The Meat Mafia Podcast

Part 2 Chase
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Speaker: [00:00:00] What's, um, what do you think about in terms of.

You know the next steps in terms of distribution for you guys like obviously twitter has been a sweet spot But are there any other places where you're looking at for growth with the business?

Speaker 2: Um, yeah, I mean, we're, we're trying to build up like our Instagram. We're trying to event. We don't, I don't think we have a Facebook, but we haven't even tried to mess with that.

But, um, yeah, definitely down the road. We like to do like some Google ads and, um, pretty much like when you search for wool pillow right now, it's, um, it's a few companies that really like dominate the space and we're, we're making our way up. Um, and it's kind of cool. Like we're like, I mean, I encourage, I, I'm happy that those companies exist, like, even though they're our competition, like, there's so much room for, um, competition, but, uh, companies that have been around for like 40 years, like, we're ranking better than them, um, which is pretty cool.

And then, um But [00:01:00] yeah, there's just a few companies that kind of dominate the whole space. And I think we have, I think we provide a lot more than them. Um, I think we're way more transparent than them. We're not like shipping stuff off to Eastern Europe, um, to do things. And yeah, I mean, we'd like to, I'm not really a professional business person or anything.

So, um, so I'm just learning as we go, but, um, definitely getting a lot of tips from, uh, uh, or Z, um, Chris or Z on, on Twitter, or Z. I

Speaker: do feel like being able to tap into Twitter in such a meaningful way can really be a cheat code. Like not trying to do everything, but really just picking one or two things that work really well.

And Twitter is just such a great space where, you know, if you just focus on that, you can really nurture an incredibly captivated audience. Um, and I imagine too, with your product, you guys probably get tons of customers just referring people like, [00:02:00] How we came across you guys through Ryan, it's just word of mouth.

Like you guys are just doing things the right way and it gets people excited.

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. I think people like to talk about sleep, uh, you know, right up there with the weather. And so, um, I think a pillow is really nice product. Cause you can, you can talk, you know, you can impress somebody that, you know, uh, all the chemicals that are in their pillow and you can tell them that you've got some, you know, regenerative raised, uh, wool pillow made handmade by a little family.

Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, I love that. And Instagram is, is, it's very, it's very interesting to me how brands are like, the natural tendency is to focus on Instagram and TikTok and YouTube first, which I makes, it makes sense because the sheer number of users, I think there's four times the amount of users on Instagram than they're on, than there are on Twitter.

But Instagram is kind of like this peacocking competition where I think the cool thing about Twitter is like you mentioned, Chase, it's really the quality of your [00:03:00] thoughts that allow your account to be shared and followed and retweeted by people. So I think as a passionate founder, I don't think there is a better tool than Twitter to launch a business just because if you're constantly putting out free information and quality information, people are going to trust you over time.

And then once they realize, Oh, this guy has a, you know, super high quality wool pillow. Of course I'm going to buy from Chase because he's added so much value to my life and he really knows his shit, um, from an ingredient standpoint. So that's something that we've noticed. We kind of stumbled into Twitter organically two years ago, and it's been like the foundation of the businesses that we're currently running now.

And I think it's a, it's a huge cheat code for founders and it's, and it's very low stakes and it'll take you some time to figure it out, but. If I was a founder, that was, that's one of the first things that I would do is create a Twitter account and just start adding value and don't overcomplicate it.

Speaker 2: Yeah. It's an awesome platform.

Speaker: Yeah. Chase. Was there anything about [00:04:00] your background previously that you found to be incredibly helpful as you've launched the wall shower?

Speaker 2: I was, uh, I worked in construction, um, for a lot of my life, like probably like 10 years off and on. Um, and so I've got like a knack for building stuff.

Um, that, uh, that's kind of also what opened my eyes to like the, the world of, uh, synthetic materials and like gross stuff. Um, cause I kept getting sinus headaches. From like, you know, ripping down a sheet of plywood or whatever. There's just so much glues and formaldehyde and stuff in that, uh, wood products.

