Straight Outta The Lair with Flex Lewis
7x Mr. Olympia 212 Champion Flex Lewis presents Straight Outta The Lair, the podcast that aims to bring you vital information for your life's ambitions, providing valuable insight from interviews of the many many different faces that walk through our doors at The Dragon's Lair Las Vegas and a few from the man himself.
Straight Outta The Lair with Flex Lewis
The Reason Quest Exploded | Bruce Cardenas | Straight Outta The Lair Podcast Ep. 82
Embark on a transformative adventure with Bruce Cardenas, the man behind Quest Nutrition's ascent to industry titan, whose life lessons extend far beyond the boardroom. We kick things off right where Bruce's roots took hold, in the modest town of Highbridge, New Jersey, where a tenacious work ethic was more than just a virtue — it was a way of life. As Bruce peels back the layers of his journey, from the disciplined ranks of the Marine Corps to his vigilant days with the LAPD, and eventually into the sanctum of celebrity security, you'll find each stage of his life is laced with undeniable resilience and insightful adaption.
This episode is not just a chronicle of success; it's a mosaic of meaningful relationships forged and the profound impact they've left on Bruce's career trajectory. Listen closely as he recounts the nerve-racking moments where his judgment as an LAPD officer could alter lives, the leap of faith into the whirlwind of executive protection, and the strategic masterstrokes behind potentially building not one, but two billion-dollar businesses. Bruce's narrative vividly illustrates the power of authenticity, the art of listening, and the undeniable influence of a solid moral compass in the tapestry of life's challenges.
Our conversation culminates in a robust discussion about the intrinsic value of company culture and the art of personal connection. Discover how Bruce's role evolved within Quest Nutrition, how he champions recognition within business, and the anticipation of replicating monumental success with Legendary Foods. The tales and insights shared by Bruce Cadenas are a testament to the enduring power of service, inspiration, and the relentless pursuit of greatness. Join us for a journey of wisdom from a man who's not just seen it all but has also risen above to serve as a beacon of entrepreneurial spirit and leadership.
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----- Content -----
00:00:00 - Intro
00:08:48 - Lessons in Discipline and Overcoming Challenges
00:15:00 - Police Work and Moral Compass
00:21:47 - Traffic Stop Turns Life-Changing Moment
00:24:10 - Police Officer to High-Profile Security Transition
00:34:31 - Celebrity Security and Diva Experiences
00:37:35 - Quest Nutrition
00:48:29 - Building Relationships and Achieving Success
00:58:50 - Building
There was something about them the brand, the product, the passion they had Everywhere I go. I need to talk about Quest. I need to get product people's hands and that started the journey Straight up the last.
Speaker 2:From a small town where every notion aimed to dream and beg turned in those dreams into a billion dollar reality, all's whilst staying true to your core value of serving others. Today, we're diving into the story of Bruce Cadenas, a man who has transformed genuine connections into a career of unprecedented achievement. From the streets of Highbridge, new Jersey, to the boardroom of Quest Nutrition, this is the story of service, sacrifice and a success beyond ordinary. Bruce, welcome to the show.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much. It's been a while till we got together, but I'm glad I'm here.
Speaker 2:It certainly has. We've been trying to get you on the show for a long time. You are a jet set, just like myself. It's when I'm in town you're not here. When you're in town, I'm not here.
Speaker 1:Every time I work out here they're like oh Flex, just left town, I started taking it personally, nothing personal. We got you on the show, my friend and welcome.
Speaker 2:What a story, though We've known each other now for a number of years. Oh my gosh, can you remember the first time we met?
Speaker 1:I can't remember. You wouldn't remember, but I would because I've been in every one of your wins.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's been a minute, though I know that for a fact. I can remember meeting you through Rich Gaspari, and you work in the Quest booth.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's when you were carb depleted, so you wouldn't remember anything.
Speaker 2:I remember this because I had the business savvy mindset on it. When I got introduced to you, rich obviously spoke about you and I seen you on the Quest booth ripping boxes, stacking, putting things out First guy there, last to leave. And then I found out how you would involve with Quest. It blew my mind Just how you've been able to just put your hat back to front and inspire from the front. And this is the transcendent story of Bruce.
Speaker 1:Yeah, lead by example.
Speaker 2:Lead by example. But before we get into all these multiple lives that you've lived, so many different lives I want to take us back to the early days of your upbringing in New Jersey and from a town of only 2,500 people, correct and the lessons that you learned living in that town that transcended throughout your life. Can you take us back to that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. I was born and raised in a small town called Highbridge, new Jersey, an old steel mill town from the 1800s, and I was one of five kids. I was in middle and my parents were just hardworking people. My father was at that time called a workaholic and now he'd be an entrepreneur, but he started out in construction and created his own construction business, and my mom drove a bus for the school board and then ended up running the department, so work ethic has always been part of my life. I think my first job was, at 12 years old, stock and shelves at a local market, and I've always enjoyed making money and been inspired by people that have done well in business. And my father was just a good example, a hard working middle class guy who always provided for us and set the path for me to work.
Speaker 2:How did your father's involvement with you as a child be an entrepreneur forge you into things that you use later on in life?
Speaker 1:He obviously worked really hard and built his business from scratch and I think, as I, you know, watch, I used to go work with him and once I became an age of 16 and 17, go work with him on weekends and I just saw the value of great work, ethic and building a business and I just I realized that I wanted to make money, even though I always had that boy who dreamed of being a cop. I always enjoyed working and saving money.
Speaker 2:What business was he in, Bruce?
Speaker 1:Basically electrical contracting to make it simple. But he developed big electrical panels after he built his business and sold his business and sold them to big companies to run company, big printers and stuff. But he started out as just electrical contractor digging ditches. And that's actually where I really learned about physical work and labor because I would go with him on Saturdays and I remember one time talk about lead by example he had a crew of 12 guys working on a Saturday and he was digging this ditch and in the middle of it I said hey, how come you're digging the ditch? He goes you bring up a good point and he handed me the shovel and he goes it needs to be 36 inches deep and go all the way to wall. He goes you should be done by lunchtime.
Speaker 1:And I was MF and him while I was digging this ditch and and I was angry because I'm like I used to making me dig this ditch and we got in the truck on the way home and he said hey, I know you seem like you're pissed off, but I lead the reason I started digging that ditch and the other guys were doing other things. I need to show my crew that I'll do anything and everything to get his job done. I'm not sitting there with a supervisor's hat, so I had to really take that in. When you're 16, you've got a different mindset. But it really laid the paved path of okay, you got to do everything.
Speaker 2:But it just goes back to the opening of the show. Right when I met you first, leading by example how back to front, literally the expo wasn't even open and there you were yeah, one of the faces of quest, ripping boxes and stacking shelves Whilst nobody was on the booth whatsoever, just you and the workers.
Speaker 1:I always did set up the boost myself. I'd bring an extra shirt because I know I'd be soaking wet by the time the show started. And it really was interesting because you look at people's personalities and dynamics. There was a couple people in our company that had management titles and I remember said hey, we're five minutes from open the doors, right, you want to get the team photo? And I'm like hey, you guys mind grabbing some of these boxes and they would sell. One particular guy would say I don't do labor and I never will forget that because at the time he outranked me. I'm like wow, okay, that's a great mindset. Everyone else is just busting ass and he goes I don't do that.
Speaker 2:You reminded of that story, right, and whatever that guy goes next, that's always going to be something you think of straight away.
Speaker 1:So to me it's always been pride and ownership. I just as much pride in doing, whether I own it, whether I'm just an employee. I just I want to dive in and own it.
Speaker 2:It's doing all the unseen stuff. And the unseen stuff is what's going to separate you from the part, because I seen it While you were doing it for the unseen. You were there because you knew that you wanted to set up the booth, get it ready for the opening of the show, get it all aligned and ready to be make the impact. But also then your role was totally transformed because you would be there for hours networking, talking to customers and wearing so many different hats from whatever it was. And that's one thing I again I admire about yourself is that era when I met you first now is just transitioned into so many different things that you've done later on in life that I've obviously been witness to. But going back and staying on the timeline, you said you had a passion to join the police force Always An uncle was a sergeant with Philadelphia PD.
Speaker 1:He got killed in the line of duty. My neighbor was a colonel with the New Jersey State Police. It was always just a boyhood dream. We all have our dreams. I guess kids want to be firemen or policemen or whatever they want to be, and I was. That was my goal. I figured out I had no path to get there. But I didn't know that I was a kid. I just thought okay, I'll graduate high school and I'll get hired. But the problem was I was an average C or D student and when I graduated high school it was a six person department, six man department. I would do ride alongs. They liked me, I was like an athletic kid and I didn't get in trouble. So they let me do ride alongs.
Speaker 1:And I got out of high school and putzed around for about a year doing part time jobs and making money, always working. And I went to the chief one day and said hey, I'm of age, I want to join the department. And in his own kind words he said Listen, you're young, you're dumb and you're immature. Without not without hurting my feelings, right, yeah, he didn't go West Watson on me, but he went and he he said I'll tell you what he goes. You go into Marine Corps. I'll hire you the day you get out. Wow, so you got a deal. So I grabbed my best friend and said Listen, we got to get down to Marine Corps recruit depot, went through the process and ended up in Paris Island and that was it. The dream didn't stop. But then I realized, wow, there's more than Highbridge, new Jersey and Main Street and there's a big world out there. So that's still kept the. But then that was my path.
Speaker 2:But I realized, wow, this guy was really a huge help to me, was that the first time you left New Jersey we?
Speaker 1:had a middle school teacher who took us. We did a couple of field trips to New York to watch a play and stuff on a bus, but literally little family trips on vacation, but nothing like real. I've never. I'd never been on a plane.
Speaker 2:Wow yeah, so that was a true culture shock, and then, obviously the format of the Marines.
Speaker 1:Yeah, ended up in Paris Island my first time on a jet and that started that journey.
Speaker 2:What lessons did you learn while shooting Marines?
Speaker 1:So many things and I tell people I meet if you're not clear on what you want to do in life, it doesn't have to be a Marine Corps. That's a little, maybe a little hardcore for some people, but the military is a great option. While I was a CD student, I remind people in high school I had one of my bosses who was a, who was a major, and I worked out with him and he said Listen, if you want, when you get your education, why aren't you here? I don't like school and I so end up going to like night courses if you're at a base and everything can remote, so I could be at any base in the world. I didn't get my degree, was in the Marine Corps and never had a desire to be that, but it became okay.
Speaker 1:This is important to me, so that was one of my lessons. Like it's a free education, discipline for sure. As simple as it sounds, making your bed every day, that became just a routine. Polishing your boots, uniform, being pressed. I just learned from you. Go from being on discipline, kid right, not really doing anything, going along, and then also you have structure, discipline, workout, routine. There's so many things. Your moral compass everything.
Speaker 2:Would you say that was probably one of the first lessons you learned in your entrepreneurial direction.
Speaker 1:For sure. Yeah, structure organization leadership, looking up to other people. My father was a great leader, but the Marine Corps was clearly a defining moment.
