One-Stop Tire and Accessories Shopping with Richard Balan, President of RTA

Richard Balan is the President of RTA Holdings, a company specializing in aftermarket vehicle outfitting, particularly commercial vehicles and off-road accessories. Notably, Raven Truck Accessories, under Richard’s leadership, has successfully integrated with Trail Tire to create one-stop locations for customers, leveraging Trail Tire’s extensive network and RTA’s accessory expertise. Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Richard has a diverse background, having worked in the communications industry before joining the family business over 20 years ago. 

In this episode…

How do two distinct industries, like tire retail and automotive accessories, combine to create a comprehensive customer experience? What happens when a company expands its horizons by merging complementary services?

According to Richard Balan of RTA Holdings, he integrated his family’s business with Trail Tire to solve the challenges of providing a one-stop shop for customers seeking both tire services and automotive accessories. By recognizing the synergy between Raven Truck Accessories’ expertise in aftermarket vehicle outfitting and Trail Tire’s established tire service network, Richard illustrates how they aimed to fill a market gap. This collaboration streamlines customer experience and enhances service efficiency by combining tire and accessory needs under one roof. 

On this episode of Gain Traction, Mike Edge talks with Richard about integrating tire services and aftermarket accessories — unpacking the detailed journey of merging RTA Holdings with Trail Tire. Richard discusses the importance of understanding market needs and how their collaboration aims to revolutionize customer service in the automotive industry by providing comprehensive solutions. The conversation touches on leadership philosophies and strategies for maintaining long-term staff relationships.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• [02:23] Richard Balan’s journey from Winnipeg to industry leader
• [04:58] The strategic vision behind the Trail Tire and Raven Truck Accessories merger
• [06:05] Why a one-stop shop for accessories is beneficial
• [13:27] Trail Tire’s community-focused business model
• [14:36] How Trail Tire plans to expand its market presence
• [19:07] The selection process for becoming a Trail Tire dealer
• [27:00] Richard recalls humorous tales from his hockey- and bourbon-fueled adventures

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Richard Balan on LinkedIn
• Raven Truck Accessories
• Trail Tire
• Wayne Gretzky Fantasy Camp
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn
• Tread Partners

Quotable Moments:

• “Hearts and minds connected forever; if you earn them, you’ve got loyalty beyond measure.”
• “This too shall pass; sometimes, you need the rain to see the growth.”
• “When customers are on-site, they can get those other things we sell that complement tires.”
• “With the locations that Trail has, our goal will be to ship the products to those locations so the consumer can pick it up.”
• “The great thing about working with the Trail team is they recognize the importance of community and team members.”

Action Steps:

1. Leverage complementary business opportunities: By integrating different services, businesses can provide a one-stop shop for customers.
2. Focus on customer relationship building: Establishing deep connections with customers helps overcome the challenge of customer churn and creates opportunities for sustained growth through trust and relationship-building.
3. Embrace geographical and market-specific needs: Understanding a particular market’s unique needs addresses the opportunity to meet local demands and ensures a competitive edge.
4. Prioritize staff appreciation and support: Creating an environment where staff feel valued and supported leads to high employee retention and better service delivery. 
5. Seek strategic partnerships for growth: Collaborating with complementary businesses effectively addresses the challenge of market expansion and maximizes growth opportunities.

• Gain Traction Podcast
• Mike Edge
• Richard Balan
• RTA Holdings
• Tread Partners

Transcript

00:02
Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast where we feature top tire and auto repair professionals, shop owners, industry executives and thought leaders and share their inspiring stories. Now let’s get started with the show. 

00:19
Hey folks, welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast, the official podcast for tire business. I am Mike Edge, your host and we have a great podcast today. My guest today is Richard Bailyn, President of RTA Holdings. Most recently, RTA has joined the team of Trail Tire with the goal of leveraging the experience of Trail tires locations and RTA’s accessory knowledge to create the one stop location for customers. But before we begin, this episode is brought to you by Tread Partners, our parent company. Tread Partners specializes in PPC marketing and SEO marketing for multi location tire and auto repair shops. Tread Partners works with these clients that have hundreds of locations, down to five locations. As you know, you can spend a lot of time and money trying to master the art and science of PPC digital marketing. 

