are coming to you and we want you to
41:02
have opportunity to see and recruit them.
41:04
What a great example of the service in servitude.
41:08
You're giving towards the athletes because that was
41:10
another using that Puzzle analogy.
41:14
It's another piece that you had to do, you know, the, you know,
41:16
the plan for the invitation and what to do, need to go check to
41:18
make sure everything you're doing was going to be within
41:19
their rules Etc. And you weren't there.
41:22
Certainly, no, no ego play here. There's no.
41:25
I don't see where a you, or you personally get like.
41:28
Oh, well JoJo did it for himself?
41:30
It's like, oh, this is no, no, this is for the college coaches
41:32
to see the kids. So the kids, maybe a kid get
41:35
seen. That wouldn't have in the past
41:37
and now gets a scholarship or gets a preferred walk-on or gets
41:40
a chance to go to college. I mean, that's just Again, the
41:42
servitude towards the, the athletes, the kids that make up
41:46
the organization and the meat. Yes, and that's what we were
41:50
trying to do. Is make sure that, you know, the
41:53
kids have an opportunity, you know, to be seen and we also
41:58
formed a position of a you academic advisor over the last
42:02
18 months and then you, you know, you have your high school
42:06
counselors. You have your coaches, you know,
42:09
and stuff you have your parents. We wanted to make sure that
42:14
every kid had every opportunity to get the knowledge from
42:17
wherever they need, you know, to be able to prepare and do the
42:21
things that they needed to do, you know, to be prepared, to go
42:24
to college, or to make a decision, whether or not to go
42:27
to college or whatever. So, we put in a position for a,
42:31
you academic counselor. So that other people can reach
42:34
out to our side. Also.
42:37
Wow, that's in trial of that. That's cool man, you know, I do.
42:42
Admittedly don't know much about a you stick.
42:46
Primarily didn't seem to believe so, but I love you know, it's
42:49
me. It's all about the servitude
42:50
towards the kids, you know, if you're not doing it for the
42:53
kids, then go find another business to be in because
42:57
everything that we do us as equipment manufacturers, you as
43:00
the chairman a tional, chairman of a you track and field
43:03
officials. You name it.
43:05
Everything you do is built on the back of those of those
43:07
athletes, whether you talk about five year old kids or up to the
43:10
post-collegiate kids if they're not on that.
43:12
Jumping running throwing, we don't have a job.
43:15
We have different jobs. I should say maybe we'll still
43:17
work I guess but I probably wouldn't be a gill right and
43:20
you're not going to be a you're not going to create your own
43:23
business, which we're going to learn about here in a second and
43:25
event management in a you you're just not you're not going to be
43:27
an official, you're not going to be anything.
43:30
If you don't have those kids willing to bust their butts on a
43:33
daily basis and practice and then show up and show out on the
43:36
track meets. Exactly.
43:39
Yes. Well, let's learn more about you
43:41
coach. Oh, so when I announced that you
43:43
were going to be on the podcast, not many questions, I guess
43:47
everybody just knows what you do.
43:48
So then there wouldn't be any questions.
43:50
Corey had the only question but there were a couple of just
43:52
excitements, miss Fatima Shabazz.
43:57
I hope I'm pronouncing her last name correctly on Twitter at
44:00
coached Abbas. She just said coach.
44:02
Oh, no questions. That's just my guy.
44:06
She just chooses kind of just want to give a And then my new
44:09
good friend of mine. He was on the podcast in
44:12
December. I believe Nile Allegheny mm down
44:15
at Dillard University. His reply was kocho would like
44:19
three or four exclamation marks. So I just love the excitement
44:25
that surrounds you and for anybody who has had any contact
44:29
with you. I mean, it's your personality
44:31
and what I love about your personality is, it's authentic.
44:34
It's it's the same personality if you are the chairman of
44:37
national champ, Of Nash of track for a you or if you're Coach
44:41
bags by Coach O or if you're an Alum at a track meet at Troy,
44:45
you've always been the same the consistency there of the
44:48
authenticity, which it's just always been admirable for me.
44:52
And I know, plenty, plenty of other people, obviously through
44:54
their tweets. There were no questions.
44:55
It was just like, oh man, that's the guy.
44:57
That's my guy right there. So, let's take a step back coach
45:01
before you became coach. Oh, so where did you grow up?
45:04
How did you get into track? And why did you get into track?
45:09
I grew up in Columbus, Georgia. Um, and when I was growing up we
45:16
had I stayed on Fifth Avenue and 5th Avenue was that none
45:23
athletes, you know, a couple of us were they were in the band
45:26
Third athlete at 3rd, Avenue had several athletes.
45:30
That were some of the best athletes in the city that we
45:34
probably had eight high schools in the city and And Third Avenue
45:38
had some of the best athletes in the whole doggone City.
45:42
I grew up in the band, pretty nerdy decided.
45:47
And actually, I was in the first year of integration in Columbus,
45:50
Georgia, and we integrate it and I felt like, well, okay, we've
45:55
got, we've got the black population.
45:57
There's now diluted rubber to black high schools.
46:00
You got the black population is now diluted through eight high
46:03
school. So I said, this is my chance.
46:05
I want to be an athlete. This is my chance, so, I go out.
46:09
Go out for basketball. I make the basketball team, but
46:12
I'm just good enough to play JV. Well, no, seniors are glassy
46:16
going to play on the JV, you know, team.
46:18
I was just going to sit on the bench.
46:19
So decided to go out for track and field knew almost nothing
46:24
about the sport, you know, track and field.
46:25
I knew the hundred the 200 and Story how I became actual
46:31
quarter. Mile, you run.
46:34
You know, the 400 was one lap around the track.
46:37
How do you know? 800 was two laps.
46:39
So I knew I went to soprano, you know, hundred 200 was not an
46:43
option run into times around the track.
46:46
Was not an option either. I was not more than 110.
46:50
So it's like, okay. My only choice is to visit.
46:53
Try, you know, the 400 meters. And so try to 400 meters and
47:00
ended up me. And one of my friend from 3rd
47:03
Avenue, we came down to being the last two options for the
47:08
I'll buy one, you know, relay in some kind of way the coach
47:11
thought that I was a better option and he picked me for that
47:15
option, you know, the last gallon on the relay, but I will
47:18
tell you that they did, that other guy that I'd be out.