So that's partly like what opened my eyes to like synthetic materials, but also like construction, um, you know, being able to like see something and envision it, um, the people that taught us how to make pillows, um, they did teach us how to make pillows, but we've. We've, we've changed it, um, quite a bit to like our own style, like what we found works the best.

And, um, [00:05:00] yeah, uh, but besides that, yeah, it's, I've kind of jumped all over the place, um, with my life with different, trying to find different things and, I never thought I'd be a business owner. Um, I come from a long line of like entrepreneurs, um, with businesses, but I never thought that was like my, my path.

But, um, having children has a way of kind of pushing you in a direction. And you're like, I need to build something for them, like, so that they can inherit something or at least have the option of inheriting something. And so we just, we think, we think the Wolshire can be. a kind of heritage brand like can be something like we don't want to just like make pillows and sell them and like Fly by night kind of thing like we want to build something.

That's that's lasting that That will last the ages, you know, so [00:06:00]

Speaker 3: yeah, your your story is incredibly inspiring because it's such um A common feeling to think oh if i'm gonna launch a business. I need to do it when i'm single And when I'm really young, because once I get married and have kids, there's just this relationship between risk to reward that just changes.

And I think your story is amazing because you actually kind of like debunk those misconceptions that like, no, not only can you do it, having a family will actually really push you in the right direction because you're thinking about legacy and this heritage brand and something that you can pass on for your kids.

And I couldn't think of anything more admirable than that. Being able to be a dad and provide for your family, but also give them this amazing business that you've built from scratch. So, um, I'm sure that's something you've probably thought about, right? Cause even when Harry and I started the Meet Mafia, our thought process was, all right, this is like the perfect time to launch it because we're single.

We don't have kids. We don't have that much risk and that much overhead. But then you come across a guy like you where it's like, no, dude, you're never too, it's, you're never too late to get started and you can build something amazing. [00:07:00]

Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, exactly. And. Yeah, it's some people are a little bit slower to launch and I think it's smart to do things when you're single and you have the freedom I think that's like I if I were to do it again, I would, I would of course choose that path.

But, um, but yeah, I mean, it's when you're working construction and you're like out and you're just sweating, sweating, you're sweating a lot. Then, uh, And you thinking like, Oh, my family's back home waiting for me, you know, and you're just like slaving away for somebody else to make a lot of money. You think like I can do something like I can, I can take my life into my own hands and do something for my family.

And so, yeah, sometimes I think it takes people having children and, um, and for me, for sure, it did

Speaker: think a lot about the concept of sacrifice. And I feel like the stakes are certainly [00:08:00] raised as we were alluding to it, just having kids, but. The idea of being able to take some of these probably more challenging early, early years and make those sacrifices now.

Um, you know, I think a lot of people can pull on that and gain hope from it because there is a path forward. There is a path out of these, um, jobs that maybe aren't fulfilling that, you know, if you are willing to take the risk or partake some of these chances. You can build the future, you know, maybe it does come with some bumps and bruises along the way.

I'm sure you can speak to that, but like the idea of having something in 10 years that your family can pull from and, and really create, um, a lasting legacy with the brand itself, but also provide for your family to me is like, Irreplaceable. I don't, I really, I just think it's, it's such a convicting, [00:09:00] uh, pursuit and what it teaches your kids too.

Like I think about that often, like the character it takes to, you know, go out and pursue something for yourself and your kids are going to be able to pull from that in itself. So I'm curious with these first few years, you know, what, what have been some of the biggest learning moments for you as you've gotten this thing off the ground?

Speaker 2: Yeah. You know, um, I'm still struggling with it now, but, uh, definitely is, um, just, I don't want to say laziness, but, um, just like pushing things off, you know, um, you know, social media is great. Like it helps us a lot. It's also like really easy to get sucked in and, um, be reading all this stuff. It's like, at the end of the day, I don't know how much it helped me, you know?

