Rolling Into the Future: The East Bay Tire Legacy and Vision With Joseph Pehanick

Episode 159

Joseph Pehanick

East Bay Tire

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Joseph Pehanick is the Co-owner and incoming CEO of East Bay Tire, a family-owned independent tire distributor and commercial service provider for over 75 years. Under his leadership, East Bay Tire has expanded its reach with multiple locations in California, Arizona, and Hawaii and has been recognized for its low employee turnover rates and robust community culture. With a background in agriculture and experience working internationally in Uruguay, Joseph brings a unique perspective to the tire industry. As he prepares to take on the CEO role in January 2025, Joseph is focused on growing East Bay Tire’s presence in the mining and agricultural sectors through both organic growth and acquisitions.

In this episode…

What does it take to sustain and grow a multi-generational family business? How does a company manage to thrive across different markets and withstand the test of time while continually expanding its operations? A tire industry veteran delves into the fascinating journey of a tire business that has achieved just that.

Joseph Pehanick shares insights on how East Bay Tire has not only survived, but flourished in the competitive tire industry. He recounts his experiences growing up in the business, from working in the warehouse in his early teens to his travels and work experience in South America. Joseph delves into the company’s strategy for successfully managing its operations across various locations, including California, Hawaii, and Arizona. By focusing on niche markets like agriculture, mining, and fleet solutions, East Bay Tire’s growth demonstrates how heritage, adaptability, and strategic vision can propel a business to new heights.

In this episode of Gain Traction, Mike Edge chats with Joseph Pehanick, Co-owner and incoming CEO of East Bay Tire, about sustaining and evolving a family business in the tire industry. Joseph discusses the company’s ambitious growth plans, his approach to managing employee retention, and how East Bay Tire’s innovative strategies have kept them at the forefront of the industry. Tune in for insights on entrepreneurship, the impact of family legacy, and the creation of lasting memories for employees.

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

[00:18] Joseph Pehanick’s evolving role in East Bay Tire’s leadership team
[01:47] Joseph’s early entry into the family tire business and his hands-on experience
[03:31] A unique international perspective stemming from Joseph’s time working in South America’s tire industry
[07:05] The historical ties of East Bay Tire to the Hawaiian market and Bridgestone’s origins
[08:20] An interesting backstory of East Bay Tire’s expansion into Hawaii and the challenge of remote market support
[11:30] East Bay Tire’s future under Joseph’s leadership, with a focus on mining and agricultural tire distribution
[13:33] Employee appreciation and retention efforts in building a successful company culture
[19:13] How Joseph’s personal mantra of “progress over perfection” drives continuous improvement within the business

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments:

“Progress over perfection. If we just make incremental progress, we’re going to get to where we want to go.”
“Our retention numbers and low turnover numbers are easily our proudest numbers that we would present over the last five years.”
“It’s about effort, how much you care, and how much you put in every single day.”
“Giving a memory is what really matters, like when we send our team and their families to sports events.”
“In South America, I learned numerous life lessons that I now apply in our family business.”

Action Steps:

Foster a culture of employee retention programs: Implementing initiatives like team outings and personalized appreciation can significantly reduce employee turnover, building a sense of community and loyalty.
Encourage entrepreneurial thinking: Fostering entrepreneurial spirit in your team can lead to innovative solutions and market expansions, helping find new opportunities in competitive markets.
Prioritize incremental progress: Adopting the motto “progress over perfection” can help teams focus on achievable goals and reduce burnout.
Leverage historical strengths for modern growth: Businesses can identify and leverage their historical strengths to explore new growth opportunities.
Enhance cultural competency through international experience: Encouraging or facilitating international experiences for team members can enhance cultural competency and open up new market opportunities.

Transcript

Announcer:

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.

Mike:

Hello folks. Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast, the exclusive podcast for tire business. I am Mike Edge, your host. Today’s guest is Joseph Pehanick, Co-owner and future CEO of East Bay Tire. Starts the CEO row in January 1st of 2025. Has been the COO. They also have locations in California, Arizona, and Hawaii. But before we begin, let me tell you about our sponsor. Tread Partners is the leading digital marketing agency for the tire and auto repair operations that have five to hundreds of locations. Multi-location shops facing enormous challenges when it comes to marketing Tread Partners gets it. Don’t waste time and money with marketing agencies that don’t specialize in this space. To learn more, visit treadpartners.com. My past guest shout out today is Derek Naidoo, Founder and Owner of USA GoMobile. You can listen to the podcast at gaintractionpodcast.com. It is a great interview and a just cool story about going mobile and changing tires on the go. All right, so let’s get started with the podcast. Joseph, welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast.

