Episode 37: Healing, Hustling, and Building a Life That Matters

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Hey Coupley Fit fam.

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Welcome back to another episode of the Coupley Fit podcast, where we talk all things health, marriage and mindset.

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We are so excited we have two guests today.

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Kurt, take it away.

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So we're super excited because not only do we like to spotlight local, but we've got a husband and wife team, an amazing couple.

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I feel like being able to bring them here with us today is so incredible.

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So, Josh and Shiara, we cannot wait to dive into your story how you met and also your businesses here in Arizona.

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I know a lot of people want to hear about just local concepts and places that they can go that maybe they haven't tried yet, and I know you have some of the best places to visit in the Valley.

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Yeah, thank you, thank you, we're excited.

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You're so excited.

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So thank you so much, cannot wait.

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So I know we've been a little privy to how you guys first met, but I'd love to hear a little bit more about the story.

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I'm sure our audience is very excited to hear about it.

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Yeah, um.

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So Josh used to have a nutrition club years ago, back around I think 2012, 2013.

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And he used to lead boot camps and workouts and we had mutual friends and so I used to come to his nutrition club and work out and we were hanging out a lot as friends and it kind of just evolved from there and Josh was kind of venturing out to see if we would date and I kept kind of pushing him away.

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No, we're friends, I'm not ready to take on that risk of what if it doesn't work out.

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And so I would say his persistent won my heart.

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We say the two.

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Ps Persistence.

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Persuasive, persuasive, gotta be persuasive.

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Yes, the two Ps we had like a earlier dating podcast where you're telling people how to date, and those were the two p's that we said.

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So you did it, jock I always say she was chasing me, but um?

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Truth be, told yes, I, I was chasing her you know.

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So I I got a question, josh, because I think a lot of people want to make right now.

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Someone is trying to make their way out of the friend zone.

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Yeah, what is that?

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What does that look like?

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How did you, how did you stay persistent in that?

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Oh man, it's been so long, it's been like 10 years almost.

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But you know, at the time I I uh, you know, there's truth be told, there's an age difference between the two of us.

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So, um, we obviously started off as friends and it was great.

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I was actually dating somebody at the time when she started leading workouts at my gym and, um, I wasn't sure we had a connection, but I wasn't really sure what it was.

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You know, I just I thought she had a lot of energy and, uh, she's just great and fun to be around.

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And so, after the relationship I was in didn't work out, we started spending a little bit more time together and, you know, I think, I just think it kind of naturally worked itself out.

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You know, um, I think we both resisted for various reasons.

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Biggest reason probably was the age gap.

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But you know, love has no boundaries.

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Yes, that's true.

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You know we just kind of started spending more time.

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We did a lot of workouts together and then we started spending time.

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Shia actually got me into the church because I was raised Jewish.

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Oh, that's amazing.

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And I was going through a difficult time in my life at the time.

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I was getting sober for the second time and little did I know she was also struggling with drug and alcohol addiction and so I brought her to AA and she brought me to the church, and so it's just like it just happened.

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So we allowed ourselves to kind of go through those processes individually but then, you know, was able to loop back together as a couple and, you know, organically grow together and it's been beautiful.

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That's so powerful.

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And I thought about Aaliyah when you said we said AJ number, what AJ number to number you?

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Know, like hey so I love that that wasn't a.

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You know, d and I early on going to the gym together, even if we weren't doing the exact same exercises or machines.

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We're in the gym together.

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But I love that that was a common component, because we always hear people where can I meet somebody, where do you go?

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and sometimes it's like, yeah, you're at the gym you can the vibe, the energy of the people you're around, and that can be maybe where you meet somebody.

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Yeah, I think a group fitness type setting is ideal, right, because, look, you don't want to be in the gym and like, should I go talk to school?

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No, but if you're like in a group setting where it's group fitness and there's mutual people involved, that's like the ideal thing, right there.

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Safe space.

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Yeah, so that's a great tip.

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I really appreciate that.

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I know our, our listeners will appreciate that as well, because they're always asking again, like kurt said, where can I meet people?

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And that's very all.

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It's not as intimidating like everyone's intimidated by the workout.

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But we're not, but we're in this together, right like that, that community space yeah, I mean, fitness is still a huge part of our lives today.

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We actually did a workout this morning and then went to an AA meeting, so we're still doing it.

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We're still doing the deal.

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Just a quick question what kind of fitness do you guys like?

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Do you like HIIT workouts?

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Do you like more strength training?

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What's your vibe?

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Well, today we did a class which Shara's into classes, hiit workouts and stuff like that.

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I'm more of a traditional weightlifter bench press, squats, curls, stuff like that, but you know.

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I like it all.

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Anything that gets the body moving.

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Yes, I love it.

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Anything that gets the body moving.

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Yes, yes, class girl.

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But yep, this morning I was able to talk them into coming back and doing a class with me.

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I'm like, just like we did back in the day.

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You know we're together and it's, it's so much fun, you know, looking over and we're working hard together and you just feel so accomplished, so it's nice yeah.

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That's that team building in that like collaboration together is so important, and even when it's outside of our wheelhouse I know I went to a couple Pilates and uh area yoga area, yoga class right in Phoenix tested.

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Wow, it may really.

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You know, push my boundaries, I'm looking up at the beam.

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I'm looking at the beam, like can this?

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I'm like I'm looking at all ladies in the class, I don't know, dude, I'd be maxed out.

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At yoga, I'd be like just sweating.

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Oh my gosh, yeah and hot yoga it gets me every time.

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Oh my, it is intense.

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It is intense.

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So now we've been talking about kind of your dating and fitness and that's how you met.

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But how, josh, did you know that Chiara was the one?

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Okay.

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So we went for a hike.

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I planned this trip and it was the Flagstaff and I was like, okay, hey, do you want to do a hike with me?

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And she didn't really know much about the hike.

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I didn't really divulge too much information, but we ended up hiking Humphreys Peak and if you've never done that before, it's an all-day deal.

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Yes, it's you know up the ski resort of you know Mount.

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Snowball, snowball, yes.

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And I think it's like three and a half miles up, three and a half miles down, but it's, you know, you're hiking and so I planned this hike and we had a great time on the way up.

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We up, we're hiking through the trees and it's like you know, we're asking each other questions and sort of like.

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You know, it's a great first date, the ideal first date.

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So we get to the top and I think I kissed her for the first time at the top and and then, I think, even before I got to the top, I just I think I heard god speak to me and he said you're gonna bring her back here in a year and you're gonna propose to her at the top.

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Oh, my god.

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And I knew right then and there that she was going to.

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You know she was going to be the one.

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She didn't know it, but yes, anyways.

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So we did our thing at the top, we spent a little bit of time up there, enjoyed the weather.

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It was a beautiful day and then on the way down, it was pretty hot.

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I think it was a warm day, I don't remember, was it August?

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or October.

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August food.

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We didn't do use sunscreens.

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We both got dehydrated.

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She got worse than I did, sun sick, sunburned, and so we're in the car on the way home.

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She didn't say a word to me the whole way home and I was like this girl's never gonna talk to me again.

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So, uh, fast forward a year.

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I took her again and we I proposed her at the top, and the rest is history.

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Oh my god, I got one question Did you have water on the?

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second trip we had water.

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It was a lot colder.

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It was October.

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Oh, it was cold and windy.

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Yeah, it was perfect.

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Oh my gosh.

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So, we dated for a year and we had a great run and I just felt like it was time.

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Yes, so we did it.

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I love that.

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Yeah, I said yes at about this hike.

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Yeah, this is it.

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This is my last time I love that.

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It was a great hike, though, if you're ever interested.

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So I've got to ask what was your thought process in that car ride after the first date?

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dehydrated, coming down from the hip.

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You know, I had so much fun because he had put so much thought into doing that which I had never experienced that before honestly thought into doing that which I had never experienced that before, honestly.

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And even though I was sick, he, like I said, he was persistent.

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He kept kind of asking me out.

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We would go on dates.