Um, it kind of sucks cause it's like, With the business like yeah, you can find some stuff that you can turn into bangers like just by scrolling [00:10:00] But also it's it's a double edged sword. Like it's I hate being on social media I just got a flip. I got I got a smartphone like five years ago which sounds like a long time ago, but in the world of smartphones like it's it's been uh, I Like outlasted a lot of people and I just had a flip phone And I've lived off grid, uh, without electricity, without running water.

I've lived like very simply, very intentionally. And then to like, to be, to go into having to be on the computer a lot is, um, it's a big time waster. I mean, it's also like really beneficial. Like, like I said, we wouldn't be here without it. Um, but time management is, is something I'm still learning. Um, I'm getting a lot better at it, but, um, yeah, there's a time and a place for social media and you just can't get sucked in, especially working from home.

Like there's a million other distractions. Like I have so [00:11:00] like, you know, I have two babies upstairs and, uh, I have to like, I have to get orders off. I have to, I run everything with our business. Like I have to keep supplies in stock. I have to, you know, make sure, um, Like the customer service, every, like every aspect of running a business.

Um, all of that on top of having children, it's just, there's not a lot of like room for, um, for wasting time on the internet. And so still working through it, but it's, it's been a good lesson to learn.

Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a great lesson. And to your point, Chase, I think that social media really is a paradox where on one hand, when you're using it the right way.

It can be this tool for you to connect with thousands of new potential customers, followers, build the brand in an incredibly authentic way. And I've found this with myself too, where I'm scrolling. And I'm mindlessly scrolling. And my first thought process is like, well, I have a business that's based on social media.

So this is what I have to do. But then if I take it a deeper layer and I'm honest with myself, I'm like, well, you're not [00:12:00] doing anything productive for your business. You're literally just like mindlessly scrolling through content. And I noticed such a difference in the quality of my day when I check my phone first thing in the morning, mindlessly, or if I like, make the decision to not go on it and start my day off with like a nice prayer or a meditation and get a workout in and kind of like do those things that are going to get my mind and my spirit flowing in the right direction.

My entire day is completely different, but literally if I make that, if I mindlessly just take that 10 minutes to scroll on social media, I feel like my entire day is, uh, is, is getting thrown in a different direction and not for the better. Yeah,

Speaker 2: I get in a bad mood, too, like, well, my wife would sit, my wife would tell you, anyway, uh, So, like, I, it's just frustrating, it's just a frustrating thing to be on, like, you feel like you've killed time, like, You only want to be on there for ten minutes or something, you stay on there for an hour and a half, two hours, and you're just like, That was, like, a huge time, waste of time, and yeah, waking up, like, seeing the [00:13:00] sun, doing some prayers, working out, it's like, Yeah, it's like, you're bettering yourself.

So your time management is just much more, much better and much more efficient. Oh, go ahead. Harry.

Speaker: I was just going to ask chase, were there any other experiences in your twenties that you want to open your kids eyes to, um, or twenties or thirties, but there's just, I feel like when you become a dad, um, I think something Brett and I are both looking forward to, but you have so many things you want your kids to experience and see anything for you that stands out.

Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm obviously not gonna put my kids in public education. Um, I think it's, I think I don't, I don't judge people that do, but, um, I think it's important to like, I think it's important to be able to have like a direct communication, you know, with the education you want your children, um, to receive, whether that's like a nice private school or whether [00:14:00] that's homeschool.

Um, I had a pretty radical twenties. Like I was like hitchhiking across the country, uh, jumping trains and, um, And then I, and I lived up Ruby Ridge, um, built a cabin up there and, and just really like dove into life, uh, like really hardcore. And I, and I want, I want them to be able to experience like that level of, uh, independence, at least my boys.

