E194 - The $50 Million Brand Blueprint with Jason Daniel

Jason Daniel is founder and CEO of clothing brand LSKD (Loose Kid). LSKD grew from his pursuit of a sporting career in Motocross, whilst he built core business and work ethic skills as a carpenter. In this episode, he shares how his wife falling pregnant empowered him to pursue LSKD 100% and encouraged him to find his ‘why’.

He reflects on the power of vulnerability and naivety when starting any new venture. Damian, Jake and Jason discuss how to find and inspire passion and drive, and why you should embrace failing forward.

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### Summary of the Podcast Episode with Jason Daniel, Founder and CEO of LSKD ###

**Introduction**

* Jason Daniel is the founder and CEO of LSKD (Loose Kid), a clothing brand that grew from his passion for motocross and his work ethic as a carpenter.
* In this episode, he shares how his wife's pregnancy empowered him to pursue LSKD 100% and encouraged him to find his 'why'.
* He reflects on the power of vulnerability and naivety when starting any new venture.
* Damian, Jake, and Jason discuss how to find and inspire passion and drive, and why you should embrace failing forward.

**Key Points**

* Jason never started LSKD for the money or to make it big overnight. It was a passion project that led him to become more vulnerable and confront the brutal facts of the business.
* He emphasizes the importance of focusing on one thing and becoming the best at it, rather than spreading oneself too thin across multiple ventures.
* Jason highlights the challenges of balancing family and business, and how it took a toll on his family before they found a balance that worked for them.
* He credits his success to the consistency and perseverance he has shown over the past 15 years, even during difficult times.
* Jason stresses the value of asking for help and advice from mentors and other successful entrepreneurs.
* He talks about the importance of having a clear mission and values for the business, and how this helped LSKD to grow and thrive.
* Jason shares his experience of developing the Reptite legging, which became a bestseller for LSKD, by focusing on one product and getting feedback from the community.
* He advises young entrepreneurs to have the drive to build something without relying on seed money, to focus on one thing and become the best at it, and to embrace failure as a learning opportunity.
* Jason emphasizes the importance of surrounding oneself with a great team of people who can support and motivate each other.
* He talks about the value of vulnerability and being open to learning and growing.

**Conclusion**

* Jason's journey with LSKD is a testament to the power of passion, perseverance, and the importance of having a clear mission and values.
* His advice to young entrepreneurs is to focus on one thing, be willing to learn and grow, and to embrace failure as a learning opportunity.

# Navigating the World of Entrepreneurship: Lessons from Jason Daniel, Founder of LSKD

## Summary

In this podcast episode, Jason Daniel, the founder and CEO of clothing brand LSKD, shares his journey of building a successful business from the ground up. He emphasizes the importance of vulnerability, naivety, and embracing failure as key factors in driving innovation and growth. Jason also discusses the power of finding and inspiring passion, the importance of creating a strong sense of community, and the value of sweeping the sheds, a metaphor for doing the small things that make a big difference.

## Key Insights

- **Embrace Vulnerability and Naivety:** Starting a new venture requires a willingness to be vulnerable and embrace naivety. These qualities can lead to innovative ideas and a willingness to take risks that more experienced individuals might avoid.

- **Find and Inspire Passion:** Identifying and aligning with a genuine passion is crucial for driving success. When passion is at the core of a business, it becomes easier to make decisions, inspire others, and overcome challenges.

- **Create a Strong Community:** Building a strong community of customers, partners, and employees is essential for long-term success. This community provides a foundation of support, feedback, and inspiration that can help businesses thrive.

- **Sweep the Sheds:** The concept of "sweeping the sheds" symbolizes the importance of doing the small things that make a big difference. This includes paying attention to details, being willing to help others, and maintaining a strong work ethic.

- **Move Fast, Break Shit:** This value encourages businesses to take action and experiment without fear of failure. It emphasizes the importance of learning from mistakes and moving forward quickly.

- **Enjoy the Journey:** The entrepreneurial journey is often challenging, but it's important to remember to enjoy the process. Celebrating small victories and appreciating the lessons learned along the way can help entrepreneurs stay motivated and resilient.

## Memorable Quotes

- "When we shifted to LSKD, I was like, man, I just wanna have fun as well. I really wanna have fun. And that's how you were making it fail." - Jason Daniel

- "I think that goes to in the office and in an environment where you're looking at a design. Instead of, I don't like that. Instead of, where do you get the idea? Where the inspiration come from? What are you thinking? And then you listen to them, you go, wow, I never thought of it like that." - Jason Daniel

- "You've got to be out there. Do you know, I always like to think like 40% of my time is working within the team. Do you know, we don't have offices. It's, you know, there's meeting rooms. I work in the middle of the office, you know, on a desk. But I like to sit within, you know, whether it's in different departments or just walk around and talk, or when I'm going to the retail stores now to meet the teams and just walk around and talk to them. And because that's when you get the best ideas, you know, you just in a quick conversation and you learn and talk or when I'm going to the retail stores now to meet the teams and just walk around and talk to them. And because that's when you get the best ideas, you know, you just in a quick conversation and you learn and then you can go back." - Jason Daniel

- "If I'm doing that, I get inspired by watching what other people are achieving and vice versa. So I thought if we create that and this is for the business side, this is for the business, this is you know to create something and then when I had you know I ran my first half marathon in 2019, got really excited to do events again after finishing racing motocross in 2010, I wanted to inspire my kids. You know I was like well when I'm out you know when I did my first half marathon, my heart rate was wrong, like average 196. So I went to 210, I put myself in the hurt locker. But I was like, well, I'm inspiring, my son's at the finish line, you know, I'm inspiring him, you know, and when he's, you know, when he gets older, he's gonna see that, that I achieved that and I'm inspiring him." - Jason Daniel

- "We class it into three, sport, fitness and adventure. Because it's open to interpretation of how big, what is Chase the vibe, which is exciting because it can be quite broad, long-term if you want it to be. But we kind of broke it down into sport, fitness and adventure, knowing that we as a team and myself grew up doing all these different things, but then we tied it back to sportswear." - Jason Daniel

- "As soon as you start doing the hard sell, I think they switch off. It's about inspiring them and then allow them to find the brand, find the product and decide for themselves whether it's inspiring rather than you telling them, this is inspiring you." - Jason Daniel

- "So there's enjoy the journey. Why is that important? Enjoy the journey was something where we knew that the journey gets tough you know when you're going through changes anything in any part of your life you've got to remember to go back and enjoy the journey so when we created that we actually just finished listening to a book called Delivering Happiness which was the founder of Zappos. And we were listening to that book at the end of 2020. And I was like, wow, we've got a lot of work to do in community experience. This was really cool. And then we heard how they create their values. And I was like, well, let's create our values by an anonymous form. And we put in our Slack channel. And there's about 30 of the team. And we asked them what their values are, what they think." - Jason Daniel

- "So it's essentially the same thing, which all ties into each other. And we wanted to create a bit of fun around it where it's like, if we need to get something done, let's just move fast. And if, you know, it's fail a bit of fun around it where it's like, if we need to get something done, let's just move fast. And if, you know, it's fail forward, dare to think differently, nothing's impossible. So, you know, move fast, break shit is essentially a value term to, you know, get shit done. You can create too many rules in place before achieving something or doing something. And I've had brands come to me and say, how do you do stuff so quick? You know, how are you getting so much content out? And I'm like, well, we go back to that value, move fast, break shit." - Jason Daniel

## Summary of the Podcast Episode:

Jason Daniel, the founder and CEO of clothing brand LSKD, shares his entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing the importance of vulnerability, naivety, and embracing failure as opportunities for growth and learning.

### Key Points:

- **Vulnerability and Naivety:** Daniel highlights the power of vulnerability and naivety when starting a new venture. He believes that these qualities allow entrepreneurs to approach challenges with an open mind and a willingness to learn.

- **Finding and Inspiring Passion:** Daniel discusses the significance of finding and inspiring passion and drive within oneself and the team. He emphasizes the importance of connecting with the brand's mission and values to create a sense of purpose and motivation.

- **Embracing Failure:** Daniel stresses the value of embracing failure as a learning opportunity. He encourages entrepreneurs to view failures as stepping stones towards success and to learn from their mistakes to improve and grow.

- **Consistency and 1% Better Every Day:** Daniel emphasizes the importance of consistency and continuous improvement. He believes that small, incremental improvements made consistently over time can lead to significant progress and success.

- **Family and Business:** Daniel shares his experience of having family members involved in the business and the challenges he faced in making difficult decisions related to their roles. He emphasizes the need for clear communication, shared values, and a common vision when working with family members in a business setting.

- **Building a Personal Development Company:** Daniel explains LSKD's focus on personal development and the importance of investing in the growth and well-being of the team. He believes that creating a supportive and empowering work environment fosters creativity, innovation, and overall success.

- **Key Non-Negotiable Behaviors:** Daniel identifies three non-negotiable behaviors that he and his team members must adhere to: positivity, goal-setting, and a commitment to continuous self-development.

- **Biggest Weakness and Greatest Strength:** Daniel acknowledges his lack of tenacity as his biggest weakness but recognizes his ability to maintain a sense of wonder and curiosity as his greatest strength. He believes that surrounding himself with people who complement his weaknesses is essential for his growth and success.

- **Jason 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0:** Daniel reflects on his journey as an entrepreneur, describing his evolution from Jason 1.0 (young, naive, and inexperienced) to Jason 2.0 (learning, growing, and building) and his aspirations for Jason 3.0 (global expansion and creating a lasting impact).

- **Misunderstandings and Balancing Fun and Focus:** Daniel addresses a common misconception about his perceived lack of focus, explaining that he intentionally creates an environment where team members can enjoy their work and find inspiration, while also maintaining a strong focus on achieving goals.

- **Golden Rule for a High-Performance Life:** Daniel emphasizes the importance of consistency and being a part of something meaningful. He believes that aligning individual goals with a larger mission and consistently working towards improvement leads to a high-performance life.

[00:00.000 -> 00:04.140] Hi there, welcome along to the High Performance Podcast.
[00:04.140 -> 00:08.140] As always, a big shout out to all the people from around the world who tune in to us every
[00:08.140 -> 00:12.360] single week so that we can be your armor, we can be your guide, we can stand alongside
[00:12.360 -> 00:18.040] you in a world that so often feels confusing, feels divisive, and feels difficult.
[00:18.040 -> 00:21.980] And look, if you haven't listened to High Performance before, let me explain very quickly
[00:21.980 -> 00:23.680] what this podcast is about.
[00:23.680 -> 00:28.600] It isn't about high achievement, it isn't about doing huge, incredible, wonderful things. It's
[00:28.600 -> 00:32.580] just about learning from people so that the life they've lived can become
[00:32.580 -> 00:37.280] lessons for you and you can realize that actually the ability to withstand the
[00:37.280 -> 00:42.000] difficult times, to build your resilience, to know that all things pass despite
[00:42.000 -> 00:46.600] them sometimes feeling really hard, That is true high performance.
[00:46.600 -> 00:51.120] High performance is dealing with the tough stuff. It's not waiting for the great stuff.
[00:51.120 -> 00:57.000] So today, we welcome a really awesome entrepreneur to the High Performance Podcast. Here's what's
[00:57.000 -> 00:58.000] in store.
[00:58.000 -> 01:03.080] I've never got in this for the money. I never started this to go I want it to be worth a
[01:03.080 -> 01:08.520] lot of money. I did it because it was just a huge passion but it really led me to be more vulnerable and
[01:08.520 -> 01:11.600] go okay cool I got to almost confront the brutal facts that we're not doing a good
[01:11.600 -> 01:16.120] job here. I think you know what I've learned is that you used to go to these events and
[01:16.120 -> 01:20.040] it'd be like have three businesses and do all this and they're the people that have
[01:20.040 -> 01:24.000] made it. They've been doing it for 20, 30 years or they've made it and then they've
[01:24.000 -> 01:26.560] either sold their businesses and they're like okay I've got some time now
[01:26.560 -> 01:30.760] I want to do that. But if you're focusing on one and trying to build yourself up
[01:30.760 -> 01:34.320] to create something don't try and put yourself in too many places you know you
[01:34.320 -> 01:39.200] don't see a professional athlete trying to be three different sports. They're
[01:39.200 -> 01:42.700] the best at one sport and I think that's the thing with an entrepreneur is you
[01:42.700 -> 01:45.160] think you've got to be doing a bunch of different things.
[01:45.160 -> 01:50.160] If you focus on one thing, you can be the best at that thing.
[01:50.160 -> 01:52.280] You know, I think family and business is really hard.
[01:52.280 -> 01:56.020] It's a really touchy subject for anyone that has family and business.
[01:56.020 -> 01:58.240] And it wasn't like it was an overnight thing.
[01:58.240 -> 01:59.600] It'd gone on for a while.
[01:59.600 -> 02:02.340] It's hard to say you're proud of it because you're not because it was your family.
[02:02.340 -> 02:05.600] But I also think we wouldn't be in this position if I'm honest if we didn't.
[02:05.600 -> 02:10.240] Man this is such a cool episode so this is a conversation with Jason Daniel.
[02:10.240 -> 02:16.360] Jason is an Aussie he created a brand called LSKD and the brand is exploding
[02:16.360 -> 02:20.520] across Australia and he's about to share with us the story of how he did it the
[02:20.520 -> 02:24.680] setbacks the difficult times the challenges the successes and that's
[02:24.680 -> 02:30.400] really why we've created this podcast, because we know that opinion is valueless. Like your
[02:30.400 -> 02:34.080] opinion doesn't matter. It's about empathy. It's about understanding that just because
[02:34.080 -> 02:38.680] someone's life looks sorted and great and successful and brilliant, there's so much
[02:38.680 -> 02:43.120] going on beneath the surface that you need to know before you can really understand them.
[02:43.120 -> 02:45.840] And I can't thank Jason enough for flying over to the UK,
[02:46.000 -> 02:49.320] for sitting down with us and discussing his journey,
[02:49.760 -> 02:53.720] including the tough stuff that's taken him to the point where his business and
[02:53.720 -> 02:57.680] his brand is doing so well. I know we have loads of Aussie listeners.
[02:57.720 -> 03:00.400] A big thank you and a big shout out to all of you.
[03:00.920 -> 03:04.760] You probably know Jason already, but for everyone else across the world,
[03:04.800 -> 03:05.200] I love
[03:05.200 -> 03:11.040] it when we introduce new people to you who've got an incredible story to tell. So enjoy
[03:11.040 -> 03:21.760] the founder and creator of LSKD, Jason Daniel on the High Performance Podcast.
[03:21.760 -> 03:27.040] As a person with a very deep voice, I'm hired all the time for advertising campaigns.
[03:27.040 -> 03:32.800] But a deep voice doesn't sell B2B, and advertising on the wrong platform doesn't sell B2B either.
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[03:51.280 -> 03:56.200] Okay, that's enough about wigs. LinkedIn ads allows you to focus on getting your B2B message
[03:56.200 -> 04:01.280] to the right people. So, does that mean you should use ads on LinkedIn instead of hiring
[04:01.280 -> 04:05.680] me, the man with the deepest voice in the world? Yes, yes it
[04:05.680 -> 04:11.480] does. Get started today and see why LinkedIn is the place to be, to be. We'll even give
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[04:21.720 -> 04:26.660] On our podcast, we love to highlight businesses that are doing
[04:26.660 -> 04:30.680] things a better way so you can live a better life and that's why when I found
[04:30.680 -> 04:35.160] Mint Mobile I had to share. So Mint Mobile ditched retail stores and all
[04:35.160 -> 04:39.800] those overhead costs and instead sells their phone plans online and passes
[04:39.800 -> 04:43.720] those savings to you. And for a limited time they're passing on even more
[04:43.720 -> 04:49.380] savings with a new customer offer that cuts all Mint Mobile plans to $15 a month when
[04:49.380 -> 04:57.060] you purchase a three-month plan. That's unlimited talk, text and data for $15 a
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[05:02.100 -> 05:09.040] to providers that we've worked with before is incredible. Mint Mobile is here to rescue you with premium wireless plans
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[05:34.960 -> 06:07.760] service for just $15 a month. To get this new customer offer and your new 3 month unlimited Jason, welcome to High Performance.
[06:07.760 -> 06:08.760] Thank you.
[06:08.760 -> 06:09.760] Thanks for having me.
[06:09.760 -> 06:12.080] What is your definition of high performance?
[06:12.080 -> 06:19.080] My story, it goes back like 20 years to be honest and the brand started out in 2002 when
[06:19.080 -> 06:22.600] I was in high school as a high school nickname, Loose Kid.
[06:22.600 -> 06:27.120] So I got termed Loose Kid growing up riding BMX and they kind of thought I was a little bit loose on a bike.
[06:27.120 -> 06:28.360] I used to ride with a bunch of guys.
[06:28.360 -> 06:29.880] They were a lot older than me, they're about 18.
[06:29.880 -> 06:32.440] And, you know, they ended up becoming pro athletes as well
[06:32.440 -> 06:34.080] which kind of probably played a big part
[06:34.080 -> 06:36.080] in my journey growing up.
[06:36.080 -> 06:38.640] But when I got founded in 2002,
[06:38.640 -> 06:40.960] it was just, you know, it was just a word we used.
[06:40.960 -> 06:42.720] And I was at school, finished school,
[06:42.720 -> 06:44.760] became a carpenter and raced motocross
[06:44.760 -> 06:46.720] and had a huge passion to become a professional motocross
[06:46.720 -> 06:51.360] athlete. And then in 2007 was when I actually decided, okay I want this to be
[06:51.360 -> 06:57.280] my career. And then we changed the brand to LKI. And from 2007 to 2010 I was still
[06:57.280 -> 07:01.200] working as a full-time carpenter. So you know before work, after work, in my lunch
[07:01.200 -> 07:04.400] break I was getting up, working on the brand. And when I mean working on the
[07:04.400 -> 07:06.960] brand I had no idea what I was doing. So I had to figure out even
[07:06.960 -> 07:11.620] where to get a t-shirt from and find a supplier. And we were predominantly a wholesale business
[07:11.620 -> 07:15.680] because there was no social media back then. So from there and was working from my mom's
[07:15.680 -> 07:20.800] bedroom and we had containers there. And in 2010, we moved out of there and pretty much
[07:20.800 -> 07:29.920] started another apprenticeship and went full time on LKI. And then in 2010 to around 2017, we were just grinding it out. I mean, still
[07:29.920 -> 07:32.920] today, but we made everything for everyone and I was just pushing every
[07:32.920 -> 07:37.120] day. And then really went through this period of we stopped growing, I was doing
[07:37.120 -> 07:40.360] too many products and when I mean that, it was making life jackets, motocross
[07:40.360 -> 07:44.600] gloves, socks, some sportswear, some streetwear and I was in so many different
[07:44.600 -> 07:45.100] categories spreading myself so thin. I was in so many different categories
[07:45.100 -> 07:46.840] spreading myself so thin.
[07:46.840 -> 07:48.960] I was making so many mistakes
[07:48.960 -> 07:50.920] and it was really like, what am I doing?
[07:50.920 -> 07:53.940] But when I look at what high performance means to me,
[07:53.940 -> 07:56.240] it's the consistency and constantly being consistent
[07:56.240 -> 07:58.540] because this brand didn't grow overnight.
[07:58.540 -> 08:02.200] It's been a journey for 15 plus years, really going at it.
[08:02.200 -> 08:04.200] One of our values is 1% better every day.
[08:04.200 -> 08:05.000] It's like,
[08:05.000 -> 08:07.800] you're not going to have good days. There's always going to be those shitty days, but
[08:07.800 -> 08:11.000] they're the days you get up and you just keep going because they're the days that matter
[08:11.000 -> 08:14.560] the most. So when I look back on my journey and I'm very thankful for it, I think, well,
[08:14.560 -> 08:18.980] high performance isn't, you're not always going to be at your best, but it's those days
[08:18.980 -> 08:22.960] when you do feel like shit and you get up and you just keep going and you keep learning
[08:22.960 -> 08:28.960] and you keep developing yourself. That's probably what I believe is high performance to us and myself.
[08:28.960 -> 08:29.960] So yeah.
[08:29.960 -> 08:30.960] I love it.
[08:30.960 -> 08:33.080] Oh, there's so much to pick out there, isn't there?
[08:33.080 -> 08:34.960] I mean, what an incredible story to start with.
[08:34.960 -> 08:38.960] Before we go a bit deeper into the things that you spoke about there, I want you to
[08:38.960 -> 08:44.800] share the one thing you would love them to hear from you at the very start of this podcast.
[08:44.800 -> 08:49.080] One thing I'm very passionate about is our mission and values and I think you know when
[08:49.080 -> 08:54.440] we were in the journey of the early days around 2017 I was really trying to find my why. You
[08:54.440 -> 08:59.400] know I was mentioning before I went to a course called Landmark Forum in 2015 and then from
[08:59.400 -> 09:03.080] there I ended up joining a Toastmasters club because I struggled to public speak, I couldn't
[09:03.080 -> 09:07.660] even talk in front of five people and I did that for a couple of years to really learn and gain confidence
[09:07.660 -> 09:13.100] in how to speak and impromptu speaking. And as that kind of went on, I started listening
[09:13.100 -> 09:19.480] to books. We were talking about it before, the founder of Lululemon, Nike founder, and
[09:19.480 -> 09:26.240] all the books on from there. And really started to realize, why do I go to work every day? And in 2018,
[09:26.240 -> 09:30.700] September 2018 is when we changed to LSKD. And part of all these books we were listening
[09:30.700 -> 09:36.360] to, I used to think I had to make every single decision within the brand. And it got to the
[09:36.360 -> 09:40.080] point where I was like, well, hang on a minute, why don't I ask our team? So at the time when
[09:40.080 -> 09:44.200] we had LKI and we had LSKD and they were both on products, I'll try to not make it sound
[09:44.200 -> 09:49.680] too confusing, but we had LKI and LSKD on a t-shirt together, say. And when we had LKI and we had LSKD and they were both on products. I'll try to not make it sound too confusing but we had LKI and LSKD on a t-shirt together. And when we had it on the
[09:49.680 -> 09:54.400] product I was like, oh my God, this is getting confusing to our community again. So I was
[09:54.400 -> 09:57.560] like, okay, well, instead of me making the decision what to do, I'll ask our team, I'll
[09:57.560 -> 10:02.520] ask our community and I'll ask our athletes, which one do you like? LKI or LSKD? And everyone
[10:02.520 -> 10:05.360] kept saying LSKD. I'm like, you know what? This isn't my decision.
[10:05.360 -> 10:07.640] We're doing this as a team and I believe in what they say.
[10:07.640 -> 10:09.480] We're going to change to LSKD.
[10:09.480 -> 10:10.960] And then we had a phrase called chase the vibe.
[10:10.960 -> 10:13.520] And I thought, well, why do we go to work every...
[10:13.520 -> 10:14.760] Why do I go to work every day?
[10:14.760 -> 10:17.280] Like why do I get up and get out of it every day?
[10:17.280 -> 10:20.800] And we tried to create a mission statement and values four or five years before that.
[10:20.800 -> 10:22.640] I had no clue what it even meant.
[10:22.640 -> 10:23.800] So it took me a long time to understand.
[10:23.800 -> 10:26.240] And I was like, well, if it's to inspire people to chase the vibe
[10:26.240 -> 10:31.240] through sport fitness and adventure and then we create sportswear with a street
[10:31.240 -> 10:34.880] aesthetic and if we can be best in the world at sportswear and essentially
[10:34.880 -> 10:38.440] create the best leggings in the world for our female community with our own
[10:38.440 -> 10:41.960] raw materials and fabrics, is that something that could be quite special
[10:41.960 -> 10:57.500] that I'd want to go to work to every day and our team would want to come to work every day instead of just, let's go and create a big brand, you know, I think that is cool and we want to create something special, but to see that coming to life of the work we put in back then before it really grew was really special.
[10:57.500 -> 11:05.200] So I think, I mean, that's a small part of it, but that's something I would want the listeners to hear today is how that was created in one part of the story.
[11:05.200 -> 11:10.720] It's quite an interesting point you make there Jason, around the fact that you'd already
[11:10.720 -> 11:15.320] been running the business for a long time before you started to think about your why,
[11:15.320 -> 11:18.240] that sense of purpose and the values.
[11:18.240 -> 11:22.040] And I'm interested if you could explain to us that a lot of people think you have to
[11:22.040 -> 11:26.640] have that answer in place before you start the business and you've done it the other way around.
[11:26.640 -> 11:32.160] What was it that prompted you to do that reflection and what has it given you
[11:32.160 -> 11:36.360] since you've done it because you've got a very definite before and after to
[11:36.360 -> 11:40.680] compare it to? I think as I suppose you would say as an entrepreneur, founder, the
[11:40.680 -> 11:44.600] reason the brand started wasn't because I was interested in, I'm not a designer,
[11:44.600 -> 11:49.200] I'm not very good at that, as in I've just a passion for creating community, I was an aspiring
[11:49.200 -> 11:53.760] professional athlete, I was trying to make it as a pro athlete, didn't, but in motocross,
[11:53.760 -> 11:57.480] and I think when you start something, you just start because you kind of love to do
[11:57.480 -> 11:59.200] it, but you don't really know why.
[11:59.200 -> 12:01.080] And I was in my early 20s.
[12:01.080 -> 12:05.060] When my wife fell pregnant in 2017, it really kind of woke me up as well.
[12:05.060 -> 12:06.060] And I was like, okay, cool.
[12:06.060 -> 12:07.220] I'm in the real world now.
[12:07.220 -> 12:11.140] I really need to make sure that I'm providing for my family.
[12:11.140 -> 12:17.460] And you know, from the journey that I've had in such a short period of time, and anyone
[12:17.460 -> 12:19.500] that looks back at it, you go, 10 years is a long time.
[12:19.500 -> 12:20.700] 10 years is not that long.
[12:20.700 -> 12:22.500] It's a really small stint.
[12:22.500 -> 12:25.760] But when we created that, it was from a sense
[12:25.760 -> 12:29.740] of almost we were forced to. We were predominantly wholesale and we were selling to some really
[12:29.740 -> 12:34.120] big retailers in Australia that had 60 plus retail doors. And do you know, they made a
[12:34.120 -> 12:37.420] lot of their own brands and anyone that's been in wholesale knows that they'll sell
[12:37.420 -> 12:40.560] their own product and then they'll trickle in a little bit of your brand and you work
[12:40.560 -> 12:44.440] really hard to kind of build something, but then they sell their own products. So they
[12:44.440 -> 12:48.400] started cutting our orders back and I'm like, okay, this is real. Not only have
[12:48.400 -> 12:52.960] I got a young child on the way but they're cutting orders back and I'm like, what do
[12:52.960 -> 12:57.280] I do here? So it was almost like I was, it was the worst thing in the world to see that
[12:57.280 -> 13:01.040] happen but it was almost the best thing ever that happened to us because it really made
[13:01.040 -> 13:04.680] us think, okay, well, what are we here for? Like, I love what I do. I've never got in
[13:04.680 -> 13:07.080] this for the money. I never started this to go, I want it to be
[13:07.080 -> 13:12.160] worth a lot of money. I did it because it was just a huge passion, but it really led
[13:12.160 -> 13:15.800] me to be more vulnerable and go, okay, cool. I got to almost confront the brutal facts
[13:15.800 -> 13:19.140] that we're not doing a good job here. And then I started reaching out to mentors and
[13:19.140 -> 13:23.880] met another founder. I actually met the founder of Penny Skateboards who grew up in Logan
[13:23.880 -> 13:25.680] and took me about nine
[13:25.680 -> 13:26.760] months to get a coffee with him.
[13:26.760 -> 13:29.760] He didn't, you know, he had to hassle him a lot, you know, he didn't want to catch up
[13:29.760 -> 13:33.700] with me but that was a huge shift in my career because I got to learn about someone that's
[13:33.700 -> 13:38.360] built a brand and a global brand and I started reaching out to founders that had started
[13:38.360 -> 13:42.400] brands and been very successful with them and I've never been in it for long term.
[13:42.400 -> 13:48.360] I've always been thinking it's about the journey and enjoying it and it takes time as well. But when you start to see it grow,
[13:48.360 -> 13:51.440] I was always under the impression is how do you build something that's global and manage
[13:51.440 -> 13:56.960] it? But then I realized if you set the mission and the why first, and every decision goes
[13:56.960 -> 14:02.280] back to that, and you hire and get the right people on the bus, as Jim Collins would say,
[14:02.280 -> 14:08.400] then you can create something quite special because they can be making decisions as a team based on the why first, not based on what just Jason
[14:08.400 -> 14:09.400] wants.
[14:09.400 -> 14:11.920] Let's break it down so it's really clear for the people listening to this, right?
[14:11.920 -> 14:16.640] So you set up your business, you've been going for over 10 years, and in your own words,
[14:16.640 -> 14:17.640] it's not really happening, right?
[14:17.640 -> 14:22.520] You haven't popped, you haven't been a great success, this desire to sell around the world
[14:22.520 -> 14:23.520] isn't happening.
[14:23.520 -> 14:24.520] Yep.
[14:24.520 -> 14:29.560] So you have to look at that. Be really honest with us, in what areas were you failing at that time?
[14:29.560 -> 14:32.800] We got to about three million dollars a year and we were stuck on that for I think
[14:32.800 -> 14:36.960] about four years and because we were so involved in action sports and motocross
[14:36.960 -> 14:41.360] and obviously loved that sport but we were very segmented into that where we
[14:41.360 -> 14:48.920] we got retailers didn't want to stock action sports brand at the time but I I think just trying to be too many things, when you're trying to make a
[14:48.920 -> 14:52.520] life jacket and you're trying to make a motocross glove and you're trying to make sportswear,
[14:52.520 -> 14:55.880] you're honing in on so many different communities, that community would still wear your product.
[14:55.880 -> 14:57.200] And what caused that to happen?
[14:57.200 -> 15:00.280] I think just I thought it was the right thing to do. I'm like, oh, there's a really cool
[15:00.280 -> 15:08.480] market here. We wake surf and I mountain bike and I ride bikes and I do sportswear. Why don't I just do it all?" And it really kind of come down to when you're
[15:08.480 -> 15:14.120] trying to develop that many products and you're a really small, it's still a sizable business,
[15:14.120 -> 15:19.360] but it was still very small. It takes a lot of resources to do that. So everyone is stretched
[15:19.360 -> 15:25.000] in resources and essentially we weren't making money. And it was until I met our CFO in 2018,
[15:25.000 -> 15:28.000] who started a day a week in August 2018,
[15:28.000 -> 15:32.000] and actually a government grant helped me pay for half of him a day a week.
[15:32.000 -> 15:34.000] It taught me to learn actually the financial side of the business too,
[15:34.000 -> 15:36.000] because I really didn't understand the financial side.
[15:36.000 -> 15:37.000] It was just about go hard.
[15:37.000 -> 15:39.000] So you were in debt at this point?
[15:39.000 -> 15:42.000] We went through some periods where, say 2018,
[15:42.000 -> 15:45.560] it's when you're selling as a wholesale business, you're waiting to
[15:45.560 -> 15:52.320] be paid. And there was times where we weren't in debt, we were self-funded, but we owed
[15:52.320 -> 15:57.020] money to our suppliers. And there was times where I remember being on a holiday with my
[15:57.020 -> 16:03.240] wife and kids and thinking, I owed a supplier, I think it was around $100,000. And I remember
[16:03.240 -> 16:05.640] talking to that supplier, and we still use that supplier today.
[16:05.640 -> 16:07.320] And I remember talking, I was 90 days overdue,
[16:07.320 -> 16:09.800] and I called them and I just said to them,
[16:09.800 -> 16:10.880] look, I'm gonna pay you.
[16:10.880 -> 16:12.600] Cause I knew having a CFO,
[16:12.600 -> 16:13.600] they're like, you're gonna pay the bills,
[16:13.600 -> 16:15.200] you're just waiting to be paid.
[16:15.200 -> 16:16.040] And I just thought to myself,
[16:16.040 -> 16:17.200] fuck, I don't wanna keep doing this.
[16:17.200 -> 16:18.280] Like, this is not fun.
[16:18.280 -> 16:20.480] I don't wanna be the brand that's like this anymore.
[16:20.480 -> 16:22.000] Like, how am I gonna change this?
[16:22.000 -> 16:25.360] Like, how are we going to change this to be
[16:25.360 -> 16:30.280] able to grow something bigger than ourselves and not have to constantly be chasing our
[16:30.280 -> 16:35.680] tail just to pay bills? All these things just built up inside to go, I'm going to find a
[16:35.680 -> 16:40.800] better way. And it was when I started slowing down instead of speeding up, essentially,
[16:40.800 -> 16:44.360] and going, I've got to learn. I've got to actually be more vulnerable and learn and
[16:44.360 -> 16:47.760] know that I don't know everything, is when it slowly started to shift.
[16:47.760 -> 16:52.880] And then at the time I was like, well, to put that into context of what product that
[16:52.880 -> 16:57.760] became, you know, we already made a women's legging or tight and it was selling quite
[16:57.760 -> 17:01.320] well and I thought, well, why can't we be a fitness brand, you know, but there is a
[17:01.320 -> 17:05.840] lot of fitness brands out there and I was inspired by so many, but where do we fit?
[17:05.840 -> 17:06.840] So that's when I came up with,
[17:06.840 -> 17:09.480] well, we love street wear and we love sportswear,
[17:09.480 -> 17:10.720] why don't we come up with, you know,
[17:10.720 -> 17:12.480] sportswear wearing with a street aesthetic
[17:12.480 -> 17:14.960] and create something we're passionate about as a team.
[17:14.960 -> 17:17.080] And then within that, we loved women,
[17:17.080 -> 17:18.760] you know, we created a women's legging
[17:18.760 -> 17:21.760] and instead of just creating another women's legging,
[17:21.760 -> 17:23.620] let's create one from the ground up,
[17:23.620 -> 17:26.640] go to fitness communities and learn from them.
[17:26.640 -> 17:30.760] And that's when we started to realize that learning from our community instead of just
[17:30.760 -> 17:35.240] our retailers and what they wanted, we could create a product for, you know, essentially
[17:35.240 -> 17:37.040] I'll say our customer, but our community.
[17:37.040 -> 17:40.640] So we spent about 18 months developing this one legging called the Reptite and it's our
[17:40.640 -> 17:41.640] bestseller today.
[17:41.640 -> 17:42.680] And we developed this one legging.
[17:42.680 -> 17:44.880] We launched it in July, 2019.
[17:44.880 -> 17:45.880] We took our time.
[17:45.880 -> 17:47.440] We developed our own fabric.
[17:47.440 -> 17:49.440] We got feedback every time.
[17:49.440 -> 17:50.760] And when we launched that, we just said,
[17:50.760 -> 17:51.880] let's launch it for the community.
[17:51.880 -> 17:53.240] We won't sell it at wholesale.
[17:53.240 -> 17:54.080] We'll just launch it.
[17:54.080 -> 17:55.200] And it sold out in a month.
[17:55.200 -> 17:56.040] It sold out.
[17:56.040 -> 17:58.680] And then, and it was crazy because we sold it.
[17:58.680 -> 17:59.500] We sold out.
[17:59.500 -> 18:00.340] It was like our first order.
[18:00.340 -> 18:02.560] I think it was around 2000 units, which was crazy
[18:02.560 -> 18:04.760] because we wouldn't order that many units back then.
[18:04.760 -> 18:07.120] I was like, no, I think this is going to work.
[18:07.120 -> 18:10.680] And then we learned e-commerce and we were obsessed with trying to understand how e-commerce
[18:10.680 -> 18:11.680] works.
[18:11.680 -> 18:14.480] So, we're studying that, you know, learn digital marketing, learn all these little
[18:14.480 -> 18:19.160] like facets of how to, you know, do, you know, media buying and then, you know, because obviously
[18:19.160 -> 18:21.400] social media ads played a big part.
[18:21.400 -> 18:29.480] And then localizing with the community and thought, well, our community is functional fitness, which is any, you know, functional fitness studios, gyms, anywhere
[18:29.480 -> 18:33.520] where there's a trainer and a gym owner, they're essentially our athlete.
[18:33.520 -> 18:34.520] And I became a part of one.
[18:34.520 -> 18:38.160] I joined a functional fitness gym, a fit stop back in Australia.
[18:38.160 -> 18:41.040] And I got that itch again to being a part of something again and thought, well, that's
[18:41.040 -> 18:42.580] where our communities are.
[18:42.580 -> 18:45.840] When we launched it, it sold the first month and then we got a reorder and it sold again
[18:45.840 -> 18:50.160] and the word of mouth started growing because of this one product.
[18:50.160 -> 18:55.040] And it was because we solely focused on one thing, we didn't get distracted on being everywhere.
[18:55.040 -> 19:02.000] So what I'd be fascinated if you'd share with us, Jason, just some of the lessons that maybe
[19:02.000 -> 19:05.800] young entrepreneurs could learn from you from this counterintuitive approach.
[19:05.800 -> 19:08.100] So, if you're a young entrepreneur and you're saying,
[19:08.100 -> 19:12.300] I need to have seed money, I need the start-up money to be able to do it,
[19:12.300 -> 19:16.300] that's often a barrier to entry for people wanting to start a business.
[19:16.300 -> 19:18.800] What's your advice on that topic?
[19:18.800 -> 19:23.300] You've got to have that drive to build something and not obviously rely on seed money to begin with
[19:23.300 -> 19:24.500] if you're going to do it and it's hard.
[19:24.500 -> 19:28.000] I mean, we use, I mean, look, and if I'm honest, we use my mom's credit card to begin with.
[19:28.000 -> 19:32.000] And I paid it down, you know, and without her, she was a massive help in the early days,
[19:32.000 -> 19:36.000] a massive help. And I think, you know, what I've learned is that you used to go to these events
[19:36.000 -> 19:41.000] and it'd be like, have three businesses and do all this. And they're the people that have made it.
[19:41.000 -> 19:45.720] They've been doing it for 20, 30 years or they they've made it, and then they've either sold their businesses
[19:45.720 -> 19:47.240] and they're like, okay, I've got some time now,
[19:47.240 -> 19:48.340] I wanna do that.
[19:48.340 -> 19:50.280] But if you're focusing on one,
[19:50.280 -> 19:52.640] and trying to build yourself up to create something,
[19:52.640 -> 19:54.840] don't try and put yourself in too many places.
[19:54.840 -> 19:57.360] You don't see a professional athlete
[19:57.360 -> 19:59.360] trying to be three different sports.
[19:59.360 -> 20:01.240] You say they're the best at one sport.
[20:01.240 -> 20:03.160] And I think that's the thing with an entrepreneur
[20:03.160 -> 20:04.200] is you think you've gotta be doing
[20:04.200 -> 20:06.620] a bunch of different things. If you focus on one
[20:06.620 -> 20:10.800] thing you can be the best at that thing. You know if you want that thing to be
[20:10.800 -> 20:14.520] successful you need to slow down and and speed up but speed up on that one
[20:14.520 -> 20:19.160] thing. Yeah. Not try to be spreading yourself too fast. Slow down but speed up.
[20:19.160 -> 20:22.640] Yeah. That's a brilliant bit of advice actually. What about people who are listening going
[20:22.640 -> 20:25.840] well I don't know anything about fashion but I want to work in the fashion business, I
[20:25.840 -> 20:30.080] know nothing about media but I want to set up a media business. How much did you
[20:30.080 -> 20:34.260] know about this world? Nothing. I was a carpenter that built houses and raced
[20:34.260 -> 20:38.920] motocross. I mean you got to learn and have a passion and think it's gonna take
[20:38.920 -> 20:43.000] time. I never got into it to think I was gonna be big overnight. It was not that
[20:43.000 -> 20:48.240] and I think you know say my naive but naive, I think being naive is a good thing,
[20:48.240 -> 20:52.520] because you don't worry about what the industry is, you do what you think, you
[20:52.520 -> 20:56.040] know, what you believe in and you learn from that. Something that we haven't
[20:56.040 -> 20:59.640] addressed that I think is almost present in everything you've just shared with us,
[20:59.640 -> 21:07.500] which is about courage or bravery to actually take the leap. So what advice would you give based on your experiences,
[21:07.500 -> 21:11.500] to anyone listening to this, about that maybe wants to do it but is hesitant,
[21:11.500 -> 21:14.000] they can think of lots of reasons why not to do it?
[21:15.000 -> 21:19.000] My personality is quite, I have that drive and you could say,
[21:19.000 -> 21:23.000] you know, whether it's galvanizing, yeah, we do a lot of books
[21:23.000 -> 21:25.440] and we've just finished a book called The Six Working
[21:25.440 -> 21:27.560] Genius so I get to learn a lot about myself.
[21:27.560 -> 21:32.120] Because I ask that question a lot, I ask that question, why have I done that?
[21:32.120 -> 21:39.120] Why did I just go out and build relationships with athletes, suppliers, retailers, the team
[21:39.120 -> 21:42.960] and just did that, why did I have that?
[21:42.960 -> 21:45.080] A few different things that I've learned over the years from different,
[21:45.080 -> 21:47.000] you know, whether it's courses or people is,
[21:47.000 -> 21:49.160] everybody else is just as nervous.
[21:49.160 -> 21:51.320] I was very lucky to spend some time
[21:51.320 -> 21:53.800] and learn from a billionaire recently
[21:53.800 -> 21:56.040] and literally walked around one of our retail stores
[21:56.040 -> 21:57.440] and I got to learn so much.
[21:57.440 -> 22:00.200] And realizing how humble he was
[22:00.200 -> 22:03.040] and realizing that they have the same struggles,
[22:03.040 -> 22:04.780] you go, well, we're all human.
[22:04.780 -> 22:05.440] We know we all can get quite nervous. You know, well, we're all human. We all can
[22:05.440 -> 22:10.360] get quite nervous. Even say today, this is a huge opportunity for us. I was so excited
[22:10.360 -> 22:14.440] to come on the podcast and I was like, oh, I can be really nervous. I could just be myself.
[22:14.440 -> 22:17.760] Don't worry about it. Be myself and enjoy the journey. If I make a mistake, it doesn't
[22:17.760 -> 22:21.440] matter. You got to put yourself out there, but it's also one of those things you're going
[22:21.440 -> 22:28.120] to make mistakes. It's okay. Fail forward, the reason we're in this position is from failing forward essentially.
[22:28.120 -> 22:33.240] But I do ask myself that a lot and, you know, with my upbringing and childhood and, you
[22:33.240 -> 22:37.760] know, my parents splitting up when I was younger and I was 13 and why did I get given this
[22:37.760 -> 22:43.560] drive and passion to just keep going regardless of whatever happens? Because it has, you know,
[22:43.560 -> 22:47.880] it has been quite a long journey essentially since being a teenager. But, you know, I'm just thankful
[22:47.880 -> 22:51.680] to be in that position. But I also just look at it and go, well, you know, just get
[22:51.680 -> 22:55.120] at it and go and learn. And, you know, every day is an opportunity to learn
[22:55.120 -> 23:00.880] something new. But what lessons have you learned about how you can engineer that
[23:00.880 -> 23:09.260] drive? So, there might be people that haven't come from a broken home like you did or people that weren't pursuing a sporting career that
[23:09.260 -> 23:13.800] ultimately ended in failure in that regard. So without having to go through
[23:13.800 -> 23:17.760] those experiences what have you learned that people could do and then play in
[23:17.760 -> 23:21.240] their lives to get a similar drive to you? I think there's a couple of things. I
[23:21.240 -> 23:27.500] think who you surround yourself with, you know, to keep that drive going. I surround myself with a great group of people.
[23:27.500 -> 23:29.500] What does that mean, a great group?
[23:29.500 -> 23:34.500] People that pick you up when you're down, people that, you know, to have that drive and constantly go, you know.
[23:34.500 -> 23:38.500] And I'm not saying we have the best culture. I'm definitely not. We've always got something to learn.
[23:38.500 -> 23:45.900] But I think with our mission and values and what we created and how we recruit as a team that we all motivate
[23:45.900 -> 23:52.240] each other. And I feel like if I'm not perfect on a day and I'm not feeling 100%, there's
[23:52.240 -> 23:57.400] a teammate around me that will essentially pick me up. If I look at it in my own experiences
[23:57.400 -> 24:03.740] in our workplace and with one of our values, sweep the sheds and 1% better every day, there's
[24:03.740 -> 24:06.600] always someone on and we have a gym in the office
[24:06.600 -> 24:09.640] where we train together 1 p.m. on a Tuesday and Thursday.
[24:09.640 -> 24:12.400] You don't realize that going and training with the team,
[24:12.400 -> 24:13.360] I don't make every session,
[24:13.360 -> 24:15.800] but going and high-fiving after how much that picks you up
[24:15.800 -> 24:17.920] and makes you feel great to wanna be better.
[24:17.920 -> 24:20.000] Wow, this is amazing around me happening right now.
[24:20.000 -> 24:20.840] Wow.
[24:20.840 -> 24:21.660] Like, do you know?
[24:21.660 -> 24:23.680] And I think that at one point in the journey,
[24:23.680 -> 24:25.880] I was like, I was so hard on myself
[24:25.880 -> 24:30.880] with wanting LKI to work that I was almost making it fail.
[24:31.240 -> 24:34.080] And when we shifted to LSKT, I was like,
[24:34.080 -> 24:35.640] man, I just wanna have fun as well.
[24:35.640 -> 24:36.480] I really wanna have fun.
[24:36.480 -> 24:39.160] And that's how you were making it fail.
[24:39.160 -> 24:40.620] So if somebody came up with an idea
[24:40.620 -> 24:42.280] and I didn't like the idea, I would put it down
[24:42.280 -> 24:44.920] or I would say our culture wasn't that good.
[24:44.920 -> 24:47.640] And it was because of me me because I thought I had to
[24:47.640 -> 24:50.800] make every decision I thought you know it but when you start getting your team
[24:50.800 -> 24:54.640] involved and asking their opinions and getting their decisions when it goes
[24:54.640 -> 24:59.720] back to one purpose or mission that makes it very powerful where I was kind
[24:59.720 -> 25:04.680] of forcing it. Give us an example of that then of where maybe somebody's come up
[25:04.680 -> 25:10.440] with an idea that the old you would have just dismissed it out of hand but now that you've got this
[25:10.440 -> 25:15.120] sense of purpose that you've gone okay let's put it through that filter and let's see what
[25:15.120 -> 25:19.720] emerges. Our head of brand Dylan he was one of our first team members he actually designed
[25:19.720 -> 25:24.320] the LSKD logo and in the early days you know he was showing up to work a little later you
[25:24.320 -> 25:28.800] know but he was actually stuck in traffic and you could see he was pissed off and I would just rouse
[25:28.800 -> 25:29.800] on him.
[25:29.800 -> 25:31.440] What the fuck, why are you late?
[25:31.440 -> 25:33.120] What are you doing?
[25:33.120 -> 25:35.640] And when I started kind of understanding what I was doing, he left.
[25:35.640 -> 25:41.520] He left for 18 months and I was an idiot and he left and then I started to realize just
[25:41.520 -> 25:44.760] listening to his books and growing up and being like, why didn't I just end these courses?
[25:44.760 -> 25:46.400] I was like, why don't I just ask if he's okay?
[25:46.400 -> 25:47.800] Are you all right, bro?
[25:47.800 -> 25:48.800] Do you need any help?
[25:48.800 -> 25:50.520] Is everything okay?
[25:50.520 -> 25:52.800] And then I ended up calling him and saying, man, I would love you to come back.
[25:52.800 -> 25:53.800] You're a legend.
[25:53.800 -> 25:54.800] And he's like, I've learned a lot.
[25:54.800 -> 25:55.800] And I'm like, dude, I've learned a lot too.
[25:55.800 -> 25:56.800] I made a lot of mistakes.
[25:56.800 -> 25:57.920] Do you want to come back?
[25:57.920 -> 26:01.880] That example I think was probably one of the most prominent where I was just like, really
[26:01.880 -> 26:08.240] rousing and not actually just asking if he's okay and understanding from, you know, where their perspective is coming from. And I think that
[26:08.240 -> 26:12.800] goes to in the office and in an environment where you're looking at a design. Instead of,
[26:12.800 -> 26:17.040] I don't like that. Instead of, where do you get the idea? Where the inspiration come from? What
[26:17.040 -> 26:20.240] are you thinking? And then you listen to them, you go, wow, I never thought of it like that.
[26:20.240 -> 26:25.360] I mean, as the brand gets bigger, it does get harder because there's a lot more people.
[26:25.360 -> 26:28.440] But I think that's the next challenge that I'm learning as well as a team is as it gets
[26:28.440 -> 26:31.400] bigger, there's more team members and making sure that everyone still has their say.
[26:31.400 -> 26:33.960] Well, that's what I was going to ask you because it's referred to as Dunbar's number, isn't
[26:33.960 -> 26:34.960] it?
[26:34.960 -> 26:41.000] That once you get above 150 employees, it's almost impossible to know everybody's details
[26:41.000 -> 26:43.680] or like how are you?
[26:43.680 -> 26:45.880] And I think that comes down to like, you've got to be out there.
[26:45.880 -> 26:48.000] Do you know, I always like to think like 40% of my time
[26:48.000 -> 26:50.360] is working within the team.
[26:50.360 -> 26:52.140] Do you know, we don't have offices.
[26:52.140 -> 26:53.480] It's, you know, there's meeting rooms.
[26:53.480 -> 26:56.020] I work in the middle of the office, you know, on a desk.
[26:56.020 -> 26:58.020] But I like to sit within, you know,
[26:58.020 -> 26:59.320] whether it's in different departments
[26:59.320 -> 27:00.520] or just walk around and talk,
[27:00.520 -> 27:02.640] or when I'm going to the retail stores now
[27:02.640 -> 27:04.800] to meet the teams and just walk around and talk to them.
[27:04.800 -> 27:05.140] And cause that's when you get the best ideas, you know, you just in a quick conversation and you learn and talk or when I'm going to the retail stores now to meet the teams and just walk around and talk to them.
[27:05.140 -> 27:08.240] And because that's when you get the best ideas, you know, you just in a quick conversation
[27:08.240 -> 27:09.840] and you learn and then you can go back.
[27:09.840 -> 27:13.920] And, you know, I like to think 40% of my time is spent just doing that because that's how
[27:13.920 -> 27:17.360] you can learn quicker to help make better decisions on what everyone's struggling and
[27:17.360 -> 27:21.940] then connect teammates with teammates and try and create the brand in a way that everyone
[27:21.940 -> 27:24.400] feels a part of it because that's really important.
[27:24.400 -> 27:28.000] So you've come into an industry you know nothing about, you've taken a big leap,
[27:28.000 -> 27:31.000] you've made a million mistakes as we've talked about, 10 years down the line,
[27:31.000 -> 27:36.000] you're not making any serious money, you're having to ring up suppliers to try and pay the bills,
[27:36.000 -> 27:43.000] and then things change, right? So you have children and it forces you to find your why.
[27:43.000 -> 27:45.760] Can you link those two for us? Why
[27:45.760 -> 27:49.120] did having children change everything for you? What was the moment?
[27:49.120 -> 27:53.080] It was interesting when I found out my wife was pregnant I was so excited but
[27:53.080 -> 27:56.720] I was so nervous. You know, we didn't have a lot growing up, you know, my parents
[27:56.720 -> 28:00.400] worked really hard. We had a plant nursery, I was working, you know, working
[28:00.400 -> 28:04.240] in the nursery at a young age, helping at markets on a Sunday. So I think when it
[28:04.240 -> 28:07.560] just happened I was like, okay, well I want to make sure I can, you
[28:07.560 -> 28:10.120] know, be a great dad.
[28:10.120 -> 28:13.160] And it wasn't the fact of just making lots of money to be able to do that.
[28:13.160 -> 28:18.520] It was the fact of giving the brand some certainty that it was going to live on to give me a
[28:18.520 -> 28:19.520] career.
[28:19.520 -> 28:20.520] So what did you find?
[28:20.520 -> 28:24.680] Like, if I was to say to you now, what was the why that you came up with in this period
[28:24.680 -> 28:25.240] that helped define everything? What was it? If I was to say to you now, what was the why that you came up with in this period that
[28:25.240 -> 28:26.680] I define everything?
[28:26.680 -> 28:27.880] What was it?
[28:27.880 -> 28:31.560] Because I thought with the mission that we have, I love fitness, I love sports, I love
[28:31.560 -> 28:32.560] adventure.
[28:32.560 -> 28:34.520] I've grown up around it.
[28:34.520 -> 28:38.480] If I go to, you know, to create something bigger than ourselves was to inspire people
[28:38.480 -> 28:39.480] to chase the vibe.
[28:39.480 -> 28:48.680] If I'm doing that, I get inspired by watching what other people are achieving and vice versa. So I thought if we create that and this is for the business side, this is for the
[28:48.680 -> 28:52.320] business, this is you know to create something and then when I had you know I
[28:52.320 -> 28:57.440] ran my first half marathon in 2019, got really excited to do events again after
[28:57.440 -> 29:02.500] finishing racing motocross in 2010, I wanted to inspire my kids. You know I was
[29:02.500 -> 29:05.080] like well when I'm out you know when I did my first half marathon,
[29:05.080 -> 29:07.440] my heart rate was wrong, like average 196.
[29:07.440 -> 29:10.480] So I went to 210, I put myself in the hurt locker.
[29:10.480 -> 29:12.080] But I was like, well, I'm inspiring,
[29:12.080 -> 29:14.440] my son's at the finish line, you know,
[29:14.440 -> 29:16.600] I'm inspiring him, you know, and when he's,
[29:16.600 -> 29:17.960] you know, when he gets older,
[29:17.960 -> 29:19.640] he's gonna see that, that I achieved that
[29:19.640 -> 29:20.840] and I'm inspiring him.
[29:20.840 -> 29:22.940] So when I'm in the hurt locker doing an event,
[29:22.940 -> 29:24.800] you know, hopefully I'm inspiring my kids.
[29:24.800 -> 29:27.400] So I think it all kind of tied together as one.
[29:27.400 -> 29:29.600] And I was like, I wanna be the same person at home
[29:29.600 -> 29:32.200] as I am at the office, as I am in this interview,