01:10
Let Tread Partners make you way more efficient and effective. Get started with the review of your PPC structure and strategy. Hire the best contact Tread Partners and let them take a look under the hood today. Don’t waste any more time or money. Contact tread [email protected] hey also I wanted to I just want to let you know a little bit about Gain Traction, what we’ve been doing lately. We love serving the tire dealer industry and the shop owners of North America. We have been traveling some recently and recording podcasts at these events and although it’s not live, the recording is and it’s been a lot of fun at trade dealer shows and things like that. 

01:48
If you want us to show up at your event or you got an event you’d like to recommend to us, let me know by emailing me at Mike at TreadPartners and I’ll let you know more details. All right, so let’s get started with this podcast. Richard Balin, welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast. 

02:04
Awesome. Thanks Mike. What a pleasure, absolute pleasure to meet you and your wife today. 

02:08
Well, and it’s, you know we got to have that preliminary call about a week ago and get knowing that I was going to have you on this podcast. I was excited to learn a little bit about you. But you started a company called Canadian Light Truck Warehouse, is that correct? 

02:24
Yeah, actually our original family company is RTA holdings which started in 1977. We acquired Canadian Light Truck. 

02:33
Gotcha. 

02:33
And so we are in the aftermarket industry. We do vehicle outfitting, commercial vehicles, we do off road, we do jeeps, trucks, SUVs you name it. So we’re in the aftermarket accessory and of course here we are today at a with our friends in the tire business. 

02:50
That’s awesome. So before we get started how you got associated with trail tire, let’s talk about your career a little bit. Or not even just your career, but like where you’re born and raised originally. 

02:59
Yeah, sure. So I’m originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba and grew up in Winnipeg, went to university in Halifax, Nova Scotia. So on the east coast of Canada. After university I moved back to western Canada. I lived in Calgary, I worked in the communications business for a number of years. So high speed Internet, digital cable and eventually found my way to Edmonton, Alberta where join the family business and it’s been 20 years plus later. 

03:31
That’s awesome, man, what a story. So you guys acquire Canadian light truck warehouse and then you somewhere along the way you guys recognized here recently to connect with trail tire. 

03:43
Yeah, yeah. So the. Mike, great question. So we’re pretty fortunate that we’ve got the great team from trail that are in the same city as myself, Edmonton, Alberta and the originations of trail starting in 1972. Our business started in 1977. So basically as a group we saw an opportunity that could, you know, enter the marketplace on a very different level over the years. We’ve sort of dabbled in tires at different times. 

04:14
But where we really see the benefit, Mike, is that we do work for commercial customers and in the past we would take it to a tire store or a tire store, bring the vehicle to us, we do all the outfitting and we saw there’s a real opportunity from a market perspective to fill a need to serve the customer better and ultimately have our staff, you know, having more success over the long term. The other part of it is that we do off road and of course off road, if you’ve ever done it, generally speaking, people don’t leave the stock tires on anything that they do off road. Right. So the jeeps, the trucks, people like to get those bigger wheels and those lift kits and those suspensions and we really specialize in those types of things. 

04:58
What a complimentary business though that you guys recognize how you could grow together. But you are you at. Did you have 10 stores yourself and then two warehouses? 

05:09
That’s right. 

05:10
For the merger. 

05:10
That’s right. So we’ve got 10 stores and we’ve got two warehouses. So we’re bringing, you know, our expertise on the accessory side into the trail tire team. Our long term plan will be to integrate into as many stores as we possibly can. We will look at getting our product into the distribution center. The trail has. They’ve got delivery vehicles right across Western Canada. So that will be a real complementary benefit for our business and our customers. And of course, ensuring that the trail stores are ultimately going to succeed at a high level. 

