This video demonstrates how online communities provide essential support systems for individuals facing personal struggles, using the example of Irvin, a lawn care business owner and former military veteran who experienced mental health challenges and a suicide attempt in 2023. Through his journey, Irvin illustrates how community members like Ray, Chad, and Shane provided accountability, encouragement, and practical support that helped him recover, quit drinking, and find purpose through his YouTube channel. The video emphasizes that community support creates accountability, provides hope during difficult times, and helps individuals find their purpose and strength through shared experiences and mutual encouragement.
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Irvin Lawn Service going live with Ben Hendricks!Added:
Yeah, I'm live right now. Uh, >> how do I >> do I hit save?
>> Okay, now I can hear you.
>> You can hear me now? Yeah, I can hear you. You're in. Let me get my phone on.
>> Go in there and double check that it's working.
>> Connected. Already live.
>> Yeah, we're live right now.
>> Yeah. Yeah, I can hear him in my um headphones and stuff. What's up, guys?
Welcome to the live 7 o'clock.
Me and Ben is in the house.
>> And uh yeah, uh welcome to the show, Ben. Uh glad to have you out here. Uh guys, put uh in the comments, we're having a little trouble there for a second at the beginning of um hearing Ben. So, uh we're going to let him talk and uh let's see if we can hear him.
Y'all put down in the comments if y'all can hear me, hear Ben. just to get this uh live going. Make sure everything is fixed up for everybody.
So, if you don't mind, give us some comments.
>> All right. I can't see how many people are on here. Is there anybody here yet?
Or can y'all hear me?
>> Yeah, we got six people in here so far.
So, let's see if we can hear me and all that. There's four now. They're jumping back and forth, but hopefully they'll all get in here in a second.
>> The only thing weird is like I can't see like how many people in here. I see the chat, but there's nobody said nothing yet. So, >> I think that's your wife, ain't it, Heather? Your wife?
>> Oh, James. James just said he can hear us both. Y'all are loud and clear.
That's perfect. That's what we want.
So, we're in here, guys. Let's give it a second. Let everybody join in because I know it takes probably like five or 10 minutes to get everybody in here. So, we're going to see who uh how many people joins us and everything and we'll get started with it.
Did y'all get more rain today, Ben?
It's been off and on. Like we get a downpour for about 30 minutes and then it's clear for a couple hours and then we get another downpour and then it's clear again. And uh we're in the middle of what's supposed to be like 10 days straight of rain. So >> yeah, >> we're like day four of it right now, but it's not been nothing overwhelming or nothing.
>> Good. Yeah, we uh it's rained for four days straight here. We're going to have rain tomorrow. Rain's going to keep coming in and coming in and uh yeah, it's just uh it's crazy.
>> Hey man, did you get your hat? Oh, Morgan Wallen fan.
>> What's that?
>> That uh Morgan Wallen fan.
That's the kid that I know up there at the marina. I gave it to his dad to give to him.
>> Oh, okay.
>> Yeah, I see Chris Coacher in here. Uh he's a friend of mine and I'm actually going to say something about him. Um you know, once we really get started and everything, he uh he's a big part of why I'm doing what I'm doing. And uh highly possible, he's a big part of why I'm still here today. So, I'm glad he's in here.
>> Yeah, that's awesome. That's that's uh that's awesome, man. Good friendships and uh >> good to have.
>> He's the one I was telling you about. He photographs concerts and stuff and he's photographed like Cody Jinx and a lot of people like that. Uh Aaron Lewis and a bunch of guys. Um I mean Cody Jinx has a photo that Chris took hanging in his house. It's kind of cool thing.
But, uh, >> cool. Well, uh, >> how many we got in here right now?
>> We had 10. Now we got nine. So, we got we got we got some people in here. And like I said, they'll they'll continue pouring in here. Uh hopefully everybody saw the uh the post and and and the videos we I made this week and uh trying to get everybody in here because I'm I'm I had a couple uh people comment on my channel this week on some older videos like, "Man, I didn't know you were able to go back live again. They missed last Sunday's live." So hopefully they'll make it to this one. Everybody should know in our group, uh, you know, 7 o'clock Central Standard Time is when we start. So, yeah, everything's coming through good, Britney.
Okay. She ain't got no service down here, so she's going to go up there and check. She's my moderator and, uh, make sure everything's right for everybody.
So, well, Ben, tell us a little bit about yourself, man. Tell Let's just break it off like we're going to do like an interview or something. just tell us uh tell us a little bit from the beginning and kind of work your way through it and we'll answer uh comments as they as they pour in.
>> Well, uh yeah, thank you. Well, first of all, I appreciate you having me on. Uh kind of feel honored. Um you know, number one to be on this live stream and and number two to just be a part of this community. um the long care people you know although I'm not as strong in it as you know a lot of you guys are um you know I really feel like in this community it's uh a lot of people that a lot of different experiences and knowledge bases and and people has been through different things and as I've talked to different people um you know one-on-one on the phone and stuff like that you learn a little bit about them that they don't say on YouTube and they tell you things about themselves that they don't put out there to everybody and uh you know that makes it um it makes it a personable thing. You can watch a lot of genres on YouTube right now and comment and never really be a part of it. And the lawn care community is a little bit different because people in the comments are just as part of what's going on as uh you know the people doing the videos. And I think that's evident with you having Ernest on who's a highly respected person that's never once done a video. I mean you can just tell through his comments that you know he's intelligent and uh you know everything like that. So, you know, when I say these things, you know, I really feel um honored when someone mentions your name in a video. You know, I remember one time when Chad mentioned my name in a video the first time, I thought, "Wow, you know, and then after a little while Ray did and, you know, Shane did." And uh so before I, you know, really get into it, I do want to thank some people, you know, you first and foremost for having me on here. But this channel wouldn't exist without a lot of you guys um and your encouragement. Um last year I was going through a really rough time personally and uh I confided in Shane with DT Lawn Care and you know he helped me a lot and uh me and him spent a lot of time on the phone and and he you know was a good friend to me and everything like that.
And then one day I'm watching uh he well let me back up. Shane kept telling me he's like Ben you gota you got to do YouTube. He was like you're intelligent. You've been through a lot.
You know you got a lot to offer. And I didn't really know my place with it.
Because the people that are good at YouTube are really good at YouTube. And I wasn't. And it wasn't until I did a video one day that a lot of people took it and they were like wow. like it was real. It was from the heart. It told my story. And you know, to be honest, the day I realized I might be on to something was the day that Ray did a video on me and it it was like a 20 minute video and he had my name up on the banner thing and he, you know, Ray's a hard guy, but he was softened up in that moment where he started talking a little bit about himself and how he relates to what I was talking about.
And when I seen Ray do a video on me, I'm not going to lie, man, I was tearing up. And the first person I called was Shane. I was like, "You got to check out this video Ray just did." And uh then Chad called me and he was like, "Hey, you see this video?" And I'm like, "Yeah." And I'm like, "Wow." Like somebody I look up to in this industry just did a video on me. And uh you know, YouTube, I think, has a way of helping people. And uh it was always my goal if I was going to do this to do it the right way with the mission that if I had a chance to help other people I would. And uh you know going through what I went through I don't wish it on nobody. and uh knowing that there was a lot of people in my situation and let's be real, a lot of people mindlessly scroll through YouTube and other social media outlets and they're just looking for some bit of hope out there. And uh so that's when that's when I I knew that I had to tell my story. You know, I'm past a point in my life where I need to be liked by everybody. My uh my youngest son is getting ready to graduate next year and I'm not in a lot of roles I used to be on where you kind of feel like you need to be liked like you know coaching baseball like I did and stuff like that.
These days if I have to if I come out and say something that's real and from the heart that might help others, I don't care how I'm looked at. I mean, because I know exactly what it feels like to be uh to be out there feeling like there's no hope, feeling like you have nothing left. And uh you know, that's why I always say when I talk about the community, I'm so honored to even be mentioned upon all these names. I mean, I'm looking at the comments right now. You got Randall in there, somebody that I have a whole lot of respect for. I mean, this man's helped me through some really dark spots. Ray, Chad, Shane, you know, um it's it's uh it's more than just long care at the at the end of the day. Um a lot of people you know battle so many different things and you see it in these videos where people are you know like discussing ideas you know people do business moves by taking advice from people on YouTube you know people in the industry they're smart people I mean you yourself what 16 17 years in it raise at like 20 Chad's at 20 docs at 20 >> that's a lot of experience in an area where it's the lowest cost of entry of like almost any business out there and you got a bunch of people out there trying to start it and you gotta, you know, navigate through all that kind of stuff. The staying power you have to have in the lawn care industry is wild because, you know, every day there's a new company popping up where they're trying to take your spot. you know, everybody that starts up a business today with a a Craftsman riding lawn mower and a, you know, maybe a weed eater, they're hoping one day to, you know, get all that business. And, uh, I I think although it might be one of the easiest, it's also one of like most stressful, you know, because there's so much things you deal with. And I see that from all you guys on a daily basis.
And uh so you know that's why I just wanted to kind of say something why I had all these people on here you know um you know about how I feel about the community and everything >> but uh you know I'm a combat veteran um deployed to Afghanistan one time. Um most of my time was at Fort Campbell 101st Airborne Division. Um, and uh, ever since I got out, I just kind of struggled to find my place. And I think that's common with a lot of people. And um, you know, there's times it's been really good. There's times it's been really bad. And I feel like over the years of trying to figure it out since I got out back in 2015, um, I've been consistently trying to, you know, just kind of find my place.
For a while, I was coaching baseball and that was great. I worked construction for a little while. Then I started having some health issues. It kind of took me out of that for a little while.
Um, you know, and eventually, you know, in 2023 it became a really bad year for me. Um, 2023 things started falling apart and uh we had a week or a month of storms. It was like every weekend for a month, we had really bad storms, tornadoes coming through here. Um, it was really bad. And one the last weekend of the month, I remember we had lost power all day. And, uh, I was actually sitting in my recliner and my kids were walking around with flashlights like 2:00 in the morning and I had a bad flashback.
And I don't know what I was thinking, but I end up going live on Facebook and had a suicide attempt at the time.
And I had got to the hospital, some friends had seen it, got me to where I need to be. I spent a week, week and a half in the the VA hospital and, you know, trying to get help there. And uh I came out and a a friend, a guy I knew on Facebook, we wasn't really friends, we was just kind of affiliated in the same circles, which as I mentioned was a Cody Jinx circle of people. Um he had sent me a message and it was a long message and he told me he had been there and uh you know he knew how I felt and everything like that and he wrote a poem about my whole situation and that started a friendship of me and him kind of spreading positive mental health messages on Facebook. And I mean he's done a lot more with it so far. I mean, he does stuff on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook. Uh, I'm talking about Chris Coacher, who's actually in the comments right now.
>> Okay.
>> But, uh, he's also been important in my sobriety because I quit drinking a few months before him, but I was never serious about it. Um, until I seen him posting about, you know, quitting and then I was like, well, I'm with you on this. And, uh, so I end up quitting drinking. And there was a few times I wanted to and it's something I struggle with cuz I I've drank for my whole adult life and even a few years before that. So, it's something I really struggle with for a long time. And uh having someone that you know is with you in a mission of being sober and trying to deal with your own mental health positively, you know, it just became one of those things where I feel like I could never let him down, you know, by doing that.
And plus, I know what it leads to. And uh so, you know, eventually um through his positive messages and then the the feedback I was getting from people on YouTube about the videos I was doing and everything. And I'm going to admit, I mean, at first they were really rough. At first, the videos I was doing, man, they were they were just as hard for me to do them and talk as it was for you guys to watch them. I remember Chad texting me after one of my videos and he said, "I just want to let you know I watched your video, but I don't know what to say." He was like, "That was some deep stuff." And he was like, "You know, I'm with you. I'm with you for whatever you need or anything like that, but he was like, I just don't know how to reply to that."
And that was kind of one of those things that kind of made me think, you know, maybe I'm putting too much out here. And then it was like the very next day or maybe the same night that I seen Ray do that video where he talked about stuff he dealt with and he kind of thanked me for putting myself out there and told people to watch me. And that video he did got me like 30 subscribers right then and there. And uh so like I said, man, there's so many good people in this community. Um, >> yeah, they're all thanking you over there. And Ray's thanking you for your service. And, uh, uh, Chad popped in here. You got, uh, like you said, Randall's in here. Um, who else was in here? Uh, >> yeah, I'm looking at the comments.
>> You got uh, let me see.
Yeah, you got a lot of them in here, man. Uh, Francisco SL service 25's in here. Uh, yeah. Yeah.
They all, man, they all appreciate you, man. You're all in their comments. Uh, you're in their lives, the ones that do have lives. Uh, and, you know, uh, you're just uh I mean, you're you're you're a great guy, man. I I I really enjoy uh the conversation we had the other day, man. We talked what, like two and a half hours on the phone. Well, I mean, but we talked like like we knew each other for a long time, you know?
Like if you met me out in the town, we would probably say, "Hey," and talk for a while, you know? But that's kind of how this community is and that's kind of how I am with all if you mention lawn care around me. It just makes me want to just talk to you even more. I'm very likable, very talk to anybody. But, uh, but it shows, man. It shows your character. shows how you are being in uh the situations you've been in in life and overcome and uh it seems like you're in a really good place now and you know you're you're you're doing things and which is great you know uh that's what we all want. So >> yeah, I have to be honest, man. Like it took there's power when grown men are there for other grown men. There's power when grown men tell each other, you know, I'm praying for you, brother. I'm here for you. Because before that, you feel like you're all alone and you feel like nobody will ever understand you. And you know, you go through so many things when it comes to mental health. And a lot of people encouraged me to get real help.
And it just so worked out in I think it was like January, uh, the Clarksville, Tennessee Vet Center. Um, they had a a program starting. I was already involved in a a group meeting on Mondays, but then they was starting to have another program where uh it was combat reboot is what it's called. It's a faith-based re um therapy for people who suffered traumatic events.
And at the same time, I kept telling my therapist like I have no purpose in life. It's a one time in my whole life like I don't have any type of purpose whatsoever. And the feeling of your kids getting older. I mean, that's a rough feeling to go through when you're a dad to young kids. I mean, you feel like you have all the purpose in the world. And then when your kids are getting older and they don't need you no more. Like my oldest son is like just couple years away from he's in residency to be a doctor. I mean, he's an investor, owns a few trailer parks. Uh, I have another daughter that's, uh, working in a hospital, going to school to be a nurse, and she'll be a nurse, uh, at the end of this year, probably. Uh, my other daughter's graduating with her psychology degree, which she already probably graduated, but she's working on her masters now, I believe. Um, and then my youngest, he's in the recruiting process for sports right now, and I don't need to be a part of that no more.
He's got coaches behind him. So like everything in my life I felt was my purpose is no longer there no more. And you know I struggle with that. And my therapist told me she was like you know you need to do something to find purpose. And she wrote it on a post-it note and said that's my homework. And she didn't know about the videos I was doing. And uh you know then I told her eventually about the videos and and she told me it was a great thing. But like I said, I could never do these videos I do if not for all these guys on YouTube to kind of show the way. Um, without my buddy Chris with me, you know, side by side. In the army, we call it looking to the guys to your left and to your right.
When you're in a formation of guys, you know, you may feel weak, you may feel scared, you know, whatever the case may be, but then you look to your left and your right and you realize they're all going through the same thing at the same time. So when you look at it that way, you know, I might be scared, this guy next to me might be scared, but together, you know, we're stronger. And uh, you know, I just kind of felt, you know, the friendship he showed me over the years. And, uh, you know, I tried to get him, people looking at him on YouTube because he's posting a lot of good things. Um, and then, uh, you know, the guys on YouTube. I mean, if I had to pay for the phone calls that I had, you say we was on the phone two hours. I mean, I bet you I have 50 hours on the phone with Chad. Um, you know, me and Shane, >> Shane, me and Shane, you know, almost every day we at least text. Uh, usually he calls me, you know, giving me crap about something on a daily basis. I don't really mess with uh Ray much because I know he's busy, you know, 24 hours a day posting videos and working eight days a week. I don't know how to stop.
>> I was joking the other day. I said, Chad and Ray, man, they work so much they're afraid to go broke overnight. So, you know, >> apparently. Oh, >> but uh and I know you're doing a lot of things now, like you got so many irons in the fire between, you know, running uh a crew and multiple sides of your business now.
>> Yeah.