[29:32.200 -> 29:33.360] in this podcast, as I like,
[29:33.360 -> 29:34.440] I just wanna be the same person.
[29:34.440 -> 29:36.560] I don't wanna have to fake who I am and who I'm not.
[29:36.560 -> 29:37.960] So if we can live to that mission
[29:37.960 -> 29:40.200] and anyone that wants to come be a part of that mission
[29:40.200 -> 29:42.880] within our team, we can create something quite inspiring.
[29:42.880 -> 29:45.760] Tell me how that then sort of informs your decision making because
[29:46.640 -> 29:49.680] encouraging people to chase the vibe, like it's quite ethereal, right?
[29:49.680 -> 29:50.160] Yes.
[29:50.160 -> 29:53.120] What does it mean? How do you chase the vibe? Everyone's vibe is different.
[29:53.120 -> 29:56.000] Our vibe might not be theirs. You know, you can ask all those questions.
[29:56.000 -> 29:56.480] Yeah.
[29:56.480 -> 30:02.320] How did you then take those words and help that to inform like the direction of the whole business?
[30:03.200 -> 30:06.080] We class it into three, sport, fitness and adventure.
[30:06.080 -> 30:11.060] Because it's open to interpretation of how big, what is Chase the vibe, which is exciting
[30:11.060 -> 30:13.880] because it can be quite broad, long-term if you want it to be.
[30:13.880 -> 30:18.700] But we kind of broke it down into sport, fitness and adventure, knowing that we as a team and
[30:18.700 -> 30:24.480] myself grew up doing all these different things, but then we tied it back to sportswear.
[30:24.480 -> 30:27.500] And it was when we're making a decision like, is it inspiring our community,
[30:27.500 -> 30:29.200] you know, through sport fitness and adventure?
[30:29.200 -> 30:31.800] How do we inspire our community through storytelling, through...
[30:31.800 -> 30:34.600] So every decision, you ask yourself, does that inspire the people?
[30:34.600 -> 30:37.400] Yeah, if we're in an office, we're in a meeting and we're going to do something,
[30:37.400 -> 30:41.000] we're making a decision for a campaign, we're like, is it inspiring our community?
[30:41.000 -> 30:45.520] Honestly, it has helped us make decisions every year and every
[30:45.520 -> 30:51.040] season and every weather it's through a drop that ties back to that, whether it's a collection
[30:51.040 -> 30:56.080] release, whether it's you're working with an athlete, whether you're going to an event,
[30:56.080 -> 31:01.040] you know, and we always lead with that first. You know, we were recently at an event in
[31:01.040 -> 31:07.080] Miami, Waterpalooza, and there's 50,000 there, and we weren't trying to talk about the product.
[31:07.080 -> 31:09.000] I was so lucky to have so many conversations.
[31:09.000 -> 31:10.960] It was talking about the mission and values
[31:10.960 -> 31:12.560] and where we came from and our story,
[31:12.560 -> 31:14.600] and then it was all we have out.
[31:14.600 -> 31:17.020] That in itself is brilliant advice, I think, for people,
[31:17.020 -> 31:18.760] because I think one of the mistakes I've made often
[31:18.760 -> 31:21.340] over the years is I feel like if you've got something
[31:21.340 -> 31:22.480] to sell, you have to literally say,
[31:22.480 -> 31:24.560] this is what I'm selling and this is the price.
[31:24.560 -> 31:25.960] And actually, people need to realize that that's not what you do. You talk about if you've got something to sell, you have to literally say, this is what I'm selling and this is the price. And actually people need to realize
[31:25.960 -> 31:27.180] that that's not what you do.
[31:27.180 -> 31:29.920] You talk about what you've got
[31:29.920 -> 31:31.080] and why it's amazing for people
[31:31.080 -> 31:32.200] and why it might change their lives
[31:32.200 -> 31:33.260] and why it might inspire them.
[31:33.260 -> 31:35.440] As soon as you start doing the hard sell,
[31:35.440 -> 31:36.720] I think they switch off.
[31:36.720 -> 31:37.800] It's about inspiring them
[31:37.800 -> 31:39.560] and then allow them to find the brand,
[31:39.560 -> 31:41.920] find the product and decide for themselves
[31:41.920 -> 31:42.760] whether it's inspiring
[31:42.760 -> 31:43.680] rather than you telling them,
[31:43.680 -> 31:44.920] this is inspiring you.
[31:44.920 -> 31:45.960] Yeah, 100%.
[31:45.960 -> 31:48.800] And I look back at like, it didn't, it took time.
[31:48.800 -> 31:50.880] You know, it did take time to figure what that meant.
[31:50.880 -> 31:53.580] And I used to go on the road a lot and sell the brand
[31:53.580 -> 31:54.920] and you have to do that a lot.
[31:54.920 -> 31:56.400] I really got sick of doing it.
[32:00.720 -> 32:03.000] As a person with a very deep voice,
[32:03.000 -> 32:06.000] I'm hired all the time for advertising campaigns.
[32:06.000 -> 32:11.000] But a deep voice doesn't sell B2B, and advertising on the wrong platform doesn't sell B2B either.
[32:11.000 -> 32:15.000] That's why if you're a B2B marketer, you should use LinkedIn ads.
[32:15.000 -> 32:20.000] LinkedIn has the targeting capabilities to help you reach the world's largest professional audience.
[32:20.000 -> 32:30.200] That's right, over 70 million decision makers all in one place. All the big wigs, then medium wigs, also small wigs who are on the path to becoming big wigs.
[32:30.200 -> 32:32.360] Okay, that's enough about wigs.
[32:32.360 -> 32:36.800] LinkedIn ads allows you to focus on getting your B2B message to the right people.
[32:36.800 -> 32:41.940] So does that mean you should use ads on LinkedIn instead of hiring me, the man with the deepest
[32:41.940 -> 32:43.320] voice in the world?
[32:43.320 -> 32:45.440] Yes, yes it does.
[32:45.440 -> 32:47.560] Get started today and see why LinkedIn
[32:47.560 -> 32:49.980] is the place to be, to be.
[32:49.980 -> 32:53.280] We'll even give you a $100 credit on your next campaign.
[32:53.280 -> 32:56.440] Go to linkedin.com slash results to claim your credit.
[32:56.440 -> 32:58.720] That's linkedin.com slash results.
[32:58.720 -> 33:00.820] Terms and conditions apply.
[33:00.820 -> 33:01.800] Hey, I'm Ryan Reynolds.
[33:01.800 -> 33:04.160] Recently, I asked Mint Mobile's legal team
[33:04.160 -> 33:05.880] if big wireless companies are allowed
[33:05.880 -> 33:08.000] to raise prices due to inflation.
[33:08.000 -> 33:09.040] They said yes.
[33:09.040 -> 33:10.480] And then when I asked if raising prices
[33:10.480 -> 33:13.200] technically violates those onerous to your contracts,
[33:13.200 -> 33:15.480] they said, what the f*** are you talking about,
[33:15.480 -> 33:17.200] you insane Hollywood a*****e?
[33:17.200 -> 33:19.800] So to recap, we're cutting the price of Mint Unlimited
[33:19.800 -> 33:22.740] from $30 a month to just $15 a month.
[33:22.740 -> 33:25.280] Give it a try at mintmobile.com. Slash switch.
[33:25.280 -> 33:27.760] $45 up front for three months plus taxes and fees. Promote for new customers for
[33:27.760 -> 33:30.720] limited time. Unlimited more than 40 gigabytes per month. Full terms at MintMobile.com.
[33:33.360 -> 33:37.760] On our podcast, we love to highlight businesses that are doing things a better way so you can
[33:37.760 -> 33:43.280] live a better life. And that's why when I found Mint Mobile, I had to share. So Mint Mobile
[33:43.280 -> 33:49.280] ditched retail stores and all those overhead costs and instead sells their phone plans online and passes
[33:49.280 -> 33:53.200] those savings to you. And for a limited time they're passing on even more
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[33:58.120 -> 34:08.000] month when you purchase a three-month plan. That's unlimited talk talk text and data for $15 a month and by the way the
[34:08.000 -> 34:12.200] quality of Mint Mobile's wireless service in comparison to providers that
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[34:33.760 -> 34:36.560] Use your own phone with any Mint Mobile plan.
[34:36.560 -> 34:39.760] Bring your phone number along with all your existing contacts.
[34:39.760 -> 34:44.400] So ditch overpriced wireless with Mint Mobile's limited-time deal and get premium wireless
[34:44.400 -> 34:47.360] service for just $ bucks a month.
[34:47.360 -> 34:52.040] To get this new customer offer and your new 3 month unlimited wireless plan for just 15
[34:52.040 -> 34:59.600] bucks a month, go to mintmobile.com.hpp.
[34:59.600 -> 35:06.440] Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com
[35:03.360 -> 35:08.680] slash HPP. Additional taxes, fees and
[35:06.440 -> 35:15.360] restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile for
[35:08.680 -> 35:18.080] details. So tell us then how anyone
[35:15.360 -> 35:21.560] listening to this can identify their own
[35:18.080 -> 35:23.760] mission and you've spoke about the
[35:21.560 -> 35:25.680] values as well. Give us some of the
[35:23.760 -> 35:28.160] ideas and how you came to identify these with such clarity.
[35:28.160 -> 35:34.360] To create what we created, it was a team of us, so it wasn't just me.
[35:34.360 -> 35:37.720] So I got a lot of advice, you know, it wasn't like a corporate thing,
[35:37.720 -> 35:39.840] we didn't, you know, we didn't go hire an agency to do it.
[35:39.840 -> 35:43.320] But when I look at, when I look back, I honestly, I looked at my upbringing,
[35:43.320 -> 35:47.420] I looked at my childhood upbringing, I looked at, I loved all those things.
[35:47.420 -> 35:49.860] I did so many different sports growing up,
[35:49.860 -> 35:51.340] but then I looked at a lot of our team
[35:51.340 -> 35:54.020] and what they did growing up and they did similar things.
[35:54.020 -> 35:56.580] When we created it, I really just looked at what we did
[35:56.580 -> 35:58.580] and I said, well, why don't we create something
[35:58.580 -> 36:00.860] that's a reflection of all of us,
[36:00.860 -> 36:01.700] not have to try and create-
[36:01.700 -> 36:02.520] Something real.
[36:02.520 -> 36:03.980] Yeah, something real and authentic.
[36:03.980 -> 36:08.040] And I always thought if I ever had the opportunity to be on a podcast like this you can't fake
[36:08.040 -> 36:12.400] that and then tell us about the values so you referenced some sweeping the
[36:12.400 -> 36:16.040] sweat one can from one yeah yeah so the people that are listening to this they
[36:16.040 -> 36:19.320] obviously this is on YouTube so they can watch it yeah listening your t-shirt
[36:19.320 -> 36:23.600] says 1% better every day and the water bottle you're drinking from says move
[36:23.600 -> 36:28.680] fast and break shit yeah is there six? Yeah there's six. Let's run through them and tell us what they mean.
[36:28.680 -> 36:32.440] So there's enjoy the journey. Why is that important? Enjoy the journey was something where we knew that the
[36:32.440 -> 36:37.040] journey gets tough you know when you're going through changes anything in any
[36:37.040 -> 36:39.920] part of your life you've got to remember to go back and enjoy the journey so when
[36:39.920 -> 36:43.120] we created that we actually just finished listening to a book called
[36:43.120 -> 36:50.400] Delivering Happiness which was the founder of Zappos. And we were listening to that book at the end of 2020. And I was
[36:50.400 -> 36:54.720] like, wow, we've got a lot of work to do in community experience. This was really cool.
[36:54.720 -> 36:57.920] And then we heard how they create their values. And I was like, well, let's create our values
[36:57.920 -> 37:03.100] by an anonymous form. And we put in our Slack channel. And there's about 30 of the team.
[37:03.100 -> 37:05.500] And we asked them what their values are, what they think.
[37:05.500 -> 37:08.160] And obviously we'd all been listening to different books and they filled it all out and then
[37:08.160 -> 37:11.420] we started printing it out on the, onto just desks.
[37:11.420 -> 37:14.580] And we started just writing on it and going, do we like this?
[37:14.580 -> 37:17.480] Do we think we can make a decision of this every day?
[37:17.480 -> 37:21.200] And it took us about six months and we just kept scribbling it out and we just made a
[37:21.200 -> 37:23.640] bunch of fun to be honest, you know, enjoy the journey, right?
[37:23.640 -> 37:27.680] And we just kept, you know, working on it and refining it and refining it and it was very impromptu
[37:27.680 -> 37:32.400] because we didn't want it to be, have to make it today because it's going to take time.
[37:32.400 -> 37:38.200] So one of them was enjoy the journey and that was part of that, you've got to enjoy it, it is hard and it's not going to be easy.
[37:38.200 -> 37:44.280] So how do you do that then? So how does that inform a decision that you're making when you sat around the table with your team?
[37:44.280 -> 37:45.080] Well, you've got to have a laugh and you've in when you sat around the table with your team?
[37:45.080 -> 37:48.080] Well, you got to have a laugh and you got to have fun, don't you?
[37:48.080 -> 37:49.080] Quite right.
[37:49.080 -> 37:54.840] You know, I mean, the office likes to take the piss out of me a little bit, if I'm honest.
[37:54.840 -> 37:59.520] They've got a thing going called Jason Daniel bingo at the moment.
[37:59.520 -> 38:03.840] My vocabulary is not the best, you know, I wasn't the brightest kid in school.
[38:03.840 -> 38:07.200] So I do like to, you know, it's pretty school. So I do like to, it's pretty funny,
[38:07.200 -> 38:11.120] but I do like to, in the heat of things, I do like to say things that are a little bit
[38:11.120 -> 38:12.720] of out of context.
[38:12.720 -> 38:16.000] Malapropism. So the wrong word in the wrong context.
[38:16.000 -> 38:19.440] Yeah, yeah. I hide under a hole and just joke about it.
[38:19.440 -> 38:22.040] Pull a rubber out of a frying pan.
[38:22.040 -> 38:23.040] Yeah.
[38:23.040 -> 38:24.040] All of that, yeah.
[38:24.040 -> 38:25.540] So they've written all these words that I say
[38:25.540 -> 38:28.800] and Keith, our COO has a list of, you know,
[38:28.800 -> 38:30.860] phrases that I've said over the years
[38:30.860 -> 38:32.200] and they've all written it down
[38:32.200 -> 38:33.800] and then I'll be up in front of the team
[38:33.800 -> 38:35.960] in a Tuesday meeting or we're in a meeting
[38:35.960 -> 38:39.100] and they're all kind of, you know, marking off words
[38:39.100 -> 38:41.360] that I might say or constantly say.
[38:41.360 -> 38:42.800] And then one of them is going to get up and say bingo.
[38:42.800 -> 38:44.120] So they haven't got bingo yet,
[38:44.120 -> 38:45.260] but I've been away for a couple of weeks
[38:45.260 -> 38:49.000] So I mean that's some stuff we do because you know, don't take yourself too seriously
[38:49.000 -> 38:54.280] I suppose can I just say like I really love the fact that your first value is about enjoying life
[38:54.420 -> 39:00.240] If you don't enjoy it when it comes to end what on earth was the point we've forgotten to have the conversation about
[39:01.540 -> 39:05.480] Enjoying what you're doing? Yeah, and it's a really vital part of life
[39:05.480 -> 39:08.320] because literally there's no point building anything,
[39:08.320 -> 39:10.720] creating anything, having any form of success
[39:10.720 -> 39:12.160] if it doesn't bring you happiness.
[39:12.160 -> 39:14.720] And don't get me wrong, it's hard at times, right?
[39:14.720 -> 39:17.880] Like it's not easy, but that's a big part of it
[39:17.880 -> 39:19.120] is, you know, because it is.
[39:19.120 -> 39:20.440] When you look, you know, in 10 years time,
[39:20.440 -> 39:22.840] we're gonna look back and go, man, those times were so fun.
[39:22.840 -> 39:24.040] Like it was so hard.
[39:24.040 -> 39:26.360] And I mean, you read the story around shoe dog,
[39:26.360 -> 39:27.240] such an inspiring book.
[39:27.240 -> 39:28.360] And as he says in it,
[39:28.360 -> 39:30.440] I'd go back and do it all over again.
[39:30.440 -> 39:32.080] You know, it was the tardest thing in the world,
[39:32.080 -> 39:33.520] but it was the funnest thing and he misses it.
[39:33.520 -> 39:35.000] You know, and I think it makes you realize
[39:35.000 -> 39:36.160] and have that self-awareness to be like,
[39:36.160 -> 39:37.960] oh, don't miss it.
[39:37.960 -> 39:38.800] Yeah, don't miss this.
[39:38.800 -> 39:40.440] Cause it goes in a heartbeat.
[39:40.440 -> 39:41.400] Well, that's number one.
[39:41.400 -> 39:42.240] Yeah, that's hard.
[39:42.240 -> 39:44.280] And next one is create a community.
[39:44.280 -> 39:47.760] There was a few mistakes we made during Black Friday 2020.
[39:47.760 -> 39:51.760] We did over 50,000 orders and it took us over six weeks to fulfill.
[39:51.760 -> 39:54.240] We thought we were doing an okay job and we weren't.
[39:54.240 -> 39:58.520] And when you think of what create a community means, it's not only with internally, but
[39:58.520 -> 40:00.080] it's externally with our community.
[40:00.080 -> 40:02.680] And I don't like calling our community customers.
[40:02.680 -> 40:04.160] I don't like saying the word customer.
[40:04.160 -> 40:05.920] I like saying it's our community.
[40:05.920 -> 40:06.960] I think because, you know,
[40:06.960 -> 40:08.800] you wanna be a part of something,
[40:08.800 -> 40:10.360] but whenever we're making a decision,
[40:10.360 -> 40:12.240] and so remember, we've got to create a community here.
[40:12.240 -> 40:14.960] So how is that helping us create a community?
[40:14.960 -> 40:17.360] Whether it's online, offline, and knowing where e-commerce,
[40:17.360 -> 40:18.200] we have to work,
[40:18.200 -> 40:19.600] you almost, you have to work twice as hard
[40:19.600 -> 40:20.920] to create the community online.
[40:20.920 -> 40:22.600] Your product, you've got to make sure you develop
[40:22.600 -> 40:23.840] the best in the world product,
[40:23.840 -> 40:26.400] because you can't hide when you're shipping product individually
[40:26.400 -> 40:29.280] because they can post it anywhere if it's not right and then how do you
[40:29.280 -> 40:32.880] engage that community? I mean our Facebook community, LSKD community just
[40:32.880 -> 40:37.160] on Facebook is over 60,000. So what have you done right to engage your community?
[40:37.160 -> 40:40.800] One thing we've done recently which is locally but I think whatever you do
[40:40.800 -> 40:49.880] locally expands you know it does expand globally is we have a gym at our office. We actually give that space to local gyms on a Saturday or Sunday
[40:49.880 -> 40:53.800] so they can help them, they can give their members an experience which helps them create,
[40:53.800 -> 40:59.000] you know, retention for their members to come to our location. And, you know, we're not
[40:59.000 -> 41:03.800] only creating a community with local gyms, like with the local members of that gym, but
[41:03.800 -> 41:05.960] they're also, they're creating their community
[41:05.960 -> 41:06.880] by taking them somewhere.
[41:06.880 -> 41:09.040] So you're giving value and expecting nothing in return.
[41:09.040 -> 41:09.880] Yeah, we don't charge.
[41:09.880 -> 41:11.000] They come and use our space.
[41:11.000 -> 41:12.640] They can shop in our store after,
[41:12.640 -> 41:14.360] you know, we have a coffee shop at the front
[41:14.360 -> 41:17.000] of our location as well.
[41:17.000 -> 41:18.800] And so it's the little things I think,
[41:18.800 -> 41:21.600] and that's something that goes a long way
[41:21.600 -> 41:23.520] over time and consistency.
[41:23.520 -> 41:25.400] It also gives you a parachute,
[41:25.400 -> 41:27.420] because if you have built a brand
[41:27.420 -> 41:30.640] and you're entirely reliant on other businesses
[41:30.640 -> 41:31.620] carrying your brand,
[41:31.620 -> 41:34.020] you're piggybacking on wholesalers,
[41:34.020 -> 41:35.560] if you're in other people's stores,
[41:35.560 -> 41:38.900] if you're reliant on them to keep on ordering from you,
[41:38.900 -> 41:40.860] then actually you're completely out of control
[41:40.860 -> 41:41.700] of your business.
[41:41.700 -> 41:42.540] As soon as you build it,
[41:42.540 -> 41:44.460] well, there you go, that's how you started,
[41:44.460 -> 41:45.280] thinking, great, I'll get into that store and they can sell a hundred thousand units and then I'll make some money. out of control of your business. Yeah. As soon as you build a community. I've experienced that. Well, there you go.
[41:45.280 -> 41:46.600] That's how you started thinking, great, I'll get into that store and they can sell a hundred
[41:46.600 -> 41:48.720] thousand units and then I'll make some money.
[41:48.720 -> 41:52.880] As soon as you build your community and you've got your people, no one can take that away
[41:52.880 -> 41:53.880] from you.
[41:53.880 -> 41:54.880] No.
[41:54.880 -> 41:55.880] Well, yes, they can.
[41:55.880 -> 41:56.880] You can.
[41:56.880 -> 42:00.960] But other than that, you have an insurance package right there that you've got your community.
[42:00.960 -> 42:02.000] They're with you on the journey.
[42:02.000 -> 42:03.000] And I think that is invaluable.
[42:03.000 -> 42:07.100] And I think as you get bigger and bigger, you've got to work twice as hard to stay focused
[42:07.100 -> 42:10.640] on that, don't get distracted, stay focused and you know, and I think, and I'm not saying
[42:10.640 -> 42:13.280] that's going to be, that's, you know, that is a challenge in itself, but you've got to
[42:13.280 -> 42:16.000] work really hard to make sure you look after that.
[42:16.000 -> 42:17.000] Number three.
[42:17.000 -> 42:18.760] So the third one, the third one is sweep the sheds.
[42:18.760 -> 42:23.000] You know, no one is bigger than the team, no one is too big to do the small things and
[42:23.000 -> 42:25.440] when I look at that value and from a level just in the office, you know, no one is too big to do the small things. And when I look at that value and from a level
[42:25.440 -> 42:31.080] just in the office, no one has a car park. I don't have my own car park. If I'm running
[42:31.080 -> 42:35.520] a touch late, I'm on the other side of the street on the grass. That's just how it is.
[42:35.520 -> 42:39.840] You're first in your best dress, first in best dress to get a car park. It's that sweep
[42:39.840 -> 42:44.960] the sheds mentality. Get in and help the team. It's the little things that make a big difference.
[42:44.960 -> 42:47.800] And it was a perfect example where we were just at
[42:47.800 -> 42:50.960] the event and we're all getting in there and helping, you know, there was 15 of us
[42:50.960 -> 42:54.240] you know, and we're all and then we're all like, hey, go sweep the sheds, you know,
[42:54.240 -> 42:57.360] like it was just, you know, you create it fun but we're all there to help each
[42:57.360 -> 43:01.200] other out and you know, if we need to. That's a really important one as you get
[43:01.200 -> 43:07.360] bigger and bigger because you can get too busy. It's easy to just not do it when you get busy because someone else will do it but
[43:07.360 -> 43:10.340] it's like no no if you help a teammate do something or you put your
[43:10.340 -> 43:13.560] hey I'll give you a hand hey you need to do that I'll give you a hand no worries
[43:13.560 -> 43:17.920] like it just creates that sense of being a part of something but also you know
[43:17.920 -> 43:20.840] that you can sweep the sheds and you're never too big to do the little things.
[43:20.840 -> 43:24.960] There's a nice story that that reminds me of a guy called Alan Deutschman who wrote a
[43:24.960 -> 43:27.140] book called Change or Die and he tells a
[43:27.140 -> 43:31.640] story about Ray Kroc, you know the founder of McDonald's. Yep. And when he'd go and do
[43:31.640 -> 43:35.600] visits people would remember him going and picking up rubbish in the car park
[43:35.600 -> 43:40.080] or he'd teach them how to clean the mop bucket properly and this was when
[43:40.080 -> 43:44.640] McDonald's was massive but that was the legacy that people remembered him for
[43:44.640 -> 43:46.720] not the brilliant strategic decisions he made with McDonald's. massive, but that was the legacy that people remembered him for, not the brilliant strategic decisions
[43:46.720 -> 43:47.960] he made with McDonald's.
[43:47.960 -> 43:49.480] And what's funny is when you're doing all those things,
[43:49.480 -> 43:51.000] you're learning too,
[43:51.000 -> 43:52.280] because you're working with your team
[43:52.280 -> 43:53.600] and learning on the ground,
[43:53.600 -> 43:56.320] just doing those little things that most people would think
[43:56.320 -> 43:58.220] that they don't need to do that,
[43:58.220 -> 43:59.920] but yeah, it's so important to do.
[43:59.920 -> 44:03.200] And I think having that value keeps yourself accountable.
[44:04.040 -> 44:06.960] Like you keep it with all these values, you're like, I have to make decisions based on this
[44:06.960 -> 44:07.960] every day.
[44:07.960 -> 44:10.120] So, I need to do that.
[44:10.120 -> 44:13.800] Because there is times you're just under the pump and you're thinking of 400 other things
[44:13.800 -> 44:15.200] you've got to get done for the day.
[44:15.200 -> 44:19.240] That's the joys of when it's really growing.
[44:19.240 -> 44:23.080] So, you have to make sure you keep yourself accountable to that.
[44:23.080 -> 44:24.080] The next one?
[44:24.080 -> 44:25.820] Do you want the next one? Yeah. So, the next one. We'll be on number four.
[44:25.820 -> 44:30.640] Four, yeah. So there's a better way to do it, find it. This one was created mainly basically
[44:30.640 -> 44:36.960] as a team we created it because as you get bigger, it's easier to just go in and invest
[44:36.960 -> 44:40.720] in just doing it where it's like there's always a better way to do something. Just we got
[44:40.720 -> 44:48.560] to find it. So if we're coming up with a decision or we're working on something or a project, you know, no matter how big you get, you've got to be, you know,
[44:49.280 -> 44:53.360] yourself on the business, you don't have all the money in the world to go and spend on something,
[44:53.360 -> 44:56.560] but you also want to make sure you're doing it for the right reasons based on the mission and
[44:56.560 -> 45:00.720] values. So, we kind of created this one based on you, there's always going to be a better way.
[45:00.720 -> 45:02.400] So, give us an example, like what?
[45:03.360 -> 45:05.280] Thanks for that.
[45:05.280 -> 45:11.080] I spent a lot of time in the marketing product team and if I'm sitting in the marketing department
[45:11.080 -> 45:16.500] and I give an example there, we might be working on a project that, whether it's for say Black
[45:16.500 -> 45:22.320] Friday or a campaign or a new fabric we're releasing or a new collection and we might
[45:22.320 -> 45:25.100] be thinking of something extravagant but then there
[45:25.100 -> 45:29.940] might be a better way to do it by using another I suppose another avenue of
[45:29.940 -> 45:33.500] doing something because it relates back to our community because we're trying to
[45:33.500 -> 45:36.320] inspire a community to chase the vibe. We might think of something super extravagant
[45:36.320 -> 45:39.820] but then it's a well if we keep it simple because it's going to inspire our
[45:39.820 -> 45:43.700] community and be more relatable there's probably a better way to do it. Let's
[45:43.700 -> 45:45.600] find a way to do it to inspire the community,
[45:45.600 -> 45:48.000] not so much doing it because we think it's cool.
[45:48.000 -> 45:49.360] Right, number five.
[45:49.360 -> 45:50.640] Move fast, break shit.
[45:50.640 -> 45:52.560] All right, this is the one on your water bottle.
[45:52.560 -> 45:53.600] Explain it.
[45:53.600 -> 45:55.520] Well, it's not physically breaking shit.
[45:55.520 -> 45:59.840] So it's essentially the same thing,
[45:59.840 -> 46:01.440] which all ties into each other.
[46:01.440 -> 46:03.360] And we wanted to create a bit of fun around it
[46:03.360 -> 46:04.880] where it's like, if we need to get something done,
[46:04.880 -> 46:05.080] let's just move fast. And if it's fail a bit of fun around it where it's like, if we need to get something done,
[46:05.080 -> 46:06.520] let's just move fast.
[46:06.520 -> 46:07.920] And if, you know, it's fail forward,
[46:07.920 -> 46:09.800] dare to think differently, nothing's impossible.
[46:09.800 -> 46:11.840] So, you know, move fast, break shit
[46:11.840 -> 46:15.760] is essentially a value term to, you know, get shit done.
[46:15.760 -> 46:19.040] You can create too many rules in place
[46:19.040 -> 46:21.280] before achieving something or doing something.
[46:21.280 -> 46:22.880] And I've had brands come to me and say,
[46:22.880 -> 46:24.880] how do you do stuff so quick?
[46:24.880 -> 46:27.080] You know, how are you getting so much content out?
[46:27.080 -> 46:28.840] And I'm like, well, we go back to that value,
[46:28.840 -> 46:31.200] move fast, break shit, and make sure it ties back
[46:31.200 -> 46:33.200] to the mission too.
[46:33.200 -> 46:35.400] Because then, you know, if we make a mistake,
[46:35.400 -> 46:38.280] which we have, we'll learn from it and go, okay, like,
[46:38.280 -> 46:40.020] and it, cause it's not like we're going left to field
[46:40.020 -> 46:41.720] too much where, you know, where we're still,
[46:41.720 -> 46:44.120] there's still the one plus one equals three test and learn,
[46:44.120 -> 46:47.660] but there's also the, you know, think differently and push it,
[46:47.660 -> 46:50.480] get it done, you know, in a day-to-day environment,
[46:50.480 -> 46:52.400] when you're in the office and you're making decisions
[46:52.400 -> 46:54.440] from marketing, you know, some stuff takes time,
[46:54.440 -> 46:55.280] you know, developing product,
[46:55.280 -> 46:57.280] we can spend 12 plus months on developing a product.
[46:57.280 -> 46:59.380] It's a little harder in those contexts, right?
[46:59.380 -> 47:00.860] Because you're developing a product
[47:00.860 -> 47:03.720] and you're fitting fabrication.
[47:03.720 -> 47:06.240] But when you're thinking of a decision you need to make
[47:06.240 -> 47:09.640] on the day, because you're coming up with a new marketing
[47:09.640 -> 47:12.920] idea for the community, or you're talking to the
[47:12.920 -> 47:14.920] in-community experience and we need to do something,
[47:14.920 -> 47:15.840] you move fast.
[47:15.840 -> 47:17.640] Just make a decision that's the best interest
[47:17.640 -> 47:18.600] for the community.
[47:18.600 -> 47:21.080] Sometimes, not making a decision is worse
[47:21.080 -> 47:22.240] than making a decision.