Joseph:

Mike, good morning. Thank you. Merry Christmas.

Mike:

Merry Christmas. Glad to have you. So East Bay’s been around a long time, but tell us a little bit about yourself personally. You grew up in the industry. How long have you been associated? Did you get into tire business right away? Did you get put into the shop as a kid, et cetera?

Joseph:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think a similar story to a lot of folks you’ve had on the show. I listened to Dobbs podcast,-

Mike:

Oh, yeah.

Joseph:

On the way in this morning and really resonated with his history there. But yeah, started as a young,-

Mike:

Did you like the part where he felt like he was making money and then realized he was?

Joseph:

It’s almost identical to my story, Mike. Yeah, no, started at 10 or 11. I remember the first day I got a work permit in California. I thought that was pretty cool at 13. It’s been about 10 years in our warehouse here, which is where a lot of our growth has come from. It’s the former West Coast distribution center for Michelin before they moved to Southern California.

Mike:

Awesome.

Joseph:

So started in the warehouse back in, would’ve been the late 90s when we needed a lot of help at the time. Found my way to Chico State for undergrad where I really fell in love with Ag. If you’ve ever been up that way, it’s just north of rice country, a bunch of nuts up there now. Worked for a tire dealer up there, which I have a great story for you later on about.

Mike:

All right.

Joseph:

And then ultimately moved to South America for a year. Worked for a tire dealer down there before coming home and joining the business full time, full time.

Mike:

So are you bilingual?

Joseph:

I used to be.

Mike:

Okay.

Joseph:

Not as much as I used to, but I can get around.

Mike:

Nice. Well, that’s a great experience. I mean, to experience it kind of on the international level. Was it in South America, was it retail or was it Ag as well, or commercial or all of the above?

Joseph:

It was a retail distributor. So in Montevideo, Uruguay representing two trucks distributing one brand throughout the whole country, and Uruguay is a very interesting place. It’s one and a half million people and 3 million cows.

Mike:

Very cool. Did you eat well down there?

Joseph:

Not as much as you would’ve thought, but I certainly had wonderful meals as I traveled. I mean, just a great place to go and learn. Southern Brazil, Northern Argentina, Paraguay, a lot of life lessons that I’ll never forget.

Mike:

No, that is cool. When you get to travel like that at a young age, I mean, you’re kind of, I mean really you’re kind of in survival mode. You’re dependent on yourself, and all of a sudden you’ve got to figure out things. Right. Mom, dad aren’t there anymore, and you’re definitely off home base internationally speaking.

Joseph:

Yeah. You’re not a cell phone away.

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

You’re in a 100% communist country and you got to find your way around.

Mike:

That’s pretty cool. So you mentioned you went up to Chico State and you got involved with Ag. What attracted you to Ag?

Joseph:

Well, I guess I should preface from a background side. On my mom’s side of the family, we’ve been farming for eight generations in California.

Mike:

Eight generations?

Joseph:

Yeah, since the late 1850s. And so very, very cool.

Mike:

That’s something to hang your hat on. That’s pretty cool.

Joseph:

Yeah, it’s very rewarding for me now as I’m more a part of it than I ever have been. But yeah, four generations ago, my grandfathers helped draw the county line for Napa County, and it’s right on the Southeastern corner of Napa County. And we grew nuts for many decades, and are currently I think a little over 20 years into wine grapes. And so it’s a larger ranch with a smaller vineyard.

Mike:

Very,-

Joseph:

And that’s where my childhood was for a lot of it.

Mike:

That is awesome. So how does tires relate into that? And you guys, because your family’s been in what, the tire business for a couple generations?

Joseph:

Yeah, my father’s side, so my great-grandfather starts the business in 1946, born in 1900. So after over 10 years with Firestone running retail stores on the West Coast and selling Firestone Ag tires, he decides to start East Bay Tire.

Mike:

Very cool. And you guys, I mean, one of the things we had talked about in the preliminary call is just that you, I mean you guys, your specialty is in the Ag market as well. Is that correct?

Joseph:

That is certainly one of them.

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

And obviously relates on the farming side for me personally. But yeah, we’ve been distributing agricultural tires on the Western United States since the late 40s, and it still remains a substantial part of our business. Today we service about 2000 independent dealers, really family owned and operated in agricultural areas,-

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

Their specialty tires.