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He'd take me, you know, to nice restaurants and you know I just was unsure if we should move forward or not, and I think I kept even pushing him away for a while and finally, I think my roommates had said something to me like why don't you just give him a chance?

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I mean, he keeps coming back.

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And so I think when I let that wall down and let him in, that was when, um, really, we grew close together.

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And it's funny, cause I had a vision board in my room at the time and it had, you know, I had, you know, I wanted to marry a godly man and, like Josh said, he was raised Jewish.

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So I think he had been looking at that like how is this ever going to?

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work and it was just it was all God Cause when he had proposed to me um, you know, I had, I'd prayed about it and I just felt like God was like you know, if you take this step and I'll honor your guys' marriage, I'll honor this.

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So we just never looked back and it was the best decision that we had made.

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So Wow, oh my gosh, god is so good yeah.

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So powerful I'm getting chills.

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I love that and.

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I know it's going to be a blessing for so many people too, because right now we have people that are both in relationships and are being inspired from the marriage aspect and everything that you all are doing, but then also there's people that are right now finding hope in your story and when you met in, you know the fact that maybe the first date a little dehydration didn't didn't throw things off track.

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Like someone needs that reminder of hey, give somebody a second chance, maybe take that wall down or give that opportunity, because that could be your.

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You know, mr right, absolutely yes, I love that.

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So now, how long have you been married?

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now july will be eight years, eight years together, together, almost 10.

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Okay, together almost ten and now we or well, we, but you guys have two kids now.

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Yes, okay, tell me a little bit more about your family.

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So we have a son, brody, he's four, and then we just had a daughter in December.

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Her name's Capri, so she's five months, and it's amazing.

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Our son is our high energy, keeps us busy and so far our girl, she's very calm and mellow, so we have that nice balance of both, I think.

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My little princess.

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Yeah, josh's princess, she's not leaving the house until she's 25.

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Oh, of course.

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Of course.

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That's what I keep trying to tell him too.

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I'm like.

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He's like oh, I'm not going to be too hung up if we have a daughter, you know, I'll still be about you.

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I was like we'll see.

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I think that's going to probably change.

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So I'm curious has that you know we always like to ask is having a daughter, does it, is there like a?

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Do you feel like there's a battle for attention when you have wife, daughter, right Like?

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or vice versa.

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No, I don't think so.

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That's.

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One of the most beautiful things I think about our marriage is that, like we're always connected in some way.

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You know, even if they're I'm with the kids and we talk so much, we spend so much time together, we're always either texting or, you know, in the same room together and there's always some sort of connection.

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I don't think there's any, you know, battle for attention.

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I think the kids kind of bring us closer together and we do things.

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And we do things where we, you know, try to come together.

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We're busy a lot with our kids but, like my mom's always like here, take a couple days.

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She's been trying Since we've had our daughter.

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She's been trying to have both of the kids and so I finally just said yes and so we've been able to spend the last two days together, working out, going to meetings, together, you just spending time and being here.

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So it's nice to have that, where I think some people who do have young kids they're like I can't imagine I can't imagine you guys are traveling next month without your kids, but it's so important for us to be strong together so that we can be strong for our kids.

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I think if we can show up for each other and give our 100% to each other, it's just going to fold to our children too.

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Yeah, it's a priority.

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I think we try to prioritize time together, you know, because the happier we are as a couple, the happier our kids are going to be.

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Happy spouse, happy house yeah.

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Absolutely, and sometimes that's like day dates.

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We do a lot of day dates.

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Our son's in childcare and so while our son's in childcare, we might he'll say, hey, I have Thursday open, you want to get lunch together, you want to go walk around Scottsdale quarter?

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And I'm like, yeah, let's do it.

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So, even though we have our daughter, it's just like to have a little bit more of that time it's.

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It's so nice and refreshing.

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So definitely recommend that.

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Oh my gosh when I tell you you do everything that you just said.

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We just mentioned in maybe one or two podcast episodes and we said the exact same thing, because we always say again we don't have kids, so we understand that it's going to be a different schedule.

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So I'm so glad that you were able to kind of reaffirm what we were saying.

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It's like the date nights turn into date days and it turns into like those small moments that you can really just appreciate and it's like, oh my gosh, look at also what we created.

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Like we did this and we created these two beautiful beings and now again, keeping your relationship strong and that connection strong to your point, your kids are going to see that and say like, oh my gosh, this is goals.

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Right, that's couple goals in my opinion yeah, yes.

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Well, it's important too because she she came from, you know, parents that they never got married more together and so she, you know, lives a lot with her father and didn't really have that experience growing up as a child, to have both parents present, and so I think it's even more important for her, for us, to show our kids To foster that you know we love each other and we want to be together Absolutely.

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Thank you so much for that.

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I appreciate you sharing that.

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Thanks for sharing, because I think a lot of times you, I think a lot of times, you know, we have our conditioning and exposure from our experiences growing up in childhood and our families Right, and everyone has their own unique experience.

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But then it's like, ok, how do I take that and then create something different for my family?

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What does that next chapter look like?

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Right, how do we, you know, how do we turn the page or how do we create a new routine or even behaviors?

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And so just hearing it in action and now what you all are doing with your kids is really inspiring for, I'm sure, a lot of people too.

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And the compliment of having you know a business together and being in business together, I know that was something you want to hear more about for sure.

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How's that balance?

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You already touched on some of the major keys the scheduling, the prioritizing each other, the quality time, even with kids and busy schedules.

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How is it being in business together?

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I feel like that's a whole nother aspect.

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True color concepts, business owners with multiple restaurants and locations.

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Yeah, it's been, it's been a blessing.

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Actually, you know, I I don't.

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You know, there's a lot of couples that you know need time away from each other and I think that's healthy.

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But for us, like I, like I, I uh, I married my wife because I wanted to be around her all the time, you know.

00:14:46.903 --> 00:15:03.886
And so when I, when we first got married, I was running a restaurant and I that's my background high, high volume casual dining operations and I did that for a long time, but it required me to work a lot of nights, weekends, holidays, and so I was kind of on the tail end of that when we got married and she's like, oh no, I'm never gonna, I'm never gonna see you.

00:15:03.886 --> 00:15:09.984
And so we, we took a hard look at, like, what I was doing and I was like, you know, let's get, let's, I can pivot, I can do something else.

00:15:09.984 --> 00:15:18.022
And I got into consulting because I wanted to be with her, and so I was able to change my schedule and that turned into me being a business owner and more of an entrepreneur, and it's been great.

00:15:18.022 --> 00:15:21.548
And then she worked for a national home builder after she graduated.

00:15:21.548 --> 00:15:25.234
I let her talk about that, but um, yeah, yeah I.

00:15:25.494 --> 00:15:37.283
I got a nine to five right after we got married and, like he said, he was working in the food and beverage industry and working nights and weekends and I remember being newly married and I'm like he's going off to work as.

00:15:37.384 --> 00:15:41.452
I'm just, you know, getting home and I I just prayed about it.

00:15:41.452 --> 00:15:45.591
I mean I kept kind of asking God to arrange things and it just had happened.

00:15:45.591 --> 00:15:51.648
It was he took on a consulting gig that then we became the owner of that business and it kind of led from there.

00:15:51.648 --> 00:15:57.105
So I think if you're constantly putting out what you want, you'll receive those things, you know.

00:15:57.125 --> 00:15:57.807
Manifestation.

00:15:58.039 --> 00:15:59.908
Like, yes, big on the manifesting.

00:15:59.908 --> 00:16:04.548
I mean it was like so the things that we wanted out of our marriage, and so it just kind of aligned itself.

00:16:04.548 --> 00:16:14.323
And then I was able to, when we opened 36 Below, step away from my corporate job and work with the marketing, so we were able to spend more time together and even with our kids.

00:16:14.323 --> 00:16:22.111
It's like you know, I'm constantly dreaming about well, I want to do this outdoor, you know, patio grill because I want to have pizza night on Friday nights with our kids.

00:16:22.111 --> 00:16:36.345
I'm always thinking about these things that I want to envision because I didn't have that home, because my parents were separated to have the kids just be there, and I think we try to foster a home where they're going to want to grow up and just be home with us Like no, can't go over.

