Latest / Founder Talk with Alex Sheridan / Surviving a Mass Shooting, Healing PTSD, and Finding Purpose Again with Chris Maliszewski

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Surviving a Mass Shooting, Healing PTSD, and Finding Purpose Again with Chris Maliszewski · Founder Talk with Alex Sheridan

• 0:00
  Chris Malzuski, founder of Hail Hill Auctions and Co host of
• 0:04
  Walking Tall podcast. Yeah, well, walking Tall
• 0:06
  movement. So it's an entire mental health
• 0:09
  advocacy. Platform we're going to get.
• 0:10
  Into that and I could talk a little bit about that, but I do
• 0:12
  host the The Walking Tall podcast and then I have another
• 0:15
  podcast for Hail Hill Auctions too called Appeal.
• 0:18
  So, so I'm excited for this conversation because I think
• 0:20
  it's a bunch of founders, entrepreneurs, some inspiring
• 0:23
  ones listening to the show. And I think there's like 2 cool
• 0:25
  aspects of this conversation. One is the work that you do with
• 0:29
  Hail Hill Auctions, right? I think there's just some things
• 0:31
  that we all can learn from that we're excited to learn about
• 0:33
  that. Thank you.
• 0:33
  And then 2 is the The Walking tall movement, the things that
• 0:36
  you've been through and what inspired that and the mental
• 0:39
  health side of that. I think it's going to be cool to
• 0:40
  talk through. So, so let's get into it, man.
• 0:43
  So just for the audience to understand, obviously you, you
• 0:46
  raise money for community building organizations.
• 0:49
  What does that look like? I think auction, I think like
• 0:51
  give me a fuck. Like you don't do that stuff
• 0:55
  right? So that's, I'll tell you, that's
• 0:56
  the first question I always get asked when I tell people in
• 0:59
  auctioneer they're like, oh, so you could talk like then and
• 1:01
  then and then and I'm like, no, not exactly.
• 1:03
  Because you know, there's different types of different
• 1:06
  types of auctioning skills, right?
• 1:08
  There's your commodity auctions, which are houses, cattle cars,
• 1:12
  you know, grain farm assets, things of that sort, right.
• 1:17
  That's where you'll see like the Dan and and and and there's a
• 1:19
  cadence to it. I don't.
• 1:20
  Help you understand. What I'm saying, I don't either.
• 1:22
  You have to have a lot of auctions to be able to pick
• 1:24
  that, pick that dialect up in a sense, right.
• 1:27
  And truthfully, a lot of it is just gibberish.
• 1:29
  And they're just speaking gibberish in between numbers.
• 1:31
  Yeah. Yeah.
• 1:31
  It's like. And so that's one aspect of
• 1:34
  auctioning. I focus more on the charity
• 1:37
  community building organization auction.
• 1:39
  And what that is, is more of a show, right?
• 1:42
  It's it's more about engaging the crowd.
• 1:44
  It's more about providing some form of entertainment that
• 1:47
  loosens the crowd up enough to give more money to the
• 1:51
  organization, which were there to raise funds for.
• 1:54
  So I'm more of myself on on the stage when I'm working for
• 1:59
  different community building organizations and there's a lot
• 2:02
  of work leading up to the event to ensure that you know how I
• 2:05
  promote the organization the night of is in line with how
• 2:08
  they want to be promoted. Right.
• 2:10
  So is it like you're creating the actual event or is it like
• 2:12
  they have an event that they're going to bring you to it to to
• 2:14
  raise the money? Well, it's both.
• 2:15
  Thank you for asking. Right, I can help with the event
• 2:17
  planning process. I've ran several fundraising
• 2:20
  events on my own within former employers and things of that
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  sort. So I do have an event planning
• 2:26
  portion of what it is I can provide to other community
• 2:30
  building organizations. But in some cases, more times
• 2:32
  than not, organizations are reaching out to me because they
• 2:35
  have a gala in place. It's been a historical event for
• 2:37
  them and they need somebody with my skill set and license,
• 2:40
  frankly, because you have to have a license to be an
• 2:42
  auctioneer to do what it is they need most.
• 2:45
  And that's to help raise money the night of a big event.
• 2:48
  Interesting. And what's this?
• 2:50
  What's the secret to getting money from people like, you
• 2:53
  know, obviously and what are we talking about?
• 2:55
  How much is it like 20 grand at a time?
• 2:57
  50 grand millions? Like what's the typical?
• 2:59
  So the most, the most money I've helped raise the night of is
• 3:04
  $1.9 million, but we've also raised as little.
• 3:07
  And I say little not to, to trivialize the amount, but you
• 3:11
  know, upwards of 25 or 30,000. It's really all indicative on
• 3:14
  the size of the organization, which I'm supporting their past
• 3:17
  giving history. And then in many facets, it's
• 3:21
  really reliant upon the money in the room, right?
• 3:23
  How much, how much work is done ahead of time to get quote UN
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  quote big spenders there to support the mission, to support
• 3:30
  the efforts to support the organization.
• 3:31
  And then it's just my role to maximize the giving, right?
• 3:35
  And what I often say is as an auctioneer and somebody who does
• 3:39
  what it is I do, if there's somebody in the room who's going
• 3:41
  to always give $20,000, let's just say they're a $20,000
• 3:45
  giver, I'm going to try to get them to 25, right?
• 3:48
  I'm not going to try to get them to go from 20 to 100.
• 3:50
  That's an impossibility. But where somebody with my skill
• 3:53
  set, my expertise, my license has has benefit and and
• 3:57
  basically is an ROI or basically right is where I can take that
• 4:00
  $20,000, get rid of 25 or that 500 to 1000, right?
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  Just with little tips, tools, tactics, engagement,
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  authenticity wins above all else in my mind.
• 4:10
  So just promoting the organization from the heart
• 4:12
  often proves to be helpful, and others give more money than they
• 4:16
  otherwise usually would. Right.
• 4:18
  So what are you, what are you doing?
• 4:20
  And I'm thinking as we go through this, what other
• 4:21
  founders can learn from too, because ultimately, I think if
• 4:23
  it's storytelling, it's agitating, it's inspiring, it's
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  motivating people to take action, whether we're trying to
• 4:29
  win customers, raise money, of course, get investors in our
• 4:31
  company. What is it that you're actually
• 4:33
  doing? Like paint us a picture of like
• 4:34
  you're on stage. Are you talking to the audience?
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  Do you have certain props? Like how?
• 4:38
  Does that work? No, Great question.
• 4:39
  So there's a lot of work leading up to an event, right where I
• 4:42
  meet with the committee or director of development or an
• 4:44
  executive director of a charity or different type of community
• 4:47
  building organization. And I say community building
• 4:49
  organizations because their school athletic departments,
• 4:52
  there's parent teacher organizations, PTOSPTAS that
• 4:55
  aren't necessarily 5O1C3, but I support them anyways because
• 4:59
  they're community building, right?
• 5:00
  And so there's a lot of work leading up to an event where we
• 5:03
  understand what's the mission of the organization, what's the
• 5:06
  intent of the evening? Is there a theme?
• 5:09
  What types of things do we have to auction or sell, right?
• 5:12
  So I could prepare a script that basically leans into what it is
• 5:15
  we're trying to raise the money for and then maximize and
• 5:18
  leverage what it is we have to offer and quote UN quote, a
• 5:21
  quick sale, right? And so there's a lot of work
• 5:24
  leading up to it. There's dry runs, there's site
• 5:28
  visits, there's understanding who some of the quote UN quote
• 5:33
  big givers are in the room. So during cocktail hour or kind
• 5:36
  of a social aspect, I can go introduce myself to them and
• 5:40
  thank them for being there and let them know that, hey, I'm
• 5:43
  looking forward to working with them tonight, right?
• 5:45
  So it's a lot of relationship building from the moment you get
• 5:48
  contracted or hired or even engaged with to understand not
• 5:52
  only to to decide if I could support that organization, but
• 5:56
  to also decide if it's an organization I want to support,
• 5:59
  right? I think that's one great thing
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  about what it is I do as an entrepreneur and as a kind of
• 6:04
  working for myself in a sense, is there's a billion charities,
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  there's a billion community building organizations out
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  there. And they're not all to say that
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  they're not trying to make the world a better place, but
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  there's some that don't jive with my morals, my values.
