Latest / The People Run Podcast / #77 Building Lauderdale Run Club with Punk on the Run

Transcript

#77 Building Lauderdale Run Club with Punk on the Run · The People Run Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Chris, I want to start with this line that I saw on your page, man.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_01: Building longer tables, not taller fences.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: Tell me about that.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: I was very curious what you mean by that.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I mean for me, it's pretty simple.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't gatekeep, and I think a lot of people do gatekeep.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's a weird, it's a weird word, it's a weird thing to do.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh my mentality is and always has been, if you win, I win.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, I make sure that that whenever I'm whatever I'm doing, whether it's running or funning, whatever it is, uh, I make sure that I bring everybody along with me.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's pretty much what it breaks down to.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: Gotcha.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Is that how uh jumping right into like the club?
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like is that part of the ethos of the club, if you will, like how it started, your Lauderdale Run Club?
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, you know, the the thing is, is I moved here from Canada in July of 2023, and my idea to move here was to go out for a run and find some people to run with.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: I got off the plane, I didn't know a single person in Florida, you know.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it was a complete fresh start for me.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and at the time there was, I think, maybe 10 or 11 run clubs throughout South Florida.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Strangely enough, now there's 180.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I was looking at the time for some people to run with, and to me, my opinion, the vibe just wasn't there.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: It was very, it was a run, and then everyone kind of just went and did their own thing.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: There was no social aspect to it, people weren't really talking during the run, and I knew that I could build something, um, and I just needed that push.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: And actually, right before the Chicago marathon, uh, I was talking with some people, and they were like, you should do this.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I went and did the marathon, came back, and I started the run club on the day that um of the no the um New York City marathon.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: So basically a month later.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: And most run clubs start with I don't know, five, ten people.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: We launched with over 50.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's just grown.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I I bring everybody along in the run club.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: I I force that kind of mentality on them.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because at the end of the day, this is a community and and people should be helping each other out.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody should be winning.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the gatekeeping mentality, it's just it's just such a weird thing to me.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: Let me roll that back real quick.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: You did Chicago or New York in 2023?
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: I did Chicago in 2023.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then I launched the run club a month later, the same day as the New York Marathon.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna say, man, we ran the same time.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: I did uh Chicago 24, New York on 23.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: I did New York 24 and 25.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: We uh flipped.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: We ran them with just the diff different times.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Same course, isn't it?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Same miles, same miles, year part.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh like, man, that's a small world full circle to come around.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, coming back to the club, you know, I feel like that's right around for lack of better words, infancy of the run boom, right?
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: We went through COVID and then just outdoor and sports took off.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like coming from Canada, coming to Fort Lauderdale area, Miami as a whole, what did you want it to be um at that time, you know?
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh originally the idea was to create something that I felt in my short time in Florida, uh, keeping in mind it was only three months from the time I landed to the time we launched, um, I wanted to build something that I didn't think was there.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I, you know, something on the run side, something on the event and social side, and then something on the race side.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I wanted to kind of incorporate something that everybody could be a part of.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and that's what we did.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think we held our first race just two months after we launched, and we've held a ton since, and you know, uh, we've got a ton more.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're actually throwing a huge race with Red Bull and Adidas in a couple of weeks, and you know, uh I wanted it to be something that wasn't, you know.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I and I I stand by that to this time, to this day.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: If you come to Florida and you go and run with people, uh you'll find great people running no matter where you go, but the vibes are different from club to club.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Some people are in it for the right reasons, some people are in it for the wrong reasons, and you can see that real quick with whatever club you go to, you know.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there's a lot of great run clubs in South Florida, um, and I enjoy going to their runs and running with them still, even though I've got my own club, um, and building with those kind of people, you know, doing events and socials and even races, you know.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: So you just talked about a race coming up with Red Bull Adidas, you've done races.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen you do some trips, even which we'll get into.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: You got brands that sometimes that come help.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what makes you say, yes, this is worth creating?
