26: From Prison to Business Success (w/ Lamar Werts)

Here we are. Let’s go. Thanks for coming on, Lamar. Thank you.

I appreciate it. Yeah. In the grand scheme of things, recently met through our networking group, and you’re one of our newer members.

We’ve got unbelievable momentum, and I’m glad that you’re a part of our group now because your energy’s great. You had just given your first presentation, what was it, a few weeks ago now? Yeah. Like two weeks ago.

Yeah. And you moved the entire room. Like, there were people in tears.

There are people smiling, laughing. I mean, it’s your journey, from what I learned that day, was really inspiring. And immediately I was like, I gotta have you on the show.

Yes. So I’m glad you’re down. I appreciate you being here.

Thank you so much. Yeah. So just to set a little groundwork to give you a plug, too, you’re in our networking group because you own a the service pros here in St. Pete.

You are the owner of that. You guys specialize in air conditioning and all sorts of things. So do you do, like, anything? Air conditioning, commercial, residential.

Right. So, yeah, we do commercial and residential. However, I’m staying away from chillers.

Okay. Yeah. Why is that? They’re too cold.

They’re not too cold. They’re just. They’re not too complicated.

It’s just that a chiller would have, like, one condensing unit, and that one condensing unit could run up to, like, a hundred other smaller units in the building. Oh, boy. And, man, I just don’t want to be involved with those at the moment.

But when I pretty much get the guy that specialize in those, that’s when I would start pretty much hunting down some. Some of that type of work. Yeah, that makes sense.

But right now, I’m only pretty much specializing in light commercial and mainly residential. Okay, cool. Awesome.

Well, from everybody that’s worked with you so far, and I’m probably gonna be on the list soon because our air conditioning isn’t the newest. Gotcha. But I’ve only heard amazing things, so.

And it doesn’t surprise me, based on me getting to know you a little more. And I look forward to doing a deeper dive right now. I feel like your story and where you are now will be inspirational for people listening.

Have you ever been on a podcast before? No, this is my first one. What? Yeah, it’s my first one. Well, cool.

I’m honored. It’s neat. I hope you enjoy yourself.

Oh, thank you so much. I hope so, too. I got mentioned before on the podcast.

Okay, well, that’s. Yeah, I got mentioned before. Yeah, but this is my first time actually speaking and being president.

All right, cool. We’ll see how you do. But I have a good feeling.

So I know the answer to this. But you weren’t always interested in air conditioning. That wasn’t.

That hasn’t been your trajectory for forever. Where did you start your career? I just kind of want to kind of go back. And it was interesting because I was just a regular guy working a regular nine to five.

Just working a regular nine to five, happy with it. And a buddy of mine named Mark Hunter, which owns, like, a lot of property, and he was like, dude, you can. You could be so much better than this Mandev.

And I was just like, man, I’m just happy to be working, you know? What was that, nine to five? It was just I was working at a plastics engineering firm called Sun Micro stepping Technologies on us 19. Oh, okay. And he was like, dude, man, you could be doing so much more.

You got so much your charisma. You are a nice guy, but I would just had that mindset of just coming home from prison. So, like, I was just happy to be working, you know? Sure.

And he was like, no, don’t just be happy. You gotta strive for more. I was like, yeah, you’re right.

And make a long story short, we got into, well, he pretty much showed me the whole real estate game of pretty much how to buy homes, how to flip homes, pretty much scratch tests, pretty much to know, is this home even worth buying? Is it a good deal? Is it not a bad deal? You know, things like that. And once he pretty much showed me that, you know, I was very successful in it, you know, making great money. And then we got bills as and from, like, our accountant was like, man, do you guys think y
could, you know, get a little, you know, save some money on, you know, the h vac aspect of things? And I was like, I don’t know, you know, I feel like the guys who we dealing with now giving us a great price.

And make a long story short, I was like, man, I’m gonna go to school for this. And then I went to p Tech, enrolled in p Tech, and I did, like, a 14 month program over there, and then worked at a local company that did strictly commercial h vac. So I would go to Disney World every single day from about in the morning.

Well, that’s what that time I would have to leave my house. And, well, I have to be at the shop at five, so I will leave my house around like, 430 and then from the shop, taking like, 30 minutes because it was in clear water. Get there at five, we literally out of the parking lot going to Disney World at probably, like 510.

Yeah, like 510 in the morning. Clockwork every day. Yeah.

I pretty much learned it all at Disney because Disney world, from my understanding, don’t hire their own ac guys. So they would have other companies contract to work, like, for their freezers, coolers, certain h vac units, and stuff like that. So we would just always go up there and pretty much their hotels, to their restaurants, anything Disney, you know, whether it was on the property, whether it was off the property, what and what not.

Wasn’t wet and. Wow, was it wet. Wow.

It was one of those water parks in Orlando, because it’s just. We just saw all over the place in Orlando, sergeant. So, yeah, we would pretty much just always be in Orlando just doing ac work for the company.

And I learned a lot of it through that, through actually going to Disney every day. Yeah. Cool.

That’s a great. I mean, a big company to, like, test you because they don’t kid around. Yeah, yeah.

So, yeah, that’s why I feel like it was a great opportunity, because I came in the game and told them, like, hey, I don’t know nothing. I’m just in school. Overdose.

But if you give me a shot, I know I can get it. And he was like, you know what? I like your attitude. So he gave me a shot.

That’s sometimes all it takes. That’s it. That’s how I got from being a lifeguard to a head lifeguard in high school.

Oh, wow. I just asked, like, hey, I want to be a head lifeguard. What does it take? He goes, that you’re a head lifeguard now.

Cause I showed the initiative. I was like, oh, this is how the world works. That’s it, man.

Yeah. I mean, it doesn’t surprise me, though. Like, you’re clearly driven.

You’re nice to work with. So that goes a long, long way. So Disney also, a lot of people don’t really.

I feel like a lot of people think of Disney and go, okay, they’re, like, animating. They’re making movies or they got their park, but all of the other facets of the business that make that machine run is insane, all the way down to air conditioning or the food or whatever it is. There’s so much involved in that, a business of that magnitude.

It really is. And I can give you a couple little stories. Sure.

Of, like, certain times you can’t even do AC work in the daytime. Because they want you to think it’s like this magical place. Right.

They want you to be kind of invisible. They don’t want people to see that behind the scenes. They just want you to see the magic.

That’s it. So it was sometimes that we would literally have to be there probably around at night to like in the morning. Cause they don’t even want you.

We would have to only work when the park is closed. So they don’t even want the average person, the consumer, to even see what’s going on. Not like there’s nothing to hide.

It’s just that they just want you to always think it’s a magic show and nothing’s breaking down. Absolutely. No, it makes.

It’s perception. Yeah, that’s. We work on websites with big maintenance in the middle of the night and usually on weekends.

Got you. Because their people aren’t hitting it as much. It makes complete sense.

Yeah. So Disney got you going in the air conditioning. It’s interesting.

You just went from. Jumped from real estate, saw this window and you were drawn to it. What was the pull where you’re like, were you fascinated with.

Yes, I think that’s what it was. Right. So, like, as a kid, I always been that one that’s just been driven.

Right. However, once my grandfather died, I think I just, like, stopped using my hands or working under the cars with him and, you know, getting dirty and from the aspect of, like, oily and working on lawnmowers and pulling parts at the junkyard. And I stopped doing all of that stuff as a kid once my grandfather died.

So all of that creative stuff kind of, like, went out the window and I had to pretty much play, like, fight or flight to where, like, man, I had to make money. So, like, my whole, like, childhood kind of changed to actually, like, being, like, survivor mode instead of kind of, like, learn and get experience. So I had to go kind of, like, go a different route in life just to kind of, like, survive.

Was it survivor mode because your grandfather was supporting you and now you needed to support the family? No, it wasn’t like, I’m a sin. I’m gonna just say pretty much like a support myself. You know, I had an aunt, but, you know, she was struggling, too.

You know, my mom kind of was like, never around that much, while my dad was kind of, like, never around that much. So my aunt, pretty much once my grandmother and my grandfather died, they both died literally like a year apartheid. So my aunt had to kind of, like, leave everything behind in New York, which, she was living a beautiful life.

She pretty much had to give it all up just to come and take care of me and my brother. Wow. And, you know, she wasn’t rich.