47:22
We used to have what we call block track meets.
47:25
So we would run telephone pole. The telephone pole would be the
47:29
full by one. So we have a telephone pole was
47:32
15 meters or a hundred fifty meters.
47:34
You run to the next telephone pole and pass off the Baton.
47:37
Well, I ain't good. You could every time, I guess
47:40
the guy did ended up having, you know, going against for the last
47:44
fight at the high school. I entered against this guy every
47:46
time, and I lost every single time in on the block track meets
47:52
and Coach some kind of way saw something and picked me for that
47:55
spot, you know, for the Relay its interests.
47:59
So you mentioned the end of segregation, so that it was your
48:02
senior year and I think, wow, that's interesting.
48:05
See you do not know in the time frame but Just seems late.
48:08
Just that's amazing to me. That just amazes me that we had
48:11
segregation that just boggles me, but what was interesting.
48:15
There's you said you didn't actually know much about track
48:18
and field. Today.
48:19
We talk about the we kind of uplift the past and demonize the
48:26
the future and the present. We think about, you know,
48:29
technology is terrible, you know, we're all separated
48:32
because of cell phones, and it used to be so good.
48:34
Back in the day. We'd all talked or we'd all
48:36
reason read the newspaper. We tend to do that with track
48:39
and field, we think about the good old days in track and field
48:42
that, you know, you used to go to a meat back in the day and
48:44
there'd be thousands of people in the stands.
48:46
And today there's 10 people in the stands, but you you didn't
48:50
even have a track background. I'm surprised by this and
48:53
knowing what you ended up becoming a track and field.
48:55
I'm surprised there was no, you didn't fall in love watching
48:59
Olympics or anything like that or they're wanting meets on the
49:01
TV all day and things like that. I watched the Olympic Games, you
49:05
know, probably like everybody else when it was own eyes.
49:08
I just happened to know everybody around me, you know, I
49:13
understood the best athletes and and, and the accolades, you
49:18
know, and stuff that they got. So I was like, okay, let me try.
49:22
And I literally went out for track and field, March of my
49:26
senior year and by June of my senior year.
49:30
I was undefeated and state champion in the 400 meters.
49:34
What? Wow, man, thank goodness for
49:39
your personal attitude of not wanting to run more than one lap
49:43
in the. The genetic decision of you were
49:45
not going to be on a reader guy. That's awesome.
49:49
Wow, so, what did that do for you?
49:53
In regards to did that, open up any doors?
49:56
Is that how you got to Troy? Like, where you, where you going
49:58
to go to Troy and perspective? He grew up in Columbus, Georgia.
50:02
Troy University is a Hour and a half.
50:06
I don't say two hours, isn't it? Yeah, it's under to so it's a
50:11
fairly close University. But you're in Columbus, Georgia.
50:13
There's other schools there and mother schools in Georgia.
50:15
Obviously. Is that what led you to Troy?
50:18
Are we going to try, no matter what?
50:21
Well, what happened during during my senior year in high
50:24
school? My father got sick and was
50:29
hospitalized most of the year. So that's how I ended up, you
50:33
know get anyone. The scholarship in amongst all
50:36
this body. Now.
50:37
I was not going to go to college.
50:40
If I mean May of my senior year. I took the sat sat simply
50:44
because it's something that they say you're supposed to do.
50:46
I was not going to go to college one of my senior English
50:50
teacher. She taught me English, and
50:52
French. And she told me, she said, you
50:54
know, if you don't take that scholarship, I'm going to kick
50:56
your butt. Oh, you can't talk to me, you
50:59
know, like that, but obviously it resonated so I started
51:03
looking at Potentially going to college, since my father was
51:08
sick. I want to stay close to home.
51:10
There was a school in state that I assumed being in state.
51:14
It was closer. And I, you know, it was about
51:17
two hours away in trouble on the hour and a half, but because
51:20
it's out-of-state, I'm thinking it's father.
51:22
Well, one of my end up being my teammate.
51:26
James Beatty was from Columbus Georgia, and he was on the team,
51:30
you know, they are so Troy brought me down for a visit.
51:34
What am I? My print not know, where wasn't
51:36
afraid of that time, but guys, were my hometown, James Beatty
51:39
was there, and he was one of the top, you know, a hundred meters
51:43
from those in the country and any division at that time, but
51:46
the thing that got me at Roy, I went down, didn't know, didn't
51:50
even know baby. Okay, I went down.
51:52
I had a visit. I felt like those guys treated
51:56
me like I was family, like, I was one of them.
51:58
They made me feel really, really comfortable.
52:01
So, I was like, well, hey, I'm going to go to Troy.
52:04
Feel comfortable. I feel like I fit in my personal
52:08
goal when I went to Troy because I had I didn't know anything
52:12
about track and field. So my personal goal.
52:14
I said I want to go to Troy whatever school I go to, I'm
52:19
going to be the top quarter mile on the team.
52:22
Whatever it takes. I'm gonna be the top quarter
52:24
mile. Now.
52:25
I did not know when I got the Troy.
52:27
That my teammate was a senior conference champion and
52:30
Conference record holder know that I hadn't made this
52:33
commitment to myself that I'm going to be the top guy on my
52:36
team. I mean, I'd be nobody else in
52:38
the whole country. I'm going to be number one on
52:40
the doggone team and I ended up as a freshman being conference
52:45
champion and Conference record holder as a freshman, not trying
52:49
to brag, but I will say that I ran one year in high school, two
52:55
years in college. I don't think I did not lose a
52:58
race into my third year of being college and was ranked in the
53:02
top 10 in the country and the u.s.
53:07
What the vision was true back then Nei or division 2 AI
53:11
building and back then talk to us about wasn't there?
53:17
Something like even if you weren't Division 1, if you were
53:20
any other Division and You could still go to the division 1
53:24
championship. Is that correct?
53:25
Yeah, II don't know. Remember exactly what it was but
53:29
being in being an NAIA. I don't know if it was a time or
53:34
place but you could actually qualify to go to division one,
53:38
you know, championships and I qualified in a one of the things
53:44
I think was funny. I said in my career at Troy and
53:47
Nei, I got third place so many times at The National
53:51
Championship that I swallow that whenever they did the plaque,
53:55
they just want to put my dog on name on the doggone plant.