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: XY social event, race or whatever.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh, I mean, in terms of the races, we just started getting back into it.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we threw uh just I think two weeks ago, we threw uh a half marathon.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: It was 0.28 of a loop.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to do the we ran around a building 56 times.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and the guy who won actually PR'd his 10K and his half marathon doing it.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it was fun.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, that was just a fun little unsanctioned half marathon.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: The upcoming race, uh, it's called Pit Stop 10K.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's a 10K, uh, three miles to a location where you'll have to do something, and then three miles back, and the top three teams uh have cash prizes, as well as we have thousands of dollars in other prizes.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, you know, anything I do, I do with intent and purpose.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: I want people to have fun.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: I want them to come out of it by saying, hey, yeah, that was a really cool event, or man, I never, you know, we had people running the half marathon that had run their first half marathon, and they chose to do it that way, you know.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just trying to make people have fun and do cool events, and there's a lot of people out there doing this stuff, just in my opinion, not here in South Florida.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: So trying to change it up a little.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: So is initially like when you think these things through is just some different intent-wise and and having fun with it.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I mean I sit, like, you know, whether I'm with a friend or a teammate or whatever, we just sit there and we we we'll be talking, and next thing you know, we'll come up with an idea and you know, back and forth, and next thing you know the idea is like, okay, we're doing this race, here's the date, you know, so or an event or a social or whatever, you know.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: I want to talk about a crazy idea I saw.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm sure in its infancy it was a crazy idea, and then you're like, all right, we signed up, we're doing this.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: You took three friends, three strangers.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: Three strangers.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: If you ever been to Miami and ran a hundred miles across the keys, like yes, we did.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: As someone who's lived there, I'm just trying to fathom running a hundred miles in the keys alone.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: But like three friends, three strangers, like tell me about that.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: Why three strangers on top of that?
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh to make it an experience.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, so we we did the keys 100.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: It it was a hundred-mile relay through the keys, it was absolutely horrible.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, it took me two months to heal.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: I got the worst heat rash I've ever seen in my life.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um it was it was just a gnarly race.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, we literally uh a couple of guys that I knew here in the city and three guys I've never met before, and we met them the morning that we left to go to the race.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and it was just something that I came up with an idea to enter some people and let's make this happen.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Got a bunch of sponsors together to fund the entire trip, and off we went.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: And the goal was um, there's 122 teams that entered.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: The goal was to podium, uh not knowing you know what everybody was capable of, uh, especially with me on the team, I was the the slowest for sure.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and we uh came in fifth overall, so we podiumed.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: How'd you pick?
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure the three friends is like, hey, bud, who's signing up for this, but how'd you pick the three strangers?
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it was yeah, we had uh one of the guys on our team, uh, really, really great guy, said that he knew a couple got fast guys uh out in Spirit Lake, Iowa, of all places, like a little tiny community.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, we just kind of put it together and they flew out, and that was it.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: They were the I mean, they were the fastest on the team.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Those boys flew fast guys, yeah, and great guys.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: It was a it was a hell of an experience.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was a great trip, super uh it's core memories for sure, you know.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: What stuck out most or that you remember from that from those memories from that trip?