Mike:

But East Bay Tire is also in OTR, right, and commercial.

Joseph:

Yep, yep. I would say our two other substantial pillars are fleet solutions and ERS. We run about 50,000 emergency road calls in metropolitan areas, so our service centers are San Jose, Sacramento, Fresno, dense areas. And then we have a newly created mining division, which has been one of the more exciting things of my career, is seeing what those guys do on a site severity studies, how they track the loaders and the haul trucks with GPS to see how hard they’re taking turns with specific tires, what speeds they’re getting up to, how hot the tires are getting.

Mike:

Oh, wow.

Joseph:

It’s a very cool process to watch.

Mike:

Now that’s in Arizona, correct?

Joseph:

No. Well, yes. We have a location in Arizona and we do service some quarries out there, but California and Hawaii as well.

Mike:

Okay. So tell me, when did you end up in Hawaii? That’s such, I mean, that’s got to be a challenge all its own, doesn’t it? I mean, it’s there. I mean, it’s its own spot, right? You can’t really support it in the same way that you do from one location to the next I’m saying.

Joseph:

You’re exactly right, and I probably overlook it just because we’ve been doing it for so long, but I think it’s a very cool story. My great-grandfather starts in Hawaii, arguably before California, and I’d say arguably. He was traveling to Japan to buy tires, use tires from war zones, and buy tires from Mr. Ishibashi, which in Japanese is stone bridge, and that was the founder of Bridgestone. So East Bay Tire, my great-grandfather were one of, if not the first importer of Bridgestone tires into the United States.

Mike:

How cool was this?

Joseph:

And you couldn’t get there. There was no Airbus to fly from California to Japan in the early 50s. You had to stop in Hawaii and you would have, there’s not flights every day, so you’d have multi-day layovers. So he would fly over there, fly to Japan, buy tires, come back, and then he would try and sell those tires in Hawaii while he was waiting for the next layover.

Mike:

Smart move. Why not? Why not, right? Always be closing. Always be selling. Right.

Joseph:

ABC. Absolutely. So we’ve been over there for a number of years. We didn’t put brick and mortar locations until the late 90s, and since then it’s been an expansion of our dealer partners who didn’t have a succession plan, and now we have four stores over there. Very small market. You’re talking Kona’s population of 17,000 people.

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

But we have phenomenal teams over there. The culture is amazing and we’ve been very lucky.

Mike:

Man, your granddad though, I just think about him. Was your great or granddad or great-granddad?

Joseph:

Great-grandfather.

Mike:

Great-grandfather. I mean, you talking about entrepreneur, that’s entrepreneur right there, brother. I mean, seriously, when you think about it, obviously, I mean, travel was obviously different and everything, but to have, we get ticked if you have a layover a few hours or whatever. I mean, he had days, but now granted it’s a little bit of a paradise, so it’s not a bad spot to have some layover, but,-

Joseph:

It’s not. Yeah, you’re exactly right. And I think you’re touching a key point, which is a history of entrepreneurship,-

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

Most certainly in the family.

Mike:

Well, and to see his opportunity, well, that’s what makes an entrepreneur. He sees a market opportunity, he’s there for a layover and then realizes, hey, these guys need tires too. Why not stake your claim a little bit here and supply the market, right?

Joseph:

Yep.

Mike:

Very cool. Well, where do you guys, so you’re going to be in the CEO role in January of 2025. That’s just, I mean, this podcast gets released in January, so we’re pre-recording it a little bit, but what’s the big plans for you as the CEO? Do you guys have some goals that you want to reach?

Joseph:

We do have some goals. We have some growth goals, both organic and likely by acquisition. We made the announcement this past week. We were fortunate to have a number of team members in for the holidays, celebrating 40 years with East Bay Tire, four 20 year anniversaries, two 25 year anniversaries. It was a great day in many respects.

Mike:

That’s awesome.

Joseph:

So the plans for 2025 will be a lot of the same. We have some growth goals for sure, but our presence in mining and Ag distribution are areas that we want to grow exponentially, so I’m excited to push that way.

Mike:

How do you do that? Do you guys look for, I mean, I’m thinking about on the employee side, you want to grow, but obviously everybody seems to have employee challenges, getting the right people, keeping the right people. Do you guys have a, I mean, something that you do as a secret sauce or whatever to bring people in the foal or the family or make them realize the long-term objective?