53:58
Nobody else had a name on them. I got it so many times they just
54:01
won't put my name in. Hey, he gonna be third.
54:05
I said that Brad, you know, but I did qualify for division, one
54:11
twice, I think in 1976. I was 5th at University of
54:21
Texas. Ironically University of
54:22
Tennessee, which I hit him coaching yet with the national
54:26
champions. They won the national champion
54:27
and a guy from University, Tennessee, won, the 400 meters,
54:31
and I was in the top six or seven time.
54:35
As a senior, you know in college was that you're coming from
54:39
quote unquote, small town, Troy University, Troy State back,
54:43
then NAIA. Was it a, how big of a deal was
54:47
it to be at the division 1 National Championship as an NAIA
54:51
athlete? Or was it just another National
54:53
meet another big meat? Willful form for me.
54:57
It was a big me, but I really enjoyed it because there was no
55:03
expectations. You know.
55:05
Um, I was a I said, I was a poster child for anemia for one.
55:11
I was six, I was six 447 pounds in high school.
55:16
I buffed up at College when six 453 pounds.
55:19
Okay. I was a poster child for anemia,
55:23
and I'm out of NAIA school. So nobody knows who I am.
55:27
Nobody's expecting me to do anything.
55:31
So I had the ability to line up. I remember one of my freshman.
55:37
I think my sophomore year. We were in Italy in Atlanta.
55:41
It's a meat in March and they start naming the people in the
55:47
race. I know all these names.
55:49
So I and and they say, I think it was Julia saying or Rabe
55:52
Dooku from North Carolina Central Just got back from the
55:55
Olympic Games and went 43:7. I stopped and turned around
55:59
because I wanted to see what a 43:7 guy looks like, you know,
56:02
because I had never seen one of them, but I was able, you know,
56:07
to be in a race. Nobody expected, you know, my
56:11
size on Nai guy, but my times were the same as everybody else.
56:18
Like I, you know, I had a time they ended up being top ten, you
56:22
know, any country and all divisions.
56:24
You know, so that was no expectation that how we say I
56:28
could sneak up on people, you know, by the time they figure
56:30
out who I was or the ability that I had.
56:33
It was at the Finish Line. It was too late.
56:35
Well, it sounded like you were so tall and skinny.
56:36
You could just hide behind like a hurdle or get bored or
56:39
something, just in that old. There.
56:40
He is. All of a sudden, a big old block
56:43
of yoga, the most of the guys doing it with that.
56:45
Time was a lot, you know, they were, they were tall but they
56:50
were, they were muscular. I've never seen it.
56:54
He was a hundred meter guy, but I remember seeing pictures of
56:56
him. He was, I would not have fought
56:59
him at any point of his life. He was, he looked like a strong,
57:03
dude. Let me tell you.
57:04
Yes, what put this in the context, obviously, you know,
57:08
top ten in the country national champ undefeated for quite a
57:11
while. What kind of times were you
57:13
running in the quarter. It and just briefly, I was state
57:19
champion at 48 8 as a senior Iran.
57:24
In 47 to as a freshman in college 45.8, as a sophomore in
57:30
college and ended up with a PR or 4541.
57:35
And I finished eighth in the Olympic trials, as a senior
57:41
there Troy. Unfortunately, at that time,
57:44
they only took the top six to the Olympic Games and now they
57:49
take alternates and all kind of, you know, stuff, but they took
57:52
the top six and they took the top.
57:54
They did not come down to the top eight and you're talking
57:58
about an event that has a strong depth in this country as well.
58:02
It's not like a it was like, oh, yeah your way back there.
58:04
It's like, oh, you know any two guys get sick or doesn't doesn't
58:07
show up you you're in the hunt then, you know and I always saw
58:11
even though with my size and everything my phone you meet of
58:14
times were were no top of the top in the top in the country
58:18
and one at one point in my sophomore year.
58:19
I had to face the time in the world for like, six weeks, but
58:24
I've Also, relayed, 45 flat, you know also so always felt like,
58:29
you know, I need during those days if you were a 45 second
58:32
quarter mile to you were, you know were a class.
58:34
So I always felt like if I kind of got there, I would not have
58:39
let my team down. That's your school record holder
58:43
the do you still on the school record or did we have someone
58:45
here in the last couple of years?
58:47
You'll own it. You still own it, man.
58:49
That tells you and we've had some great coaches and have some
58:51
awesome ones. Now, that tells you how Stout
58:54
that. Record is holy cow.
58:57
Yeah, I did not know. I mean, everybody hears me
59:00
talking about Troy University. So of course, I'm going to geek
59:02
out when I have at Royal, um here.
59:04
I didn't know, I still had a school record, holder Troy Alum
59:07
on the podcast today though. That's a little bit little bit
59:10
special as a guy. Who's son's name is Troy.
59:11
You're the exact reason. You're one of the people that,
59:14
you know, that University is built on that helped guide me
59:17
towards name in my son after the university.
59:20
That's why it's such an honor honestly to talk with you
59:22
Charles, because you're you're built on a legacy.
59:25
That means so much to me as a person in so many different
59:29
aspects. So talk to us.
59:31
What were you, what were you studying when you're there?
59:35
And what were you thinking of for as a career?
59:36
At that point? Hey, I think a bit of irony.
59:41
I always wanted to own my own business.
59:44
And so I went to Troy as a business major and my college
59:49
roommate was a business major, and He at that point, he was a
59:55
senior and he was struggling with some of the upper level
59:59
business classes. So, you know, I looked at him.
1:00:03
I said, you're smart dude, and you're struggling with this
1:00:06
business class and I ain't very bright.
1:00:09
So, how in the world am I going to get a business degree?
1:00:11
You know, so I came up with with the, with the idea that I'm
1:00:17
going to be a PE major because in PE the way I figure deny a
1:00:21
very bright already said that, but the After you get in PE that
1:00:26
half of half of a PE degree was mental and half of it was
1:00:31
physical. So I figure if I'm an athlete.
1:00:35
So I ought to have 50% of the physical part of it, and all I
1:00:41
need is half. Of the mental part of it.
1:00:45
I got 75 and that's going to put me DC that's gonna put me past
1:00:50
credit, see so I figure what hey, not even 50/50 to get to a
1:00:54
hundred. You're like, all right, I can
1:00:55
get 25 of that half. So I figured if I could get 75,
1:01:02
you know, then I'm going to pass and I'll be able to graduate,
1:01:05
you know, and move on. So that was my thing.