Speaker 2:Yeah, your son's serving too right.
Speaker 1:He did two tours. He's a combat veteran. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Speaker 2:I was off for you.
Speaker 1:Which interesting. So when I was a kid in the Marine Corps, you're invincible, there's not even a thought of death. Fast forward, I'm an apparent and my son's going to get deployed. I'm like, oh you sure you want that. You got to be careful, he's dead. The same mindset except now. I'm like that's not really how it works. Yeah, but he's great, he's out now. He's an entrepreneur, he's a contractor but and works out. We work out sometimes together. That's gonna be cool. Still a little stronger than him.
Speaker 1:But yeah but yeah, but I think I go back to this man. The military is a great place for structure and organization.
Speaker 2:That was actually going to be my path. They failed me off flat feet the last test of all. It was paved out for me and I had the army, the Navy, the Marines all trying to fight me up. I was going to go in and play rugby, oh wow, and then build my job position around that. But they've all the rules have changed now because they were losing too many soldiers. But again I was like, just like you, when I was doing my research the same thing going through school teachers were counting dumb and CDs student and my, the PE department really was my salvage, my salvation for me. I would go there, even in lessons that I should have been, and I hid there and my feet. My PE teachers were great. They knew that I was very focused on rugby and track and field and they made me a better student by showing me discipline.
Speaker 1:That's exactly what was me the sports PT, and we had stuff like woodshop and so that's why I excelled in all that stuff, but when it came to math and I was I was a daydreamer and they knew it.
Speaker 2:The teachers with this skirt over me and yeah, there was obviously like first waking college for me. They found out I dyslexia as well as ADHD. I'm sure that's the same with you. Yeah, 100%.
Speaker 1:I have an interesting condition so I can read anything. I could read anything and I understand any word, I could pronounce it, but I can't write and spell any. I'm horrible.
Speaker 2:Basic words yeah, is that something you found? Or later on in life, or all you knew you had?
Speaker 1:I knew, yeah, I struggled with an I before an E and all that stuff. I still do now. Thank God for the iPhone corrects everything, but when I had to write out certain things in, even when I was a cop writing reports, I struggled.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that pissed me off, though in school.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I put a lot of my output into other things and excelled. It was like this pendulum where I was sucked in this spectrum and then in this one I over excelled, but I was also. I also found out soon enough that it was all about the teachers and learning how to overcome certain issues that I had. First week in college, like I said, I had this bag taken off my back was like, oh man, so I'm not stupid and that was in my head for the longest time. Yeah, and I knew I wasn't, and just having that I feel like a bag taken off my back. I started my first business at 19 in college. So again, I know not to take the fucking podcast here.
Speaker 2:I know there's a lot of relatable things, because when I was doing my research I've seen these things on 100%, even with my parents.
Speaker 1:I didn't understand it then, but now, as an adult, I can appreciate it. But there was five of us. Yeah, I was the only kid. There was no conversation of college. I think they just looked at me as Bruce will just be. He'll be a blue collar guy, whether he's driving a garbage truck or whatever. Whatever he's going to do, we don't have to worry about him. But he's not going to college. But I never processed it, I just okay and now as an adult, I'm like wow, they did short me.
Speaker 1:Wow, but I wasn't qualified.
Speaker 2:But you know, with the Marines and all these learning disabilities that you had or whatever that structure really were able to, you hold me on and get that best version of you and obviously then it turned into the next chapter of you leaving the Marines, joining the police.
Speaker 1:Yeah, got out of the Marine Corps and it was about a one year process not dating myself, but there was really not much internet, so you'd go and fill out the paperwork and mail it. The biggest process was getting medical records had a knee operation, so they mail them. So it takes a while, but it's about a year process and I was doing all kinds of jobs. I was a trainer at Gold's gym out in the Inland Empire.
Speaker 1:Part time I was driving a truck and I was just crazy. I never sold anything in my life. But I saw in the paper they're looking for a salesman at a car dealership. So I showed up, let me try it and, crazy thing, I was their number one car dealership for eight months straight while I was waiting to process to be a car.
Speaker 2:You better watch out on the LAPC. Sign on you up now.
Speaker 1:Training. And the crazy thing is when my background officer went to the dealership because they go around and everyone talks the owner called me and he goes. You really want to be a cop? I go. Yeah, he goes. Listen, if you stay here because you're a number one salesman, he goes. I'll have you managing his dealership and I don't know if you know this, but auto dealerships do pretty well If you're in a management position. I don't know it's all relative, but at the time I could have been making a couple hundred grand, but I just. It was a dream, I had to become the cop, but I learned a lot about sales and being a true person, authentic.
Speaker 2:Again one of these chapters and feathers you go in your heart that I just am finding out about.
Speaker 1:That was on any research and the blocks were on the wall.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but how hard was it then for you to leave this position where you're doing pretty well, to then go into the LAPC force and start from the bottom with with more dispay?
Speaker 1:So money is all I've always looked at. Money is just a thing. It facilitates life, right, money while it why it motivates me, because you need things. But I've never been, that's not been the main factor in my life. There's certain objectives and goals, just like you, mr Olympia. Right, you wanted to achieve those goals. No, I've just never really done anything for money. I love that money comes, maybe, but the police thing was just a dream, a passion, and when it happened it was like the best moment of my life, better than Marine Corps, yeah.
Speaker 2:What timeline was this?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm dating myself. But I went to police academy in January of 88, which was 35 years ago and I prepared. I was a year and I wasn't. It's interesting when you go through these things, especially physical and training. The Marine Corps was tough and I'd gone through special ops and stuff, but when I was getting ready for LAP I had no idea what to be in store for. There was no one to tell me and I showed up ready to go and it was tough but it wasn't as tough as I thought. Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:So the Marines really?
Speaker 1:Yeah, my biggest concern with the LAPD was the academic, because you have tests and I had a. We had a carpool partner my buddy, we're still friends to this day. We would study flashcards. I was so freaked out about getting disqualified academically. The good news is there were multiple choice tests and one. She kept repeating it, so I got much better at testing.
Speaker 2:The 80s were such a crazy time in LA, yeah, and I'm sure joining the police force during then and seeing some of the the hardened police and then the new age thinkers coming in, how hard was it for you to stay on your moral compass and not get hardened by some of these old school cops.
Speaker 1:So it's interesting police work in general. You go through the police academy and they teach you rules, regulations and policies and procedures. That's it. You rule, learn all these things and I always did well in self defense and shooting, so I excelled in that as far as top of the class. But when you get out there, you're in the field and you get assigned a training officer and usually they're older and saltier and I had an old time Vietnam vet was my first training officer, don huh Don. I said and.
Speaker 1:I'll never forget this. I got in the car and In police car there's usually there's a center console but there's like a pad because you write notes. Even though you have the computer you might write something down real quick. And he drew this to this day I'll never forget. He drew this big circle. It was a face, two big eyes, two massive ears and no mouth. And he said you knew who that is. Now, sir, that's you. I Need you to be all eyes and all ears and not a lot of talking. Yes, sir, like I'm okay, shit, what's that mean? And I quickly learned the skills of listening which to this day I carry, because I think a lot of people don't listen.
Speaker 1:But he was a true test to me on how to treat people and I realized there's a spirit of law and the letter of law there's. The world is not black and white, it's very gray. And while he was an old Salty kind of guy and he's a little rough on people, he never really crossed the line of civil rights violation stuff. But he was tough on people and didn't matter your race or religion, by the way. I mean he we'd stop old white bikers and he treated them all the same. But there's a big learning lesson for me, because you obviously emulate who you write, and I remember one day we stopped this guy for a warrant. Big white guy would tatt it up and I was bringing him to station by the handcuff. He escorted me to back and I was probably I was manhandling him. Well, I wasn't dragging him, but you could see I was one. A lieutenant saw me. I put him in the cage and he called me and said hey, what's that guy here for? I say here, he's here for a warrant, I think a $2,000 warrant, that's it. He goes because you're pulling at me here Like it was a mass murder and he goes. I'm gonna tell you what he goes. Listen, that's someone's brother, uncle, father. It's somebody's. Someone's loves that guy. He might have a two-year-old kid that, looking up to me, goes. Think about that. He goes. You treated him not very respectfully and he goes. He's got a warrant. Who cares? The warrant right, he goes. I know you're working with Bob, an old-timer, and I know how Bob treats people. He goes, but you're. You need to prove your own path. You need to figure out your own path here. You're either gonna get out of Bob route or you're gonna down a Bruce route. You just seem like a really nice kid and he goes. I know you have great people skills Because I've seen you in action. He goes, just make your own way. And he goes. And remember this other thing he was a lot of people out here or a paycheck away from a crisis, he goes. That guy's got a $2,000 warrant, maybe because he couldn't pay his registration. Who knows why, maybe he's a drug addict, but so it really.
Speaker 1:I went home and I really had to process that. I'm thinking you're right, that's someone's brother, uncle, father, whatever, and who am I to? You know, be that way. And then that reminded me I have an older brother who had been in, out of the jail for stupid stuff. He did three years in prison for selling and cooking meth, but he's a good buddy, like he was my brother, and he was truly like a. It's hard to say he was a good human being. Yeah, he was a likable guy. So it really made me evaluate the whole process of being a cop. That listen, I really became a public relations cop, don't get me wrong. I was a big dude and I was badass, and. But then there was time and place, right if you're dealing with a real bad person. Okay, great, you're trying to kill somebody or hurt a child, but I Really had to figure out how I conducted myself.
Speaker 2:So I'm guessing that was a massive life lesson for you right there, huge and then it transcended into a day-to-day when would you say that you try to de-escalate a lot more situations than escalate?
Speaker 1:bigger. Yeah, big communications and de-escalating and a lot of partners I work with. I had to. Sometimes I have a little verbal battle with them because Most cops are conditioning. You come up and there's a couple gangsters on the corner. Hey, let me see your fucking hands, keep them when I could see him. While that's important, yeah, you want people to keep your hands where you could see him, but you don't need to start berating a guy because he's tatted up and he stand at the corner.
Speaker 1:And I just found conversations got me a lot further and I remember one time Couple big dudes right out of the joint. I was pretty big then and the conversation went about this how many wheels do you do? How many plates? That's what they say in prison. And I saw and I could probably still do three or four, no shit. And I'd start talking about working out by my partners, trying to be an asshole, and I finally say let's just talk about working out for a minute, it's all good, they're not doing anything wrong.
Speaker 1:And one time I got in a push-up contest with a couple dudes come on, I'm in full uniform, bell vest and one of them said my arms were pretty big, that I wear a short sleeve shirt and and I popped out, he beat just one guy, beat me, three of us doing push-up contest and and but my so what happened with that?
Speaker 1:I developed a rapport with these guys. They were in an area down in in in Crenshaw, a bad area, but when I would see them, or see their guys, they just waved to me being you and I thought, and I told my partner at the time I said youth, you think these guys are just losers. If we're ever gonna ask kicked, I'm not gonna be worried about them trying to jump on and kill us or hurt us. And and that proved to be true Because, especially when I work south-central LA why there's bad people everywhere? Right, they would Neighbors, would host barbecues, they would invite us to the moms and dads and we developed great rapport. I think that sometimes the media hypes things up a little bit, don't remember on there's murders, they're shootings everywhere, right, but in general the people were very good, even in the hardcore areas of the city.