00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:44.013
You can come to our house, but it's Friday night's pizza night at our house, so just constantly creating those things is really big for us.

00:16:44.013 --> 00:16:44.933
What that?

00:16:44.953 --> 00:16:52.134
looks like, oh my gosh, fantastic that is, and it's so beautiful too because you are to your point.

00:16:52.134 --> 00:17:07.008
The manifestation, right, and the praying on it and I know even today we were in the Bible app and the verses today was talking about like give all your anxieties to God, right, and just continue to speak to him and speak what you want to happen for your life and it will eventually come.

00:17:07.008 --> 00:17:08.134
And I we always say you have to work.

00:17:08.134 --> 00:17:11.434
The works, though, right, like people think if I pray about it, then that means it's going to happen.

00:17:11.434 --> 00:17:30.550
And it's like it may not be right now, it may have to wait a little bit, but again, the manifestation piece is so key and I know that's kind of a buzzword going around right now, but a lot of it, for us at least, being, you know, in the church is going to be more of just prayer, right, and really talking to God and having that one-on-one time with him too.

00:17:30.550 --> 00:17:31.313
So yeah.

00:17:31.661 --> 00:17:34.807
We always talk about when we first got married.

00:17:34.807 --> 00:17:54.520
We had gotten this little apartment and we were working to just clear up our credit because our goal was we wanted to buy a house and we would sit in our room at night and we could hear the guy above us playing video games all hours of the night and we were just so angry but we would lay in bed and I would just tell Josh, we would just say you know what, never despise small beginnings, never despise small beginnings.

00:17:54.560 --> 00:18:07.032
And I, we would just like kind of say that over ourselves and it was like when we bought our first house and we were in peace, it was like, okay, you know what, this is the start of our life and so we always hold on to that.

00:18:07.093 --> 00:18:24.346
That you know we've grown this little piece of our life together and it's just evolved so much oh my gosh, that's fantastic I love that small beginnings and not despising that, because so many times, especially in a social media era, instant gratification era, it's like everybody wants microwave success.

00:18:24.346 --> 00:18:31.400
Really, it's crockpot right.

00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:37.161
It's slow cooked, it takes time and I'd love to hear more to Josh on the journey of you all acquiring that business, because a lot of people have this idea that I'm going to manifest it.

00:18:37.161 --> 00:18:39.247
I'm going to visualize that I'm the business owner.

00:18:39.247 --> 00:18:43.085
I have this incredible restaurant and it's packed, but like where's that?

00:18:43.085 --> 00:18:44.808
What did that work look like?

00:18:44.808 --> 00:19:01.352
Between working as a consultant clearly I'm sure there was putting work in and helping build and then transitioning in the work to then be an entrepreneur and having all of it on you two shoulders yeah, I mean I, I looking back, I uh, it wasn't the ideal situation.

00:19:01.372 --> 00:19:05.503
I think it was a little bit of luck, a little bit of being in the right place, a little at the right time.

00:19:05.503 --> 00:19:08.470
Um, I always wanted to.

00:19:08.470 --> 00:19:10.642
I think it's everybody's pipe dream that you know works in.

00:19:10.642 --> 00:19:14.323
Whatever industry they work in, they want to be a business owner of some type right and you're right.

00:19:14.323 --> 00:19:16.008
You're right, it's instant gratification.

00:19:16.008 --> 00:19:17.151
People think it comes like that.

00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:19.743
Being an entrepreneur is so the opposite of that.

00:19:19.743 --> 00:19:21.747
It's grind, grind, grind.

00:19:21.747 --> 00:19:26.954
It's starve, starve, starve, feed, starve, feed your business, feed your business, feed your business.

00:19:26.954 --> 00:19:28.365
And there's so many lessons I've had to learn.

00:19:28.365 --> 00:19:36.669
But it's been a grueling process of being an entrepreneur and I don't really think that initially that was the plan.

00:19:36.669 --> 00:19:39.213
It's just by chance things worked out to.

00:19:39.213 --> 00:19:44.266
There was an opportunity and a window for me to step in and take over a business, and then I was able to do that.

00:19:44.266 --> 00:19:52.694
And then, through that taking that first step, and then there was more opportunity for me to have a bigger part of that business and then, because of that, opened up more opportunities.

00:19:52.694 --> 00:19:58.760
And that's when 36 below happened, and then the rose garden and so forth and so on, and then the airport sip, and so all these things started.

00:19:58.760 --> 00:20:00.805
Opportunities started opening up.

00:20:00.805 --> 00:20:03.650
The more I got involved in, the more I was growing my business.

00:20:03.710 --> 00:20:07.486
But, man, it's been a very grueling process.

00:20:07.486 --> 00:20:10.897
It's not all rainbows and butterflies being a business owner.

00:20:10.897 --> 00:20:20.571
It's very difficult and it's you got to have the stomach for it and sometimes I don't know, you know, I question whether or not I'm the guy that has it anymore, because it can be so tough.

00:20:20.571 --> 00:20:31.344
You know, it's very stressful when you have employees and overhead and rent and landlords to deal with, and then you have legal problems and, man, there's just a plethora of problems to deal with as a business owner.

00:20:31.344 --> 00:20:36.665
So it's just like figuring out how to mitigate that and and and navigate through all that stuff.

00:20:36.746 --> 00:20:39.459
It's very difficult and a lot of people don't talk about that.

00:20:39.459 --> 00:20:40.221
I just appreciate.

00:20:40.260 --> 00:21:03.280
I really appreciate you sharing, I mean it's a vulnerability too, because, to your point and I'm sure you're going to go deeper into it A lot of times, like you said right, we're seeing social media and we're seeing the highlights and it's like, oh, picture perfect, but then you're not seeing the behind the scenes, the late nights, the early mornings, the sacrifices that you have to make, and I remember for us, the amount of birthdays we've missed and family outings, and just there are.

00:21:09.011 --> 00:21:12.000
Yeah, it's also very rewarding too, because we've had a lot of wins as well.

00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:16.561
You know, 36 Below and Sip 2 and all the things that we've done we've had a lot of wins with.

00:21:16.561 --> 00:21:21.979
But it doesn't come without a lot of hard work, and so it keeps us busy.

00:21:21.979 --> 00:21:23.082
Yeah, I'm sure.

00:21:23.349 --> 00:21:27.413
We do want to give I know you mentioned a few concepts 36 Below Sip Coffee.

00:21:27.673 --> 00:21:27.952
Rose.

00:21:27.972 --> 00:21:28.834
Garden.

00:21:28.834 --> 00:21:29.615
Would you mind?

00:21:29.615 --> 00:21:31.236
So True Color Concepts can you give us?

00:21:31.236 --> 00:21:33.758
You know, almost, you know your.

00:21:33.758 --> 00:21:47.688
I want you to just kind of talk your talk for a little bit about all your incredible accomplishments and both of you, because you know the marketing and we want to hear more about that too just of how you all have done it together the vision, but also just all of the different concepts underneath the portfolio.

00:21:52.609 --> 00:21:56.309
Yeah, true Color Concepts is a parent company for all the other stuff that we own, so Sip Coffee was the first business that we acquired in 2018.

00:21:56.309 --> 00:22:07.029
And, as Shira said, I came on as a consultant to help my now very good friend, travis and Tita, who were the founders of Sip, and I came on they were about ready to open up their third location.

00:22:07.029 --> 00:22:21.653
I came in 11th hour kind of, as they were almost getting ready to open and there was a lot of things wrong, and so that's kind of how I got involved.

00:22:21.653 --> 00:22:24.003
Uh, right then and there, and then, um, we, we already had the other two locations and which are still open.

00:22:24.003 --> 00:22:38.132
We've since then closed the scottsdale and shea location, um, and so I got, I got involved with those two and then I got involved a little bit more and, you know, travis and tita didn't really want to be involved anymore, so I took over the businesses and 36 Below.