[47:23.120 -> 47:25.080] And the final one is on your t-shirt, I think.
[47:25.080 -> 47:26.680] Yeah, 1% better every day.
[47:27.800 -> 47:29.520] So yeah, so, and we literally just released
[47:29.520 -> 47:31.880] a values collection, which is super cool.
[47:31.880 -> 47:33.600] So we thought we'd share them with our community
[47:33.600 -> 47:35.000] and yeah, we put them on our website
[47:35.000 -> 47:37.600] and we try to share everything that we're doing as a brand
[47:37.600 -> 47:38.440] to make our community feel a part of it.
[47:38.440 -> 47:41.360] But what's been the most popular one in your community?
[47:41.360 -> 47:43.240] Well, they've all been quite popular to be honest,
[47:43.240 -> 47:45.420] but I would say a 1% better every day
[47:45.420 -> 47:48.480] and move fast break shit have been two of the most popular.
[47:48.480 -> 47:50.540] But I mean, 1% better every day, 100%.
[47:50.540 -> 47:52.220] I mean, that has been the most relatable.
[47:52.220 -> 47:54.600] It's probably one of my favorites, if I'm honest,
[47:54.600 -> 47:55.940] it's what we do every day.
[47:55.940 -> 47:57.460] And there's gonna be days, as we said,
[47:57.460 -> 47:59.100] you know, at the start of the podcast
[47:59.100 -> 48:01.260] is where you're not feeling 100%.
[48:01.260 -> 48:02.100] You don't wanna do it,
[48:02.100 -> 48:04.820] but they're the days where 1% better matters the most
[48:04.820 -> 48:08.880] in terms of you might learn one thing, you're still being 1% better. You know, constantly
[48:08.880 -> 48:12.540] learning and growing, I think is the most important thing.
[48:12.540 -> 48:16.600] And it comes back to what you said at the beginning of this conversation, which is about
[48:16.600 -> 48:20.800] consistency. And I think that for people listening to this, I would just love to give them the
[48:20.800 -> 48:25.280] message that consistency is key if you want to have an impact.
[48:25.280 -> 48:27.440] I think that the world is littered with people
[48:27.440 -> 48:30.960] whose application doesn't match their talents
[48:30.960 -> 48:31.800] and their abilities.
[48:31.800 -> 48:33.120] And there are some wonderfully talented,
[48:33.120 -> 48:35.880] amazing, incredible people walking around
[48:35.880 -> 48:37.080] who just didn't apply themselves.
[48:37.080 -> 48:39.880] And I think if you don't try, then you'll never know.
[48:39.880 -> 48:41.200] And that's the saddest thing of all.
[48:41.200 -> 48:43.880] You have to just give it a go.
[48:43.880 -> 48:44.960] Just give it a go.
[48:44.960 -> 48:45.040] 100%. And I look back, or I think about it, That's the saddest thing of all. You have to just give it a go. Just give it a go.
[48:45.040 -> 48:46.040] A hundred percent.
[48:46.040 -> 48:51.600] And I look back, well, I think about it and I was like, well, how does a kid from Logan,
[48:51.600 -> 48:56.680] we started a brand where we're based, how do we create something globally?
[48:56.680 -> 48:58.280] And you don't believe in yourself at some point.
[48:58.280 -> 48:59.840] You're like, oh, we can't.
[48:59.840 -> 49:03.840] But through that journey, I was like, imagine if we could create something global from Logan
[49:03.840 -> 49:04.840] in Queensland.
[49:04.840 -> 49:05.800] Like, imagine if we could do that. Like you know, from Logan in Queensland, like imagine if we could do that,
[49:05.800 -> 49:07.680] like, why can't we, what's stopping us?
[49:07.680 -> 49:09.080] We just have to believe in ourselves
[49:09.080 -> 49:12.640] and it's all about consistency and all about learning.
[49:12.640 -> 49:14.000] And it's the same in retail.
[49:14.000 -> 49:16.600] Now, you know, we have three stores and we're opening,
[49:16.600 -> 49:18.000] you know, one in Bondi Junction
[49:18.000 -> 49:20.560] and one in Miranda in Sydney in the next few months.
[49:20.560 -> 49:24.120] And I'm learning retail, I'm learning and going into stores
[49:24.120 -> 49:27.440] and that's the 1% better every day. Like we know we're not perfect, we know
[49:27.440 -> 49:31.320] we're making mistakes but we're also creating a community in stores
[49:31.320 -> 49:36.800] offline and also learning to get better every single day within it and you
[49:36.800 -> 49:41.080] know it's consistency if you want to be the best in the world. So can I ask you a
[49:41.080 -> 49:46.720] question about a difficult period in your business career?
[49:46.720 -> 49:52.560] Because I know lots of businesses talk about they want to create a family atmosphere
[49:52.560 -> 49:55.600] and you had a family in your business originally.
[49:55.600 -> 50:02.880] You described to us how you maxed out your mum's credit card and you had siblings working for you.
[50:02.880 -> 50:06.480] Yeah, so I mean there's been a few, mean, there was some tough periods I had to make
[50:06.480 -> 50:10.000] and decisions I've had to make in the business that have been tough.
[50:10.000 -> 50:13.840] Do you know, I've had to, do you know, I've actually had to make my mum and my brother
[50:13.840 -> 50:17.080] redundant in the business in 2018 and 2019.
[50:17.080 -> 50:18.960] So the journey's definitely not been easy.
[50:18.960 -> 50:21.400] And if I look back on it, and you know, what were they doing?
[50:21.400 -> 50:22.400] What roles did they play?
[50:22.400 -> 50:26.400] So my mum, my mum was in accounts and played a big part in accounts and just day-to-day everything.
[50:26.400 -> 50:28.000] And my brother was in sales.
[50:28.000 -> 50:30.600] My youngest brother actually is a junior accountant.
[50:30.600 -> 50:34.400] So he's with us at the brand and he's an absolute legend doing a great job.
[50:34.400 -> 50:37.700] And you know, it was a really tough time if I'm honest
[50:37.700 -> 50:41.400] and not something that anyone wants to have to do within their career.
[50:41.400 -> 50:43.700] Do you know, my brother and I don't actually talk but...
[50:43.700 -> 50:45.200] Because of that moment? Yeah... Because of that moment.
[50:45.200 -> 50:49.520] Yeah, because of that moment. And when I think about it, there's a quote from Jim Collins,
[50:49.520 -> 50:53.880] it's about, you know, get the right people on the bus and get the wrong people off the
[50:53.880 -> 50:59.440] bus. And as he says, that includes family and friends. Because if you don't, if the
[50:59.440 -> 51:04.560] business is going in a direction, and if I'm honest, part of the tough period in my career
[51:04.560 -> 51:09.040] was when I decided to change the brand LSKD from all the feedback my family
[51:09.040 -> 51:12.160] didn't agree with me they thought I was fucking crazy they thought I'd gone
[51:12.160 -> 51:16.040] that actually thought I'd gone a bit nuts if I'm honest and I got so much
[51:16.040 -> 51:20.480] passion I was always trying new things and I think they thought oh Jason's just
[51:20.480 -> 51:23.480] going off track again and he's gonna it's like making life jackets again and
[51:23.480 -> 51:28.320] it's gonna fail but I'd send so much time, self-reflecting,
[51:28.320 -> 51:30.960] listening to books, meeting different mentors
[51:30.960 -> 51:32.880] that have built brands and I was like,
[51:32.880 -> 51:34.760] okay, cool, this is the right decision
[51:34.760 -> 51:36.240] and I'm not gonna go off track again.
[51:36.240 -> 51:37.560] This is the one decision
[51:37.560 -> 51:39.160] we're not gonna go off track again.
[51:39.160 -> 51:41.320] And they all kind of thought I'd gone a bit crazy
[51:41.320 -> 51:44.520] and I was like, no, and a lot of them didn't agree with it.
[51:44.520 -> 51:49.120] Obviously now it's different. That's like, oh wow, you've done an amazing job. But that was a really
[51:49.120 -> 51:54.960] difficult time in my career and I had to stay really focused and because I knew that it was
[51:54.960 -> 51:58.880] the right decision and it would all come out. But at the time it was a touching guy.
[51:58.880 -> 52:03.200] And were you seeing that your mom and your brother weren't the right people for the business or
[52:03.200 -> 52:04.560] did people have to point that out to you?
[52:04.560 -> 52:07.020] A bit of both. I think family and business is
[52:07.020 -> 52:11.260] really hard. It's a really touchy subject for anyone that has family and business.
[52:11.260 -> 52:15.620] You know if you got one leader you need one person making the decisions so it
[52:15.620 -> 52:20.300] doesn't get distracted within the business and when you have family in the
[52:20.300 -> 52:23.260] business they can or anyone that you know that they've been there sometimes
[52:23.260 -> 52:27.320] it can be a bit like well oh no no I want to do that I want to do that and it can
[52:27.320 -> 52:31.600] confuse everybody I wanted to really clean our brand up in terms of just
[52:31.600 -> 52:37.560] create one message and really direct the brand. Did you sort of give them a chance to
[52:37.560 -> 52:42.480] come on that journey? Yeah. So you were fair from your perspective? I feel like I
[52:42.480 -> 52:49.240] was fair and it wasn't like it was an overnight thing, it had gone on for a while if I'm honest. It was, do you know, it's a
[52:49.240 -> 52:52.240] hard thing to share because it was tough. It's hard to say you're proud of it
[52:52.240 -> 52:55.160] because you're not, because it was your family, but I also think we wouldn't be
[52:55.160 -> 52:59.240] in this position if I'm honest, if we didn't. And it's not something that I
[52:59.240 -> 53:03.280] think every founder wants to go through, but I've definitely had to go through
[53:03.280 -> 53:06.880] that and you know I support them 100% whatever they're doing.
[53:06.880 -> 53:10.160] And, you know, my brother started another brand.
[53:10.160 -> 53:12.640] You know, he was just working for the brand as a teenager.
[53:12.640 -> 53:14.640] It comes down to the question of, is it worth it though?
[53:14.640 -> 53:19.920] Losing family relationships for the success of a business, you know.
[53:20.480 -> 53:22.560] I think what we're creating is quite special.
[53:22.560 -> 53:25.400] So I think it wasn't about losing a family relationship.
[53:25.400 -> 53:26.920] I think it wasn't, you know,
[53:26.920 -> 53:29.160] if your family's not ready to develop themselves,
[53:29.160 -> 53:31.000] put into a context of,
[53:31.000 -> 53:33.400] say if you're both on a journey,
[53:33.400 -> 53:34.680] whether it's you got a business partner
[53:34.680 -> 53:36.920] or your family members working with you,
[53:36.920 -> 53:38.400] and one's listening to books
[53:38.400 -> 53:39.760] and one's developing themselves,
[53:39.760 -> 53:41.760] one's really trying to develop themselves to learn
[53:41.760 -> 53:42.640] and they're growing.
[53:42.640 -> 53:43.680] It's like an athlete, right?
[53:43.680 -> 53:48.000] And you're on a team sport, you know, and what's interesting, if you're on a team sport and
[53:48.000 -> 53:52.080] you're not playing well, you get cut. You get down to the next grade for the next game,
[53:52.080 -> 53:56.720] right? So if you're not developing yourself and the other person is developing themselves,
[53:56.720 -> 54:01.280] there's not one is. One's going to keep growing and one's not interested in learning or developing
[54:01.280 -> 54:05.360] to understand the next stages. Sometimes you can't help
[54:05.360 -> 54:09.840] people that don't want to be helped sometimes. That's kind of what I went through within
[54:09.840 -> 54:13.720] the business where I wanted to start developing myself and learning and realizing a lot of
[54:13.720 -> 54:17.720] these founders, they read books, they develop themselves and then I started realizing that
[54:17.720 -> 54:25.800] wow we've got to do this. So I wouldn't say I ruined the relationship. I have a great relationship with all, you know, with my family, you know, and yes, my
[54:25.800 -> 54:32.200] brother and I don't talk, but, you know, it's not like it's really bad, you know.
[54:32.200 -> 54:35.440] And listen, thanks for sharing that because I know it's not easy, but as you don't talk
[54:35.440 -> 54:40.800] to your brother, if he was to listen to this podcast, what would you just like to say to
[54:40.800 -> 54:41.800] him?
[54:41.800 -> 54:46.000] Oh, I think I would just, you know, I hope he succeeds, you know, with what he's doing
[54:46.000 -> 54:48.760] because I hope he got to learn a lot from our brand.
[54:48.760 -> 54:51.040] I still see his kids and like, it's not, you know,
[54:51.040 -> 54:52.640] it's not like bad, bad, right?
[54:52.640 -> 54:55.460] Like it's not like, it's not like the Adidas Puma story
[54:55.460 -> 54:56.980] as everyone probably knows.
[54:56.980 -> 54:57.880] It's a bit different, you know,
[54:57.880 -> 54:59.920] I'm reading that book at the moment about sneaker wars,
[54:59.920 -> 55:01.800] but you know, it's definitely not that.
[55:01.800 -> 55:03.960] I think the journey is hard in those senses, you know,
[55:03.960 -> 55:06.240] that's what everyone, and everyone has their story
[55:06.240 -> 55:07.600] within their brand or they started,
[55:07.600 -> 55:10.640] or their journey was never smooth, I think,
[55:10.640 -> 55:12.240] but some just don't share it.
[55:12.240 -> 55:14.280] But for people listening to this
[55:14.280 -> 55:16.560] that might be sort of interested
[55:16.560 -> 55:17.880] in setting up their own business,
[55:17.880 -> 55:20.200] and they're thinking, well, I can rely on my brother,
[55:20.200 -> 55:21.680] I can rely on my family.
[55:21.680 -> 55:23.440] As somebody that's been through
[55:23.440 -> 55:24.920] a brutal experience like that,
[55:24.920 -> 55:27.400] what advice would you pass on to anybody
[55:27.400 -> 55:30.360] that maybe is thinking of going into business
[55:30.360 -> 55:31.980] with family members?
[55:31.980 -> 55:33.280] Make sure you're learning together.
[55:33.280 -> 55:35.960] So if one person starts going to meetings
[55:35.960 -> 55:39.360] with a different founder or in learning from someone
[55:39.360 -> 55:41.840] that's achieved a lot, or they're listening to a book,
[55:41.840 -> 55:43.880] or they're, make sure you're doing it together.
[55:43.880 -> 55:46.320] I mean, we, you know, at the office,
[55:46.320 -> 55:49.040] you know, at LSKD, we on board with audio books,
[55:49.040 -> 55:50.840] we pay for our team's Audible account,
[55:50.840 -> 55:53.480] we pay for our team if they want to go to Landmark,
[55:53.480 -> 55:55.400] we have a personal development coach,
[55:55.400 -> 55:57.520] and we spend about $2,500 per team member
[55:57.520 -> 55:58.920] on personal development,
[55:58.920 -> 56:00.320] because, you know, we essentially want to be
[56:00.320 -> 56:02.380] a personal development company that sells sportswear.
[56:02.380 -> 56:04.640] So, the advice I could give is make sure
[56:04.640 -> 56:07.620] you're developing yourselves together, on the journey together, but that
[56:07.620 -> 56:10.900] also goes with your team. You all should be developing yourself and then start sharing
[56:10.900 -> 56:15.340] within a book club and learning because that's how you constantly grow, whether it's in your
[56:15.340 -> 56:17.240] career or your personal life.
[56:17.240 -> 56:22.220] The struggles never stop actually, regardless of the success of your business. We've reached