You know, she was. She was, you know, making ends meet. But, you know, she was struggling with us, so it was like, man, I gotta do, you know, some little things odd and ends, you know, to make money, you know, whether I was gambling or I was gonna ask, what were those odds? Yeah.

So, gambling, you know, selling weed or. What age. What age are we talking, man? Like, 1213.

Wow. Yeah. Gambling and.

Yeah. Dealing. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, you gotta do what you gotta do. Like what.

Those are also quite accessible in the scheme of things. Like, you know, that people are gambling all over the place, and there’s a lot of drug use in the world. 100%

Yeah. And that was accessible or. Yeah.

In the south side, St. Peter, I would say. Okay, so, St. Pete, your whole life. Yeah, for the most part.

I’ve been here since I was, like, eight years old. Wow. Yeah.

Like seven. Eight years old. Okay.

Yeah. So, from. From there, you were making ends meet.

What. What’s the next stage? How long were you doing that before, you know, were you. Man, I was.

Next step, I would say probably from, like, 13 to probably, like, I don’t know. I guess the ship came crashing down in, like, 1819. Like, 1819.

And, you know, that’s when, you know, the law enforcement, you know, kind of got. Kind of got scandal burnt. Yeah.

They kind of burnt it out. Yeah. So, I mean, sustaining a life like that, you know, is.

Yeah. You’re. You’re constantly doing something that’s against the law.

It’s a tough one to consistently do right. Yeah. Yeah.

Because you make one mistake, and it’s over. Yeah. So it’s like.

And that’s why it was funny you say that, because my conscience kind of got, like, reversed, as in, from a standpoint of now that I’m doing right, it still kind of gets me to where I’m think I’m doing wrong still right this day, right now, in this moment. Yeah, sometimes. Cause he was playing tricks on you.

Yeah. You feel like you’re. Oh, there’s something I’m doing wrong.

Yeah. Like, I can’t. So the situation that I’m in right now, I’m gonna be honest with you.

I still talk to my buddy to this day. Sometimes I still can’t believe I’m doing this. Good.

Yeah. I’m just being honest with you. Uh huh.

So it’s like, I think I’m the luckiest person in the world, you know, coming from where I came from, you know, rough childhood, no mom, no dad. Like I said, both of my grandfather’s died. Grandfather and my grandmother died on me.

My brother got murdered, you know. Jeez. So it’s like, I don’t know, coming from where I came from.

When I met my buddy, that’s why I said I was so motivated, was so eager. But when I went to prison, that kind of killed, like, my confidence a little bit. So just rewinding.

Yeah, I would imagine. Yeah. So that’s not a great place to be.

Got you. So when I came home, I was like, man, I’m just happy I’m working. Oh, sure.

Cause you hear about the stories. Oh, you’ll be right back. Oh, just put your name right there.

You’ll be back in seven, eight months or four or five months. Yeah, yeah. You’ll be back.

You’ll be doing life. So you hear crazy stories. Not only that, you witness crazy stories of a recidivism.

Yeah. No, no. Like, you see an individual just left, and then they go out, literally, within a week, being home.

Do something crazy. Oh, my God. Get resinous again, and you will see them right back in prison again.

Yeah. So, like, you see crazy stuff like that, let alone hair, things like that. So when my buddy was like, oh, man, you got the charisma.

You a cool guy. You need to be on top. I was like, nah, I’m just happy to be working.

And he was like, no, no, no. So it was kind of like a mister Miyagi, you know, karate kid type deal to where he was like, listen, I’m gonna let you be around me for a couple years, show you everything I do. Wow.

And you should have all the tools. I’m not gonna say should. I’m gonna say, you will have all the tools to go do what you need to do.

And it’s huge. Yeah, I speak to him every single day, man. He showed me the game, and now it’s like, yeah, I’m having fun with it.

Now. That’s life changing when someone takes you under their wing like that, you know, there are people in my life who, you know, a mentor or something, where it’s like, why does this person care so much about me to want to see me succeed? They’re giving me all they got, as far as their knowledge or whatever it is, and supporting me in different ways. They’re not my family, but they’re treating me as such.

And, you know, there’s people who’ve been on this podcast. Who are those people? Wow. But I mean, it’s great to hear that you were able to connect with someone so important like that.

Because, like you said, I think that the recidivism, right, is ridiculous as far as people leave prison after being incarcerated and they’re right back there. Because what do you put on your resume, depending on how long you’ve been in there and. And your resources when you get out? If you had a girlfriend or family and maybe they’ve abandoned you because they’re mad or, I mean, there’s so much complication that can spin up that when you leave there, you’re in the world now.
You have to make ends meet. Yes. A lot of people fall back, I would imagine, too.

Well, I know this game and I don’t know what else to do. I gotta eat or I gotta need a roof. I just can’t imagine.

So 18 or 19, you said the ship came crashing down. Yeah. What was the ship? Were you actually on the water and you crashed? No, no, no.

So it was actually pretty much they ran down on me. It was like, hey, listen, it’s over. And I was like, oh, man, this is.

No, it can’t be over right now. It’s just getting started. Are you wanting to build an empire? Yeah, I would say.

I’m just being honest with you. Sure. I’m sure it’s a tug, you know, as a kid growing up, that’s why.

That’s why I’m a real big believer in God, you know? Like, I really. I really believe in God and I really trust God because of, like, my past and where I’m at. So, for example, Pablo Escobar was like, he was just like someone that anybody that sell drugs look up to because of his statue.

Not as in the aspect of his murders and killing people and torturing people. It’s just the aspect of the money he built. Yeah, he built the empire.

Now, I just left Medellin maybe about two months ago. Matter of fact, right before I joined MPI, I think I told him, I was like, hey, I can’t join right now only because I gotta go out of town. And when I get back, you know, I’ll do it.

Cause I was gonna miss a couple meetings. I think I told Crystal that. If I’m not mistaken, I think it was crystal or the Michelle.

I told one of them that. I was like, no, I think it was Dan. I think it was Dan.

I was like, hey, I’m not gonna join now. I join when I come back. Come back from, what is it called? Medellin.

What is that? Columbia. So where Pablo is from? Ah, okay. I got a close friend named Kevin that lived there.

Uh huh. Um, you actually here in the states now? He actually just got accepted to the University of Florida architect program. But I went over there to chill with him, um, and chat with him because he’s been like my virtual assistant helping me with, like, you know, properties and stuff like that.

Like, you know, doing all the maintenance, you know, he do everything, man. He’s just like a great virtual assistant that can learn anything cool. But I’ve been, you know, knowing him for the last, like, three, four years, and I was like, man, you know, I want to go meet him, you know.

So me and my buddy went over there and actually met him and his family. Great. And, and it was, it was amazing.

And when I got over there, I asked him about Pablo and he was just like, yeah, we hate him here. And I was like, oh, wow, why he did so much for the country. He said, no, he’s a bad man.

Everybody hate here. Sure, you know, you have, some people love him, some people hate him. So when he went and started, like, when he went to, like, going into examples of, like, some of the horror things he did, like burning up buildings and blowing up buildings and, you know, killing cops.

And I was like, ooh, I didn’t, like, we didn’t hear that in America. We just saw, like, you know, all the drugs he bought and everything to the, you know, to the states and stuff like that. We just heard about the Miami lifestyle back in the eighties and nineties, how everybody was having fun, you know, partying and stuff like that, and built up Miami in a way.

I mean, cocaine, yes. The stories you hear, like cocaine cowboys and stuff like that. That’s all because of Pablo.

And when I got there, I was like, man, you know, I actually prayed and I was like, man, God, please forgive me, you know, if I added any salt, like, any, you know, any flame to this fire, I mean, you know, you know, please forgive me. And once he told me that, he was like, hey, did you want to go to any of his, like, his statues or his shrines and stuff like that? I was like, nah, I’m good. I don’t want to go nowhere.

I don’t want to go to his house. You know, they have like, tours, sure. Spots to where you can go where Pablo lived, you know, where he went to church at school, stuff like that.

And I was like, no, I don’t want to go to none of that stuff. I’m good. He was like, you sure, buddy? You kind of.

That was a way to, like, shake it off. Yeah. That was like, you saw him in a different light.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cause, man, it’s a lot of families that got tortured in that situation. So I was like, no, I’m good, man.

So I didn’t go, in fact, this the first time I think I’ve ever spoke about it. Yes. Since then, I totally erased him out of my history.

Yeah. Wow. Yeah.

I mean, that makes sense. Yeah. You know, you.

Yeah, okay. You could build something, but how you build it in that realm. Yeah.

Is messy. Yeah. It’s all ruined.

You can’t. Never mind. I’m just being honest with you.

You could never win in that situation. Nah. And that’s why one of my being in that situation, that’s why I never did one drug in my life.

I never even drunk a beer. When you were also dealing? No, I never did it in my life. Wow.

I never drunk a beer, never drunk liquor, never smoked weed. I never did no drug in my life. Only because I saw what it did to individuals around me.

But I was just so ignorant in my youth days to where I thought money was so important that I didn’t really see the destruction until I actually went to prison, you know? So I didn’t see, you know, people that was, you know, had habits or, you know, even though my mom was on drugs, even though my dad was on drugs, like I said, I was ignorant, and I didn’t see. There’s a lot of people on drugs out there. Yeah.

I mean, it’s wild. Yeah, it’s a lot, but, yeah, I would imagine being in prison, you hear and see so many different examples of what not to do or, like, what mess people got into from drugs or whatever it is making. And likely one bad decision or one bad decision led to another, and there’s kind of this slippery slope of, how did I fall into this.

This wave of actions which led me here? I just can’t imagine. How long were you in? So I did about two years. Yeah.

Yeah. So I got a six year sentence. Okay.

However, due to the fact I was a youth. It was a youth. It was called the youth for offender act.

I still went to prison, but it gave me two years in, four years out. So I was on parole for four years. And parole is different than probation.

Okay. Probation is like, you know, if you can go, let me give you another chance. Parole is where you go to prison already, and then if you come home the rest of your time, you can come home and do the rest of your time, but if you get in trouble, you just go straight back to prison.

Yeah, there’s no if as buses, no taps on the wrist, you know, give me a second chance. No, you just go straight to prison. Mm hmm.

So. And then you have to serve the rest of your time. Probably aren’t granted an option of parole.

No, you got to just do all your time. So I would have had to do the rest of my four years. So when I. You’re probably really straight.

Oh, man. Dude, man. Like, no joke.

Like. Like, straight wasn’t a word. Like, man.

It got to the point where, like, I didn’t want to be around no law officer, no law enforcement. Yeah. Just because I didn’t even want them to kind of, like, ask me my name, to even run my name.

Sure, I stopped hanging around all my friends, but those habits became great habits because I just stopped hanging around people, period. Right. So, like, all my friends, I think that kind of, like, wasn’t clean.

Like, I was like, man, I’m not gonna risk it. I just literally just stayed away from them, all of them. You know, when I see him, I see him like, hey, man, how’s everything going? Hey, man.

Have a blessed day. I’ll see you later. So, like, once I got into church and, you know, just kind of, like, just staying focused, you know, being around my wife, my kids, I just really didn’t have time for anybody anyway, so it kind of worked out.

Absolutely. I mean, you are a combination of the environment and the people that you surround yourself with. Yes.

Day to day, you know? And if you’re around negativity or darkness or bad habits, you’re leaking, or they’re leaking that. That all of that is leaking into your life, whether you want it or not. You’re.

You’re putting yourself in there. Yes. Your disconnection of that, as hard as it probably was, although it’s probably maybe an easy bandaid, because you go, I don’t want to go back there.

And disconnecting from them. It was. It was the thing that you needed to do in order to kind of refresh.

Yeah. Stay on the straight and narrow, if you will. So, man, it was hard in many aspects because, like, funds were low.

Right. So I didn’t have money when I came home, I didn’t really have nothing. Right.

What do you do? And I had. So I got a paper route, so, okay. I love my Aunt Brenda, you know, the one who raised me.

I love her to this day, man, because she was just like, listen, I don’t care if you get a paper route job, just delivering flyers, whatever. Like, I’m just not gonna let you go back to the streets. And I was like, man, wow, okay, okay.

So I met this guy named Mister Phil. He lived down the street from her, and he was like, hey, I got a friend of mine, he owned a flyer business to where, like, he would go to, like, papa John’s hungry, Howie’s, man. Anything that have, like, a flyer that need to just pretty much door hanged on people’s door.

So he would pretty much get like a thousand flyers a day. And I would literally just go help him go door to door and just pass him out. Cool.

Yeah, so that was another reason why I kind of, like, trust God, because he’ll let you preview certain things. Remember when I thought Pablo was like an idol to me? And then I got there and I’m like, nah, this guy not an idol. Remember when I came home from prison, I had the door hang.

That’s what I had to do. And it was a blessing because now I love the door hang for my own business. How cool.

You know what I’m saying? So I did it kind of like, man, you know, for somebody else. And I think I was only making like a week. And I was like, I was so grateful for that hundred dollars.

Sure thing. I was super, man. I was so happy for that hundred bucks.

So I think I was making like $400 a month, but I was super duper happy for it, right? Yeah. So now being that I can go door to door myself for my own business, it’s a blessing. Is it nostalgic? Oh, man, think about that time.

Yeah, it’s amazing. Sometimes it kind of hurt. Sometimes it do kind of hurt.

Because in a good way, right? Because I’m like, man, you was like, you was deep, deep, deep, deep down. Like, you was knee deep. And I mean knee deep, like it was bad, right? Like, you, like, he was doing bad, right? Yeah, I mean, I. Prison is one of the not greatest places you could be.

You know, that’s just the react. That’s the reality of it also. There’s a reason for that.

That’s the incentive to not go back, get in there, because it’s not, you know, that’s not. And there, there are arguments to make. Like, there are other countries that people are treated in a much better way.

They have an apartment and a tv, and they. They treat incarceration in a much different way, which I think there is merit to it, you know? Yeah. I mean, you probably you can’t get away with it in certain areas and it’s just a different part of the world.

But, you know, the for profit thing is probably the wrong way to go. Yeah. There are certainly adjustments to be made, but overall, it’s part of the system, just like our justice system.

Like, you don’t do that because it harms other people. As long as you’re not doing that, you’re not gonna go to this place. But if you drop, if you go over that line, it’s not fair to other people who are living a good life and want to be free and safe, and you’re compromising people’s liberty, happiness and the pursuit of all that.

Gotcha. It’s. It’s just so interesting to think of the complexities that go into it, you know? And it’s also interesting because we’re such a young country in the grand scheme of the world.

Yeah. You know, other countries, they just. They think you have drugs and they kill you.

Yeah. They just kill you or you’re locked up and there’s just like, no questions. That’s also scary.

Yeah. You know, but that’s why also they don’t have as much use of that over there. I mean, but that’s.

That’s. That’s like, maybe a part two is what do we do about the, you know what, actually being in there? I’m curious. And going through that process.

Did. Were there things that stuck out to you where you go? This was well done, and this absolutely worked. And, and on the other side, things that you experienced where you were, like, this is awful, and we need to change this immediately because this should not be happening.

In indevtaine, when someone’s incarcerated, does anything stand out to you? The whole system stands out. All right. So it’s like, it’s not meant to be a nice place.

Yeah. So, like, if it was a nice place, then everybody would go there. So it’s not supposed to be a nice place.

So I’m happy it was all what they said it was, you know? Okay. And it’s not a great place. You don’t want to be there.

You only get a couple hours to go on the rec yard. Just gotta pretty much just sit down, read all day in your cell. Yeah.

Right. So just in a box smaller than this. The box? Yeah, yeah, way smaller than this room.

Yeah. It’s cold too. Yeah.

Crazy cold. To the point to where they use the coldness as a method to where, like, if you code, they feel. I think they did a study on this if I’m not mistaken, to wherever.

If it’s something so cold, people don’t have time to argue and fight. Wow. Because they’re trying to stay warm.

Everybody’s just trying to stay warm. Or everybody trying to be in their own little, you know, own little interest circle or whatever you want to call it, their own little area. But yeah, they keep it cold for a reason.

Now you keep it cold for a reason. You help keep places cold. Yeah.

Yeah, right. Yeah. I need to get every contract at every prison to keep all.

Yeah. Cause they need it real good. Yeah.

When they need any heat or any outage, they need to give me a call. I could come keep them cold. But no, that place was a blessing also, man, because it just got me to the point to where, like, when I came home, I wasn’t in the best situation, but I just knew even the best situation was better than that situation.

Hi there. This is Josh Naiman, CEO and founder of Naiman Creative. And we’re the ones who produce the podcast that you’re listening to right now.

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Contact us today@naamancreative.com and we’ll make sure to take care of you just like our own homes. Did you hear a lot of people with that same mindset that. Cause obviously you got to know people being in there for two years, and I’m sure there’s an enormous range, but were a lot of people like, I guess I’m grateful to be here because I’m going to turn my life around.

Or what were the attitudes? No. So I didn’t even have that attitude in there. Well, when I got in there, you know, first thing I did was grab a Bible.

And, you know, I made sure I read the Bible from, like, front to back. Wow. And when you in there, that’s like, kind of like the worst place to get a Bible because they’ll call you a Bible thumper.

Cause they’ll say, oh, man, you just doing that right now. Cause you got all this time on your hands. Okay.

So they say as soon as you get free again, you’re not gonna worry about God. They’ll say, all you’re just doing is just to, you know, help your time Flyveregh. I was like, nah, man, I’m a really.

Just trust God, man. Were you religious before that? No. Did that kind of set you on the past? I’m not gonna say I wasn’t religious.

Cause my grandmother always taught us to believe in God, but it wasn’t, like, to where my household, like, they forced us to go to church, right? Nah, ain’t nobody really forced us to go to church. So when I came home, you know, I hadn’t read the Bible so much. And it worked out for me because another situation where God, you know, blessed me.

One of my roommates. Good dude. Very good dude.

He kind of, like, somewhat like, ran to prison. And I didn’t know that dude. I had no clue.

But he was a friend before. No, he my friend now. You made him.

You made friends when you were in there. How did you make friends with someone running the prison? No. So it was crazy because he was, like, the head of a group.

I’m gonna say head of a group in there. You know, every day they got groups, and he, like, ran this one particular group. And even though he ran a particular group, he still prayed a lot and read.

To read the Bible. Like, he did it on the regular. And I had no idea he was the head of a particular group in there.

I didn’t. I wasn’t in no gang, no groups, no nothing. I stayed away from all of it, you know.

Cause I knew I wanted to go home, like, and then I didn’t know none of these guys when I were on out, so I wasn’t gonna come in here and be best friends with him. But make a long story short, he’s still, like, one of my closest friends to this day, so. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

His name David, by the way, cool dude. In fact, he. When he got house, when he got a work release.

When I saw him, he was working at the oyster bar downtown St. Pete. So he really became our friend. Like, he actually became local and lived here for, like, seven, eight years before he became a fighter.

Fighter in Connecticut. Okay. Yeah, yeah.

But me and him used to read the Bible a lot, and. Dangerous guy. Like, he would hurt you, though.

But, like, he really believed in God, you know? So you were able to connect with him even though not being in a group? No, I wasn’t in no gang, no group, no nothing. But he was. That’s a good connection to have, I guess.

He was like the head, though. Like, he was like the head. So, like, God will give you favor sometimes in situations to where you don’t even got to go do nothing crazy, and he’ll make sure he take care of you.

So make a long story short, man used to always read the Bible. Like, literally was like clockwork, like every day at night. We all just me and him and, like, one other guy named Cassius from Tampa.

We just read the Bible, and, man, we just got so cool with reading the Bible. I just literally just stuck to it. And I just seen how, like, God blessed me to get through certain situations in there.

I knew he was gonna do it when I came home, so that’s why I just kinda, like, just stayed focused. Yeah. Yeah.

That’s a big book too. So there’s a lot of material that you got the time. So what, do you use it on a big historical document like that? All sorts of stuff in there.

Yeah. You can take away. No, you gotta be careful, though, man.

Cause I. People use that book for many reasons. Yeah. You know, I’m not gonna get in detail for what other reasons they use it for, but.

Mm hmm. Oh, yeah. That’s a very powerful book.

Oh, yeah. You know, very cherry picket in all sorts of ways. It was, yeah.

To persecute people. Yeah, people. Yeah.

Point blank. Yeah. You got it, right? Yeah.

Yep. I was, I was raised Catholic, so, yeah. So, yeah, man, it worked out I, that I got so many questions.

What, so did you find it. You were talking about gangs and groups. Did you find that that was an easier path to not associate yourself with anybody and stay kind of agnostic and neutral to any group? Or was it more difficult because you didn’t have, like, protection, like, you, you know, or whatever it is? Did you, how was the complexity of that navigating, like, your, I guess, your safety? No.

So, like, I just always stay neutral. Right. So, like, that’s one of those situations, like, if you want to join one of those situations, you know, sometimes they’ll come pressure you into joining.

Were you ever pressured? No, I wasn’t ever pressured. You know, I’m from St. Pete. It’s crazy, but they have, like, a foothold on any compound they go to in Florida.

Like, those groups? Yes. Like, no, just, if you from St. Pete, they just look at you as like, oh, yeah, you crazy. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I’m not far from that. Like, I was never no dangerous guy. Like, I didn’t carry guns.

I never robbed nobody. I never took from nobody. So, like, you don’t come off as dangerous.

Right. So, like, coming from St. Pete, they have, like, this stigma on them that, man, like, if you mess with one of those guys, like, you will get hurt. I guess that worked to your advantage then.

Yeah, right. This stereotype. Yeah.

Kind of protected you. Yeah. So it was like one of those things to where.

And then not only that, it wasn’t like it was a gang or a group or a clique, but people from St. Pete won’t let nothing. Won’t let nobody harm you also. So they look after each other.

Yeah, it was like more of that type of deal. I had a lot of friends. Just so happened, you know, that I knew on the streets.

They all happened to be in trouble with me, and we all happened to be in the same place, too, so. Oh, boy. I was down there.

Well, I was in a couple facilities with people I knew also, so that was another reason why I kind of didn’t really have to join no gangs or do nothing. But if you just mind your business and, you know, stay in your own little realm, you know, that trouble won’t even, you know, it won’t find you. Yeah.

Cause you’re around so many different people from so many situations. Again, who you surround yourself with, even in there, starts to leak on you, and you get caught up in a gang or a group, and that’s gonna follow you, or you’re gonna start to become that because you’re around it. I mean, it sounds like your choice is the one to make in there.

I’m just gonna stay focused, stay in my lane. I’m gonna read. I’m gonna better myself.

Yeah. Did you work out a lot? Yeah, I did work out a lot. Cause that’s like, that’s.

That’s one of the only things you really can do in there. Sure. You know, they have everything you have on out.

So they do have track fields, football fields, soccer fields, basketball courts. They have all of that in there. So you.

One tool that you can pretty much sharpen is your body. Yeah. You know, whether it’s push ups, pull ups, you know, running around a track, you can do that even in yourself, you know, no weight.

Yeah, you can do a lot. So you can easily do stretch or 500, you know, push ups a day, you know, sit ups, you know, chin ups. You can do all that stuff in yourself.

Yeah, but I just always did it out of field. When I came back to my cell, I just always kept it. I read or, you know, write home, you know, write a letter and just, you know, sometimes I just used to write to God, like, man, if you.

You know, I think I just said it at the NPR group when I had my speech. I think I said something like, you know, when we all be in that one situation, like, God, if you get me out of this one. Oh, yeah, yeah.

You’d like, I won’t. I promise. Yeah, I won’t do it again if you just get me out of this situation.

So you held your end of the bargain there, sounds like. So I just kind of, you know, just used to always say, man, if I ever get a chance, I’m gonna just get a regular job and, you know, make sure, you know, I raise my kids right, you know, make sure I be around my kids more and, you know, stuff like that. So I used to kind of, like, write it out, like the little things I truly believed in my heart.

Yeah. You know, so, like, going back to my buddy, he was like, man, you can easily go, you know, buy this house, go do this or make money this way or make money that way. But I was just telling him, like, man, you know, I’m just happy to even be, you know, doing what I wrote down, like working the job or spending more time with my kids or.

Yeah, you know, stuff like that. So. And it worked out.

I mean, I went hard before I had my daughter and, you know, just in the past, and it’s nothing absolutely crazy, but, you know, thinking about, like, the pace that I was going with different things, to say the least now having a. And I’m. I’m very busy with business and the things that I’m involved in, but, like, a simple, like, I do my business.

I love going home to my family, hanging out with my friends, playing music, and just, like, sticking to that. I’m, like, super sober now, which has been game changing for me. And it’s like, I like that.

It’s not complex. You’re not chasing this dragon or these experiences that you think are going to be. And some of the greatest experiences are the simplest ones where my daughter says something funny when we’re reading together or something.

Something subtle, and we’re all together in the, you know, the Florida room or whatever it is or at dinner. It’s those little things. You don’t have to be high and doing all this stuff and going hard to enjoy life to its fullest, you know, but people are just, like, redlining it.

Yeah. So, man, you’re so right about that. So now I see that.

Right? So for, like, I must say, like, the last past, like, seven, eight years of my life have been, like, hustle, bustle, grind so hard. Wake up working, go to sleep working, working. When you working, you know, be at the gym, working out, texting your phone, this real estate deal or doing this or doing that.

So it just always work. Right. So now where I feel like I am in a great spot right now, it’s like I can actually kind of, like, sit back and say, wow, like, man, the last, like, ten years of my life have been, like, amazing, you know, I’ve been kind of, like, great for the last ten years of my life.

Yeah. Clearly, mentally, spiritually, and financially. However, I feel like if I was still, like, in a hustle and bustle, I feel like I would still be worrying about money, still trying to pay this bill.

I wouldn’t really see the beautiful things in life, but now I just love spending time with my, you know, my kids or other than that, what are you hustling and bustling for? You know what I mean? Yeah, at this point, yeah. If you’re not, then you don’t have time to enjoy your children, and then what’s it for? Yeah, so it’s where you say that. Right? So, like, even with, like, the one on ones and, like, going to, like, meet, like, meeting greets with, like, the MPI people and, like, sunrunners a
social and strategize.

Sun leaders. Yes. Yes.

Sun leaders. I’m sorry. Sunrun.

Yes. Sun leaders. I’m still trying to get into all of that stuff.

Right. I’ve really. It’s not that I’m not a fan of none of that stuff, but I’m this all new to me, like, the chamber PI.

So I’m kind of, like, just trying to get in and, like. So, for example, the chamber is. Was kind of slow for me, right? Yeah, it’s a different.

Yeah, they’re all different. Yeah, it’s kind of. It’s kind of slow.

It’s nice, but it’s like. Yeah, you know people. Yeah.

It’s kind of slow, chill, but, like, NPR. So militant, right? No, I’m serious. No, no joke.

They don’t get around. Maybe I’m, like, the only person that think is militant. I don’t know.

Maybe I’m wrong. Right? Have you been to B and I? No, I never been to BNI. That’s militant.

Okay. NPI is like B and I lite. But I see what you mean.

It’s. You know. Yeah.

There’s. There’s a rigidity to it, and we’re focused. Like, I’m skipping this Wednesday.

Right? Like, I know, joke. Like, I won’t commit to, like, a social and strategize, or I won’t commit to when they say, hey, man, the fellow’s gonna go out and go hang out. I won’t commit to none of that.

Right. However, I’ll be like, yeah, I might can make it, but please don’t hold me accountable. But NPR is, like, Wednesdays.

Yeah. I’m gonna be walked in. Yeah.

Yeah. It’s like. It’s like marine types that I’m gonna be there.

It’s just that simple, right? Yeah. However, I would like to start doing everything like that, whether it’s a social and strategized, whether it’s the sun leaders, whatever it is. I want to start doing everything like that, but right now, I’m kind of, like, just taking the baby steps with all of it.

Definitely. Well, also, just to let you know, everybody who starts, it’s a different realm, and everybody’s like, what is this? At first, distill, figuring out, like, whoa, this is different. So you’re definitely not alone on that.

We’re. You know, we’re all imposters in a way. You know, you only know so much, but no one knows fully what they’re doing.

But it’s awesome to be around people like yourself. Like, I mean, imagine the group there on Wednesday mornings. You know, I get to know you.

Otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten to know you. And how special is that? There’s something so magical and very powerful about a group like that goes a long way. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be connected.

And who knows what this will lead to? And that’ll lead to, like, for me, it’s. It’s. It’s changed my trajectory as far as business and stuff like that.

One decision. No joke, man. Right? I was kind of, like, on the edge, right? Dan Dan was like, hey, come to this group.

Hey, come. You know, Dan Dan, he’s just a social butterfly, man. And I was like, man, you know what? He was like, come to this group.

I was like, all right, I’ll come to it. I was at a chamber event. Came to it, and then we came to NPI, and I was like, whoa, I like this.

But what NPI have done for my brand and my business is, like, hands down amazing. Yeah, it works. It works.

And it’s. Glad to hear it. It was cool.

You know, your first couple of meetings, you. And you still are a little quiet. Yeah.

But you’re breaking in. But, you know, like, when we’re going around at the end and saying, like, close business and thank yous. You were at the beginning, like, I just gotta say, I love the energy here.

I’m so impressed by it. I loved. I, like, fed off of that because I know what you mean, and I feel that every week.

But it’s not always verbalized or now it’s becoming normal, which is cool in its own way, because that’s the level that I’m playing at now is this energy, you know, coming there in the mornings on Wednesday again, who you surround yourself with. You surround yourself with 31 people who are going at it hard care and are driven like that. Yes, of course they’re gonna lift you up.

Yes. 100%. It’s great energy.

100%. Yeah. So, I mean, you just can’t go wrong.

Can’t go wrong. I feed off of your energy, man. I wish I could have did NPI, like, four years ago, five years ago.

I’m not joking. Hindsight. I wish I would have been involved with MPI, like, ten years ago.

Yeah. It’s totally a game changer. Yeah, it certainly is.

I mean, when did. When did you start the service pros? So we started the service pros about. I’m gonna say two years ago.

Okay, cool. Yeah. So that’s a unique story about.

So everybody say, is that a franchise? No, that’s mine. Everybody gonna be a franchise. Do you wanna franchise it? No, not right now.

Which I’m just trying to fine tune it right now. Sure. Now it might be the future.

I would love to get royalties off of everything sold, but right now, I’m just trying to fine tune it to get it where it needs to be. Mm hmm. But, yeah, no, that’s not a franchise.

That’s a hundred percent mine by me and my partner. But, yeah, we do. Nobody owns that.

We own that 100%. Great. It’s super special, you know, like, it’s so empowering owning your own business.

You went, you know, from a paper route. Yeah. Getting out of there.

To owning your own business. Yeah, there’s. I mean, that’s a huge testament.

Yes. To who you are. Yes.

I mean, I. And it’s, you know, not. There’s a reason why not a lot of people own their own business. It’s not easy work.

No way. You know, but for me, it’s so rewarding. And.

And the people, you know, like, for me, the journey of it all is also so cool. You know, yesterday I was at a place that makes chairs here locally. And I’m not going to say specifically, but I met with the owner for 3 hours.

Someone who’s very busy person, super successful, isn’t it? Showed me around, talked to me in high detail. It’s like, what other position would I be in where I’m talking to someone at this caliber for this long? And they’re so invested in me. Wow.

You know, it’s just like, no other position unless I had my business and you took me seriously in this way. That’s it. So there’s just something.

You can’t do that when you ask somebody else, Tom. Right. Yeah.

You’re in a different mindset, too. But, yeah, I wouldn’t change anything about it. Okay.

So I’d be remiss to ask a couple questions, because I’ve gotta. And then we’re gonna get to a rapid fire, and then we’ll wrap it up. Cause I. We’re at Friday.

We’re almost going on p.m. yeah.

Wow. I really appreciate you being here. Okay.

So, real quick, going back to being in prison, I wanna know what’s the craziest experience that you had in there? Where, like, what is happening? Anything stick out? I think, like, maybe like the fourth day. The fourth day when I got there, it was like. It was Lake Butler and cigarettes is big there, right? And it’s like a currency.

Yeah, it’s like a currency. Right. So it’s like, if you got cigarettes, like, you the king.

And it was this little white kid. He probably was like, 80, 90 pounds of literally, like 80, 90 pounds soaking wet. So small.

And he had cigarettes, and he was in intake with me. And intake is like when you first come to the prison. Okay.

They told him, like, hey, dude, just give those away. They told him that. Just give those cigarettes away.

He had cigarettes on him that he wanted to bring in. Yeah, yeah. No, no, he.

No. So they give you rips. You can bring those.

Really. However, it’s not Newport. It’s not no more.

They took them off. Now you can’t even buy cigarettes in prison no more. However, before I left, I think two years after I got out, that’s when they stopped it.

However, when I was still there, you could still buy them from prison. They’ll sell you the rips, and he had them. So even though everybody can go buy him, they just looked at him as, like he’s no threat.

And, uh, it was crazy, because I felt so bad for him. They beat him to death. To death.

Yeah. So, for cigarettes. Yeah, for cigarettes.

Yeah. So they beat him. They beat him up so bad, and they told him.

He was like, hey, man, just. Just get a cigarettes up, man. You too small.

They’re gonna. They’re gonna take them from you. They’re gonna beat you for those.

And he had, like, a lot of rips. Like, a lot of. And he pretty much.

He kept him when they come in, you know, they check your stuff. Not like the inmates. I mean, the guard is the inmates, and they ain’t check my stuff.

I was like, nah, like, we ain’t gonna do all that. You know, just let me just go to Marco. Let me just go to Marcel.

But other people who they feel like they can get over on, they gonna check your stuff, you know, and go. They being other. They gonna take whatever they want and go from there.

Especially when you’re new. Yeah, yeah. When you knew, of course.

Cause you don’t know nobody, you know? But like I said, when I got there, it was. A couple people saw me, and it was like, oh, wirtz. You know, they come with my last name.

It was like, oh, wirtz. Hold on. I was like, oh, man.

That was like, oh, you good, man. Get out of that line, man. That’s what all the newbies.

You ain’t got to go through all that. So when I seen the kid, he was like, nah, don’t take him. He was like, no, don’t.

Don’t take my stuff. And they beat him bad. So I just started, you know, they just beat him up.

However, in prison, you just got to kind of like, you know, just if it ain’t your business, you got to kind of, like, stay out of it. People died on a regular forgetting other people business. Right, right.

And, um, they beat him bad. And maybe, like, seven months, seven months down the road, eight months down the road. I was at Lake City.

That’s when I got moved to a different prison. I was at Lake City CI, and another guy that was there with me, he was like, hey, man, you remember that? You was there that night when the white kid got beat? Up. I was like, yeah.

He was like, man, he went to outside medical. And I was like, what happened? He was like, that same two nights later he went to outside medical. Outside medical.

Is that like the prison medical system can’t do nothing for you? You got to go to like, ICu, like intensive care. And he was like, man, he died. I was like, huh? And that kind of like stuck with me, you know, like, still to this day, I think about that because, like, it was over a pack of cigarettes, you know, and like, ridiculous.

That kind of messed with me, you know, and that could have been me, you know, it could have been anybody, you know, and that kind of like, get to me. So that situation kind of get to me. I still think about it every now and then, cuz it’s not the situation, you know what I could have done, you know? But it was like one of those situations, I was kind of like, already in my cell.

So it’s like, even if I kind of like, wanted to help him, it was probably nothing I still could have done. But if he would have had to listen to just give him away, yeah, that probably would have never happened. But he was like, nah, man, ain’t nobody gonna touch me.

He was kind of like that big brave situation to where, you know, people think they bigger than the system. I was like, man, I didn’t say nothing to him. I wasn’t one of the ones that was telling him to give it away.

But the guards told him, other inmates told him there was a, hey, man, dude, who you too small, man. They gotta take that soon as you get to the dorm room. And, man, he said he died.

Yeah. I was like, that’s awful. Yeah.

Yes. I probably think about that, man, at least two, three times a week. If not like every day I wake up.

My goodness. I’m not joking. I mean, there’s a lot of lessons to that.

I mean, for one, thinking through all this, the simpler the better. Yeah, it’s kind of situation. And in general, I’m a designer too.

Yeah. Simple. Yeah.

Always the way. Especially in there. Especially if someone’s telling you, look, based on my experience, yes, you’re getting yourself into a bad scenario.

You’re setting yourself up. Yeah, they totally take the advice. Simplify it, shed.

Yes. Why try to even complicate? And these were guys that were like six two, all muscle that was coming in and not afraid, afraid, not afraid. They were just like, hey, man, like, hey, little homie, just please.

That’s like the sling. They were like, hey, little homie, please. They was begging the guy.

They was like, man, you about to go to eldormouse. That’s where all the sharks at. He was like, listen, dude, please do not go back there with him.

Even the one guy I remember, like, when we were all walking in line, the one tall guy was like, um. He was like, man, I’ve been down for. I think he was already down for like seven years.

He was just changing different. He was changing to a different prison. So he was at intake going to another prison, but they just had him with us.

And he was like, man, just give him to me. And you just come ask me for a cigarette when you need them. So they ain’t had a mess with me.

He was like, nah, man, nobody ain’t. So I always learned that it’s always somebody tougher than you and there’s always a bigger fish. Yeah, right? So once I got done and I saw how that altercation happened, I literally just kind of like, okay, well, it’s kind of like a war zone, so I just need to do everything I need to do to just make it out of here.

Yeah, that makes sense. Gosh, what a lesson. Were people held responsible for beating him? What happens to the people who.

I’m gonna be honest with you, I didn’t know. I didn’t even ask. All of that know how they went.

I don’t know if anybody got prostitute. I don’t have no clue. I just know the one guy.

Only how I know is because the one guy that I was cool with when we was there, maybe for like two weeks, I have. He happened to come to the prison I was at. After I got shipped off, maybe like seven, eight months, he went to a different prison.

I went to Lake City. I guess he did something to come to Lake City and. Yeah, he did something to come to Lake City.

And when he came, I asked him about that situation. I was like, hey, man, did you ever see the little guy? He was like, man, he got beat so bad, he went outside medical, and I was like, what you mean? He was like, yeah, then he died. I was like, whoa.

First thing I said, man, I was over a cigarette, I was like, cigarette, man? So, yeah, man. I was like, whoa. I mean, people like, like you were talking about Pablo Escobar and things like that.

You know, you look at someone wrong. Yeah. And that realm, and you’re toasted.

Yeah. I mean, that’s just reality of. Yes, yes.

Again, better to just not be around yes. Hundred percent. So certain events, you know, you know, I’ve seen people get stabbed up for, you know, stepping on the shoe.

You know, I’ve seen some crazy stuff, so it’s like, once I saw all of that, I thank be to God none of that happened to me. Yeah, I thank God every day none of that happened to me. So it’s like, I’m just so grateful to be free, knowing that nobody ever stabbed me.

Nobody never hurt me, nobody never touched me. I didn’t have to go through none of that crazy stuff. So you really take.

I would imagine you look at freedom. Yeah. At a much more deep perspective.

Yeah. Yeah. You know, freedom means a lot more when you lose your freedom.

Yeah. So, like, that’s what I was trying to tell you when I came home and I was working just a regular job, like, catching the city bus, like, hopping the Ubers before Ubers, like, asking people to take me somewhere before Uber was a thing. Uber wasn’t even cool when I was like, hey, man, you come give me a ride somewhere, or jump on the city bus or get me a 30 day bus pass.

Like, I was happy with those things. Sure. Some people would be like, man, you ain’t working hard enough, you know? Man, what you mean? You happy with a 30 day PSTA bus pass? I’m like, man, I’m happy.

Like. Like, I’m free, right? Yeah. Number one.

Yes. I’m free. Yeah, that’s like, my buddy.

My buddy, no joke, man. He really had to, like, recondition my mind of how I was thinking, because I’m glad he did show me more. When it came to business, when it came to life, when it came to personal development, growth, whatever it was, he showed me all of that.

However, I was just so grateful to have my freedom that a regular job, a city bus, cab here and there, I was grateful for that. Like, I thought I was rich. Yeah.

Like, if you weren’t saying, like, no, for real. Right. Yeah, it’s a.

You know, reality came, reality set in, and opportunity started coming. Right. But even if I didn’t have those opportunities, I was just still so happy because I was like, man, I’m free 100%

I mean, that’s as far as Maslov’s higher of hierarchy of needs. I mean, food, water, and freedom right there at the base. Otherwise, nothing else matters.

You know, it’s just. And that gratefulness, you’re. You’re being grateful, and your recognition of how important that is, I think was a big driver in your success, because people who are grateful and do good and put out that good energy, it comes back to you.

Yeah, it’s coming back to you in this moment through NPI. All these new connections you’re making down to this conversation, you know, it’s so, so special. I want to see.