1:01:09
And I think a bit of irony I end up.
1:01:13
Years later, you know in business, you know, we're you
1:01:18
the I'm assuming this first person in your family to
1:01:20
graduate from college. Yes.
1:01:22
Yeah. Okay.
1:01:23
Assume during that timeframe. Yeah.
1:01:25
Perform my side of the family. Able to go to college.
1:01:27
Yeah. Yeah.
1:01:28
So you get P degree from the greatest University in the
1:01:31
world. What was your first job out?
1:01:33
What were you doing? When you teach him?
1:01:35
I came back home in Columbus, Georgia and forget how it is.
1:01:39
It? Head track coach assistant
1:01:41
football coach and And I taught or had the in-school suspension,
1:01:45
you know, group the bad kids. So I spend all day with the bad
1:01:50
kids before I can get out to the track.
1:01:53
Some tells me you were really good at that though.
1:01:55
And what I mean by that is what they needed.
1:01:58
The quote on quote bad kids. You felt like you had to call me
1:02:01
presents. Yeah, really good, you know
1:02:04
relationship. I I don't know with my
1:02:07
personality. I had all the bad kids and the
1:02:11
school's philosophy was you know, You, you treat the bad
1:02:14
kids, dad. Well, all of the kids wanted to
1:02:18
come to coaches room. They come to my room before
1:02:21
school. They come.
1:02:22
They had it wasn't good. But I have kids, I think they
1:02:26
would go get in trouble. Just so they could come spin
1:02:28
the, you know, with me, they'd come by and say coach, I'll see
1:02:31
you at second period. So they go do something so they
1:02:34
could get put in my role at. Whoa.
1:02:35
Whoa. Whoa, that's not the way this is
1:02:37
supposed to be. That's a bad reward system.
1:02:40
Yeah. Did you get the Game coach.
1:02:43
Oh, right off the bat there. No, I think kocho evolved when
1:02:49
I, when I went to college and I was a freshman.
1:02:52
My senior roommate gave me the nickname Charlie Oak and I think
1:02:56
that was a Charlie O'Connell. It was a Charlie o Finley.
1:03:00
There's about three different Charlie Rose.
1:03:02
At that point. So he started calling me
1:03:05
Charlie. Oh, and I didn't like it.
1:03:08
But he was about my size and muscular.
1:03:12
I was my sides and skinny. And so whenever I protested it
1:03:18
was painful for me. I lost every one of those
1:03:22
physical conversation. So I became Charlie.
1:03:25
Oh, and then it evolved as I became a coach, it just kind of
1:03:31
morphed, you know, changed over to coach.
1:03:34
Oh, you know, so your teaching and coaching and Charlie o
1:03:40
becomes coach. Oh, thank goodness.
1:03:42
No more physical conversations. I love that term.
1:03:47
So keep going what happens? Where do you go from there?
1:03:49
And eventually and I thought it started pretty early.
1:03:53
You do start your own business. Yeah.
1:03:56
I when I got to the University of Tennessee, I love Troy and
1:04:02
and came to University of Tennessee upon arrival.
1:04:05
I got to University of Tennessee.
1:04:07
I will say first of August and within the first two to three
1:04:12
weeks, our athletic director came and said that hey, dr.
1:04:17
Leroy. Walker is starting a minority
1:04:19
seminar over at North Carolina Central.
1:04:22
And he said, I want you to go so I know I've only been in
1:04:25
Knoxville two weeks and don't know.
1:04:27
Nothing don't know, nobody. But my boss wants me to go to a
1:04:30
three-week seminar out of town. So dr.
1:04:34
Walker. He had a seminar and what he did
1:04:37
he brought. Brought in about 20 to 25
1:04:39
minorities and it wasn't necessary.
1:04:43
It wasn't a lecture series, you know, he literally brought us
1:04:47
and we spent three weeks there. He brought in some of the top
1:04:51
individuals in the in the country, you know, in their
1:04:54
areas, you know, I remembered. And I don't know the guys name,
1:04:59
but for example, this guy's talking to us and he's over
1:05:03
Fulton County Stadium at this time.
1:05:06
He started out in dr. Walker was theory was to show us
1:05:11
how you can do, you know, stop. And so this guy's telling us
1:05:16
that yet that he started out on the grounds crew in Fulton
1:05:20
County Stadium and just raking and raking the ground right now.
1:05:25
At this point. He is the guy that just designed
1:05:29
Fulton County Stadium, for the 96 Olympic Games.
1:05:33
He designed that facility with the the In mind that when the
1:05:38
meat when the Olympics left part of this facility was going to be
1:05:42
demolished and turned into another facility.
1:05:46
So I'm going like, wait a minute and you you just design
1:05:48
something, the host the biggest events in the world with the
1:05:54
idea that when it leaves, you're going to tear it down, not tear
1:05:57
it down, but tear it down to where it's functional for
1:05:59
another, you know, sport. No, I'm going man.
1:06:04
That's pretty good. And then another briefs Dori.
1:06:07
That was a guy that was he. He was telling us he worked in
1:06:11
Chicago. Had a corner off his own.
1:06:13
One of the lake lake area or something.
1:06:16
He was on like the hundredth floor.
1:06:18
You got bored. I'm like, how do you get bored
1:06:22
working in the corner offers over the lake with a six-figure
1:06:24
salary? He got a, but you got bored
1:06:26
started his own company and everything.
1:06:28
And then his first customer was the company that he resigned
1:06:32
from some go. Like that's really neat.
1:06:35
So, Deliver Walker, you know, we spent three weeks with him
1:06:38
bringing in those caliber, you know, of individuals and they
1:06:41
just literally told their life story.
1:06:44
And as I listened to their life stories, I started thinking I
1:06:48
was like, well, you know, I always wanted to be in business.
1:06:51
I think I can do that. So I literally went back home.
1:06:55
And started my business because of the interactions, I had with
1:06:59
dr. Dr. Walker and you know the
1:07:02
people that he brought in. Well, what were you what was
1:07:05
your job at University of Tennessee?
1:07:09
At that time I was the Sprint. Coach spread her love the rooms.
1:07:12
Okay, you're coaching. Yeah.