• 6:17
  And so I have that opportunity, right?
• 6:19
  So, but building relationships is critical, understanding what
• 6:22
  the intent of the evening is and then understanding what the goal
• 6:25
  is as well, right? You know what, what do we want
• 6:28
  to raise in this evening? What we want to raise, $250,000?
• 6:31
  OK, well, how much did you raise last year?
• 6:32
  Well, 30,000, right? Well, it's not a good fit,
• 6:35
  right, In some capacity. So you're really just kind of
• 6:38
  vetting and being vetted. And then once that engagement is
• 6:42
  established, right, then it's really about building
• 6:44
  relationships. And what I do uniquely, unlike
• 6:48
  many auctioneers in our market here in the Chicagoland area, is
• 6:51
  I become invested in that organization, right?
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  I volunteer for some of them. I have them on my own podcast,
• 6:58
  The Appeal to promote their organization, to create
• 7:00
  awareness and give them content to promote their event.
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  And maybe some of the auction items we're going to have ahead
• 7:06
  of time, right? So there's things that I've had
• 7:08
  to do differently because there are many other auctioneers in
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  our industry and in our market who have been established for
• 7:13
  20-30 years who have great relationships.
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  And so the fact that I'm able to now be up to and with the times
• 7:20
  in a sense, right, has been able to separate me, right?
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  Like many of the auctioneers now going, you know, now in our
• 7:27
  market have been doing it, like I said, for a long time.
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  They don't have a podcast, they don't have social media content
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  to engage, right. And so I've had to separate
• 7:35
  myself in a many in many facets 'cause I'm kind of that new kid
• 7:38
  on the block. Right.
• 7:40
  It reminds me of Got 1 back here.
• 7:44
  Let's see one of these open, uh, liquid death.
• 7:46
  Yeah, I got some of the fridge, but I'm not gonna go in the
• 7:48
  fridge right now. I love liquid death.
• 7:50
  Man, I'll give you 1 to go if you want.
• 7:51
  Yeah, you want Now I can give it to you.
• 7:53
  It's a little warm. I got my McDonald's.
• 7:54
  Okay, you're good, you got your Coke.
• 7:58
  What you're speaking to is just differentiation.
• 8:00
  You know, it's how do you stand out in a crowded marketplace?
• 8:04
  I think Liquid Death has done a good job of that.
• 8:06
  You know, you're doing a good job of it with when your
• 8:08
  business because it's like, yeah, the customer can choose
• 8:10
  from a lot of different companies and especially when
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  you got legacy companies, right, they've been doing it for
• 8:14
  10/20/30 years. How do you now separate yourself
• 8:17
  from the pack and almost position yourself as something
• 8:19
  completely different? And that's what we try to help
• 8:21
  companies do as well, right? You just need that.
• 8:23
  You have to have that and content podcast your style, how
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  you invest yourself in the organization or some other
• 8:30
  people may not do that. All of those things, competitive
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  advantages, that's a big one for people because in companies,
• 8:36
  because they're like, man, there's we're it's so
• 8:37
  competitive and they'll be like, yeah, we do something a little
• 8:41
  bit different. But a lot of times what they
• 8:42
  tell me is like, it's our customer service or we care, or
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  it's like that. That's not a real difference.
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  Everybody says that one says that, right?
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  So you got to have something that truly is, is tangible and
• 8:53
  truly is not just like, oh, I, you know, it's, it's how I it's
• 8:56
  my personality. It's like that maybe is an
• 8:58
  aspect of it, but it's got to be the customer has to see value in
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  it, right? And they see value from you
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  being invested in the organization, from getting
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  content, from doing the podcast, from being out there.
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  Those are real time, valuable things. 100% And you know the
• 9:10
  one thing that I'm not right and I understand the need for it in
• 9:13
  business, right, But I'm not extremely transactional, right?
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  And I think that's kind of what you're speaking to is being
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  ingrained, being invested and allowing others to be ingrained
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  and invested in what it is you do right means the world of
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  difference when you're trying to create long term clients and or
• 9:29
  long term relationships that turn into business, right?
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  The auctioneering business, the fundraising business is
• 9:35
  transactional in many times like you need an auctioneer to show
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  up for a couple hours, do his job, pay him his invoice, and
• 9:40
  then you don't see him again till next year.
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  Well, I think, and I believe that by ingraining myself, I've
• 9:46
  been able to establish and set myself apart and keep those long
• 9:49
  term clients because they want to keep coming back on the
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  podcast. They want me to show up on site
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  and take photos and video and promote them on social media on
• 9:56
  my own platforms, whereas not many other people are doing that
• 9:59
  right now. I'm sure, and I haven't been in
• 10:00
  your events. I'm sure that the audience feels
• 10:03
  that, right? I'm sure they feel that like
• 10:05
  this guy's just not getting up here and being like, all right,
• 10:06
  here's you know what we got going on and you want to donate
• 10:08
  and this, this and this. And I think they probably feel
• 10:11
  that like you've been ingrained a little bit and you kind of you
• 10:13
  have confidence and, and care and what you're actually selling
• 10:16
  or trying to raise money for, right?
• 10:18
  It's not just like, and I think it's the same.
• 10:19
  If you're doing a podcast and you have sponsors, it's kind of
• 10:22
  obvious when you have a sponsor that you're like, I don't ever
• 10:24
  use this thing. It's crap.
• 10:24
  I just want the money versus I really like this product that
• 10:28
  I'm excited to promote it because I use it and I've tried
• 10:30
  it and. Like man, I'm telling you, you
• 10:32
  can. Feel that shit right of.
• 10:33
  Course, I have a sponsor on the appeal, which is my podcast
• 10:36
  promoted by Hail hail auctions, where we focus and we bring on
• 10:39
  community building organizations and it's a bi weekly live stream
• 10:42
  show. But I have a sponsor now that's
• 10:44
  my tattoo artist. OK speak and I don't speak easy
• 10:47
  custom tattoo in Chicago, the Wicker Park neighborhood.
• 10:50
  The owner, Patrick Cornolo, he's the guy who does all my work
• 10:54
  right. And as we got to know each
• 10:55
  other, as I sat in his chair and told him what it is I do, he's
• 10:58
  like, hey, maybe we could partner right?
• 11:00
  And now before you know it, before my shows as a sponsor,
• 11:02
  I'm talking about Speakeasy from a personal perspective, right?
• 11:06
  Like what exactly it means to me to have them support me, but
• 11:10
  also to use their services too, right?
• 11:12
  Obviously, we all have bills to pay and we all need resources in
• 11:16
  terms of finances. And so you have to take some
• 11:18
  sponsorships at times that feel a little less authentic, but
• 11:21
  exactly that. And then when I stand on stage
• 11:23
  as an auctioneer and I tell folks, hey, I volunteered in a
• 11:26
  Class A couple weeks ago and here's what I saw, and here's
• 11:29
  why you're voluntary. Your volunteerism or your
• 11:32
  donations are so important. Here's what I believe, right?
• 11:35
  People get taken aback. Like, whoa, this guy actually
• 11:37
  gets it right. This guy spent the time to
• 11:39
  understand what it is we do. This person is not just on
• 11:43
  stage, you know, flaunting and, and being flashy, trying to
• 11:46
  raise money. He gets what it's, it's what
• 11:48
  it's about. And in return, I could be so
• 11:50
  much more authentic and I could be so much more present and so
• 11:53
  much more engaging as opposed to just trying to sell a trip or an
• 11:57
  autographed item or some tickets that I, I do, you know, week in
• 12:00
  and week out, it's more about supporting the mission than
• 12:02
  making the money, right? I think it probably seems like
• 12:06
  you're on stage as an employee almost of the organization
• 12:09
  versus like some random person they brought in to do this
• 12:12
  event, right? What do you think?
• 12:14
  Speaking of money though, I know it's all about the money, but
• 12:15
  it's not all about the money. But when it comes to I'm think
• 12:18
  of founders listening to this right now.
• 12:20
  What have you learned over the last year or two or so on what
• 12:23
  it is that allows you to get people to separate from their
• 12:27
  money and spend it? Because ultimately that's what
• 12:29
  we're trying to do as businesses.