Speaker 2:Have you seen anybody that you remember from back then? That's kind of made it through to do other things as far as like community people. Somebody that you build a rapport with from back then. That is no. Yeah, there's a couple kids.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a couple kids, a crazy story. I stopped these two kids. They were maybe 18. They just blew through a light. They just didn't even stop slow down. So I stopped them, walk up and they were driving a like old Bronco To black kids and I said, hey, I need to see your license, registration and the hands. And they're nervous. I'm like give me a license. I said can I see the registration? And that's in the glove box. I said okay, can you get that for me? I said as long as you don't have a gun in there.
Speaker 1:Like I, I've always added a level of humor and everything I've done. Also, it de-escalates things. You make a little couple jokes. Okay, this guy's not an asshole. And they were so hesitant and opened up the glove box. I find this dude, I knew your registration. You don't have a gun. You know we don't have a gun.
Speaker 1:They pop on the glove box and there's a brick of weed in there Probably I don't know the weight, but it was big and at the time it was a felony to have weed. Back then it was and I said I just need the registration. I got a registration to me and I said listen. I said you got. How old are you? 18, was 19 and they were coming from basketball practice. They wanted to be. They wanted to be pro basketball players.
Speaker 1:Eventually I said, dude, you just realize if the wrong guy stopped you You'd be done, done they? Obviously it was crazy. I almost got myself in trouble with the department because I'll tell you why. So it struck them so hard. One of them went home and told their mom Do? We got stopped by this fucking white dude. He didn't fuck with us like he. Let us go, mom. Now, of course he fast up about having the weed. She calls the police station. I want to have a meeting with the captain. I Don't know any of this right. Also, I got a message from the sergeant hey, you need to come to the station.
Speaker 1:I go to the cabs office. He's sitting there with the mom who I have no idea who. She is right. She was all I'm so-and-so son and I'm who's that this couple weeks later, will you stop my son and you let him go and all since tell me story. I'm like, oh shit, I Let him go with the weed like I'm thinking I'm screwed she's. I just want to thank you because I think that scared them straight. They're like, holy shit, this guy could have sent us to prison and it, and so she left and Cap closed the door. I'm like I'm gonna get fired. He's listen, man, he goes. I know who you are. You're a good human being, bruce. He goes. I'm not even it. I'm that never happened, he was. I'm glad you sort of their life out, put those kids in the right direction. Wow, I'm not saying I agree, because it's still a crime, but and yeah, that was it, she'll come up enough.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know where they're not there. So I want him to stay in touch with me. For the whole time I was a cop because he got involved with the dare program and he started teaching other you know Kids dare. You can get involved with ten years old and he started going teaching basketball and stuff. So I helped him out. Yeah, we stayed friendly. I don't worry he's now, but we stayed in contact.
Speaker 2:Yeah, maybe watching the show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I just felt like that moment, if I had not changed, if I had not had that conversation with the lieutenant who said, hey, figure out who you want to be, I could have just he's hey, you're going to jail, you guys are done, screw it.
Speaker 2:It all goes back to these pivotal moments.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how I felt and I always I live my life like this I want to treat, I want to be treated how I want to treat people how I want to be treated, right, yeah, yeah, they screw up for sure, and I've had moments where don't get me wrong I've had, I've taken people to jail for bad things, done bad things to kids or Beat up their wives or girlfriends. There's certain things you, it's just against the law and you got to go to jail and you'll have to deal with the consequences. But I always look for the good in people too.
Speaker 2:You mentioned something earlier. I thought it was a really good sentence, but we skimmed over it. You said you always try to do With the letter of the law.
Speaker 1:There's a set you said so there's the letter of the law which they teach you. Here's the letter. You follow it. But I'm all about the spirit of the law, the spirit and more police, more people need to Do that. Yeah, because, like I said, everyone's a crisis away from something and, god forbid you have a bad situation.
Speaker 1:There was a guy one time West West LA. I worked one of my assignments. It's the bank robbery capital of the United States, west Los Angeles, a lot of banks there. I remember one time a guy came walking out of the bank. We already pulled up very rarely to catch someone. He's normally had a good. We're gone. We caught him, but grown man Start talking to him and he starts crying and he goes listen, I couldn't pay my mortgage, I know. So you thought you're gonna go to the bank and get some money. But my point is he was so desperate but just a normal dude Would never have thought of doing crimes. I saw you running the people that I think are become desperate, maybe mental health issues and they do things are Not in their best interest, but I don't think they need to be punished or in different levels.
Speaker 2:Right, you know in transitioning into another feather on your heart. I know you started up your executive protection. Yeah, with high-profile security, with high-profile clients and Hollywood celebrities. How was that transition from being the police? Oh, do you start that whilst you're in the police force?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was working as a cop and I think it's so relative out cops don't exactly make huge money. And there was a sergeant who just retired. He had a security business. So I started working for him part-time, at night or after hours and he had a lot of pretty decent clients. I and I worked for a couple regularly and after about a year I thought that's why I figured out.
Speaker 1:I was also figured out. I'm pretty good at customer service and being a servant leader and I enjoyed like serving other people. And I figured out the knack because I had gone to security school when I was in the police department I mean in the Marine Corps with the State Department so I knew about security and protection. After about a year I said I could do this. I went and got licensed and insured and I Just started picking up clients and one of my good friends ran a private limousine company and he drove a lot of them. So I said, hey, I'm. I started a security business and he started referring people to me. And I gotta tell you something he referred at the time it was Mariah Carey was coming into town for the Grammys or.
Speaker 1:American music words and her husband at the time ran Sony music and and that recommendation thing just started happening. I took care of her for a couple days and next, you know, I'm picking up Ricky Martin, mark Anthony, j Lo and I literally ended Leaving being a cop full-time because I just couldn't manage it. She was pretty lucrative, but Every day, hey, can you fly here, can you go there? I have a stalker. But it went back to customer service and figuring out how to treat people and I, and, once again, listening skills. Hmm, a lot of people in the security and protectors business do not listen. I'm not, I don't talk much. It's, it's crazy, right, I'm a big communicator, I love talking to people and if I'm in the bodybuilding space or nutrition space, but if I switch to the bodyguard business, I don't. There's no conversations to different people. I show up. I've already talked to the manager or the assistant, I know what needs to be done and there's just no, there's just, there's no small talk.
Speaker 2:So you had no, no relationship with the majority of your high-profile client now they respected me then who I was and I knew I was around.
Speaker 1:But my success came because of my how I conducted myself in the service I provided. They knew I was always around but I never interfered with the life. I actually, crazy enough, picked up a couple urban artists specifically. I did a gig for them and they asked me back and the manager says Bruce, the reason we want you back is Because you don't get in their business.
Speaker 1:Every time we hire someone, they feel there's some connectivity. Hey, what's up? Girl, like I were from the same neighborhood. I just have never had any relations and I've had such great success with that artist. Literally have that guy Bruce back because he was just around but he took our business. But I'm gonna make talk to clients. If it was a matter of Ingress and egress, how we're getting into a venue, and they'd ask me hey, we're, you know where I'm going? Yeah, yeah, we're going this way and but basic questions. But it was usually through a manager I would deal with and I think a lot of people in that in the customer service space, specifically bodyguards. They feel like they did engage too much.
Speaker 2:Hmm.
Speaker 1:I can literally Get in a car with someone and literally say nothing other than good morning.
Speaker 2:Do you ever type with every time that these high-profile clients asked you to dinner, anything like that? Or would they try to create Small talk with you and then you had your position?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it goes back to social cues and EQ? I think so. I think is general human beings, if they I've had celebrities say how you doing today. Bruce, I'm great, ma'am, thank you for asking. That's it I promise you, just like you right? You're in a business. You run into people all they go on. Does anyone really want to hear how you doing? I'll be honest, I'm suffering the flu and I haven't been able to pay my rent. No one wants to put your problems on other people. I tell that to people. It's a courtesy, it's almost a courtesy. And yes, I've been invited to dinner many times my standards. I'll be sitting at the bar or I'll be at the front door.
Speaker 1:And I lost a very big name Because I sent a guy. I could I could only do so much, right, I was only managing my time. What a very big, high-profile woman who's bigger, one of the biggest in the world right now. She was going to Mexico to shoot a video and I sent a guy and I briefed him and said listen, no involvement, don't get involved. Here's what you do. Here's the policies of procedures. I don't know what's going on there, right, I'm not talking to, I'm busy. So I find out. She's there for six days. He worked out right. So the first day she goes to the gym and he's in the gym and he starts giving her Pointers on training. Oh no, so what? By the way, I don't know this. But okay, I hired you to be bodyguard. Now, all of a sudden, you know how to. Great, I'm glad you know how to work out, but she's yeah, you're almost a personal trainer undermining her.
Speaker 1:Yeah, everything was going okay. I think they let that slip. And then every night, that, hey, do you want to join us? From now I'm gonna sit the bar the last night? It's listen, we've been here for five days which shoot this video. We're gonna celebrate when they join us, okay.
Speaker 1:So he said to the big table, not the underworld, I would never do that, I just it's a courtesy, no thanks. He had a couple glasses of wine. I don't know any of this. They come back to manager, calls me hey, come by my office. If you got a chance. I stopped by. He goes. We got good news and bad news. We love you, bruce. You are amazing service and we'll probably use you again. But we're firing your company because and he gives me the list Now you're guys, a personal trainer.
Speaker 1:He sat at the dinner table, which, okay, he goes. I know you would never do that, but he did, which was awkward. And you know she just invited because she's just being nice, because I don't want to leave the dog in the rain, right. And Then he drank wine he goes. He became useless to me once I saw him drinking alcohol, yeah, and I called him and I said what happened, you know, and he used the words and something interesting in the body garbage he goes. I couldn't help myself, I go. What does that mean? She invited me, I go. Just say no, unless she literally grabbed you by the hand and drug you to the table. It's just a courtesy and I've learned over the years. People I've taken trash out for celebrities, I've walked their dog and but you're, we're in the service space, right and the minute.
Speaker 1:You think you're more than that in that space I don't, then you become useless. Yeah, but not everyone gets that.
Speaker 2:No, that's a very interesting thing for me to hear because I've got friends who are in high profile places but their security Part of family some are they're very connected and I feel in some cases they wish they didn't have that relationship because their eyes are not on them More than they need to be on other areas.
Speaker 1:It works for some people and I see some people Fighters or big names and it's they have the posse. But you're right, I've talked to celebrities and I've talked to managers that say I wish I didn't have that relationship with them Because it's just another person they got to think about. Yeah, it's a hard thing. I've. I've had clients. I've got a client I've had for 30 years. He comes from the East Coast. Nothing, the conversation has never changed one bit. He knows my name. I've gotten him out of some jams. But he gets in the car and Sometimes he doesn't say anything. Sometimes gets on a phone immediately and maybe an hour later I'll say how's it going, bruce, good, anything happened in LA I should know about. No, not really I. Even if there was a fire I wouldn't tell him. I just I don't really. There's nothing to really share and and that's why I've had this success with people- and this is a company you still have to this day.