1:07:14
Okay, I did that for about 10 years and then went into event
1:07:17
management. Got it.
1:07:18
Okay, and we did gloss over a little bit.
1:07:20
You actually did go back to Troy University and we're coaching
1:07:23
there for a while as well when I when I coached in high school
1:07:27
for three years. All right back to Troy.
1:07:29
The first year. I was a graduate assistant got
1:07:31
my masters and fortunately for me my boss took another job and
1:07:36
I got promoted. I To hear coach at Troy
1:07:40
University. So, I spent a number of years as
1:07:42
head coach at Troy. Did you get an MBA or did you do
1:07:45
a different kind of monsters? Got my masters at Troy?
1:07:48
Yeah. What was it?
1:07:51
I missed that part. I got my BSM, a masters at Troy.
1:07:56
What did you get your Master's in secondary education?
1:07:59
Yeah. Okay.
1:08:00
So you kept on that education side.
1:08:01
Yeah, then you go to Tennessee and your coaching there and then
1:08:05
into event management which you were the man the meat manager
1:08:10
for the very famed Seer, a relay is correct if we had see Ray
1:08:14
relays and we'll have two major sponsor.
1:08:17
We had C re both didn't see where a relays and then we had a
1:08:19
Gatorade track class. How are you that?
1:08:22
We had major sponsors right off the bat for those good events
1:08:27
that we were doing them. Was it?
1:08:28
See Ray when you were there or Dogwood?
1:08:31
It was Dogwood before, right? It was dog.
1:08:34
When I think, just by I competed in Dogwood, thought it was dog
1:08:38
with just before I got there. I think when I got a was, see
1:08:40
Ray, okay. Yeah, and you know, it took me a
1:08:43
long time. We used to go to see ready when
1:08:44
I was at Roy and for a long time to realize what Sea Ray was, I
1:08:47
had no idea. There was boatside, no, no
1:08:50
clutch like Just wanted to see her.
1:08:51
I realize I have no idea what it what it meant.
1:08:55
So this this seminar that you went to right off the bat seemed
1:08:59
like it had a pretty big impact on you.
1:09:03
It did it showed me from the ground up, how you can,
1:09:08
actually, how I could actually go and and do some of the
1:09:12
things, you know, like to say these people didn't come in.
1:09:18
It wasn't a classroom setting where you How to take notes and
1:09:23
pass a test. They just came in.
1:09:25
Hey, here's my life story, you know, take it for what it's
1:09:28
worth and I was able to take parts from different
1:09:31
individuals, got motivated enough to be able to see the
1:09:37
path that I could possibly take. And then said, went back home
1:09:41
and literally stumbled up on a product that I was in my
1:09:47
hometown if we move forward a little bit.
1:09:51
I was in my hometown of Columbus Georgia and I saw this store and
1:09:56
I say, hey been in my whole life.
1:09:58
What's in that store? I don't know.
1:09:59
So I stopped and they made bags. And so one of the bags they had
1:10:04
their I say it was a toiletries bag of toiletries bag on
1:10:09
steroids. It was two times the size of a
1:10:11
toilet just made. So I said well, hey, this is
1:10:18
About the size of a pair of shoes.
1:10:20
So I took off my size 13. I put them in the shoot and in
1:10:23
the bag, plenty of room in the bag.
1:10:26
So I was like, you know, I think that as you're going to the
1:10:30
starting line this bag, maybe just big enough for you to put
1:10:33
all your essential items in. And literally it was big enough
1:10:37
to. If you didn't have a really
1:10:39
thick warm up, you can pull your warmup off have yeah.
1:10:42
Jogging shoes and all of that in their keys and some money and
1:10:46
stuff. And so, I brought it back home,
1:10:48
put it in the washing machine and I tugged on it.
1:10:51
Make sure the zipper, you know, it was a good quality, you know,
1:10:54
product. So I called one of my college
1:10:56
friends, Charles, Fortune open, Phenix City, and I said,
1:11:00
Charles, I'm thinking about starting a business.
1:11:02
Here's my idea. He said, okay, send me a couple
1:11:04
of dozen. So he bought a couple of dozen
1:11:06
product. He placed the order for
1:11:08
something for a product. I literally didn't have so I
1:11:11
already had a customer before I had a business.
1:11:15
Imagine Charles Fortune over at Central Phenix City, which if
1:11:18
there's coaches listening college coaches, they if you've
1:11:21
been around long enough time, you've probably recruited one of
1:11:24
his athletes, another great guy, you know, in a tough area, there
1:11:29
at Phoenix City and just doesn't amazing job.
1:11:33
I remember coach Fortune, when I was an athlete at Eufaula High.
1:11:36
We used to go to Central Phenix, City all the time for track
1:11:39
meets and Boy, just one of the good guys like made our team
1:11:44
feel welcome, even though we were, you know, a visiting team,
1:11:47
just a great guy. And again, great Troy Alum, who
1:11:51
is doing a lot of good things in our sport, right there in his,
1:11:54
his neck of the woods right there in his Network.
1:11:56
He's doing an amazing job with positive impacts on kids lives.
1:11:59
I love that guy. He's awesome.
1:12:01
Yes, that's cool. He was your first customer
1:12:04
before you even had a business. That's so funny.
1:12:06
That's a no that's a good business plan, by the way.
1:12:11
So, how did you like? Why did you pick bags?
1:12:15
Did you have a background in like the mom or dad anybody in
1:12:19
the family work in? Textile industry or anything
1:12:21
like that, or was it just you saw a need and fill them need
1:12:24
honey. Things that well when I stumble
1:12:28
upon the bag And I realized, you know, being being attract nice,
1:12:34
all the time. One of the things that used to
1:12:37
bother me was just a sound of a kid wearing his tracks bikes on
1:12:41
the sidewalk, you know, when he's off the track, you can live
1:12:44
it here, you know, despite on the concrete.
1:12:48
And so I used to always watch and see that this kid, you know,
1:12:53
whatever you got. He's got it in his hands.
1:12:55
This was before everybody had matching bags and personalized
1:12:58
bags, and all of this. And so, Looking at hand, he had
1:13:02
in his hand. So when I saw the bag, I
1:13:06
mentally matched up, the fact of that, that bag was probably big
1:13:10
enough to accommodate all this stuff.