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: There was a moment where uh one of the runners, his name was Carter, absolute monster, uh just truly the just salt of the earth, the best guy.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um he was on his last leg.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: It was five miles, last thing he had done the most miles, he was by far one of the fastest, and we got a phone call, and he had like maybe a mile and a half to two miles left, and we didn't think he was gonna finish it.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: He was broken, just the heat was gnarly, he was having issues with his leg.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we called him and he called us, sorry, and we got out of the van and we all ran down to him and ran him to the checkpoint for the tag.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: So we watched him collapse right there, everybody like throwing ice on him and pouring water all over him, and just seeing somebody that I've never met literally give everything he had to something that he believed in, knowing that it could possibly put us on the podium.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: It was just really special to see um, you know, these guys didn't take that trip or the sponsors or the adventure of what this whole thing was for granted.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: They really gave themselves uh they gave everything they had to this.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that was a standout moment for sure.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's awesome, man.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Speaks to the camaraderie and vibes you guys had, you know.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was definitely something that was definitely something I uh I personally will never run Keys 100 again.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, I had I had to go on a a steroid like ladder to shut down my immune system to like heal my body.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: It was terrible.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: I just I was miserable, but the guys absolutely crushed it, and they were for sure.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they carried me, they had big backpacks, so yeah.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: You had this idea a while, correct me if I'm wrong.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what uh stopped you from doing it before, and then eventually I'm gonna do it.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, money.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, they you know, I have a lot of ideas.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: I I see this often.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, I have a little notepad beside the bed, I write a bunch of stuff down, uh, some of it makes sense, some of it doesn't.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: Out of the ideas, maybe maybe some of them are good, some of them are bad.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: This idea was something I wanted to do in 2022 and actually had picked out a bunch of people for it, and I was gonna self-fund it.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then through a series of events, we moved from Canada to Florida, and just it wasn't financially uh it wasn't a sound investment at that time.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I revisited it, had a bunch of sponsors, you know, being in the industry, I'm thankful and very blessed to have a lot of connections, and um I leaned on a lot of those people to help make this trip happen.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, we had New Balance outfit everybody with shoes and everyday better club outfit everybody with clothes, and then we got bag sponsors, and common came in and sponsored with water, and you know, we just had everything we need taken care of for this.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I think the only out-of-pocket expense was a nice air-conditioned Airbnb the night before.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: So everything else was truly taken care of, and it was awesome.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the guy, one of the guys made sandwiches for everybody.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think he made like 30 sandwiches.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: So we had like, you know, real great stuff.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: It was just, it was the right place, right time.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, it's not the it's not the last one that I'll do.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think I've shown a positive proof of concept that can move forward to be something bigger.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but again, it's just gotta be right place, right time.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to rush things.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and they they gotta make sense.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing is, is now that we've done it and people have seen it, you have the people coming out of the woodworks that want to be a part of it, but aren't necessarily the right fit for it.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just about navigating, you know, everything so that it's a positive experience for everybody involved, but the sponsors as well, because at the end of the day, they're the ones who are taking care of this to make these kind of adventures happen.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: So No, I get that.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta, like you said, you want to take your time with it and and you do things with intentional like you want to have the right represent the brand, but also represent you and do it.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, no one wants to go into an event and the vibe is wrong.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's it, that's it.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's it, that's it exactly, you know.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: But I've got a couple ideas and a couple things cooking.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, just life is busy now and you know, running's busy and everything.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: So when it's when the time's right, I'll know.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: And back to the book.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's it.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: We'll uh always back to the book, but we'll launch something soon with a new set of people.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I think this time it's gonna be all strangers, so we'll we'll really you know toss it up a bit.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:52
  unknown: Yeah.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: That'd be cool, man, to see that.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um like I for some reason, I don't know, I'm thinking of like documentaries, real TV shows where you just get you know how they do the strangers in a room, but you guys are like, absolutely.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, let's go.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's what we did.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we had a we had a we had a documentary filmed about it, you know, guys meeting and you know, explaining and talking and then running and you know, the mistakes that happened and the final finish and you know, yeah.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: Chris, when you get these brands involved, you mentioned New Balance, a few of them, you got people making sandwiches that are also helping out.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you build these relationships in the community without like I'll just be frank, turning it into like, hey, here's this marketing vehicle um that we're doing, you know, you make it authentic, you make it part of the club or what you're doing.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you keep that?
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um relationships, yeah, and stuff.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I mean, uh the truth is, is pre-COVID, I was a pretty decent fashion photographer working in the industry.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so I I made a lot of these connections uh pre-COVID.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then you know, COVID was real different in Canada than it was in the US, where the US was opening and closing, opening and closing.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Canada shut down, borders closed down.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Just to give you an idea of how serious it was, my wife and I got separated by the border for 17 months.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: She couldn't come back in to Canada.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, they were very serious about it.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: And in that time, that's when Punk on the Run started.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was running, it's the only thing I could do, and I kind of just focused my fashion side of the photography into the realm of running, and I just leaned on a lot of the brands that I had connections with, and through that, since 2022, you know, I've just been building and building and building these relationships.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I'm fortunate enough to be able to say that, you know, uh I have people on my phone that I can call and be like, hey, look, this is the idea.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what are the thoughts?