• 12:30
  We need to get people to separate from their money and
• 12:33
  put it into something that they deem is valuable to grow their
• 12:36
  business, to support A cause, to move them forward.
• 12:39
  What are maybe a couple things that you've learned about maybe
• 12:41
  some psychology type things or just best practices or things
• 12:45
  that we learned about humans? Yeah, I think storytelling is
• 12:47
  essential, right? Having a mission behind what it
• 12:50
  is you're asking for, even what it is you're selling, goes a
• 12:53
  long way, particularly when you're a founder or an
• 12:55
  entrepreneur, right? It's a little different in my
• 12:58
  industry because I, as you said, become a pseudo employee or a
• 13:02
  representative of that various organization which I'm
• 13:04
  supporting. But if I don't have a story to
• 13:06
  tell, if I don't have a keynote speaker before I do my auction,
• 13:11
  if there's not a really powerful video that's impactful that
• 13:14
  causes people to lose their breath and shed a tear or maybe
• 13:16
  laugh a little, it makes my job a lot harder, right?
• 13:19
  I'm still the same guy week in and week out, but a lot of what
• 13:23
  makes more or less money is how it's positioned.
• 13:26
  So the storytelling aspect is essential.
• 13:28
  Do you think that, you know, they say that people buy on
• 13:30
  emotion, justify with logic? Do you find that when you're
• 13:33
  raising money for people in organizations, the emotion piece
• 13:36
  is why they actually buy? Well, I feel like the emotion
• 13:39
  piece is why they're there, right?
• 13:41
  So there's a difference. I think getting them in the
• 13:43
  room, having them buy a ticket for a plated dinner or whatever
• 13:47
  the outfit is, right? Getting in there is the emotion
• 13:50
  and then having the story or the justification.
• 13:52
  With your $5000 donation, we're going to be able to purchase X
• 13:56
  amount of tool boxes for the mechanics, which this charity
• 13:59
  supports, right? Justifying it, quantifying it
• 14:02
  and letting folks know how their money is impactful really allows
• 14:07
  for somebody to say, well, hey, that makes sense, right?
• 14:09
  As opposed to saying, do I have $1000?
• 14:10
  Yeah, OK, $1000 from Alex, right.
• 14:12
  You're like, well, what the hell is my $1000 doing?
• 14:14
  Right? Such a great point.
• 14:15
  So justifying it and quantifying it allows people to say, well, I
• 14:20
  was going to give 1000, but you know, this auctioneer is really
• 14:22
  good and he's telling me that with the $2500 thousand, $2500
• 14:26
  gift, yeah, it's going to go that much further.
• 14:28
  Let me give 2500, right? It's not just asking, it's not
• 14:31
  just having fun on stage and being a, a, an idiot, like I say
• 14:35
  at times in a, in a good way, right?
• 14:37
  It's really doing the work, understanding what the messaging
• 14:40
  is, quantifying the asks and then being relentless and, you
• 14:44
  know, innovative for it. Yeah, I love that man.
• 14:47
  I think that applies so much to sales calls, pitch decks and
• 14:50
  whatever you're trying to do. You you kind of think about
• 14:52
  people showing up to the calls. You know, for us, let's say we
• 14:55
  do in house content marketing team building for companies,
• 14:59
  often times they show up because they're like they feel
• 15:01
  empowered. There was some type of emotional
• 15:02
  like, yeah, I want to be able to create content, build my brand.
• 15:05
  And I don't want to have a marketing agency do it.
• 15:06
  I want to do it internally. Like it becomes part of their
• 15:09
  identity a little bit. And I'm sure in your case too,
• 15:11
  of like, I want to be the giver, the philanthropy.
• 15:13
  You know, I want to that that's a part of who I am.
• 15:16
  They show up. And then to your point, you've
• 15:18
  got to be able to show the logic and the the numbers and the
• 15:22
  data. And here's what if you give us
• 15:24
  money, this is what it's going to go towards.
• 15:26
  And these are the results that we can expect or what it's
• 15:29
  what's actually going to happen. That's such a good sales lesson,
• 15:31
  man. And presentation lesson.
• 15:33
  Yeah, emotion and then logic. 100% it's.
• 15:36
  Just got to be, well, how do you look at storytelling?
• 15:37
  Anything there? Like when you're preparing some
• 15:39
  of the videos and you're getting on stage, like are you thinking
• 15:42
  about where the audience is? Like, how do you kind of think
• 15:44
  about storytelling? Yeah, storytelling is essential,
• 15:46
  right? Having, you know, impact
• 15:49
  stories, right? It's great.
• 15:50
  And it's all nice and good for a CEOA founder and executive
• 15:54
  director and employee to say, yeah, this organization is great
• 15:58
  because right, we all. Companies on their website we're
• 16:00
  biased yeah, yeah, we're. Biased, but let me hear from
• 16:03
  somebody that your work has impacted, right?
• 16:06
  And that's where I said earlier, a keynote speech, a video
• 16:09
  testimony, having somebody in the room, it's a participant of
• 16:14
  various programming that this organization may offer to let
• 16:17
  them speak to how this organization, their mission,
• 16:19
  their work has impacted their lives for the positive or
• 16:23
  greater good is phenomenal, right?
• 16:25
  It makes my job so much easier. Great example.
• 16:27
  I just supported an organization called Oak Leiden a couple
• 16:30
  months ago and before I did my auction, they support
• 16:34
  individuals with developmental disabilities, both physical and
• 16:37
  mental right. They have group homes, they have
• 16:39
  programming. They do great work.
• 16:41
  Before I did my auction, their choir saying made my job so much
• 16:45
  easier. It got people go.
• 16:47
  They could care less what I was saying.
• 16:48
  They were just ready to give because they saw what their
• 16:51
  money was supporting. It was supporting an opportunity
• 16:53
  for 15 people to sing their hearts out in in a in a place
• 16:58
  that was not judge mental. They could be themselves.
• 17:00
  And it was like, now who wants to support us so we could do
• 17:03
  more of that, right? So having authentic
• 17:06
  authenticity, having storytelling and impact
• 17:09
  statements, whether it's in business and fundraising is
• 17:12
  essential in my opinion because it really brings to what it is
• 17:16
  this organization is promoting to life.
• 17:19
  Like music just kind of does that.
• 17:20
  It moves, you know, and. You talk for hours on music.
• 17:22
  You. Know like you're in your car,
• 17:24
  you're drive whatever you're working out, you're walking and
• 17:27
  you can music can just I would say it can just take you places
• 17:29
  like it can just take you to a whole different world, good or
• 17:32
  bad some. 100%. But it's like, man, you can put
• 17:35
  in a song and it can take you back in time to a certain place
• 17:38
  you're at. It can take you to the future
• 17:40
  and where you want to be. And you're envisioning all these
• 17:42
  things. I got that.
• 17:43
  I'm gonna do this, you know, like music is really special
• 17:45
  like that. Dude, So I don't think you may
• 17:48
  know, but I'll tell. Hail Hail Auctions was named
• 17:50
  after my favorite song of all time, Pearl Jam.
• 17:52
  Yeah. Yeah.
• 17:53
  So Pearl Jam is my favorite band.
• 17:55
  I've seen them all over the world 77 times.
• 17:57
  Wow. And as you were saying, their
• 17:59
  music, whatever reason, just emotes happiness for me.
• 18:02
  It just is my happy place. And whatever it is they're
• 18:05
  singing about, I could relate it to my life.
• 18:07
  And Hail, Hail has always been my favorite song.
• 18:10
  And as I became an auctioneer or, and I was thinking about
• 18:13
  starting my own company, I started to look, what am I going
• 18:15
  to name this? And I'm like, wait a minute,
• 18:16
  Hail. Hail is my favorite song.
• 18:18
  Pearl Jam has impacted me so positively, How can I attribute
• 18:22
  them in a way that's relevant to auctioning, right?
• 18:25
  So now my final call is hail, Hail.
• 18:26
  You bought it. That's cool, right?
• 18:28
  Hail, hail. We got a winner, right?
• 18:29
  And so it's they don't know why I'm saying it, right?
• 18:32
  But it's something that's a shtick in a sense that people
• 18:34
  could say like, Hey, I kind of like that guy, right?