05:47
Yeah. And I love the whole connection because look, all of these stores probably have people that ask them customers for your types of products. 

05:56
Yeah. 

05:57
And now there’s a one stop source, can be delivered in easily with other product, etc. If it’s going to go through the DC. 

06:05
Yes. 

06:05
Yeah, it’s. It’s an awesome setup, it seems like. 

06:08
Yeah. And you know, the great thing about it is that when customers are actually on site getting something done with their tires, you know, they now have that opportunity, should they choose to actually get a couple of those other things. The other things that we do sell, Mike, which are very complimentary, is we sell things like compressors. 

06:28
Yeah, tell us about that. Tell the audience a little bit about that. 

06:32
So obviously, in my imagination, Mike, when you’re doing tires all day, one of the blind spots you may have is providing a customer with a tire compressor or a tire deflator. And what better thing to be selling a customer who may just, you know, had to drive in with a flat tire or drive in with some low tires to be carrying a portable compressor. And they are going to come back because it’s something which they recognize that you’re there to serve them and help them and make sure that they’re getting on the road safely. 

07:05
Yeah. 

07:05
So. 

07:06
And I mean, what a. And you know, this is my first time in Canada and I’m. You guys have rolled out the red carpet for me. Thank you for the welcome, etc. 

07:14
Yeah. 

07:14
But I can see now the lifestyle that you guys live. You would need a compressor more likely, I mean, because you’re not going to maybe be in an area where you’re going to be able to get support or help or anything like that. 

07:29
Yeah. Our geographical differences between, you know, America is pretty stark. Right. We’ve got a smaller population, so you do travel a little bit more. But obviously for people who do the outdoor living, a compressor is a real great tool to have. Obviously a tire deflator is a great tool to have. And you know, on a personal basis, you know, I use our compressor often. Even if it’s something which is maybe not tire related at the time. 

08:00
Yeah. 

08:00
It could be something just at the lake needing to be done. Right. 

08:04
So now you can always find A purpose for that, even if it’s something entertaining. 100 inner tube like your probably alluding to 100%. 

08:10
Yeah. Or my bike. 

08:13
You know, one of the questions I want to ask you, and I always like to ask a lot of guests this, but is there a mantra, a quote, something that you live by? 

08:22
Yeah, yeah. Thanks for asking. I actually have two. If I can share them, I have. And both of these follow me through with family, with friends, with business, with the team, with customers even. So the first one, which is hearts and minds connected forever. And when you can have an opportunity and a moment where you can connect with somebody in a very deep level, it’s something which is meaningful. It’s something that you’ll never forget. And when the person may be gone and you can reach into those memories, that’s a beautiful thing. But I’ve often also shared, from a business perspective, if you can earn the heart and the mind of your team, the heart and mind of your customers, then you’ve got customers that are going to be with you for years. 

09:12
And we’re blessed at our company to have many staff that have been with us for 20 plus years. And I like to think that part of that is because we try and create an environment where they recognize they’re appreciated, they recognize that we make decisions that hopefully will help them succeed. And so that’s a big one. Is hearts and minds connected forever. And of course with my kids, my wife, it’s a pretty meaningful mantra. 

09:40
Absolutely. But, and I could expand on that. It’s interesting. Some of my best relationships, and I’m going back like, you know, people you grew up with, maybe at least from high school or before or even, you know, short time thereafter, but your best friends. It always seems to me that you can go to the shallow water just as easy as you can go to the deep water. And you’re not scandalizing each other by your behavior or whatever, they just get you know, and so that whole connection of the deep water and that deep connection of hearts and minds, they just get you. So you can do the stupid thing, but then you can go be deep or introspective or reveal some great thoughts about something and they, you know, that type of relationship is just there, you know. 

10:28
Yeah. Well, it’s funny, it would be, you know, the community and the world would sometimes be a better place if people had that type of mantra. Right. So, yeah, from a political perspective, it doesn’t matter your stripes, but if people were to think that way, it Would be great. And the second one, as I shared, is this too shall pass. And we’ve all had stuff, right? 

