Uh we on we’re on oh we’re on now we’re on no now we’re on now WR welcome to the show Obie it could be we can talk off air too she she she wasn’t a volley Dolly at all yeah she was a flirt her and bugs the
Dat just never you know yeah they never went down that road they were just at the tournament and having fun and partying with us and drinking with us and good job Mom job Mom Mom was F mom was fun back in the day no she was she
Was cool no she was wild but she was cool she was a you know she had her [ __ ] together yeah yeah yeah well this is uh your second time on the show last time I think it was just me and you chatting on the phone and and uh now this the real
Deal you got you’re the first guest in our brand new studio Gabby put this together uh yesterday oh wow yeah don’t I feel honored yeah so you’re got my photo and put it back there for GU this is this is where do I sign I signed the
Wall so actually what we we used to um so all year we’ had a a Wilson ball that every guest was signing and then we auctioned it off and then that funded uh we’ve been running an ericon award for the last five years and so the proceeds
Went this year Wyatt Harrison was our ericon award winner so that should at least cover his flight to his next tournament to mayorca Spain oh okay yeah so we’re going to have to figure out something new for you to sign but we can send you with a book because you are in
That book oh yes yes I should be in that book I’m not you are I’m in there twice yeah but we you’re the guest of honor that’s what you get for bringing fours back to life baby yeah love to see it interesting story how it came about yeah I’m
Not being in the restaurant business I was a promoter by Nature we’d had golf tournaments my brother and I would set things up so I’m down at Huntington Beach last year and I’m sitting there with Taylor so let’s go to breakfast I want to talk to you so we start BS and I
Said I think I could put this together in Newport Beach I’ve got enough sponsorship there enough people let me check into it and that’s how basically it started so my partner Kevin Martin who’s part of Eagle four partners and hotels and things like he run uh vea is
That his yeah he runs ve he does some stuff with Kelly CH and service consel so I talked to him and I said hey you know I think we can do this and pull this off I could raise enough money prize money from sponsorships and things
Like that he goes yeah let’s let’s let’s do it let’s look into it so Kevin and then there’s another guy Mario marovic who owns all the restaurants he owns about eight or nine restaurants in Newport and Costa Mesa well he has blackies on the beach he has a stag bar
He’s got a Mexican restaurant next door to it he owns a restaurant called munes he owns all of 17th Street in Costa Mesa Wild Goose uh what else he own he owns a country club he owns a Mex uh PLO Del re and so he’s he put in some money too so
We’re off and running so they had to go to the city council get all the permits and Steve O bradovich isn’t going to get those permits I’m a lagun guy okay they have all the contacts of their hotels and their restaurants and their you know really well like they pay a lot of
Actually tax revenue too right yeah so they went to the city council talked to the mayor I talked to them I had a meeting with the mayor first our first meeting was with the mayor and Kevin and Mario okay and the mayor uh just said
Hey I’m in we’ll do it awesome so it just was a long it was about [ __ ] six-month process to get the par wow wow because you got alcohol on the beach they they don’t love volleyball tournaments at Newport Beach yeah it’s because it’s been a while since there’s been a real tourn Newport
They just don’t allow it for what reason I don’t know yeah so then we got we have a VIP area in a area for people over 21 in in a area that’s you know like a suite yeah only on the bottom floor and and uh so that’s for adults to drink
They get the wristband they get service they get food they get everything that’s me they want so then we have our VIP area for the sponsors and ex players or anybody I like it’s a good way to be yeah so what’s the uh like what’s the VIP
Section look like are you guys bringing in bleachers and stands and stuff or is it just it’s just two VIP areas I got a let me do this real quick and I can show you a photo of it maybe we can put it up uh yeah yeah we can definitely put that
On I’m so fired up to be to play yeah who’s while he’s looking who’s your squad so me zna Carly Scott and Kylie deberg so you know I was sitting with Evan I I reached out to Madison uh during Chicago because I heard he was
Going to help with it and I was deciding if I wanted to go to India for the Challenger and pay that money to go and play and keep going or if I stay back and play in this and I didn’t have a guaranteed spot so I talked to Madison
He’s like yeah you know we’re kind of figuring out the details so I just kind of kept poking and and and he’s like yeah you know there’s only two teams right now kind of can you make one or you know whatever and so I was sitting
Chatting with Evan and uh I think he talked to Z as well I’m like put Z on my team I would love to obviously play play defense with Zana and then we’re like who could we get that just would be a good Force player cuz not every player
Who plays doubles is good at four I mean you just don’t you don’t really know um and Kylie deberg the two girls on my team Kylie and Carly were two of the best outsides in college they were just they would just rip and great blockers
So I see them being what want I see them being very good at four so yeah we’re we’re fired up we’re going to get a little practice in and you know give it a shot so we’re fired up you put that on the screen yeah so it’s just we can
Overlay that it’s just the end zones are covered okay and and then the we just bring your beach chair and your umbrella so awesome we’re going to move the uh the the quarts the end courts going to have N9 fet to serve so it’s going to be
A real cozy event for everybody and the lines will probably be six feet on the sidelines old school plop down your chair just sit there in the sand love that kind of an old school type deal yeah because we you know the city didn’t want bleachers in there I don’t blame
Him so this is part of the expensive putting it up it just gets less expensive to do that you bring the bleachers in and you bring everything and so the VIP obviously is in the middle and then the bar is actually on this side okay so it’s going to be uh
And it goes from 10: to 6: a.m. 10: a.m. to 600 p.m. it one day one day one day okay that’s what makes it unique yeah and that’s it’s Saturday Saturday October 21st okay at Blacky Beach it’s just uh north of the Newport Pier okay got it and so
You’re a lagona guy you’re Crossing enemy law you’re going into Newport no I’m a Manhattan Beach guy H lagona is like lagona but you know I Laguna would never have it okay in Newport Beach they would have it because there’s a lot of if I don’t know the guys been down there
There’s a ton of bars ton of I love places shops down there it’s it’s loaded yeah there’s probably 12 bars down there you can go drink at and fun ones too right on the beach I was down there Saturday and it’s just full of people
Yeah you know so parking’s going to be a little bit of problem people are going to have to Uber ride their bikes down there from Newport is there a strand too right there so people cruising on the Strand kind of see they could just be cruising by there’s a bike path yeah
There’ll be I mean thousands and thousands of people go by there every weekend yeah yeah and if we get good weather which we’ll probably get yeah they’re going to come out October I know it could be 80° which you want it to be to be hot and let the
Players work a little bit I if you get a day like today you know we just we have three teams on each three women’s teams and three men’s teams okay so what we do is we play pool play the top two teams come out uh the top the bottom two team
Whoever it is play in the semis to get to the finals the finals the finals are going to be a buy the best team’s going to get a Buy in the finals so the other two teams are basically to play again give them a chance to come back to get
In the finals okay and what’s the format of the matches Fort man no I mean I know it’s format but uh like side out scoring well no it’s we couldn’t do side out scoring the games last too long yeah they would go you get on to 21st Street
Where Taylor plays whatever it is and they’ll go on for an hour yeah so our format right now is it could be two games to 21 okay there might be a playoff we’re trying to get the time factor in there and then a playoff to 15
Or something like that got it so it’ll be plenty of volleyball to every for everybody to see yeah and so you got the you got two courts I’m assuming one’s men’s one’s women’s okay we’re seeing if we could do the we’re trying to get as many matches on the
Main Court right you know so it’s going to be Gater is going to be doing the semi finals and finals oh just gets better and better awesome Jim Rico who’s you know been around for long does the Hall of Fame he’s going to do before
Before Gater goes okay so it’s G to be uh you know we’ll have music down there it’s going to be a first class setup yeah yeah that’s fun I’m bummed I’m I’m missing it my boy uh um in his wedding it’s his bachelor party that weekend so
I’m like where you right uh Nashville yeah that’s uh your daughter lives in nville my daughter lives there yeah she lives there it’s the uh you’re doing a bachelor party there it’s usually a bachelor app party there yeah well maybe that’s why maybe that’s why he went
There we happened to run into a bachelorette party you’re going to be riding on one of those buses with all guys they have those trucks and all the girls line up and they go up down Broadway but yeah it’s like a bunch of my friends did their bachelorette
Parties there you got to go I love Nashville you got yeah you got to go into Roberts uh it’s on Fourth and Broadway okay it’s called Roberts all- American and it’s a great Cowboy Bar they have entertainment from 10: in the morning till 2: in the morning yeah and it’s kind of
A it’s like an Hercules okay it’s bigger and it’s got a big stage it’s more of the locals going in there it’s not you know not the big tourist track yeah and you they got the recession special there which is a fried baloney sandwich a PBR
Beer and a moon pie and it’s like amazing eight bucks yeah I love that oh it’s it’s it’s called Robert’s all americ it’s for Broadway and it’s it’s noted we didn’t go I went there with my son-in-law who went to Vanderbilt and played baseball so we go there and we
Were going to go bar hopping I go [ __ ] I’m not going anywhere I’m stay here this is too good the music’s great and it’s uh you know every band in there’s you know always trying to make it right so it was good and sometimes they get
Some uh random you know some guys that have records and stuff some stars come in there and start playing yeah at that bar it’s funny when you go to Nashville last time I went to Nashville uh Eric Church just popped in and just played a
Bar I was like why are you playing in front of 50 people in a just what they do and right behind if you walk out the back door of that bar there’s an alley there and that’s where the original grandle Wy was okay so you go back and
See that and super fun yeah yeah is it a is it a funny experience for you because you’ve been in the restaurant business for so long like when you go in other restaurants can you just enjoy it and eat or you just looking around and taking not I’ve been out the restaurant
Business for over 20 years I’m I’m always I’m not critical I just go God how do they do this I’m more amazed at some of the restaurants now some of them I go it’s not something I would have but 90% of them you go into you go this is
This is pretty good yeah we used still obes is still up in yeah we don’t we don’t we we don’t know they kept the name okay which is good yeah keeps my name out there and came out there I didn’t know I didn’t know anybody I
Thought you still ran yeah I we started that I don’t know how long ago brought that to my brother and paid like 25 grand for the restaurant and it was like a really good lease and it was like this worked out really well yeah and you probably did you know anything about the
Restaurant business before you popped in before that yeah before that we were we had Julie which is a very famous okay restaurant in downtown Los Angeles I another story of that it’s like Tim wmer worked there Jimmy Mingus worked there had a bunch of volleyball players worked
There hav work behind the bar just go doing the beers and drinking them 10 that’s not the point I had a lot of buddies worked there and you know we we had 14 bartenders for the FC games awesome just just went it was where everybody went
Yeah yeah that’s a good thing to have when you were the the bar that people go to during a football game or after a basketball game at Maryland that was Bentley’s and after a basketball game boom we’re going to Bentley we just did it during football season little bit of
Basketball but football season we would do 1100 meals lunch and breakfast and dinner breakfast yeah break holy moly oh it was it was like huge yeah that’s awesome yeah I still wear my t-shirt did you see games I miss Julies I get stopped all the time I want one of those
Yeah oh my gosh that’s awesome yeah so it was a very very famous institution and my brother and I both went to SC okay so we both I played football and volleyball there he played football he played nine years in the NFL J Who’s build he builds homes here in Manhattan
Beach okay so he lives in Hermosa right around the corner from here yeah man a lot of the like the old school players you guys have such good Diversified skill sets like a lot of you guys got restaurants or I know was big into real estate real estate was kind of big yeah
Yeah everybody feno’s in there who else is in there Brooke Billings yeah Brook Billings play he’s on my six-man team well I’m on his six-man team is a better way to can he still play oh yeah he was good he was like the sneaky us guy you
Never heard of because he went over to Europe all the time yeah dude he uh a sea guy too he’s still he he rolls up he’s like you haven’t played since last year six man does like one little rotation then he’s just like bouncing balls blocks like 10 balls a set and
Then he pops up the next day he’s like can’t move sorry boys I’m out his theory is like nine cheetah don’t warm up you never seen a cheetah warm up that I love uh what movie is it Zombie Land have you ever seen Zombie Land no they have a similar line where
Woody harelson goes you ever seen a lion limber up yeah nope that’s good that’s right tell everybody when I go play volleyball at Emerald Bay they go you going to warm up cheetah don’t warm up I’m good I love that I’m good I’m good shank a pass without warming
Up so you you got out of the restaurant Biz a while ago what you been up to since I I I work in the real estate business I work for Chicago Title who’s one of the team sponsors got it uh it’s real estate you do title insurance so I
Do commercial industrial all over the United States okay so I got I got into it in ‘ 92 I left the restaurant and then everything changed and I did really well and uh good for the place in Emerald Bay and you know awesome bless had four good kids and all going to be
High school right three of them graduated from FC that’s why I’m still working no kidding that’s a lot of money tell you I don’t know how the young kids are going to make it I iwear see it’s when I look at because one of the first
Jobs I had when I moved here I helped high school kids uh just with their application essays kind of Coach them through it and they’d be applying to SC and then we’d look at their student loans and I was like SC is how much per year oh yeah cuz Maryland in state was
Eight per year yeah and sc’s like 70 to 880 and that was a couple years ago it’s just tuition’s like 60 you had on they join a fraternity you got to pay the rents there are like 1,800 a month per student you know you got food you got
Gas you got to come home you got to go to parties you got to take them to dinner yeah you know they don’t have any money so you’re supplying them money as long as with everything right man they don’t work during the Summers you know they just didn’t do it
My son interned and he’s doing really well now he’s 25 years old Pete he just won our big kolut in Emerald Bay which is huge and he got his name on the trophy and I had my name on the trophy earlier but for 25 you grow up in that
Area and it’s just a r passage yeah you know all the kids won it and he won it and you know Travis wisson won it one year Brian Lewis God I love Brian Lewis won it one year okay basically with three guys in wheelchairs and he’s won’s father-in-law brother-in-law
Brother-in-law yeah he’s married to uh brother-in-law not father-in-law he’s married to Travis’s sister Travis grew up in Emerald B so Louis comes in and then played a couple years he goes I’m done you know I think I bought his team for 30 grand or something like that I
Sold it off where I I was only betting a thousand okay that’s good got back like 300 bucks it wasn’t a good bet it wasn’t perfect what did the Emerald Bay Kolkata get up to this year I don’t know okay I’ll tell you off the record I don’t know yeah cuz Hermosa it
Was my first time doing the one at 16th and I was like oh that’s uh I I don’t know why anybody would ever go to Chicago instead of doing get gets out of hand it’s more more AVP guys are so this the fours that you’re putting on though uh every athlete’s
Getting an appearance fee is got to get appearance Fe is there prize money on top no yeah there is there’s $72,000 in the tournament whoa so but you back out the $2,000 at savv extorting from me fighting for that two I need that for charity you need that it is Charity so
If the winning team wins we figure they’re going to get four grand each two grand on top of that so they get to play six hours and one day tournament and yeah and Misty May Foundation the may may trainer Ohana Foundation is the recipient of the uh okay excess proceeds
Awesome so Misty’s gonna be down there at one o’clock she’s got a soccer game so kind of said Misty if you don’t show up yeah so she’s been real good about it so uh awesome so that that’s that’s a good thing we’re giving money to charity
And that’s what it’s all about too for us I you know she’ll get a substantial amount yeah yeah so but uh yeah the players are all jacked up soon as I mentioned the word two grand everybody gets excited oh yeah everyone gets you put you put fours and two grand together
Yeah my friend you will have every volleyball player oh yeah how do I get I could have done it for 500 but I really wanted to make it like a legit legit deal where guys want to come down and play yeah you know they actually want to
You know they do they just want to play I’d want to play I mean you know I’d have played for 500 but this was an add-on I’m trying to help the players as what we’re trying to do they don’t make a lot of money during the year and right
You struggle so now you go God I got a $2,000 prize money right that’s freaking great it is great yeah so that was my give back I’ve always wanted to help the sport in any way I can with coming down to tournaments going to the Hall of Fame
Deal every year so I always wanted to feel bad for these guys we took all the money well actually DOD and hlin and c and Randy and singen and stephus and you know all those guys took all the money so it’s amazing but you know hopefully
This format we could turn it into some sort of League I’ve got some ideas on that and selling New York Dallas all these franchises where actually the owners pay the players yeah so there’s really no price you know it’s like a league so it’s like these guys are
Buying pickle ball leagues right yeah [ __ ] these guys are way better athletes than those guys it’s a way better show to watch for I think pickle Ball’s unwatchable I don’t understand that I play a lot of it believe it or not but I get bored watching it because of the the
Dinking that goes on it’s really hard to do but then it’s WAP w w w it’s over you know and it just it’s I can’t I can watch for about 10 minutes and I go okay I’ve seen it all I know who’s going to win yeah so but it’s just one of those
Sports that catches on and I already tore my calf muscle two months ago and oh I just got back yeah so everybody gets hurt yeah just a matter of they go you g to keep playing I go I can’t wait to get back yeah what am I going to do
It keeps me in shape I don’t have to go on long walks I don’t I don’t like playing volleyball anymore I was going to ask if you still play I haven’t played in two years really yeah I just don’t have the urge right now I might
Play again you know I don’t know there’s lots of games at Emerald Bay every weekend people are playing okay but I just that or I drink six cores lights [ __ ] I’ll drink six cores lights and you’re golfing yeah yeah I golf two days a week so it’s like you know if I could
Play pickle ball three days a week golf two days a week I don’t need you’re good you’re active SP you’re outside what’s that you’re outside outside I don’t need to get enough Sun yeah yeah and you’re hunting yeah I’m hunting yeah how’s South Dakota what’s that how was South
Dakota South Dakota was great it was uh Sutton Bay problem is I didn’t get to hunt because one of my buddies didn’t like guns and so he would have been left alone so I go okay let’s go fishing I caught one fish yeah so next year I’m
Hunting you can stay by yourself I’m going out I’m going to shoot something yeah you know so and I’ve hunted a lot before with birds and stuff so it’s you know you’re a hunter yeah it’s good yeah it’s fun it’s fun to do it’s challenging and you know walk through the fields and
Shoot pheasant and yeah the good thing about fishing though is you can do it year round and running you have a pretty quick season yeah I love uh saltwater fishing I love that I love catching tun yeah man we went up to Alaska and fishing for salmon I mean you put a line
Down you had one we had we uh got our limit in like 2 and a half hours at 30 my gosh are you going to I just noticed are you going to drink that beer it’s you know can I have one I’m ping yeah of course God jeez you’re drinking too yes
Sa started it oh my God what is going on here it’s happy hour sure why not I’m going to El Sombrero happy hour uh tacos tonight oh really happy hour getting started on my on my cronis early I ate that I got in there at El ran Cheeto in
Newport Beach yesterday we got in there right at 5:58 and happy hour was over so we go okay now we got to get here at 5:00 yep you get like two Taco crispy tacos for five bucks go oh no the deals rad there’s two you out there
Cheers thank you I would love a refill so who are some of the sponsors for the uh the event uh sponsors is Citrus Ford Kia it’s out in U Ontario okay and Dennis who owns it it’s a good friend of mine so he got in Chicago title’s doing
One I’m doing U miles’s team team two and Andy Benes and Rosenthal and Jake G yeah then we have Baldwin and Sons who’s a builder in San Diego but he’s he lives in Emerald Bay so he sponsored a team his kids are in for volleyball y then
I’ve got zotovich wines I think that’s our the one that’s sponsoring our team I think I think that sponsor they’re sponsoring us our team whatever no he’s doing the guys team he’s doing the third guys team okay okay you’re either zotovich wines and then we got kage’s construction he’s a big contractor in
Newport Beach a friend of mine and the other one is God I’m freaking jonesing out I forget who the other one is excuse me but we got six yeah that’s awesome so yeah they were easy to get I mean it was just trying to get everything together
And giving and this was just a handshake deal with these guys that’s how good of friends they were with yeah so it was like these guys are into it they’re all into volleyball they’re all into it and they say hey we’re in and look at I mean those lineups those lineups are insane’s
That those lineups are insane I mean those are some of the best players of all I I don’t think there’s ever been a well there’s never been a tournament like this never been a fourman tournament like this not that I can think you know we got the like you said
The Italian kid randieri randier comment and you know have you seen that guy yet he’s incredible you seen his looks he is also very good-looking yes I mean what a magnet he’s going to be oh my God I showed my wife she goes I showed my wife she goes I’m coming down
So you know so next year we we’re going to do it next year uh it’s going to be so more almost more Dynamic this year because you get the international guys are going to catch wind but I think I’m gonna hold them back yeah so it’s got to
Be the guys that are the AP guys you know we’ll get a couple Euros in there if they want if we could extend the tournament to four teams next year which we might be able to do we might be able to do it two days mhm which would be
Good but uh this is our TR Tri our beta testing yeah for everything and like I said you know these guys are buying pickle ball leagues why don’t you buy a a volleyball team right you know so you’d have a draft and you know the guy
Has a GM and then you know you go off the content see how much content you get to raise money and the sponsors and stuff and I think it’d be a really good deal if some of these guys if some of these uh investors guys like volleyball
Saw it I think so too because I mean it would be the the cheapest entry point to get into owning like a sports franchise that’s it I don’t even know what the price would be but you know and you do it off AVP you could do it throughout
The whole year you me you go down to Florida in December January February and you’re going to draw crowds oh for sure you’re going to draw crowds because people what I think what you’ll find is people love force not just the players but F it’s so it’s so much more Dynamic
Well it’s it’s a lot cooler people I mean you get a guy like Elon Musk who’s kind of a nerd and you know he’d like to hang out with the beach crowd yeah you know really think of that if he goes to Manhattan nobody’s gonna nobody’s going
To [ __ ] with him nobody’s going to bother hey you’re one of the guys let’s have a drink yeah you know let’s let’s chill a little bit he talks to the players and they’re all normal guys nobody’s asking for something right nobody’s going to hey I got an investment for you nobody’s like that
Right in the beach world it’s kind of a cool little it is dynamic that’s like Vince vaugh and manhatt he was just in shellback just hanging out CRA that’s what’s continued about volleyball that I like the kids are still hanging out going to bars working and some have jobs
In the offseason and they’re all good and the the the the guys that I was really impressed with they they know who I am you know because I’ve kept in touch and they all respect you and they’re all talking nice you’re all you know the Crab brothers a triborn have known since
College you know all those guys even J Gibb goes down to J Gibb Rosie so they all kind of know especially with DOD and hin being so prevalent down in this area yeah they know the the lineage the history of it how the guys were and so
Just like I knew the Von Haans the Jimmy manges the Greg Le all these guys Fred zulich Dennis her all these great players so I always studied down below I mean when I saw von Hagen at the hall of fame I still get nervous and he’s a good
Friend of mine yeah I still look at him like he’s my idol yeah you know he’s the guy that created this whole thing he’s like the Babe Ruth of beach yeah he is and it’s he’s a very shy individual yeah really shy I still haven’t met him you
Haven’t met him I don’t know if you’ll ever me him he’s stuck I don’t know how well he is now but he’s like she’s got to be 80 years old okay great story about him he came to the Hall of Fame I think he was like I don’t know seven or
Eight years ago he’s like 75 okay I go how many days did you ski in Sun Valley he goes I go four days and he goes no I miss four days go holy [ __ ] Ronnie are you kidding he goes no I miss four days he’s an
Animal he just like he’s he’s like just a story book yeah you know and he’s just really shy and introverted even when I was playing against him I would always go down to serreno beach I had to practice down there and I’d sit with him
And you know I go U hey let’s arm Russell I want to see how strong you are yeah so I’m left handed go right here boom boom he goes I’ve never lost he took me down like I was a child and I go holy [ __ ] man this guy’s
Unbelievable yeah well because he was like one of the first truly like he approached it like a profession kind of from what I understand well he had he came from family money okay yeah he didn’t he didn’t have a job I mean Mingus didn’t have a job Greg Glee
Didn’t have a job I was the only guy with a job back in the 70s what were you doing well I had I worked at the liquor business I had we got a restaurant in 79 so I’m like 24 23 years old I’m working every day in the restaurant so I’m
Driving down cuz Marine Street got done about two so I’d have to drive down to State Beach or Serano at like 3 in the afternoon at State Beach that’s when the game started okay three or four o’clock s would come down carer not C singen who else played Andrew Eller stoky yeah uh
Stephus would come down so they had a bunch of really good games down there so that was the only time I could play okay so I spent a lot of time at Marine during the year sometimes dur some but a lot of times I had to go up to State
Beach and play okay yeah he uh I remember talking I mean c singen idolized von Hagen and then I think in the same way because you mentioned that a lot of the guys now the top players have like there’s sort of a reverence for players in your ERA with the Hobs
And dods and you and Kent and all them and cuz I mean you guys were the ones who you legitimize the sport into a professional Endeavor yeah and I was talking about this with um miles Bain’s dad in that you guys everyone points to the 90s like this Golden Era like what
Does the AP have to do but it was a different type of person an individual all you guys were like sort of entrepreneurs in your own way yeah like you guys were Trailblazers and I think a lot of the players now they didn’t we didn’t have to trailblaze to create the
Tour is already there yeah yeah and I think that we’ve lost a little bit of that we we played 24 tournaments for like three or four years five years six years pretty big money tournament yeah Florida Florida five weekends in a row I went back I got so many
Miles had American Express to give you quadruple miles yeah and I just had like a 100,000 just in those four trips oh my some guys would stay down there I got to fly back and work and then you go to New York you’re going to Texas you’re going
To New Jersey you’re going to Philly I mean it was it was like just vagabonds on the road we’re all flying coach and we’re all meeting in airports a flight gets delayed you got you know 18 guys laying down on their on their bags trying to get on the flight yeah But it
Was it was fun leave Friday afternoon and then you know freaking drink Friday night and Saturday night and it was still a party atmosphere back then yeah with h hav and me and there was a couple other guys and we’re just we’re still going after it that seemed to be because
You know I wrote that book with Kent and it seemed to be the the way Kent described is like there was sort of an ethos there where it was there’s this masculine Macho thing where who could party the hardest and still play Goin won not even
Close not even close you knew he was going to win if he got in the finals and he was hung over and he just threw up threw up in the court I go all right Tim’s gonna win this one I was with [ __ ] it was in clear waterer Beach and Cartch
Came back to play with uh of all things Dot so they’re in the finals and K is uh K will be down there too at the tournament by the way oh awesome yeah so carch is starting to cramp which I go what do you mean to cramp so it comes up
To my room it’s in Clear Water Beach and I got a room of the few of the turn I always took care of everything he’s up there drinking four beers before he goes Coors Lights guzzling beers down guzzle Lake for Hound C when he back when he could drink he would
Just and never half in on anything yeah and he won the tournament that’s a goddamn see you Cur curb uh cramps with beers yeah course light that’s what does it no Coors Lights for the cramping huh yeah so we had we had we had a great time we all I would pick these
Restaurants to go to dinner this is a great story remember John Stevenson yeah handleing Stevenson so we got 12 guys I think we’re in Rhode Island and you know I’m ordering steaks and martinis and [ __ ] and he’s ordering a chicken in a and the bill comes so I go we divide it
Up and John goes what are you talking about we divide up there why only had chicken I said next time order more so the next time everybody’s having s and lobster and [ __ ] they’re getting they’re just going okay it’s going to cost me another 20 bucks but I’m not going to
Pay for something that I didn’t have so it’s a learning lesson we stole Alexa’s participating today Alexa I’m like who’s talking over there that’s funny yeah she’s listening to all my stories you look you look thirsty over there yeah no I’m good I’m good right now so we had another another deal that
I pulled on singen he loost dropped his credit card of his wallet so we have 12 guys at dinner yeah [ __ ] it gave him the credit get his bills what the [ __ ] did you I sent him a check I’ll pay for dinner all right so I was making a
Little bit of money I go here I’ll pay for it yeah but we got him good oh that’s so funny yeah about a month later goes what the [ __ ] immediately called me immediately knew who it was you know I was always you know I was the most fine guy in the
Tour that’s why you got fines back then you argue with an official or you say something derogatory to him or swear at him or stuff like that and you know that [ __ ] went down hilarious oh there was a beauty contest we used to have beauty contest you don’t remember those days so
They I mean it was a big the beauty kind a huge deal so we’re in the back and you know I could hear him out there but there’s a big or it’s like yeah there banana there right over the top hear it flat you hear the whole audience just go nuts
Gage comes back Matt Gage was the director of officials okay that’s a hundred bucks didn’t look at anybody else there was all those guys down there laughing goes looks at me OB that’s a 100 bucks what how do you know it was me good morning here at sandcast you know
We got to keep our minds bodies on point all the time so we like to start our days with a little ag1 a little water in there give her a little Spin aoo and we’re good to go multivitamins all the goods your body can need the
Greens all in one this is all you need ag1 now after we get our athletic greens we’re all energized to go practice with the only ball that we’re ever going to use Wilson baby and after practice obviously I’m sweating a ton I need to get rehydrated the only way we’re doing
At sandcast is with waa volcanic water with bottles made of 100% ocean plas we’re getting hydrated we’re saving the environment one bottle at a time baby cheers guys after a long day you know we’re in the Sun out there grinding and playing we got the sunset going down and
We just need the perfect drink to take take us into a nice evening of podcasting and this is what we choose bartender in a box my favorite flavor the my taii but we also have Margarita as a awesome choice and uh you know there’s 12 drinks 12 cocktails in just
One tasty box comes with the spout on it as well so boom sit down at the beach Take It On the Go 12 cocktails bartender in a box it is the official beverage of the sandcast podcast didn’t even need to ask didn’t need to ask I was just always doing
Stuff like that that’s so funny oh God yeah all those stories that like your era of players was so rich in just stories and personality man well the 70s was even better when you got you know I started playing in 72 so you get from like
74 I was Triple A and so you get in with all the old guys right and it was like they’ had these parties afterwards at somebody’s house whether you go to CDM or San Diego or lagona Serena there’s always a party afterwards a lot of these
Guys just come in still in their sand on their shoes and everything or go to a bar and they just I always shower you know I I got to clean up before I go it was like then they flop yeah flop houses everybody spent the night there it was
Just bizarre how just we were we were basically hobos weren weren’t making any money yeah and we played just as hard to win an open as we did you know that I played when I made money yeah when what was same with sing and Randy same with carts I mean
They played for a lot of lot of teras for no money yeah what was it like when money came into the tour cuz 76 well kind it kind of grew the first I think the first time they had money was in 883 I think Mike DOD was on the cover of
Volleyball monthly leading Money winner $23,000 or something like that so then it just Miller Light came in and start up up it up and it up and it and then Jose quvo came in at the same time they did three events a year yeah so it just started getting every tournament was a
$100,000 tournament a couple were 150 I mean so times 24 so you got it was like 2.7 million back then or 2.4 million so it was like you know 24 tournaments I mean singen and Randy are winning you know 18 of them do Hollen would win six
Or seven nine and then card came in he started him and step started winning every tournament right so at $100,000 times you know so many tournaments they were making money I think the leading I think CS let it one year at 450 Grand just in prize money
And that’s I mean in the 80s and 90s yeah and he was making sponsorships from his sponsors and I was wearing quick over forever and and not getting paid and then they get CCH and I go I go to Bob mcnight the see you paying him yeah
We had to pay him what the [ __ ] you’re paying me now I got like a th I got 12,000 a year yeah but I covered all my flights and everything yeah once you get your expenses covered so it was like I couldn’t believe it he’s getting paid I
I’ve been with you guys for since 76 yeah what the hell happened was it just the craziest thing that would to go from you know you’re working just as hard to play for just the pride of winning and then all of a sudden you got $100,000 on
The line yeah I didn’t make I I think I made 75 grand in my whole career so you were like I was the most famous guy for making the least amount just mistimed it yeah just mistimed I got married in 89 had a kid and then in ‘ 889 it was just
Starting to lose to guys I didn’t want to lose to okay and then I thought it was over then the priz I shouldn’t have retired I should have kept going yeah but the prize money was going like this and I go [ __ ] I’m G I’m done I’m just
Going to work at my restaurant yeah and it wasn’t a good thing I went through withdrawals and you know I bet well you living in Manhattan Beach you go down the beach you’re tote your all your weekends were planned my whole since I was 18 years old what I was going to do
Every weekend during the summer yeah I’ve got what am i g to do yeah right what I’m missing the locker room yeah I’m missing the traveling I’m missing the guys I’m missing the competition mostly so it was like it was a hard adjustment for me I
Came back and played 91 or 90 couple tournaments in 91 then I just said okay yeah how long did it take you to kind of get over that withdrawal because that’s that’s a hard thing uh probably till I was uh 38 39 okay I changed jobs and focused in on that so
Okay I’m going to do what I did in volleyball in this yeah you know because what I found is when a player you you look at like a jake Gibb I was H as an example where you know he he retires and he’s look so looking forward to just
Kind of hanging out and then two weeks later he’s like I need to do something and he starts the Spiker Academy yeah you get you go what am I you know what am I going to do there’s no drug testing coming over to my house anymore there’s
No you know random drug testing they have to go through he told me all about that when they when you’re playing in the Olympics they they can drug test you at any time oh did anything but he’s going you know this guy’s randomly call you got a piss in the cup you know
They’re coming they’re around they came to my house to test Evan I live with Evan Cory they came to test us and we weren’t there we were in New Orleans just on vacation with his family and they called it’s like 9: a.m. there and I get this call from a random number I’m
Like I’m asleep I’m like asleep decline decline at Evans he’s practicing decline declin like six time the sixth call I’m like yeah there got to be something maybe I should answer this I’m like hello I think it’s a Spam they’re like hey this is so and so from the usada
Organization I’m like the what they’re like we’re at your house to drug test you I was like what and I’m not I mean I’m not even like going for the Olympic like I’m not even the a top top player and they’re at international events yeah they’re at my house they’re at my house
To to test Evan and I and um so I was like I’m so sorry I’m not there is there’s someone in New Orleans like I’m going to pass a drug test you can come test she’s like no that you know it doesn’t work like that we have to has to be surprised
Where’s Evan I’m like well he’s practicing she’s like okay well I can’t I can’t leave your house until he answers the phone and confirms as well I’m like she must sat at my house for an hour waiting for him cuz I didn’t have a car and he was he was at practice and
It’s crazy they’re and they came they came to my court the other day asking for Tony Hey where’s Tony Rodriguez I’m like uh I don’t they they’re they’re coming out they just tested Troy you should ask Troy field about his drug testing story he is quite the story for
You and Troy yes he he has he has quite the story I won’t share it I’ll let I’ll let him share I’ll let him share his story but it’s unbelievable is that why Troy’s skipping in I’m not sure who’s be in the unable well havin will be down
There so hav will probably be in the bar with Taylor and Troy when they’re not playing oh I bet because Troy plays at 21st all the time with yeah yeah I got the other kid Taylor Sanders uh younger brother Bren yeah I called him and he goes he
Goes he thought about it for about one second yeah I’m surprised to that I’ll cancel everything yeah but he played the six-man my son’s team was playing against him and uh God damn that guy’s good yeah you know so I texted bully who ran at uh uh Michael Bully’s
Younger Parker I think it was son I gotta get a hold of this guy yeah no he’s really good and he’s funny because he’ll go out and practice and just sort of goof off and like be man if you tried you’d be really good but I just you know
He’s just he’ll try against these guys yeah yeah by the way do you wrote that book with stephus yeah that’s you know I’m on the cover of that book that’s you that’s me I thought me and that’s me and Marlo and I think it’s in the finals it
Was a guy named Bob Jackson and Mike Cary in 76 that’s when I won it because I have that picture it’s hanging in my living room yeah I have one too yeah it’s like one of the most famous I love that picture and it’s funny because to
Get the rights to use that was a really funny winding tale because I had to go to the her most of historical society Robbie hutas I think own yeah so he because I reached I was gonna reach out to Robbie but he passed away during Co
And so I was like well I don’t know how a photo rights work for a guy who deceased so I was going to file a lawsuit I’m on that cover you guys didn’t pay me I was going Mill I’m in college use my picture I paid uh it was like 25 bucks
To Theos Historical Society I was shocked I was like that’s somebody somebody gave me that book and I went [ __ ] so I called Marlo Chris Marlo yeah they go heyy I just got 500 bucks send a picture I got 500 bucks you get any money cuz you got to split it with
Me no you you got to get your own lawyer oh that’s so funny I got to hit up he he went he went what the [ __ ] you know what’s going on here I made you famous Obie yeah but I got 500 bucks yeah because that well that’s the exact type
Of atmosphere that I hope that you guys could sort of create that’s why I think Beach I’m like kind of over the stadium stuff I love like that intimate this that’s why we did it yeah one we got to make money this is how it’s paying for it VIPs paying for sponsorships Mario’s
Going to make a boatload on his bar so that’s the way we’re going to do it and it’s a easy setup C it’ll draw people in there and uh you know bring your chair just sit in the sand or stand yeah yeah you know I mean you guys the fans used
To mark their spot yeah they used to come down the night before man they would come down at 4 in the morning put their chairs down there in the front row so awesome and nobody would screw with them nobody there was never any fights yeah back then they would come down
Laguna they would do Laguna was like one of the best that was our second favorite open back in the 70s before we started traveling yeah cuz it was so compact it’s still like that yeah and then they won’t the city’s kind of you know I don’t know they got I don’t know 30
Grand in their tournament this uh PR weeks yeah it’s solid yeah so I mean it’s enough to get Taylor to go and Taylor S I I think there’s some other guys playing there’s quite a few guys playing yeah anyone who’s not playing in World Champs is yeah probably going to
Playa well some of those teams might get eliminated before the tournament yeah I mean they might starts on the fifth they might hustle back yeah World Champ starts I leave in two days and then goes goes for 10 days what’s that it goes for 10 days so it’s Friday to the following
Sunday yeah yeah if you’re in there I I would imagine someone those kids will come back I would think so yeah because Laguna is always one of my favorite tournaments of the year because I love that intimate setting where you go back to serve and guys can just like well
They don’t draw the people they used to be they used to have it on the uh north side yeah by the basketball courts yeah they had palm trees up up in the deals and it was just a whole crew down there yeah and it was uh they they had this
They filmed this movie about it and I can’t find it it’s called round Thunder okay and it was a great movie of The Lagoon open in 1978 I think okay Hooper n won it in 77 so it was the next year and it was unbelievable color video and I can’t
Seem to find it yeah we’ll try to hunt it down do you remember who I don’t I you probably would have to go to City of Laguna Beach and try and pull up their permits back then if they had that or somebody may know it in the Historical
Society I bet they might have it in there they had close-ups of Hooper and I and all these guys it was just it was better than the the one at the uh Queen of the beach that Terry sprag did in Manhattan open you ever seen that one oh
God what the hell is that one called King of the beach I think it’s called okay it’s a movie that Terry sprag did it was had the beauty contest in there but had the players in there had the audio in there they’ve showed it down the pier before yeah I went down there
With my kids when they were younger and sat on the sand they showed it on a big screen so uh that was that was that was the era back then yeah but like I said Laguna was always see different girls down there it’s not like Manhattan Beach there’s nice little restaurants there
And I was there when the is like just a quaint little town yeah yeah I was there in 75 just got out of still in college and the tournament and I didn’t have a place used to stay yeah so I went down there and uh I ended up getting the
Fourth in the tournament with Gordy Mahan and 76 and just out of college no I was still in college I didn’t have a place to stay so there’s a hotel right up above there called the lagona in yeah something sandc or whatever it is so I
Go [ __ ] I’m at this guy’s room and we’re drinking and stuff and all the older guys I’m going I I don’t have to stay in my car so I found a rollway I go [ __ ] put it in front of the guy’s room he had a balcony I’m
Overlooking the courts R all the way down I got wake up [ __ ] I woke up late I see the AC I was in the losers bracket I’m going so I could see the action coming yeah and I go [ __ ] [ __ ] put on my shorts go down there didn’t brush my
Teeth didn’t have anything to brush my teeth yeah and they let Let It Go they didn’t forfeit me out or my partner yeah so that that’s how the days were that it was just like one big fraternity party yeah back then it was it was like where
Do you stay you know yeah where do you go the road Dog Days San Diego you got to find a place to stay M go to Santa Barbara you gotta find Santa Cruz you got to find a place to stay Hooper I9 won Santa Cruz in
19 78 I think so we drive up we fly to a there’s a there’s a hotel called the dream in it was right something else now so dream in so we fly as uh San Jose and drive over so we pull down and Gary goes
I’m going to the beach I said okay I’ll meet you down there I go put the key he goes I’ll put the keys under the tire right like go in the coffee shop eat come back out car’s gone everything we own is gone gone everything I own I’ve got my
Clothes on Hooper’s got just his trunks in the station shirt no shoes so I go what are we going to do call quicker and go Hey where’s the store we can I so we kind of like hodg podged it together the car got stolen oh my
Gosh it can’t happen to me and we end up winning the tournament of course of course yeah it just like nothing oh my God was like well that’s uh it’s amazing I mean similar in today’s stands when Evan and JD were out of money yep uh EV
Have you met Evan her boyfriend yeah Evan Cory right yeah oh yeah yeah that met so Evan and my buddy JD they just lost in the AP New York qualifier you guys should get married you’d have beautiful kids we’re rooting for that yeah I am too we’ll see Grandma might be a little
Bit but they’re down to like five bucks so they’re playing a tournament the next day yeah and they’re like how do we spend this money like we’re starving we found a place so they got they split one ice cream cone and then they they ended up winning the tournament and then
Getting some money from that and then they were they were good to go but they just EV was like that one ice cream cone was good for morale just powered the boys Fu the day I would have I mean Stephenson and Hanley were the worst I would get a room either staying with
Ludy or mood har whoever usually Ludy and mood har and uh all of a sudden you know there’s a knock at the door we don’t have a place to stay yeah had four guys in my room all the time and then DOD and I and havin would would uh I was
Playing with Moody and or L not moody and DOD and I Dodd hav and I would would fly together and rent a car and stay in the same room yeah you know I let mood har get his own room we were trying to save money too and it would be DOD and I
In one bed havin in the next bed and havin wake up and goes you guys get spoon all night Mike would always have his arm around I’m [ __ ] Pat here so that’s the way it was we would do everything together and get on the court and absolutely beat the [ __ ] out
Of each other would go at it like this yeah on a Saturday we play in the quarterfinals the next day and then we’d be flying home together like that’s what happened back then with with me especially I when we walked on the court it was a different deal right I’m gonna
Do whatever I can to win I’m going [ __ ] and moan at the refs and then hav and I would get into it in uh we were playing in a quvo event in U Colorado in Boulder and uh so it was like one to 10 points was his deal to
Get in the pool player getting the in the brackets and stuff and I’m telling you havin and I are going at it’s it’s bad we’re disturbing the other courts we’re doing this we’re doing that so hav and I go to dinner that night yeah nothing happened didn’t even tell
Let’s all right let’s be good tomorrow yeah next next game they’re on a court next to me and hav and I get into it again would you shut the [ __ ] up you’re an [ __ ] we’re not even playing each other and we’re still arguing go what yeah but here we are at each other’s
Throats then we make an agreement not to do anything and then the next day H and I are still at it I love that and I think that is true sportsmanship in the pure sense of it where you can just go at it on the court that’s a different
Persona and then as soon as it’s over you’re getting dinner you’re standing the same you’re spooning with DOD you’re going back on the same flight like that is the way it should be God I think and it was usually H Sundays were driving back and he’s pounding down the beer so
Mike and I are figuring out our seats together we gota let Tim sit by himself because Tim would just go ape [ __ ] on the plane he was like drunk drinking and snapping his fingers at the steward or the flight attendant Tim you’re G to get
Us kicked off this so Mike and I would move find two other seats and move away from Hop was that we don’t know that guy oh we earned our money flame with him one of my best friends still but it just it was hard it was Dr Jack Mr H we used
To call that name Dr jackn Mr H who’s out Mr H’s out oh I love that and then like and then he’s coming down to your forcing like it’s amazing yeah and I think that’s one of the funniest things about that era is that I think people get the
Impression that you guys hated each other when in reality it was like a big Brotherhood the only singen and Randy and DOD and hin had some friction Dodd didn’t hin did yeah it was always like s’s wining more tournaments Tim’s really competitive yeah Tim’s I all the big
Ones I won Manhattan five times which is I you know significant ja I played with ja in tournaments and just he was unbelievable to play with wasn’t anything like I thought he would be played with Dot in tournaments played with stoy in tournaments you it wasn’t
Like we played with stoy he was like 189 years old geez yeah had a CH got third manh had a chance to go to the finals and my leg started wobbling because I wouldn’t my problem is I wouldn’t eat during the I was so like intense I
Wouldn’t I’d have to force myself to eat I wouldn’t eat the right things the same way yeah I mean you got to eat and I saw I saw Matt Gage one time taking down this sandwich I’m going how do you do that he goes I forced myself to eat I
Couldn’t do it I drop seven or eight pounds in a tournament I do the same thing yeah you know just like you’re you’re so and but you gota you know we were drinking Mountain Dews you know instead of water oh yeah hob and I would just be Mountain Dews down
There oh yeah you drink a little water but you’d take a couple Mountain Dews on the court yeah you know so you’d suck down soft drinks to get some some sort of energy right and he wouldn’t eat body a lot of times they didn’t have they had
The the the old days they would have a player’s temp that it wouldn’t be like good food there so you had to like you know bring yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with nobody thought of back there yeah nobody thought how to how to eat you go out to eat eat steak
Or whatever baked potato you eat what you can you don’t need in the morning I the only time I ate was in the morning I could eat pancakes and stuff that was basically it for the day but that wears out in you know first three hours mean
You rifle through pancakes in 15 minutes on the court oh yeah those car yeah boom done I’m the same way though I’ll eat uh I can like snack I can eat almonds and nuts and fruit but I I see someone eating a sandwich I’m like that thing
Would sit like a lead weight yeah it’s good for you that’s the only thing gives you energy yeah so I I really screwed up everybody didn’t have a good diet back then well because I mean like the general education on nutrition I mean there there wasn’t any I walked by sing
Room Sunday morning they’re always getting up later than me cuz I’m in the losers bracket or something but they would have like the room service tray there yeah go what guys are eating that [ __ ] at least go to a nice restaurant right but singen was very frugal and so
Was Randy you know so it was uh it was fun it was fun it was good good memories uh as you get older I enjoy them more thinking about it yeah how [ __ ] up we were my buddy JD the same one that I was
Talking about with Evan he has a a F A good rule with beach volleyball he’s like if you play a tournament anywhere in the country and you don’t have a place to stay then you”ve done beach volleyball wrong yeah and he’s like if you have the means and you want to stay
In a hotel that’s a different story but if you don’t have the means and you don’t have a place to stay then you’ve done it wrong yeah well the problem with the AP now they don’t this is why I want to do the forat ABP has what eight
Tournaments 10 tournaments I think this year they canel out Phoenix right at the most let’s just say nine so you don’t get the chance I mean you’re traveling but you don’t get to do it every weekend you play a tournament and they’re off for two weeks yeah yeah so it’s really
Hard on them they need to come up with some sort of sugar daddy some big corporation that likes this or some individual that’s got a lot of money and go I want to do this for volleyball you know but they haven’t found that guy yet yeah so that’s why I’m again trying to
Do this a for man you and go okay maybe we can do a rethink the whole thing you still have the AP so if you have nine a AP events and I have nine events these kids are going to make money it keeps people coming into it now you got the
Problem with the the women’s team or the women’s volleyball has a more bigger problem than the uh the guys you got all these college girls coming in yeah they’re playing four and five years in college and they’re coming out thinking they could do it so it’s it’s breeding a
Whole bunch of these girls could be really a dynamic tour for the women versus the men they got you know the CL they got a big influx so need to find a way to keep this sport relevant just the Olympics is relevant be K compete with the Euros they’re getting paid right you
Know they’re getting paid handsomely from the government yeah what do you guys if you travel International don’t they get stiens or something to take care of their uh how does that work out when Trevor and those guys or Benes and do they get paid by USA volleball if you
Get a high enough finish then you do you get a stip in but if you don’t what’s his typen you’re in trouble I don’t know what is this typen thing so they’re they do it um for travel it’s $1,600 per per person which is great and it’s if you
Finish if you’re a top four finishing us team yeah um but you get a Max of 10 per year so if you’re 10 what 10,000 10 10 stiens 10 stiens so you so how much could that be what’s 10,600 so I don’t even know what that is
16,000 $16,000 15 16,000 see this is 2023 I was getting $122,000 a year in 1985 let’s think right now 86 whatever all the way up I mean for 5 years I got 12,000 what I mean the math doesn’t equal the uh inflations it’s really for your flights your flights
Aren’t cheap to go to Europe 1600 covers the the flight pretty much yeah so you basically get a free flight you get a stip in from the if you’re a top 12 athlete so typically it’s your top six typically it’s like yeah typically it’s like your top four pairs and then
Sometimes there are some pairs that are switching you know not at the top it’s your top 12 us athletes get a monthly stip in I think the top four players get like I don’t even three grand a month the next 5 through eight get two grand
And the next get like 625 so it drops off and at some somewhere in their health insurance is thrown in there I don’t know if it’s 1 through eight or one through four um so it’s it’s it’s something but like the $600 I just remember you know cuz I went and did uh
A bunch of stuff late last year when there wasn’t a bunch of people playing people were taking time off and so I did um a tournament in the Maldives in two weekends back to back in Dubai I was a top four finishing team for the US for
All four events or all three events so I got the six 4800 bucks for stipend which is great because we were in Dubai for two weeks so that saved a lot of money just being in the same spot for two weeks plus the prize money so I walked
Away you know in three weeks with you know the 4,800 plus you know probably 10 grand total and prize money and that’s that that 10 grand was like my Saving Grace that whole season like that was like SP for the travel though most of it
For the travel so I mean you go in these luxurious spots and you come home at the end of the day go I got I just did that for 500 bucks net right that’s a problem with volleyball for the Americans I mean how much can Bess is probably how much
Can they win this year they’re doing pretty well because when you are at the top when you medal in three of the top tier tournaments in a row they’re financially they’re doing pretty well and sponsor their sponsor they’ll probably between AP and volleyball World they’ll clear 100 Grand
Yeah which for these standards is very high that’s it yeah yeah yeah top three players in the world they’re going to make a 100 grand total yeah yeah and that’s like and that’s like significant that’s the problem with the sport yeah I had a great year this year and hit like
Five that that Travis the problem of the sport these guys are world class athletes it’s the number one or two thing at the Olympics it summer olympics right mhm and yet they’re just getting paid like servants they’re just like it’s crazy yeah yeah that’s why another reason why I’m doing this let’s get
Something else let’s think outside the box and I can see a Forman being in the Olympics yeah I could too I think if there were to be another development of volleyball in the Olympics you know I think Snow’s out you want another one what are you drinking Pacifico you got a
Pacifico in there yeah yeah of course yeah you want me to get up and get it you wanted me to get you’re just like your mother you’re just like your mom she wouldn’t do she wouldn’t do she wouldn’t get me a be see that’s the
Thing is I would I didn’t know what you want I didn’t know if you wanted me to get you one no you know and this is another conversation for another time another whole layer of this financial struggle with us is Evan and I have been approaching companies as a as a couple
Um because it we think it could benefit us as a couple living together and doing these kind of things we’ve approached a couple companies and the problem is um all these companies they want to give they want to sponsor um these Instagram influencers so they don’t even care to sponsor athletes
Because these Instagram influencers who are posting dancing videos on Tik Tok or you know you know their their body they’re just showing their body on Instagram like which obviously we do as athletes it’s just it’s different it’s nonsexual but they want to give all of these influencers all the money yeah
Because they have more followers they’re like why would we we don’t care if it’s an athlete we don’t care if it’s an athlete you know because they just want to find Whoever has the most followers that’s who they want it so that’s another another layer
To the I see done on one more photo oh yeah yeah she’s one of them she doesn’t even start for her team no she’s one of them yeah she makes millions on on that’s social content it just it’s crazy yeah it makes it hard on these Sports
Because you put your deal on YouTube it doesn’t you know may get you know a thousand clicks they’re getting four million clicks it’s pretty easy math to do yeah so I don’t know I’m kind of worried about the sport I am worried about the sport that they need to
Somehow take it up to a level yeah and that’s what I’m always curious because you know as far as having a a wealthy individual you’re not going to get a whole lot better than Donald you know in terms of having Deep Pockets with Kingston so I do you think that it’s a I
Feel like it’s a structural problem just a business model in general I like the idea with the leagues and the franchises is intriguing um but I feel like the way that the AP we keep trying the same thing over and over and over again and it’s just not working and everyone’s
Looking at it like well it did this in the 90s yeah it was just it was a different it was a different era because beach volleyball was really a trailblazing sport is the first lifestyle sport yeah there where it beat surfing to the punch like beach volleyball and surfing Rose at the same
Time and surfing was huge back then too and now surfing struggling Beach bball struggling I don’t know I feel like the model’s broken I think one of the reasons that Miller Light left and and Jose quvo is the ex games came in mhm now you get people that can ride
Skateboards in Wisconsin or do all that stuff or skate or do bikes yeah so I think they just they saw something coming on the X Games they go Middle Light we could put our money into that right they’re GNA get it’s on ESPN every week everybody’s jacked up about it
They’re seeing guys do all these remarkable things so I that came in the A games came in about 96 or 97 I think so that just took our lifestyle out now it’s the X Games lifestyle because you’re G to get the guy like in Wisconsin Minnesota South Dakota
Watching these guys do bikes and skateboards and whatever they do yeah and the the Winter Olympics came too which I I enjoy more the Winter Olympics I I’m a big ex game guy there they’re fun fun to watch yeah yeah so it’s uh uh it’s hard to do then they got the King
Of the Beach seems to be you heard of that the queen of the beach BH is doing incin that’s actually an interesting format yeah and that’s everyone plays with everyone right is that King of the beach or King of the Court well they call it over there it’s Queen of the
Beach Queen of the Court okay it’s queen and king at the court for some reason wilbo wanted to go a little bit woke or whatever so it’s called queen and king at the court that’s the guy thats it wico yeah wico wico and that’s uh he is
Like beloved by the players he is so receptive to feedback and that seemed to have a a pretty good year yeah I was on a call with him because they were trying to do it at the uh I got him involved with the uh air show Honey to Beach Air
Show and I don’t think it worked out at the last minute because the Jets are going by or whatever they wanted to do it at night which I thought was a good idea but I watched the YouTube videos over in Europe I mean the the the setup
Is unbelievable it’s awesome I mean the setup is and then you got mole was playing mole and Anders were playing right yeah and it’s actually a very entertaining concept but I don’t know if it’s going to grab on yeah it’s uh it’s a it’s a cool thing for the players
Because it’s sort of fun it’s a lot of fun for them it’s it’s you can still win decent prize M I think if you win you split 20 yeah yeah yeah they get 10 grand on the winning team yeah so it’s it’s different it’s fastpaced yeah the
Fans are into it I mean the fans in Europe are are fantastic yeah they’re it’s it’s what we don’t have here we don’t have I think if they ever put the uh prize money up to let’s say it’s $200,000 ter these these guys are going back to making half million to a million
Dollars a year I think that draws fans and it draws people watching oh these guys are making money yeah well the winning team gets what’s the winning team the Manhattan open what’ they get I think 30 split 30 split 30 15 is good but if they had 15 of those tournaments
Yeah and they were splitting 50 you know now we’re talking and I think that now we’re also losing less of the elite athletes because now if if a TJ DeFalco has a choice to go make you know 250 or whatever in Poland or to come gravel and make 16 on the
Beach we’re going to lose all of our best players to Endor but if you get how about you know TJ playing for Man you know if you get this where you get like I said this is a real thing that real concept that we could do yeah somebody
Could do I mean you know I started it but I I would like to be involved in and you know see where it goes yeah yeah see how the beta test goes I’m excited I’m BM I got to miss it but it’s well at least we got a Sizzle reel to sell
People you know I mean you know to get sponsors in get the guys because it’s they’re tremendous athletes I mean it just then you involve the you know the indoor guys that aren’t playing because the Olympics are not going over there they go [ __ ] I could make 1 15200 here
Staying here for 10 tournaments right you know so it it it like you said it’s the cheapest entry point to get into a professional FR by far I mean you look at even the MLS which as far as American sporting leagues go is closer to the bottom and it’s 550 million yeah to
That’s your franchise fee that’s that’s your entry point I mean how much is it 550 million is a franchise fee for an MLS team no [ __ ] yeah big number yeah we’re asking for a million each yeah I don’t know what it would be but I like I said before have a
Draft trade players do things and give something to do and you get a lot of the exploit like yourself you could be a GM drafting the players guy guy to know anything the owner is you’re going to have to hire somebody and that’s all you
Need that’s it yeah you don’t have to do anything and so they they go out and drive sponsorship they can go out drive media social media and you get people coming to get you know thousands of thousands of people coming yeah I think uh I hope it picks up steam I’m rooting
For for you and whoever else you you got on board to take that off yeah it’s just like I said it’s going to be something that nobody’s seen that’s what I’m proud of nobody’s put this thing together yet yeah why why now like what what made you
Do this now I know you got the breakfast with Taylor but what made you have the breakfast with Taylor what when this well we were at the tournament I was watching nobody was down there it was a doubles tournament they were playing I think Taylor walked away with maybe two grand or
2500 we were having so I went to breakfast and so I’m drinking bloody Mirage you know he’s drinking bloody marage go Taylor I you know because I’ll win the tournament don’t worry that’s how bad it was and I tried to actually honestly and two I tried to do a lagona about four
Years ago hey I can raise some money for this stuff we get this thing up to 50 100 Grand you know I got enough people to do it and then Laguna shot it down because they didn’t want the same thing with a quo bottle up there the Middle
High Life bottle up there we don’t have enough lifeguards I go we got a beach with no waves got a lake out there what are you guys worried about yeah but then this when I saw Taylor playing it just kind of clicked on me you know it just
Kind of Click Taylor would you be interested yeah and that’s how it basically started just thought of it I go thought of a guy I want like I said I wanted to take care of the AP guys yeah I wanted to make them make them some money because you know the tournaments
Are going down the money’s going down these poor guys that are you know getting fourth and fifths are great players but they’re just you know not making any money yeah we were super top topheavy on our tour you know I I didn’t get out of Fifth Place one year and I
Think I made 10 grand or something finished fifth or better than every t with Ludy and you can’t weigh with 10 10 12 Grand whatever it was maybe more it’s a hard earned not not very much yeah less than 20 it was so top heavy in the
First two they were taking 80% of the prize money okay you that’s the way they wanted it yeah of course they did yeah so lower if you get ninth you’re getting I think ninth got 350 bucks yeah on a $100,000 ter or something like that it wasn’t very much wasn’t enough got you
Made the second day came close to breaking even but you know there you go you come back you spend the whole weekend there and you know yeah well I love it appreciate you G it yeah we’ll see how it goes I’m I’m jacked up come down there and bring your beach chair
And you know your umbrella and be ready to have some fun yeah so we’re uh the mbans I’m assuming are filming oh yeah we forgot to talk about them and uh I haven’t talked to Riley during this whole thing Madison does all talking okay Riley you it’s so funny to watch
When Riley came back from Italy with Carly yeah the mck YouTube channel just it just took off again I was like oh Daddy’s home so Maddy might be doing a lot of the talking I think Riley is like the editorial well Riley’s that because Madison does all the time I mean I’ve
Talked to Madison like you know more than my wife lately we’re on the phone every day and we get a lot of arguments not argument he doesn’t like to argue that much but I yeah I got to put my foot down and go no we’re not going that
Way yeah but they’re a great team because Maddie will do all the talking and bring be the messenger to Riley and Riley be like all right we’re gonna do this that that boom boom boom and then he just cranks I told MADD about this seven months ago and he didn’t believe
Me so I’m trying to get him on the phone with the guy and he just he’s just like so busy with the AP tour and I’m going all right maybe maybe he’s not the right guy maybe we’ll get some got this other guy involved and he wanted to just do
Too much [ __ ] I go you know what this is beta testing I’m not going down that road right I got my sponsors lined up I got everything so Madison came back into it finally yeah and then I set him up with Kevin Martin my partner in it Okay
Kevin Martin goes we’re going with him I go good decision yeah because I didn’t want to bring some random guy in that you know didn’t have the best reputation in the world I go you know mention the guy’s name I go who what why you doing
That yeah yeah the M they’re they’re as good as they come try not to make any errors in this whole thing you know that can’t be fixed yeah so are you guys doing live streaming or are the McKibbon gonna just film and produce and put up
And post after do you know no live streaming got it he doesn’t want to do that got it so I’m kind of like taking his lead on that once he’s in there go you do what you got to do long as Kevin and I own the content we’re good yeah I
Think that I think that’s the way way to go which is a relatively unpopular opinion but when you look at the numbers on streams versus content that they post produce the post production when it’s nice and you can get like all kinds of angles that does way better is it really
He had to explain that to me I was saying let’s stream this again ESPN3 Plus or whatever it is yeah no you sure yeah so basically said what you did I go okay you’re you’re in charge but I’m always throwing out other [ __ ] yeah yeah
I think I mean I I pretty much whatever they say I’m like that’s a pretty good I had this conversation when Maddie and Riley put on a KOB in her mosa a couple years ago and I was like oh you guys are going to stream he’s like no no no no
Like the normals will be better if we have like a good product after I was like I think you’re wrong and then he’s like no no know trust me and then the numbers were like the numbers of our KOB matches were bigger than every AP final
Yeah and this is just like what do you think this is gonna do a couple of us oh it’ be massive yeah yeah I mean though I think all of the matches that they put up will get especially all due respect especially the men’s matches will get
Six figures of views yeah which is which big for volleyball yeah for beach volleyball yeah so you said it’s a good Sizzle reel to go out and get the thing yeah you got the right you got the right guys yeah good yeah I knew I did you
Thought the same way I did let’s go this way and he explained it to me I go I was going okay but you were going let me see it and then you saw it you go it was right yeah I I thought go Madison I thought we should Zig they were like no
We’re going to zag and zagging is the way to go yeah yeah that’s it I mean it’s it’s a tough clim but I I really think that there’s some uh push for this that people want to see agreed and uh I’m looking forward to seeing the
Product when it comes out it’s too bad you’re going to a bachelor party and riding in a truck up and down Broadway I know a bunch of other imagine yeah baby I would love to see Travis on way honestly I would love that have you been there before a couple
Times yeah Nashville is a great City like I said Robert’s all americ I’ll send you a picture from Roberts yeah you got to you send me a picture of the four man yeah you got to get the recession special though done I can do that you guys don’t you guys didn’t eat balone
Back then we I grew up on balone you know so you get the Fright it’s fried it’s just so wrong that it’s so good it’s like try crushing uh like spam and M when he go yeah yeah I mean first went to haai when I was 19 years old playing
A volleyball tournament we lived in a guy’s place yeah with no money you know we had spam every day you know what I liked it we had spam in the morning spam in the for for sandwiches so every morning every lunch we had spam and you know what when you’re 18 years old
Doesn’t matter it’s great yeah salty as [ __ ] God it’s got salt a freaking you might as well put on the can artery hardener sodium counts through the roof oh god oh well OB man great to have you back on glad to have you in person to uh yeah oh
Yeah kick the whole deal CH in the studio here appreciate it perfect perfect and uh where can people follow is there a webite oh yes there’s a website MPV volleyball.com perfect so it’s Newport Beach only it’s npv volleyball.com it’s got all the players on there and stuff like that okay so
Awesome it’s going to be a or get pass down there and watch person that would be great are you going I’m playing she’s playing not after this show he’s about to boot me off yeah really since I didn’t get him a beer I’m out yeah got to find a replacement they
Let tell your mom she can’t come down oh yeah no I allow your hand down I’ll let bugs come down all right guys all right thank you shoots
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