Speaker 1:Still have this day have a couple clients I take care of and I'll give an example. One of the clients I take care of currently big. He's getting to be well known, but he's more in the end he's an industry guy. They got rid of the guy I met. He has a counter of what I do, but in New York and the guy from New York came out and spent a couple days. We were here for an event and he was a talker. I Said at the end of the three days I was my say can I just give you some advice? I said I Know you talk a lot, but I said you notice I don't really say anything around the client. Oh no, he really likes me.
Speaker 1:Six months later they call me. Hey, do you have a recommendation for someone in New York? He goes, the guy can't, he just can't stop talking. Yeah, yeah, it's, and it's hard because I have so many different categories. I've been right. I love to talk about nutrition and working out and building brands. Right, because you got to talk, talk, but then I'll go to the bodyguard. I'm like, I'm good. Yeah, I'm as you say to you.
Speaker 2:Is that what defines you? We think your business compared to other everybody else because you've scaled your business tremendously and, as you're still doing it to the day and you've got clients. You said you've been with you for 30 years. Yeah, yeah, that just right there. That business model is that unique to the the security world? Or is that just who you are and the business you built?
Speaker 1:It's who I am and it's also very unique because when I see other people in action or talk to other people, they don't conduct and it's usually a short-lived relationship where they do that because, as much as listen, security is a necessary evil, right, I have celebrities that don't want security. They don't even want to be, notoriously, rather just be in a dark hole, so it's a necessary evil. So I figure I'm gonna, I'm gonna have the least pain. I'm gonna bring into your life. I'm gonna be out of sight, out of mind. If you, if the assistant needs me, they call me or text me, I don't need to talk to you.
Speaker 2:I know you can't kiss and tell, but you're gonna get interesting stories of anything you've gone through.
Speaker 1:As far as the security, yeah, I don't know. Some good, some interesting characters, but yeah, we've had a couple. I just didn't work with one of the Kardashians early on and I it's interesting out in the real world there's people that really become obsessed with celebrities. I remember a guy got on a bus from Alabama and showed up at one of their houses one-way ticket, wow and they called me, say this guy's out our house, and I went and intervene and talked to him. He's, yeah, I was just I have a calling to be with her, whatever the words were I'm like. So you get those. It's a little scary.
Speaker 2:Yeah, anything crazy about the physically getting involved with.
Speaker 1:The good news is, even when I've taken people publicly and we've done some cool stuff Disneyland and the rides usually in and out Backstages and backdoors and the IPS courts and avoid much contact unless you're at a premiere or something. Sometimes that premieres because obviously they want to engage with the client, with the fans Signing autographs, you still have to be careful. It's I want. That's where you got to walk the fine line because you're like your hands in between them and the client, them in the fan, but then they're like no, it's okay, we want to sign, so okay. So I've had a couple of incidents where people are putting the pen out and we got to really be conscious of that because they're they're so excited to see a client or a fan.
Speaker 2:So Disneyland must be tough Navigate in that park, especially with the high-profile clients.
Speaker 1:Disneyland stuff, disney World. They used to fly me to Disney World in Florida and Mariah Carey used to like to ride the Tower of Terror. That one, you go up and drops.
Speaker 1:It is a funny story. We do it and of course I have to go on the ride because I, when I can't wait, there's nowhere to wait, and I remember she did it and they take a photo, and they get the photo and her girlfriend say look at the photo and go, bruce, your fucking hands aren't up when you go down. She goes put your hands up next time. I'm sitting there all stoic, yeah, she's. Goes, put your fucking hands up if you're going to ride with me.
Speaker 2:Oh my god, is she a diva.
Speaker 1:There's different levels of diva.
Speaker 1:I think when I worked, where she was very respectful, we had a great rapport and I did what I needed to do, but I think a lot of yeah, some people become real divas. I remember, because she actually paid me a tremendous compliment. I knew all her idiosyncrasies, all her needs, handy wipes, and she said to me one time because she had her manager was not around often. She said you're really attentive to detail, that's it. Once again goes back to that servant mentality. And she said you ought to think about starting a management company or something, because you're always like everything. I've always like I. She would just turn, I'd have there you go. Where she had a bottled water, she, like from France or something, always made sure everything she needed, so more so, almost as a concierge, in addition to security, you know.
Speaker 2:So and did you. What start your management.
Speaker 1:No, it's one of the things I probably should have. Yeah, never too late, never too late.
Speaker 2:We got a lot of feathers left to put in the hot we're talking about the feather in the hat that brought us together. Quest nutrition Tell us that story.
Speaker 1:I'm totally serendipitously. I'm working out at the gym and Shannon Pena she goes by quest creator, hence quest creator she's a. You see the same faces Jim make small talk Her and her husband, ron, worked out there. Ron was one of those guys that have the headsets on. Be more annoyed if he's a. You say how you doing. You can be like Huh, that asshole.
Speaker 2:That you know probably not. You know neither, it's probably not. You know those guys. Yeah, you can't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, he's too serious, but I'd make small talk with her and we became friendly and One day she said I got, I want to give you something. I got a couple protein bars. We just started this company. We're making them out of a commissary. Two flavors vanilla, almond crunch and peanut. Brother time gave me these bars. I Saw her like a week later and said those bars are pretty, pretty good. You've had protein bars over the years. They weren't chalky, they were taste, texture and I was good. I said wow, they're really good. I said I and there was something that likable about them. I said, hey, I'm doing this event next week at Riviera Country Club. It's a celebrity golf tournament and my friend is doing the publicity and I'm doing the security. If you got I. Just I don't know why I even thought about it. I said the bars are good if you have some bar. So they were so small. Then they were making them by hand in this commissary. She delivered like four boxes or five boxes to my house, just boxes. No, I took them to the golf tournament and my friend Cheryl was doing the publicity and I said, hey, I got these bars and Keep mine.
Speaker 1:I didn't know the word content met. You know what I mean. No, that was a word in my vocabulary. She said I'll get some. And social media was not existent. Facebook just started and it was just started. Businesses were using it, so everything was on blogs and stuff. Remember, get big dot com and all these different things, yeah, so that was all that was out there. She saw oh yeah, let me get some. She got Mario Lopez to try it on camera. Wow, couple you in one of youtubers or just people video. I don't remember what their titles were then content creators, but it wasn't that. And I I got some pictures. I had a blackberry at the time, wasn't even iPhone, and I remember I showed Shannon and I think we just Shannon and she's wow, how do you know these people?
Speaker 1:Holy cow, you got our product and some celebrities hands looking, mario Lopez, yeah, freaking out the time I did the security for Mario on his show instead of extra, because he did it at a public, at a shopping center, so we had security there. So I was there almost every day and then I brought it to the set of extra and Mario actually was giving out on it crazy. He used to give stuff out on camera like he bottled water stuff and oh hey, my friends from someone and he said here my friend Bruce brought some quest bars and he's giving them out on camera and I would keep going back to them.
Speaker 1:So we had this rapport going on. I'm doing my bodyguard business. I'm doing quite well. I got an office on the west side of LA. I got an assistant. I'm doing okay. Financially, I'm doing pretty well, and they invited me to your office the first time and I pull up. It's literally on the border of Compton, in the city of Paramount in the hood, this little industrial park, strip mall, the strip center. There's no signage. I'm like looking for the address and it and I'm like there's no way that they can't be here.
Speaker 2:This is isn't a ghetto.
Speaker 1:I Go inside their office this is not bullshit, it's probably to each office, maybe a 10 by 15, and they have these little mini IKEA desk like you would get for your kid, like a mini desk, and that's what they're sitting in and there's six of them in each office and I'm like holy shit, they're not gonna be business in six months. I said hi and I left and I kept going back and there was something about it. There was something about them, the brand, the product, they passion they had. And After nine months I'm just helping them do stuff like build relationships. I spent my day on the west side and then I would go see them and they give me some product and I say I have another event, I have another event and they're just like holy shit.
Speaker 1:So, ron Shannon's husband, they invite me at the last minute. They're going to the magic show in Las Vegas, the bigger peril show. They want to go with us. We're all flying, we fly there. We don't even spend a half a day. They're okay. Good, we got because we started a small apparel company back then and I I remember the weather got really shitty and flight, we get canceled. So, ron's, I'm gonna rent a car. Who wants to go back with me? I said I'll go.
Speaker 1:And it was just him and I and another guy, and the other guy had drunk all drank all night tonight before, so he passed out in the car. So we're learning, just him and I. We drive for four hours. You know the drive, I don't know him that well, he doesn't know me, and for four hours we just talk non-stop. As we pull into Los Angeles he said Los Angeles says hey, listen, we've been stealing from you. You are doing a lot of shit for us and we've done nothing for you. I said, oh, you give me product. Because now that, come on, stop Like we're stealing from you.
Speaker 1:Either work for the competitor or you're just a good human being. I'm gonna bet you're a good human being and starting Friday we're gonna put you on the payroll. No, I'm good, like, I have my own business. We're putting on the payroll. You could donate a charity. I'll keep it on perspective. Let's say it was a stipend, but it was probably your average American salary. It wasn't changing my life, but it was nicer than to do right. And what happened when I got paid? Something kicked in. It goes back to it's a work ethic thing might. I don't say I've never had a conversation with my dad, but how I saw him conduct himself I was like shit, I'm getting paid. Fuck, I better start doing something now. I was already doing it.
Speaker 2:It's gonna say, not that you weren't before, but now I'm like, oh shit, I don't know anything about marketing.
Speaker 1:I'm a self. I'm as I taught myself Marketing. I'm a self. I'm as I taught every. I like to just figure it out. I Quickly was like okay, now, what can I do? Oh shit, where, everywhere I go, I need to talk about quest. I need to get product people's hands, and that started the journey. I'm an in-person marketer. I'm not really behind this on the computer to my ROI and KPI and all that bullshit, which is great.
Speaker 1:Someone's got to do it right. I was all about touching, getting people At the Olympia. Every person I handed a bar to. Every time I went to the gym my backpack was full. I would go to gold's gym on a Saturday and it usually was a five-hour day. I worked out, but then I'd see someone oh, there's flex, there's someone a.
Speaker 1:I know you're a contest prepper, I know you're not pay, just check these out. And I didn't matter, girl, guy, I didn't matter who they were, I'd give you a couple bars. Hey, give this here, significant other. I did that seven days a week On average. I would travel 40 to 42 weekends a year. There's only 52 weeks in a year, right? I would leave the office on a Thursday, usually because there was a bodybuilding show. You name a bodybuilding show. I did it from Steve Weinbergs to Florida to here.
Speaker 1:And one thing, and I'm gonna unwind this a little bit the bodybuilding community for quest was art. That was our family. We started with muscle contest. John Lindsay in LA Crummy little booth. No one was interested in taking our bars like there. We got another protein bar coming. We had that, we had that. Please try it, please try it, please try it.