>> And uh >> yeah, I mean it does make it uh it's very hect. It's going to be very hectic this next week because all the rain we're getting. But I'm probably going to go out run the other trucks solo on a couple yards and let them go out to do their list so we can get caught back up cuz man, we we're we're uh we're going to be going on five days behind. But it but it's raining and it's going to rain uh most of the day tomorrow. So, I mean, I don't know what I do. I mean, the customers got to know it that we can't do it, man. It's it's it's just soaked in I mean, we're in flood zones now. I don't know how it is over there with Chad right now, but the west side of Alabama is being getting hit. I'm talking about >> Yeah. I was watching the SEC baseball tournament in your area and I seen where some games were delayed or postponed due to rain.
>> Yeah.
Let's see. Uh uh see who all has been saying something. Uh we haven't had any here, buddy Lee. Just clouds. Wow, that's crazy. You ain't got no rain cuz it is it is tore up the west side of Alabama. Let's see. Uh I like the hat, Ben.
Cat. Yes, sir.
That was uh from Chad. And then uh yeah, just uh you know, everybody being in here. Francisco, I hope you're doing well. Uh hope I always ask you that. Uh Ernest, hope you're doing good. Um, but yeah, man, like to to piggy back off but what we were talking about, you know, you you said in the army, you know, you look to the left and the right of your guys, you know, for uh, you know, they're in the same situation you're in.
It's kind of how we are a little bit in this lawn care community, man. This lawn care community is really good. We got a good group of core guys that, you know, you can piggy back off of, call, get information from. So, it does help you in a sense of, you know, kind of what you're going through or how your week's going or maybe, you know, just whatever you can use for advice from somebody.
That's why I like how our community is and such a tight-knit group of guys or whatever. And it could get bigger and bigger. That just because it's small right now don't mean it can't get it can't grow bigger and bigger as uh each of one of our channels grow because I mean there it's a good community, man.
Uh, like I said, I don't get a lot of hatred on my channel. I know some others do on here, but uh, if you if you take away, you know, the ones that hate on the ones that don't, the ones that don't overpower the ones that hate on them.
So, they got a good group of people in their channel as well.
>> Yeah. And uh I mean if you look at it, majority of the channels in lawn care on YouTube, other than a couple, you know, channels out there are majority men. And uh I I think a big reason for the closeness of it is because everybody's like grinding towards a goal. And you know, all these people, you know, they're in different stages. You know, some people have 10 mowers and some only have one. and they got to work on it just to get it going in the morning to go out and take care of the 10 yards they got or whatever if they got that.
>> Yeah.
>> And you know in this community you have the the OGs, you have the people that's been doing it for years. You know, you got Ray that he's out here giving knowledge to everybody on a daily basis.
His knowledge and I I speak a lot about Ray. Him and Randall and Shane, they've been doing this for so long and they're all full of knowledge. I mean, and it's all different knowledge, too. And when you really talk to them and pick their brain and listen to what they got to say about things, it is really mind-blowing to me that, you know, you don't even have to care about lawn care. If you watch Ray's videos, he teaches about life. Everything about Ray is moving forward all the time. One thing about Ray is he does not want to go backwards.
And whether it's money, you know, the his business mindset, he don't want to go backwards or nothing. and you know talking on the phone. I understand >> Ben if you ever been poor. I mean really really poor and I've been there. You don't want to go back to that. You want to work your belt off not to get back into that situation.
>> I mean I just did a video on it man. Uh you know I I I hit rock bottom mentally, spiritually, financially.
Uh you know I went broke and I'm not afraid to admit it. And uh there there was a lot of reasons for it. You know, trying to keep up with the Joneses, I guess, if I'm being honest, was a lot of it. Making bad decisions I thought would be great decisions. You know, you can't sign your name to a piece of paper so many times before it comes back to bite you. And uh but you know, you watch this long hair stuff and and you look at these different people and different aspects of their lives, you know, where they're at. And uh you know like Ray always says you know I wouldn't buy nothing if it's not making me money. It don't make sense. Um you know stuff like that. Chad's always talking about you know I could buy this but I'm not going to because I don't feel I don't feel like it's the best move for me, my family or my business. Doc is always talking about retirement and being debt, you know, living debtree. Um, I've seen you, uh, you probably could have went out and bought a brand new truck and all that, but you refurbished, you know, two other trucks to make one good running truck to to get your stuff around. And the way you did your shop building, I was really impressed with that because I think you probably did the most expensive part of it on your own. The concrete, I know the concrete in my area costs way more than a building does. and you know doing the concrete on it your yourself and then you know building that shop I mean >> and a lot of stuff you talk about and uh you know there's a lot of a lot of knowledge to be shared even in the comments he's always talking about you know living within your means and you know thinking about retirement he tells a lot of people in this YouTube thing you know it's great to make money but don't forget about your retirement and uh you know I see Rand 's comment pop up and you know he told me like I was telling him about a lot of my financial stuff and he said brother you got way too much that owns you right now. He said there ain't no way I could sleep at night worrying about the stuff you're worrying about. And uh you know then he started telling me his mindset on things and I was like man why' I never think of that? That makes so much sense. And uh you know I watched Randall's video I don't know a year or two ago and I remember commenting on it and said man I wish and I hope and pray one day to have the kind of peace you have in your life. And over a couple of videos he was commenting back to me like hey reach out to me you know I want to talk to you. And I was scared death to talk to him. He was kind of like a giant in the lawn and landscape world. And when he wanted to talk to me he was like hey people you know have my number get it and call me. I was like, "Man, I'm not calling you." Like, "I don't know what to say to you, dude." Like, >> I felt the same way about Ray when I finally talked to Ray. I was like, "Oh my god." And he's like, "What?" And I'm like, "Oh my god, I'm starruck." And he goes, "Really?" He said, "I'm just a normal dude like you." And I'm like, "Yeah, but man, my kids know you really well, you know? They they see you on YouTube every night, you know."
>> I said the same thing. I said, I told Ray, I said, "You could break in my house and my dogs wouldn't even attack you because they've heard your voice so much." I remember the day I met Shane. I texted him and said, "Hey, I'm driving through Ohio heading home." Uh, he sent me his address and he said, "Swing on by." And I shook his hand and I'm like, "Wow, the dude that I've been watching on YouTube for like three years now.
Like, I'm right here. I've seen the silver samurai, you know, all that." and uh you know I had a had the opportunity uh honored to be able to you know speak to him and him and Miss Sarah and I mean she's another one Miss Sarah you want to talk about someone that's battled adversity like she told me her story and then I seen it on her YouTube channel too for her to have a smile on her face all the time I mean she's just a a testament to what you know being mentally strong and and dealing with things you know with what she was dealt with I have a whole lot of respect for both of them and I don't agree with Doc on everything. I don't agree with Ray on everything or Chad. Um, but uh, you know, you look at these people and you look at the knowledge and what they have to offer. I mean, it's mind-blowing. But what Chad say that Ray's replying to?
>> Oh, I don't know. But hey, man, I wanted to bring up Francis Francisco, man. I'm I'm hating what's going on with you right now, dude. My prayers are out for you, man.
uh you know, I' I've been praying a whole lot for you about your uh physical therapy and all that. And it looks like you put on there you're going to be closing your business at the end of the month after 15 years. And I think right down here you wrote that one of your employees quit, so it's getting kind of hard, man. I hate that, dude. Uh I wish nothing but the best for you and all that.
>> Sorry to hear that. That's uh and he's been in my comments, too. Uh, I don't believe he Aren't you in another country?
>> I don't I don't >> I know that's got to be rough. He was telling me he was telling me what happened with him. And you know, I talk about being military, but like you don't have to be military to deal with a lot of stuff. And I don't want it to be strictly focused on. It's just where my mindset because so many people I know, but you know, I know firefighters deal with so much and uh you know, uh first responders, law enforcement, you know, nobody's immune to this stuff.
>> You know, firefighters, they never know what they're coming up on. You know, same with law enforcement.
>> He's from Illinois.
>> Oh, Illinois. Okay.
There was somebody else that uh comment on mine that was from somewhere else that I might have got it confused, but man.
>> Yeah. And we need to be praying for Ernest, too. He he has prostate cancer and everything, guys. So, keep him in your prayers and all that. I hope all that, you know, hope he can fight that off and all that kind of stuff. So, but >> yeah, Ernest Ernest, man, he's a special guy to me. I'll say that. like uh I started talking to him, he left a a comment. I did a video on like how I don't feel like I can be forgiven and how it's so hard for me to forgive other people and I hold grudges and I pride myself on being open, honest, and transparent. And one of my biggest things, I have an ego and I'm full of pride and that's something that YouTube's helped me with. But I did a video one one of my first ones and I was talking about how I don't feel like I'm worthy of forgiveness and I can't forgive other people a lot of times and Ernest had left a comment and I blew it off. I mean, I I replied like a quick reply, but it sat with me.
Like, the words in his comment sat with me for over a month. And I went back and I reread that comment again and I replied to it. And that's when he uh >> me and him started talking. And a lot of times our conversations get biblical.
You know, Ernest is a a minister and uh you know, when when we talk, he's always, you know, preaching, you know, things to me and teaching me. I think teaching is a better word. But, uh, you know, he's an important guy in everybody's comments. I seen >> in Chad's yours. Um, >> yeah, >> you know, Ray and, uh, Shane, >> he he was he was one of my first subscribers, I think, him and a couple others. But, man, he's been in he's been in my channel, man, since day one, man.
Throwing them long, really long comments that I have to read. But, I do I do enjoy them.
>> I mean, how do you not read his comments and come away learning a lot? you. I mean, >> and and that's what this is all about.
Like right now, I'm reading the comments right now and there's like a group of guys, you know, >> supporting another guy.
>> Yeah.
>> And it's like in the comment channel.
>> Yeah. And uh you know, it's always like that. There's one guy that uh I don't know if he follows me or not, but he always always he always replies to me on Ray's videos when I comment >> and he talks about how he loves when I give Ray crap all the time. And uh >> you know it just goes to show that even in the comments uh >> you know people can be there for each other.
>> Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of cool, man. How everybody is supporting each other, man.
That's that that's what I'm telling you, man. The the community that we have is is so great, man. And uh yeah, I I'm I'm I'm blessed to be in it just like you been. Um, a lot of people are like, "Oh, Lee, we we appreciate you and all that."
And and I still tell everybody, I'm I'm a little man here, man. Uh, and and I enjoy it. You know, if I can bring some kind of knowledge or something to somebody, that's great. But, um, you know, I I I still feel I'm I'm a newbie, you know, and, uh, I'll probably always feel that way because, you know, uh, that's just kind of the person I am, you know. I rather help somebody else out or give something to somebody else or, you know, something like that, you know, than than myself, you know. Yeah. I mean, at the at the end of the day, I'm in a lot of different um YouTube spots, you know. I'm in the firewood uh the firewood genre. I watch a lot of those videos. Um the equipment genre. Um, you know, there's one guy that uh that I know pretty well, Brock from Rock Hill Farms, and he's one of the most humble guys out there. And I used to watch him before he did YouTube. He was doing videos on Facebook, and he would get attacked in the comments.
Like, these guys would be like, "Man, you don't know what you're doing. You need to give it up." You know, all this other stuff. And I would always be defending him. And then a few times I sent him some messages or whatever. And we messaged back and forth and emailed and stuff like that.
And I I say that to say because in so many other genres, you don't really see the hate or or I'm sorry, you see a lot more hate in the comments than you do in the lawn care world. You don't have like random nobody's really commenting on lawn care videos. It's usually lawn care people and it's like you think of mowing for 12 hours a day or something, then you go home and watch other people mow.
But it's not so much about always watching that. It's about learning from other people. And uh you know, I pretty much learn from everybody. Um because on YouTube, education's free. Like if you're watching this stuff, if you have like YouTube can change your life. You can get on here and watch videos on just about anything and learn a trade because there's so many people out here putting this game out here for free. I mean, you know, and it don't matter what you're in, you know, it could be firewood. Uh there's one channel, I don't know if anybody watches it, but Twin Rivers Firewood, this guy's one of the most down to earth, humble people, and when he struggles with things, he'll tell you and they're a family business and uh you know, they've kind of lifted me up in the past and stuff. And uh you know really I just want to be that person that I tell my story so that maybe I can inspire other people to uh keep pushing and keep fighting because until you really talk to people, you don't understand what's going on in people's lives. And they may come off like, you know, everything's great and you know, all that kind of stuff, but people are fighting stuff on a daily basis out here. And I can tell you that when I had uh when I had that issue in 2023, sadly it was all live on Facebook there.
I post a lot of pictures, comment or pictures, videos. I was pretty much going to live stream my own downfall.
And you don't think about who follows you on on those social media outlets until you do something dumb like that.
and then you come home from it and then you look at your phone. Thankfully, my wife deleted a lot of that stuff.
But when I got home from the hospital, I had two over 200 private messages.
I had like 300 and something emojis like the care emoji or the sad or whatever.
But I say that to say there was so many people from so many walks of life.
kids that my my kids went to school with reached out to me and you know they told me that they look up to me and you know me talking about mental health like I do was something that they needed more of because my middle daughter when she was in high school she had someone die and then my son uh in my son's high school time there was someone died of those things. And when you've been to that point to where you can make that decision, you know why. You know why it's so easy to make that decision at that point. And it's the scariest thing in the world. And when I hear other people talking about the, you know, they feel that way. I mean, honestly, it's kind of heartbreaking for me because I understand it. And I'm the type of person that my own issues have softened me up and it's made me more caring and humble. Uh I think humble is probably the best word because, you know, I was a really arrogant person and I let all that get to me. And then when you have kids telling you like they look up to you and they're glad that you speak on it, it was just more fuel for the fire to keep speaking on it at the time.
And you know, so that's why I really feel like when my therapist started telling me I need to find purpose, I found it. And then having all these people behind me, pushing me, encouraging me, you know, Chad's saying that I keep it real in the comments all the time, but he does too. I sent Chad a video one time. I sent him a private link and I said, "Hey man, watch this and tell me what you think." He come back with a text message and it kind of dropped my jaw for a second. And he was like, "Man, you've done good videos and you've done bad, but this is about the worst." I'm like, "Oh, wow." And uh he was like, "Yeah." He was like, "Yeah, that wasn't good at all." And uh I was like, "Well, I appreciate the honesty because that's important. Like you need people in your life that's not afraid to tell you you're wrong." Like, >> everybody in your life agrees with everything you do, you have the wrong circle of people around you.
>> Exactly. You're exactly right.
But uh >> Ernest said he always appreciates the stories of each one of uh you and how you started uh oh and me and how I started a law uh lawn business and uh especially yours leak. So he was talking about he likes both of our stories and everything watching our channel and all that. Ernest is a great guy like we were talking about earlier, man. As far as the comments goes, he's always there watching. Uh he watches everybody and uh just an allaround great dude and I was so glad to put him on the live. Let everybody put a face with the man and uh yeah, that's what just the lives are all about, you know. Uh appreciate you coming on. We're going to have more guests and uh yeah, I I really enjoy it.
I I I really enjoy these Sunday night lives. And I've actually talked about maybe doing another day. Uh you know, maybe do two two a week, but uh right now we'll just keep it like it is. I don't know how much my wife's gonna let me uh let me do some fees or whatever.
So, I don't know yet. But uh but yeah, man. Ben, I appreciate you, man. I I really enjoy uh I really enjoy your comment. I mean your uh your your your uh channel and everything as well. So >> yeah, I like this format you have. Um I like getting together with everybody on Sunday nights. Um the live stream I've always told everybody did videos like when you do the premiere and we can all sit there and talk amongst each other during the video. I love the premiere aspect of it.
>> Oh yeah.
>> And uh you know Chad probably one of the first ones I've seen doing it and it's kind of like a live but that's not really live. And uh you know then when you look at the live streams like people put their time aside to have 7 o'clock available for you on a Sunday night to get together and I think that's a really cool thing because Sunday nights are generally like family nights for a lot of people. You know a lot of people go to church or go to service on Sunday nights but to devote that time to you know to be here and talk you know on live stream I mean it's it's something I look forward to. I hate that I couldn't be in it. Last week, me and wife was hustling, trying to get stuff done. It was a busy day and by the time I got home, it was dark and I caught the end of yours. Um, but I encourage you to keep doing them. I love this format.
>> Um, >> I love how you bring different people on, like myself. I mean, I don't have the most to add to the lawn care game.