10:48
Yeah. 

10:48
And sometimes those things you have to recognize it’s just going to pass and you have to push through it. And as it passes, you know, you have to recognize that sometimes you need the rain in order to have the growth. And, you know. You know the sun’s gonna come up, right? So. So those are the two that I’ve always used, Mike, in order to help me guide those. 

11:10
I love that you. You shared those with me. But this too shall pass. So my. My uncle, who I may have mentioned was a mentor of mine. He’s been dead, I think almost 11 years now. But, yeah, he would say that to me, and I. And my dad did to some extent. I think he used a different mantra there. But my uncle literally used those exact words. He’d just look at me across his desk if I was going out to him at his office for advice or probably even consolation on things that I’d messed up. But look, this too shall pass. And you’d be like, you know, when you’re young to hear that, you’re just like, it can’t pass fast enough. But you realize later. That’s the hard part, I think about life is you don’t realize until you get through something that you. 

11:51
That whole timeframe of pain was valuable. 

11:54
Yeah. 

11:55
You know, that’s the hard part for sure. 

11:57
And the interesting. 

11:58
Our age now, it’s a little more perspective. We’re like, hey, we can look at our kids and go, you’re going to be all right. 

12:04
Yeah, for sure. But what’s interesting about this, to show passive. Often used it as a recognition, too. When things are going really good. Good. When you’re at the top of feeling, you know, that things just can’t go bad. You have to have a level of recognition that, hey, you know, something could change around the corner. It may not be related to it. That’s going to bring you to your news. Your knees. Pardon me. So I think for me, those are the two. So hearts and minds connected forever. With my kids, I often say, hearts and minds connected forever. I love you. And with my wife. And of course, this too shall pass. 

12:45
That’s some good stuff. I really like that. Yeah, I really like it, actually. Even on the good side of things going well, like, you know, to remind yourself, this too shall pass. Because that’s what I’ve done a really good job of lately, and it’s taken me a long time to get to that Point. But I put it in the same mindset. You’re getting to the same mindset. But being grateful, you know, while things are going well, I’m just extraordinarily grateful. And I try to be, I even try to be grateful, you know, even when things are a burden. 

13:18
Sure. 

13:19
Because there’s always a blessing in there. 

13:21
Yeah. 

13:22
You know, I really believe that. And you know, there’s a reason for everything and that’s some good stuff. 

13:27
Well, and I have to share that one of the great things about working with the trail team, the Trail Tire team is, you know, they have an amazing organization, amazing leadership. The people throughout the whole company have just been inspiring on so many levels. So it’s nice to be part of something which is got not only success but recognizes the importance of community and you know, obviously team members. So it’s been a great opportunity. And of course, you know, as I shared, I think, you know, it’s going to work. 

14:04
So when they, when I learned about the store count, you guys are up to 66, I believe it is. 

14:09
Yes. Yeah. 

14:10
Is that counting your original. 

14:12
No, not our 10. So there’ll be some more add ons. 

14:15
Yeah. 

14:16
Over this next year, are your stores. 

14:19
Converting to some form of. 

14:21
Yeah. 

14:21
Trail tire locations? 

14:22
Yeah. So we’ll be changing our name and it will be Trail Tire Truck Accessories and Trail Tire Off Road Center. 

14:31
Nice. 

14:31
And so kind of just let the cat out of the bag here, Mike. So you know, we’re connecting. 

14:36
I like this. 

14:37
Yeah. And so really the goal here will be to provide the consumers with a, a recognition from a branding perspective that this is going to become the one stop shop. Right. So you know, we’ll obviously have tires in our stores and hopefully have an opportunity to be busier during the fall, which is pretty active for the folks here in western Canada from a winter perspective. 

15:06
So I just, this is just curiosity. Being an American and a guy from Kentucky. What is like the most common accessory sewed in western Canada up here in Alberta. 

15:18
Yeah. So there’s a few pillars on the accessory side. Suspension for off roading is really a key pillar. I look at suspension as something that’s not easily sold through Amazon from an installation perspective. Makes sense. The second item which we sell on the truck side is our canopies and toppers. Again, not easily sold through the Internet from an installation perspective, it’s kind of big, can’t be delivered. And so the other piece of the puzzle are we’ll call it box covers, which we sell an awful lot of, and they’re a little bigger and harder to ship, especially in Canada, but it’s possible. 

16:03
And those are your like utility beds, correct? Or flatbeds? 

16:07
Yeah, flat. Like a truck cover, right? 

16:09
Yeah. 

16:09
But with the locations that trail has, and our goal will be to shipping the products to those locations so the consumer can pick it up. So as we expand the network, it’s going to make us have a real competitive difference in the marketplace, which will allow consumers to go into the store if they should they need the installation, should they need other pieces and other expertise and support they can get it. 

16:33
I think that’s phenomenal. I mean. And there’s nobody else doing that in Western. 

16:36
No, there’s nobody really doing that in the industry. 

16:39
Yeah. 

16:40
So even on an, on an American side at this point, there’s, you know, what we’re bringing together is a natural and it’s just something that hasn’t necessarily evolved to this point. May, you know, based off of our observations and what we’re seeing in. 

16:59
The market, do you ever see the brand of trail tire? I mean, is it going to be exclusive to Canada or do you see it going into the States one day? 

17:07
Well, that’s a bit of an interesting question today, isn’t it? Yeah. Right. Wouldn’t it be fun if were able to. But with, you know, all of the different things going on in the market right now, it’s hard to imagine. But, you know, I, I think that, you know, the conversations that we’ve had has been, you know, what if, yeah, you know, what does it look like if were to do something? And I think the part of the opportunity is that, you know, the support that we’re bringing to the dealership and to the stores is really not just about parts and products and hopefully customers and obviously all of the, all the tools online and such. Our goal is to try and bring as much value in areas which maybe they don’t get. 

17:54
Yeah. 

17:55
You know, and obviously over the long term, if it’s training or safety, you know, all of these things are going to add, add value and make it easier for the stores and the owners of the stores and the staff in the stores to do what they love to do, which is serve customers. 

18:10
Yeah. 

18:10
Install tires, install accessories, talk about these things in a positive way. Right. So. 

18:15
And, and you guys are selective. Right. I mean, it’s not everybody can just be. Request to be a trail tire member yeah. 

18:24
So there’s a process. 

18:25
Yeah. 

18:26
And the process is very consistent in terms of, you know, understanding, you know, does the market have space? Is there competitors? Is there an opportunity? What do we see? Because we ultimately we want people to succeed. 

18:42
Yeah. 

18:42
That’s the most important part. Right. So the second part of that is getting to know the prospect from a dealership perspective and to see whether or not that person fits, you know, fits with the group, fits from a market perspective, fits from a expertise and what can we do to help? Right. So I think there’s certainly a lot of things that can happen here. 

19:07
That’s awesome. 

19:07
Yeah, I mean, but they did accept me, Mike. So, hey, the bars, the bar may be pretty low. 

19:14
They’ve learned their lesson now. I’m very intrigued by this brand, but I’m really intrigued by, I mean, the way you guys look at deals, I mean, and the way you look at growing the organization, it’s not, oh man, it’s just not so linear. I mean, you guys are very, it seems like you’re open to so many different ways of using that brand that makes sure. 

19:40
Yeah. 

19:40
And so different members add tremendous value. 

19:43
Yeah. Well, and what’s great about that and you know, we’ll call it the, you know, the leadership, Brad, now and their team, you know, they truly see the value in that exact thing, Mike. And when you look at a marketplace, if it’s heavy duty tires or light duty tires or auto centers or now accessory or off road centers, you know, they, at the end of the day, you’re serving a customer, you’re doing an installation, you’re providing a value added experience. You’re doing it in, let’s call it a, a shop environment that does installations. 

20:22
Yeah. 

20:23
So the foundation is consistent. Obviously, if, if that wasn’t the case, the building blocks would get very difficult, right? 