• 18:36
  He's got some, he's got something to him, right?
• 18:38
  And that's a key to auctioneering too, is being
• 18:40
  memorable, right? Because what happens in in event
• 18:43
  planning is you know, your attendees, you want them to come
• 18:46
  back year to year and they're like, Hey, is that auctioneer
• 18:48
  coming back? He was great, right?
• 18:49
  Or hey, that auctioneer coming back as if he is.
• 18:51
  I'm not coming next year, right? So having a sort of personality
• 18:54
  on stage and I started with my companies name and being a
• 18:58
  tribute to my favorite band cuz. Some of them are probably just
• 19:00
  really boring and it's just like, all right, I'm going to
• 19:02
  this this event and it's like the auctioneer just sucks.
• 19:05
  Yeah, I'll tell you big. Difference.
• 19:06
  There's a keynote speaker, right?
• 19:07
  It's like God. So the auctioneering business,
• 19:10
  particularly here in the Chicagoland area, is what we
• 19:12
  call pale and stale, right? There's a lot of old white guys
• 19:15
  in the industry. Yeah.
• 19:16
  And they're not that they're not good, right?
• 19:18
  Like some of them are the best of the best, But some of them
• 19:21
  it's like, hey, maybe your time has passed or maybe you need to
• 19:24
  pass the torch. You haven't evolved with the
• 19:25
  times, you know. Well, that's a great, you know,
• 19:28
  evolution is a really great point because again, there's,
• 19:31
  there's many auctioneers out there.
• 19:32
  I'm the only one in the marketplace with a podcast right
• 19:35
  now, right? And some of these auctioneers,
• 19:37
  because they are pale and still don't have the the savvy, the
• 19:40
  wherewithal, the ability, the understanding, how to leverage
• 19:43
  social media, how to have a podcast to promote.
• 19:45
  And just their willingness to get uncomfortable and try
• 19:47
  something wildly different dude is the biggest thing being.
• 19:50
  Comfortable, uncomfortable is critical.
• 19:52
  They don't have it for now. They probably they'll either
• 19:54
  phase out, retire without ever doing it, or people will start
• 19:57
  to catch on and be like, we got to do some type of media and why
• 20:00
  not a pod, you know? Yeah, take advantage of it.
• 20:02
  Why you got it? Hell yeah, man.
• 20:03
  And that's the thing. And with the organizations I
• 20:05
  support, right? In many cases, many of them
• 20:08
  don't have their own marketing team, don't have their own
• 20:11
  ability to promote on social media.
• 20:13
  Yeah, they're doing the legwork on a daily basis to make our
• 20:16
  world a better place. And they're not worried about
• 20:17
  promoting themselves. So let me promote it just like
• 20:19
  the work you do. Totally, man.
• 20:21
  Competitive advantage. I'll throw one thing out here
• 20:23
  and I'm curious to get your take, but I think it's going to
• 20:24
  be valuable for the audience. You're talking about customer
• 20:27
  success stories and like driving the emotion from that, not just
• 20:30
  hearing it from you as the owner, as the the organization,
• 20:33
  the business, but hearing it from people that you've made an
• 20:36
  impact on. You know, we were a big believer
• 20:38
  in that. We've got video testimonials,
• 20:39
  that kind of stuff. One thing I've been doing
• 20:41
  recently, and we filmed a couple videos the other day, actually
• 20:43
  last week, but now they're there had been edited this week is the
• 20:46
  not so successful client stories and the why you shouldn't work
• 20:51
  with us. And I thought that was like an
• 20:53
  interesting, I was, I saw a LinkedIn post from a guy I know
• 20:55
  and he was talking about how buyers are skeptical.
• 20:57
  And you know, you really got to talk about the other side of
• 21:00
  things too, not just the good stuff.
• 21:02
  So what we did is we recorded a couple videos and we're like,
• 21:05
  we've got, you've seen all these client success stories, like
• 21:07
  you've seen them on our website, LinkedIn, like, you know, we get
• 21:10
  good results, but are there examples of when it didn't go
• 21:13
  well? Or like are there certain cases
• 21:16
  where we brought on a client and we didn't get them amazing
• 21:18
  results? And of course, and we all have
• 21:20
  that right? We all make mistakes.
• 21:21
  And so our thing was like, let's put that on video and let's not
• 21:25
  talk about the specific company and like air some dirty laundry
• 21:27
  out, obviously, but just talk about like, hey, here's a couple
• 21:30
  examples where we fell short of where we wanted to be from a
• 21:33
  result standpoint. And here's what we learned from
• 21:35
  it. And here's how we're approaching
• 21:37
  a next time to make sure it doesn't happen.
• 21:39
  And who here's who are not the right fit for and here's also
• 21:43
  who are the right fit for. So I think it's a balance.
• 21:45
  You need that like wall of social proof and testimony and
• 21:49
  videos and the impact you've made.
• 21:51
  But I think it's this is also causing me in the past few weeks
• 21:53
  to really think about, are we showcasing a little bit of the
• 21:56
  other side? Sure.
• 21:57
  Because the buyers, when they look at it, they want the whole
• 21:59
  picture. They're going to be a little bit
• 22:00
  skeptical. They're going to want to see the
• 22:02
  exciting stuff. They're going to want to see,
• 22:03
  well, what if this doesn't work stuff?
• 22:06
  And I think I'm curious to hear from your perspective what you
• 22:08
  think on that. Yeah, absolutely.
• 22:10
  And admittedly, I've lost clients for various reasons, as
• 22:14
  we all have. And and the truth of the matter
• 22:16
  is it all reverts back to what it is they want from me, right?
• 22:19
  And what it is I could provide, admittedly, like I'm a
• 22:23
  passionate guy. I'm very forward in my
• 22:26
  personality. And that's off putting at times
• 22:28
  to some organizations. Some organizations want a
• 22:31
  transactional auctioneer, somebody who's just going to
• 22:33
  show up, do the job and get out and not cause any waves in in
• 22:37
  the wake, if you will, right, Just do your thing and get out.
• 22:39
  And so that's probably not a good fit for me.
• 22:41
  And when I start to, you know, when I have had experiences like
• 22:45
  that with different organizations, we've agreed,
• 22:47
  Hey, it's probably not the best thing, right?
• 22:49
  Or understanding where it is you want me to be.
• 22:52
  And then I can make the decision if I could support you and vice
• 22:55
  versa, you know, and then again, you know, there are times where
• 22:58
  we have goals that that the mark isn't met, right?
• 23:01
  And again, I have to be steadfast and in my confidence
• 23:05
  to know that, hey, I'm the same guy that blew out goals and also
• 23:08
  hasn't achieved them. So, right, what can I learn from
• 23:11
  the experience to help that organization next year exceed
• 23:14
  their goal? So anytime a feedback, whether
• 23:16
  it's positive or negative, it's just information in my mind and
• 23:18
  it's what I learned from it and how I use it to my benefit for
• 23:21
  the next client for the next year, what have you.
• 23:24
  But of course, you know, there's there's people who don't like
• 23:27
  what it is I do and how I do it and that's OK.
• 23:29
  That's why there's other auctioneers.
• 23:31
  That's right. You know, do you, do you see, I
• 23:33
  think what you do is unique. How do you see AI impacting what
• 23:36
  you do over the next several years, if any?
• 23:39
  I believe AI can help with storytelling above all else,
• 23:42
  right? Hey, can you tell me, here's a
• 23:43
  website, can you give me a few snippets?
• 23:45
  What's some impact statements I can make?
• 23:47
  Right, So it may help expedite some of my planning efforts.
• 23:50
  But again, yeah, exactly right. But but again, as I mentioned,
• 23:53
  like this is a relationship business, this is a people
• 23:55
  business. I can't imagine it taking over
• 23:58
  this industry. Yeah, you know, an AI robot
• 24:01
  maybe sooner or later could be an auctioneer, I don't know, but
• 24:03
  but I hope not, you know, pulled.
• 24:06
  Off like you, I think it'd be that'd be pretty tough, you
• 24:08
  know, like I think to get towards like you, that'd be
• 24:11
  pretty, yeah. I'd be impressed, yeah.