00:22:38.132 --> 00:22:44.156
There was an opportunity in 2020, the pandemic, when it changed the world right.

00:22:44.730 --> 00:22:45.112
Undertow.

00:22:45.112 --> 00:22:46.056
I don't know if you remember that.

00:22:46.056 --> 00:22:48.979
I do, they were subletting space from us down there.

00:22:48.979 --> 00:23:11.737
They sublet from us for four years, three years and then, when they had already had platform or century grand open they had another concept in there and they decided they wanted to have all their concepts under one roof, which was, you know, I was super excited about, because I watched them run a very successful business down there and I thought, you know, if I could ever get my hands on that space, i'd'd love to do my own thing.

00:23:11.777 --> 00:23:27.537
Well, sure enough, 2020 came along and they decided to move out, and I was excited, which was crazy, because 2020, as you know, you know is probably the worst time in the history of the world to open up a 600 square foot 30 seat bar, but I knew it was going to pass.

00:23:27.537 --> 00:23:41.775
And so we you know, my wife and I and our design team got together and we came up with this great idea and conceptualized 36 Below, and it was so much fun in creating it, so much fun right.

00:23:41.815 --> 00:23:45.700
Yeah, and then we opened up in 2021.

00:23:45.700 --> 00:23:50.362
And I don't know again 2021, there was Arizona was one of three states that were open.

00:23:50.362 --> 00:23:52.355
Everybody else was still shut down.

00:23:52.355 --> 00:23:54.777
That's right, so it was us Florida and, I think, Texas.

00:23:54.777 --> 00:23:57.479
Well, people were flocking here just to go out.

00:23:57.479 --> 00:24:01.740
People would come here and spend a week here, just so they could go out to a restaurant or a bar.

00:24:02.211 --> 00:24:05.240
And so we were wildly successful that first year.

00:24:05.240 --> 00:24:22.842
We did an insane amount of business and then, because of the success of that, I decided to open up another cocktail lounge and so, again around this time, there was starting to be more of an explosion of cocktail bars and restaurants that were opening up.

00:24:22.842 --> 00:24:30.407
So as I was opening up, as we opened up the Rose Garden downtown, there was a lot of other competition going in downtown.

00:24:30.407 --> 00:24:43.017
And we opened up the Rose Garden think we opened in july of 2022.

00:24:43.017 --> 00:24:44.141
We've since then backed away from that business.

00:24:44.161 --> 00:24:46.628
We have some um, some small involvement, but um, we sold most of that business, but um, and then the airport kind of came on.

00:24:46.628 --> 00:24:47.953
I think I've told you about that in the past.

00:24:47.953 --> 00:24:55.554
The airport sip opportunity came along and another experienced operator within the airport came to me and said hey, I love your brand, I want to take it into the airport.

00:24:55.554 --> 00:25:09.531
So we worked together for a year plus, just kind of um, growing that relationship and getting to know each other a little bit, like me teaching them about the brand and you know us, kind of just getting familiar with each other and we're able to open up the airport.

00:25:09.531 --> 00:25:11.757
And, as you know, you've done that and been there.

00:25:12.519 --> 00:25:14.001
It's a grueling process, it is.

00:25:14.001 --> 00:25:16.488
It's very political getting in the airport, it is.

00:25:16.789 --> 00:25:29.977
And I would not have been able to do it if I, you know, didn't have an already existing partner and there was in there, you know, that had owned some businesses already, so he was able to walk us down that path and he did a very good job getting us Um, we opened that up, gosh.

00:25:29.997 --> 00:25:36.605
I don't even remember when we opened that up, but about a year and a half ago in August, and that's also been wildly successful.

00:25:36.605 --> 00:25:47.571
So here we are, we've got a SIP, we've got 36 Below, we've got, um, the Rose Garden still kind of in the rear view mirror a little bit, but those are all the businesses and all the things we have going on right now.

00:25:47.571 --> 00:26:03.222
And so I think one of the things I learned is that we grew pretty fast, opening up two bars in under two years, a year and a half, and because there was so much going on, so many people opened up new concepts, the competition just went through the roof.

00:26:03.222 --> 00:26:04.305
So it became very difficult.

00:26:04.305 --> 00:26:21.867
And so I think hindsight, you know, looking back, we probably shouldn't have opened the Rose Garden, probably shouldn't have opened the rose garden, um, and now we're just kind of seeing hey, we really need to focus on what we have strengthening operations within all the existing things that we have and really focusing on marketing and growing what we have.

00:26:21.867 --> 00:26:24.356
So that's kind of where we're at.

00:26:24.457 --> 00:26:39.459
I so appreciate and I know we appreciate hearing the journey, though, because that's one of the things that it's ever evolving and it's a process, right, and we're always learning, and there's always these elements.

00:26:39.459 --> 00:26:42.792
Whether it's a pivot, it's looking at how we can improve processes and operations One of the questions that I have, too.

00:26:42.792 --> 00:26:48.198
Timing wise, we always talk about this being in a marriage and then being in business together.

00:26:48.198 --> 00:26:52.721
When did you know, okay, we're going to now kind of jump two feet together.

00:26:52.721 --> 00:26:56.500
I'm going to leave my company that I'm working for and join you.

00:26:56.500 --> 00:26:59.880
How was that kind of process, discussion, prayer?

00:26:59.880 --> 00:27:01.134
We'd love to hear a little bit more there.

00:27:01.174 --> 00:27:04.419
Yeah, prayer that was another faithful moment.

00:27:04.419 --> 00:27:09.482
I mean, I was helping just a little bit with 36 Below.

00:27:09.482 --> 00:27:13.402
We were doing the design and Josh was talking about all the marketing.

00:27:13.402 --> 00:27:18.894
And I'm like, well, wait a minute, I do marketing right now for a home builder.

00:27:18.894 --> 00:27:24.471
You could pay a marketing team or I could leave and come on with you and we could do this full time together, and that was such a leap of faith.

00:27:24.471 --> 00:27:27.655
But it was almost like it kind of felt a little natural to do.

00:27:27.696 --> 00:27:53.039
We just did it, I mean, and on faith really, and so so, yeah, when I left my job and my son was about six months old, took that leap and it was off to the races from there, and then we had opened the Rose Garden and it was I was nervous because it was it felt so fast going and we were just kind of riding this high and got to a point where I felt like we almost were a little spread thin.

00:27:53.039 --> 00:28:00.596
And you know, we still had a young son at the time and so, you know, then we had this opportunity to open at the airport, and so it was like all these things were happening.

00:28:00.596 --> 00:28:12.252
We were spread thin, trying to manage teams and people and, you know, responsibilities, and I think we had to take a look like, wait a minute, I think we need to reevaluate what's most important to us and cut some back.

00:28:12.252 --> 00:28:19.219
And that's when we had decided that maybe downtown wasn't quite where we wanted to be and we wanted to really foster 36 below.

00:28:19.219 --> 00:28:28.027
That was important to us, and so, with scaling back, it really helped us to kind of take a step back, look at everything, reevaluate and then, you know, navigate.

00:28:30.349 --> 00:28:31.692
The last couple of years weren't just the easiest business-wise.

00:28:31.692 --> 00:28:38.954
I mean, we shot out in 2021 with business booming and doing great and and it was like, as things were slowing down with the cocktail bars, actually SIPP started to excel forward.

00:28:38.954 --> 00:28:42.993
So we were working on you know the branding and kind of cleaning the businesses up.

00:28:42.993 --> 00:28:54.305
You know the locations and stuff like that and with that kind of taking a look back at 36 Below and what works, and you know people really like this whole theme and this turn and that allows people to come back and try our experience.

00:28:54.529 --> 00:29:10.842
So having to navigate that, we know we do very well with Halloween and the wintertime Christmas theme those do very well and then we're just trying to ride through January spring training time and then what can we do in the summer to keep things going with just locals here?

00:29:10.842 --> 00:29:12.517
So it's a constant.

00:29:12.517 --> 00:29:13.962
With 36 Below it's fun, but it's always a constant.

00:29:13.962 --> 00:29:14.490
We have to change things going with just locals here.