20:32
Oh, yeah. 

20:33
So I think that when you look at it, you can see the path forward and how these stores can all connect together. The nice thing about it too is, you know, some people may have different vehicles in their home or different vehicles in their fleets, or different vehicles in their business. And guess what? We can provide something for all of them. 

20:53
I know that’s what’s interesting. You know, you touched on something few minutes ago, but it was about the accessories and the commercial aspect about that. 

21:02
Yeah. 

21:03
Touch on that a little bit for different listeners. Why that, you know, what that commercial aspect is for the customer. Sure. You know. 

21:13
Sure. 

21:13
So it’s fleets, right? 

21:14
I mean. Yeah, yeah, well, and you can, you can use the term fleet a little bit linear too. If you think about just, you know, the electrician, the owner, operator, electrician, there are certain things that they need in order for them to function effectively. 

21:30
Yeah. 

21:30
And if you then take it to the next level where there’s somebody who has 100 vehicles, again, there are certain things that they need, including there are certain tires that they need in order to go onto certain sites or different roads that are commercial. Right. So, so that’s where you can actually start to see the opportunity. And then inside of those two examples or two buckets, of course there’s going to be a broad range of products that actually can meet the consumer’s needs for what they’re doing from a work perspective. Could be safety things, or it could be practical things, or it could be protective things that they need in order to do their job effectively. 

22:09
All makes sense. No, it’s good stuff. You know, I had told you this before, but I asked people like, I like to allow the audience to get to know you a little bit better. But do you have a memorable story for us that may even be funny? Doesn’t have to be, but anything that work related that you could share, you. 

22:30
Know, I have, in my role as present, I have got so many stories that are memorable for different reasons. All, all that are not. We’re going to call it P friendly so we’ll have to avoid some of those. Yeah, but you know, it’s funny. 

22:47
Ultimately the PG file cabinet. 

22:50
Yeah, yeah, ultimately. I think the thing I can share the most is as you see, you know, when you have a long term staff that have been with you for a long time and you know, some of them have kids that, you know, jumped into the business and worked in the business and they worked in the business for years and you know, some of those kids, because they were able to work with us, they went to university and they built momentum and ultimately found themselves down a path of success. And so I think when I look at, you know, just the stories, there are so many, but there’s certainly ones like that stick out where you just feel so blessed to be part of somebody else’s journey and you’re helping them, right? 

23:37
Yeah. 

23:37
And yeah, so that’s certainly a big part of it. 

23:41
That’s awesome. So what’s something that Richard likes to do? What do you like to do as a hobby? I think I know what you’re going touch on, maybe some of this personal stuff that we had connected well on. But I’ll let you tell the audience because you’re more connected to Kentucky than I expected. 

23:58
Yeah. Yeah. So I 100% enjoy Kentucky bourbon. And I’ve had an opportunity to do some barrel tasting at Buffalo Trace, actually more than a few times. And so that’s always a pretty special experience because then you get that Weller’s or Blanton’s Gold, you know, bottled and brought back to Canada. So we’ll. We’ll see if we can do it next little while. Along with that, I think I share a dude enjoy a little tobacco on occasion. Yeah. 

24:33
Another Kentucky product. 

24:34
Another Kentucky product. So. And, you know, love the horses, love certain sports, love to play cards with my friends and, you know, obviously just enjoying family time is a big, big thing of what I do. 

24:47
For sure. 

24:48
Too much. 

24:48
Do you find that playing cards or poker in particular is kind of like at our age, a nice competitive outlet because you’re not going to go spraying your ankles. 

24:59
That’s the way I. I have a group of friends that I do it with frequently, and there is nothing more than actually seeing the look on somebody’s face. And, you know, you’ve got. So it’s all in fun, for sure. And, you know, nobody’s. Nobody’s risking anything. It’s all about just the fun and the camaraderie in the environment where you can talk and have some, you know, chuckles and such. Right. So, yeah, 100%. That’s, that’s definitely. And, and the. As time. Time has gone on, in terms of the age, as I shared, I’m 54. 