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's funny enough, I was um, I've got a really cool project happening on the third that will be debuting on the 17th.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I had a couple of brands that I was eyeing for it, and then I just ended up getting Nike to sponsor it.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: So they've just outfitted the guys, we're doing something really cool.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's it's just about I I've I believe that I've proven myself enough over the many years of working with these brands that it if they if I come to them with an idea, they've seen the, you know, they've seen the results, and they know that, okay, Chris is on to something this time, so they'll do their best to kind of make it happen, you know.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: And when they can, they can, and when they can't, they can't.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it's not it's nothing personal.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: We just move to the next brand, and uh, you know, because I've got a good relationship with a lot of a lot of brands in the industry, um, and I like to keep it that way, you know.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like to disappoint people.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: That explains a lot on the page when I reached out, was like, man, I love this dude's like art style.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um so having the photography backfront kind of makes sense.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't know, the way you like take pictures and like some of the colors you use.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: I everything I do, especially with my photography, is my creative direction.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: If I hit up one of my friends, I'm like, yo, I've got this idea.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what do you think?
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and then you know, I just kind of put it together from there.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, just constantly trying to keep it.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm not ever gonna be, I don't consider myself an influencer.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: If anything, I'm an anti-int influencer.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you're never gonna see me be the guy who puts up those TikToks about what I ate for right before my 10-mile run or you know, a dance or whatever like that.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's not gonna be me.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: I I like to tell my story through photography, and yeah, I use my Instagram as a way to fill people in.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: I don't post every day.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think I posted since July 26th.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I post stories every day, but I don't post on there.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I usually when I do a post, I fill people in on what's been happening over the last little while, and you know, kind of I I like to tell the story of whatever this is, you know.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just with the photography, yeah.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, yeah, there's videos up there, yeah, there's a few things here and there, but I'm not gonna ever do the you'll never catch me doing the influencer side of TikToks or reels or it's just not for me.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: To be honest, it's cheesy.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody copies everybody.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there's no real originality left, so that's why I try to keep it original with the photography and and keep it colorful visuals and clean backgrounds and you know, add a story in there.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: I like it.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: No, I get it.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: I want to pick your brain a little bit, you know, given everything we just spoke about here in these like last few minutes, you know, you you have industry, um, you know, you know brands, you know what they're looking for, you have obviously a creative mindset and shooting and all that kind of stuff.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think from a run club side, someone who's running a run club and in the running community are like brands misunderstand?
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so when we when I started Lauderdale Run Club, the first thing I did was put together how I thought like visually this would look, you know.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um if you look at 90% of the run clubs that are out there, their logos are black and white or white and black.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: Their aesthetics are not visually seen throughout their feed, instead, they'll just throw up uh anything, and lately it's whatever Chat GPT pumps out for them.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's really sad.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: I again knowing people within the industry, I reached out to a friend who is an amazing graphic designer, and I said, Look, this is this is again, this is the idea.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I dug it into the lore of Fort Lauderdale, you know, being that it's you know, literally, uh, we have a post up, one of the first posts, and it's it talks about how, you know, we're running the palm tree-lined streets and the colorful art deco of of the buildings, and the fact that there's literally hundreds of millions of dollars of sunken pirate treasure just off the coast, and it's found every year something.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, that was the skull and the palm tree and keeping it colorful colors so it it you know it it resonated with the females, but at the same time it was cool for the dudes.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when when we try to do that stuff, we keep it very tightly with the the branding so that it works as well with the brands, you know.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say a brand has a specific color, because some brands do.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, we constantly change their colors to match our aesthetics, and we've never had it.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Issues, you know, uh they always love it.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we've built, we've built one of the greatest compliments we get is the fact that our page looks the way it does, you know.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: It brings people in.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh people see this and they're like, wow, what's this?