Um, like I want them to be able to experience that level of independence. But also, uh, also just have a better kind of frame of mind. Like, like we're, uh, we're religious, we're Orthodox Christians. Um, and we think this is like a good kind of framework, um, to live your life. And, um, And I'm happy to like, give my children that I think it's really important to like, if you lead with that, everything else, the whole world, [00:15:00] um, is sort of put into perspective.

I was just wandering, like trying to find the truth, trying to find something out there. And I think it's kind of dangerous to do that. Um, it obviously made me who I am, so I don't regret it or anything, but, um, yeah, I, I obviously want to be able to leave our children. You know, land business, uh, maybe multiple businesses, um, and leave them the framework basically.

Speaker 3: Did you find chase that your travels and your hitchhiking experiences ultimately led you to orthodox orthodox Christianity?

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. I met, um, I was staying in this, I was still like a non denominational Christian. I was actually raised Catholic, but I was kind of dabbling in Protestant, uh, Traditions.

Um, but I stayed at this commune, Jesus people, USA in Chicago, like 500 people live in this hotel. And, um, I stayed there. I met a lot of young travelers and I met, [00:16:00] uh, this Orthodox guy, um, that sort of taught me about the Jesus prayer, which is just, um, it's a simple, repetitive prayer, just, uh, Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

And it kind of like, it felt like. It creates like, um, it's kind of like the gospel summed up, like, you know, these people crying out for Christ's mercy, um, you know, if we put ourselves in that, that perspe like, frame our, our mind like that way, to where like, everything is my responsibility, like, I have to create.

The, the life I want to live, um, that, that prayer was really helpful to me. And, uh, it, uh, it eventually, yeah, it caused me to, um, to convert to Orthodox Christianity and I've just found a lot of beauty in the services and kind of the ancient, the ancient Christian way, I

Speaker: was going to add. Brett and I, since starting the show, I've [00:17:00] gotten deeper in our faith and following Christ. And it's really been a backbone for us in terms of navigating difficult waters with business and life just in general. But. I'm curious if you ever think about what it would be like to start a business without that firm foundation.

Um, I, I do all the time and think, you know, there's so much of the fruits of our successes coming from our belief system, so I'm curious. Do you think about that, um, with what you're doing with the will share?

Speaker 2: Yeah. Faith is faith is integral to our, um, to our business. Like we, um, we pray for our customers every night.

We pray for, um, we play, pray for our suppliers. Um, we, and it's just like, We have to like put everything in a perspective of gratitude. Um, if I didn't have that, I, I don't know, um, how I would do probably [00:18:00] not. Well, um, I think, I think there's obviously people that make money that do well, um, without religion, without Christ, but I think if I, if people If I didn't have that, I, it's hard to say.

Um, but I just can't imagine, um, kind of my driving force, you know, like I really like put myself into, um, what we do and like, I don't know, and not to sound like prideful or anything. I just don't think there's like a ton of, um, businesses that like, really like pray for their customers or like, you know, uh, and that's like, I have to like, Remind myself to keep doing that.

But, um, but I think it's like really crucial to like what we are as a business.

Speaker 3: Yeah, I love that. That's actually something that we should start doing for noble as well. I really like that concept of praying for your customers. And, um, you know, it would make sense that having [00:19:00] faith in a higher power.

Would give you faith for something like an entrepreneurial pursuit too, because I think you mentioned, um, you know, maybe you never, even though you come from a family of entrepreneurs, you never dreamed that you would have your own business. Um, you never dreamed that you would have your own, um, wool mill and your own company and everything that you're doing now.

I think there's like this beautiful, you know, That comes from having faith that I think more founders need where it's very easy to, um, almost let perfection be a prison where you think that, Hey, I need to have a hundred thousand followers and want to launch this business, or I need a million dollars in capital or need to have this specific skillset.

And I think one of the things that we've learned is that if you have faith in God and you have this like intangible ability to just roll up your sleeves and trust the fact that you can figure things out. You know, over, over a long enough time horizon, God will, you know, have the universe kind of like work in your favor and really good things will happen.