Joseph:

I wish it was a secret sauce, but at the end of the day, I think it’s about effort and how much you care and how much you put in every single day. Our retention numbers, our low turnover numbers are easily our proudest numbers that we would present over the last five years.

Mike:

That’s awesome.

Joseph:

Yeah, we’ve gotten to an all time low as far as turnover is concerned, and a lot of it has to do with management. Certainly there’s perks to it. We do a lot of fun things that used to be done that aren’t done anymore. Christmas trees for every family, boots for everybody that touches a tire, we send our team members and their entire families to sporting events every year.

Mike:

Oh, that’s awesome.

Joseph:

So Niners games, Warriors games, Sharks games. That’s been something that’s been really important to me. I remember going to games as a kid, you go to a baseball game, it’d be four bucks, eight bucks. Heck, if you were under 12, it would be free practically.

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

And you have families that have been diehard Niner fans, Raiders fans, Warriors fans who have never been to a game because it’s unaffordable today.

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

It’s hard to go home and say, hey, family, let’s spend what it’s going to cost us to go to a Niner game and drinks and sodas and everything else. So,-

Mike:

That’s awesome that you do that. Honestly, I’m just sitting here reflecting on that. It’s such a, that’s a great gift to give because it is true. There’s a lot of families I’m just talking about, I live in Kentucky and our company’s based out of Raleigh, North Carolina, but where I live in Kentucky, you can get to Cincinnati, you can get to St. Louis, you can get to Indianapolis, you can get to Nashville if you want to see the Titans. But I mean, it’s cost prohibitive to take a big family. And I remember being a kid, to your point, you could go see the St. Louis Cardinals for $4 a piece and sit in the bleachers and have the best time of your life. And you can’t do that anymore. I mean, everything is, it feels like it’s, especially if they’re hot, and it depends on what ticket sales are, but you’re talking about sometimes 50, $75 tickets a piece. And if you’re trying to take six people, I mean, that’s not counting your concession stand.

Joseph:

It can be over $1000 pre-tax dollars to take your whole family by the time it’s said and done. And that’s not a bill you can take home to the family and feel good about.

Mike:

No.

Joseph:

So each location does tend to do regional Christmas parties, but this is something that comes from me, is something we plan on continuing to do every single year, and it goes along with our culture, which is team focus and competitive.

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

And it’s one of the most rewarding times of the year for me. I have two boys, four and six.

Mike:

That’s awesome.

Joseph:

And so they obviously love going, but you’re seeing everybody else’s kids in the stands. They try and see us together as much as possible, and you’re giving a memory.

Mike:

Oh, absolutely. It’ll stay with them for life. I can remember so many games. I had a little league coach that used to take a, this, I grew up in the 80s, but in the early 80s you still had station wagons and everybody would pile in there, and nobody had to wear a seatbelt. And we’d have 10 kids piled in the back of this thing going on a road trip and everybody spend the night at the coach’s house because we played ball with his sons, and it was awesome.

Joseph:

Yep.

Mike:

We still talk about it to this day, and I’m in my 50, you know what I mean? You remember this trip? You know what I’m saying?

Joseph:

Yeah.

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

That’s what you really cherish at the end of the day, is the memories, right?

Mike:

Yeah. Yeah. Well, that’s the thing about life. You and I we’re going to touch on something else I know, but I’ve noticed this. The older you get, you really don’t remember your possessions. You remember the people you were with and the event you were at with the people you were with. You know what I’m saying? It’s always who you were with and the story that was created. Does that make sense?

Joseph:

Of course.

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

We’ve got a couple retirements this year, and I asked one of our team members that’ve been with us 20 years, and I said, “You want a party? You want a cake?” We’re trying to do is better and better job at that moment. Right.

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

And he says, “No, Joe, but what I’d really like is I’d like a letter signed by as many people as you can.” And so for the last six weeks, I’ve been traveling to all of our locations, getting everybody to sign, and the letter is now three giant 11 by 17s. And so I’ve been going to every location getting signatures, and it’s this massive, massive plaque now that’s getting framed. And I think that says a lot about him, and really where a lot of people are at when they come to retirement, which is, I remember all the people I worked with.

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

That’s what resonates. It may be what they accomplished. It may be what they earned. It may be the things in their house, but in that final moment it’s who did you work with?

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

So that’s a tradition we plan on carrying on in the future.