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and uh I think we've got something stupid like 1.5 million people coming every 30 days to the page, and you know, yeah, it's it's nuts.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the largest run club in the state of Florida, uh top 20 in the US, uh, thousand runners a week.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's it's insane.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: It it's way bigger than I ever thought it could be.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it's uh way bigger than I thought I still think that I can handle.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: But it's it's great.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: I love showing up weekly to for the community, and you know, we've been able to do some really amazing things.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think we're approaching$400,000 back to the community over a two and a half year period through amazing partnerships.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you name it, like from feeding people and clothing people and and sending people on trips.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I've been able to send uh runners from our community to New York, to Chicago, to Boston, uh to Miami.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: You name the race, they've done it.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: I sent people to Paris.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like we are we are partnering with the right people to do the right things.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we've got amazing sponsors like Garmin and Strava and now Red Bull and uh No Days Off, you know, just we're working with the biggest and the best.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it has a lot to do with everything that we've shown over the last two and a half years as a as a community, you know.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just me, it's it's a team behind me, and behind that team is a massive community of people that will bleed for you know what they believe in and they believe in community and running in Lauderdale.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: So does that ever get scary?
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: You just mentioned like millions of people hitting the page.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: You you go on a run club on one of the days, you guys throw an event and it's just like a concert.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, it's crazy.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: And you're like, what do I do?
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean look, I mean, look, it it's I I I feel like Lauderdale Run Club is such a positive thing for uh the running scene here in Fort Lauderdale.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um again, I was mentioned I I recently read this, it was it blew my mind.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: When I moved here, there was literally 10 or 11 run clubs throughout South Florida.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: Miami, you know, Boca, just right across the board.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: A recent post I just read, 180 in South Florida now.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: And what's crazy is, and I don't mean this in a cocky way, but I'll put our run club up against the other 179 run clubs to show, hey, let's see what you guys have done for community versus what we've done for community.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I stand by that because, you know, I I hear a lot of these leaders talk about community, and I hear a lot of these people say, oh, well, we're this and we're doing that.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: But show me, you know, like I want to see it, you know.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: I want to I want to see that you went to two schools that had their track funding cut and give them seven thousand dollars and shoes, because we did that, you know.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: I want to know that um, you know, we've given out like just in terms of food, tens of thousands of dollars in food we've given out, you know.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: We raised uh five thousand dollars in Christmas toys, like just for this year, uh this past year.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um we we had the community come together and we got over five thousand dollars in toys uh to give out to kids who don't have Christmases, you know.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and then in turn we gave ten thousand dollars in rap gifts away to our community, uh, thanks to our amazing partners.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and it's not only about giving and and this and that, but again, we're hosting these crazy runs, we're hosting these crazy events, races.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's all 100% free.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: We never charge for anything.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: There are run clubs out there that charge to run, charge to come to their events, their socials.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: We don't do that.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: Anything we do, any time of day, any time of year, it's a hundred percent free.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that's amazing.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: That that's that's huge, man, for the community out there.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: And and used to live there, trust me, it's needed.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I mean I I I I think so too.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, like I'm I'm not a hero.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm just a dude who loves to run.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, anybody can do we all have the same 24 hours in a day.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: Anybody can do what I'm doing.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: You just have to actually want to do it, you know?
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: And sure, we could say that, oh, uh, I didn't have a job when I moved here.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: I was going through the the green card process, you know, so I was focusing on the run club and building it.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: Sure I was, but now I'm a you know, now I have my green card.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now I work, you know, and I'm still doing the run club and building these things and you know, using brands that I've partnered with to elevate it to another level even more for the community.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: Again, if the community wins, I win.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's that gatekeeper mentality, you know.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's no point in uh, you know, there's only so many shoes you and I can run in in a week or a year, you know.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: So if I have too many, I'm gonna give shoes away to the people that need them.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: And we give shoes out regularly.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: I we get boxes of shoes sent to us monthly that we push out to the community because listen, running is expensive.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, a good pair of shoes is not like gonna be found at you know, Target or something like that.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta go to a running store, and running stores, it's 150 minimum for something.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, so we're giving out whatever we can whenever we can, and it's always for the community, and there's never anything expected back.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's you know, again, no membership fees to pay.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: You just you show up, you don't have to sign up, just show up.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: Chris, when these brands get involved, you you seem to, from what I'm getting, immediately think, okay, who else can I bring with me?