[56:22.220 -> 56:28.640] the point for our quick fire questions. I mean, it's been a fascinating's been a fascinating story of highs and lows and really finding your purpose, finding your
[56:28.640 -> 56:32.920] why and I think there's a real value in people listening to this. Finding your why is so
[56:32.920 -> 56:37.720] important. So here's our quickfire questions. The first one is what are the three non-negotiable
[56:37.720 -> 56:41.560] behaviors that you and the people around you must buy into?
[56:41.560 -> 56:47.680] I mean being positive, setting goals and I think constantly
[56:47.680 -> 56:52.320] developing yourself to be one percent better. Yeah great. What's your biggest weakness and
[56:52.320 -> 56:56.720] what's your greatest strength? I don't have the greatest tenacity if I'm honest. I can get things
[56:56.720 -> 57:01.920] done but I have to surround myself with people that have great tenacity. My greatest strength
[57:01.920 -> 57:05.600] would be I think I'm lucky enough to have a lot of wonder in me.
[57:05.600 -> 57:09.440] You know, I'm always wondering what's possible in the world and how do we really create something
[57:09.440 -> 57:13.360] and I surround myself with people that have their strengths so we balance ourselves out as a team.
[57:13.360 -> 57:17.520] Where were you? Where are you? And where are you going?
[57:17.520 -> 57:25.360] I think I was on Jason 1.0 and now I'm on Jason 2.0. If I can answer it like that.
[57:25.360 -> 57:28.480] That's a good one. And where are you going? Jason 3.0?
[57:28.480 -> 57:32.040] Well, you know, yep. Constant development. Constant development to grow. I mean, we're
[57:32.040 -> 57:33.880] at that stage now where I'm going
[57:33.880 -> 57:37.640] in my career is now the brand is growing, you know, globally.
[57:37.640 -> 57:41.840] So where I was was Jason, you know, 1.0,
[57:41.840 -> 57:48.200] young, you know, naive, still, you know, still naive and enjoying it, but had no idea.
[57:48.200 -> 57:53.960] And now Jason 2.0 is learning, growing, understanding, trying to build and create something bigger
[57:53.960 -> 57:54.960] than ourselves.
[57:54.960 -> 57:59.340] Jason, I suppose if you say 3.0 is, how do we build something that's global?
[57:59.340 -> 58:03.280] We have a team in the US now and how do we make sure we balance to create the same cultures
[58:03.280 -> 58:09.560] within, but that's going to happen globally and you know really focus on that and I mean and you know Jason
[58:09.560 -> 58:12.520] wanting you know want to be a great dad as well and inspire my kids.
[58:12.520 -> 58:18.800] What's one thing that people misunderstand or get wrong about you?
[58:18.800 -> 58:21.920] Someone said to me the other day, how have you done what you do when you know you because
[58:21.920 -> 58:29.720] I do you know I do get so excited and I do, you know, and sometimes I can go off track, you know, or say things out of context of
[58:29.720 -> 58:33.960] like we were saying before. And so they're like, wow, does he know what we're doing?
[58:33.960 -> 58:38.160] But really I'm, I'm actually focused on where we need to go, what we need to do. But I also
[58:38.160 -> 58:42.800] like to enjoy it because if you're having fun, you learn more and the team is more relaxed
[58:42.800 -> 58:47.000] to learn more. So really it's, you know, I like to create that environment where when we're under the
[58:47.000 -> 58:50.680] heat of battle, essentially trying to get something done together, you've got to almost
[58:50.680 -> 58:54.500] create that enjoyment out of it so they can come up with great ideas and then we can go
[58:54.500 -> 58:56.600] and execute it together and get it done as a team.
[58:56.600 -> 59:00.600] So sometimes it could come across as, you know, what he's talking about maybe, but at
[59:00.600 -> 59:03.200] the same time, I, you know, there's, it's not a strategy.
[59:03.200 -> 59:05.800] I just think that you've got to make sure the team is,
[59:05.800 -> 59:07.840] when the time is to focus, but the time to have fun
[59:07.840 -> 59:10.040] and make sure we're like creating that balance together
[59:10.040 -> 59:11.800] to get something done together.
[59:11.800 -> 59:12.640] Lovely.
[59:12.640 -> 59:15.200] And the final question, your one final message
[59:15.200 -> 59:17.560] for the people that have listened to this conversation
[59:17.560 -> 59:19.520] about your one golden rule
[59:19.520 -> 59:21.220] to living a high performance life.
[59:22.220 -> 59:24.320] The big thing is consistency.
[59:24.320 -> 59:26.120] A journey is tough. I think
[59:26.120 -> 59:29.680] being a part of something is really important. So consistency and being a
[59:29.680 -> 59:34.080] part of something, whether it's you know, because I personally love to be a part
[59:34.080 -> 59:37.800] of something which is our mission and and then making sure you really work on
[59:37.800 -> 59:42.200] that 1% better every day. Mate, thank you so much for your time. Thank you, I
[59:42.200 -> 59:47.640] really appreciate it. The big takeaway for me from this is that I think people often think, well, I was born with
[59:47.640 -> 59:51.800] a certain mindset and a certain set of abilities and a certain bunch of values and that's me
[59:51.800 -> 59:56.280] or I've set up or work for a business that has a certain way of operating.
[59:56.280 -> 01:00:00.860] And what you've shown us through your story is that actually nothing is fixed.
[01:00:00.860 -> 01:00:02.900] You are the epitome of a growth mindset.
[01:00:02.900 -> 01:00:05.440] You are the epitome of a growth brand. You are the epitome of a growth brand.
[01:00:05.440 -> 01:00:10.960] And to pivot in the way that you did after 10, 11 years of struggle and have to make
[01:00:10.960 -> 01:00:16.060] big decisions like removing family members from a business and then to define those values
[01:00:16.060 -> 01:00:20.760] and for that to grow your business in the way it has with community at the center and
[01:00:20.760 -> 01:00:24.200] impacting people's lives at the center is hugely inspirational.
[01:00:24.200 -> 01:00:25.600] So thanks for taking the time.
[01:00:25.600 -> 01:00:26.640] I really appreciate you having me on.
[01:00:31.680 -> 01:00:36.960] Damien, Jake, that conversation plays perfectly into something that we talk
[01:00:36.960 -> 01:00:38.440] about so often on high performance.
[01:00:38.840 -> 01:00:42.360] Be clear about where you're going, but be flexible about how you're going to get there.
[01:00:42.680 -> 01:00:43.800] Yeah, definitely.
[01:00:44.480 -> 01:00:47.200] I'd also add another one in that you don't have to be great to start,
[01:00:47.200 -> 01:00:49.200] but you do have to start to be great.
[01:00:49.200 -> 01:00:53.000] And I think those two principles were right at the heart of Jason's story.
[01:00:53.000 -> 01:00:55.200] And I think anyone that might be listening to this
[01:00:55.200 -> 01:00:59.600] that has aspirations to be an entrepreneur or just follow their own path,
[01:00:59.600 -> 01:01:02.200] there's so many brilliant lessons that he was teaching us.
[01:01:02.200 -> 01:01:05.560] I really love the whole conversation about starting again
[01:01:05.560 -> 01:01:06.400] when you're halfway through.
[01:01:06.400 -> 01:01:09.440] And I just want people to realize that you can be
[01:01:10.680 -> 01:01:14.240] 11 years into a business and pivot completely.
[01:01:14.240 -> 01:01:15.680] And I sometimes hear from people
[01:01:15.680 -> 01:01:17.360] and they will send me messages on Instagram
[01:01:17.360 -> 01:01:18.840] or they'll write to me on LinkedIn or whatever.
[01:01:18.840 -> 01:01:19.680] And they'll say,
[01:01:19.680 -> 01:01:21.120] I listened to your high performance podcast,
[01:01:21.120 -> 01:01:22.880] but I've been running my own business for six months
[01:01:22.880 -> 01:01:24.120] and it's not taken off.
[01:01:24.120 -> 01:01:24.960] And it's like, right,
[01:01:24.960 -> 01:01:27.720] listen to this conversation with Jason 11
[01:01:27.720 -> 01:01:33.600] years in making no money, sucking his mom and his brother, and then completely changing
[01:01:33.600 -> 01:01:37.160] the direction of the business. And now we sit with him and they're preparing to, to
[01:01:37.160 -> 01:01:41.500] go global. You know, they're growing at a huge rate of knots. And I think that for me,
[01:01:41.500 -> 01:01:45.600] these conversations are much more valuable than getting someone on who set up a business,
[01:01:45.600 -> 01:01:48.840] it popped straight away and they flew, you know,
[01:01:48.840 -> 01:01:51.580] because that's easier in so many ways.
[01:01:51.580 -> 01:01:53.440] Whereas this guy's been through the mill
[01:01:53.440 -> 01:01:55.920] to try and get the success that he's now enjoying.
[01:01:55.920 -> 01:01:57.760] Something that really jumps out at me
[01:01:57.760 -> 01:02:00.440] with the idea of almost being the busy fool,
[01:02:00.440 -> 01:02:02.600] that for 10 years he's going out there,
[01:02:02.600 -> 01:02:04.320] he's, like you said, he's selling,
[01:02:04.320 -> 01:02:06.680] he's trying to get wholesalers to take his product.
[01:02:06.680 -> 01:02:10.040] And it didn't sound like he could get any more busier.
[01:02:10.040 -> 01:02:12.080] He was almost at full capacity,
[01:02:12.080 -> 01:02:14.160] but actually his tanks were running dry
[01:02:14.160 -> 01:02:16.120] because there was no passion behind it.
[01:02:16.120 -> 01:02:20.240] So I think that idea of slowing down to speed up again
[01:02:20.240 -> 01:02:22.920] and take that quantum leap that the business has done,
[01:02:22.920 -> 01:02:25.160] that's available for any of us to do,
[01:02:25.160 -> 01:02:27.360] to sometimes just put our foot on the ball,
[01:02:27.360 -> 01:02:28.960] take our foot off the gas,
[01:02:28.960 -> 01:02:30.960] whatever metaphor you want to use,
[01:02:30.960 -> 01:02:32.880] and actually just take a bit of time to say,
[01:02:32.880 -> 01:02:35.320] am I moving in the direction that I want to do?
[01:02:35.320 -> 01:02:38.320] And am I demonstrating the values and behaviors
[01:02:38.320 -> 01:02:40.360] that actually light me up?
[01:02:40.360 -> 01:02:42.840] And I hope that you've still got a pad and pen
[01:02:42.840 -> 01:02:44.800] from listening to the conversation with Jason.
[01:02:44.800 -> 01:02:48.820] And if you have still got a pad and pen, please write down the fact that he spoke about going fast
[01:02:48.820 -> 01:02:55.840] But also going slow so you go slow in that you focus on one or two things, but on those areas you go fast
[01:02:55.840 -> 01:03:00.960] I think it's important that you also write down that you don't have to know everything to begin
[01:03:00.960 -> 01:03:05.880] I think Jason was really clear of the fact that he knew nothing about the fashion industry, but he started.
[01:03:05.880 -> 01:03:07.720] And the final thing is,
[01:03:07.720 -> 01:03:10.480] please focus on the whole consistency thing.
[01:03:10.480 -> 01:03:12.720] I think that there are so many people,
[01:03:12.720 -> 01:03:14.440] as I mentioned during the podcast,
[01:03:14.440 -> 01:03:18.360] whose daily behaviors don't do justice to the talent
[01:03:18.360 -> 01:03:21.220] and the knowledge and the opportunity they've got.
[01:03:21.220 -> 01:03:22.300] And the worst thing in the world
[01:03:22.300 -> 01:03:24.000] is to get to the end of your days and never know,
[01:03:24.000 -> 01:03:26.160] never know whether that consistent
[01:03:26.840 -> 01:03:28.580] application
[01:03:28.580 -> 01:03:31.160] Would have made the difference and you know what you deserve it
[01:03:31.160 -> 01:03:34.080] We all deserve to say for the next six months or the next 12 months
[01:03:34.080 -> 01:03:39.400] I'm gonna give 100% on a consistent basis and really make sure that my behaviors
[01:03:39.720 -> 01:03:45.680] Marry up to my ambitions because you can't allow your ambition to fall by the wayside because your behavior didn't hit it.
[01:03:45.680 -> 01:03:46.520] What's the phrase?
[01:03:46.520 -> 01:03:47.680] Don't be frustrated by the work,
[01:03:47.680 -> 01:03:48.760] by the results you didn't get
[01:03:48.760 -> 01:03:50.480] for the work that you didn't do.
[01:03:50.480 -> 01:03:53.160] Do the work, see what comes of it,
[01:03:53.160 -> 01:03:55.880] be relentless, be consistent, be full of belief,
[01:03:55.880 -> 01:03:59.320] pivot if you need to, don't be fixed on your mindset
[01:03:59.320 -> 01:04:01.280] and see what happens in the next few months.
[01:04:01.280 -> 01:04:03.240] And I really hope that for a lot of people listening to this,
[01:04:03.240 -> 01:04:06.160] this was an episode that will change things for them.
[01:04:06.160 -> 01:04:07.160] Yeah, definitely.
[01:04:07.160 -> 01:04:10.120] And it correlates with some really fascinating research
[01:04:10.120 -> 01:04:14.920] that was done by a psychologist called Philippa Lally at the University of London.
[01:04:14.920 -> 01:04:17.920] And one of the things they looked at was how do people
[01:04:17.920 -> 01:04:22.880] eventually change their behaviours to become part of that consistent routine.
[01:04:22.880 -> 01:04:26.080] And the answer was that we get often misled in thinking that,
[01:04:26.080 -> 01:04:27.600] oh, you can do it in 30 days,
[01:04:27.600 -> 01:04:29.800] you can change your behavior and make it a habit.
[01:04:29.800 -> 01:04:32.520] And the reality was, it'll be different for everybody.
[01:04:32.520 -> 01:04:35.560] That was the takeaway, that there's no time limit on this.
[01:04:35.560 -> 01:04:39.680] So patience, slowing down, being persistent,
[01:04:39.680 -> 01:04:41.400] all the things that you've just said
[01:04:41.400 -> 01:04:44.880] are all the things that are gonna help everybody
[01:04:44.880 -> 01:04:48.980] get to where they want to get to as long as they're prepared to embrace them and
[01:04:48.980 -> 01:04:53.020] enjoy the journey. Brilliant, well thank you Jason for coming on. Yeah real
[01:04:53.020 -> 01:04:56.300] privilege, I love that.
[01:04:56.300 -> 01:05:02.180] Ah what a cool conversation. Just a quick reminder you can subscribe to High
[01:05:02.180 -> 01:05:05.400] Performance, if you do then it means that we can grow the channel.
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[01:05:18.000 -> 01:05:20.760] Just search High Performance Podcast on YouTube,
[01:05:20.760 -> 01:05:24.080] watch the episodes there, subscribe on YouTube as well,
[01:05:24.080 -> 01:05:25.020] and keep on coming back
[01:05:25.020 -> 01:05:26.020] for more.
[01:05:26.020 -> 01:05:30.180] We are determined that high performance is something in your life that can make a real,
[01:05:30.180 -> 01:05:31.900] tangible, positive difference.
[01:05:31.900 -> 01:05:37.160] So stick with us, be consistent with us, keep on listening to the episodes, keep on sharing
[01:05:37.160 -> 01:05:41.480] your learnings and your lessons from high performance, and together we can grow, we
[01:05:41.480 -> 01:05:44.480] can develop, we can do something amazing.
[01:05:44.480 -> 01:05:45.740] Have a great rest of your day.
[01:05:45.740 -> 01:05:47.740] Thanks for listening and see you soon.
[01:06:04.590 -> 01:06:06.590] you