Yeah, a hundred percent agree with that. How do you, um, how do you balance, are you one of those [00:20:00] entrepreneurs that do you like appreciate the wins in the moment? Or are you someone that's always pushing for the next thing? Because I find that you're, you're kind of wired one way or another, and certain people can blend that skillset together, but I'm curious, like what your natural wiring is as a founder.

Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm always looking. I'm always looking for like the next, the next thing. Uh, it's hard to be in the moment. And, um, especially like, like now, like I, I'm like the main laborer for the Walshhire. We have some, we have some help as well. Um, local help here, but, um, I'm still the main laborer by like a long shot, like 90%.

And, uh, I have so many things in my mind, like constantly. It's, it's hard to kind of appreciate the moment, but, but By the same token, like, making a tangible product, and like, hand making them, like, I, I'm forced to kind of be in the moment, I might just not appreciate it, um, but, I literally am like, hands on, um, I [00:21:00] should take advantage of, of that, and appreciate this, this, the moment.

It's like, we're gonna come to a point to where We're not in our basement anymore. Like we're building a big shop. We've got big plans and, um, and it's special. Like, this is a really special time. Like I can hear my kids laughing upstairs. I can hear my, my wife reading them books. And, uh, and there's like, that's not going to be forever, you know?

So I do appreciate this time.

Speaker: Do you ever think about. One of the things that I anchor my thinking to is the stories that Brett and I will be able to tell, um, you know, five to ten years from now, just where we were, what we were thinking about, what we were doing, and a lot of ways the podcast is a great time capsule of the journey that we've been on, but do you ever kind of think about, like, I think, I think it's a really powerful way to uh, Exists in the current moment is kind of like telling yourself, you know, the story about what this moment will feel like five and 10 years from now, even further down the [00:22:00] road.

Is there anything that you kind of do, um, you know, in terms of your thinking to get, get yourself into that mode of appreciation and really just like being more present with, you know, what you're doing.

Speaker 2: Um, yeah, I, I journal a lot and, um, I've written my, uh, my son's now too. Um, I've written him and our, our daughter who's eight months, um, letters.

Uh, I think like explaining, like, especially for like big things like their birthdays, um, like their actual birth and then their actual like birthdays. Um, I've written them letters and, uh, I'm kind of like weird, like I bought them like, uh, when they were both born, I bought them, I bought Frederick like a bottle of like nice single malt whiskey, uh, for, for his 18th birthday.

And then I bought Isla a nice bottle of wine. Um, but like I write them, I've written them letters and I want to keep doing that like as often as I can. Um, yeah. And just like telling them where we're at, like where they're [00:23:00] at and, uh, what we're feeling. Um, I think the art of kind of letter writing is, is, has gone away, but, um, we can obviously bring it back so easily.

Just, it's literally just writing things down and in a non digital digital way to make it more tangible. And also, um, I think there's just a powerful thing that comes from like pen and ink and like using your muscles to, to write things out.

Speaker 3: Yeah, that's, that's really well said. And those, those letters. To your children and those gifts.

They're like time capsules, right? Where they can literally go back to how you were feeling when they were born or how you were feeling on their first birthday, their second birthday, et cetera. And they're going to have memories pretty soon of. Dad building this thing out and they're going to remember where you were when they were little kids and then like to be able to see the quote unquote finished product of 20 years down the future is going to be so cool for them because it's almost like you're all building this company as a team and as a family and [00:24:00] I don't think you can put a price on that and I love what you said about the handwritten letters, um, we had our, we had one of our friends on, our buddy Greg, Um, on the podcast about a year ago, and he talked about this concept called etiquette alpha, where there's all this alpha to be gained by doing things that should be normalized that aren't normalized, and something like a handwritten letter, right?

I could probably recount on one hand, the amount of times that I've gotten handwritten letters over the last five years. So by you doing that, it immediately makes yourself stand out where, you know, there's like a, there's pain associated with that versus like sending a text or typing an email that takes five minutes.

That five minutes probably takes 25 minutes through through a handwritten letter. And there's also this intangible aspect of like, There's like this antenna with your thoughts. Like I feel like there's this ability to process your thoughts from writing in a way that's not possible even through speaking.

So, I feel like you're checking all those boxes by, um, by writing some handwritten letters.

Speaker: Especially [00:25:00] to your kids. Um, I, I definitely have an appreciation for it personally. Had my grandmother as someone who was a very important part of my life, but she would write me letters before I was born, through my childhood, while I was in college.

And those are things I go back to and look at and marvel at her foresight of being able to think. There would be some, some moment in time, whether it was the moment I received it or five years later, where I'd go, go back to it and be able to pull on it for inspiration or just, um, being able to be close to her, even if she, after she passed, like, I think that there's so much of that human storytelling element that we miss in today's world, um, through just like slowing down, having these like time capsules of letters.

Being able to be passed around, um, and within your family, too. I think that's it's such a rich tradition focused, um, practice that, [00:26:00] you know, your kids will be able to benefit from and learn so much about you as you were in these moments. Uh, I think it's it's really. Really awesome.

Speaker 2: That's awesome about your grandmother.

I my grandmother my great grandmother actually she She knit me all these wool blankets, and it's like man people don't do that anymore like you know I don't know my mom doesn't doesn't knit or anything, and I think it's just a lot of lost skill You know and but writing letters like anything anybody could do it

Speaker 3: Yeah, it's interesting how I think we're learning like the right things that we should be doing in the future.

It's actually like a return to these old traditions, like, especially with food and some of the things you're talking about, like, Letters and gifts and even the way that our pillows are made and our linens are made It's like what if we actually had it figured out 200 years ago? And we almost tried to play the role of god and we screwed everything up, but we can get back on track But just by returning to [00:27:00] these past traditions

Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think the internet has a way of like, I use this example a lot, but um, I, I grew up halfway in Arizona, um, in the city, and then my parents moved us up to rural North Idaho, to this town of like 2, 000 people, like a little logging town, and uh, when I was there, you know, when I, like 15 years ago, um, It was just like a loggers, like bunch of like redneck kids and, uh, and whatever.

They had their own culture. And it's like, now I go back and visit my parents and I see all the kids there. And they're all like the same as like LA kids. Like, they're all like, they all dress the same. Everybody's just acts the exact same, listens to the same music, um, and whatever. And it's kind of like the internet has, has created this, like this whole world of, um, you know, where, where everything's the same, you know?

And I think people will find that very unfulfilling. Like we have to return to tradition. We [00:28:00] have to return to like our own cultural values. And, um, and if we don't like, yeah, it's just a boring existence. Like who wants to live like everybody else and, and be the exact same as everybody.

Speaker: Yeah, totally.

Chase. I feel like. There's so much to your story that overlaps with kind of Bretton Mines values, and it's just it's so cool to hear you tell it and also, you know, just from a customer standpoint and admire of the brand being able to talk to you and learn more about what the will share is all all about, uh, is amazing.

And we're just stoked that our audience will be able to pull value from this. Um, so just incredibly appreciative of your time. Where's, uh, where's the best place for people to find you? Um, where should we send people?

Speaker 2: Yeah, you should go to Twitter. Um, or X as they some call it these days. Um, just our handle is just the Wolfshire, um, the Wolfshire.

com. [00:29:00] And, uh, that's where you'll find us. Yep. So

Speaker 3: glad we were able to make this happen. Another great example of, um, taking the opportunity to turn these Twitter connections into, into real in person friendships. And these are the people that you should be ordering from doing business with being friends with and, um, companies like you and people like you that are truly on a mission, give us a lot of faith for the future of this thing.

So we appreciate it, man. Thank you so much. Thank you guys for having me. Really appreciate it.