1:13:12
My CD if nothing else, these high school middle school
1:13:18
athletes, you know, you know all they had was a pair of shoes.
1:13:22
I figured out, this might be something that you know,
1:13:25
inexpensive that we could put them into to take care of the
1:13:30
products and stuff that they had.
1:13:32
Did you literally go back home? Did you start sewing and putting
1:13:36
all the zippers and everything on your own?
1:13:38
Or how did you work that first set?
1:13:41
I literally I literally ordered the bags from Columbus Georgia
1:13:45
had them shipped to Knoxville Tennessee.
1:13:47
Had a local guy that would scream the bags, you know for me
1:13:54
and then I would ship him out. Well the problem with that
1:13:57
process was the local God. Basically had a print shop or an
1:14:03
RV, where he would go do NASCAR. So he was always on the road,
1:14:07
you know, doing that scar. So I had to wait till he was
1:14:10
back in town to print my stuff, then as he as he printed it, I
1:14:16
would get it and ship it out. Well, why not?
1:14:18
It wasn't him founding principles in my, in my business
1:14:22
has been has been built off of personal relationships.
1:14:26
Okay. I asked my family and my friends
1:14:30
and give me a An opportunity to give me a shot.
1:14:32
But now, when you give me a shot, I've got to give you a
1:14:35
good product. I just can't give you a piece of
1:14:37
crap because you gave me a, you know, a shot.
1:14:41
Well, when, when I first started, this guy would scream
1:14:46
the bags. Not give them and ship them out.
1:14:48
Well, when when he would screen and bags, I'm looking at it.
1:14:52
And I got to turn my head like this order.
1:14:54
The print would be straight because he literally printed it,
1:14:58
you know, cricket and I was shipping it out.
1:15:01
And one of my one of my top customers at that time, I'm
1:15:05
going like, you know, this, you know, he's got to know that this
1:15:09
print is crooked. He's got to know him and he
1:15:13
never complained never complained that.
1:15:16
The print on that bag was crooked and eight to ten years
1:15:20
later. He called me up and he said, you
1:15:22
know, Charles. Are you going to be in Atlanta
1:15:24
for the 96 games? I said?
1:15:25
Yeah, maybe he's I want to meet with you.
1:15:27
He literally sat down with me, you know, and And and said that
1:15:32
he wanted to, he's been with me from the beginning and he wanted
1:15:35
to be a partner, you know, in the company.
1:15:38
And you know, I thought well, you know, I don't really want,
1:15:41
you know, a partner because I don't want to be responsible for
1:15:44
losing anybody's money. If I make a million dollars.
1:15:46
I made a me but I sure didn't lose a million dollars of your
1:15:49
money, you know, so but my point here with this is that he never
1:15:54
complained and so, you know, like, okay.
1:15:58
As I'm going and stuff. I got to make sure that when I'm
1:16:00
putting products out now for the best that I could, and I
1:16:04
couldn't do no better. But then as we got, you know,
1:16:06
better at what we were doing, you know, that that even
1:16:09
strengthen our resolve to make sure that the product that we
1:16:12
were putting out there was quality, you know products.
1:16:16
So how do you expand? Because you can't, you can't
1:16:19
live on a shoe bag. A very functional shoe bag for
1:16:24
ever. How did the business continue to
1:16:26
expand? Well, literally, Dagwood it was
1:16:34
up with the hook when he died. I was able to start putting
1:16:37
together a set of bags for schools such as Troy University.
1:16:44
A Troy a Deadtime didn't have a Nike contract or didn't have a
1:16:48
contract, but I could go out and find those small schools, sell
1:16:52
them a series, you know, a bag. So now when they are bad, when
1:16:55
they're getting out their Vans and stuff, they've got bags.
1:16:58
This cool logos, you know, and so now they look more like a
1:17:02
Tennessee, you know, SEC, you know, type school.
1:17:07
So because of relationship with different coaches and friends.
1:17:10
I had I was able to, you know, have a lot of major colleges,
1:17:13
you know, caring, you know, my products and I've had some of
1:17:16
the top colleges in the country, you know, that carrot my
1:17:20
products, but internet, we start, seven promotional watches
1:17:24
for for, you know, you're real a meat.
1:17:27
If you could do Do you know gave watches for a real Amy?
1:17:30
You a big time, you know, for your, for your Invitational.
1:17:32
So I started selling watches and batons and different items, you
1:17:36
know, like that and then everybody would all the team
1:17:39
shirts for the team, you know, and you don't have an active
1:17:42
contract, you're paying for them in a way.
1:17:44
So it evolved into me doing all of that.
1:17:47
And then I got into my online, the online registration, you
1:17:51
know company we would literally doing online registration by
1:17:57
hand at this. And I think I was the first I
1:18:00
wanted a very first online registration, you know,
1:18:04
company's goals. I me and my high-tech, you know,
1:18:08
guy we were sitting down and doing, you know, doing interest
1:18:12
and he has a background in computer program and he's well.
1:18:16
Hey, I think that I can write a program, you know, to do this is
1:18:20
two or three o'clock in the morning.
1:18:21
We're doing 3,000 athletes by hand.
1:18:24
So well, hey, if you can write it, I can sell it.
1:18:27
He wrote it. So I put it up when we put it
1:18:30
out on the market and within the first time we launched that
1:18:35
program I would say was like 99.9% accuracy from day one then
1:18:42
by me doing so started a online registration company.
1:18:47
So I got bags like Ocho then as a coach or registration online
1:18:50
registration, and then I was already doing event management
1:18:54
and then people started calling me and asked me would I come and
1:18:57
do their meats? One of the first meetings I had
1:18:59
just done the NCAA Regional meet at University of Tennessee and
1:19:03
Universal Louisville. Ask me what I come and do it for
1:19:07
them. So I was like sure I'll come.
1:19:10
Well I literally just packed up everybody and Universal,
1:19:13
Tennessee and took him a little and did they are me?
1:19:17
So so, what, okay, I can, I can take this show on the road.
1:19:21
So then we started doing, you know, Collegiate championships
1:19:25
primarily and any other invitationals At that point.
1:19:30
What is been as you look back on that?
1:19:34
We went through a lot of years really quick there.
1:19:35
But what has been your defining? Not defining, what's been your
1:19:41
strong suit. I mean, you you go from bags to
1:19:46
meet entry. That's a leap like that.