25:28
Yeah. 

25:29
You know, you certainly start to recognize you have to be a little careful. 

25:33
It’s. It’s amazing. So we. We have this alumni game. I live in the hometown that I grew up in, and the high school put on this alumni flag or touch football thing. It was a preseason thing to build up the high school, you know, football season coming up and everything. 

25:51
Yeah. 

25:51
And I had several friends that were doing it. And this was a couple years ago, and I just entered. Entered my 50s, and these guys were a year older than me, and we all played together, and they were like, come on edge. Why aren’t you playing? I said, listen, I’ve learned my lesson with this stuff. And sure enough, you know, one of them ended up, I think, pulled a hamstring, and the other one ended up tearing up his shoulder and was in this, like, sling for, I mean, several months. 

26:14
Sure. 

26:14
And he even looked at me after, you know, a week or two after being in the sling, we ran into each other, and he’s like, gosh dang, dude, I should have. I should have followed your lead. And I said, but I played. I played rugby in college, and. And then they would have this old boys game that we would go back and play in, and I played in it, like, twice, and I cannot tell you. And we would actually beat the college team. It always even happened when I was there. Just the old boys unleash because they have it. It’s like they just want to get it out of their system, but it never failed. When I went back, I mean, I would get severely, like, bruised or something that you’d be limping for, you know, And I thought, I don’t care anymore. 

26:52
I’m not. I’m not. If. If I’m not putting myself at risk like that anymore. So I just. I basically quit and I start finding things that are less risky. 

27:00
Yeah, like this. Like this, right? You’re standing in front of a microphone. You can’t get hurt doing that, Mike. 

27:04
No. You know, and the only thing that hurts me, like, when I play cards, is if somebody, you know, suckered me on, you know, one hand or that hand that, you know. But other than that, I can. I can get over my feelings. 

27:15
Yeah, that’s right. No, it’s funny. I have a very similar story from a hockey perspective. 

27:19
Yeah. 

27:20
I was the lucky winner of a Wayne Gretzky fantasy camp in my mid, early 40s, I guess it was. And I hadn’t played hockey in 20 years, Mike. And it was. I thought it was one day with five friends with Gretzky. It was five days by myself at a hockey camp with a lot of people that were taking it seriously. And I. I had never played with glasses on. I couldn’t see because I have, you know, bifocals. It was just a disaster. So I learned at that point a, be careful when you’re bidding at auctions and you’ve had too many bourbons because it was a very expensive experience. And two, you know, watch, watch. Sporting experiences as you get a little older. 

28:08
That’s a fact right there. 

28:10
And it is the, you know, one of the records of his fantasy camp fundraising, you know, in terms of what. What I paid. So we’ll just. We’ll just leave it at that. Wow. 

28:21
So not only did. So you suffered a little bit physically, but you also suffered in the pocketbook. 

28:27
Oh, yeah, it was for the kids. For the kids. That’s all I say, Mike. For the kids. 

28:32
So were real quick. We were at this local charity event for a private school, and it was a gambling night, and all the money they made would go to. And, I mean, this guy was just killing me and several other guys at the table. He kept. Every time he would sweep the hand, he’d just be like, it was a blackjack. He’d go, hey, guys, this is for the kids. It’s for the kids. You do it. Great. 

28:52
Yeah, I know. This, too shall pass. Right? 

28:56
Well, I got to tell you, Richard, it’s been a pleasure having you on here. I’ve really enjoyed it. Thanks for coming on Gain Traction podcast. 

29:01
Yeah, thank you, Mike. Have a great day. 

29:03
You too. Well, our listeners thank you for being part of our podcast. We are grateful for you. If you’d like to recommend a guest to me, please email [email protected] and to listen to more podcasts like this, you can always visit gaintractionpodcast.com till next time, be safe and have a great day. 

29:25
Thanks for listening to the Gain Traction podcast. We’ll see you again next time. And be sure to click subscribe to get future episodes.