Speaker 1:I Tell brands this, and this is a good learning lesson for business Don't ever leave your core where you started. Don't forget who they are. A lot of brands like oh, we're big time now, now we're going here. Yeah, we've all the entire journey of quest. We never left muscle contest. We do other events bodybuilding shows here, j colors here, random shows, but muscle contest, even though they were saturated. Everyone knew us. Every show they got to point where we we were up on stage giving them out, but we were loyal to the people. By the way, they helped us right and specifically for a drink or a beverage and trying to get in a healthier space. Those bodybuilders I didn't know this at the time, right, but a lot of these bodybuilders and fitness people have their coaches, their nutritionists, their advisors and they have their 20, 30, 50, a hundred clients. So what do you think happened?
Speaker 1:Of course had the diet cook, that fad, the diet coach and all these other guys and Mark Bell are saying, oh, by the way, mr Client, add this to your snack, yeah, as a healthy alternative. So that kind of grew and it just really became a passion play for me. I remember early on and I, by the way, so I kept going the office and they pay me, I'm gonna go back to. So they start paying me part-time, yeah, and I said, fucking, I really approve myself. So every day I left my office in a West Side beautiful office, secretary, big screen TVs, get them back into the hood, the old days getting calls from CEOs of music companies and I go to the ghetto.
Speaker 1:But there was something about they were so passionate about it. They're making these bars in the same building, the machines breaking down. But people started writing us Saying, hey, I lost 30 pounds over the last few months. I got celiac disease, I've got diabetes. I don't take my medication anymore, and you're and all of a sudden it became like wow, all over a nutrition bar. Different meaning, huh, different meaning. And I'll be honest with you and I wish this on everyone. It became my why in life.
Speaker 2:I was gonna ask that what was your wife?
Speaker 1:That was my why now don't run the body. Garbage is very rewarding and satisfying, but it was. It was a service up service sickly grind. You're only as good as your last gig, right, and people have a tendency to find more complaints than good sometimes in that space, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but the questing.
Speaker 1:People just started enjoying the product and we'll write cool things. And there was a woman Joy Ramita, I think that's a pronoun that she would write us and say, hey, she'd call us out, she kept us in check. She say, hey, I I got some bars and they were a little light on weight. She would measure and weigh the bars this one were first starting. So everything's not to assign straight the formats, the molds, and she kept us in compliance. Come on, no, I swear to God, and for months.
Speaker 1:So here's a crazy thing. We started this. We started this award named after her. Crazy enough, we stopped hearing from her after a period of time is less than a year. She ain't passing away. She got some kind of old, surpassed away. We didn't know this, but her family reached out to us. But we named this joy Ramita award to like we had fans of the year and we fly him out, but it all because of she held us accountable to a standard, the weight and measurements of the bar. But you call us out, hey, that bar, I think your flavors a little off and we're holy shit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, but it really became my why? Because I felt like we're moving the needle, were changing the world and people are really paying attention.
Speaker 2:And there was.
Speaker 1:No, it was, we were still small.
Speaker 2:I love the fact that you bought into the relationship yes, you like the bars, but you bought into the organic Semidip in us it's my words out Relationship that you had with somebody that you met on cardio and just having a general conversation, and then you bought into To the story and then everything just unfolded because you were putting in so much of your own personal time To help this brand.
Speaker 1:All-time and energy. And I promise you this when I, looking back there, I didn't think in my brain oh, they're gonna be huge one day. There was like I thought.
Speaker 2:The bars are good. Were you doing it to try and help them Not go out of business?
Speaker 1:I'm not you know what. Honestly, I just like them and I like their energy and their drive and I can't really put my finger on why it would just it felt good. Does that make it?
Speaker 1:Of course it felt good helping them and I tell you this when I say I traveled 42 weekends a year, I really had no job description. They just they. I was a there's a word I use I was an Intrapreneur in an entrepreneurs world like. In other words, I was an employee, I got a paycheck, right, but I did whatever I wanted. They said one guys in charge R&D, one guys in charge of finance ones in charge of sales.
Speaker 1:What do you want to do? How do you fit in? So I built out the ambassador program, the events department, and I started Building these relationships of partners because the sales team was very interesting at the time. Believe it or not, it became. The product became so magnetic and the numbers kept going so fast. The sales guys literally no disrespect to them, but they were order takers. They didn't do outbound calls, people just calls, had anymore product. And then here I am GNC and vitamin shop and bodybuildingcom would write and say, hey, we're doing this expo, we're doing a golf tournament, vitamix shop. Hey, we're doing this charity bike ride. I'm like, yeah, I'll be there. I didn't care when and where they. I did a bike ride. I don't like riding bikes and I did this like 30 mile bike ride with the CEO. I'm playing golf with GNC. I'm a horrible golfer but I figured you know what I need to be out there and participate and no one else on team wanted to do it.
Speaker 2:Well, network in a relationship that working Europa, europa expose.
Speaker 1:I did those for five years in a row and no one from our company ever showed up and I guess I feel the void. They didn't want to, which is okay. They were more introverts, mm-hmm, and I just loved it. Like I got my high was going to these events and seeing a look on people's faces when they come To the booth and it was just. It was so satisfying it's almost hard to describe. Sometimes I, sometimes I hope everyone in life can get that like high.
Speaker 2:Do you remember a moment where you thought yourself Wow, oh Shit, this bronze blown up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I have a picture. I should have sent it to you. It was at the Olympia and we sat at the booth. In the booth I think I'm not bullshit was 50 feet long, 25 or 30 feet wide and we had one of those big circular signs overhead and you could see and I took this picture the booth was packed with four deep waiting for product. And then I was like, wow, I think we might, I think we might be honest something here, and then the next year, sorry, we did the Arnold Expo and, crazy enough, sorry about that.
Speaker 1:Everyone's heard of Franco Colombo, of course. He was our chiropractor. He had a practice in Westwood and so the one of the partners went to him and he said you need to go see Franco. He's really this guy. I went to him and I'm like this weird, franco Colombo was my, I'm an Arnold.
Speaker 1:Were my guys like, yeah, I had posters and of course, and so Franco's adjusts me and and I said, hey, we're doing this Arnold Expo. And I just had this idea. I said you want to come up and hang out with these? Yeah for sure. Like he came up to our booth and we had like eight by ten photos made and then I realized his work we're on make. People are coming to our booth to see our talent. People are coming to track us down because they heard about our bars. And well, we all at that, we only have bars. We got to, I think, 14 flavors. Shannon created the first 14 flavors in the kitchen, but it became such a movement and then and here's the only, I don't regret it, but I learned a valuable lesson I would stay at the booth From 7 am Until the door shut and they were kicking us out, I finally started to figure, okay, the team can manage this, they're good.
Speaker 1:Text me if Flex Lewis is showing up, text me if Jake, text me if anyone of importance comes by. And I started making the rounds and I started connecting with people. Then I was like, wow, and I'll be honest, it was strictly the relationship, because we were not Quest was never a sponsor per se, we were a vendor, right, we had a booth. We never, like got big brands at the time would pay for the big name and the kiosk. We never did that. But because I got to know the manions and the Steve Weinbergs and all the people, they said do you want to give a trophy out? Sure, the only funny story I'm at the Arnold, which we had such a great report at the Arnold, is every you want to. You want to give out trophy? Oh yeah, I brought a suit, man, I'm all suited up. I'm like, yeah, man, I made it. I've been on stage when you won and the first award I give out, I didn't care, I'm just like I give it out for the strong man.
Speaker 2:So I go. I got Brian Shaw, of course, I look like a child. But who does next to Brian Shaw? Let's be honest.
Speaker 1:So I get off stage I say hey, chance to bikini or figure pros, they love me, because then after that only women. But I realized we had building, by the way, building those relationships. We weren't a title sponsor, but because we built relationships and I would go to the promoter, always put product on the judges table, always had a backstage and I don't know if they just were gracious because of the relationship. I don't think anyone ever say, hey, wait a second, you haven't paid to be here. But I just I do practice something else in life. I always ask for forgiveness before permission and I've done some shit where I'm sure maybe title sponsor wait, how the hell is Bruce got product backstage? How's he got it in the athletes bags or how's he in the press conference getting product out? But it's because of relationships I built and they were authentic.
Speaker 2:How are you able to stay so humble and driven, bruce, because you've achieved a lot and I know we're not even going to pack all this into one episode.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know. Listen, I'm a servant leader. I really do enjoy serving people and do good things for the world and I love building brands. I wouldn't say I'm the smartest guy, for sure, but I like. I think part of building a brand is building relationships. That's really the key. And even at Quest, I hired three different PR firms, hired an outside marketing agency. I would ultimately bring them in and everyone would vote on it. But those are all just because I was passionate about what I did, I just liked it, yeah, and the whole thing with pride and ownership really resonated because I never uttered those words, but every single person thought I was the founder of Quest, even me.
Speaker 1:Huh.
Speaker 2:You acted as, and to me you are.
Speaker 1:It's crazy, because I've been with the founder, ron, and I it's kind of we laugh about it because he was with me one time at a big expo and someone of notoriety comes up hey man, thanks, thanks for those bars. I saw this, ron, and I think the guy uttered these words he goes, what's he do for you? I said Actually, he's the founder and Ron, because Ron's really one of the coolest guys when it comes to that he goes. No, he goes. I do whatever Bruce says. He didn't, he wasn't one of those guys. Oh yeah, I'm the owner. You know, some of these guys got an ego. He was never like that.
Speaker 2:He's never been like that.
Speaker 1:Wow, you really embraced the fact. Hey, listen, you really have earned this, like you, you're out there. We're not out there.
Speaker 2:I think it's everything's your the owner anyway.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I did for the longest time, yeah, yeah. But again, it didn't change my mindset when I heard the story, because you know what you've done and scaled and created for quest. You are the owner of my eyes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's how I look. I was just pride and ownership and I think going backwards I'm not because who knows, I've talked to this on podcast, I've talked to it when I speak is everyone has an opportunity to be an entrepreneur or have that kind of opportunity. I'm not saying it's always going to work out right, but I there was no promise of anything, I just worked hard and there was no promise of equity. It wasn't really until towards the end that a private firm came in and they said hey, by the way, how do we and that's where it was all sweat equity, as my dad would say right, so I got equity, but there was no promise of that. So it wasn't like I had this idea of oh, these guys are going to be rich and I'm going to be rich with them. It wasn't like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sweat equity is probably one of the most underrated opportunity for many of the listeners. Obviously, you can see it, see something in a company or in a product. I've done it myself and I've got two ends where I put time into one company, didn't end up working out and then I put sweat equity into another and it's no multi-dollar, multi-million dollar business. But that story about you seeing quest from its infancy stage in that smart little building to know being the biggest brand is beyond. This is probably, would you say, the biggest bar brand in the world.
Speaker 1:I think it became the biggest bar brand. Yeah, we sold to Atkins and they were comparable atkins. Of course, but they have bars and groceries. Now they're gosh. They're doing like 1.7 billion a year or some crazy number. Yeah, but it all started with no, I didn't even think they had a dream of it was going to be that big.