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: Where can I give back to?
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like, where does that come from?
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think uh this is gonna sound sappy, um, but it's it's true.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like when I met my wife, uh who was at the time my girlfriend, I really realized at that point I was complete and I had everything I wanted.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: And again, being in the industry, uh, I've been very privileged to to have things sent to me.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, when when I have too many pairs of shoes, it was something that I was always giving away to friends or whatever, you know.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: When we were in uh when I was in the fashion industry and my wife was working with me, we had an office in Canada, and at any you know, given time you could walk into that office and there'd be$50,000 to$100,000 worth of product.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: And at the end of the season, we would give it all away because it's at the end of the season, you can't shoot it anymore.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's old news, you know?
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: So we had we'd clear space for the new stuff.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been doing this giving for as long as I can remember.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, now it's just amplified more into the run community.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: Before Lauderdale Run Club, I was doing it with punk on the run, you know.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: I and I'm still doing it with punk on the run.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like I give stuff away all the time, you know.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now with my new job, I'm I'm fortunate enough to be able to bring people to do things all over the world, you know.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: So it's been really cool.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's awesome, man, that you've been able to start it, amplify it, and continue doing that, man.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: That's real dope.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_01: Chris, when did the name Punk on the Rock and where did that come from?
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, I've been a juvenile delinquent punk since I was 17.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I mean my family can t the my family will definitely attest to that.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: But uh no, I mean it it it's funny.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, uh the name just kind of when I was looking for a handle, uh I I was going for run punk run, but uh brand had a t-shirt like that and I didn't want to, you know, be too copycat.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: So punk on the run happened and um it fits.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you know, I'm a punk and I run.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean I'm a punk and I run.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: When did you start running?
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like when was that that first like oh man, I kind of like this sport?
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so it's funny enough, I was a um I was cycling professionally, uh, had a couple of sponsorships, yeah.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: And um I met my wife in California, and I ended up losing my sponsorship because every time I had a race, uh, I ended up using the time to go visit her.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so one day I was annoying her, and she literally said, You need to go for a run, you're annoying me.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: So that's how it started.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I I did a like a little 5k, and here we are, you know.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: What'd you cycle?
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: Gravel, road, uh so I did uh fixed gear crits and road races.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: The last stuff.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: I had a s I had a sponsorship with uh State Bicycle for fixed gear and Velo V for road racing.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I had a beautiful thirty thousand dollar carbon machine and had to give it all back uh once a sponsorship went bye-bye, you know.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_01: Man, okay.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_01: Did you just transition that energy into running then?
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I started running slowly and then it just it just kind of kept going.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: Look, LA is a beautiful place to run, especially if you're down in the the coastal areas, uh and um, you know, the valley not so much in California.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: So uh it was pick and choose when I ran, but uh it I brought it back, you know, the running back to Canada, and you know, there's so much great elevation there, so doing a lot of trail stuff with my brother and you know, just kind of formed into what it is today, you know.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_00: Well it grew, I guess.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: For sure.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean I'm running I run every day, wake up at 5 a.m.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_00: Hit the I lived like on the beach, so I run the beach every day, uh run run do the run club stuff, um and then whatever homie stuff I have to do, I I I usually fit in runs there too.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_01: When did you get hooked?
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like, do you remember when or just gradually just you know what?