1:19:48
There's no progression there. It's not bags to the machines
1:19:51
that made the bags, you know, you went from cloth to
1:19:54
technology and then you go from almost.
1:19:58
Another way you went from technology back to people
1:20:00
meeting the actual meat management side of things, why
1:20:04
such a diverse path there, underneath the same umbrella of
1:20:08
track and field. Well, I I I I think it's being
1:20:14
lucky fortunate or, you know, keep an eye on the surroundings
1:20:21
of whatever being involved in the sport and seeing what's
1:20:24
needed. I saw some needs and was
1:20:31
fortunate enough to be able to, you know, to meet those needs.
1:20:36
And a lot of times with those needs is relationships and
1:20:40
stuff. You know, also, you see the
1:20:42
needs and you connect the dots with some people that have the
1:20:47
abilities, to help you meet those needs.
1:20:50
And so I, I saw the need and have helped relationships with
1:20:55
people in a lot of times people just need a plan.
1:20:57
All, you know, to move forward. I think, I don't know the exact
1:21:03
step, but I think most new businesses fail within, I want
1:21:08
to say it's one, two, three years.
1:21:09
I know like restaurants. It's like 90 days or something
1:21:11
like that, but most businesses do not succeed for decades and
1:21:17
you built a business that not only survive, but Thrive, but
1:21:21
did it in a time before email list cell phones.
1:21:28
How did you grow a business with none of that technology around
1:21:32
at all? And I'll mostly say, you know,
1:21:39
no relationship during this time.
1:21:44
I literally you know, what would ask, you know, people around me.
1:21:49
Don't give me a shot. Okay, you are going to spend
1:21:54
five dollars on this product. Anyway, okay.
1:21:59
Now you're going to spend five dollars with a big name company.
1:22:04
Cuz you comfortable with the big name company.
1:22:06
I'm nobody other than a personal relationship with you.
1:22:10
Will you trust me to give me give me your five dollars?
1:22:15
Okay, A lot of times I would charge for or 350, you know,
1:22:20
spend your money with me knowing that that I'm going to give you
1:22:25
the best product that I possible can I'm not I'm not just going
1:22:28
to ask for your money and and give you you know, something not
1:22:32
a good product. So once you know, you trusted me
1:22:37
and and I gave you a good product now the product markets
1:22:42
itself because everybody's looking for the next new item.
1:22:47
They're looking for something different.
1:22:48
And what is that? Where did you get that?
1:22:51
You know, so now you know, my personal relationship would say,
1:22:55
well hey I got this from coach. Oh, you know he did this, you
1:22:59
know, for me, you know, good product.
1:23:02
Got it to me in a timely manner. Give him a shot.
1:23:04
So that's how I've been able and and you know, you have your
1:23:10
marketing mechanisms, you know, now.
1:23:12
But I also like this, you know, say it still comes back a lot of
1:23:16
times till too personal, you know, relationships as a
1:23:19
foundation, you know marketing, it just simply to let them, you
1:23:23
know, let people know that you built it that it is, you know
1:23:28
here. But you want to know that when
1:23:30
and throughout my business My 1-800 number came to me.
1:23:38
So when you got me you didn't get a guy that could make a
1:23:42
decision. You got to got it would make the
1:23:44
final, you know, you know the decision.
1:23:50
So that's a little bit how we were able to expand and you
1:23:53
haven't mentioned marketing's cousin branding.
1:23:57
You latched onto the kocho fairly early and it's still with
1:24:02
you today. I mean, people Don't know you as
1:24:04
Charles Oliver people do but but when you say coach, oh, that's
1:24:08
when people like everybody's eyes and lighten up.
1:24:12
I was like, oh coach. Oh, yeah.
1:24:13
I know coach. Joe.
1:24:15
Seems like you kind of understood the The Branding
1:24:18
aspect of business fairly early as well.
1:24:22
I was very meticulous in the brain and not a whole lot
1:24:27
happened. By accident her, say I may not
1:24:33
have known how to do it. But I was doing it intentionally
1:24:37
wrong or doing it wrong, you know, intentionally or whatever,
1:24:41
but I was very meticulous on putting a brand out there and
1:24:45
trying to develop a brand. I did not let my, my brand on my
1:24:50
logo be seen in, you know, in a light that I didn't not like, I
1:24:58
have a guarantee. When I first started out with
1:25:00
the bags and stuff 100% satisfaction guarantee, if you
1:25:05
all like a bag, I will repair it or replace it or refund your
1:25:08
money in that order without any hassle.
1:25:11
And I actually had a situation of once I walked up to a guy.
1:25:15
I'll tell you to situations in terms of marketing.
1:25:18
I walked up to a high school kid.
1:25:19
He had a bag. It was so it was raggedy.
1:25:22
He had it pinned together, you know, and everything.
1:25:24
And I said, hey man, you know, did not didn't introduce myself.
1:25:28
I said, how do you like? Your bag and so he saw I love my
1:25:31
bag, you know, so I introduced myself and I said, it's my
1:25:33
company. And what I'd like to do is give
1:25:36
you a new bag, you know, because I see that bag, you know, it's
1:25:40
torn up. He refused to give me his
1:25:43
favorite bag. He would not take a new bank and
1:25:46
I'm going to take the new that you old bag and throw it in the
1:25:48
trash. He refused to do that because he
1:25:51
loved, you know, his bag. So I gave him a new bag and then
1:25:57
his friend, you know, He's the coach that's his favorite bag.
1:26:01
You know, I was like, well, I'm glad you know, he loves it.
1:26:05
So he would not, you know give it to me but also in terms of
1:26:09
branding I ran a contest. One time it is and I say goes
1:26:12
back to relationships and knowing who you're dealing with
1:26:14
are in a contest one time. And I told one of my guys, I
1:26:17
said you go to attract me anywhere in the world, anywhere
1:26:21
in the world and you don't see a bag by coach.
1:26:24
Oh, I'll give you $50. Okay, anywhere in the world,
1:26:28
I'll give. Give you $50 and he came back to
1:26:32
me. He said coach, I was at distract
1:26:34
me. I was there all day, had not
1:26:38
seen a bag by coach. Oh, they're getting ready to run
1:26:40
a four by four and I've been during if a guy did not come in
1:26:44
with a bag by coach. Oh, but now you can't tell
1:26:47
anybody, that could they'll come back and lie and take your $50,
1:26:50
but I will chat. Share this example.