Speaker 1:Honestly, if you online the story far enough, ron Shannon was making these bars by hand, right, and she was bringing them. She used to boot camps with the ladies at the park her friends work out and she would bring them as like a snack and I think they bought them. Ron took those bars to work and at the time they owned a software company. Okay, so imagine tech guys who were just eating Doritos and drinking Red Bull, right, that's their diet. He had them try it and they were like, can we get some more of those? And he had a light bulb moment Wow, these tech guys like this, we might be onto something. He went and this one, they had a software company and he went to Mike who has been partner for years. They were partners and they had a subway together, went, failed. They had a bunch of business that failed and he saw I got this idea for this protein bar company, said I'm not interested, we're in the software business. Let's just shut this down right now.
Speaker 2:We're in the Netherlands, not the Netherlands.
Speaker 1:By this, by behind the scenes. He set up a website and created some phantom orders, if you will, and people were ordering and you can't cancel them. And he quit and they really want. He convinced them basically, hey, let's just try it, we'll make the bars in the commissary at night At that time they're probably the most expensive protein bars in the world. He's exactly rolling them out, making them, sealing them, and they sold them on a website and sold out and said wait, we sold out, let's try it again. And then did it again. They were only wanting to be a marketing company.
Speaker 1:I remind people this they took the dough, if you will, the matrix, and they brought it to manufacturers. No one could manufacture it because the machinery they'd say oh, you just need to add honey or agave or liquid glycerin to make it more like doughy. And the whole purpose was we didn't want to add sugar, like shit. We needed a juice piece of equipment which didn't work. They had to Jerry rig it Finally started to manufacture it. So we ended up getting in the manufacturing business by default because no one could make it. Now everyone can make a quest bar. Now they've figured out other companies make them and call manufacturing, but at that time no one can make them, so we ended up by default getting forced into the manufacturing business.
Speaker 2:Tom, where does Tom Batbillie fall into this?
Speaker 1:So Tom at the time at the software company was a copywriter and employee. He stayed behind to run the software and quest started. They asked Tom to go over and start running quests. He lucked out too. He ended up getting equity, became the president. He was a co-founder but he left three years before we sold. He exited the company. He has white exited and then he started his show Impact Theory. Yeah, he does. Well, that's blown up. Yeah, blown up. And just well with speaking and stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Because a lot of people just think he's the most public because.
Speaker 1:But yet Ron's really the. He's got a book I'm helping him with. That's going to really lay out the whole story. And Shannon God bless her. She's amazing but she's quite content working at home in her kitchen and still makes recipes but does not really look in front of notoriety.
Speaker 2:She's got all MZRs in the bank account?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and goes but still has the title of quest creator. So, yeah, it's an interesting story, and then I could tell you what you know, after we did, after we sold, whenever you want to talk about that I'd love to roll that right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, first of all, how much of the company sold for?
Speaker 1:So it was one point. It was a billion dollars cash, no other. What for Wow. An interesting fact, and I actually heard it. I think Alex Hermosi might have said this, but I verified it there's only been $1,200 billion companies in the world, right? I don't know. That sounds like. I don't know if that's a lot or not.
Speaker 2:Sounds a lot.
Speaker 1:Sounds like a lot right. Interesting thing which will roll into the next part after we sold quest, Ron started a company called legendary foods Healthy pop tarts. If you grew up in the States, everyone's had a Kellogg's pop tart. Imagine a pop tart with 20 grams protein and we have sweet rolls and we just finished it with the chips. But we're on track. In probably 36 to 48 months will be evaluated a billion dollars.
Speaker 2:With a new company. New company Same DNA as what you've done with the quest.
Speaker 1:Yeah, except Ron's the only person involved. Now, ron, everyone else has gone their separate ways. Better macros now Can we figure it out? We always say tongue in cheek we learn from all our mistakes at quest how to only build a shitty billion dollar company and, by the way, so that's called a unicorn. If you check, there's only been less than I can only find less than 10 people that have made a second billion dollar company in the history. Elon Musk has a couple the guy that owns Louis Vuitton. They're like a conglomerate.
Speaker 1:He's one of the richest kind of world, but there's only been a handful of people that have made more than one billion dollar brand.
Speaker 2:I'd like to find out how many businesses have sold for a billion dollar cash that's. That could get slow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's. Yeah, you're talking small numbers. It was interesting. I know very little. We've learned quite a bit now about finance just from being in that circle. But even when we went to market to sell right, that circle gets really small. So you're talking over a billion dollars, it's not? Oh, yeah, there's a whole list of buyers. Yeah, it becomes very narrow, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Who pushes it again? You said I can't.
Speaker 1:Atkins, which was known Dr Atkins. He's passed on, but he had the diet plan. And then they. But they have a lot of products that are in grocery stores Like they bars I can't remember what they're like chocolates, and candies.
Speaker 2:but yeah, Sorry, we were talking the next chapter of this podcast after the billion dollar sale.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that we. So Ron had this, I about let's. So we had this idea. A year before we sold. He knew he wanted to do something else. So we started and he went to the investors and say I want to start this other company. We started out with just seasoned nuts and nut butters and I like, yeah, no big deal because they, because you didn't want to have a conflict, we're still involved a quest, and we did that. We did that for the first two years and then, once he sold, we started the pastries and the crazy thing is we had a non-compete but it wasn't enough to not shut him out of the food space. So now it's completely done that, the non-compete. So now we're working on some cool things that are like we launched chips two weeks ago, protein chips. We have some. He used to say this at quest you go to a Super Bowl party and there's that table with all the Doritos and Oreos and all that cool shit we want to eat and there's a quest table.
Speaker 1:We're going to emulate the same thing at legendary except very cool snacks that you walk into a 7-Eleven. You see all this shit you want to try and eat. We'll be able to do that.
Speaker 2:Are you an owner of this company as well?
Speaker 1:Bruce, I'm part of it, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Listen. You don't you know. Break what you know. No point there. What's the saying?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Don't break what's don't need to fix what's not broken. Yeah, I think it sounds like that anyway. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Titles are not important to me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, evidently.
Speaker 1:I'm just, I'm a bottle washer. I don't know, because it's really weird at quests Like I, just, I was just the guy. Yeah, I had a fantable title like chief communications officer, which is cool for like a resume or for LinkedIn, but yeah, business card. But at the end of the day, like I, I have great pride in doing everything and I wish more people looked at life like that.
Speaker 1:I started doing this coaching. We just talked about a little more. I've talked to just friends of mine or CEOs and like, tell me more about. I had a great opportunity when quests sold. I got some calls from people and I got a call from a guy that's pretty well known in the space a little kooky, right. But I want you to come do for me what you did at quest, and do you know what I did? He goes. I don't know. I saw you out about your jeeps wrapped and you're always I go. But I said, but.
Speaker 1:So I did a little homework on this guy and I reluctantly called him back and said hey, listen, I really like the offer, but I'm looking for a good fit. What do you mean? I'm not a good fucking fit. And he kind of his team, like I talked to people at work for him and say, hey, yeah, you really don't want to work here. I'm like what are you talking about? Yeah, yeah, like he can wake up on Sunday morning and just fire you because you looked at him wrong. But my point is this I always tell people CEOs a lot of these guys at star companies think you have it going on because you have, because you're owner right, but they're oblivious how they treat people and preach, preach.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I've had people I've talked to that they say they're approachable and they have an open door policy, but you got to get past the executive assistant and so we, I see that and when I try and tell people, hey, just because you put a ping pong table in the rec room, it does not make a culture. You want and it's one thing you want to feel good. I've had some pretty cool experiences and I've only been a few times where I've walked into a business and you feel like good about it. Like you visit and you're like, wow, this school, like first, yeah, first forms that way. In St Louis, the culture of those guys built Reebok was that way, a couple different brands. You go in and you're like, wow, these are like cool people. Pedro's cool in Pedro's obviously Like you go to his headquarters and they have my names on the fucking TV, they do all the little touches, they have a gift bag for you. When I walked through his building particularly, everyone knew my name and I'm like this is a little funny. What's going on here?
Speaker 2:What do you think separates businesses like that? If you give me more details, because we've got a lot of people that follow this podcast, all the way from bodybuilders to CEOs and other guests we've had on your bedroast, being one of them.
Speaker 2:But I know culture in this gym is massive. We've got rid of people because they just don't bring that dynamic. We've also got rid of some celebrities that are detriment to being in the gym. Training Culture is everything you think that word transcends through all the companies you mentioned and all the people you mentioned already, or is?
Speaker 1:it something else and culture is very it's crazy People try and define it. Culture is a feeling to me, like I said, you could put a ping-pong ball in the break room and you can, whatever you believe. It's the feeling you get, like I came here and the one kid when I came here there was a guest. He goes yeah, what's your name, bruce? Right, and I'm, yeah, he goes. I follow you on social media. He made me feel good.
Speaker 1:When I go to my gym every morning, everyone I'm a regular now right, but hey, good morning Bruce. I feel good because they say my name and they know me. I don't expect it when I stay at the Four Seasons. I learned this because when I was in the bodyguard business, four Seasons is one of our clients. We'd spent a lot of time there and I always thought I was like, how do they know this? And I finally went to a three-day training with the Four Seasons.
Speaker 1:I would leave my room and I'd be halfway down the hallway and the housekeeper would say good morning, mr Cardenas. And I asked the general manager and said do you have any hours? They have to look at lists and know that you're in room one, two, three and your name, and the same thing that transcends in the gym when the person in the front desk knows your name and says, hey, is there anything you can do, or can I help you? Or first form. When I got my first order from first form, I helped them. I was like an ambassador, if you will.
Speaker 1:They sent me a package. The kid that wrote the note must have looked at my Instagram because he said hey, man, congratulations, I saw you. And he made it referenced to a couple of things I've done and I'm thinking wow, beidro says company is the same way. They are trained or conditioned, and I think it's also once a pride and ownership. Right, they represent a brand, they want you to be acknowledged and feel good as a customer, and I had the good fortune. There was Tony Shea who started Zappos, who's passed away, but he wrote a book called Delivering Happiness. There are headquarters out here actually delivered.
Speaker 1:I had been here before he passed away and I think he said it to me. But I also read in his book people want to do business with people they like, and here's the crazy thing about that. You can even have a less than perfect product or service, like maybe your subpar right, maybe your protein bar is third down, but because they like you, they'll buy your stuff. I'll come to your gym because I like that guy. Maybe the equipment's old and rusty what am I saying? But I want to go there because I like the owner, I like the team, I like how they treat me. That says a lot about the service and the experience. I always tell CEOs coaches, go the extra mile. If you're a fitness coach, you better be doing more than the next guy. That's a whole other conversation. But treat them like it's your last customer.
Speaker 2:What words of advice would you give for an owner of a business Because I know you're in the coaching which I want to talk about after this but it says a CEO that's sitting on top of his mountain and he's in his office. Would you give him some advice to get into the trenches, start looning people. What would it be?