Okay, we. That was a pretty intense story. What’s.

What’s a story that sticks out where you go? That was so cool. That was so positive when you were in there, you know, did you see something that happened that uplifted you and maybe the community in there? Anything stick out, or was it okay, so more of your sessions, like reading the Bible. So what was cool is that I think it was cool when I got out, and then we all looked back.

So my buddy David, that was, like, the leader of a particular group when he was in there, he was just like, man, I just always make sure you were safe, bro. I was like, wow. He was like, I always made sure you was good.

I was like, whoa, that’s special. Yeah, right? He was just like, man, I don’t know, man. He was just like, I just think.

What? Nothing happened to you, so I just always made sure you was good. So, like, me and him would just always read. Read the Bible.

But just to know that that’s why I take God serious, because, like, to be in a jungle, right? And you’re no sign of a threat and no, like, people literally sending, like, kites, as in, like, notes around saying, hey, man, don’t harm him. He could people from multiple individuals, right? Not just, you know, my buddy David, but just knowing that when David. Just think about, like, if I was.

If David would have harmed me, right? Or if he would have got let me follow the guy hurt whatever it was, right? And he would have came to, let’s say, oyster bar, right? And worked at Oyster bar. I probably could have retaliated and, you know, probably hurt him. However, it didn’t work that way.

It was like, the total opposite to where he made sure I was good. So when he came here, I made sure he was okay in the city, you know, even though he didn’t need my help, but even if it was just somebody to talk to, like, man, I did seven years, man. And this is tough right now, man.

Like, like, how. Like, man, is there any resources over here? Can you help me with this? Can you help me with that? Even though he didn’t need my help, but I just still helped him, even if we just, like, worked out together. Hey, buddy, come downtown.

Let’s work out real fast. I literally go down to North Shore, and we’ll work out. So it’s like, I just thank God that he put certain people in position to where, like, I was good.

Yeah. That’s great, man. It’s huge.

So glad that you came out the other end. Yeah. And I. Yeah, there’s so much.

I. I really. I want to respect time because we could sit here for five minutes. No, I got you.

We have a part of our every episode where I ask guests very similar questions to kind of see the commonalities between all these different people on all walks of life. Commonalities and the differences. It’s just a fun part.

It’s called rapid fire. Okay, got you. Let’s go.

All right. I. So you can. Obviously, it doesn’t have to be like, one word.

Yeah, I got you. If you want to expand, is cool, but do your best. Okay.

You got this. So, number one, what is your biggest source of inspiration? God. One word.

You did it. Yeah, God. All right, cool.

You’re doing great. I mean, it sounds like that’s clearly a thread that got you through particular times. That’s not an uncommon thing.

No, it’s not. So it’s like, if you follow, like, how good of a person Jesus was, right. That would want to.

I would think he would. He should be anybody, like, leader, you know, from a motivational standpoint, from a spiritual standpoint, from all walks of life. Like, I don’t think there’s nothing.

You can’t read the Bible, that it can’t help you in life. Everything that you read in the Bible, I truly believe it can help you in life. Sure.

Yeah. There’s a lot of good in there. Yeah.

It’s interesting, too, because there’s a lot of people who follow it, but then they act in ways where it does not align. Yeah. And, you know, it’s like, well, if you.

The what would Jesus do thing does not apply to what you’re doing, because what would he do? They would not be doing this. Got you. You know, it’s just.

It’s an interesting thing, but I’m glad that, you know, to see that it’s been of such a positive influence. I mean, it’s a big deal. Yeah.

Have no choice. Well, maybe there. There’s already an answer for this next one, but do you have a favorite book outside of the Bible? I love reading the Bible, but if you want to say the Bible, a specific book, I love reading the book of Job.

Okay. I like reading a book of ecclesiastics. Okay.

Yeah. But the best, like, outside of the Bible, it’s a book called the Science of getting Rich by Wallace Wattles, the lady who wrote the secret. Wanda Burns.

Yeah, I think her name. Wanda Burns. Yeah.

So her daughter gave her that book right before she was about to blow her brains out. Oh, God. So before she was gonna blow her brains out, her daughter gave her the book and was like, here, read this manuscript.

And I know it worked. If I see you tomorrow. Whoa.

Yeah, yeah. So people always go to the secret to read the secret because they felt the secret helped her. I read between the lines when she said she read the book.

Wallace waddles, the signs are getting rich. And it’s not physically rich. It’s like, rich in spirit, rich in person, rich in being nice, rich in love.

When I read that book, it totally changed my life. Like, I’m talking, like, whoa. I started seeing everything.

Slow down. So when Wanda Burns said she read that book, I didn’t want to read the secret. I wanted to read the book.

She read according to the source. Yeah. So.

And I read. That’s understandable. And Wallace waddles, what was so great that Wanda Burns probably won’t tell you, but when you read the Wallace Wattles book, he literally take everything from the Bible.

So that’s why I don’t read the self help books. No, more like the Tony Robbins or this person, or that person. Because it all comes from the Bible, believe it or not.

Yeah. So Wanda Burns don’t ever mention, you know, God or Jesus Christ in it. But all that stuff from the secret comes from the Bible because she read the science of getting rich.

So the science of getting rich literally inputs everything when it comes from the Bible. It’s a beautiful book. I tell anybody, man, to get it.

If you really want to change it, like your whole mindset. Yeah, yeah. Jordan’s recording us here, and he’s a musician.

Me, too. Like, when you’re thinking about inspiration, same with art, you know, you think about an artist or a musician. What I like to do is, what are the artists that, if you like an artist and you want to learn about that, what are they influenced by? Because that’s where you get the meat.

Just like, no, I don’t maybe want to go to the author’s book. I want to go what they’re inspired by, you know, then you really are diving in. Yeah.

And there’s a lot there. I never read the secret. I saw.

I read. I saw the documentary, but I never read the book after I saw her, I think, on Oprah. Okay.

When she said, my daughter gave me this book and it was the size of rich by Wallace Wattles, once I got that book. It was like. I’ll add that to my list, man.

It’s amazing. Okay, deal. Do you have a favorite musical artist or a favorite albumen? Man, I know it’s hard.

Yeah, it is. So young. Jeezy.

Yeah. I don’t know. Jeezy.

It’s ringing a bell. Yeah. I can’t pinpoint.

I’ll throw it on my way home. All right. Like, my favorite artist.

Yeah. Cool. Awesome.

I listen to everything, so I look forward to that. Any particular album? Trap or die. Okay, cool.

That always helps me. I’m an album person. It’s called trap or die.

I. Trap or die? Yeah. All right. All right.

That’s in alignment with, I think, what we’ve been talking about. Okay. You can spend a day with anyone, dead or alive.

Who is it? Jesus. All right, cool. I should have seen that one coming.

All right, last one. This has been great. And then we’ll wrap up.

How do you define success, man? So I’ll be honest with you. That’s one that’s kind of, like, still growing on me because, you know, everybody have different meanings for it, you know? Some say, you know, house, money, you know, status. I. That’s just one I haven’t kind of, like, wrapped around it.

But if I’m talking about my personal situation, I’m just gonna say it’s more. So just take it one day at a time, because I just. Something I feel like you can’t really get your hands on because it’s just, you know, you look on social media or you’ll see this or see that or this person feel like you need to be here.

You know, you feel like you need to be there, but it’s all on God timing. So it’s like, you know, whatever God got for you, not a devil in hell could take it away from you. So it’s like, I really can’t call it because my success may not be what God want for me or whatever God’s success may be.

I may want something different. So it’s like maybe a $40 million house, maybe that’ll make me crash out and start. Make me feel like I’m bigger than God.

So maybe God won’t release that blessing or success or whatever somebody want to call it. So, honestly, I just take it one day at a time, and I just be thankful that I wake up. So if you just say, what’s your success? Just waking up every morning free.

Yeah. Just waking up. Yeah.

With your family? Yeah. Yeah. For real.

Just literally waking up every morning free. I love that. And you know, just stay in focus.

That’s huge. I mean, also, there’s. So you’d be interested in all the different definitions of success that my guests have said.

Almost nobody has said, oh, the big house or money. Yeah, very. That’s not the answer.

No, it’s not. You know, and I liked how you’re talking about richness at that. That book speaks to me.

Yeah. Your description of it. Because when I think of richest, I am not a wealthy person, but I am rich because I have great friends, people who I’m surrounded by.

My daughter, my wife, my family, my dog. I’ve got what I need. I obviously, I want to grow and do big things, but I am rich as far as my life is rich, 100%

Yeah. So. And I’m free.

And then very grateful for that. Very. You and I are on the same page there.

Yeah, man, this has been awesome. I want to leave. I want to ask a couple of things, and then we’re done.

What does the service pros? What does Lamar Wuertz look like in 510 years? What are your future goals? Man? I’m going to say service pros, and next five to ten years, I would say we would be a full stack. And what I mean, full stack. I mean, we’re gonna offer roofing, plumbing, and electric, electrical.

Full fledged. Right. Makes sense.

I can offer those services right now, but right now, my only focus is h vac. Got it. Because I want to build that stack first.

Sure. And I feel like once I build that, I feel like I would just pretty much follow that same service and guideline. I mean, same guidelines, and I will build that service off each one.

So pretty much how I do everything. I would do roofing like that. I would do plumbing like that, and I would do electrical like that.

So right now, I’m only solely focusing on h vac. Awesome. Yeah, yeah.

Just building. Yeah, that’s it. Just building new verticals.

That’s it. It’s also, a lot of people want to do it all at once, but you, then you’re watering your services down. You’re watering your energy and your focus.

So that’s great to hear. Matter of fact, I’m a shout out to Darren for that. Dan Westphal.

Right. Cause when he came to me, he was like, man, even though nobody in the group have the plumbing seat or the root seat, he was like, somebody still may come and want to take that seat. So he was like, can you tone it down at just h vac? I was like, yeah.

I could just. Only just do air conditioning. So when I went home, I actually told my business partner and I was like, hey, Mark, let’s just only focus on air conditioning, air conditioning, heating, and that’s it.

We’re not going to do no plumbing, no roofing, no electrical, no nothing. Even though we hold all the licenses and we need license and insurer for each one of those. However, if I go to your house and you want some, you want a roof replaced or water heater? Yeah, I do it because, I mean, your house, that’s not nothing.

I’m marketing. Right. Right now it’s only h vac.

Air conditioning, heating and that’s it. It’s also, you know, when you’re, when you’re niche and specific, they think of Lamar. They think and it’s very specific.

You can grow from there. Yep. But if you’re trying to say, oh, I do all of this, then you’re kind of what it.

What’s sticking with. Yeah. So it’s.

That’s very strategic. And Dan Westfall is great. Shout out to Dan.

He invests, he manages my little amount of investments. He’s been a guest on this show. He’s, he’s a great dude.

He’s actually the reason why I’m an MPI. Oh, wow. Yeah.

If you didn’t know that. Yeah. Oh, Dan was there before you.

Dan Westphal? Yeah. Wow. I didn’t know that.

Yeah. I thought she was there before Dan. No, but I’m glad that that’s the perspective.

Nice, nice, nice. Yeah, we worked at the same co working space. Our offices were in the same space and got to know each other well and became friends.

Funny. I went there. Rising tie, right? Yeah.

So my buddy owned that. Oh, really? Your buddy? My husband. My head’s mister mystery.

He owned that before the new owner. He sold it to the new owners. So when I went, because I had to go there and do a ladipa, which is Felipe, his ice cream shop.

Oh, la dipperie. Yeah, la dipperie. Filippo.

Yeah, yeah, Filippo. So he wanted me to go do his acs, so I went over there and did all ac, serviced him up. I think that was just what, three days ago? And I went over there and I was like, oh, this my buddy.

This my buddy. Old building right upstairs. No, he owned the whole.

Oh yeah, he owned the whole script. He owned the whole script. Yeah, yeah.

He just sold it like three years ago. That guy’s not kidding around. Yeah, yeah.

He sold it like three years ago. Yeah. I’d say that you’re at the top of your game.

When an ice cream store that is air conditioning and cooling is so vital to their business that you’re the one who they call that. It was amazing, because literally, I went in, like, at . I went back at because they wasn’t open.

Cause I’m like, man, this ice cream looks so delicious. It is. So I was like, man, it’s dangerous.

I want to check it out. So I told my wife, I was like, man, we gotta go back to this spot. I walk in, and the owner come around.

Felipe is Felipe partner Andy. He’s like, oh, hey, this the guy that did ic. The other guy was like, oh, it feels so great in here right now.

I was like, oh, yeah, that feels good. You’re welcome. Yeah, that feels good.

Oh, cool. All right, last thing. Anyone listening out there, regardless of how old they are, what they’re doing in life, what’s the biggest piece of advice you could leave anybody out there? Um, man, just, uh, be big on delayed gratification.

When I was a kid, I felt like it was just. Everything was rush, rush. So my psychology was so backed up, like, if I couldn’t have the money now, I wouldn’t want to do it.

Like, everything was so fast. Microwave. And when I got around my buddy, them, um, I saw a difference in the delayed gratification that when they start something.

So I saw pretty much, like, um, like, his businesses and what he would sell. So I would see him literally start something from scratch. Zero.

And then he will sell it for millions later. Like a year, two, three years down the road. Like, he done dinner a handful of times, just with me being by side flight the last, like, ten years.

And he’s big on delayed gratification, and I saw that. Right? So when you’re in a business world, that’s just what anything in life, 100% anything in life. And you can literally put delayed gratification in your mind, and you could put it in your heart.

You can literally live day to day and wake up early in the morning, even when days get so rough, like, when you want to give up, when you feel like, man, this is all is lost. I don’t want to do this no more. If you can just keep a little bit of that, I’m talking like a mustard seed of that, you’ll be all right.

Because, you know, a day gonna come where it’s all gonna work out, right? So whether it’s business, whether it’s a relationship, whether it’s a friendship, whether it’s a business partner, whatever it’s an acquisition that’s gonna come if you just stay focused and literally just have a. I’m talking like a mustard seed of delayed gratification. That customer is gonna come, that business partner is gonna come, the right opportunity is gonna come, that funding is gonna come.
Is this all gonna work out? Yeah. So I just always have. I just always have that in mind to where, like, for example, like, I’m not even supposed to be here right now, I suppose.

Got the county jail. So every other Friday, we speak to the youth. Me and a lawyer friend of mine.

All right. Yeah. Being a lawyer friend of mine, we go speak literally right across the street.

Well, hopefully you’re speaking to many more youths. Yeah, in a way, through here. So you’re still doing it.

You know it is, right? So always tell them we’re not going there. Like, hey, man, delayed gratification. Yeah.

So, like, you know, a lot of them over there is, like, stealing cars or taking, like, a little cell phone or something like that. It’s just always something small. I’m like, no, no, no.

Just put delayed gratification in your mind that whether it’s gonna be a happy house, whether it’s a happy house with you and your mom, whether it’s a new job you’re gonna get, just always have the lay of gratification that every right now, if things not working out, just know it’s gonna work out one day. Yeah. No matter what it is.

Gosh, that’s huge. Yeah. Especially, you know, we’re two business owners talking to each other, you know, every week something hits.

Yeah. And I go, that’s because I set this up over two years ago, three years ago. The work that I was doing or the connection I made or, you know, just sticking with it.

Now it’s paying off. Or, for instance, I’m a drummer. Yeah.

All that practice, and then I’m playing at the hard rock or with Jordan on stage, you know, Floridian social or the Ruth Eckerd. I go, all that hard work is paying off in this moment, but it does not. Good things do not happen overnight.

Nothing big and important happens immediately. No. And the good stuff.

And the important stuff. So I love that, man. I think that’s a fantastic way to tie a bow on this.

Yeah. I want to thank you again for your time, for talking about your story. I truly hope and believe that you’ve already helped so many people.

It’s clear what you’re doing is just, like, continually putting out good in the world. And I respect you gratefully for that I’m really grateful that were, you know, we’re connected, that I can call you a friend. Yeah.

It means a lot, and I look forward to, like, what’s ahead. Yeah, no worries, man. Thank you so much, man.

I’m thankful and grateful for being on the podcast. And it’s funny because I don’t even like talking about this. I don’t, man.

But I’m glad that you did. Yeah. Thank you so much for being on a, you know, naming, creative podcast, and I really appreciate it.

If you need me again, just give me a shout. Part two. Yep, for sure.

Oh, yeah. Thanks Lamar. You’re welcome.

Cool. Thank you.