Episode Transcript
<p><!--block-->Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Couple O' Nukes. As always, I'm your host, Mr. Whiskey, and I've just gotten back to America from Japan. So this is my first interview back in America, and it's with a gentleman I'll actually be seeing in a f- uh, just a few weeks here. I already g- got back from America just a few days ago. Now I'll be going on a road trip to help out some awesome veterans doing some great, powerful things, and we're gonna get into all of that today in detail. Super excited for this, and I already did a, you know, a pre-chat with our guest today. Great, genuine guy. Love what he's doing. He's much like me, workaholic, super passionate, you know, got all these big ideas and, and I love it because, you know, we're both here to serve, inspire, impact. So here with Mike Waskewhich. So great to have you here, and again, to see you again. And I'm excited to learn more about you and, and see what you have to share with us today. So could you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Yeah. Hey, thanks so much for having me on the call. Like I said, uh, it was great talking to you the other day and kinda getting to know what you guys are building and all the things you're doing there. And, uh, love the opportunity to tell you more about Craft and, and what we're building here. Um, I retired from the military after 24 years and got into the adult beverage industry myself, uh, building a product to help people discover brands, um, you know, kind of focusing on smaller brands and craft brands. And then as I got into that industry, I learned a lot about the veterans that kinda gravitated towards adult beverage. Um, and when we talk about adult beverage, we're talking everything from, you know, waters and sports drinks to all the way up to alternative beverages and, and things of that nature. So everything in between. Uh, it's full-blown spirits, beers, everything. And, uh, it's amazing to me how many veterans gravitate towards that industry, for a lot of reasons. Uh, one, probably most prominently, is the camaraderie. Uh, it's a, it's a great industry to just meet people that are, you know, carrying over that service the same way that they did in uniform. Um, and it's just a lot of fun, period. Uh, so, um, as we met these people in this industry, uh, we found that there were a lot doing a lot of things, um, and we thought we could help them by doing those things together, uh, being a, a shared group with a shared purpose, uh, focusing on highlighting some of those veteran-owned brands and creating opportunities for them. Uh, obviously 20 brands can get an attention, uh, that maybe one brand can't. So that's kind of the, the start of how we got to where we are. For sure. Now, Mr. Waskiewicz, we gotta start first with a little backstory. Why did you... And you've heard this question many times before, I'm sure. Why did you join the military? You know, what was kind of going on at that time? And then to further it, why stay for so long? Yeah. So, um, I joined the military as a way to get out of a small town. I grew up in a, uh, a very small town in southeast corner of Indiana. Um- Yeah ... I was doing all the normal things that a 17-year-old kid was doing at the time, getting into trouble. And, uh, you know, the best thing for me was to find a way to leave that town and go grow up. Mm-hmm. Um, so joined the military, left, and, uh, had no intention of staying, uh, for that long. Right. Right. It, uh, you blink, and it's over. Uh, so it was, uh, it's a great journey. I, you know, wish I could do it all over again. Had a lot of fun, met a lot of great people. That's awesome, and I'm, I'm glad to hear that because we've had plenty of episodes highlighting the not so positive side of it, you know, the, uh, i- issues that need some attention and highlighting. And so let's get a little bit into that mental health conversation. Of course, you talked about having a great time, but were there, and I imagine over 24 years, you know, there are periods of downtime where, you know, "Am I really gonna do this again?" Or, "How do I deal with this leadership?" Or what, what were some kind of the more difficult parts of that lifestyle? Yeah. So, uh, you're 100% right. Um, I think probably one of the things that we learn the most from service is, um, you know, e- endurance, embrace the suck- Yeah ... uh, i- uh, resilience, all those words or phrases you wanna use to kind of codify what we're talking about. But we're, we're built, uh, or trained or whatever you wanna call it, w- we're, we're given skill sets to make sure that we endure those tough times, and they are-- there are plenty of tough times. Um, I-- you're right. Over 24 years, you, you see a lot of them. You've been through several of them. You've seen people that, um, have gone through the worst. Uh, and you kind of hold on to the, the guys that came out the other side, and then you just do whatever you can to make sure you help the next person come out the other side a little better, too. Um, I, I, I don't know how to say it much better than that, but it's, uh, it's, it's a test of resilience for sure. Right. I know in the Navy, we had a saying, "Take a hit and keep going." You know, and, uh, definitely don't abuse that saying. I think sometimes people use it, uh, in, in the wrong situation because there is a point where you do need to heal and recover and take help. You know, the-- there's a balance to it, and some people never get help, and some people, uh, spend too much time, uh, getting help in the sense that they never en- endure through anything. And there, there is a balance to it. Sometimes you do have to put things aside for the mission, or not even a military mission, but just for what you're doing in life. And so I think it's really important that we learn that. And you talk about, you know, doing that for the next person, which- Yeah ... with as long as you served, surely you had countless leadership positions. Uh, because I know just being in for a few years, you get tasked with a lot of leadership positions, often volun-told. Like, "Hey, you, you're gonna be in charge of this now." So did you have a lot of chances for mentorship, for leading, and what did that really teach you? Yeah. Um- I don't think you realize it as much in the moment as you do afterwards. The impact that your words and your actions have on others. Um, it's, it's kind of one of those things where you look back and you go, "Man, I didn't realize that what I did there impacted somebody so well." Uh, it's a funny story. This just came up the other day. So my wife and I were having a conversation, and she interacted with a former soldier of mine, and she ran into him, was talking to him, and they were telling a story about how I made a correction to them back in the day and did something. And while she was explaining it to me, I don't even remember it as clearly. I, I, I do remember the person and I do remember how squared away they were, but I nev- I don't remember that specific interaction so clearly. Mm-hmm. And she was describing it to me and she's like, "Well, apparently it made an impact on them." Um, and that carries forward. And I think one of the things that we may forget, you know, as we carry through our own services, the impact we have on others, um, and that mentorship that happens whether you intend for it or not Amen to that. You know, and that's part of the reason why I do podcasting. I talk all the time, whether it's suicide prevention, addiction prevention and recovery, mental health, whatever it is, you know, a single conversation can change a life, and I've had someone write in and say, "This episode changed my life." Do I go into every episode saying, "Hey, I'm gonna say everything to change their life"? No, I'm, I'm having the conversations, and I, I know that they're gonna make an impact with the right people, but I think that is something we forget. You know, I think about my captain. He gave a lot of... He was given a sinking ship, you know, and they sent him there- Yeah ... because he was, you know, Mr. Hollywood. You know, that's what they called him. They said, you know, he could raise the morale, and he was great at giving speeches, and he was a genuine guy. And what we saw from that was, you know, he, he goes up there, gives his speech, and maybe he's thinking no one heard it, but there could be- ... multiple sailors who it changed their life. You know, it could have been that moment where they're like, "I'm gonna re-enlist. I wanna serve under this guy." So like you said, I think-- And, and we've talked a lot about leadership on the podcast, and I think you're the first person to really talk about the impact we have that we don't even realize, and I, I think that your example is so great. I don't even remember saying that or, like, it was just, you know, a regular conversation for you, but it meant everything to them. So I think that's really important to keep in mind, and I think that's why it's so important also when it comes to integrity or when, like you said, you're not meaning to be a mentor. The thing is people are watching us, you know? Everywhere we go, where we lead, our family, our household, our work, you know, our education, people are watching, and they're taking from that. And I think it's really important that we know that, you know, there is someone watching possibly, and they're gonna be impacted by my behavior. And that's why I think, you know, the Navy puts forward the word integrity all the time. I'm sure all the military branches do. Yep. Um, as a, as a man of faith, that's also something we always put forward is, you know, it's not about who is watching. It's about, you know, are you doing the right thing or not? And so I think that's a very impactful, uh, leadership lesson. And then I wanna talk a little bit about, you know, what your job was and then, you know, your ranking over the years. Yeah, so I started out, um, funny story, when I wanted to leave that small town, I had every intention of doing all the hard things. And, um, my uncle was a Green Beret, and so when I was a kid, I idolized him. Like, I... That was what I wanted to be. That's what I wanted to do, and I was gonna do that. Um, and he sat me down one day, and he had been, uh, awarded the Purple Heart, and, uh, you know, all these things, and he was explaining to me, he was like, "You don't ever wanna do this. Go do something that you're gonna have a skill set on the back end." I didn't understand what that meant. Mm. Um, so I became a paralegal. I joined the, uh, legal services, uh, MOS and the JAG Corps and did that, and I found every opportunity to put myself back into some other job that I could do, uh, as often and as fast as I could. I, while I loved the JAG Corps and I had a lot of fun with it, I found a way to get back to operations, go back to training, go back to the field. Do whatever I could to get, you know, back to, you know, being a soldier. And, uh, I think it was a good balance that way, 'cause I had a lot of fun. I met a lot of great people. I got to do a lot of exciting things. And after 24 years, I ended up, uh, retiring as a sergeant major. Um, served as a CSM for about nine months during COVID. Um, didn't officially become a CSM because obviously that was a weird time in the Army, and I didn't... I was acting the position, not, you know, holding the position. Right. So that was different. But, uh, but yeah, retired as a sergeant major. Um, uh, served at all levels of command up into a one-star, uh, general officer billet. And, uh, yeah, then retired at the... My last assignment was the, um, liaison for non-commissioned officer development at the, uh, academy in El Paso, Texas. Hmm. That talk about the skill set really resonates with me because hundreds of episodes now, a lot of them veterans, you know, a lot of them talk about cool- the cool stuff, the operational stuff, Green Beret, Special Forces, Navy SEALs. You know, I had a guy who was shooting planes down with a rocket launcher, and then he got out and said, "I couldn't get a job." There was nothing to do. It was 19 something, something. He's an older gentleman, and he talked about- Yeah ... he ended up swinging a pickax for $5 an hour. And so a lot of people find that, you know, they go into the military and they're captivated by the description or the title of a job, and they're not thinking long-term about what it means. And I've had so many people go in and get something not at all aligned with what they wanna do in life, and now they're kind of having to start over. They're getting out, and now they're having to start from square one, and the military ended up being just like a placeholder. And so I, I think it is really important to, like, go in with something you wanna use, you know? And, and that's where I, I failed. You know, the recruiters were just like, "If you go in as a nuclear operator, it's the most benefits, the most benefits, the most benefits." Yeah. The benefits are only if you stay blue collar side, if you stay nuclear side. If you wanna stay, you, you know, the incentive for electricians to become nuclear operator was y- getting your journeyman's license. Well, I'm not an electrician. Yep. And I don't plan on doing anything electrical other than turning on my podcast lights, right? And so it turns out what the benefits were is here's the deal A mailman in the Navy who is higher ranked than a nuclear operator gets more pay, right? That's how it works. It's based off your rank. You know, y- the medical and dental's the same. So a guy who is a boatswain's mate and, you know, swabs the deck for a few hours gets the same medical and dental treatment as a nuclear operator. In fact, he has more time to actually go use those services than the nuclear operator. And he has off on holidays and weekends and nights. Meanwhile, we're working rotating shift work. So I always tell anyone joining, you know, like, when they describe benefits, you have to understand that sometimes they're very specific. You know? Like, they, they, they use the broad word benefits because you hear that and you're like, "Oh, more stuff." They said the more, you know, nuclear operators get more benefits. So you're like, "Oh, more benefits. Awesome." Y- are there, are there pay bonuses? Are there hazard pays? Sure. But outside of the military, do any of those benefits actually transfer to what you wanna do? And so I- Right ... I got sold with that, you know? And so again, I understand what you're saying. If you're a Green Beret, you get out. Sure, you could be security. You could do some other jobs. Um, but what are you skilled in? What are you skilled in other than that specific field? So I, I totally get that. Right. And again, that's not to diminish what they do or how skilled they are. Right. But it's very niche specific. Right. You know? Uh, but it's okay, 'cause most veterans get out and they start their own business. You know, we're gonna talk about that. Um, a lot of them start printing T-shirts. You did something a little bit different, something that I find very interesting. You know, so let's get into that journey. You know, was this something you planned a couple years beforehand when you were looking to get out? Why, why did you get out at 24 specifically? Why not 20? Why not 25? W- what was the deal with that? Yeah. So, uh, 20, uh, I, it was actually 23 and, like, 10 months or something, but so I just round up to 24. But yeah, so I actually didn't even get to the 24, and the reason was family. Um, so for the majority of my career, I had chased the next opportunity, chased the next assignment, chased the next thing. Whatever it was that the Army asked me to do, I was the first one to raise my hand. Over those 20, you know, four years, I had 12 different duty stations. Um, I think I had three different one-year assignments. Um, so I, I bounced a lot, and I- Mm-hmm ... that took a lot of toll on family and, and everything else that came with that. Right. Um, and I think it really hit home most, uh, my son was having problems in school with my ex-wife, and some things were going on, and I was like, "I'm done." Like, I just had a moment where I was like, "I need to go be a dad. I, I don't, I don't need to do this anymore. There's nothing else for me to grab. There's nothing else to do, so I'm gonna go be a dad." Um, and that's, that was really why I left Um, I, like it's, I'll tell you that I don't regret it. I d- I miss it. I think everybody does when you leave. You miss it for the people, you miss it for kind of the, the cool assignments and the things you got to do. But no, I don't, I wouldn't change anything else. I, like I said, I think it was, it was a great time. It was a good time to go. Uh, it was right for me. Um, and you know, it forced me to get into an industry by accident that I didn't intend to, um, and start a business and, and work that kind of pathway, which has been a lot of fun Right, and I mentioned to you when we first met about this conversation, it's a different change of pace. You know, over hundreds of episodes I've done a lot of addiction recovery. A lot of veterans specifically who dealt with alcoholism and drug addiction. Yep. And here we are talking about veterans and alcohol coexisting in a positive way. And I really appreciate this conversation because, you know, there is a lot of villainization of alcohol rather than of the person's choices. You know, it's the same conversation with AI and guns and any tool, right? You know, alcohol is just a substance. It's how you use or abuse it. And so we see plenty of veterans, like you said, making successful businesses and that, having a camaraderie. I'm part of a whiskey bourbon society. You know, we get together, we try different drinks, we smoke cigars, and it's about camaraderie. You know? It's not about trying to escape from anything. It's not about abusing it because of trauma. And so I think it's really important to have this conversation. And I think one of the things I mentioned, too, is the issue of how alcohol is presented to young enlisted and officer guys first joining the military. You know, I talk all the time. It's like, "Hey, this is what military life is." Uh, and especially Navy side. It's, "You're gonna, you know, get drunk and bang women and try not to get in trouble." Like, that is your port call debriefing, right? And there's this generational cycle of you gotta drink. You got- especially as a sailor. Obviously Army, Marines drink, too. Yep. You know, Air Force, maybe they have champagne. But, uh, you know, it's about but you know, it's about, uh, that, that culture of this is what life is. And so, so many people fall into over-drinking or not. You know, they're drinking to fit into this military group, and they're not drinking at a social level. They're drinking at what they think will make them fit in, which is getting black out or, or, or all kinds of stuff. There's a lot of factors in the military that go into the alcoholism. This, the rotating shift work, the sleep schedule changes, the isolation. Um, so this conversation, you know, we're approaching it knowing that a lot of veterans are, are struggling, but we're, we wanna show that it can be a great community, you know, if you are recovered or healed or if you approach it tactfully in the right way. Uh, and I'd, I'd love for any commentary you have on that subject. Yeah, so, uh, we're very purposeful in that. Uh, and when we talk about veterans and, and adult beverage as a whole, I mean, one of the, the things right off the get-go is we call it adult beverage. Because at the end of the day, I really don't care what's in your glass or what your chosen beverage is. If you want it to be a mocktail, if you want it to be, uh, a, a high-proof hazmat style spirit, if you want it to be a beer, or just water. At the end of the day, the word you said there, camaraderie, that's where this comes from. This comes from the idea that we're enjoying it together. With that, that- camaraderie, that teamwork, that, that just coexisting, uh, enjoying each other's time, each other's company and, you know, remembering some of the fun times, maybe through service or maybe some of the, you know, on a deployment or, or whatever. Just that kind of hanging out together is really what we wanna focus on. Um, the, the what you choose to consume or use or, or, uh, drink or whatever you wanna call it, whether it's a cigar or it's a, a bourbon or a... But it doesn't matter. I think what matters is that you're there with people and that you're having a conversation, and then you're enjoying the moment. Mm-hmm. Um, and we tell people all the time, "Just, just enjoy the moment. Be in the moment. Enjoy that." Um, we do understand that, and I specifically understand as we talk about this, that there is a taboo nature to veterans and alcohol, veterans and adult beverage. There's this, uh, somewhat of a picture in people's minds, uh, about that, that maybe there's some sort of, um, broken veteran or taboo conversation specifically, "Oh my gosh, don't let veterans have too much alcohol," kinda thing. But it, in reality, that's not the majority. Uh, I think there are some that probably do struggle with some of those, uh, issues and some of those concerns, and I think that that real consideration, uh, needs to be given to how you approach those conversations with certain individuals. But I don't think that's a, uh, blanket statement for the whole population. And the other thing I'll say is that of most Of most industries, period. And I don't care whether they're adult beverage or whether they're T-shirts or, or soap or whatever. A veteran-owned company or a veteran-owned organization does more to give back organically through their own businesses, through their own connections, their own community, than probably anybody else. Um, they will hire other veterans. They will support veterans' causes. They will, um, find ways to, uh, work for charities, donate to charities, do whatever they can. Yeah. So nobody's doing more to help the veteran community than I think the veterans themselves. Mm. Amen to that, 100%. And I like something you said, it's respecting regardless of the what. And an example I'll give is a lot of people, especially younger generations, will give you a hard time if you're not having the same what as them. That is, if you go to a party and you want a mocktail instead of alcohol, they'll give, they'll berate you for that. And I think that judgment is what causes a lot of bad pressuring, and it should be, "Hey, you know, it doesn't matter if you're drinking the same type of, you know, adult beverage or not, as long as you're here present with us." And I think too many people push for, "We want you to have the same thing," or, "It's all matching, otherwise it's not important." Uh, but that's why I like what you're talking about, having an event where whether you're having a mocktail, alcohol, whether it's a str- a, a beer, a wine, or a whiskey, you know, the point isn't about the what but the, the why. And I, I think- Yeah ... I really respect that, and I think there's too many people who just really push for, like, "We all have to be the same or we all have to be drinking the same thing." It- I- I have to counter it with this question, why does it matter? Is it usually it's just the aesthetic or this, you know, idea of, of, of a vibe, and I think respecting people's choices is much more important. I know you mentioned to me, uh, your company n- does not just alcoholic beverages, but even, like, sports drinks and other stuff like that. So we'll, we'll get into that conversation for sure. Now, have you always been a drinking guy yourself in the sense that you have a collection, you like to do tastings, or did that kind of evolve from what you're doing now? Yeah, so, um, when I first went to the Sergeants Major Academy, I met a lot of guys that were very into bourbons, whiskeys, uh, those kind of things. I g- I, I came up in the enlisted ranks, so for anybody who's served, you obviously understand this, but anybody else who's served, uh, enlisted soldiers don't make a whole lot of money. So my idea of a cocktail was probably whatever bottom shelf brand you could find and whatever you can mix it with to make it taste halfway good. Um, that's, that was drinking. Um, or whatever beer. Eventually I got to the point to where I could experiment, I guess you could say, with craft beers, 'cause I could kind of afford those kind of things. Um, I could never afford, you know, having kids and, you know, single income in the military, I could never afford going out and buying a 200 bo- $200 bottle of bourbon or something and- Right, right ... and kind of figuring it. So it wasn't until I got into bourbon groups later on in my career as a, as a sergeant major that I understood some of those complexities, and I really liked them. Um, and that led to me building, uh, a tech company called The Bar Book because I wanted to figure out a way to help me know what I wanted to like next without spending $200 on a bottle and then realizing I didn't like it. So we built that tech company, and that's kinda how I got to learn about these, these different bottles. Um, I, I'd still say that I'm a novice when it comes to this stuff. I am not a master distiller. I learn every time I talk to a new distillery. I can tell you how they do it, I can tell you what they do, but it's kinda like, um, you know how to paint, but if you were talking to Picasso, uh, you're not on that level. I view myself in the s- kinda the same way when I talk to brewers and distillers. I know what you do, but I'm not the artist. Uh, I can't make what you make. Um, and they really do have a lot of passion in what they do, so it i- there is an art form to it. So I love learning and I love the community that comes with learning from these people, uh, and that's kinda what gravitated me towards it Yeah, I'm thankful I'm a nuclear operator sometimes because this guy was telling me about his, you know, backyard brewing shenanigans, and he's using all kinds of big words and terms and, you know, like- Okay you said, they're talking about if we add a single, you know, piece of corn more, it's gonna shift it by .05%. Like, they know numbers. These guys are like chemists, you know? The- They are ... like, there is an exact science to it, um, the timing, and they do a lot of experiments, and I, I love, you know, trying their stuff and listening to them. You know, now, next time I'm gonna try five minutes longer to see if it'll shift it by this percentage. Like, it is a craft, you know? Like you mentioned the word craft. It is, and it's so interesting- Yeah ... to learn about this stuff. My mind is blown sometimes, and when you look at, they were sharing the origin stories of some alcohols. Like, it's interesting. Like, some guy's like, "Let me just dump a bunch of alcohol in fish barrels," and, "Oh, now we got a new thing," you know? Like, it is- ... amazing, uh, you know, even just learning that sometimes the color is determined by how much it's char... Like, there's so much science to it that people don't realize, you know? And I, I find there's a great beauty in admiring the craft and art, you know? But so many people are just like, "Oh, you know, as long as it's..." Too many people drink it for the effect- ... rather than the, the art. Sure. You know? People are like, "Oh, I just-" Yeah "... I don't care what it is as long as it gets me drunk, and then I'll be funnier," you know? And- Yeah, no, you really- ... so ... got to appreciate that. Yeah, yeah. The way I used to pick... Well, and the way I still do, because I don't have your app, uh- ... which I got to get it now that we talked about it. But I usually go by bottle design, so I really like looking at the artwork. Yep. Um, then I shifted as I spent more time in the Whiskey Bourbon Society and other events. Actually reading the labels, you know, looking at the ingredients. Like, you, you start to grow a passion for it, and, you know, marking down what I... 'Cause I, I keep a mental list. But I, I'm gonna get your app so I don't have to keep that mental list of what do I like. I know that if something is a bourbon and was finished in an apricot beer cask, I'm never gonna drink that again, you know? So there's, there's certain things that, that should not be, and it, it's interesting because you think, like, I love tropical stuff. So I love stuff- Yeah ... with coconut or I love sweet stuff, but then I tried a bourbon mixed with butterscotch, and I was like, "Okay, never mind. I actually want something smokier and darker." I, you know? So please tell us about your, your app because it's designed to help people find their next best pick. And so tell us what that means. Yeah, so like I said, when I was leaving the military, I was having some conversations about, you know, what, how to find my next, you know, favorite bottles of bourbons or whatever. Um, and at that time, I was really just bourbon. I didn't know much about a whole lot of other distilled spirits. And, uh, I'd gotten to talking with some guys and I, I- they were like, "Y- you just gotta keep a notebook." Most of these guys were telling me the same thing, "Yeah, just remember what you like." And I was like, "Yeah, I'm not good at any of that." Um, uh, I'm not keeping a notebook to, to write all this stuff down. There's gotta be a tool somewhere that helps me do this. And honestly enough, I went and searched app stores, databases, websites, and I couldn't find anything. Tons of rating reviews, tons of YouTube videos, tons of people all over the internet telling you what they like, right? Well, that doesn't do anything for me if I don't know what I like- Right ... and compare it. So then I thought if Spotify can tell me my next favorite, five favorite songs based off of me liking one song, and they can do it by beats per minute, style of music, and all these things, why can't we do that with flavors? Why can't we do that with flavor profiles? Why can't we build that? So I spent a couple years putting an algorithm together, um, that's overly complex, probably more than it needs to be, but essentially what it does is it pulls data from different products and then runs it through and connects that to what you have told it about you and what you've liked, and then it spits out some suggestions. Um, and it will continue to do that for new products, and it'll introduce you to something new, and it'll tell you, "Hey, this is probably a 75% match to what you normally like. Um, you'll probably like it. Try it out." And then as you rate that, it may drop it to a lower percentage saying, "Well, you just didn't like that combination," or it may raise it and say, "No, you really did like that." Um, and then that, it continues to learn, um, and build that out. Uh, the science, uh, behind that I actually got into a little bit more, um, as I've been talking with people in the community and you learn, as you mentioned, kind of the some of the real science behind this. Uh, fun fact, there is an actual college, uh, well, it's the University of Kentucky, they have an institute called the James B. Beam Institute, uh, in, in Kentucky. They're in Lexington, Kentucky. And they do every year a conference where they bring in all of the academic minds of the distilling industries, and they bring them in to talk about different things. I was fortunate enough to get to present and talk about this app, uh, not last year, year before, at that conference, and I thought I was cool at that time. I was like, "Man, this is awesome. I get to talk about this with a bunch of these other academics." Um- Wow. Some of the people in those rooms are talking... I, like, I presented next to a guy who runs a neuromapping class for flavors. Um, and he was talking about the te- the science behind, you know, what fires in your brain when you try vanilla or when you try- Wow coffee. And he was doing all... And I'm like, "This is cool." Um, so the, the science is coming, uh, and it's really catching up to a lot of the te- uh, the industry stuff that's out there For sure. Now, when it comes to your app, when you talk about rating what you like, is it a five-star system, one to 10? How do you kind of, like, fill out the app? Yeah, so it's, uh, it's got a, a two, uh, uh, two sliders, and it's, uh, one through 10, and then it puts into a five-star system. You know, it does some calculations there. But essentially, you rate the flavor of the product itself and then the style. So styles would be, like, your whiskeys, your- Mm-hmm ... uh, tequilas, you know, things like that. How much do you typically like that style? And then where did you think the flavor of that one m- um, fit? And then again, that puts into a formula and spits out other recommendations. Okay. Yeah, no, that, I think that's really awesome. I think a lot of people... And I think that's one of the sad things is some people get just like, "I'm gonna drink the same thing my whole life," and I think there's a beauty in trying new things. You know, you can always have your comfort one at home. You know, for a lot of people, it's that Buffalo Trace bottle they keep on the shelf at all times. I've heard that one a lot. But I love trying new things, you know, and- Yeah ... I, o- one of the coolest ones was actually a bourbon that was, uh, in the barrels on a music stage. And, uh, it absorbed all the sound waves of the, of the concerts, and that's, that was its specialty. And it was pretty good. You know, there's, there's all kinds of stuff. There, y- you know, there are- Yep ... barrels out there on the ocean, and then there's some in Texas in a machine that simulates the ocean. And, you know, there's, they're always experimenting with new, different things. So I think that's really awesome. And then I want to talk more about from the app where your journey has kind of evolved into. I mentioned, you know, I'll be meeting you at a- an event soon here, so obviously you've expanded well beyond just an app. Yeah, so we, uh, when we launched the app and, and we played around with, uh, kind of, kind of early pilot programming of it, we went to all the trade shows. Um, and I'll give a huge shout-out to the American Distilling Institute. They were my first trade show that I ever went to. Um, and I made all the mistakes, uh, that any new entrepreneur makes, but I did it in a good way. And even though they were mistakes, I met some fantastic people. Uh, so I still give a shout-out to ADI, because they're like family, and they have, uh, they've kind of embraced us along the way in, in the journey. But, uh, so I went to ADI, um, went to their conference, and I was just amazed, blown away by all the people in, in the alcohol industry. There were things there from glass bottles to different label makers to the different stills to the barrels to, like, all these cool technology pieces and all over the place. And, uh, I got to meet all these different people. I got to connect with them. And they even had a veterans group. And so I went to the veterans group. I was like, "I don't know what this is about, but sure, I'll go." Um, and it was really a room full of people that were distillers or product makers in the adult beverage world that, um, that had served, or their companies were built around, uh, somebody who had served. And so we're all talking And, uh, and one thing became very apparent. We all wanted to help each other, we all wanted to do something, but there was just really no way to make it formalized and happen because- Mm ... everybody was running their own business. Everybody was doing their own thing, and nobody has time to run a second business when you're still trying to make money off your first one. Right. So, um, I left that thinking, "How can we do it better?" And it took about a year after that first one before we kinda put some things into motion, talking with some people. And then last year, uh, after my second ADI and, and talking with some more people, we decided to launch CRAFT. It stands for the Coalition to Represent American Flavor and Tradition. Um, and that is all about bringing together those veterans in adult beverage to put them behind kind of a banner and do something that we wanna attack together. And we've got two major kind of charter problems, if you will, that we're focusing on. The first thing is we... I want a shelf. I, me, CRAFT, everybody, wants a shelf in every PX, NEX, Coast Guard exchange, military exchange, whatever you call them, Class VI. It depends on your service, you call them something different, but every exchange should have a veteran-owned brand shelf. Um, they don't. Mm. And they- Amen to that ... there's no way. There is, there... Sometimes you will find veteran-owned brands on the shelves, but there's no branding to say- Mm ... "This is, you know, one of ours. This is- Right ... you know, one of, one of us that, that did this and built this business, and look, their product's right here." Um, they don't do that. Specifically, uh, is Cut Out. They will put Jack Daniels on big display, which, no offense to Jack Daniels, I think they're great. I think they've got a great company, a lot of support with the veterans, but at the end of the day, they're not made by us. Um, and, and I say that, uh, you know, emphatically because if I was to take the Jack Daniels display out of every Class VI in, uh, in America, and every military installation, it wouldn't do anything to their bottom line. It really wouldn't hurt them at all. But if you were to give me one equivalent-sized space shelf in every one of those same stores- Mm and let me fill it with veteran-owned brands, that would do something amazing to those brands. Um, so- Yeah ... it's huge. So that's our first charter. Uh, the second thing that we wanna do is we wanna promote their sales and promote their connections in all of the veteran-affiliated organizations a- across the country. There are way too many groups out there that are built around the idea of, "We're here to support veterans," but then when it comes to this category, adult beverage, they'll hire something else. They'll support something else. So we want veteran-owned brands in those, and that's kind of what led us to the event we're going to in September, that we'll see you there. Now, have you looked at, you know, just as a entrepreneur myself, I'm thinking have you been meeting with local American Legions to push for them to have your stuff at their locations as well? 'Cause that would be a great fit as well. Yeah. So, um, I actually just had a meeting this past week with the American Legion headquarters in DC. Um, we were talking about that very same issue. We're, we're starting at the top. We're gonna meet with, uh, their lead execs and, and talk to them and have them introduce us to the different markets. Uh, initially the conversation goes simply like this. They leave purchasing and buying from the brands to the individual locations, which they buy from their distributor relationships, and their distributor relationships push the products that the people buy most. It's really a knowledge gap, not a capabilities gap. Um, so- Yeah ... the American Legion is not saying, "We won't promote, uh, veteran-owned brands." Matter of fact, they would. What they're more saying is if Craft is willing to take on an education piece to educate the customers about the brands, that will draw interest from the bottom up, and then of course they'll stock them. Uh, so we're, we're working on that and how that could look. Um, and maybe it's small little tasting events at the Legions or at the VFWs- Right ... or those things to promote. Um, and, and we wanna do that. We wanna be partnered with that and help brand those in a way that maybe the end client, end customer is looking for, is searching for those veteran-owned brands. Hmm. Yeah. So I encourage anyone listening, if you run a charitable organization that is focused on helping veterans and you're gonna be having, you know, adult beverages at that event, uh, why don't you prioritize having a veteran-owned, you know, brand there as well to be, uh, you know, helping even more veterans along the way? And I think, like you said, there's so many big label, big names that are everywhere. Uh, let's make room for some of the veteran-owned, uh, businesses and brands, especially among the veteran and military space, you know? So I, I think that's great that you're doing that. And I'd love for you to tell us more because, you know, this episode is dropping hot, you know. Tell us about- Yeah, no ... the event coming up, you know. I'm excited for that, and I believe it will be one of many to come. Yes. So, uh, I'll add to what you were asking about there first. So little-known fact is almost every, uh, industry event, whether you're an airline industry or a defense contractor industry or whatever, every one of those has a social happy hour. Every one of them- Yeah ... has some sort of business networking event capped to their, their space. Um, what we... The, the ask is to those big corporations and those big companies, whether it's your holiday party or whether it's your whatever, if you're an organization that works for the Department of War or the Department of Defense or, or any of these big government contractors are doing this, uh, replace your holiday party beverages with adult beverages from a veteran-owned vendor. And if you're not sure how to do it, Craft will help you do that. Um, that leads me to the next piece you asked about, which is how we got to where we're going and the event we're doing. Uh, I had this same conversation with the, with a couple founders of different large event venues. And one that we're showing up at in Tampa is gonna be Military Influencer Conference. And the, the ownership team, founders team of Military Influencers Conference, uh, understood exactly what we were talking about doing and what we were building, and they were all too interested to make sure that we provided a happy hour style setup tasting experience for, you know, people of their community connecting with veteran-owned brands. So we're bringing 20-plus veteran-owned entrepreneurs that have created- Beverage brands all the way from sodas, sports beverages, non-alcoholic alternative beverages up through, uh, full-blown spirits into a room in Tampa, uh, next month in September, and they're gonna provide samplings and storytelling and just connections. Um, and the point being is that they want the community of that event to just come and hang out. Uh, come and talk to them, ask questions. Uh, this is a great opportunity if you've ever thought about getting into the adult beverage industry, talk to some people that have actually done it. If you're looking to work in the adult beverage industry, these are some people to connect with, and they can help you find places. Or if you just love a great new product, a new drink, or connecting with veterans, also a great thing to connect with. If you imagine that there are whiskey tasting events all over the country, they happen everywhere, um, and they're the big names. Like you mentioned, they're the Buffalo Traces, the MacAllans, the Diageos, and all those. They host these large, extravagant whiskey tasting events and charge hundreds of dollars for tickets, um, and that go back into corporate budgets. This is a tasting event where every dollar you spend, every ticket you buy, goes back to creating the next opportunity for these veteran-owned brands. Uh, our nonprofit that has put this together, uh, i- it has... It's all volunteer, so it's zero overhead at this point. We are spending all of the money to make sure that we do the next event and the next event and the next event. Um, it is about making sure that these guys absolutely shine, um, and, and shine in a way that creates real business opportunity for them. So, uh, just to recap the date, it is 24 September. It's at Tampa Marriott Water Street. It's called Frontline Tastings. Uh, you can find it all over the socials. You can find it on Eventbrite. Uh, it's, it's all over the place. You can find it on Military Influencer Conference's website. Uh, grab a ticket, join us in Tampa. It's gonna be a fantastic event. Right, and this is one of the things that I appreciate about Military Creator Con, where I, I spoke at that event earlier this year with James and Maura who founded that. Great event, and our, you know, party was with Warrior Dog Spirit, which is a veteran-owned brand of, you know, alcohol, and I got to try that. And, you know, their story is very impactful. And so, you know, this year I know they're partnering up with you and other things, and it's, it's still in the works, so I'm not gonna say too much. But the, the focus of them has been to highlight veteran-owned brands, to really put forward military creators. So Military Creator Con is a great example of, you know, a group doing that. And I encourage everyone to join us. You know, you and I will both be there, and I have a discount code in the description below if you wanna get discounted tickets. So it's, it's a great event, and I'm excited to see what you and, uh, James and Maura come up with for, you know, whether it's tastings, a social party, or whatever it may be. Uh, super excited for that. So, so I will add to that. So not too much, but just to say it, James and Maura are fantastic. Um, love you both. Yeah. So if you're watching, I love you both. Um, what I will tell them is that, uh, they are joining us to make sure that we are doing some podcast episodes with some of these brands down there along with you, uh, to showcase some of these brands, give them some additional exposure. Um, and then we are going to join them in the Fort Worth Stockyards in May of 2027 to bring veteran-owned brands to Military Creator Con. Um, that's another partnership that we cherish dearly and, and really can't wait to do something s- truly amazing down there. And I think that's gonna be multi-day. Uh, we're still trying to figure out the logistics of how, you know, we would do each piece, but I think it's gonna be multi-day. Um, something that's gonna be really connected, you know, Stockwar- uh, Stockyards, Military Creator Con, Texas, big, bold brands, flavors, all that stuff. Um, and then there are some other things that, uh... You know James and Maura. There's always something working, and we're always- Yeah ... putting together. We're even talking about something potentially as early as October. So great things are coming. That's a fantastic, uh, group and organization. If you're not following Military Creator Con on all the socials, and even on their own social platform, um, you need to connect with them and follow. And we will be sharing all of the things that we're doing with Craft alongside of them Oh, yeah. So it's, it's a big exciting year for us. And with all this being said, I'd love for you to just give some encouragement to maybe veterans who, you know, they're just getting out, they're thinking of starting a business, whether it's in the adult beverage industry or maybe something else. Uh, maybe they're feeling overwhelmed, maybe they're gonna make all the mistakes that, you know, you and I made as veteran entrepreneurs who, you know, just kinda got thrown into it. What, what advice would you give them, and encouragement? Yeah. So the encouragement piece is keep going. Um, you've been through this before. The hard parts are, are gonna be there. It's just, it's just part of the job, right? Um, one of the cool things about military service is all of the training that you went through, that tough skin that you had to put on, all of that, you're gonna need it. You're gonna use it. It's gonna be part of what helps you become a better entrepreneur. It's why veterans do so well in this. Your capabilities as a multitasker, your capabilities as a, a problem solver, all of those are gonna come into play as an entrepreneur. Um, you will make mistakes. Mistakes will not stop. They will always happen. You'll make 'em five years in, you'll make 'em 10 years in, you'll make 'em on day one. Um, the beauty of it is, is you already know how to solve 'em. You take a breath, you take a step back, and you choose the next course of action, and you move forward. And then you do it again, and do it again, and do it again. Um, and if you need a community of people to help push you through those hard times, uh, obviously we've talked about a few here. Um, my contact information, I tell people all the time, it's on every email I send, it's on all my socials. You can reach me anytime. If you're stuck and you don't know what to do, just call me. I may not even know your industry. I mean, I may know somebody. Um, use your network. Uh, all the people that you knew in service, out of service, connect with them. And then the last thing I'll tell you is whatever industry you want to get into, don't treat people that work in that industry as your competition, treat them as your mentors. Approach them as your mentors. Uh, ask them for mentorship, ask them for advice, and just reach out. You'd be surprised how many people will take time out of their day to sit down and just talk with you, um, because you are asking a question. Uh, I've had CEOs of big corporations do that with me on multiple occasions when I was like, "Hey, I wanna know how to do X. You do it. I wanna know how to do it." Um, so just use the skills you've already learned. Wow, I love that. You know, I think a lot of people, especially veterans in particular, get this, you know, lone wolf mentality, "I wanna do it on my own. I wanna forge my path. I wanna..." You know, a lot of people get into podcasting, they see every other podcast in the same genre as competition. Same with, uh, most industries. And like you said, it is about community and collaboration, and most successful people, uh, will tell you, "Hey, this is what I did," or, "This is how you can do it," or give you advice. A lot more people are willing to help than we think. You know, we, we pedestalize people. We put them on these pedestals as, "Hey, because they're the CEO of this company, you know, I'm, I'm below talking to them." Uh, but we're all just people trying to make our businesses, trying to run our businesses, and trying to make an impact and serve. And like you said, it goes back to, uh, leaving things better and, and, you know, more easy for the people b- behind us, you know? And e- all the mistakes I made as a, you know, veteran starting a business and, and a podcast and everything, everyone I meet who's trying to start a podcast, I tell them, "Hey, you know, do this, this and that." And sometimes they- their podcast launch is way better than mine, and there's a you know, there's a little jealousy, but I know that, um, that's what I would've loved to have had, you know? It's about what can we do better. And so I, I thank you for everything that you're doing helping all these companies. So Mr. Waskiewicz, thank you for your time today sharing. You and I will be making some in-person content soon and- Yeah ... talking about a bunch of big ideas for sure. There's a lot of stuff going on in, in my life and your life that we can collaborate on, different contacts. So super excited for this. It's just the very beginning. Yeah, I appreciate it. So thanks so much for the conversation and, uh, yeah, I'll see you in September.</p>