Mike:

That’s cool. Well, in reality, I think when you do retire, when I’ve talked to people, they miss their friends, their colleagues, the people they saw on a daily basis because all of a sudden you’re not cut off from them, but you’re definitely not interacting every day with this group that you were with or several individuals that you’re with for so many years daily solving problems, having fun, goofing off sometimes, the laughs, whatever, getting through the challenges, et cetera. And then all of a sudden it comes to a halt and you’re like, wait, wait a minute, wait a minute. What’s going on here?

Joseph:

Yeah.

Mike:

Then now the best thing you do is call them up and go to lunch or play golf with them or something, but it’s not, you know what I mean? It’s not frequent and it’s just not the same. So that’s an awesome story. Well, you know that I like to, I’ve got a routine on here. I like to ask people, what’s a motto, or a mission statement, or a quote that you live by or the company functions by?

Joseph:

We have a phenomenal set of core values that I would encourage anybody to take a look at us on social and read about them. But one that’s plastered on my wall or on my front glass in my office is progress over perfection. And after being in the industry for 25 years, you hear a lot of experts out there talk about what needs to be done and how the industry can be perfect. And I think we sometimes exhaust ourselves with that mission forgetting that if we just make incremental progress, we’re going to get to where we want to go. So that’s my message to our team members is, hey, guys, don’t plan the birthday party. Don’t plan the perfection. Let’s just start with incremental progress and we’ll get there.

Mike:

And it’s digestible. It’s winnable. You can get there incrementally, like you said, and you take the wins, right?

Joseph:

Perfection is exhausting, Mike.

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

You want to celebrate the wins. You want to see how far you’ve gotten from the previous month, year, day, whatever it may be.

Mike:

That’s beautiful. I like that a lot. Well, what is your favorite movie of all time? It doesn’t have to be all time, but something that resonates.

Joseph:

Yeah. So you have to bring me on another podcast for the whole movie list, Mike. But we’re two days away from Christmas, and the one that I’m thinking about is Family Man. You remember Family Man with Nicolas Cage?

Mike:

Yep. I love that movie, and I don’t watch it enough. It’s a good reminder to go back to though.

Joseph:

It should be a Christmas movie. And for some reason it’s not in the algorithm. It doesn’t show up for people, but it’s a tire movie.

Mike:

It is. You’re right.

Joseph:

I remember when it came out, people would ask me, “Hey, have you seen Family Man? Have you seen Family Man, because you’re in the tire business.” And it’s about a guy who runs a retail tire store,-

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

From his father-in-law, I think. I enjoy that movie because it’s about humility and it’s about family. And I think those are two aspects of the tire industry that are understated. And so I would pick that movie for today.

Mike:

Well, and I don’t necessarily care to, I guess, kill the storyline for those that haven’t seen it, because it’s worth it. And it’s been around a while, so most people probably have seen it, I would think, or at least heard of it. But he had that big job. He was a big dog. Right. I mean, he was a big finance guy, Wall Street, killing it. And then he gets that chance that nobody gets to go back and see what life would’ve been like had he stayed with his girlfriend, married or the kids. It really, man, if there’s anything, it was such a well-written movie because it puts everything in perspective in a hurry. And who was the guy that played the angel? He was in Ocean’s 11. Chalde, Chilty, something like that.

Joseph:

Oh, yeah.

Mike:

He had the, gosh dang. He also played in Ocean’s 11. He was the bomb expert, the one that,-

Joseph:

He was the bomb guy. Yeah.

Mike:

But anyway, he’s the angel in it. And he’s such a smart aleck too. It’s great the way he handles Nicolas Cage’s character, whatever, and yeah, that movie, but all the way through it. I can’t think of the actress’s name that played the wife. She’s good-looking and she’s committed. And then he works for her dad, like you said, in the tire shops and everything. But he gets to go back and he gets to relive his life, per se. Yeah. If you guys listening haven’t seen a great movie and you want, it is a Christmas movie. I am surprised. You just touched on something. It should be listed as a Christmas movie.

Joseph:

Yeah, absolutely.

Mike:

You know what? You just made me think of this. It’s almost like the modern version of,-

Joseph:

Of Scrooge.

Mike:

No, no, It’s a Wonderful Life. Remember and Jimmy Stewart,-

Joseph:

Yes.

Mike:

Jimmy Stewart wished his life had been different, and then he realizes if he hadn’t have been there how the town would’ve changed and all that stuff.