• 24:13
  But you know. There is gonna, there is
• 24:14
  humanoid robotics. And I think in the next 10 years
• 24:16
  or less, they're saying people, it will be somewhat common
• 24:19
  practice to have like a robot in people's houses, probably people
• 24:22
  that have a lot of money where like, you know, it's doing
• 24:25
  laundry, it's doing dishes. Like Small wonder, You remember
• 24:27
  that movie, that TV show, Nikki? You got to look it up.
• 24:29
  Small wonder was an old TV show in the 80s when we were kids and
• 24:32
  she was a robot and, like, an adopted robot.
• 24:34
  And she was their housekeeper. She lifted the couch.
• 24:37
  Yeah, yeah, Yeah, exactly. I think that's gonna, but it's
• 24:39
  like, are those good enough to get on stage, like move people
• 24:42
  And like, probably not, you know what I mean?
• 24:44
  So how? How can a robot be invested in
• 24:46
  in in a mission of an organization, Right.
• 24:49
  Yeah, that's how I feel. And like when I volunteer for
• 24:51
  organizations, like I show up, Yeah.
• 24:53
  You know, like I'm there. And so, yeah, I think you can
• 24:56
  help in some capacities, the data analytics, kind of the
• 24:59
  event planning side of things, right.
• 25:01
  Expedite some of that. But when it comes down to it,
• 25:04
  like, you know, when there's 500 people in a room with a paddle
• 25:06
  in their hand, they're probably gonna want to see a smile as a
• 25:08
  for sure robot. Yeah, no, totally man, totally.
• 25:10
  That's how I look at it too. So how do you make money from
• 25:13
  this? Do you do?
• 25:14
  Is it like a fee per or do you take part of the whatever you
• 25:16
  raise? Like how does it work?
• 25:17
  On no, So I'm a flat fee. Like different auctioneers build
• 25:21
  different ways. Again, I want to raise as much
• 25:24
  money for the organization I'm working with as possible.
• 25:26
  So if I were to take a percentage of whatever it is it
• 25:28
  raised, it'd be, it'd be great for me in some capacities,
• 25:32
  right? But it would be a detriment to
• 25:33
  that organization. And so I'm not here to gouge.
• 25:35
  I'm not here to, you know, exploit organizations and their
• 25:40
  crowds for my personal benefit. I know my value, and so I ask
• 25:44
  for it. And my job is to raise as much
• 25:46
  money as possible, regardless of whatever it is I make.
• 25:49
  And so, but once they come on the podcast, it's part of my
• 25:52
  services, right? So it's A1 flat fee package
• 25:55
  where you, you get me as an auctioneer, you get a podcast
• 25:58
  appearance, you maybe get a couple volunteer opportunities
• 26:02
  for me, right? And, and with that being said,
• 26:04
  right to, for lack of a better term, to, to support my
• 26:07
  lifestyle, right? I need less clients over X
• 26:11
  amount of time because I'm not as transactional.
• 26:14
  And I know year in and year out I'll have the same participating
• 26:17
  partners as opposed to like just chasing a job and chasing.
• 26:20
  Your job? Yeah, I bet you I know the
• 26:22
  business you started last year, 2020.
• 26:24
  Four, yeah, 2024 just I was I hit a year in January.
• 26:26
  Congrats. Yeah, Thank you.
• 26:27
  Yeah, dude, it's not an easy Rd. but fun one.
• 26:30
  It's fun. First couple years were tough,
• 26:31
  yeah. But I think with you, like you
• 26:33
  said man, you start to build up more referrals, brand
• 26:35
  recognition, people come back to your recurring clients because
• 26:38
  they're gonna always need to raise money to a certain extent
• 26:40
  to keep the organization going and you've done a good job,
• 26:43
  they're likely to come back. So.
• 26:44
  I hope, yeah, I have, you know, a year and a half in, I have my
• 26:48
  my biggest month ahead of me in terms terms of partnerships in
• 26:51
  November, right. I have the most events in a year
• 26:53
  and a half booked, which is a good sign.
• 26:55
  And I'm now starting to see returning clients.
• 26:57
  And as an auctioneer, when you know you hit the mark is when
• 27:00
  you walk off stage and they said save the date for next.
• 27:03
  Year, right? You're like bone.
• 27:05
  Done right and that happens quite often now for me, which is
• 27:07
  great because I don't have to continue to network.
• 27:10
  Not that I don't enjoy it and I want to learn more about more
• 27:13
  organizations, but as I said, you know, I could probably only
• 27:15
  support 30 to 40 organizations in a year.
• 27:18
  And the other thing about our industry, which is great, and my
• 27:21
  mentor, who is also an auctioneer, really ingrained
• 27:24
  this in me. The nice thing about what it is
• 27:26
  we do, we can only be in one place at one time, right?
• 27:29
  So as an auctioneer, I could only support an event from 6 to
• 27:32
  10:00 PM every Saturday for 52 weeks.
• 27:35
  There's 50 events on a Saturday in Chicago, and there's not
• 27:38
  enough auctioneers to support, right?
• 27:40
  So I have an opportunity should I continue to want to grow my
• 27:43
  business or you know, expand in a sense.
• 27:47
  But right now I'm just having fun doing what it is I'm doing
• 27:50
  and just kind of letting that right, yeah, right, right out,
• 27:52
  you know, it's. Definitely pros and cons to
• 27:54
  building the team versus Stan Solo.
• 27:55
  And there's like, I think it just comes down to what is the
• 27:59
  life that you want and what's gonna make you happy and
• 28:01
  fulfilled. Yeah, most people are like, I
• 28:02
  gotta do this I gotta scale, I gotta.
• 28:04
  It's like you don't like you can create a great business now we
• 28:07
  have all the tech at our fingertips and you know, one
• 28:09
  person can create an amazing business, a lifestyle business
• 28:11
  100% or you can scale it, you know what I mean?
• 28:13
  And potentially sell it. So it's like, it's just, it's, I
• 28:16
  think people need to close their ears and listen to themselves
• 28:18
  and what they want for themselves and their family, not
• 28:21
  what all the entrepreneurs or their friends or community say.
• 28:25
  I think you have to really listen to what matters to you.
• 28:27
  100% right, the way I position it, I, you know, I worked in
• 28:31
  government agencies for 20 straight years as a college
• 28:34
  baseball coach for 10 and then as a park district professional
• 28:38
  for 10 before I started Hail Hill auctions, right?
• 28:41
  I'm, I'm an established adult at this point.
• 28:43
  I'm in my mid 40s. I have a lifestyle set.
• 28:46
  I'm not trying to become a buku millionaire, right?
• 28:49
  So how I look at it from my perspective is, is what was I
• 28:51
  making while an employee for 10 years at an organization?
• 28:54
  What was my monthly take home? Well, how many clients do I need
• 28:58
  a month or a year to just maintain that?
• 29:01
  I'm not putting pressure on myself to say I have to scale
• 29:03
  this to A7 figure business. I've never made second figures
• 29:05
  in my life. Why would I think I could do it
• 29:07
  now? Not that I can't, or not that I
• 29:09
  wouldn't want to with proper planning, but I'm having so much
• 29:12
  fun and learning so much as a new entrepreneur a year into my
• 29:15
  business. I'm limiting the pressures and
• 29:17
  just enjoying the ride while maintaining some of those
• 29:20
  clients and some of those values that I've established.
• 29:22
  I love that. Man, that's what it's about.
• 29:24
  If you can truly enjoy, I know it's cliche, but if you can
• 29:26
  enjoy the ride and the journey, you've made it.
• 29:29
  That's it. You're going to have your ups
• 29:31
  and downs and you're going to have your wins and losses, but
• 29:33
  if you're just really enjoying the day-to-day. 100.
• 29:36
  Percent. What else could you possibly ask
• 29:38
  Like that Is it you've made it? Made it man and you know what
• 29:41
  this is also allowed for me right as as we talked earlier,
• 29:45
  I'm I'm a dad of two my daughter's Josephine is 10.
• 29:47
  My son Lucas is 8 and to a fault, right?
• 29:52
  And and maybe at times it's jeopardize business or it's not
• 29:57
  had me be as present in my business, but I'm a present dad
• 29:59
  more than I've ever been in my life, right?
• 30:02
  And whatever it is I make, you can multiply that by millions to
• 30:05
  say that's how much I feel like I'm making because I have time
• 30:08
  with my kids, right? I can show up at 2:00 to pick
• 30:10
  them up from school when needed or when I want, like I take them
• 30:13
  to the pool. Like like that to me is
• 30:15
  invaluable. And what means the most aside
• 30:17
  from an invoice or making an extra dollar, right?
• 30:20
  So that's been one of the greatest.
• 30:22
  Never forget that, by the way. I hope they will always.
• 30:24
  They will definitely. Not, yeah, I hope that.
• 30:26
  And that. And that to me, is what has
• 30:28
  established my success and validated my path right now to
• 30:33
  say not only am I being able in some capacity to pay my bills,
• 30:36
  but I'm the best dad I've ever been.
• 30:38
  There you go, man. And that's priceless.
• 30:39
  That's it, yeah. What's the one thing like from
• 30:41
  being an entrepreneur and founder over the last year or
• 30:44
  so? What's the one thing that maybe
• 30:45
  surprised you or that you've learned about yourself that you
• 30:49
  didn't expect? Maybe?
• 30:50
  Oh gosh, that's a great question.
• 30:52
  How emotional I am, right? I think at times I could be very
• 30:56
  emotional. I can take things very personal,
• 30:58
  right? And I have to take a step back.
• 31:00
  I have to rely on my network and some of my foundational friends
• 31:04
  to say like, hey, is this me or is it business, right?
• 31:07
  Because I take everything personal, right?
• 31:09
  And whether it's constructive feedback or it's, you know, just
• 31:13
  a general comment like I, whoa, wait a minute, what, what was,
• 31:16
  what did that mean? Right.
• 31:17
  So learning how not to take that as personal and to really
• 31:20
  understand that it is business and that there are things to
• 31:23
  always be learned from it. It's not always a personal
• 31:25
  attack if negative, and it's not always a personal hype if
• 31:28
  positive, right? It's just a piece of
• 31:29
  information. So I've learned that I'm pretty
• 31:32
  emotional and I have to subside some of that at times to be
• 31:36
  present in business. Speaking of the emotional side,
• 31:39
  yeah, Highland Park, IL What does that mean when I say that?
• 31:45
  Gives me goosebumps. Does it?
• 31:46
  Yeah. You know, it means a lot because
• 31:48
  I spent 10 years of my life in that community.
• 31:51
  I started in 2014 as a part time employee after just leaving a 10
• 31:56
  year college baseball coaching career.
• 31:59
  I joined the Park District of Highland Park in 2014 as a
• 32:01
  baseball community coordinator and 10 years later I was
• 32:05
  separated as the director of recreation.
• 32:08
  So I spent a lot of my life there.
• 32:10
  I gave all I had to that community.
• 32:14
  My children went through swim lessons and people's parties and
• 32:17
  you know, the list goes on and on.
• 32:20
  And I hold that community very close to my heart.
• 32:24
  But it also is now a community that also brings on trauma and
• 32:29
  brings on circumstances that I never wished to have been a part
• 32:32
  of. And so I have to do a good job
• 32:33
  of separating myself at times to protect male and mental health,
• 32:38
  you know, after experiencing what I went through.
• 32:39
  For anyone, we'll get it if you don't know how comfortable you
• 32:42
  are talking about it. That's the way man has.
• 32:43
  School, you know, just for, if you're listening, like what's
• 32:46
  Highland Park and why is this significant?
• 32:47
  You know, it's a city here in Illinois in the suburbs of
• 32:50
  Chicago, and there was a mass shooting there July 4th, on 4th
• 32:54
  of July, unfortunately. It's unfortunate on any day, but
• 32:57
  that's like the one day. It's like, really?
• 33:00
  And it was, what, three years ago?
• 33:01
  Yeah, 22, yeah. Man, I remember that too.
• 33:03
  I mean, I was, I was in Saint Charles and I think they
• 33:06
  cancelled our fireworks that year because they were just like
• 33:08
  safety concerns. And I remember hearing about it,
• 33:10
  man. And just like, I don't know,
• 33:12
  just never gets easier hearing about those things, you know,
• 33:15
  and, and you were in it. And so I'm curious like, man, if
• 33:17
  you could take us back to cuz we hear about, it's like so sad,
• 33:20
  especially when there's kids involved like that.
• 33:22
  Really just, yeah, that crushes me, dude.
• 33:24
  Yeah, Like it really crushes me. Like I, I, it breaks me down and
• 33:28
  I had to like kind of pull myself back up and be like, to
• 33:31
  think positively, like keep moving forward.
• 33:33
  Like these people are good, they got support, they're going to be
• 33:35
  fine. But man, it's just hard not to
• 33:36
  get down about it for a little bit, right?
• 33:39
  Yeah, I, I think, you know, my role that day certainly
• 33:43
  traumatized me and put me in a state of shock for many months,
• 33:48
  not because I wasn't equipped to handle it, right?
• 33:51
  I, I think I went above and beyond that day and did some
• 33:53
  extraordinary things that put me in position to have my mental
• 33:57
  health at times in jeopardy, right?
• 34:00
  But I've been so fortunate in the life to have such great
• 34:02
  experiences and such great support system that overtime,
• 34:06
  it's taken three years, right, that I've been able to change
• 34:09
  the narrative of that event in my own mind.
• 34:11
  I've been able to, I've been afforded perspective, right?
• 34:15
  And now I look at that day as horrific as it was, 7 people
• 34:19
  lost their lives, 48 were shot. Countless amounts of people like
• 34:23
  myself were mentally harmed, but I look at it with fondness only
• 34:27
  because from it has come such a great life for me, because I
• 34:32
  value things so much differently.
• 34:33
  The perspective I've gained because of that journey, not
• 34:36
  only the day of the shooting, but my mental health healing if
• 34:39
  you will, has allowed me to be in a place to be an
• 34:42
  entrepreneur, has allowed me to value things in so much
• 34:46
  different of a capacity than I ever have before, Like spending
• 34:49
  time with my kids. Were you?
• 34:51
  I'm going. To get into more of this stuff
• 34:53
  too, were you at the event or like how like you're working for
• 34:56
  the park? Yeah, I was the coach of the
• 34:57
  parade. Almost like take us back like
• 34:59
  I'm curious like what, how close were you to some of this stuff?
• 35:01
  And not that we need to get like detail, but like.
• 35:04
  It's OK. So so in my role at the Park
• 35:07
  district, starting in about 2016 or 2017, I was the the chair the
• 35:11
  the Co chair of the parade. So I helped organize the entire
• 35:15
  event for six straight years, hiring floats and entertainment
• 35:19
  and parking assignments and working with public works to
• 35:21
  make sure the city's the streets were blocked off appropriately,
• 35:24
  little things like that. And on that day, once again, I
• 35:27
  was the Co chair. I was the first one on site at
• 35:30
  6:00 AM, as you know, setting up parking spots and welcoming
• 35:33
  floats and truck drivers when they bring the beds of their,
• 35:36
  you know, floats in and welcoming family members to get
• 35:39
  on their floats. There was approximately 63 that
• 35:41
  day and which I was responsible for all of them.
• 35:44
  And so there was a lot of ownership that I put on myself
• 35:48
  for that day, just the the traumatic experience that others
• 35:52
  had and how can I help people overcome it because of my role
• 35:55
  within the organization. So when the shots were fired, I
• 35:58
  was approximately about 1/2 a block away, maybe a block away
• 36:01
  on a diagonal route if you will do.
• 36:04
  You guys know what it was as soon as it started happening.
• 36:06
  Well when the first rounds were fired I had an employee of mine
• 36:09
  next to me because I was a director, assistant director at
• 36:12
  the time. I had like 6 direct reports of
• 36:13
  full time employees under my guide and I had one of them next
• 36:16
  to me and we kind of put her head down and and she said what
• 36:19
  was that? What was that?
• 36:20
  And then it happened again and I said run.
• 36:24
  You know, the first time the shots went off, I kind of
• 36:26
  thought, like, what Asshole shoots fireworks at a parade,
• 36:29
  right? There's 10,000 people here.
• 36:30
  Fireworks aren't the place. Yeah, it's kind of the day you'd
• 36:32
  expect to hear a loud. Noise like that, Yeah.
• 36:35
  And then in my role, I know, like, typically the color guard
• 36:38
  that led the parade would never shoot blanks.
• 36:40
  And so you're kind of like immediately trying to deduce
• 36:43
  what was, what was that? Kind of weird, but you're also
• 36:44
  like, it's 4th of July, so. Like, and then the second rounds
• 36:47
  were let off and then I knew immediately.
• 36:48
  And then you heard the screams and you saw the people panic,
• 36:51
  running, sprinting, throwing strollers, carrying kids, you
• 36:54
  know. And in the aftermath, again, I
• 36:56
  was on site for 9 hours after the shots were fired.
• 37:00
  I had 13 staff member sheltering in place that I committed not
• 37:03
  leaving Highland Park until they were all safely home.
• 37:06
  We had 95 people still on our beach five hours after the shots
• 37:09
  were fired and the killer was still on the loose.
• 37:11
  So I had to go evacuate that beach.
• 37:13
  There was a lot of things from a public safety perspective that I
• 37:16
  committed to doing to ensure the safety of others, and largely
• 37:21
  that was due to my role in the entire event and my role in the
• 37:24
  organization as the park district, you know, assistant
• 37:27
  director at the time and just being the person I am, I didn't
• 37:30
  want to see anybody hurt. Right man, imagine it took that
• 37:33
  part took a while to kind of like not think about that every
• 37:37
  day and be I. Still think about.
• 37:38
  It every day. I wouldn't want to be emotional
• 37:39
  talking about it, but you probably talked about it so much
• 37:41
  now the time it's healed right, But.
• 37:43
  Yeah, I still think about it every day.
• 37:45
  Of course. It's something that I think will
• 37:47
  carry with me as long as I live. It was so funny, you know, just
• 37:52
  having surpassed the three-year anniversary.
• 37:54
  Of course, we have chat groups and we have text message threads
• 37:58
  with, you know, other people who were present that day.
• 38:00
  And you know, what I say is it's gotten easier, but it's never
• 38:03
  going to be easy, right? Time does heal in some capacity,
• 38:08
  but it also provides perspective and kind of, as I said earlier,
• 38:11
  like I've been so fortunate to have a great support system, to
• 38:14
  have a great outlet in my entrepreneurship, to have a
• 38:17
  different perspective created due to that day.
• 38:21
  Because had that day never occurred, I'd probably still be
• 38:22
  working at the Park District. Like, you know, living my life
• 38:25
  waiting for a pension and retiring after 30 years in the
• 38:28
  same organization. But now I have such a greater
• 38:30
  life ahead of me. Why did that event cause you to
• 38:33
  say, I'm going to go for it and start my own thing and, you
• 38:36
  know, be the entrepreneur founder?
• 38:38
  Well, so 10 months after the shooting, there was another
• 38:41
  event in Highland Park where there was another alleged gun
• 38:44
  activity and we had to shut down our facility again.
• 38:48
  It was about a 90 minute lockdown.
• 38:49
  The entire community of Highland Park was locked down.
• 38:52
  And it was at that time I had my first panic attack on the job
• 38:55
  site. I was, I was having and
• 38:56
  experiencing some panic attacks prior to in the immediacy after
• 39:00
  the event. And I was able to swallow them.
• 39:03
  I was able to kind of harness them in, in safe locations where
• 39:06
  nobody would see me. But we I had a panic attack on
• 39:09
  at work on April 4th, 2023 for the first time.
• 39:13
  Four days after that, I had to go see a General practitioner
• 39:16
  because I wasn't sleeping again. I was in the state of fight or
• 39:19
  flight. I was in shock.
• 39:21
  And he tried to prescribe me. He did prescribe me some
• 39:24
  concerning mental health medications of which I've never
• 39:26
  been on before in my life. I've been very fortunate and it
• 39:29
  was at that time I took a leave of absence from my employer.
• 39:32
  I said, hey, I need time off. I need to go get myself healthy.
• 39:35
  I need to better my mental health, my physical health.
• 39:38
  I just need a break. And I embarked on a really long
• 39:42
  journey with psychiatry and therapy to help me get to be
• 39:45
  where I'm at today. But unfortunately, the Park
• 39:48
  District wasn't in line with the amount of time it was taking.
• 39:54
  And so they terminated me. Really.
• 39:56
  Yeah. And so from there, in January of
• 39:58
  24, I was national news. I was on the front page of the
• 40:01
  Chicago Tribune. I was on yahoo.com as being a
• 40:04
  mass shooting survivor, as an employee being terminated due to
• 40:07
  the outcome and ramifications of that event.
• 40:09
  So. The decision in some capacity
• 40:12
  was made for me, you know, and, and truly, again, at the time,
• 40:17
  it was traumatic. It was frustrating, angering,
• 40:19
  madding. Like I'd given you 10 years of
• 40:21
  my life and you're just going to throw me away like that?
• 40:24
  Yeah. But, you know, again, I'm so
• 40:26
  thankful for that. And what it's also allowed for
• 40:28
  me to do, not only is build Hill Hill Auctions and, and really be
• 40:32
  passionate about The Walking tall movement, but it's given me
• 40:35
  such perspective, right? Like not to say that I never
• 40:38
  will, but I don't ever want to work for anybody else again,
• 40:40
  right? Like I don't trust anybody and I
• 40:43
  don't mean that to say that I don't trust you.
• 40:45
  I don't trust anybody else with my future, right?
• 40:47
  The only person I can control is me and I don't want to give
• 40:50
  anybody else any longer the power to dictate my future.
• 40:53
  And and I allowed for that at 10 years as an employer, right?
• 40:56
  They call them the golden handcuffs for a reason, right?
• 40:59
  Like 10 years had a nice 6 figure salary, great benefits
• 41:03
  like I had a lot of sweat equity built up.
• 41:05
  So I had a little bit of freedom and flexibility and what it is I
• 41:07
  did, but I was still accountable to others and to an
• 41:11
  organization. Now I'm just accountable to
• 41:13
  myself and my clients and I'm in so much more control than I ever
• 41:18
  was, which is so much better for my mental health.
• 41:20
  That's really cool man, good for you.
• 41:22
  I would say I don't know if things happen for a reason, but
• 41:25
  I do know you can always find a reason in things.
• 41:27
  Yeah, that's a great way to put it out.
• 41:29
  I was just on another podcast, a mental health focused show, and
• 41:34
  he asked me the same question. He said, like, do you feel like
• 41:36
  you were put in that position for a reason?
• 41:38
  And I said, no, I don't think a higher being said we're going to
• 41:41
  put Chris Maluzewski in the middle of this chaos and from
• 41:44
  it's going to come good. But what I can say is that I've
• 41:46
  been so lucky that leading up to that event, as an athlete and as
• 41:50
  a coach and as a director and as a leader of people, I gained
• 41:54
  such great tools and perspective to overcome what it is I
• 41:58
  experienced. It just took me the amount of
• 42:02
  time it was going to take me. It might have taken you less or
• 42:04
  more. It may have taken somebody else.
• 42:06
  It just I was on my own path. And I've been so fortunate to
• 42:09
  have the tools in my toolbox and the resources available to me to
• 42:12
  heal me and help me be a a thriving entrepreneur, a
• 42:16
  professional, a good dad, all those things.
• 42:18
  But yeah, I wish. I don't want anybody to be in
• 42:21
  that position. Yeah.
• 42:22
  You know it's. Definitely putting in this
• 42:24
  perspective man. Were your kids with you?
• 42:25
  That. Day.
• 42:26
  Fortunately, no. I bet you hugged them so fucking
• 42:28
  tight every day. Yeah, I mean, jeez.
• 42:30
  It's you know, there's a lot of things of that day that people
• 42:35
  still tell me. Remember when I called you
• 42:37
  during that? And I'm like, I don't I was in
• 42:39
  fight or flight I. Was in your survival mode?
• 42:41
  Yeah, absolutely. And I'm no longer married now,
• 42:44
  but at the time I was and I remember fortunately, my then
• 42:48
  wife, my two kids read a family barbecue and I was going to meet
• 42:51
  them after the parade. Thank God is right.
• 42:54
  And I remember calling then my then wife saying like, what
• 42:58
  would happen initially was about 30 minutes after the shots were
• 43:01
  fired was the first time I was able to catch my breath and able
• 43:04
  to like have a little bit sense of safety and some security
• 43:07
  where I text my mom, my dad, my two sisters and my wife.
• 43:09
  And I didn't know what else to say, but all I said was I'm
• 43:12
  safe. And they didn't know what was
• 43:14
  going on. They weren't.
• 43:15
  Yeah, Yeah. And I said I'm safe.
• 43:17
  And they didn't know what was going on.
• 43:20
  They weren't tied to the news. You know, they were doing their
• 43:22
  4th of July stuff, and they didn't know what was going on.
• 43:25
  And so like, what do you mean? What do you mean?
• 43:26
  What do you mean? Like, what do you say from what?
• 43:28
  Say from what? And then I called my wife.
• 43:31
  And you know, one of the things that was hardest is, you know,
• 43:34
  my son overheard our conversation, right?
• 43:37
  And a couple times after and it's not been since, thankfully.
• 43:40
  You know, they're they were younger at the time.
• 43:42
  But like he said, Daddy, what would have, what happened if you
• 43:44
  would have died? Like, whoa, whoa.
• 43:46
  Like if that doesn't put things into perspective, I don't know
• 43:49
  what will. And I'm thankful they weren't
• 43:51
  there. I'm thankful they have little
• 43:52
  recollection due to their age, but they're aware of it.
• 43:56
  And I talked with them about it. And you know, when I was in the
• 43:59
  thick of my PTSD and so many of my symptoms and outcomes have
• 44:03
  subsided, learning over time, so much of it was environmental,
• 44:07
  just removing myself from Highland Park.
• 44:08
  Yeah, I bet, man. Like, and what I say, like, you
• 44:11
  know, and not to be crass about it, but if we had a sexual
• 44:14
  assault victim who was assaulted in a in a shopping mall, right,
• 44:18
  we would never encourage that victim to go back to that mall.
• 44:21
  Right. You're just naturally going to
• 44:23
  have those same emotions, yeah. But think about from my
• 44:25
  perspective, I was traumatized as an employee expected to go
• 44:29
  back to my employer. Or think about these poor
• 44:31
  teachers in school shootings like they're a 30 year teacher.
• 44:34
  They know nothing else but teaching.
• 44:36
  And now they're going to have their school districts going to
• 44:38
  force them back in the same school, in the same classroom,
• 44:40
  to see the same faces and expect them to just put on a happy face
• 44:43
  and be the same teacher they always were.
• 44:45
  That's not how we're wired. And so removing myself from
• 44:48
  Highland Park has been such a great healing tool that I never
• 44:52
  knew I needed because back then I was fighting to stay in
• 44:55
  Highland Park, right? Like, this is my job.
• 44:57
  This is my community not realizing that it was the worst
• 45:00
  thing for me. You.
• 45:01
  Know what would you say to people out there that are
• 45:03
  struggling right now? You know, from a mental health
• 45:05
  perspective, they're going through some tough times.
• 45:07
  They've had a loss. They've, you know, whatever it
• 45:09
  might be. I think it's whether you're
• 45:10
  successful or not, there's wildly successful people that
• 45:13
  feel empty inside and are going through a lot.
• 45:14
  There's people that are not having a lot of success and feel
• 45:17
  terrible as well. So what?
• 45:19
  What's kind of your general advice to people that are going
• 45:21
  through a tough time? Yeah, be approachable and be
• 45:23
  vulnerable, right? There's going to be people in
• 45:26
  your life, as there was in mine, who recognize a change in you to
• 45:29
  say, hey, Alex or hey, Bill or hey, Chris, you're not who I
• 45:33
  know you to be, are you? OK.
• 45:35
  And too many times, particularly as men, but in general, as a
• 45:38
  tough society, I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me,
• 45:41
  right? So being approachable.
• 45:43
  And you know what? Thank you for noticing.
• 45:45
  And that mean, what have you noticed differently about me?
• 45:47
  And we could talk about that, right?
• 45:48
  So being approachable is critical and then being
• 45:51
  vulnerable in what you're really experiencing, right?
• 45:54
  Once again, too many times people are like, well, I see
• 45:57
  something is going on with you, but you're telling me not.
• 46:00
  So you're hiding something, right?
• 46:02
  Be forthcoming about what it is you're experiencing because two
• 46:04
  things will happen. One, you'll find out who your
• 46:06
  tribe really is, who really has your back and who's in your
• 46:09
  circle for the right reasons, right?
• 46:11
  And you will feel so much more lighter when you just put those
• 46:16
  thoughts out into the world, right?
• 46:18
  And to a degree, after being diagnosed with PTSD, insomnia,
• 46:23
  depression, and anxiety from that day, the fact that I've
• 46:27
  been so forthcoming about it has allowed me to heal so much
• 46:30
  faster. That's right.
• 46:31
  And that's not to say that that's for everybody, right?
• 46:33
  You have to find what works for you.
• 46:36
  But all I want folks to know, if I may say, is that you're worth
• 46:39
  it. Whatever you need in your life,
• 46:41
  you're worth finding that resource.
• 46:42
  You're worth pursuing that care. You deserve it, frankly, because
• 46:46
  you only have one life. And you know, I'm here to help
• 46:50
  instill that in others. Chris, this has been an absolute
• 46:53
  honor to have you on the show. Man, this is such a good
• 46:55
  conversation. I appreciate you sharing
• 46:57
  everything. Where can people go to find you?
• 46:59
  Get in touch with you, Listen to the podcast, Plug away.
• 47:02
  We'll add it in the links. Obviously the description.
• 47:04
  Appreciate it. This has been great.
• 47:06
  And you've been nothing but kind and welcoming and your energy is
• 47:09
  infectious and I've been excited.
• 47:11
  Yeah. I've been so exciting to get
• 47:12
  here. And you know, anytime I could
• 47:14
  share my story, but when I can share it with great folks like
• 47:16
  you means the world. So thank you for that and thank
• 47:18
  you for having me. But if anybody wants to connect
• 47:21
  with me, I'm very active on LinkedIn, Chris Maluzewski.
• 47:24
  Otherwise, you could find me on Instagram at Walking Tall Chris.
• 47:29
  And then two websites, www.halehaleauctions.com.
• 47:33
  We also have a YouTube channel under Hale Hale Auctions where
• 47:35
  you could find all of our content there.
• 47:37
  And then it relates to the mental health advocacy, The
• 47:40
  Walking Tall movement. It's
• 47:41
  www.walkingtallmovement.com. We also have a YouTube channel
• 47:45
  where we bring on guests of experiencing significant trauma
• 47:49
  and mental health hurdles, and we focus on the triumphant
• 47:52
  return. So this coming Friday, we have a
• 47:54
  live show with the Boston Marathon bombing survivor who
• 47:57
  lost his right leg. He was 3 feet from the bomb.
• 48:00
  My. Goodness.
• 48:01
  But you know, that's been another real quick, like that's
• 48:03
  been another great outcome of being vulnerable is you meet so
• 48:06
  many inspiring people and you meet so many other stories
• 48:09
  because people know they're safe to share with you.
• 48:11
  That's right. And so, yeah, Friday we have
• 48:13
  Mark Fukarille coming on, who is just a beacon of hope nationally
• 48:17
  and tells his story in such great detail, but also with
• 48:20
  great focus on mental health and empowerment.
• 48:24
  So yeah. And I'm just here, man.
• 48:26
  Like, if you want my cell phone, I'll give it out.
• 48:27
  Like, whatever it is. Like, I just want people to be
• 48:30
  uplifted. And I want to make the world a
• 48:31
  better place. Yeah, I love it, man.
• 48:33
  Hopefully, I'm sure this inspired people out there.
• 48:35
  We talked a little business, we talked a little mental health
• 48:37
  and personal stuff, and maybe this will cause a few people to
• 48:40
  stand up and open up and be a little bit vulnerable and get
• 48:42
  the help they need. So I hope.
• 48:44
  I say if if one person has helped, this work is worth it.
• 48:46
  Yeah, that's right. Appreciate you being on the show
• 48:48
  brother. Appreciate it.
• 48:49
  Thank you.