1:26:52
One time, one of us. My boss was only on the US
1:26:56
Olympic staff. And he was at the training camp
1:27:00
somewhere over in Europe, going into the Olympics.
1:27:03
And he said, you know what, all it is paraphernalia and
1:27:07
equipment that we give Kia tomorrow responses.
1:27:11
I've been doing forgot. I didn't come in with a bag by
1:27:13
coach. Oh and I was like, yes, it's so
1:27:19
I was like, okay, but putting it putting a brand out there
1:27:22
putting it in a positive, you know, like making sure that you
1:27:26
back up the warranty, you know and stuff like that.
1:27:29
That that that people are happy and they go back and they tell
1:27:31
those stories for you. You know, there was no marketing
1:27:35
budget, you know, they tell the stories for you.
1:27:38
I love that. You're right because it's one
1:27:39
thing to say about it. It's a completely different
1:27:42
thing to do it. And I love that that activity
1:27:45
of. Okay, if I'm going to say it.
1:27:46
Well, I'm going to do it and even more, I love that story
1:27:49
about your proactivity with that kid.
1:27:52
It's one thing. When a customer brings it to
1:27:54
you. You should be doing the right
1:27:56
thing and taking care of them, right?
1:27:58
But when You proactively see a bags?
1:28:01
Like oh, yeah, that bag seen its better days.
1:28:03
I die. Should probably replace that.
1:28:05
That's a whole different. That's a whole different level
1:28:07
the and that's what gets you success for the brand.
1:28:11
And because the brand is really the people behind it and what
1:28:14
they do or do not do in real and relationship to customer
1:28:18
service. Well, coach, we're getting near
1:28:22
the end. Not of your career.
1:28:25
Thank God, but what does the next few years look for you?
1:28:32
Well, we will quite excited. We are launching a lot of a lot
1:28:38
of track meet up under the you we have a lot of it.
1:28:43
A lot of events that we literally will be announcing it.
1:28:48
We're going in a national will put new track meets in, you
1:28:52
know, upon the coach or brand in the country.
1:28:55
We have several slated for countries.
1:28:59
International competitions. You know, and stuff like that,
1:29:03
continue to just put out a good product and look for niches
1:29:08
where we can give back and be more on the developmental, you
1:29:12
know, Ian, so we're expanding our staff and in a signing them,
1:29:17
you know, various titles, or they can go out into the, into
1:29:21
the industry into those various, you know, you know, niches and
1:29:25
be more supportive for other organizations.
1:29:29
That's awesome, man. I tell you your Life just here
1:29:32
in the stories and the some happenstance and some very
1:29:36
specific decisions that you made.
1:29:39
You know, it just seems like your career.
1:29:42
Your life has been built on two things, two themes that I got
1:29:46
from today's conversation with you coach.
1:29:48
One is servitude doing. What's, what's right for others.
1:29:53
How can I serve others? How can I do this for others?
1:29:55
Not by yet. I have yet to hear.
1:29:57
What do you hear one point? Did you say?
1:29:59
Well, I did this for me. I did this for For myself.
1:30:01
I wanted the glory. I wanted this outside of I
1:30:05
wanted to be the best on my team.
1:30:07
I went to college but that's a great.
1:30:09
You know, that that one is okay will allow that ego.
1:30:11
That's good ego. And then the other part theme
1:30:16
that I heard today was curiosity, you know, you talked
1:30:20
about that store in Columbus, you'd seen that store and you
1:30:22
didn't know what was in it. Well, most people are just going
1:30:24
to walk right by. They'll they don't even remember
1:30:27
that that store that they've never been in but you were like,
1:30:29
I wonder what's in that store. Let me just go check it out.
1:30:31
It could have been a billion different things, luckily for
1:30:34
you and honestly lucky for a lot of athletes and coaches.
1:30:37
It contained this bag and you took that you're curious about
1:30:42
that bag and you took that and built a brand a business.
1:30:46
What's great about businesses. Not only we think of tend to
1:30:50
think of businesses, only as the buying and selling transaction
1:30:53
that oh, customers came to you and they bought your your bags.
1:30:55
But businesses employ, people people have been through your
1:30:59
company. They've had job.
1:31:01
Jobs, they've gotten experience from working with you and your
1:31:04
company and have gone on to go to other companies and and
1:31:07
perpetuate that leadership and that servant to and that is the
1:31:11
greatest gift businesses can do. But businesses don't start on
1:31:15
their own, they had there has to be a person or people that are
1:31:18
willing to sacrifice and in give to do it and you did it and
1:31:24
continue to do it today and that's what's just amazing about
1:31:26
your stories that it continues today.
1:31:29
I think you thank you. Well, thank you, man.
1:31:33
Thank you so much for being here.
1:31:34
I really do appreciate it. You know, we've been going back
1:31:36
and forth to get you on the docket and the persistence was
1:31:40
it was paid off and this was a real blessing.
1:31:43
Thank you. A the third Mike.
1:31:45
I really appreciate the opportunity to be on your
1:31:48
program and always, you know to just talk with you man.
1:31:52
Great times always man. Love you to death.
1:31:54
Well folks that's a wrap. I just want to thank Charles for
1:31:57
being on the show today, you know, coach, I've So just so
1:32:00
authentic. I came through loud and clear
1:32:02
here and honestly your openness to share just means the world to
1:32:06
me. If you've enjoyed today's
1:32:08
episode, please consider subscribing to the show.
1:32:10
Even more importantly, if you found value in this
1:32:12
conversation, maybe others in your network would too.
1:32:15
So hit that share button, let Facebook Twitter and the rest of
1:32:17
the gang know all about it and come back next week.
1:32:20
We'll have another great guest. Actually.
1:32:21
We got a surprise for you next week.
1:32:22
You won't be one guest, we're going to have two guests coming
1:32:26
up next week and I did not plan this but spoiler alert.
1:32:30
There are also part of the Troy family.
1:32:31
So we're going to do two weeks in a row of the greatest
1:32:34
University in the world. So come back next week.
1:32:36
We'll do it all over again and get even better.
1:32:37
Thanks guys. Appreciate you listening today.
1:32:40
Thanks mine.