Speaker 1:Don't ever think you're better than any, from the janitor to the accounting person. I think it's important unless you get scaled to the point where you're just massive. If you have under 100 employees, you should know every person's name in that company and what they do. It's okay, I get you're busy at an executive level, but there's nothing wrong once a week walking around sitting in a cubicle with someone saying hey I just want to catch up.
Speaker 1:How's things going on in social media? What's going on? Anything I can do to help People love that. How many people starve for attention in business Because they think I go to my cubicle or go to my desk not really acknowledged by anyone, I don't know. I guess a lot of people think, hey, your thank you is your paycheck on Friday, right, but is that really Because I really want you to go the extra mile for me? And I think it's not hard to engage. It's a struggle for some people because you get to that level and you're like I don't have time for that, but you really do.
Speaker 1:One of the guys a company I was involved with like he said I have an open door policy but you couldn't get passers-assistant and I told him one day I go, dude, you're open, you could see you because your door is open, but your assistant is like out here saying what do you need? What do you got? You got an appointment. No, I just want to say hi, no, come on. So it's all how. It's all. Perception too right, treat people how you want to be treated. Yeah, it's not hard, it's really not hard, it's a little bit effort and recognizing it first right.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So one thing I know I've been around multiple different people high level executives, ceos for company, all the way down to the janitor right. It's really being conscious and present. When you're talking to somebody too, it's not like somebody's trying to make a conversation on your phone, it's just trying to get to know that person and the ethos I really know through the bodybuilding world. That taught me so much. Obviously, I've got been very blessed to have big, long lines but just being present when somebody's trying to tell you a story how they met you or how you inspired them, or but also then flipping it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:To make them the most important person, not curing it all about yourself, and that's one thing I got to say about you, bruce. You do a tremendous job of always being present, asking questions, and even to something you sent to Jimmy the other day. You wrote me a hundred note and you give me the chips that you've just been working on and it arrived, and myself, my wife, was like who's it? Oh, bruce.
Speaker 2:I opened up the box and I read this really nice note and of course the chips are gone, which I sent you a photo of my wife. They're fantastic. You're on to a winner there, by the way but again, it's all about the small little details, whether it's a note, whether it's a conversation, whether it's a text making somebody feel important or thought of.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's tough even more in your position because it's funny, I've played both roles.
Speaker 1:So I watched, like you and Jay Cutler and Dan and Lynn Bailey are there till the lights go down and I always wonder myself, god, because some of these fans could go deep and all of a sudden you're like six minutes in and I used to experience that with, like with celebrity Mariah Carey, we do it, we do a CD signing, right, and you'd have a thousand people and I think in my brain, okay, we got to be out in three hours and I was more of that guy like, okay next, and I would brief them on the line, which it's funny because you're in the customer service space, right, you want people to come back and say I want to buy Flex Lewis, I want to support him, but you got to walk that fine line because sometimes you're six minutes into a conversation and you have to be, so, yeah, it's amazing how you're able to pull it off. It's the cost of doing business too. You're in this position, you have followers and it never really is going to. That's a route you got to take.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. It served me well Just having my upbringing. That's now being brought into my day to day too. But endeavors that you're working on right now, exciting things that you want to tell the world about. Obviously, you mentioned legend.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And we can go into more than that if you want. But I know you've mentioned coaching also. Whatever you want to talk about, Bruce, I'm very excited because this part I do not know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, legendaries is just starting. Like I said, we hope and the stars are lining up that things are doing really well with the product line, so I'm excited to be part of that. I'm part of a company called BLK Water.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, that's part of that, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm on their board and I helped them with relationships and yeah we've had a couple of cases.
Speaker 2:I'm at the gym yeah. And you're coaching too, right. What's that? Are you getting into the coaching world?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so yeah, I have a website set up. It's BruceCardenascom. I've been fortunate enough. I developed a good relationship with Beidros and he's offered me. I spent a half day with him coaching and he's really taught me a lot. There's some key people I've run, like Dan Fleischman, people in action and actually I'm a big giver. I, like Dan's, got me involved with his charities, treating his kids, and I have my own. But I feel like if you're in a position to give back, why not? You're a gym obviously participating as a toy drive he did recently, so I was part of that. I'm fortunate to meet a lot of cool people being at these events and that's helped me with the coaching and you know, speaking, I'm doing a lot of podcasts. I'm actually working on a book that'll be done this year because I think you need something more tangible, right, I was a bonus.
Speaker 2:You better write a bloody book.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it's crazy, beidros. I spent a day with Beidros one time, not a day. We met him at the office and we worked out and we grab lunch and we're heading back to his office and he said you know, bruce, he goes. Everyone, every single person on earth, has a book in them, right? Because even if just your mom's going to buy it, you got to blow it up he goes. You might have six or seven books, he goes, and the reason is you've done so many things, he goes. You really owe it to the world to share some of that knowledge, whether it's relationships, whether it's building a business, whatever it is. But so, yeah, I'm ironing that out now. I've got a few people I actually might even go with two people write a book here and write a book there. Wow, yeah, the guy that helped Dan write a couple of his books.
Speaker 1:And there's a guy I was fortunate enough to. There's a gentleman named Mark Victor Hansen who was a co-author for a book called Chicken Soup for the Soul, which is a book that's written by a man called Mark Victor Hansen. He's a co-author for the book, which is probably, I think they've sold some staggering millions. It's one of the record-breaking books. We hit it off and became friends. I had dinner with him. He said let me help you write a book, man. He goes, I really can, I think.
Speaker 2:I could do some good shit with you. Oh geez, listen. The podcast is just surface-level stuff of what you can put in the book.
Speaker 1:But I want to, yeah, I want to coach and I want to speak. And I don't know why I want to speak, because it's you know. They say some people would rather die than speak in public. I'm right there sometimes, but I'm getting more and more comfortable and smaller things.
Speaker 2:But yeah, we were talking over how I feel much more at ease with massive crowds than I would with the blinding light in your eyes. You can't see anything. You could just see a vast void. But when it comes to smaller groups, the reason why we're talking about this for the viewers, myself and Bruce finding ourselves in so many different circles but we're always overlapping. Whether I go to an event to speak at, or whether I go and do an event for charity, bruce is there.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's great to see you in so many different worlds with some incredible people. Obviously, you mentioned Bedros, you mentioned Dan Fleischman, and these are people who now have got incredible audiences. They've got their own coaching groups the masterminds and I was just this last weekend, on the week before, in smaller masterminds but none nonetheless in small groups that are full of savages in their own right in the world.
Speaker 2:And I in Shappens, I in and for me speaking. I never thought I was going to get into. Of course, the only time I would speak on a mic is after the guest pause in or after I won.
Speaker 1:And I'd always have an interpreter next to me. What is he saying? Just this podcast, what?
Speaker 2:But it truly put me into a very uncomfortable, as if standing on stage and if I can speed or what, but put me into a very uncomfortable situation and honestly, bruce, I had to recognize it's like why does this intrigue me so much and make me very uncomfortable? Even the podcast sets and wraps. This is helping me become a better speaker by me doing these masterminds, not only speaking, but also being a student of the game too. I've now hired a speaking coach with Renee Rodriguez. Same guys helped Keaton and many different people that we're friends with, but I also just mentioned Keaton. I seen what he done with Keaton.
Speaker 1:And it's been incredible, authentic.
Speaker 2:Yes, but where he started, keaton's always been great on camera. Obviously, diesel brothers, but speaking on a public, as a public speaker, keynote speaker, and you're up there and you have to deliver, and you have all these stories which both you and I do, and then you have to speak about a deliverable story that resonates.
Speaker 2:That was my issue. Now, in just three masterminds, I even feel myself much more confident, and that correlation between public speaking and bodybuilding is so similar. It intrigues me so much. It excites me, it scares me. If you don't prepare, you're going to look like an asshole up on stage.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Same thing as bodybuilding. So that's my draw and it's the closest thing that I can find and feel to me preparing for a bodybuilding show and actually being up on that stage and with you now doing all this who knew chapter of life, and getting onto the podcast space and also now speaking publicly, doing key notes and stuff. It's all about reps and sets and I'm committed, just like I had a coach when I was 19 years old.
Speaker 2:Neil Hill is still with me to this day 20 years later, I've now just invested into a coach and speaking coach. And again, listen, I have this accent. They love it, but they want me to just work on certain things, and even my arms.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:A far less. No, obvious.
Speaker 1:I'm very conscious of those when I listen to people speak.
Speaker 2:It's been worked on and it's a day to day thing. And again, the podcast helps tremendously and reps and sets.
Speaker 1:And what I found. I was at Dr Gabriel Lyons event two weeks ago in Austin. I met some great people, but Ben Newman, who's, I think he's ranked as one of the top five.
Speaker 2:I'm doing his podcast, you are.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what a great dude Really. Oh, yeah, I love him. Like we chatted for a half hour and at the end of that conversation he doesn't know the impact had on me, but I said, yeah, I'm working on speaking. He goes listen, Bruce, you got all these stories. Just go tell your stories. You can even start out saying, hey, listen guys, I'm not a public speaker, I'm just going to tell you some stories. He goes. People sometimes get too serious.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And they try and go down a road, he goes. Listen, I'm ranked as like top five coaches in the country, but I'm just a guy who I like to motivate and help people. I've learned a lot from going to these events and listen to other people speak and realizing that I've talked to guys who've had some great success. In the early days they were like fumbling around yeah it gives me hope too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it gives me hope too. But again, everybody has their story and nobody has yours.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly that's what I've learned.
Speaker 2:And that's that and just me having you on the podcast. And I was telling you know my producer and my videographer before you came on and I said, obviously what you've done with Quest, which is more stunned, stand out for them to understand and recognize. But then I said, just wait until we get into some of the stories, especially with being a cop and small town of 2,500 people to dream in big. And no, being that small town guy to know being the big town person in Hollywood.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the crazy thing is I think I self doubt has kept me from doing these things earlier, because I'm thinking I'm not really qualified when you're going through the process of life. See a minute I'm thinking I look and I'm not discrediting what other people do, but Baydress is good calling them out, I'm not. I can't get my head around. People are saying, hey, I have a coaching business, but I've never. I don't have a business I've ever created.
Speaker 2:About 19 years old yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Or I want, you want, I want to teach you how to buy real estate, but I don't. I live in an apartment with my mom, so that kind of dilutes things. I sometimes feel like there's so many people out there promoting that I don't want. I don't want. I want to be taken seriously, right, yeah. And then I tell people when I talk to people because this whole belonging to masterminds and communities is a fairly newer thing, but I encourage people because I was like how do I meet people? Like people write me all the time. Hey, I see, you're at this event, you're at that event, I'm at the shot show this week. It could get out there. Dan Fleischman puts on his elevator nights. They're free.
Speaker 2:That's how I do my first speaking event. Yeah, at Don's show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and there's no secret to getting out connecting because people like you have all these opportunities. I don't what opportunities I just I look online. There's been times where I've looked on someone's Instagram and say, oh shit, flex is going to be here next week or wherever I got to go. I just show up, yeah, and it's the same thing, for anyone could do that. There's no magic sauce to that.