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: I've been doing this now for months now.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_01: I might as well start racing.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, my first my first real race was the Montreal Marathon, and I I DNF'd.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh uh keeping in mind back then I was still in kilometers.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm in miles now.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: I've adapted.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: But around my around kilometer 30, my knee popped and I was like, oh, I'm in pain.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna finish this.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: And um I ended up just not finishing it.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that was my first race.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I don't think I trained properly for it, but also the elevation was gnarly, and I did it for charity.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I was actually pushing somebody in uh like a wheelchair meant for marathons.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so it happened going up a up a hill.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but my redemption was Chicago, um, and uh Nike thankfully got me in.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I think like right before maybe 2022 was the real start of the running, and you know, doing a little bit more, and since then, especially since here, I've been racing tons and you know, done a bunch of half marathons and marathons and long distance stuff, you know.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_01: Walk me through this year.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen you race a lot this year.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it was a weird year.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: I raw dogged, I raw dogged a marathon to start the year.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh literally had showed up to do a half, and somebody in the corral was like, I I don't think I'm gonna make the full, and I said, You'll make the full, and I just ran with her.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so we raw dogged the marathon to start the year, and then I did the Miami half, and I did the Key West half, and uh I don't know what else I've raced this year.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: Did some stuff in Boston uh with New Balance, uh ran the half with Garmin in North Carolina, um Keys 100, and uh I had a yeah, yeah, it's a lot.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm I'm like uh two months two not even two months away from a 50k at the end of the year.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um I was gonna do Chicago, my brother got in, um, but I decided it wasn't the smart move, and I did get an invite to do New York again this year, but again, I've done it the last two years, and it's literally seven days away from the the the 50k.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I'm just putting it all into the 50k.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh whether it's a good race or a bad race is still yet to be uh, you know, we'll know soon, but yeah.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_01: What's this 50k look like?
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_01: What's it called?
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh wild Florida 50K, it's a point-to-point.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: So uh they literally shuttle you to the start line and you have no choice but to make your way back.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's a non-repetitive trail race uh in Florida, and uh it looks absolutely incredible.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: There's a they have a 10k, a 25k, and a 50k.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'll run it, I'll finish it.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how how well I'll do, but I I I feel like I'm very under trained this year, but the weather's just been the heat, the weather, I put on 10 pounds.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: Ice cream, man, it's a killer.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, ice cream is uh my favorite Chris talking about running, right?
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like in all these races, you spend a lot of energy like creating you know the run clubs, the the brand partnerships, basically like giving people an experience and and running and vibes and culture, giving back to the community.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_01: What I'm getting at is what do you still want from running at this point?
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good question.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think I I think at this point, and I felt this recently, I think I've I I've I've gotten all I'm gonna get out of running.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and it's not a sad thing, but it's uh there's such a new crop of people that are coming that are so talented, and um they they just seem to have more to offer, you know, uh than what I feel that I have to offer these days, you know, like everyone's got a podcast, everyone's got a clothing line, everyone's got, you know, a content team, and you know, I have a wife and a 17-month-old baby and a a very demanding job.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: So like I just don't have the time to put into it like I used to.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I wanna say it's funny, I went to a concert this weekend and I and I said it out loud and I and I I'm standing by it.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think that was the last concert I'm gonna go to.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think I'm coming to the point where uh racing wise, or I'll still run.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I expect to run for a long, long time as long as my body lets me, but I just don't have the time to put into running.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's not to say that the community will suffer because I'll always have time for the community.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: But in terms of me and what I plan to get out of it or would like to get out of it, I think it's coming to an end.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that's that's being truthful.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: Do I have a ton of brands sending me stuff?
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh do I have offers every day to do this or that?
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: Heck yeah, I do.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_00: But there's only so much that makes sense.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: And again, going back to what I said earlier, if it doesn't, if it's not a good partnership, or if I don't feel like they're getting what they deserve out of it, I'll, you know, I'm not I'm not scared to say no or turn it down, you know.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: So um I I think there's a lot of people in the industry right now doing really cool things.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: They deserve the flowers.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I've been able to do some great stuff.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: I I mean I've traveled the world with running, I've run a ton of amazing races with running, I've met a ton of amazing people, I've worked with amazing brands.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm not here to keep going and going and going.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, there are people that should get the spotlight featured on them.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: And if I can help to do that, then that's what I'd like to get out of running at this point.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, just passing the torch to the next person that truly deserves it, you know.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna ask you until that very last line.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: You said, hey, it's kind of a good thing.