00:29:14.490 --> 00:29:14.605
So it's a constant.

00:29:14.605 --> 00:29:14.980
With 36 Below it's fun, but it's always a constant.

00:29:14.980 --> 00:29:16.124
You know we have to change things up.

00:29:16.124 --> 00:29:20.718
We have to change it up to keep people coming in and excited to try the next theme.

00:29:21.790 --> 00:29:22.554
Yeah, I remember that too.

00:29:22.554 --> 00:29:28.019
And in the midst of all that, we were also working with some developers at the time Intersection Development.

00:29:28.019 --> 00:29:30.958
They're heavily involved in you know what's going on downtown.

00:29:30.958 --> 00:29:34.835
We heavily involved in you know what's going on downtown.

00:29:34.835 --> 00:29:36.300
We had two projects potentially going on with them at the time.

00:29:36.300 --> 00:29:38.028
So I thought I need to build an infrastructure, a team, and we had a.

00:29:38.329 --> 00:29:50.171
We had a corporate office in old town, scottsdale, so we had a ton of overhead and I was building this team to sort of go, and then everything just fell apart uh, people and places, and everything just fell apart.

00:29:50.171 --> 00:30:02.672
So we had to pivot and we had to let go of people, we had to let go of locations, we had to let go of our corporate office and we had to really like scramble to put everything back together and get you know, kind of regroup and focus on what was most important.

00:30:02.672 --> 00:30:07.392
And I remember that conversation when, um, you decided to not go back to your job.

00:30:07.392 --> 00:30:08.594
We had a conversation about that.

00:30:08.594 --> 00:30:13.063
I'm like you can either go back and help build somebody else's dream, or you can join me and we can go build our own.

00:30:13.063 --> 00:30:14.086
And we've never had to look back.

00:30:14.086 --> 00:30:17.493
Despite all the stuff that's happened to us, we've never had to look back.

00:30:17.493 --> 00:30:20.041
She's never had to go back to corporate America.

00:30:20.041 --> 00:30:20.690
So it's been great.

00:30:21.010 --> 00:30:21.813
That's fantastic.

00:30:21.813 --> 00:30:30.025
So I have a question about this can be hard, not only on a marriage right, but then also business owners as well.

00:30:30.025 --> 00:30:32.365
So how do you guys either what like?

00:30:32.365 --> 00:30:34.405
What are the conversations that you all have?

00:30:34.405 --> 00:30:37.727
Or is it literally getting down and praying together, kind of?

00:30:37.727 --> 00:30:40.827
How do you work and overcome some of the struggles and the hurdles.

00:30:40.847 --> 00:30:41.448
She is my rock.

00:30:41.448 --> 00:30:44.633
Amen she is the voice of reason.

00:30:44.633 --> 00:30:45.894
God speaks to me through her.

00:30:45.894 --> 00:30:48.660
I'm the warrior, she's the.

00:30:48.660 --> 00:30:51.250
She's the voice of reason, for sure.

00:30:51.530 --> 00:30:53.252
I'm getting chills Family's number one.

00:30:53.252 --> 00:30:56.497
So my biggest thing is we were kind of spreading ourselves too thin.

00:30:56.497 --> 00:31:01.782
It started to worry me because I'm like our son is most important and we have a second child someday.

00:31:01.782 --> 00:31:04.705
You know, all this stuff will come and go, but our family?

00:31:04.705 --> 00:31:23.845
So when I started to see that the stress was coming into our family, that's when I was like, wait a minute, now I don't want to get to being resentful about these businesses, but now the stress is coming into our home and so we had to really have some hard conversations and just take a look at you know, okay, what's most important to us Family's number one and everything else.

00:31:23.845 --> 00:31:25.246
I mean everything else will work.

00:31:25.246 --> 00:31:26.507
I just really believe that.

00:31:38.990 --> 00:31:39.990
I think that's that, maybe that trust, that faith in God that everything will work out.

00:31:39.990 --> 00:31:40.511
But we have to make sure we're solid.

00:31:40.511 --> 00:31:41.510
We got to make sure our family is solid, home life is solid and kind of work, everything out from there.

00:31:41.510 --> 00:31:45.415
Yeah, yeah, I love the example that you're showing of also doing it together, having the critical conversation, but then coming out of that conversation on the same page.

00:31:45.415 --> 00:31:50.978
I think everybody saw a few years ago, right, tom Brady's like he's retiring, wait, he's coming back.

00:31:50.978 --> 00:31:52.279
Wait, tom Brady's not married.

00:31:52.279 --> 00:31:53.583
We were like, wait, what's going on?

00:31:53.583 --> 00:31:57.958
But it's kind of like, did you have the conversation?

00:31:57.958 --> 00:31:59.730
And then did we all get on the same page about what we're doing.

00:31:59.730 --> 00:32:01.990
So we love that you're able to share that it's.

00:32:01.990 --> 00:32:10.979
It is coming back to that foundation of what's most important, what's going to live on beyond, you know, a business or opportunity, a location.

00:32:10.979 --> 00:32:13.784
It's our family, it's what we're building together.

00:32:13.784 --> 00:32:15.654
So that's really that's really powerful.

00:32:16.297 --> 00:32:28.082
Yeah, absolutely, and so we've touched a little bit on your biggest challenge, but I think, a lot of people, because you mentioned earlier on in the episode that you both are sober now and, if you don't mind, sharing how long too for both of you.

00:32:28.730 --> 00:32:31.537
Yeah, I'm going to pick up a 10 year chip next week actually.

00:32:31.656 --> 00:32:32.941
Oh my gosh.

00:32:32.961 --> 00:32:34.183
Congratulations.

00:32:34.183 --> 00:32:35.797
She's right behind me too so.

00:32:35.797 --> 00:32:36.972
Yeah, yeah.

00:32:36.972 --> 00:32:39.420
So I will pick up 10 years in the end of July.

00:32:39.420 --> 00:32:41.031
Oh my gosh.

00:32:41.112 --> 00:32:42.435
Congratulations.

00:32:42.435 --> 00:32:44.180
That is absolutely incredible.

00:32:44.180 --> 00:32:45.522
I'm so proud of both of you.

00:32:45.522 --> 00:32:56.143
So I'm sure, when people are listening and they're hearing, cocktail lounge and then also sober, right, I'm sure you get it all the time but I'm sure just also some people.

00:32:56.143 --> 00:33:03.357
How can I navigate, maybe also being in these spaces, if I do go out with my friends or if I'm trying to also be sober?

00:33:03.357 --> 00:33:06.960
But then that's also what's happening now too, with millennials and younger.

00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:08.696
It's a whole sober generation.

00:33:09.009 --> 00:33:10.201
It's a great time to get sober.

00:33:10.569 --> 00:33:13.840
A great time, a really accepted time yes, accepted for sure.

00:33:14.029 --> 00:33:15.436
Yes, absolutely.

00:33:15.710 --> 00:33:20.539
No, but as far as being sober, I don't think I would recommend it for somebody new in sobriety.

00:33:20.539 --> 00:33:38.445
As a matter of fact, when I first got sober I got out of the restaurant business and I said I'd never go back and I got into fitness and that's when I was kind of doing my nutrition and fitness stuff and I did that for three years and then I realized I'm good at what I do and I got back into it and I had enough sobriety and strength under my belt to go that route.

00:33:38.445 --> 00:33:42.428
But, um, you know I don't get involved in the cocktail side of things.

00:33:42.428 --> 00:33:45.532
I'm more of the business admin side, so back office type stuff.

00:33:45.532 --> 00:33:49.738
On the guy I always say I'm the guy behind the scenes, the bars not for me, it's not my place.

00:33:49.738 --> 00:33:50.920
I have people that do that.

00:33:50.920 --> 00:33:52.181
I have people that write the menus.

00:33:52.181 --> 00:33:56.145
You know we focus on branding and marketing and much bigger picture type stuff.

00:33:56.145 --> 00:33:58.453
So I love the business.

00:33:58.453 --> 00:33:59.977
I don't love that part.

00:33:59.997 --> 00:34:02.402
Um you know and, and that's okay.

00:34:02.402 --> 00:34:08.172
I think there's a lot of people that that are in the business for that and they're passionate about drinks and you know mixology and all that stuff.

00:34:08.492 --> 00:34:11.418
I'm passionate about the business side of it and that's what I focus, focus on.

00:34:11.418 --> 00:34:12.820
Okay, we have healthy boundaries.

00:34:12.820 --> 00:34:18.518
I mean, it's not like when we're down in the space we've worked down in the bar before, but we don't get behind the bar.

00:34:18.518 --> 00:34:20.757
We don't shake anything we don't taste anything.

00:34:20.757 --> 00:34:22.056
We have people who do all of that.

00:34:22.510 --> 00:34:33.500
The cool side of actually being sober is actually people in the industry a lot of people actually to us and say, hey, I remember you guys saying you guys were sober.

00:34:33.500 --> 00:34:35.001
I think I might have a problem.

00:34:35.001 --> 00:34:36.141
What's your advice?

00:34:36.141 --> 00:34:38.824
So it's actually been an opportunity to be able to help people too.

00:34:38.824 --> 00:34:40.206
What a blessing.

00:34:43.429 --> 00:34:47.748
You know, every test is a test can turn into a testimony, right, and I think being able to be that blessing in our years you know Dee spent more years than me.

00:34:47.748 --> 00:34:49.998
I spent about five years in food and beverages.

00:34:49.998 --> 00:35:00.402
We've talked about d, I think 10 plus um, but seeing it's very, I mean it's on go right, it's very free and loose um in in food and beverage as a whole.

00:35:00.483 --> 00:35:21.943
So, being able to be an inspiration or to be able to be a an example for a lot of people and thank you for also being honest about that too because, again, people show the social media and it's the lights and it's, but it's not the, the 10, the hard work 10 years that you've gone into of making great decisions, creating healthy boundaries um creating great mocktails and we have a great team.

00:35:22.184 --> 00:35:22.905
We have a great team.

00:35:22.905 --> 00:35:25.010
You know we got gm that's been with us for a long time.

00:35:25.010 --> 00:35:29.277
You know we have managers and GMs at SIP and all the people that run the businesses.

00:35:29.277 --> 00:35:59.507
We have such a good team and we put a lot of love and direction and guidance and we have meetings and there's a lot of development and there's a lot of love that just goes into our people and without our people we're nothing right.

00:35:59.527 --> 00:36:09.322
So, yeah, and when it comes to people to that point so I know there's listeners that are that there's so many people that want to be business owners, like that is the dream and I think you've look at it from growing really fast team you have now.

00:36:09.322 --> 00:36:19.251
But for that person that's out there like, hey, do I, am I ready to go and hire and bring on two or three people and do I need to go and get funding or or an investment right now?

00:36:19.271 --> 00:36:45.934
or is it like, hey, bootstrap it as long as you can try to build and like any advice that you have from from your vantage point in regards to that I think every every industry is probably different depending on what you do you know for for you know, for myself, being an entrepreneur, I think that the piece of advice I could give is starve yourself before you starve your businesses, because otherwise you're going to starve and be stressed.

00:36:45.934 --> 00:37:03.887
And I think that there's a lot of times where entrepreneurs they get involved and they get attracted to the cashflow or the money that they might make and they they bleed the businesses and they don't have enough capital and they're not capitalized for, you know, to be successful.

00:37:03.887 --> 00:37:13.432
That's why a lot of business fail in the first five years is because they're just these people are pulling all the money out of it and they're not letting the businesses breathe, and so that's a big been.

00:37:13.432 --> 00:37:18.759
One of the biggest lessons for me is to, you know, put money back into the business and let it breathe.

00:37:18.759 --> 00:37:23.331
It's like having a little baby you got to feed it, you got to nurture it, and that's just how it is with the business too.

00:37:23.331 --> 00:37:27.498
You know there's a lot of funding opportunities right now too.

00:37:28.246 --> 00:37:29.469
It's, you know, the SBA.

00:37:29.469 --> 00:37:32.076
I think when COVID happened, it changed that game.

00:37:32.076 --> 00:37:47.213
There was a lot of EIDL loans, there was a lot of opportunities that the SBA stepped in and created a lot of opportunities for, you know, for small business loans, and it's very you know, I think again, it just depends on how much debt you want to take on.

00:37:47.213 --> 00:37:49.197
If you want to take on investors.

00:37:49.197 --> 00:37:55.210
There's just there's so many ways to structure deals like that, and I think it's about getting creative and figuring out what you want.

00:37:55.210 --> 00:38:02.277
I think it's very important that when you're doing a business, you want to get crystal clear on what you want, and it's kind of manifestation, right.

00:38:02.277 --> 00:38:15.826
You get crystal clear on what you want, and then it's just visualization and then figuring it out, and then stuff just starts to happen and you, oh, I need this, boom, it's happening, and then I need this boom, it's happening, and so I think it's kind of organic too.

00:38:15.945 --> 00:38:24.068
So there's a lot of moving parts absolutely, and you know, as we're hearing more about you know the work side and those things.

00:38:24.068 --> 00:38:28.056
One kind of buzz topic that always goes around is work-life balance.

00:38:28.056 --> 00:38:33.505
Right, kurt, and I always like to mention integration, because I think that's really what it is right Like.

00:38:33.505 --> 00:38:37.456
Balance means I have to kind of give something up and give a little bit more here.

00:38:37.456 --> 00:38:43.429
But if we can kind of integrate the business with your family life, so if there's any more.

00:38:43.429 --> 00:38:45.114
So how do you all do that?

00:38:45.114 --> 00:38:48.168
Is there an easy way that you guys do it or have?

00:38:48.168 --> 00:38:56.657
It's something you've had to learn over time and just to figure out what works best for you yeah, I'm really bad at it you know being an addict and true story addict.

00:38:57.237 --> 00:38:59.329
It's something that affects you in all areas of your life.

00:38:59.329 --> 00:39:02.786
Right, it's not just you know this one thing, it's all the things.

00:39:02.786 --> 00:39:10.521
And so you know, with work, I get super into it and I'll work until the sun comes up if she's not telling me hey, get off your laptop or get off the phone.

00:39:10.521 --> 00:39:12.208
So I really have to keep myself in check.

00:39:12.208 --> 00:39:15.235
She's a lot better at it than I am, but you know we'll trade off.

00:39:15.235 --> 00:39:17.048
I mean, we work non-stop.

00:39:17.048 --> 00:39:22.168
You know we might work for a couple hours and maybe I might take a call or an email at nine o'clock at night.

00:39:22.168 --> 00:39:26.554
We're, you know, sending emails to each other about approving, you know, branding or whatever it is.

00:39:27.096 --> 00:39:39.514
But, um, that's just kind of how our schedule is, but you got to know when to turn it off we try to have balance with the kids not to have the phone out and sending emails, because when they look up at you and mommy, mommy are you.

00:39:39.534 --> 00:39:43.708
You know so just knowing to keep the, you know, keep the computer away or keep the phone away.

00:39:43.708 --> 00:39:54.793
And you know, right now, this time in my life, with our daughter being so young, I've I've stepped back even a little bit since um, having her just to be, be a mom and embrace that.

00:39:54.793 --> 00:40:07.878
So you know I, I had asked Josh, you know I said I, you know I really would love to keep her home as long as possible, and so he respected that that that was part of my dream is that I'm going to step back even a little bit more and be at home more with our kids.

00:40:07.878 --> 00:40:13.672
And you know, when he comes home it's like he gets to come in and take on kind of those responsibilities with the kids.

00:40:13.672 --> 00:40:16.887
But I am kind of more the home life, that keeping that balance.

00:40:16.887 --> 00:40:25.268
He operates the businesses so and then, you know, there's sometimes we're all kind of look at him like okay, put the phone down or put the computer away, you know.

00:40:25.827 --> 00:40:28.228
And that's why I love having kind of like, the day dates.

00:40:28.228 --> 00:40:33.132
It's such a nice little balance or something in the middle of the day to kind of break things up, so absolutely.

00:40:33.472 --> 00:40:34.932
So I do know exactly what you mean.

00:40:34.932 --> 00:40:42.938
When I get the door slowly opens to the office and I don't even look because I already know it's detailing me Like it's time to shut it down.

00:40:42.958 --> 00:40:48.621
It's just like the creak of the door online the creak, and I'm just already like my fingers pause on the computer, on the keyboard.

00:40:48.681 --> 00:40:57.608
I'm like, oh yeah, I know it's way past that time, I need to shut it down, but that's why that balance is important though too right Because otherwise like you're, just you're grinding away.

00:40:57.708 --> 00:41:06.860
But if you think about it and we pause, it's like, well, wait, your family's waiting for you to be done to spend quality time.

00:41:06.860 --> 00:41:09.449
It's like, well, wait a minute, I'm trying to.

00:41:09.449 --> 00:41:12.985
You know the calculation of the time and it is a fine line, right?

00:41:12.985 --> 00:41:15.052
Because there's some people that are like, oh, I just want to spend all the time.

00:41:15.052 --> 00:41:16.891
It's like, well, we do have to keep the lights on.

00:41:17.032 --> 00:41:17.293
Right.

00:41:26.344 --> 00:41:27.449
Like there's that work that has to and it we're aligned.

00:41:27.449 --> 00:41:28.835
There are times when I'll have a super long day and I'm just over it.

00:41:28.856 --> 00:41:28.996
I'm yes.

00:41:29.016 --> 00:41:39.570
I'm, I've got the tv on, I'm zoned out and she's on her computer asking me questions like I'm sorry, I punched out yeah, so for the most part, we're pretty aligned when it comes to, you know, being at home and turning it off that's fantastic.

00:41:39.590 --> 00:41:47.697
I know something we had to incorporate earlier on when we first started a couple of fit, because we also started three months after our marriage, so we were like newlyweds, we're trying to figure it out.

00:41:47.697 --> 00:41:50.469
And then, starting the business, we did just like a hard stop.

00:41:50.469 --> 00:41:59.867
So after a certain time which it's kind of pushed back a little bit further now but after a certain time we just don't talk about business, we don't talk about anything and we just kind of get back to.

00:41:59.907 --> 00:42:05.835
We always say, like your love tank right, and your relationship, love tank and just making sure we're fueling that as we keep going.

00:42:05.835 --> 00:42:06.896
But it is difficult.

00:42:06.896 --> 00:42:19.065
I mean, it's not, it's something that you do have to learn, and especially as you are adding in kids, right, it's like, okay, we have to just continue to figure this out as we go, but as long as you guys keep doing it together, right, like that's the main piece and the main key.

00:42:19.467 --> 00:42:20.186
Absolutely.

00:42:20.186 --> 00:42:27.713
And one question I have too what's one of the biggest things that you've learned about each other as husband and wife becoming parents?

00:42:28.114 --> 00:42:30.916
yes that's a good question.

00:42:30.916 --> 00:42:39.146
You go first learned um gosh, I think I what I've noticed.

00:42:39.146 --> 00:42:59.809
My, you know, I've always known my wife is a beautiful person inside and out, but she is just, uh, such a loving, nurturing mother and, um, she just has this amazing ability to be present and connect with our kids, um, and I love that about her thank you thank you, josh.

00:42:59.869 --> 00:43:01.492
It's been interesting with our son.

00:43:01.492 --> 00:43:21.188
He's, like I said, he's hyper active and, you know, navigating that now as he's getting a little older and I, I always will we send like each other parenting stuff, like through Instagram and I'll be like hey read this and it's you know kids love play and so you know learning, like if he gets out on the floor and plays with our son, it's like that just lights him up.00:43:21.289 --> 00:43:25.972


And you know, with our daughter, it's like so amazing to see how nurturing he is with her.00:43:25.972 --> 00:43:41.123


And you know, in the morning he'll get up and he'll come out and she's fully dressed and got a bow in her hair and I just that just melts my heart seeing that it's like that experience, like just seeing him dress her and get her ready for the day and feed her in the morning, it's just, it's the best feeling.00:43:43.425 --> 00:43:44.411


I didn't do that with our son.00:43:44.411 --> 00:43:49.492


You know, I think I we were just opening 36 below and I was preoccupied, I was mentally like not there.00:43:49.492 --> 00:43:52.657


I think a lot for in the beginning stages of his birth.00:43:52.657 --> 00:43:56.378


But yeah, I feel like I could be a lot more present now with capri.00:43:56.478 --> 00:44:00.449


It's been, it's been great he said you only get, you know, a three-day-old baby.00:44:00.449 --> 00:44:07.469


This is it or a six, you know six-month-old baby, so so get up as much, and so he's really done such a great job of really being present.00:44:07.469 --> 00:44:08.945


And Josh likes slower mornings.00:44:08.945 --> 00:44:19.340


I like to get up and work out and do my thing, so you know for him to get up and feed the baby while he's drinking his coffee and to find those moments where he can slow down and just embrace that's amazing.00:44:20.590 --> 00:44:24.563


She always tells me when we have kids, remember they say you only have 18 summers.00:44:24.563 --> 00:44:33.309


I know it kind of simplifies, because the days, but the days are long but the years are, yes, so true.00:44:33.471 --> 00:44:34.172


It's so true.00:44:34.253 --> 00:44:37.824


Yeah, it's amazing so, speaking of kids, one more question on the kids front.00:44:37.824 --> 00:44:42.351


I see so much questions of tablets, phones.00:44:42.351 --> 00:44:43.414


Is it devices?00:44:43.414 --> 00:44:45.336


Is it like not for kids?00:44:45.336 --> 00:44:58.077


Your experience as parents and everyone has a different approach how do you all feel that like things are evolving, because I feel like right now it's so digital right Of, like tablets, e-learning what are your thoughts on that?00:44:58.605 --> 00:45:04.206


Well, I would say, when we first, right before we had kids, I was like we're not going to have, you know, the tablets.00:45:04.206 --> 00:45:07.333


It's a parenting thing, like we can get through that without those.00:45:07.333 --> 00:45:12.873


And sure enough, we had our son and I was like man, everything I said about people not having tablets is not true.00:45:12.873 --> 00:45:17.030


So we do, and I think monitoring it really.00:45:17.030 --> 00:45:21.146


Um, you know, our son likes to get on YouTube kids and I'm I'm always like what, what?00:45:21.286 --> 00:45:21.445


is it?00:45:21.527 --> 00:45:26.978


this obsession with this YouTube, kids and kids playing with toys, instead of them just playing with toys themselves.00:45:26.978 --> 00:45:30.916


You know, we use it as a tool, but we try to limit it.00:45:30.916 --> 00:45:35.876


I mean, there's a lot of value when it comes to digital stuff, but I think I try to slow it down a little bit.00:45:35.876 --> 00:45:40.731


I mean because we are from the generation of still getting out and playing with toys, riding bikes and stuff like that.00:45:40.731 --> 00:45:47.440


So you know, even you know, sometimes getting our son up, he'll be wanting to watch TV and it's like let's go outside, no, I just want to stay inside.00:45:47.440 --> 00:45:48.146


We're like no.00:45:48.387 --> 00:45:49.891


TV's going off.00:45:50.414 --> 00:46:03.226


We're getting outside, so sometimes we have to kind of push him out so really that balance of just a little bit using it as just a tool when needed, but yeah, because everything will turn into well.00:46:03.226 --> 00:46:14.704


Mommy, can I have it right now If we're out with people who might like act up a little bit, because he knows, if I act up she might just give me this to kind of calm me down, so kids can be very manipulative, so they got the drop.00:46:14.724 --> 00:46:15.005


They know all.00:46:15.005 --> 00:46:19.070


This is why we ask.00:46:19.112 --> 00:46:31.255


This is why we ask when I was a kid, we didn't have tablets or we wrote dope bags and skateboards and we played in the orange groves and whatever we played outside.00:46:31.255 --> 00:46:36.592


You know kids today they want to play on their iPads and their phones and you know she's right.00:46:36.592 --> 00:46:37.255


It's a tool.00:46:37.255 --> 00:46:42.610


I think as parents we've been guilty to let them watch watch it a little bit longer.00:46:42.610 --> 00:46:48.371


And our son is very active and he's very can be high maintenance, so it's like we kind of lean on that a little bit too much.00:46:48.371 --> 00:46:54.094


But we're recognizing more and more that how valuable it is one-on-one and interaction and playing.00:46:54.094 --> 00:46:57.228


And you know him, introducing him the sports he's doing taekwondo.00:46:57.668 --> 00:47:21.827


He loves it and so that keeps him focused and disciplined, and that's the kind of stuff that we want to keep driving in and and that's going to teach him early on the discipline and the focus and all the things that he doesn't want to learn from us, to learn from sports, and so that's true, we're both athletic and we want you know our children to be as well, so absolutely very interesting, and he's also at that age, too, where he's getting that another boost of testosterone.00:47:21.867 --> 00:47:25.132


So it's like I'm just ready to be out and play maybe rough out a little bit.00:47:25.172 --> 00:47:38.931


Yes, that's he loves the taekwondo, he's super into ninja turtles, so, oh, he kept saying he wanted to get into it and you know he's the youngest in the class, but he just man, he gets out there and he's smart he's sparring and putting on sparring gear.00:47:38.931 --> 00:47:43.675


I'm watching a four-year-old get out there and spar with a six-year-old, and it's so funny and fun.00:47:43.735 --> 00:47:44.338


But yes, it's.00:47:44.338 --> 00:47:47.047


There's so much discipline in in the sport, it's amazing.00:47:47.047 --> 00:47:55.094


So it's been very beneficial just to get out of the house for a little bit and you know we were using the ipad to kind of calm him and focus him.00:47:55.114 --> 00:48:05.833


But finding the taekwondo brings a lot how that's such a powerful good to know, yeah I did a lot of sports growing up and I just think there's a lot of any sports, sports right.00:48:05.833 --> 00:48:10.653


Any sports, but contact sports is different than you know.00:48:10.653 --> 00:48:22.273


Sport like basketball or football or baseball Because they have to rely on only themselves to be successful, and so that's what we want to teach him to be reliant on himself, Because nobody's going to take you by the hand and show you the way.00:48:22.273 --> 00:48:24.693


So it's really important that he learns at a young age.00:48:25.786 --> 00:48:27.789


I'm for both because I've always played group.00:48:27.929 --> 00:48:29.514


I played, I was like group.00:48:29.653 --> 00:48:32.146


Like you know, sports, yes, in a group setting.00:48:32.146 --> 00:48:35.860


But yes, I think both josh wrestled, so that's where he gets that.00:48:35.860 --> 00:48:40.353


I played lacrosse all through high school so I'm used to being team.00:48:40.353 --> 00:48:44.530


I think that's probably why I like group fitness so much, just that camaraderie.00:48:44.710 --> 00:48:46.815


Absolutely yeah, oh my gosh.00:48:46.855 --> 00:48:48.579


He played volleyball, I played football.00:48:48.579 --> 00:48:49.990


But to your point there is something.00:48:50.025 --> 00:48:51.851


There is something very different about the one.00:48:51.851 --> 00:48:55.233


It's like track when you line up there's, you know, unless you're in a Track tennis.00:48:55.233 --> 00:48:59.072


A group event for track, like if you lose the race, it's on you.00:48:59.072 --> 00:49:08.195


It's for you when you lose it's all you.00:49:08.615 --> 00:49:10.478


When you win, it's all you too.00:49:10.938 --> 00:49:11.760


That's very true.00:49:11.760 --> 00:49:12.621


That's such a good point.00:49:12.621 --> 00:49:25.811


I love the connection of the sports and also just hearing the different perspectives because, again, much like business, even on the integration of work and life, it's a learning process.00:49:25.811 --> 00:49:32.847


We're constantly trying to add what works, how do we do better, what are the things that we can maybe add in that can help us just essentially, you know, be better and live, you know, even more harmonious?00:49:33.027 --> 00:49:35.190


yeah yes.00:49:35.652 --> 00:49:43.452


So now, as we are wrapping up here, what's on the horizon for true color concepts, and then also as the family too?00:49:43.452 --> 00:49:46.898


Do you guys have any travel plans coming up or just anything fun that you're going to do too?00:49:48.166 --> 00:49:52.273


Yeah, for as far as true color concepts, we're just going to focus on what we have right now.00:49:52.273 --> 00:49:56.125


I don't I don't know if we'll do any more brick and mortars in the near future.00:49:56.125 --> 00:49:57.590


You never know what's to come.00:49:57.590 --> 00:49:59.014


We have some new partners in SIP.00:49:59.014 --> 00:50:00.788


They're going to really help us grow that brand.00:50:00.788 --> 00:50:07.260


So we're working on some different stuff with that maybe some licensing deals, maybe another location later on down the road.00:50:07.260 --> 00:50:10.349


But we're, you know, like competition being the way it is.00:50:10.349 --> 00:50:17.929


We're recognizing that we have to get like uber professional with marketing, and so both of us are learning together.00:50:17.929 --> 00:50:26.557


You know just how to how can we market our businesses better, and so we really want to focus on what we have right now and grow the business with both SIP and the locations that we have.00:50:27.447 --> 00:50:31.289


But you know always entertain another location If the opportunity comes up.00:50:31.289 --> 00:50:31.951


I don't know.00:50:31.971 --> 00:50:35.038


Yeah yeah, travel plans, travel, yeah.00:50:35.038 --> 00:50:38.735


Next month we're going on an Alaskan cruise, just him and I.00:50:38.925 --> 00:50:40.771


So we're excited about that for our anniversary.00:50:40.951 --> 00:50:43.985


So exciting, yeah, get out and do some outdoorsy stuff.00:50:43.985 --> 00:50:45.608


When so exciting, yeah, get out and do some outdoorsy stuff.00:50:45.608 --> 00:50:47.650


When we were planning I'm like, okay, it's July.00:50:47.650 --> 00:50:50.592


Where sounds amazing in July why it's hot here?00:50:50.592 --> 00:50:51.914


And I'm like let's go to Alaska.00:50:52.393 --> 00:50:53.335


It's cool.00:50:53.414 --> 00:50:55.016


And go see some glaciers.00:50:55.056 --> 00:50:56.557


Yeah, hang out.00:50:56.557 --> 00:50:59.219


So yeah, we're going to do some fun outdoorsy stuff.00:50:59.681 --> 00:51:00.061


I love that.00:51:00.061 --> 00:51:06.398


That's fantastic, and when people ask how hot is it in Arizona, I'm going to be like it's Alaskan hot, like you've got to go, you've got to go.00:51:06.418 --> 00:51:06.860


You've got to go.00:51:06.900 --> 00:51:10.447


I love that, I love that, I love that, I love it.00:51:10.447 --> 00:51:12.353


Thank you Amazing.00:51:12.954 --> 00:51:13.315


Perfect.00:51:13.315 --> 00:51:16.034


Well, thank you all so much for joining us today.00:51:16.034 --> 00:51:26.326


Yeah, it was great, as always.00:51:26.326 --> 00:51:27.672


We just learned so both so much for being here.00:51:27.711 --> 00:51:29.197


We wish you the absolute best in everything that you do.00:51:29.197 --> 00:51:38.969


Thank you All of our listeners and, if you're watching us on YouTube, if you are in Arizona, make sure you check out Sip Coffee, rose Garden, but, most importantly, 36 Below, that's our favorite.00:51:38.969 --> 00:51:40.012


We love that place.00:51:40.012 --> 00:51:42.297


So thank you so much for watching.00:51:42.297 --> 00:51:53.114


If you are on YouTube, please like and subscribe and, as always, follow us on social media at coupley fits C O, u, p, l E Y, f I T Bye.