Speaker 2:What is your? Why you right now? Bruce?
Speaker 1:My why? I think at this period, because I've done these things and I think I'm I have an obligation to share them. Is it monetarily? Sure, I guess you can get paid right, but I think I want to leave some kind of legacy right Building brands, building relationships and maybe teaching people how to do that, maybe preventing them from stepping on the landmines I did. I was bankrupt. I went bankrupt a company at one time because I didn't know what I was doing. So there's a lot of I think there's a lot of learnings that I learned. That I think can help people avoid those.
Speaker 1:A lot of people are people call me all the time hey, I'm starting this drink company, I'm starting this candy company, bar company, cookie company and one thing is a lot of people will put a big investment. They'll say I got this cookie I'm making right. I'll give an example real quick. There was a guy at the LA Fitness Expo a couple years ago. He was his booth. It was right next to ours. He had a cookie and we sold, I think, $40,000 worth of product for two days at the Expo.
Speaker 1:It's a pretty good number he didn't sell anything and afterwards he was bad mouth in the Expo. This Expo is bullshit. And I said, listen. I said really the problem was you didn't weather test your product. You show you. You went, you created packaging, created a website, you got someone to make this cookie for you. But who tested it? Who tried it? I said that question. We started making the bars. We came out to our friends and family and people would give us feedback. And the girls at the boot camp they were buying them. And the tech guys we got feedback before we launched the business.
Speaker 1:You I warned people this if you're going to start a company, don't just put all this money into a website. You go to a cool manufacturer and they say, okay, you need to order at least 50,000 units and they almost bankrupt themselves. And also, you have a warehouse full of product that's perishable and you can't put it in a store. They expect a 12 month shelf life and also, oh shit, no one likes my product. Test it out, Make it in your kitchen, Go to a commissary at night, have someone just run a small batch. But you have to weather test your product. You can't just assume because you start a cookie and look how many celebrities have been involved in nutrition space that have failed over the years. Yeah, Stallone Arnold had his own brand under muscle farm.
Speaker 2:That's true, yeah.
Speaker 1:Mark Wahlberg. So even name notoriety I see, other than now because they're so massive. Is the Logan brothers right? They seem to be having a good run yeah. And the rock, yeah. But other than that, you can't count on your name and celebrity to make it work. It's got. If people still have to, you have to have a product they like and enjoy.
Speaker 2:With, with everything that you've got, that you got going on, and in the past, the present, yeah. What does Bruce like to do for fun?
Speaker 1:I still have bandwidth for me, you and Derek to make a brand.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:If he wants to get serious about business sometime.
Speaker 2:Every day Derek's on the phone saying, bro, we got to do this, we got to do this.
Speaker 1:It's easy.
Speaker 2:Listen. This might be live recording of some business deal and course down right now. Bruce Flex bar.
Speaker 1:Anyway, what do I like to do for fun? Working out, it's just a, it's a routine.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm not into all the cold plunge and urine in your face.
Speaker 2:You know, you're not that fucking entrepreneur If you don't call punch right.
Speaker 1:Cold plunge and red sauna. Shit. The day's gone, but no one thing is. Every I drink a bottle of water on the way to the gym and I have a training partner. We work out at 7am. Yeah, but I like, I honestly I like to travel, ride the Harley, shooting guns. Love, love coming to Vegas, not necessary for gambling, just to. There's shows and events and go to big gyms like yours.
Speaker 2:The reason why I asked that it seems like you just live the life you want to live.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I think that's very. That's a beautiful situation to find yourself in, where you've obviously got your history, but you've designed your day based on okay, if I need to go somewhere, I'll go. There's always a motive for you to go into an event, or whether it's a strategy to network or whatever else, but you're doing it on your terms. And that is where we all want to find ourselves, waking up every day doing something you truly love, and also not being complacent to be like, okay, I've made it, I've sold this and I've done that. It's always looking for the next, you know, always trying to connect people, for people to further themselves to. You've done that with me, you've done that with so many people, and that is a beautiful soulmate, and it's very hard to find somebody who's super successful that also wants to see other people do.
Speaker 1:Incredibly, I really do. I like to give. I give to other people. I have no expectations. I really don't.
Speaker 1:Sometimes I know there's people I've met that hey, if I connect these two people, I need to get a commission if something works out. I've probably not. I've probably had opportunities where I could have made money and I didn't and I just wanted people to do well, if it comes back full circle, great. I remember years ago I connected to these two guys and it'd be like a big, like an $80 million deal. I just hey, you guys should work together. The guy sent me a gift certificate for steak dinner, right. But and my friend, oh, you're an idiot, you should have a contract. And sometimes things come back, sometimes they don't. I truly like to see people happy, even at the shot show. I'm connecting people. I feel life is like about making deposits right. I've always made more deposits than I've withdrawn and what makes it easy is if I ever need a favor someone. It's almost hard for someone to say no to me because I'll be like I don't even have to say it.
Speaker 1:They know what the fuck, the guys have been doing shit for me for 10 years and all he wants you to do is make a phone call for him. So I just tell people give back, just give. If you can connect people, great, it's going to come back.
Speaker 2:I love that about the deposit. It's going to come back.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it doesn't have to be about monetary Sure. Maybe sometimes that works out, sometimes that. But just give, make deposits and it's going to pay you, it'll come back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and again, we mentioned the names, but I'm very blessed to know so many of these people who give.
Speaker 1:Yeah, even over the last year I've been on a group text, Pedro, hey, meet someone so you guys might be able to do something together. I'm like, wow, yeah.
Speaker 2:But you also have earned that right to get there, and I feel myself too. We've gone about this the long route. We've not got any bad name of stories about us. We've served people, we've done the extra mile. We've been there first, last to leave, so now we're obviously in different spaces. People talk about you as they did. Some people have said oh, you need to meet Bruce, and I love listening to the introductions because there's nothing better than hearing what people have to say about my friend or in many different facets, and what they have to say about you because you've worn so many different hats. It could be a story about quest, it could be a story about something new you're doing, but it's always a incredible introduction. And then I'll say I know Bruce.
Speaker 1:I've known him for years. Oh, okay, Okay.
Speaker 2:But yeah, this is testimony to you, Mith.
Speaker 1:And I'm humbled by that, because I'm not saying we're not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I try. I just want to be cool with everybody, right? Even if I don't do business with you, I just get to have great relationships.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Is there anything you want to end the podcast with, any last thoughts or anything you want to talk about before we land the plane?
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:Anything you've got coming up. I know we talked about so much stuff with a book and everything else the book, the coaching just the website I have. What is the website?
Speaker 1:My full name brucecardinascom.
Speaker 2:On Instagram.
Speaker 1:Bruce E Cardinas Instagram. Yeah, no, life is great. I want to continue to do what I do. There's no end. I think I always want to do things to better life for people, and why not?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I think that.
Speaker 1:We have a short window here, right.
Speaker 2:It's true.
Speaker 1:And I think I've had enough times I've regretted not doing things and I figure there's nothing to lose, right? Yeah, but the public speaking is really like, even though it's not a good feeling for me right now. I'm just pushing myself into it. I'm doing it and I show up at these events and, by the way, they're easy, like I'm pretty spontaneous. I have a bag packed and all of a sudden I'm like, oh shit, someone's on Instagram. I might get on a plane, I don't care.
Speaker 2:I don't know how many times this has happened.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Even when we went to Dan Fleischma's party.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I was there. Somebody said to me do you know same thing? Do you know, bruce? I was best dressed except for like Look you fucking had his sheriffs barge on. You had an old revolver yeah, that was a real revolver.
Speaker 1:That was a real one. Yeah, I bought that years ago. It was probably. It was the kind that Wyatt Earp carried back. I'm a historian on the Western days. It was the gun he carried.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you went full, yeah, full. I thought I was good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I want to get some kind of award. Dan said I was the best dressed. He probably told everybody that but. I felt in my mind, I felt good.
Speaker 2:I felt good too, but yeah, dan's a great connector.
Speaker 1:He talked about an example of someone that does stuff just out of the goodness of his heart, too. Got great businesses, but he connects people.
Speaker 2:And he's so humble too. He's so humble and that's one of the reasons why we got involved with his charity too, which saw people who we're talking about as a guy called Dan Fleischma and he has a partnership with Trina's Ties and he's done the world's largest toy driver myself and Bruce, who are involved in different states. I think it was like the end of the put in an extra.
Speaker 1:He's put in a couple extra cities. I went to San Diego in LA. I was at an obligation. I was doing it for trying to come out to yours, but I couldn't get out here.
Speaker 2:I was in wheels, but I was directing traffic with the U-Hauls and everything else from the front, but that's a prime example.
Speaker 1:I had the good fortune I grew up very middle class. I didn't know that we weren't rich or poor, we just. He provided for us right. And I think about when I was a cop in LA. There's kids that don't.
Speaker 2:They're lucky to get a meal yeah and even on Christmas Day they don't exist.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I donated my time and, matter of fact, this Christmas I was at the midnight mission giving out toys till noon, because I feel that, like with Dan's toy drives, right, he's providing toys. We may not think about it, but there's kids that All they're going to get is that one item they're going to get from his toy drive. Their parents can't afford to do anything, so why not? If you're able to help other people, why not? That's part of my mission too.
Speaker 2:Well, as you know, a guest now on my show. We have a gift for you, a gift which I'll give you off as since it's not your, but it's more my appreciation of coming on and again, for me, you have been nothing but an incredible person in so many different lives and obviously me and you have a good relationship and it's going to forge into a much better one. We just got to be on the same fucking wavelength and in the same state, but there's so much that I know that I can learn from you, and that's what I've done now in moving into new chapters is just keeping people who have lived lives multiple lives in your case and learning something that I can put into my heart, into my step every single day, and I'm very driven, I'm very distracted. I need to focus on the big goal and that is what everybody's spoken about. I just want to thank you again. I know you're here this weekend in the short show doing your rounds, no pun intended.
Speaker 1:It was great. I connected with some really cool people that I always wanted to be, so it's fun.
Speaker 2:I connected with you so I'm appreciative of you. Cut out from short show because you're going to be going back after this podcast.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And doing this with us. We're finally in the same place at the same time and as soon as we found out that, let's lock in the show. And I'm very appreciative.
Speaker 1:I'll have to come back and get Derek keeps avoiding me. He flies in when I fly out, but maybe we'll connect.
Speaker 2:I can't speak for Derek, but I certainly haven't been avoiding you, that's for sure. But we are living on the edge of the seat and me, you and Derek will be in the same vicinity at one point in time. I'll tell him. I'll tell him you're busting his balls, or?
Speaker 2:something All right, we'll fit on there, but that's Bruce Cadenas, the man, the legend, the one who's worn so many different hats and lived so many different lives. I hope you guys enjoy this. Make sure you subscribe, follow, comment, let me know who you want on the show next and let me know what your favorite part was in this podcast. Everybody listen on Spotify. Thank you so much for all the love, and there's more soon to come, but until then we are out.