>> My family's business is nowhere along the lines of the people in in these comments. Well, let's talk about let's let's let's uh let's change the subject around a little bit and let's talk about what you do. Uh let's talk about, you know, where you're at in your business now, what you're what you're what you're doing and everything because I know you got a dump trailer. Uh you got some equipment and >> Yeah, for the most part grass and all that. So, >> for the most part, uh small family business. Um little landscaping. Um, we got a dump trailer that, you know, is pretty versatile. Uh, hauls mulch, top soil, gravel, stuff like that. And, uh, you know, a little mowing. Um, but it's more, you know, we we kind of started for my son who was playing really high level baseball and constantly traveling places. And, uh, you know, it was one of those things where I couldn't afford it and we had to figure something else out. And so we we jumped into that and uh you know over the years he's been able to play baseball and go to places like Alabama and Georgia and Florida. And for our family it's been a good thing. Um I probably don't have to tell you that when you work with family it can be frustrating. Um you know there's there's times where you know um you know it gets stressful or whatever but it also brings a family together too. you know, at the end of the day when um when you go out there and you're working together to try to, you know, make something happen, you know, it gets stressful in the heat, you know, but uh at the end of the day, you come away from it feeling pretty good about, you know, working with family. And I think lawn care is one of them businesses where majority it's like grassroots family based. You know, a lot of businesses out there, if you start a business as a CPA, I doubt your family has a lot to do with it, you know, but lawn care, I mean, you can get your kids out there involved, your wife, you know, I don't I've never met a anybody in lawn care that their wife didn't have something to do, whether motivational, inspirational, support, you know, out there on a daily basis, >> you know, whatever the case is.
And uh you know at the time we did it to to help my son you know make it in baseball. Uh it was probably one of the best things that could have happened for us as a family >> and uh to watch as far >> as doing your scheduling and all that kind of stuff. So you were able to set your own schedules and games and all that >> completing stuff that that you know was hard dealing with you know issues as they come up you know all that kind of stuff. and uh you know watching your kid get involved with it and think outside the box and want to you know expand on things and take it to the next level and stuff like that. And you know, I coached baseball for 12 years and I had a guy tell me once um I remember my son was with a couple friends and they were fishing and they were joking that my son couldn't bait a hook and my the one of the dads was standing there and he made a comment. He said, "Have you ever taught your son anything other than baseball?"
And I was like, "I don't know." Like me and my son's life consisted of baseball. Like I coached teams and you know I always worked with him to get better. But then one day I did realize that there was a lot of things I never taught him outside of baseball. And uh you know then I started putting him in equipment, running skid steers, min's and stuff, teaching him a little bit that I knew, you know, teaching him you know how to landscape stuff like that and watching his mind open up and expand on it and you know really catch it and uh you know stuff like that. So, um, but >> yeah, >> I just feel like, you know, landscaping, mowing, you know, those are the type of businesses you can do with your family and that it's uh it's better for everybody. Um, like I said, there's a lot of businesses you can start out there that your family probably have nothing to do with, but >> you know, for my family, it's kind of it's kind of worked hardcore. Uh, I was reading this comment here, but it's kind of helped a lot.
>> Yeah, go ahead and read that one if you want to. That that's what Randall said something about his, you know, family thing.
>> Well, yeah. I mean, you see his family involved. Like, you say Randall's one of the best in the landscape, bro, on YouTube. I mean, I would argue number two and number three best on YouTube is Tyler and Dalton. I mean, if something happened to Randall tomorrow and he drove that scagg off the side of a retention wall and he was out for a couple weeks, Tyler and Dalton will pick that thing up and run with it.
>> Not even miss. And uh I've seen his wife on malt videos like, you know, she'll get out there and get it done.
>> What's up, Scott? Looks like Scott entered the house of Irvin. And we got our special guest tonight, Ben Hendris, the Stay Relentless Podcast.
>> I was hoping I was hoping uh Shane would be here because I wanted to show him I still got this. Taking good care of it.
>> The Boom Fest.
>> Yeah, yeah, Randall. They are.
>> Yeah, his boys are amazing, man. And my boy, you know, a lot of people has asked me, you know, Lee, you have a business.
You got a 19-year-old son. Why ain't he out there with you? Why ain't he Why ain't he running the business with you?
Why ain't you got him under there or whatever? Well, my son wants to, you know, go he wants to go out on his own.
He wants to try his own thing out. And uh man, he's doing great, man. He's building uh he's helping building like water lines and sanitary sewer lines and uh you know, co coverts and all that.
They do all underground utilities and stuff. And uh man, he just got a raise.
Ain't been there but uh like three months they gave him a $2 raise. He's like at $20 an hour now for a 19 year old. I mean that's that's pretty good money now. Insurance and all that. And uh yeah, I mean he's got great opportunity to move up real big in this company. It's a very big company and uh I'm proud of him, you know. And >> my first start in uh in construction was doing the same thing you're talking about. And you don't realize at the time how much there is to learn and how much experience you can get from it.
>> We did underground utilities and grading and uh learning the underground utilities part of it. You learn, you know, how to do uh laying pipe and stuff, you know, you you learn all that kind of stuff. and then you know coming up the ground as you start at the bottom and you come all the way up and you're doing the finish grading.
Construction is one of them jobs that like you start it in an empty field and by the time you're done there's a building there with you know sewer and water runoff and storm water and all that. And uh my first job was uh in construction was building a a strip mall in Nashville outside the new uh the new uh outlet malls they have. And uh we built this whole strip mall from it was a farm field when we started and operational business when we left. And uh I think for your son that's a huge thing because if he ever did come into your business, he would have the experience because if you start out on the ground or they say in the hole if you're a um a laborer, you have the opportunity to learn on a daily basis from the operators in the machine. And no matter what you do, like as far as like operating or whatever, you always start out with a company on the ground for the most part. And when you learn from those operators, you know, and your business has moved a lot, you know, from mowing, I see you doing more landscaping stuff now.
>> And who's who's to say where it'd be in 10 years from now, you know?
>> Yeah. Yeah. And and he wants to work for me. I mean, we it might be one day we put him on and uh but he's learning to run equipment and all that, which I've had him on them little machines I have and everything, but uh he knows how to run equipment and everything. He he's doing really good, man. Uh you know, I just hope that he soaks it all in because I'm I'm like you, uh Ben. I started out as a surveying job doing construction and we built big big properties and big plants and everything and it was just pretty cool that you know I lay out something like all through Birmingham. We built so many buildings out in Birmingham that I laid out I I' I've you know laid it all out and it came up and performed to something and now I can take my kids to Birmingham and everything and say, "Hey, look at that big building right there. I I was part of that." you know, so it makes me feel real good even at a young age when I was doing that for a construction company, being a layout guy and everything. Um, it just makes you feel good to want to do more and do more because, you know, you're excited about it, you know, with anybody, with anything that you do.
>> Yeah. and watching your kids like kind of take after you in these things. You know, I've always told my kids that I want you guys to be better than me. And for years, you know, I always give my son crap in baseball. A few years ago, I just had to tell him like, "Look, man, you're bigger than me. You're faster than me. You're stronger than me. You're smarter than me." And these kids have so much more what you had to like learn on your own as far as like making mistakes and learning from it repeatedly to learn lessons.
>> These kids don't have to do that. Like >> they're they're put in situations where there's so much knowledge. Even if it's just YouTube, but like you know where your son's at, you know, doing the type of work he does, he don't realize it now, but if he was to leave there after a year, the amount of knowledge he's learned from it, you know, just knowing I was in my mid30s when I went into construction and uh I had no clue about different types of soil. You know, where I'm from in Ohio, there's clay and top soil. In Tennessee, like rock is a a type of top soil or a type of soil because like most of Tennessee is full of rock. And uh you know, you start learning when you're in the ground and you see these different levels of soil.
The average person don't think like that. And your son's going to learn so much from working on a crew like that.
>> Yeah.
>> And develop the confidence. It's going to take him farther. I mean, most of what I know and I talk to other people about is one of the things about um learning from construction and uh you know, grading work and stuff like that.
And I think we always want our kids to be better than us. Take what we taught them, run with it, and do better and teach the next generation to be even better than that. I mean, that's building a legacy right there.
>> Oh, yeah. Yeah. It definitely is, man.
Because Yeah. I, you know, I I want one of my kids one day to run my business. I want them to keep it going. I want them to open it up bigger than what I opened it up, you know, and uh, you know, one of them eventually will. I hope one of them take it off and and go. I I kind of think it would be my youngest. That's how I look at because he's he's young, but he wants to do everything that he does, but he shows a lot of interest in it, you know. And my my my middle child, he he's he's big and religious, man. He wants to be a preacher, man. He studies the Bible and does all kinds of stuff, man. That's kind of where he wants to be at. He wants to go to ministry and everything. So, >> see, that's what I like about your channel is, you know, you got your wife and kids involved in it and your your channel and your business and and all that. And uh, you know, I look at people with younger kids and sometimes I really don't feel like you understand where you're at with it. I know you got an older son, but some of these people out here with younger kids, man, like cherish those moments because they grow so fast.
>> Yeah.
>> And next thing you know, you know, you're I don't know. It's it's kind of wild because like my oldest son, he was always a little bit more smarter than most kids and uh you know now he's in his residencies for medical school was investing a lot of money into you know uh real estate and stuff like that.
And uh heck I learn a lot off him these days you know. Yeah, >> I got the hiccups.
>> But uh yeah, my uh Otis was big into baseball too, Ben. I guess you knew that or whatever. He they won they won state championship there. Uh oh, look. See, Ben.
>> Oh, wow.
>> Yeah. So, they they won the state championship in 2024 and uh got rings and all that. And guess what? He he played so much baseball as a kid and everything and won all that. His senior year, his senior year, he didn't want to play. I was like, "What? You you still got one more year or whatever. Y'all can go back to back." He goes He goes, "Dad, I've been playing since I was like three or four years old, you know." He said, "I'm ready to go to work." And uh well, the coach and me kind of and his mama convinced him to play. He ended up having the best batten record in in the batten uh record or whatever you call it.
>> No, the batten uh batten average for the whole for the whole county. For the whole county his senior year.
>> So I've been around that area. So like we talked about before my son played a lot in Hoover >> and we were driving through >> I don't know what happened. We were leaving Hoover to go to Bessemer where our hotel was and it took us down this like city road. Like I'm in these neighborhoods.
>> I seen this high school out there outside of Hoover.
>> It looked like a cross between a college campus and a big religious facility.
>> That was probably Hoover High School.
>> It's huge, dude.
>> It's like a college.
>> You are freaking amazing. Like the like the architecture of them like >> Yeah. You wouldn't look at them and think they're high schools and then them fields out there.
>> Like no wonder why baseball's big in Hoover because like it's it's freaking beautiful. Like >> yeah, their football team's just as big.
Their football team's just as big. Their their basketball, their baseball I mean their their basketball gym looks like Alabama and Auburn's gym, you know, uh college level. I mean it's it's just it's it's ridiculous the kind of money they got.
Yeah, like all around Hoover and you know all the way up to Bessemer was like every high school I passed. It was kind of mind-blowing because we're in like a small town environment. Like we we have one middle school and like two elementaryaries.
>> I just seen Francisco's son just graduated.
>> Congratulations. That's uh >> that's awesome.
>> Awesome. I got one more year and then my youngest graduates.
So, is he going to try? Has he got any teams looking at him or anything?
>> Right now, a couple in football and I think a couple in baseball. It's not uh football. He's in football season now preparing for his senior year and he had a pretty successful senior year in football last year. Uh he had 68 receptions, 875 yards receiving, and uh like 12 touchdowns. but then he had some rushing yards and stuff like that and rushing touchdowns. Um, but his main sports baseball and that's one of the most competitive spots to be in because with the transfer portal, I mean, you got 25 and 26 year olds now.
>> So, >> he's trying to get recruited because he's not going to give up on it. But we've also talked about what what might happen if that don't work out because life changes fast >> and uh you know you just never know where where you might end up. I mean you said your youngest was uh you know thinking about wanting to become a preacher and middle child. Yeah.
>> The same one that is involved in all these sports. I mean I could see it from him. Um.
>> Mhm.
>> You know, one thing through all my struggles for a while, you know, we we raised our kids up in church. We didn't miss a Sunday for nothing. And we go twice on Sundays. Monday nights we did extra stuff with the church. I was with the jail ministry and then Wednesday nights we had service and you know all that. So my my kids grew up in church and uh throughout my struggles, I hate to admit I kind of turned my back on it.
I quit going for a long time and it was my son and his like girlfriend that they were setting the example as young people that got me back into church. Um, you know, my son, he's a uh he's a Christian. He'll tell everybody that. And uh, you know, I'm proud of him for I I hate to say I turned my back on religion, but I didn't turn my back on Jesus. it was more religion, the churches and stuff. And I'm not really going to get into that, but I'm just saying that to speak on, you know, when your kid's involved in something like that and feels a certain way and feels a certain way to be led. Um, when I was a weakest point, he became stronger and he kind of stood up for the family and me and kind of had that manly leader mentality.
And uh if not for him, I may have never went back into a church again. Um but I remember how I remember how we raised him. And uh you know, he was staying he was uh going to his girlfriend's church just to go to church on Sundays. There was times where I seen him, you know, want to stay with friends just to go to church with them.
And uh a funny thing, my middle kid, she broke her uh arm when she was like seven years old. She broke her arm on one of them electric scooters, cracked it in half. And uh the only way she could sleep comfortably was to have her brace like propped up on the recliner and to sleep on that. And my son was like three years old. And I remember I woke up one night that night to check on her and this three-year-old kid at like 2:00 in the morning's out there kneelled down in front of her praying for her. And uh I mean he was praying like a Baptist preacher. And anybody that goes to a Baptist church knows who I'm talking about. I mean it was a good 10 15 minute prayer going on. But that showed me there was something different about him.
And uh you know to raise your kids like that, I feel like sometimes we might get away from things like I did, but what you teach them, they they remember it. I mean, it's in their brain. It's in in their DNA how they were raised. And I was thankful that when I went through my toughest times, my son was able to maintain what what I taught him >> because me being the leader of the house and everything like that, he seen when I was at my weakest and he picked up the slack and uh you know that that was kind of huge for us. Uh but uh >> yeah, >> I'm agreeing with the comments. I mean, Bolt Brothers, that was God talking to you through him. And uh Chris, he does work in mysterious ways because I never would have thought I'd have been on a live stream.
Um I never thought I'd be doing these videos and I never would have thought that I was being led to like do these.
And you know, with these podcasts, I don't want to talk about the bad stuff all the time. My plan is to talk to people who's doing big things after dealing with traumatic events. whether military or anything like anybody can come across something traumatic >> and it can bring you down so much and to be able to to uh put a spotlight on these people and what they're doing now. Um like Chris in the comments here. Uh I suggest anybody like look him up on socials, Facebook, Instagram, um YouTube. He does like little shorts on YouTube. But uh excuse me.
>> Yeah.
>> Are you good?
>> Yeah. I was going to find something, but I didn't want to take my >> But uh >> he jumped up. I was like, is somebody coming in your house? The military man's coming out right now. We're about to see it live.
>> No, I actually had one of his books close by, but not exactly sure where it's at. Look everybody, if you're in here and I'm going to keep this and post this and everything, go check out the guy he's talking about. He's going to tell y'all about him. But look, don't forget, go and subscribe to Ben his channel, Stay Relentless Podcast, and and you know, check him out. You know, that's why I got him on here. I'm going to keep it on the uh public so everybody can see it from now on. And uh man, give him a give him a give him a subscribe.
give him uh throw him some comments in and everything cuz uh you you'll really enjoy the stories and stuff that he tells on his channel. It's really good.
>> I appreciate it, man. I just try to keep it real. Uh you know, I just try to tell my truth and and everything. There's some days where I I do really good and there's some days where I don't. There's some days where I'm not feeling it in my head that day and I'm having a bad day and I turn on the camera. Um, one of my videos I actually turned the camera on right as I was coming out of a bad anxiety attack and uh, it it was hard for me cuz I watch these after I post them and it was hard for me to go back and rewatch it and the things I was saying, my therapist seen it and uh, you know, I'm trying to move on in my life. if I'm trying to do bigger things. And um you know, my friend Chris here, you know, he's a veteran himself and uh I don't know much about, you know, he don't talk a lot about his service. Most of stuff he talks about is post service, but I know he lost two brothers last year. And I looked at his strength >> and being there for other people when uh he was dealing with so much loss himself. I mean, he lost a brother like two days before Thanksgiving and my heart just broke for him because at the same time he's on Facebook, you know, doing live videos of talking to people, you know, about, you know, mental health and getting help when you need it and stuff like that. And I just thought the strength in that guy to be dealing with what he's dealing with and put himself last and be there for other people. And there's times where I go a few days without talking to him, but then he'll text me and be like, "Hey, man. you doing all right? Haven't heard from you in a while or, you know, do just doing a buddy check? And uh I'm thinking, man, with everything you're dealing with, you're you're looking out for me. Like, you know, that's kind of crazy.
>> And uh I guess maybe for a long time I was selfish. And uh you know, so I'm trying to give back. Like I'm not trying I guess I could care less if I ever got monetized or whatever. I mean, it does feel good when you get the subscribers and they start climbing and stuff, but it's more about sending a message out there to the guys that you know aren't okay all the time. And uh you don't always know that. And that's one thing I try to preach is, you know, just treat everybody like assume that they're not on their best day. assume that they might be on that ledge because you never know the guy at the gas station that's behind.
>> Yeah.
>> And >> appreciate you, Ray. Have a good night.
>> Yeah. Appreciate you, Ray. But, uh, you know, I just try to spread a positive message because there's so much negativity out there. You don't have to look hard to find the negativity, but I think sometimes you have to look harder to find the positivity and um I kind of owe it to people. I mean, this is Memorial Day and, you know, we've lost a lot of people over the years in different wars and and stuff like that.
>> And I kind of feel like I owe it, you know, to those people to be there for the the veterans out there that are, you know, struggling on a daily basis. And uh you know the ones that you know like for me just getting out of the house some days is a struggle. You know all the anxiety I deal with and you know sometimes your wires get crossed in your head and you can be having a great day and then within minutes you know having the worst day and uh you know talking talking to people and doing these YouTube videos holds a level of accountability. Um, I have accountability people that uh I mean, trust me, if I go off the rails and say a bunch of dumb stuff, I'm going to be getting text messages and I know exactly where they're coming from because, you know, it's that accountability part of it. And uh, you know, that's why I just try to keep it positive in a lot of aspects. You know, I don't like to get caught up in drama or be negative, you know, for other people and stuff like that. Um, but you know, I appreciate that advice, Ray. Um, you know, like I've said, man, you've been one of the one of the biggest supporters through this whole thing. And, uh, I appreciate you watching my videos and leaving comments. I appreciate you, you know, the conversation we had that you told me stuff about yourself and, uh, and everything. I appreciate all the support, man.
Yeah, Chad wanted uh he asked a question a long time ago. Uh can we talk about sod just kind of giving some b uh some some small basic knowledge of sod laying and everything.
>> We got to talk a little bit about landscaping or grass cutting because the channel is what it is. So, but uh you've laid it, hadn't you? You laid sod before and everything.
>> Oh, yeah. I have. Um, I think your biggest issue is, uh, getting a good grade, making sure you don't have no dips in it, you know, no holes in it, getting the rocks out of it as best you can. Because I always say like if you put if a guy was laying in a bed and you throw a blanket over the top, that's what the sod's going to end up looking like.
>> And uh, if you have a bunch of junk in there, you're going to have bumps in it.
Mhm.
>> And if it's not perfectly graded and you got to measure uh measure your fall in it, you know, you got to know where uh if it's on a slope, you got to make sure that water is going to drain off because you know, water sitting on side will be uh uh it'll be bad when you know that water sitting in one spot. I'm assuming he's talking about that spot in his video the other day.
>> Yeah. Yeah. And I would say too, you know, think of a brick wall. You know how the bricks are you know, they're locked together, you know?
>> Yeah.
>> So, when you lay your saw, lay your saw the same way as if you're looking at a brick wall. Don't put them all in a line and then put them all in a line and put them all in a line. They need to be staggered, you know, and then when you're laying them together, you know, put them up tight, but then, you know, kind of let them kind of push into each other, you know, and then you roll it and all that. but uh kind of wo them together when you're putting them down, >> you know, and find your best way. Again, find your best way to where you're uh you're you're you're not doing as many cut pieces. So, you know, make sure you got your angle right or whatever's right to get it in there to where you're not cutting so much off. Or if you do have to, make sure you're making up for it with uh, you know, getting 10% more of your, you know, materials, you know, is what I would say, too. Don't under don't undermeasure sod. It ain't something you can just run and grab real quick.
>> Yeah. And I don't know what the soil's like down there where he's at, but that's a big factor in it, too. And uh >> yeah, >> you know, I would suggest putting at least a thin layer top soil under it because that's cheap insurance against, you know, that uh the sod taken to it, you know, the roots growing through it.
Because >> here in Tennessee, we have like that red clay.
>> And if you was just to strip a little bit of top soil off and then uh you know, lay sod on top of it, that red clay is about like concrete. you know, it's hard to get anything to grow through that.
>> And uh so I would assume that, you know, Alabama is about the same way. I just don't know because I've never worked down.
>> We got some places got some pretty good top soil and everything, but when they what I hate is when they build the subdivisions around us and they take all the uh the top soil off and then they come back with rocks and stuff and then they just lay the side on top of that.
I've been dealing with a couple yards this year with there's no top soil underneath or nothing. It just looks like crap, man. It And you you can't tell it at the beginning, but after a couple months, a year later, man, it the rocks are coming through. The the sod's not growing. It's just it's just terrible how they build these these uh you know, subdivisions and everything now. It's just a quick >> They do it the cheapest way they possibly. See the comment there that Dogh House made a home with the new baby. That's awesome, man. Uh I was wondering I haven't seen in the comments of nobody's videos recently. I was kind of wondering how everything was going.
Uh interesting thing about him. Uh me and him are actually in the same area.
We're in like the same town.
>> Oh wow.
>> Whenever I talk about the big city closest to me, Clarksville, that's where he's at. And uh so I'm glad to see him in here. And uh >> yeah, congratulations on the uh the new baby girl. And yeah, he was telling me to do some videos this week, but it's hard to do videos if we're doing getting nothing but rain. And I kind of need to have a topic or something to help me out with. But uh yeah, I'm glad he's here.
I'm glad he's here on the live. He can listen to us right now. And hopefully next week I'll pop up some videos because I'm gonna be solo on a couple sites. Yeah, I've seen some of his videos and he does really good work and uh highly suggest you know guys follow him too. Um yeah, I've seen he's got like 500 videos.
>> Um but uh you know, Dog House will tell you here in the Clarksville area, man, it's uh highly competitive. Everybody's got a mowing business out here and uh you know, my prayer is that you know, you make it because I see you got a young family and everything like that.
Um, I mean, Clarksville's it's uh there's a lot of businesses out here, a lot of people competing and stuff. And what you're saying about, you know, the way uh the way these contractors do saw jobs, it's the same way here. It's a Clarksville is one of the quickest growing places in the country right now.
We're building subdivisions on top of subdivisions.
And they're doing it in, you know, just a month, month and a half. you know, there's a whole new subdivision. And typically what you see a lot of is they put like a sod in the front, like a cheap sod, and then in the back they just throw contractors mixed down. So like literally every brand new house out there, half million dollar house, has a really crappy backyard. And the front yard when they build these new subdivisions, they're not leaving trees up. So it's a whole subdivision with no trees, cheap sod, there's no system to water it. If that house takes a couple months to sell, it's not getting watered and you come along later and you're trying to inform people of like, you know, why it's not doing well and, you know, stuff like that. But, uh, I think Doghouse will probably be one of the first to tell you how it is, you know, dealing with some of these newer brand new houses and the trash you find, you know, cuz when they build these brand new houses, they they dig uh debris pits. They'll bury a lot of the trash in the ground and then that stuff starts wearing through over a couple years and next thing you know you got >> the straps that hold lumber together and all that poking out through the ground.
>> Yeah. Is Chad still in here?
>> I don't know if he's in here. By the time we start talking about it, he might have done vanished on us.
>> We got 18 people in here, man.
So, >> I hope I hope I didn't go off on a rant. And uh >> No, that's why I got you on here for, man. That this is what the topics is about tonight. You know, it ain't you know, well, like you were saying, we're being uh you know, uh uh open topics each week. And uh it's going to be it might be something new. It might be something that don't even retain like this week or really a whole lot of lawn care, you know, and then next week might be lawn care and you know, but uh it's still a form of business because you still do lawn care, you do landscaping, you still do outdoor stuff and you know, you had a you got a lot to talk about, you know, far as uh all the other situations, you know, from the past and future and all that.
>> Yeah. And uh I mean we don't do a lot this year. We slowed down a lot because I had to fix myself and uh you know my son, my wife, they they've been carrying the load as far as that goes. And uh you know I've been going through a lot of different therapies and uh really working hard to fix myself. Um, I challenged myself earlier this year to to achieve something early and it was my goal to get my CDO before my uh birthday and uh unfortunately I graduated before my birthday with uh through the trucking school, the CDO school, but the way they scheduled me, it was like two weeks after my birthday that I actually got the license. But, you know, it was something I I've always wanted to get and uh it was a challenge I put in front of myself and then I told everybody on YouTube I was going to do it. And you know, that's an accountability thing there that you tell people you're going to do something, you got to do it. So, you know, I end up getting it and uh you know, it was one of those things. It was challenging. Um but uh you know, I got it done. Um, and while I was doing that, wife and son kept up with everything else and kept everything going and everything like that. So, Dalton is Dalton uh Dog House, is that his real name now?
>> Yeah, I think his name is Dalton.
>> Okay. I think in the in the last live we were talking about it and he said that he had a good name that uh and Randall said, you know, they kind of figured out it's Randle's son's name and he was named after Roadhouse. Uh uh Randall's son was named because of Roadhouse, one of the characters.
>> I didn't know that.
>> Yeah. Well, he was mentioned.
>> Yeah, you came in later at the live last week. That's what you were saying. So, >> yeah, that's okay. Now, I know your name's Dalton then. Um Yeah, man. you're in Clarksville area, let me know if you need anything. Hit me up. You can find me on Instagram, you know, uh send me a message or something, man. If you need anything from me, I'm I'm here and I I'll be willing to help you any way I can. And uh I think it's crazy that we could be on this big, you know, thing like YouTube and you're literally conversating with people in your own town.
>> Yeah, >> that's just kind of crazy to me. Um >> what's up, Jesse? give you a big smile.
>> Uh, let's see.
>> I I agree, Ernest.
>> Yeah, I would keep I would keep the information off, too. So much about your kids and everything. Yeah, I know. I'm I'm I'm fresh out of the pin of uh Facebook jail. I'm I'm I'm I'm clean for a week. So, uh yeah. Um, yeah, definitely you got to be on your, you know, P's and Q's when it comes to YouTube and kids and I I found that out.
So, >> yeah. Uh, I'm just reading through the comments and Ernest's comment here. It's not about the lawn care, but coming to know the individual and what they can share. I mean, that's 100% right. Um, >> yeah.
>> You know, even the the top dogs in the lawn care world are bouncing ideas off each other.
And you know, they're telling each other their fears, their struggles. You know, one of the boldest things I've seen on YouTube was where Chad was talking about, you know, feeling led to buy this property. And you could see in his videos how he was unsure about it the whole time. But he kept talking about, you know, I'm blessed. I'm highly favored. And and any Christian would feel that way because, you know, you know what the opposite could be. And he's going into it with a godly approach. You know, he's praying about it. He's involving smart people in the process, getting information and talking. And then he put his money where his mouth is. And he went out there and he signed papers, you know, bought the place. And you've been seeing it on a a progression that every time he does videos, he's doing more and more. And watching someone on on YouTube when you've been there from like the beginning of it and seeing what's happening now, I think we're all kind of excited about, you know, where he's going with that. that uh >> you know, we got we all get to see it in real time. You know, it's easy to talk about what you did in the past, but when you're showing your work on on face or YouTube, as Ray says all the time, you know, show your work, but I know he's had a lot of conversations with me about it, and I know he has you and other people as well. When you're making a decision like that, that could be life-changing. And that's what happens on YouTube here is people exchange life-changing advice. And you know, I remember when you were talking about that building, I was hoping you got it. I was really >> I seen other people go the same way, selling materials and, you know, maybe a greenhouse and, you know, having a shop like that. And unfortunately, I guess for you, it wasn't the right deal, wasn't the right time.
>> But I think that would be huge for you, like just business like that.
>> Yeah. And and I wanted to jump back on what you were saying too, man. it. You know, we all have a lawn care channel, but uh I'm hoping this live can bring out the best in people and really touch on, you know, sometimes more than just line care. You know, you know, the maybe learn a little bit more that you didn't know from their channel that they open up about here in this channel. Kind of like what you're going to do over there in your channel. you know, I think yours is going to be great.
>> And mine can focus on, you know, yeah, we see them every day. We see we see what they're they're doing, what they're trying to achieve. Now, let's see, you know, well, let's see how their past is when they got there, where where they're at now. And let's catch some ideas of what they're thinking about in the future. You know, I think that would be pretty cool to see. Uh cuz I like seeing because I started my channel to to to really see my progressing pro progress in a year. See what I can do in a year.
Plus my kids wanted me to start one because I watch YouTube all the time.
People cutting grass and everything. But I wanted to really focus on and see how much I can grow in a year. And a year ago I didn't have a shop. A year ago I didn't have two guys out here running my business for me and me managing. So, I'm on that path of growing more and more and, you know, who knows where it's going to take me, like you said, to the next level and everything where where I'm going to eventually go, you know, pick up a couple more yards, several more yards, run two crews, you know, and me set back and manage them and, you know, paperwork and the back end. Have you still been looking for a location to have something like what you were talking about before or >> No, I kind of I that after that situation or whatever, that was a perfect spot, man. It was such a great spot. But, uh, we've talked about it about trying to get something else, but I would kind of want something that's kind of in town, close to home, you know, but you know, a lot of stuff, man, and and a lot of stuff right now is renting high. I mean, it's it's renting extremely high right now. So, you know, we even talked about even doing it out here at my property, but I don't really want the public coming in and hear that >> be a lot of traffic out there.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> And then it runs problems with your homeowners and business insurance. Like, where's the line between those two if someone gets out of their car and falls on your property and now they own your business, you know?
>> Yeah. Yeah. So that was a that was a you know a a proposition or whatever you want to say that that ended really really fast because we just what you just said right then went through my mind immediately. I was like, "Oh, we can't do that." You know, we need to if we're going to do something like this or whatever, we need to do it off site. But I've been looking and trying to like Chad, you know, but I've been really thinking about trying to invest in, you know, like rental properties and, you know, storage units and stuff like that.
something that I if I bought a trailer park or something and fixed them up and something that would have progressive income coming in for like airbnbs or something like that, you know, building cabin cabins on the lake if I bought a lake propert, you know, >> that's something Ernest has talked a lot about in the comments of a lot of videos. uh you know, knowing your endgame and and thinking about retirement because um you know, your age catches up on you and then next thing you know, you're like, you know, where am I at? You know, I'm >> I'm in my mid-40s right now.
>> Yeah.
>> And uh you know, I look at where I'm going to be and uh where I want to be and you know, I talked to Ernest not too long ago. I was telling about my situation and he was telling me you know one of the most important things is having your future uh you know put taken care of you know if something happens to you you know I think about you know Kyle Bush I'm a huge NASCAR fan and uh Kyle Bush is someone I grew up a Tony Stewart fan because we're from the same general area and he raced my home track and everything in dirt track.
>> Yeah. And when Kyle Bush became uh joined Joe Gibbs Racing, I liked him because he was a teammate of Tony Stewart and I liked his attitude because that was it mirrored my attitude.
And he's been racing for 20 years and then, you know, he went from winning a truck race last weekend to being dead this week.
>> It's crazy.
>> And so sad.
>> Yeah. And you know, he's his family's taken care of, but >> Yeah. goes to show that we could be gone at any point in time.
>> And you know, it uh >> I'll be honest, man. When I went broke, I looked at it like, you know, I failed my family. Um you know, what if something happened to me today and I left them in this position, you know? Um so it became a humbling experience and then you start looking at things differently and when you think you know everything, you start listening to everybody differently. Mhm.
>> And uh everybody out here, you know, they're they're speaking a lot of knowledge. I mean, I think Shane talks about retirement and um living debtree and all that kind of stuff on almost every video, paying stuff off. And almost every YouTuber out here in the lawn care world is talking about, you know, you know, paying off equipment as fast you can, make money with it. And you learn so much from each of these guys. Um.
>> Yeah.
>> And I think that's a lot to think about because when you can put together investments that you know will take care of your family if something happens to you, you know, that's a big thing. I was talking to Chad about it and I said, "Man, that that property you bought and the way you're developing it, that can be a huge thing for not only good >> for you, but your family, you know, >> your family in general. I mean, that's a I'm I'm glad to see it working out for him like that cuz, you know, he's a good dude and and me and him's had some real good conversations about that and a lot of other things and you just hope the best for everybody. But you love to see people getting these big wins. you know, even your your channel. I mean, when I started watching your channel, you were mowing every day with one guy, and now you're, you know, out eating tacos at 11:00 in the afternoon.
>> Where's that bus at that you just ran over me with?
>> No, no, no, it's not that. Because if you ask my wife and kid, they'll tell you my truck makes a right turn every time I see a taco truck. Like I'll stop traffic to go across three lanes to hit up a taco truck in a heartbeat.
>> Yeah. Yeah. But you know, saying what you said or whatever, you know, uh ain't that all of our endgame or that all of our the way we want to be in our business is how I've always looked at it. Like when I saw lawn care a long time ago watching it on YouTube, you know, um people talking about all the time how, you know, eventually they want to be able to uh manage their business, you know, uh have guys and crews go out and do their work and everything because I mean I built this business, you know, on you know, I love to work. I don't get me wrong, I love to work, but uh to have family time, you know, to to be able to go and go to any sport event, you know, any awards show and all that cuz I I I my wife would tell you I missed a lot of them with my oldest son, you know, because I'd work seven days a week. I was a Ray with a family and working night shift in the mines and and all that. So, I mean, uh I'm very blessed to where I am right now, whatever. But, you know, I look at it as I put in the time, you know, I put in the the hard work and and where I'm at in a rural area, it's hard to build a business where I am to to where it is now. I mean, it just the jobs just don't fall in your lap. It it takes time. It takes it takes other guys retiring and getting out of the lawn care game for you to win them jobs and biz because them customers stick with you for years. I mean, I got customers I've had for 16 years, five, uh, 15 years, 14 years, you know, and even commercial properties I've had for 14, 15 years, you know, it's not something that just just happens overnight, you know, and it takes a lot to build it up.
So, I'm happy where I am now and I want everybody to be in my situation one day.
I want everybody to to learn from me. if I can tell you something, give you any kind of advice or what to do to get to where I am because that's where I want everybody to be, you know, I mean, uh, to be able to spend more time with your family, but still have your business running like it needs to run. Now, I know when it comes to employees and all that, it's very hard to to do that. And it's very hard for me to do that if I didn't have Roberto and David, you know, I I would need another Roberto and David to to continue on or whatever. And I know they're very rare breed to have in this kind of business, but once you get them, take care of them.
>> I I understand what you're saying about missing your kids' lives because, you know, for me, I was all about trying to to have the career, you know, in the in the military in general, you got to go above and beyond on a daily basis.
you're consistently pushing yourself to be better, you know, in every aspect, whether it's your physical fitness, your weapons qualification, your army schools, uh civilian schools play a big factor if you're going to college, doing all that kind of stuff. And uh you know, you're doing all that and at the end of the day, you forget about your family.
Um they just kind of operate without you. And uh >> you know when you're gone for training, you're gone for a month or 3 weeks or two months or whatever and then you go on deployments, your family runs without you. You know, I give my wife a lot of credit because she raised three kids by herself for a lot of years. Um I was there every now and then for support and she had money because I got paid and she had that, but she didn't have me there every day dealing with the stresses of everything.
And that's one of my biggest regrets. I wish I would have focused more on the family back then because, you know, it does hurt not being a part of that. And uh when um when uh when you look back on it and everything that you missed, you're just like, you know, in regret a lot. and see like now I have grandkids and I get a chance to you know get back home to where my son lives and uh and uh you know be a part of their lives but uh and a lot of people do say I focus a lot on my youngest son but obviously he's the youngest and I'm trying to get him to where he needs to be. But, you know, I kind of feel what you're saying when you talk about, you know, missing a lot of things, working two jobs. Like, I've been there. And, uh, you know, as a man, there's a lot on your shoulders as far as providing, leading the family, you know, teaching your sons to to be who they need to be in life and and how they need to act.
And there's a lot on your shoulders when it comes to that. And uh that's one thing I try to do on my channel is talk about the stresses that men face because I think uh you know men realize that when they see something when they hear something like we're all supposed to be the strongest people in the world. Your kids look at you you know like you can fight anybody. Your wife thinks you hung the moon. But deep down inside, man, you're scared to death. you're like, "Dang, this decision here, you know, if I do the wrong decision, everything's gone." You know, >> and uh so, you know, that's what I try to put on on my channel is just more of a, you know, that part. Um, no. Uh, to answer your wife's question, I'm not full-time in anything. Um, uh, you know, I'm medically retired Army and, uh, I'm working on, you know, getting myself back to where I need to be. And, uh, I did get my CDO and, uh, so that's an option that I have in the future. Um, we're in a very, very competitive area around here, as Dalton would tell you.
Um, a new lawn care business pops up every day around here.
>> Yeah. And uh you know the stuff you hear about from other people about you know trying to make it and stuff like that you know if you're trying to make it starting out right now you know it's kind of tough. I I heard Ray's video before I started watching this one and he's talking about you know he benefits because of the the reputation he's built over 20 years. And when you've been in the game for 20 years people know you.
You're consistent. You're taking care of it. you know, whatever comes up. And a lot of these new businesses, they pop up, you know, every other day. And you see it in these Facebook community groups where someone posts like, "Hey, I'm looking for someone to mow my lawn because the the guy that started it, you know, last couple weeks, he went MIA."
And that happens all the time. And uh you know, the guys that have that staying power, I heard it from you. you said it earlier that you've had customers for 14 15 years. You know, um Chad, he talks about it quite a bit and uh you know, I know Shane does too and and Ray, I know he's well known in his area for what he does and uh there's a lot to be said for that kind of uh and even Randall talking to him, he was talking about, you know, how he found a lot of his clients and you know, his videos speak for themselves. I mean, I don't know anybody better than him on on YouTube or in life in general as far as landscaping goes. And when you have that kind of knowledge, the kind of confidence that you're able to take on any type of job, like I've seen Ray do jobs on video, that scared the crap out of me.
>> Yeah.
>> Like that one video where he's like knocking them trees down and I'm thinking, man, all all it needs to happen is bottom end of that tree kick out and it comes through that skid steer, >> you know? But he's got the confidence and the knowhow. He explains it to you like what I'm looking for when I'm doing this.
>> And uh you watch >> how he's cutting it, how he's pushing it with the machine to make sure it's going to go where it needs to go. I mean, he's telling us all that, you know, like you were saying earlier, dude, the the what you can learn on YouTube just by watching these guys' videos is free free to you. You know, you don't have to have a, you know, pay for my uh prescription or something to to learn this, you know, coaching calls. Yeah.
>> Buy my class so that I can >> Yeah. buy my class or whatever. My class is school hard knocks. Come out here every day and learn, you know.
>> Yeah. like because I've talked to you know Randall he owned the tree tree business at one time and uh you know just hearing his mindset about it like you know I don't think that I think that's one thing I couldn't do you know um I've been in a lot of dangerous situations in my life but trees are un so unpredictable >> that I don't think I could ever do that part of it uh >> I work I I worked like I think I was like 18 17 18 maybe uh for Aspen. I don't know if you know what they are.
>> They had the orange trucks, didn't they?
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I worked for them for a little while out of town and I was on their out of town, believe it or not.
And I'm scared of heights. I was on their out of town climbing crew. So, I had the spikes and everything. And nowadays, my wife cleans my gutters out like on the top of a ladder or nothing.
>> I'm not then. I'm not so much a fear of heights, man. Like, I've repelled out of helicopters in like dangerous places, okay? I'm not afraid of heights, but I am afraid of being on a stick >> a 100 foot up in there with the wind blowing and that thing going like this.
>> I I had to tell I had to call Ray one day when he was in that lift and it was moving back and forth. I had to call him that I was getting motion sickness just watching his video. I was getting sick watching his video.
You could you could put a check for half million dollars at the top of the tree and I'm not going to get it.
>> Yeah.
Yeah. You can put a lot of money up there and I'm gonna say, "Hey, leave it.
I don't care. I'm not touching it."
>> But knowing Randall the way he is, I could imagine him climbing a tree like that going up.
>> Like a spider monkey.
>> Oh yeah.
>> I figure this about the time of night he's walking Gandalf around the park.
>> Probably. So probably so. Apollo was just in here a second ago. He came by and made me pet his back and rub him for a second and he to run out of here again. So, he found his way down here in the basement. So, >> was there anything like sometimes I just talk a little bit too much. Was there anything in the comments that I missed?
Um, >> no. I think everybody's uh been pretty eased on the whole comments tonight. We ain't been they ain't been flooding in here too too bad tonight and everything.
Everybody's en enjoying your conversation.
>> I scared them off.
>> I don't think you scared them off. I think everybody was just liking your story. It just I mean all that >> was when Ernest was in here talking they was giving him 200 questions because they wanted to learn from the great one >> which I was one of them. I posted like 50 questions at night like >> Okay. When you >> That's what I was telling him guys when we were uh getting ready and everything.
I was like, "Dude, sometimes the comments are coming in so fast it's hard to read them and everything, but they've been easy tonight, man. They they have."
But uh Randall just said he's walking him now and listening to us.
>> That's what he's doing.
>> And see, that's a cool thing about how you do this little formatting of your uh vid your live streams because I can tell you the week you had Ernest on when you said that one Sunday night I'm trying to get Ernest on and then like I think you said like Tuesday or Wednesday he was going to be on. I marked off that whole Sunday to be in front of my TV to watch it. And like, you know, Ray the same way. Um, you know, when it was gonna be you and Ray. I mean, let's be real. Who wants to miss a chance to hear Ray on a live stream. I mean, >> oh, I know.
>> You don't know what's going to come out.
And that's the fun part of it because, and I'm not giving you no crap or nothing.
>> Walking to >> He's walking his dog. Yeah. My wife's like, "Where's where's Randall walking to?" I was like, he's out walking his dog and he's got like, you got to watch the end of Randall's videos. He's got the beautiful places to walk down, but all the with the water and the mountains all back behind it and everything. I I told him I've been telling him from day one, I was like, "Dude, I I don't really care too much about the beginning of your video, and I do like to learn a little bit about plants and everything, but I'm in it for the end of the video.
I'm I want to see the view the the the caption and the view you have which is unfair. I told him I said you can come down here and look and walk mine with some dog I mean cow pastures and everything. We can look at cows and donkeys.
>> No, I'm I'm gonna tell you the the craziest thing I seen one day. I think it was raining or something. So like I got a notification that uh Randall was live. So I was like, "All right, cool.
I'm gonna watch this." cuz it's always, you know, something to learn when you watch Randle's lives. This dude's walking his dog for an hour. He's got like 60 people on his live stream and never said a word.
>> And these 60 people are watching his live stream. And I'm thinking, you're literally watching a guy walk his dog.
And that number never really dropped.
And I'm thinking, that's wild to me. But that's a respect. like, you know, >> he left YouTube for a few months and then he comes back and, you know, he gets like I think it was like 1,800 views in 48 hours or something.
>> I'm like, dude, well, what about us, man? I've been throwing videos, trying to as much as I can, but uh Randall's just that likable guy, you know? I mean, and he's got good content and he's got some beautiful properties, man. He makes he he's got this he's got the mulch game on point and he's got the strut game on point when it comes to his property, >> you know, and I know he can hear me, so I'm going to say this, but one of these days I want to go on one of them hikes.
Have you seen his uh videos in the winter time when he goes on one weekend hikes and he did it with another guy once where they went out and camped and went on this long hiking trip and uh you know, I forget what that trail is that he's on. Uh that east coast trail goes from like Maine to Georgia.
>> You welcome.
>> But uh I think that uh I think that'd be fun. Like this winter, Randall, I want to come down and and do that like weekend hike with you or something cuz that's a challenging spot. Like when you see if you could go back and watch that video I'm talking about like they're going up steep terrain, down steep terrain. Um, and uh, it it's one of those type of things where I think uh, you push yourself and you test yourself.
>> Yeah.
>> Yep. Appalachian Trail. That's what it is. It goes from to like Georgia.
>> Wow.
>> What's up, Wayne? Glad you made it in here, man. Yeah. We uh, we're going on about uh, an hour and 47 minutes right now. So, we might we might go we might go to two hours and call it tonight. But uh it's been it's been a it's been a very good uh live. We've had uh good conversations. Bunch of great people has been in here and everything. So yeah, we might try to go uh to about two hours in and everything. Yeah. Some reason my lives go long, man. Like uh Shane and Tom, they knock theirs off after an hour and Shane's always telling me, "You got to you just got to quit. You just got to you just got to shut it off." I'm like, "I'm shutting it off." And there's like 18 people in there, you know, they might want >> Well, they use a lot of energy.
>> They use a lot of energy. I mean, neither one of us has took our shirts off and danced yet. Like >> next Sunday.
>> Yeah. Uh Randall, my wife said you can walk your dog in the live next Sunday.
She It's It's your turn, man. You need to get in this live.
>> We all want to know something about you.
>> So Randall, you said you take eight to 10 people when you go out on those hikes.
>> Yes.
>> I think you need to get the lawn care.
Me, Lee, Chad, Ray. Well, Ray probably [ __ ] about it the whole time.
>> I probably would, too, to be honest.
>> Could you imagine live stream?
>> Let me get in a little shake, man. I got I got I gotta get out and work, man. I can't uh I I do got to do that, man. I got to get out and get busy or whatever.
So, I mean, I'm probably looking forward to this uh solo a little bit next week.
>> Hey, that's a man trip you got to do, though. That's a man trip right there.
Out hiking in the mountains like that.
Like I would love to see that.
>> Yeah, >> I could just see Shane like giving Randall or Shane giving Ray a hand, you know, climbing up the mountains and everything and both of them, >> you know, >> they would they would struggle a little bit. I think they'd be all right, though. I think >> Well, see, Chad's really athletic. Yeah, >> he's a college, you know.
>> Yeah, he's a college athlete. He's athletic and uh you know, he's got that pride. I don't think he'd be lagging behind.
>> Yeah.
>> And uh >> you know, I think I got some stuff going on, but I think I could make it because I'd watch everybody else, you know, making it so then I'd make it. But uh >> yeah, I think that'd be a cool thing though to go on what what he does out there because them views are beautiful, >> man. They are nice, man. That's what I told him, man. That lake, I'd love to try to catch fish in that lake and uh yeah, man. Try to hike them mountains and everything. Uh, it would kill me, but man, it would look good from up at top, man. Looking at >> and the wildlife is out there, too. Did you see the end of that one video where he had that aposum?
>> Yeah.
>> Like eating on that deer.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> I mean, >> hey, Doc's in here. Doc came in here late.
>> I got the boom fist, Doc. I've been waiting on you.
>> Look at that.
We started talking a little bit about Doc and he got in here. His ears were getting itchy. They're they're burning him a little bit. I'm glad he's in here.
>> He seen I was signing him up for something again and he don't want no part of it. I guarantee I'm going to get talked to after this. He's going to call me and be like, "Don't be signing me up for no mountain hikes."
>> Why? He's good now. He's about got everything replaced and everything. He's the bionic man. He can do it all. Well, he'll smoke all of us up that hill.
>> Well, I've talked I've talked to Doc and I think he used to be one of them tough sobbs when he was younger. Uh he >> Oh, yeah.
>> dirt bike race and all that kind of stuff.
>> Yeah. And then early in his videos, you know, you saw where he was doing a lot of working out and everything. You know, he was pretty little strong little little stump right there, you know, dig at him or whatever. But he uh yeah, he was uh he was throwing some weights and uh everything down.
>> He said, "I just need one more shoulder."
Doc, you're going to have to you're going to have to go back and rewatch this because I said a lot of good things about you and you're always saying that I miss your videos or something when I'm late on them. So, >> great movie. He he was watching a movie with Sarah and uh >> which one was it? The movie Mellennia.
Oh, okay. Yeah.
>> I don't watch a lot of movies cuz I fall asleep before the intros are done. Well, let me tell you what we've been doing, me and my wife. We've been watching a TV series. Everybody should go check it out. It's on Prime Video. It's called Person of Interest, and it is so good. I mean, it's it you binge watch it, man.
We're spending I can't say too much because I doing a whole lot of work and get myself in trouble here or whatever.
It starts off a little slow, but man, it gets really good. It's called Person of Interest. It's really >> Is that like one of them like uh true crime type things? No, it's no cussing or nothing like that. It's kind of like a crime and the guy has he knows what's coming up because they make this machine. It's kind of like it's scary, but it was like in 2011 and to 2015.
It's like five seasons, but it's uh like the beginning of AI and everything. It's kind of crazy for real.
>> Yeah, that whole AI thing, man, that scares the crap out of you when you go down them rabbit holes.
like them rabbit holes on AI and data centers and >> he wanted me to come and pet him again.
He's like, "Why ain't you upstairs in our spot?"
My dog, he's wondering where >> I am glad you made it on here, Doc. I appreciate you. And uh you know, I've said earlier in this video, I appreciate everything you've done for me. You know, all that.
>> I'll keep it posted and he can go back and watch it and everything. A lot of people tend to watch them. I didn't realize that, man. I do these things for two hours or two and a half hours and I'll post them and dude like 40 or 50 people will still watch it and I'm like, "Holy crap, man. I didn't want to watch a twohour thing."
>> Chad's been creeper. He's been in creeper. He's been in mode in the live stream.
>> Yeah, he's been waiting to come on here.
He He was in here earlier or whatever.
He might have stepped out for a minute and came I bet you Chad's been in here the whole time just like waiting for me to say something. But uh >> Black Smoke Matters came in here. He just got in here. What's up, man?
>> Yeah, I see.
>> Yo yo yo.
>> Nature called and I had to shower. So would you crap yourself or what?
>> What's that mean? Let's talk about that, Chad.
>> Yeah, Chad. Nature's calls and then he had to go take a shower. Wow. That that can only mean two things. That was not He is getting on up there in age like me, but you know, he is >> the only way it's going to pay off for me is if I'm able to help someone like all you guys have helped me. Like, I'm literally a product of everybody's help.
Like, and that's what I like to say.
Anything say in my videos is not something like I went to college to learn. And you know, I feel like when you had people look out for you and the people and in my last video, I described it as like you're down in this deep hole and you can hear people talking up above you and you can hear them passing you by. But then you get one or two or five, seven people, they're like, "Hey, check this guy out. He's down this hole. Let's help him out." That's what y'all did for me. And I feel like I owe it to everybody else to carry that on. And uh you know, I begged Doc to not quit YouTube last year. I told him, I said, "Dude, like you're reaching people that you don't even realize in your videos."
And it kind of gets back to the importance of what you all do YouTube, >> you know? I haven't let it sink in that I do YouTube videos yet. Um you know, because I look at you guys all like I mean, Lee, your editing skills are phenomenal. Um you do a good job with your editing. And then Doc's been doing this for so long, you know, Doc and Ray and Randall, they've been doing this stuff so long. Like Randall said he's had over a million people view his videos. Like, can you imagine that?
>> Oh, I know. That's crazy.
>> Like that many people's like viewed and, you know, watched your stuff and showed support and respect and all that. I mean, Doc, he took a lot of time off and then he comes back, does a live stream, he's got like 70 people in there and it's like, wow. like it, >> you know, and uh so you know, the the work you all do, and I'm I'm speaking from a commenter, a fan of channels in this aspect.
The work you guys all do on YouTube is uh it helps people. It really does. Um you just never know what the guy on the other end of that view is going through and what they're getting out of your out of your channel. And I know, >> you know, I got a lot out of Doc stuff and he'll tell you I begged him to not quit YouTube and I was glad that he came back and then uh >> Yeah.
>> But yeah.
>> Well, I appreciate you saying about my editing skills. I always worry about it.
My wife tells me to. I think I overedit sometimes.
>> I think you need to bring the beard back, though. The beard's >> I know. I've been My wife hates the beard, man. She can't stand it.
>> I do need to let it come out a little bit thicker, a little more, but I I my my wife hates it, man. She can't stand.
>> 100,000 watch hours. Can you imagine that? Like, how many years is that?
>> 100,000 watch hours. Wow.
I'm just now almost Guys, please rewatch this over and over again cuz I'm really close to 4,000 watch hours and I I I hit over 605 subscribers. very proud, very appreciative to all y'all. And then thank y'all so much, man. Because I'm like being said, we need Ben to get on up there, too. Guys, >> what is that uh black diamond? Does that mean you're going to get one of black plaques or what's that mean?
>> Oh, I don't know.
>> Cuz I see his comment there.
Maybe it's the camera, but I can tell Buddy Lee is managing the business more now. Maybe he's talking about Yeah.
Yeah. I might have to Hey, hey, Chad. I talked about it earlier. I'm going to be busting out uh some uh because we had all this rain, Chad. We got rain tomorrow and the next day. I'm going to be busting some soloing going on this next week hopefully to try to get some of our stuff caught up from last week.
So, yeah. If I bring the camera out, y'all see me out there solo.
But that's one good thing about my business, having two pieces of equipment, two trucks, walking. My dog, guys, my little kids are over here just aggravating my big dog so bad. He's going to bite one of them, and I'm going to laugh at my kid because they're aggravating him. But uh but my uh having two trucks, multiple equipment, I can send the two guys out, do the big areas, and then I can go in and do some of the smaller properties, you know, bam, bam, knock them out just to try to help our schedule out because it's going to be rough for me, man, the next the next probably two weeks being we're already so far behind. I seen it in that last video you did where uh Roberto was doing that hillside and you mentioned it how David was down there weed eating the thing and I see that David is like that younger guy and like Roberto's your right-hand man that's going to keep stuff going and that trust you have with Roberto knowing that you don't have to be out there looking over his shoulder and you can send him to a property and not worry about him throwing a rock through a window >> or uh you know skimping out on things and doing low quality work.
>> Yeah. I mean, I said it before you even hired the other guy. So, you need to get somebody that Roberto can kind of hire that he can run because I mean, you have something in your business and Roberto that a lot of guys can't find. And uh, you know, we've seen on other channels where people struggle with that help and you know that David, you know, he's what's keeping you out of the truck.
Roberto's keeping you out of the truck and having two people that can jump in there and run something like that. They looked really organized from the video.
Roberto's doing his thing. David's doing his. And that looked like a really big property.
>> Oh, yeah. It's It's super big, man.
That's one of our big It's not really our biggest commercial site, but it's one of them. And we when you when you're talking about that marina and everything, that marina, it's it's still campgrounds, a marina, it's got a a a barber shop, and it's got like seven uh rental properties around it, too. And we take care of all that. and it's all from one guy. And then you go 30 miles up the road and he's got 13 more rental properties on the lake that we take care of, too. So, he he uh is probably one of my biggest clients, but uh it's it's a lot of properties and everything. And they're they're pretty goodized properties. So, >> that's Chad said they did two trucks three days last week. I mean, and Chad's another one, man. He's showing it right now that, you know, his guys are handling things.
you know, as soon as Ray lost his cam, Chad got a cam and uh you know, he's killing it. But uh I joked with Chad. I said, "Man, give me a year or two. I'll be down there managing Green Acres while you go down there and build businesses all over the place." And uh with with what Chad's talked about that he pays his people, man, it's tempting.
They're all like, "I need to get a scagg and everything." Guys, there's no scag dealer around. There's no scagg dealer around me. And you know, uh, we have Toro, Ferris, uh, Huskavarner and all that around me, but man, dude, that they're smaller, uh, dealers around me.
The biggest one is Tri Green and their their dealer support, man, is hands down 100% better than all them other ones because I had K Cabota in our town and I thought it was a big thing. Never gave me a loaner mower. my my mower would always vapor lock and I was just happy when I got with Tri Green. They gave me a dude they man they gave me a deal and they call it switching brands. So when you go from K Cabota or one of these other dealers and you go to a John Deere they give you a discount for that because it's called switching brands.
Like they want your business which is kind of crazy but >> they've been hands down great for me. I mean, I've had them for now what, nine years? Probably nine or ten years I had them. And it's just great.
>> They are nice. I just actually seen uh CROons. I seen his and you know, looking at his uh shiny new John Deere, I think he said like 15 hours on or something.
They are nice machines and everything. I just feel like once you go to John Deere, you can't get out of it. Like you're in there like >> Yeah.
>> You're in John Deere and like everything is John Deere at that point. And that's like a heck of a commitment. I mean, I'm about to hit 25 years of marriage, >> but like that John Deere level, like guys go from X mark to Scagg and back and forth, >> but like you rarely see guys like leave John Deere. Maybe it's a testament to their equipment and everything, >> but uh >> I I see Docs Doc's leaving. Good night, Doc. I love you.
>> Good night, Doc. 27 yard tomorrow. Wow.
27 yards tomorrow. Good night, Doc.
You're gonna need that rest. Hey, but I wanted to say something before he got out of here and all these Scagg Nation guys or whatever. Y'all watch that guy on there that grow. We mow it. Scagg can get a bag. Is that what they're going to be now? They're all them are Scagg can get a bag.
>> Hey, I'm not going to lie, man. Skagg is my favorite mower. Uh something about Skagg. every government like mowing, you know, anytime you're driving down the highway, all them government mowing guys, you see them on Skaggs. And you rarely hear about, you know, people having big problems with Skagg. I've seen a couple instances on YouTube recently where one guy was like slamming Skagg being junk or whatever.
>> Yeah.
>> You know, I had a bunch of problems with it. But by and large, I mean, look at Randle's machines. his machines have hundreds of hours on them or I should say probably thousands >> and uh he briefly I don't even know if I should say this but you know in phone conversations he the consideration of maybe looking at other brands crossed his mind >> but it didn't last very long >> he's called me talking about a brand but I mean he went back >> no but Uh the I've never ran a Skagg so I can't say uh I can't say too much about them.
You know I only mowers I've ever run I run a errands when I first started. I run a CubCadet. I run a Turo Grandstand and I run Great Dane. Now I'm telling you what Great Dane has got a heck of a mower, you know, as far as their standups go. And but there's no dealer around me, you know. Same way with Grasshopper, you know, they're they're on a a a thing of their own. You know, they're mainly made for commercial style just like they say walkers and all that, but like I said, four miles down the road, Tri Green, it it they got me hooked, man. And if they ever went out of business there, you know, there's another one up about 25 30 minutes from me. But, uh, you just can't you just can't get out of the dealer support to go to a smaller dealership that might not give you a loaner, might not do anything like that to try to get one of these other brands. And I think >> because guys, y'all knew it. Earlier in my videos, I was talking about getting rid of John Deere because their prices are so much. And within the COVID time or whatever, they shot the prices up like $4 or $5,000 more, you know, and that jump that three years jump cuz I try to trade every three years, they jumped up to like $4,000 more dollars. I was like, heck, I I was looking at other mowers and I was looking at the bad boy.
I was looking at uh you know uh Toro or um uh Hustler or whatever, but uh their dealer support wasn't there, man.
there's they're smaller, you know, shops and everything. And they they told me all of them, we we don't give loaners out. You'd keep it in here. Now, we would try to take care of you before anybody else because you are a commercial guy, but you know, who's to say that five other people might be ahead of me that are commercial guys and then I'm waiting two, three weeks, maybe two weeks on getting my mower back or whatever. When John Deere, you know, that I've dealt with with my service guy or my uh sales rep, he's gave me mowers off the lot, brand new, gave me the key, brand new, off the lot, and said, "Hey, go. we'll turn it into a a demo. You know, it's hard to beat that.
>> You know, just this week alone, I think going off what you just said, looking at Ray's video like two days ago and then you know what Docs went through over the last week with dealer cuz I I know that, you know, say what you want about Bad Boy. Um but uh they don't have the dealer support and I think that whole thing could have been prolonged. his time with Bad Boy could have been prolonged had they had that dealer support. But, you know, you look at it when you know, you guys with the the large clientele, you ain't you ain't got the time to have a machine down, especially if you only have one.
>> Yeah.
>> And uh even if you have two, if you got, you know, 100 lawns, like I think Chad's got 200. If he only had two machines and one was down, he's in trouble.
>> Yeah. you know, and uh you look at that situation and how much it cost you >> when um >> Chad's in here talking crap. Now I understand how y'all >> He said this He said this could be the longest live in history because >> multiple lives and how much you talk.
>> The one with Ernest was like three hours long. So that's true. Like >> we still got a whole another hour chat.
Chad will be going to bed or whatever.
Now, Chaz stays in here a pretty long time, man, for these lives. And he's sitting there talking or whatever. Chaz was a pretty good long live, too, I think, if I if I remember so myself. And he really stays in here in comments all the way till about the last couple minutes before we close out. Anyways, >> Ernest, I see Ernest is going tonight.
Uh, going to bed to, you know, good night. We'll talk to you this week.
>> Did the Spurs win?
>> She'll get me excited.
What's that?
>> Oh, Lee talks a lot, too.
>> You know, since Chad's in here, Lee, I'mma run this by you. I've been telling Chad and Ray on Vid on the phone and stuff. They need like Chad needs to take that mini skid over to Ray's place and they need to do a sidebyside comparison and video of like the the pros and cons of a mini. And you know, Chad's got the mini skid and Ray's got the big one. And I think that would be a banger of a video. They're only an hour apart. And uh you know, I told Chad that a bunch of times, but you know, he gets so busy cutting firewood or whatever, you know, counting his money or whatever he does in his free time.
Did you see uh Elite's comment? Chad went to bed at 9:15. This is his AI uh clone talking now.
I wouldn't doubt it. Well, no. I think Randall's saying that because Randall tried to get a hold of Chad and he was already in bed or something.
>> Oh, the Spurs are leading by 20 right now is what Ernest was saying.
>> So, they're going to advance after tonight, I think. So, it' be the Spurs and whoever wins the Cavs and the Knicks. I've been glancing out of the corner of my eye for the NASCAR race going on, but I've kind of lost touch with basketball.
But I hope, you know, for Ernest's sake that uh, you know, the Spurs make it because I know he's been really uh Ernest will get on the phone and talk forever unless the Spurs are getting ready to come on. Then he's got to cut the conversation short.
I don't really follow baseball that much. I mean, uh, uh, basketball that much. And I ain't really followed any sports, man. ever since. Dude, I'm so mad at Atlanta Braves because we'll have a good year, we'll have a good season, and then our manager will trade everybody off. It just makes me so mad, man. Getting rid of Freddy Freeman and all them. That shouldn't happen, you know, even though the guy that's playing first base is still good, but he went over to the Dodgers and killed it, you know.
>> Well, they didn't get rid of Freddy Freeman. Uh, >> apparently you don't remember how that worked out because >> I know I know his management kind of messed the whole deal up and all that kind of stuff too.
>> Yeah, they screwed him.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But what about all the other ones that we get read up? The Upton brothers and then the Shortstop.
We got rid of him.
>> Y'all got rid of Dansby, too, didn't you?
>> Danby Danby. Yeah, Danby Swanson. That's what I'm talking about. Why don't >> I'm going to tell you something. We was on our way to Vero Beach, Florida one year and uh I had bought tickets to a Braves game. My first ever Braves game and my son, you know, I raised him up as a Indians fan. I'm from Ohio, so I raised him up an Indians fan, >> but uh my son's became a Braves fan because of Ronald Akuna Jr. He loves it.
>> Yeah.
>> And uh so we stopped on our way to Vero Beach for this baseball world series down there. stopped at this Braves game and the Braves played the Mets which was >> old Chad >> his uh favorite player played for the Mets, Francisco Lindor growing up and the Braves scored like 20some runs that game but one of the coolest things I've ever experienced in my whole life was that uh seventh inning uh when they do the tomahawk chop.
>> I don't know if you've ever been to a Braves game at home.
>> Yeah.
>> But that is freaking intense. You feel the reverberation throughout the whole stadium inside you when they do that.
>> Oh, Chad's giving you crap on your age.
>> Yeah, he said we the same age. I know.
We're the same age. So, you knew about the Upton twins and all them, too. So, >> but he's saying, "Yeah, I love it." Like that whole Hey, no matter what team you root for, you got to go there. There's certain things you have to do as a sports fan and going to a Braves game at nighttime when they have the lights flickering and all that. Um, so I'm kind of a Braves fan. I I root for him, but see where I live, I even paid for the MLB package on my TV. And I can't see the Braves, the Reds, or the Cardinals because of MLB blackout rules.
>> So, >> yeah, those are the only teams I can't see because I'm in their market area.
But uh I don't know if you've been to the new stadium. That new stadium is amazing.
>> That's the one I've been to. I've been to the new stadium and everything. I went to the I think I went to the the old stadium when I was a kid or whatever. Can't quite remember. I think I did. But uh yeah, we took the kids uh to the new stadium like last year.
>> Last year. Yeah.
>> I mean, yeah, that's that's quite the experience. I mean, I went to school in Atlanta for like six and a half, seven months and we got free tickets to go there and it was a good time. Uh, but that that whole area, that Atlanta area, um, that's pretty crazy.
>> Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
>> What's Chad talking about?
>> He said, "I need to stop vaping."
Said, "Le, you need to stop vaping."
Like, >> I tried to get Chad to run. He wouldn't do it. Like you would think is physically fit. You know, Chad talks about going to the gym and splitting wood and being awesome and doing all this stuff. You'd think he'd get into running. I tried to get him to do it because I'm gonna go down there and work with Chad for a day. Um and then I'm gonna try I've had this crazy thing in mind that I would head down south on like a three-day trip, stop at Chad's.
Maybe I'll talk to you about now I got your number.
>> But uh >> you know, stop. I always love to stick you on the crew with Roberto.
>> Uh >> maybe come this week and you can help me because Roberto and David's gonna be off somewhere. I won't be so much solo.
>> Well, I meant I meant cuz I wanted to see that taco truck you was talking about. But >> that what?
>> That taco truck you was talking about.
>> Oh, shoot. Yeah, come on. We'll go that.
>> But no, like I wanted to go down there.
and see uh see Chad's operation and what he does and then see what I can learn from him and then go see Ray. And I got another friend on YouTube. He's not really in this circle, but uh Andre from Jack of All Trades. He's been kind of a good friend to me over the last couple years. He's a young kid and uh I mean he caught fire on YouTube within the first year. He's at like 25,000 subscribers, but >> yeah, he's doing good. I I watch him. I watch him. I watch his channel. Um, but he told me I could come down and see what he does. And you know, the way the lawn care community, like a lot of these YouTube guys, like the way they show their daily lives and it's like people like me, man, I'm not on the level you you guys are. Our family business ain't nothing like what y'all do. And I'm just kind of blown away by, you know, the stuff you can learn. Like I've never, one example is I've never liked them Isuzu style trucks. I always thought they were goofy looking and everything, but then after watching how you guys are so efficient with them, like Chad's two trucks and I never would have thought you could carry stone on the back of them like he did in the one video.
>> You can put sod on them.
>> Yeah. And >> they're dual axles on the back and they're they're they're beefy axles and and everything, you know. They're like big truck tires.
>> Yeah. And when you know there was a little back and forth argument thing, not intense or anything, but you know Ray was talking about truck and trailer and Chad's talking about, you know, the Isuzu style truck and I'm just looking at and I'm like, man, Chad shut that argument down quick. The way he, you know, went through his truck and showed it. And then I like the way you do the the box truck. I mean, you can store all your stuff up, lock the back door.
>> You don't have to worry about it coming up missing. I mean, you don't have to worry about loading up every day if you have a truck dedicated to where you got your all your hand tools and everything in there. And uh you can still get your mowers up in there like >> Yeah.
>> Well, the reason I like the box truck is when we're out of town and we do these apartment complexes, like I said before, they're government owned, so they they can get broken into pretty quick. So when they're around the building or something and both guys are out of sight from the truck, you know, I I've always told them to pull it down and lock it and then go do their work and everything and come unlock it and roll the door up when they're going back in or whatever, you know, because uh I mean it can easily get stowed. Now the the landscaping truck has them uh equipment defender racks on it, so they're lockable, so all the equipment is locked up on there. But that's why I kind of like having the two different styles of equipment like you're talking about cuz see I don't have to put uh in the lance I mean the box truck I don't have to pull the equipment into the shop at night. It can be locked up in the box truck and out of the weather you know don't leak or anything.
>> And uh you know when you're talking about crews and everything the last thing you want is a crew at your shop.
You know they get there just on time. So that means they spend the first hour, you know, getting stuff ready and loading up tools. If it's already done for them, they can show up, you know, and head >> already got it filled up, all the mowers filled up. I got the truck turned around. All they got to Dean and got to back out of the shop or anything. They just get in it and drive off and go, you know.
>> Yeah. I was watching I forget what video I was watching, but he said that he gives free snacks and coffee and all that because he don't want his guys going to gas stations because the amount of time lost at a gas station. He said, "I give them I pay for lunch, you know, I pay for um uh you know, I give them snacks in my shop. I got a big snack thing. They can take as much as they want. Give them water, all that kind of stuff." because you lose, you know, about an hour every time they go to a gas station going, you know, going there, use a restroom, they're stuck in line behind someone doing scratch off tickets or something. By the time you pull out there and get to the next job, you done lost an hour, you know, and that's an hour you're paying people.
That's an hour you're not getting paid.
>> Oh, yeah. Yeah. You're right. Yeah. Cuz we're that's what you know, and I I I buy their lunch I buy their lunch when they're working with me, you know, when they're off on their own or whatever. I I don't I don't buy their lunch. I'm not with them or whatever, you know. But every time I work with them or do anything with them or whatever, uh we we take lunch and and Roberto, they take lunch every day. I I I know I saw Ray or whatever where they talk about where they don't take a lunch or whatever. My guys take a lunch every day. They get a 30 minute an hour lunch or whatever, you know, and then continue going >> Ray's not eating till he's done because that's going backwards.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
thinks in that hour every day is killing his time or whatever. But man, you gota you got to keep your guys, man. Roberto will tell you firsthand, you know, I got to eat something for my energy, you know, to to finish out the day. I need something to eat, you know? So, I let them stop and get them something to eat, man. I mean, hey, you can't go wrong.
You want you want to keep Roberto wellfed, ready to work, ready to go. I don't want no bad tempers with him, you know? might get hangry.
>> Yeah, I think Randall has his wife bringing lunch to the job every day.
>> I just said that to see if he's still around because he got quiet. Chad just taking up the comments in here.
>> Yeah, Chad Chad's Chad's got woken up.
He got uh he's got fired up again.
>> I think Chad comes in to start trouble late.
Me and Junior prefer to eat lunch most days.
And you >> doesn't he bring snacks?
>> No, this is kind of cool, man. I appreciate you bringing me on here. And uh >> Yeah, man.
>> I hope I didn't talk too much. Um I know >> I want y'all to talk. It kind of helped me out on carrying on a conversation for two hours, two and a half hours. So, you know, last week was probably a little boring because I was by myself.
Yeah, I feel bad if I sunk your viewers down or something, but I think your channel or your live streams always get more views after the fact. People go back and watch it or something. I know a lot of people are busy Sunday nights and like Ernest mentioned is Memorial Day weekend and basketball's going on, stuff like that. Only a few dedicated YouTubers that you like watch YouTube first before anything else.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Except uh me and Junior prefer to eat lunch most days. It's good, man, to to eat lunch. And if you can pay for your guys' lunch, man. Pay for their water and they want a drink or something, you know. Uh just it just it to me it helps, you know. I give them uniforms. I I don't buy their boots, but I give them safety glasses, gloves, you know, all that, man. Just to >> Oh, I seen it. They don't have >> uniforms and everything.
>> Yeah. Yeah. I I buy their pants. We we buy these khaki style pants and then uh our Urban Lawn service shirts. We have these gray ones. We have these maroon ones. And the reason I went with maroon because my landscaping truck's maroon. I was like, I'll just match the truck or whatever. So, when I bought the maroon landscaping truck, I I made some shirts and everything. So, yeah. Try to provide that for the guys.
>> Yeah. And uh I used to when I was in construction, I had a boss and uh he'd always buy us like donuts in the morning. He'd always bring a big thing of coffee from like Crispy Cream. And >> I mean, you really don't realize what that does, you know, for a crew >> when they feel like their boss cares for them. And uh when you when you got guys that that legitimately know that you care for them and you know you're taken care of, you're buying them, you know, boots and uniforms and you know, buying them lunch. That's worth more money if someone else says, "Hey, I offer you a couple dollars more an hour to come over here."
>> Yeah.
>> You know, your dude's going to think about it and think, "Well, are are you gonna buy me boots? Are you going to give me time off for when my kid graduate school?" Because other people don't care about that.
>> No.
>> And uh you know, other people just care about you being there every day. You miss a day you're gone.
>> Yeah. And I let him off and we could have probably used him to work and everything that day or whatever, but then two days or whatever, I let him off or whatever. Uh, it kind of put a pinch on me a little bit now that we're getting all this rain or whatever. But it's like you said, man, he's got family too here, you know, and I want I want him to experience it, too. If we can get around some of these jobs and he might have to work later one day or maybe he have to work a day on the weekend to catch back up, uh, he's fine with it.
That's what he wants. But, you know, like you're saying, he's got family here, too. And I want to treat him with respect and and on Saturdays he's off because he's very religious, man. And I love having a guy that's my league guy that, you know, is very religious and, you know, he's sterned about it. Hey Lee, I'll work all week and Sunday for you, but Saturday I ain't working. I ain't gonna work Saturday. And I'm like, hey man, you know, it takes me a minute to get over that a little bit because I'm like, Britney, we need to be working Saturday. And Britney's like, no, he wants off Saturday for his religion. You let him off. I'm like, all right.
>> Yeah. And I mean, and that's important to a lot of people and and you know, I it surprises me sometimes when people are working Sundays because I know a lot of people don't want you working in their yard on Sundays, you know, because they might have family stuff going on or, you know, down here >> and giving up.
>> Where I live, it's like extreme Bible belt right here, man. Like, you know, everything shuts down on Sundays and Wednesdays. I mean, >> yeah, it does here, man. It does here.
And uh Chad, to to answer your question, I don't know how much work I'm gonna get done this next week because tomorrow is a lot of rain. I know it's Memorial Day, but if it wasn't raining, we would probably be working, but that I mean, they're showing rain for for the next six days. And we already had over six inches of rain. I mean, we're in flooding now. I mean, I wish you can have some of this rain because I would definitely give you all of it cuz I don't need anymore. I mean, I made a little clip and I might put it in a video this week of my whole front yard is completely covered in water and going down to my shop and it flooded my old shop again, which I put a drainage on the front side, but now I need to put a drainage on the the going down the side of it, but the water was rushing in so much, man. We were just getting I mean, it it'd be hard to try to convert it.
>> Yeah. Our our pools raised up about six inches, man. We We got some rain.
>> I see Randall's leaving. Uh Randall, I'm glad you were here. I appreciate you, you know, being here with me and supporting me. I was a little bit nervous about doing this.
>> My battery, >> but uh hopefully he don't need his uh battery in case something happens out there on the trail.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Uh yeah. See you, man. Um appreciate you being in here. Thank you so much. Uh I said I was gonna go two hours and we already went two hours and 25 minutes. See what you done being >> I mean it's easy to do when when you got >> woken up >> and Chad came in here about the two hour mark.
>> No, you woken up the beast. You woken up Chad. Now he's not want to go to sleep.
And maybe he's getting rain tomorrow too. That's why I'm more out with staying a little later in the night too because I know I ain't working tomorrow.
I mean, they're saying like 85% chance of rain tomorrow. So, >> well, if Chad ain't got yards of mow tomorrow, he's gonna be splitting wood.
I guarantee he's not gonna be doing nothing.
>> And I talked about that in a video, too.
Man, when I started, like I was saying, seven days a week, we worked in the rain. What we did is we we moved around mulch jobs in the rain. We moved around pine straw jobs that we had in the rain.
We trim bushes in the rain. You know, we might not be able to pick mowers out on the yards or whatever, but back then I was working 60 hours a week in the mines, night shift, and then trying to work on the weekends. Hey, >> if it rained on that solid weekend, we're working, dude. We're figuring out something to do. So, >> got another funny customer interview in the video. So, what was that about the last customer he interviewed? He's like, he follows Lee, but not Chad on YouTube.
Yeah, he he knows I'm worldwide, dude.
Even Chad couldn't even believe it, you know.
>> Like Chad had to tell Well, you know, I do YouTube, too.
>> He's got to he's got to get on he's got to get on he's got to get on my level, man. He's got 2,000 subscribers, but man, I got the heart and soul of 605.
>> Yeah. Well, I mean, you say that, but I I'll be honest with you, man. Like, when I only had like 40 >> Yeah. Like I appreciate every comment.
Like I still do. But I'm just saying like when someone subscribes to you get this weird feeling inside like wow you really appreciate what I do enough to subscribe.
>> And then when people actually like and comment and then when the time comes that you start getting comments outside your circle of people when you get like a random comment from someone you don't even know and they're like you know good video or whatever. I started seeing that on my shorts. Like I'll do a video and then I'll do a short along the same lines and then like people would comment and tell me you know their thing or whatever and I'm like wow this is cool.
But uh I never understood what the feeling was like about you know when people say you know I appreciate all the comments like man that's crazy >> how people pick you up like that. Like, >> yeah.
>> And I told you earlier on the phone, like at one point I was at like 44 subscribers and then I checked the next day and I'm at 41, 42. I lose subscribers, too, man. It's crazy. I've never unsubscribed from somebody, but I'm I'm like you. I I tell my wife, my wife hears it all the time. She's heard it since day one, me gaining subscribers, cuz I'll be like, "Guess what? I'm at 425." And then the next day, I'm at 426. And that's been going on ever since. I always tell her, you know, like every day I'll tell her if I get a subscriber, she knows it. She's like, "Yeah, I've heard about every one of them." But uh >> look what Chad said. 14 videos off the scagg video. Like >> Well, I mean, look at Crunch 25,000 views and uh off of But see, I think those equipment setup videos are are hits like that because everybody wants to see what everybody else is using.
>> People in here and they're already subscribed to >> Yeah. So, >> hey, uh, but Jess, I want I'm gonna get you out on this one or whatever. Jess throwing some shots at me tonight, too, or whatever. He said, "Since you ain't working tomorrow, Lee, you can go to the gym."
Appreciate that, guy. Appreciate that.
>> I just I just seen that.
>> Well, see how far, brother.
>> You and you and Chad need to get together and do a joint video like a like a >> Yeah, maybe get in the gym. Sue could bench the most and all that, you know.
>> Well, I think ain't for nothing.
>> Chad's benching like 285 or something like that. I think >> I don't even know what I bench. I I ain't been in so long. I I couldn't even tell you what.
>> I mean, I go to the gym, but >> I like I got stronger in my age, you know, working and stuff, but I couldn't tell you.
>> I go to the gym, but for years I'd take my son to the gym and he thought I was Superman with what I lifted until he got strong. And now he's like, you know, outlifting me now. And he's like, "Come on, old man." I'm like, "Dang." You know, it's kind of, you know, your when your youngest gets bigger than you, it's kind of a kick in the, you know, where he said he was close to 315.
>> 315 benching. That's pretty good, man.
That's really good.
>> See, maybe Chad needs to be doing like health and fitness videos like where Chad just in the gym lifting and, you know, >> Jess, I know you're messing.
Does Justin notice what I did? Dude, I got I got a perfect bod. This is called the dad bod, man. My wife loves this.
All right.
>> Well, I think Chad, you need to take a lesson from Lee and step into the management role. You got plenty of time to eat tacos and go to the gym.
>> Yeah, exactly. If he's got all that time in the world or whatever, he can send them guys off, man. And yeah, really getting in shape.
>> I mean, heck, Chad was paying a dude 60 grand and not even show up. Like, I'd hate to see >> You can pay a guy 60 grand and not show up. You're doing pretty good.
>> I would hate to see what he's paying the guys that actually do show up.
>> Hot, too much work.
>> Hot and too much work. Oh, yeah. Guys don't want to go out there. It's hot and too much work. Yeah. Chad needs to deadlift the skag. That's what Chad said.
>> Why hasn't Chad done alive in a long time? He just goes and causing trouble in other people's lives.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
But yeah, it's a uh it's a lot of work, man. uh Chad sees it too or whatever when you're when you're uh when you're starting to schedule other guys out in the field and moving them around like you need to or whatever it does take on a a separate type of beast, you know, you you got to really know what you're doing, putting them in the right scenario to win and all that.
So, >> hey, I was going to mention before y'all jump off here, um I just got my thing in the mail about Equip Expo. Who plans on going to that? Because the last two years I bought tickets and I didn't end up going and >> I don't know. Me and my wife talked about it or whatever. We'll have to see or whatever when he gets >> I thought it'd be kind >> figure out.
>> It's in October.
>> I think it's like October 24th in Louisville. And uh >> it'd be kind of cool if a lot of people could get together and do it.
>> Going to the clip expo this year.
>> Yeah.
>> Wait. Well, probably about five or six years we talked about going to whatever.
We really need to go.
>> Yeah, I bought tickets the last two years. Two years ago, I had my hip replacement and then this past year I, you know, some rough stuff going on. So, I didn't end up making it, but I think it'd be pretty cool to go there and like taking everything going on there and then uh like going somewhere getting dinner or something >> and uh see if Chad will make it up there.
>> I mean, it may try. It will. Uh, I guess he'll see.
>> Well, Chad's I seen Chad's got >> Chad's got an expedition. He can stop and pick you and Britney up on the way up. And uh, you know, >> I got a three row seat car.
>> Y'all can carpool, >> man. That Hyundai uh, that Hyundai or Honda Santa Fe that we have, it's three rows, man. And it's a it's a hybrid, so it runs off and gas. We might throw Chad out by the time y'all get to Nashville.
>> Yeah, we probably would. We'll probably throw him out in Nashville and let you carry him on the rest of the way.
>> Yeah, I do appreciate that, Chad. Like you showed my son a lot of support and uh you know, he had a really good season this year and I do appreciate all that support and uh I think he might play for a team this year um in the summer so he may make it down Alabama. He had a couple teams wanting him, but the cost got kind of too high for him. So, uh, unless he gets a few more yards to mow, he may not be playing. I'm not sure right now. One of them offered him an extremely discounted rate. Basically, they wanted him bad enough. They just say, "You pay for your gas and hotels."
And we'll talk about the rest later.
But, uh, I know I was talking to Chad on the phone one day after my son was a district MVP and hit that home run that night. And, uh, Chad was talking good stuff. he was on Bluetooth and uh so my son was you know taking it in and so I mean that's you know going back to where this community so good I mean families you know you know supporting people and their families and all that kind of stuff at the end of the day everybody's trying to make it out here you know whether you're trying to make it on a daily basis personally or you're running a big business everybody's scared everybody's got stuff going on >> and uh you know when you got people that you can bounce ideas off of and and uh have people stand in your corner, you know, the iron sharpens iron thing I've been talking about.
>> Yeah.
>> And like I said, when I do YouTube videos, man, it really holds me to it.
Um, you know, the accountability factor because I can't come on a video and talk one way and then, you know, live my life a different way. it holds you to a different standard, you know, and uh but yeah, and I thought that was a cool story about uh uh Chad playing college baseball with a dude you played high school B. That was pretty cool. Like >> Yeah. Yeah. When he when he's talking about where he went to Sneeed and all that, I was like, "Wait a minute, my pitcher went to Sne and played baseball, whatever." And come to find out, he knew him. He they played on the same team, same year. I mean, we're the same age.
And uh yeah, I used to have to hit off of him. He was really good. He he went on and played at uh the Birmingham Barren, you know. So, he ended up playing nasty uh nasty. He He said he was nasty, man. See, he was nasty. He had a He had a heck of a He had a heck of a ball, man. He had a heck of a curveball and uh his fast ball was really good. I think he when he was in high school, he was only throwing like maybe 88 89 miles an hour. And then when he got to uh Sneed and all that, I I think he was throwing like in the high uh like upper 90s, man. They they improved his speed and everything up there. And yeah, man, he he's telling you all on the comment. He was hard to hit off of. I ain't gonna lie.
>> He made us look pretty He made this look pretty bad in practice.
>> I just think it's funny how Chad knows all these people affiliated with you.
You go to a customer's house, they're like, "Yeah, I know Buddy Lee." And then, uh, you know, he he played baseball with a guy. I think Chad's a little more connected to you than you know.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. Like my wife was saying, it's pretty cool how, you know, he played in state playoffs and all that. My son won state. Your kids big in the baseball and probably has been up in that level and everything, too. I mean, probably won a lot of uh travel ball tournaments. My son's won a lot of travel ball tournaments and uh you know uh it's pretty cool how baseball can bring people together and everything too, you know, or carry on conversations about it, you know.
>> Yeah, cuz like Chad told me he was a catcher and I or uh No, wait. Yeah, I think he was a catcher and I took Chad to be like a center fielder because he's like 6'4, 6'5, something like that.
>> See, that's what my son is. 6'4 and he was an awesome center fielder. I mean, >> see, my son's six feet tall, >> 6'2, 185 right now, but I think he's probably pushing about 190 at this point. But, uh, I I'm hoping he can get another inch, inch and a half. But, they say once you get above 6'2, 63, then you get start getting into D2 range.
>> 63. Oh, sorry. 63. But, he weighs about 225 now. He's putting on some weight after high school.
>> Chad. Chad.
>> No, my my son.
>> Uh, I thought you meant Chad was putting on weight after high school.
>> No, I'm talking about my son. My son's a beast now. He's getting bigger and bigger. Like you were talking about earlier about your kid being bigger than you. I told him, I said, "You better get skinny or you better get short. You trying to come over here and try to get on dad. It's going to be ugly."
>> Yeah, Chad. I appreciate all the support, man. We're in that situation right now. He's, you know, finishing his junior year where he's done with his junior year. He's going into his senior year, you know, and the offers ain't there. Uh he's got people looking at him, but the offers ain't there. And I hate to admit the support behind a school for whatever reason, you know, they just don't promote their kids that well. So, it's a lot of homework on us to be doing.
>> Ours didn't either, man. We won state and everything. Our coach didn't push our kids try to help bring in some other people. You have to get it from You have to get it from showcases and and travel ball tournaments and stuff.
>> Yeah. I mean, the first time I even talked to a college coach, >> we're a private school, so >> was down there at uh Hoover. We was at one of those local high schools cuz the Hoover tournaments bounce around the high schools and stuff. And we're sitting there at this high school and this guy, >> he's talking to me and I had no clue who he was. And then when I glanced over at his shirt, he's wearing a polo shirt that said UAB on it. University Alabama Birmingham. my jaw dropped and I thought, "Okay, this stuff's real.
There's actual college coaches out here looking for these kids."
>> Yeah.
>> And I asked one one uh college recruiter. I said, "If all these kids are out here playing well because in those tournaments in Hoovers, generally the best of the best playing." I said, "So naturally, most of these kids are going to be playing really well out here." I said, "What's the difference maker between a talented kid and the one that catches your eye the fastest?" and he was like a big strong kid. If there's a kid out here that's, you know, muscular and, you know, he's up over 6'2, you know, that catches our eye really fast.
>> And Chad says his son's in basketball, but not base baseball.
>> Yeah. He said he's just now getting one of them's getting interested in baseball, but uh my son uh I was gonna say uh dang, I don't know. Oh, no. our senior year. I mean, my son's 11th grade year that won state or whatever, we had a ninth grade left-handed pitcher that is phenomenal. He is a ninth grader, helped us win the state, and his team, his travel ball team plays at the Birmingham Barren. That's where they practice out of and play. He's like for real, legit a lefty. I mean, he is amazing. I mean, >> talking about baseball, Birmingham.
So, I forget which stadium. I think it's a Baron Stadium. Once a year they have a game there >> where everybody shows up in like old 50s attire.
>> Yeah.
>> Like they have >> Oh, that's the old uh what's that called?
>> I know what you're talking about. Or that's the old original Birmingham Baron Field that they still have and everything. I forgot what it's called, but yeah, they every year they do a throwback game.
>> Yeah, I bet that'd be cool to go to. But to answer Chad's question, he played at Hoover. He played in the Hoover Met, which is the big one where the SEC tournament is. And then, um, he's played a lot of the high school stadiums around there. Um, which I say stadium, I mean, Hec's around all over that part of Alabama, man. Every high school field out there is like a college stadium just about like beautiful parks out there.
Like, they invest a lot in their schools, I'll tell you that. And uh one guy told me there's a lot of old money out there in that part of Alabama. But >> yeah, Best Stavia has got a lot of old money. Hoover's got a lot of old money and everything. My my little eight-year-old played this year. He finally got interested in it and he's a switch hitter. He can hit left and right.
>> Keep him in that hitting practicing with it. Yeah. If I had a kid today, I would have him doing everything left and right-handed because he'd be able to write his own check when it comes to college. That that they're eating switch hitters up like crazy.
>> Yeah. And Chad's right. Um >> 8-year-old saying >> left-handed pitcher decent automatic scholarship. 100% right. You can look this kid up. Uh he went to high school with my son. Uh my son's freshman year, he had a senior that was throwing 95 lefty. And we had MLB scouts at our high school games at this small community high school in in Tennessee, you know, a town of like 3,000 people. You know, we had a guy that had MLB prospect or uh recruiters come and and he's a a pitcher for Alabama right now. uh Alabama Tide.
But uh yeah, if he's a lefty, man, they eat that up. Like if he's still young enough where you can train him left-handed, I would do that.
>> Yeah.
>> I think Chad try to have another kid so he can get a baseball kid out of one of his >> Yeah. We're done. We're done with uh us having kids, whatever. We're having a We're having a grandbaby this year. So me and my wife said it's it's over with.
We ain't having anymore.
>> Yeah. I mean, >> let them have them now.
>> Sorry, didn't see last comment. I was just reading what >> Oh, yeah. She's talking about I guess I guess his wife ain't interested in sports or something is what he's saying.
>> Chad's wife ain't.
>> Yeah, >> I would have took her to be a college athlete if he was, but he don't talk much about his wife, so I don't know. I guess she's a photographer.
>> Yeah.
>> Oh, I see it. Now, I wish my wife was interested in sports. Which one was a cheerleader? Was that your wife was a cheerleader?
>> Mine >> college cheerleader or something like that?
>> No. No, she wasn't a cheerleader. She was in nursing. She was in nursing school and all that. She She went school and everything.
>> Her sister Her sister was a cheerleader.
>> Maybe that you might mention that. I thought somebody's wife was >> Yeah, >> she's the farthest from girly girl you can imagine. She's she's she's a hunter fisherman or fishing woman. And >> you know our high school here our high school here has a fishing team.
>> Oh yeah. Ours one of ours down here has one too or whatever. It's big man. I love fishing.
>> But uh you know how YouTube's a small world? When I was there at Doc's house talking to him um naturally we're both from Ohio, but I didn't think nothing of it because I'm from like two hours away from him. But his wife was from a town that was next to mine, Sarah, and she was uh in basketball. And uh so, you know, when high schools played basketball, we were in the same conference and we're the same age. So, like when I played freshman and sophomore year, I would have been in the same area as her a lot. Like, I just thought it was crazy. And like we talked about like local studs like from, you know, back in the past and like she was well verssed in. I thought, man, YouTube can be a small world once you get to know people because, you know, stuff like that. And then stuff like what happened with you guys with Chad knowing people, you know.
>> Yeah. Yeah. It's crazy.
>> But yeah, I miss them when they're little too, Chad. Like, >> you know, I coached my son's little league teams and I was so like focused on winning even in seven, eightu little league. I I protested a game in like 8U Little League and I won because the umpires were cheating us and my whole thing was like I was all about winning all the time and you know uh I wish I loved coaching. I love coaching my son but sometimes I wish I would just sit back and watch a little bit more because I demanded so much of my son. I used to have him play center field and play shorts stop at the same time and uh he was always a little bit more talented than most kids and you know it's got him a long way but like looking back I wish I would have been a little bit more present in their lives back then instead of like because my son playing for me was like it was rough on him like Chad would mention a little bit ago about the rides home with his dad after games.
>> Yeah. Yeah, you know, man, I I really hate to admit that my son's ride home from games wasn't always great. Um, you know, there was times where I was rough on him and I said stuff I shouldn't have because I hated losing and even though he he could have went four for four and pitched and did all his great stuff, like I would go off on him about what other kids did. But yeah, I mean I envy the people with the young kids still because I miss those days. But I got, you know, young granddaughters now and hopefully a grandson coming. My son's uh wife is pregnant with another one.
I come close to getting kicked out of games arguing umpires. I knew where the line was and I pushed it as much as I could. Um got kicked out of a bunch of them. He got kicked out of one at uh at the World Series in South Haven, Mississippi.
Yes.
>> I'm like, dang, dude.
>> Talking about him. Talking about you.
>> Oh, talking about me, too.
>> Thrown out.
>> I can't believe I been thrown out is what she's saying. I get >> I see the comment now.
>> I see the comment. But yeah, I was hard on my kids, but I was almost thrown out.
>> I wasn't hard on my kid. I was hard on them making bad calls and all that. I'd get all over the dude, pretty bad.
>> Yeah. He's like, "So bad."
>> I mean, it happens. And, uh, >> parents catch a bad rap sometimes because all you want's a fair game and there's obviously sometimes, you know, bad calls and everything, but uh, you know, I've thought about umpiring, but I don't know if I have the patience to umpire because I throw people out left and right.
>> Yeah. But uh >> well this conversation really took a turn or whatever and I'm supposed to be posting this tomorrow guys and we we went on a tangent of uh talking baseball. Everybody like you won't you won't never know what the spec comes on old Irvin's channel about it all.
>> Who you got coming up on your next one?
>> I don't know yet. I I thought about asking my local guy to come on my local landscape and lawn care around me come on. Uh, I actually wanted to try to get in touch with uh Tank Lawn Service or whatever uh because he's mentioned a couple things about me a couple times in his but um I don't know. I I got a couple people that are wanting on there and I'm just going to have to see who I'm gonna put on next.
>> Yeah. I mean, the cool thing is is uh I think a lot of good conversations come out no matter who you put on. You know, >> going back to Ray's video, he talked about his beginnings and, you know, his mindset. And then Ernest, I mean, Ernest, I wish you would have kept that so we could all rewatch it because I feel like a lot of stuff Ernest was talking about, we could all go back and learn from it like that, >> you know? I don't know, man. Maybe after a couple months of doing this, bring him back on and after he's got to know other people a little bit. And I always told Ernest, man, I was like, I wish you do videos. If you did a 10-minute video a day, >> we'll go together.
>> My wife said, "We're getting up and going together. Maybe I should make a live in the morning and make you all get up and watch me work out." How about that?
>> What do you mean? Leave go to bed because you got to get up early, go to the gym, and Chad say he's about to brush his teeth and get ready for night night.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. I mean, if we get off here here in a couple of minutes and I, you know, Ernest will still have the record the longest running live stream. I think >> I think you're wanting to try to beat his record along this live stream. I think that's what >> Well, to be honest, I really only want to be like an hour, but you know, once you get talking and >> that's what Chad was saying. Chad was a little nervous about getting on it at first, then once we got on it, it's it's just like we're talking to each other and we're talking to people on the chat, you know? I mean, it just kind of flows, you know? I you can definitely get yourself >> into a huge conversation and longer lives just being on here and everything.
It's very >> well when it's good people you know it's easy to do um the good people in the comments and uh you know talking to you and uh stuff like that. I mean, I've honestly had a good time doing this. And I was a little nervous about it because I'm like, man, I don't always say the the right stuff and everything. Like, sometimes the words get mixed up in my head, then it comes out wrong. And uh you could probably see that in my early videos. Like, I was always stumbling on my words. But the more I kind of do this, the better I get. Like, YouTube's been a therapy for me.
>> Yeah. Yeah. But I know we got >> I know we got to kind of close this up, but uh I do appreciate you bringing me on. Um I appreciate being able to talk.
I appreciate, you know, everybody has helped me out um in this whole community. And if there's anything I can do for anybody else, um you know, I'm more than willing to do that. Like I'm just willing to do what I can to to do my part in this community because, you know, I've took so much from it. I want to give back to it.
But >> well, I appreciate you being on. If you if everybody that rewatches this and I keep it posted and everything, please go to Ben Hendrick's channel, the Stay Relentless podcast and uh yeah, man.
Just check him out, man. He's got some great videos. He's going to do a lot more.
>> I appreciate it, man. I'm just trying >> more videos. So, >> I'm just trying to make a difference.
And uh Jesse, I'll check your channel out. Um, I didn't know much about you till this uh video. So, I'll check your channel out. I'm not sure if you did videos or not, >> but >> yeah, check everybody out. It's what this community is all about. So, guys, thank y'all so much for being here.
Appreciate it. Hopefully, we didn't get off too much of topic or whatever, but thanks again, Ben, for being on here.
And we'll have you back on. We'll have you back on, do another live, a little bit updates and everything to keep with you. And uh yeah, appreciate y'all all for being here. Thank you so much. You got anything else you want to say before we end it there?
>> No, I just appreciate y'all having me on and uh much love to everybody. And if there's anything I can do, reach out.
>> All right, man. And until next time, peace.
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