• 39:41
  unknown: Yeah.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_01: But then you said passing the torch, I was like, that kind of sounded like not so happy, but you got it now where it's like, hey, I like passing the torch, and you you got options.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, again, you know, I look, again, if somebody else is winning, I'm winning.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_00: And if I was able to help them, you know, that's that's all I want.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there are people that don't that have the time to invest in this and the means to invest in it.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, there's there's guys that have podcasts and um they've got brands and they've got full content teams behind them.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't have those things.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and when I do have those things, I don't have the time for those things.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I I've you know, our run club meets three days a week, and I've taken two of the days off now because those are days that I'm devoting to family.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: You know, so instead of going to Sunday morning run club, which the run club started on Sunday mornings, now I have my amazing team taken over and they're handling it.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: And instead, I'm going to the zoo or I'm going to you know a park or I'm going to a splash pad or something, you know.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh my daughter's at a very impressionable age right now, and I want to be there for her as much as I can.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, not to say that she she's already running, so maybe we'll be running together.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, yeah.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: So, but no, I I I just I truly think there are people in the industry right now that are doing really cool things.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: And you can break it down from run club side of things to brand side of things to just trying to be a better human in the industry kind of things.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I I think it's time that they get to be at the level that I have been.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: I've been winning for a long time.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, so I don't think bowing out or stepping down is is a bad thing.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's a great thing because it gives a chance to other people to to win.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't think it's gonna stop me from you know being able to work with these brands.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: As long as I'm in the industry, I'll be working with brands.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_00: As long as I'm in the industry, I'll be doing stuff for community.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, so that's awesome.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: Chris, we started this talking about your line building longer tables instead of taller fences, right?
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_01: What I want to ask is who made room for you at the table?
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_00: That well, not many.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so if we're being honest, Montreal, where I where I'm from, super, super gatekeeping community.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I could not get a leg in anywhere.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_00: I tried.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the there's many, many run clubs there.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I tried to make things happen there, and it just it wasn't.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_00: There nobody, anybody that had like a voice wouldn't allow the time to share the voice.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why I really feel that when I moved here, I was able to not knowing anybody and just being like, yo, I taking my photography and my marketing background and just being like, I'm gonna throw everything into a run club, that's why it was able to succeed.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't really have the opportunity from people to do anything back home, uh, and I didn't know anybody for them to to let it happen here.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_01: So that make you happy that you still found it in in Lauderdale though?
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, uh listen, I I I was able to my wife and I were able to completely start over.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_00: My wife is from California, I'm from Canada, you know.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_00: We took a chance, we found a place, we moved here, and we started completely over.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_00: And in doing so, now we have a family, and my wife is the most amazing person, she's my rock.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, she's the voice in my head that says, Don't do it.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and um, you know, truthfully, uh I think I'm living the best life that I could be here in Florida.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, I've I've been presented some amazing opportunities, um, and I couldn't be happier, you know.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh has there been ups and downs within the rent industry?
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh sure.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think that happens everywhere.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's not it's not it's not a Florida thing.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I'm I'm stoked at where everything is in my life right now.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why I say I don't I don't really feel bad that, you know, I'm getting older.
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, it's time to let other people have their flowers, let other people win, you know, and uh I'll continue to open doors for people, I'll continue to to fill my table with people.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_01: Chris, what everything Warning's giving you, the club, the relationships, you know, the the trips around the world you mentioned, like if everything you've built, like what do you hope people get out of everything you built, like just from being in this in this vibe and environment?
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean I I hope people see that you know there there's good uh in this industry.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's not about, you know, I I find a lot of people start run clubs to get in with brands and they think it's a shortcut to a paycheck.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh oh, I can I I don't have to work.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_00: If a brand sponsors my run club, uh, you know, I'll get a paycheck and I'll get tons of product and stuff like that.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's not the way to go about it.
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_00: I I find a lot of influencers don't use the power that they have to help the community.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope that what I've done has helped the community, inspired other people to help the community and continue to help the community.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_00: And again, I want to spotlight the people that are doing cool things uh in the industry because those are the people that are gonna continue to do more for the community, you know.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: For sure, for sure.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, Chris, I love that.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_01: I want to thank you for coming on the podcast as well, man.
• 46:09
  SPEAKER_01: Love what you guys do.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_01: Of course.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate the invite.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, man.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_01: Keep doing what you're doing.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for coming on the podcast, tuning in, everyone.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_01: This has been the People Run.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_01: Until the next one.