Joseph:

I’m embarrassed that I hadn’t thought of that earlier.

Mike:

I just thought of it. So we got there together, man. I’m telling you, I’ve never thought of it. It’s a modern version to some degree of It’s a Wonderful Life. I mean, what you get a chance to go back and see, and obviously there’s an angel. I don’t know why I didn’t pick up [inaudible 00:23:52]. I feel foolish myself. Yes. That’s a good way of classifying it. I’m glad you brought that one up. Actually I’m really thinking I’m going to try to watch that in the next week.

Joseph:

Yeah, I am. I try and watch it every year. It just shows you what you should appreciate in life.

Mike:

Yeah, that’s awesome. And then I always like to ask a funny story. You got a funny story for us?

Joseph:

I don’t know how funny it is. It might be a little shocking to some. There’s always a story with commercial tire service, and when I was going to undergrad at Chico, I worked for a tire dealer up there and I do weekend work, and I’d be on call during the weeks to do emergency road service. And so one of the accounts that I used to fleet check and change tires on was a rendering yard. You know what a rendering yard is, Mike?

Mike:

Yeah, now I do. So it’s the dead animals. They take care,-

Joseph:

Processing.

Mike:

Processing, meat processing and all that good stuff.

Joseph:

Not quite meat. It’s basically where all the oils and makeup come from because it’s not,-

Mike:

I got you. Okay.

Joseph:

A cow passes away in a field, what do you do with it? That’s not becoming a steak for you. That’s becoming makeup for your wife.

Mike:

Yeah.

Joseph:

Yeah. So what my boss used to find at the time, hilarious, is that on burn days is where they would burn and process the animals. If I was out there doing service, the smell would be so bad that I would have to throw away my clothes all the way down to my underwear by the time I was done changing all the tires on the fleet.

Mike:

That bad. So you just took a change of clothes with you then?

Joseph:

No, no, no, no. When I was done, I would basically toss everything. I’d have a change of clothes at the shop, but it doesn’t matter how many times you washed them, you could never get the smell of it.

Mike:

That’s got to be strong.

Joseph:

Strong. So very, a humbling experience, those couple of summers. But what I find hilarious about is he calls me about 10 years later and he says, “Hey, Joe, your favorite account is on TV.” And I said, “Well, what do you mean Steve?” And he says, “Well, Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs is doing an episode at that rendering plant.”

Mike:

Yeah, you were the Mike Rowe before there was a Mike Rowe with that account for sure.

Joseph:

He had a good sense of humor about it. And so did I at that time.

Mike:

I never seen that episode. Did he go on about the smell a little bit?

Joseph:

He didn’t.

Mike:

Oh, he didn’t?

Joseph:

That guy’s a pro. That guy can go anywhere and walk like nothing’s happening. So no.

Mike:

He’s good. I like him in a lot of interviews. He’s a really, I guess my sons would say now, base guy. He’s just got a lot of humility and he just understands people and he really likes the American worker.

Joseph:

He does. And I don’t know anybody that really dislikes him. He does incredibly well on camera, does well in front of a variety of different people, very humble and incredibly intelligent.

Mike:

And I think he messages what he intends to message well about jobs and having respect for them and all of us that might take a job for granted or whatever. And we realize, man, these are the people that make the world tick.

Joseph:

He’s genuine. And I think that’s what people appreciate about him the most.

Mike:

Yeah, that’s awesome.

Joseph:

Yeah.

Mike:

Well, Mike, Joseph, if somebody wanted to get in touch with East Bay, what’s the easiest way for them to reach you guys?

Joseph:

Gosh, we have so many ways. Communication, you can hit us up on social, you can call our 800 number, you can email us eastbaytire.com, you’ll find everything. We didn’t talk about dog tires, but if you see dog tires out there, that’s us too.

Mike:

Awesome.

Joseph:

Yeah, find us. Let us help you.

Mike:

Well, Joseph, thank you for being part of Gain Traction Podcast. It’s been awesome having you.

Joseph:

Mike, it’s been a pleasure. I appreciate the invite.

Mike:

You’re welcome. So to all our listeners out there, thank you for being part of the podcast. You make this possible. If you’d like to recommend a guest to me, please email me at [email protected]. Till next time, have a fantastic day and I hope you have a successful 2025.

Announcer:

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.

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1 In this episode…

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

1.2 Resources mentioned in this episode:

1.2.1 Quotable Moments:

1.2.2 Action Steps: