Building Community Trust with Chad Roy on Episode 331

Chad had a nomadic childhood with nine moves across the US by age 10. Played competitive soccer through college; choosing sports over academics. Family of machinists and farmers influenced hands-on career path.
 
He started as a mechanic, working through transmission and fabrication shops. Became premier Hemi Jeep installer during the modification craze, but was laid off unexpectedly, then built first personal off-road buggy after failing a rock crawl in his JK. Chad still drives that original buggy.
 
Zeus Off-Road was founded in 2016 after his wife insisted on staying in Minnesota for family support. Chad built his reputation purely through word-of-mouth and community trust, he now operates on the philosophy of customer education and consultation before major builds, emphasizing proper driver training and understanding vehicle capabilities. He advocates for gradual locker engagement and self-recovery knowledge in off-roading.

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

[00:00:05.320] - 

Welcome to Conversations with Big Rich. This is an interview-style podcast. Those interviewed are all involved in the off-road industry. Being involved, like all my guests are, is a lifestyle, not just a job. I talk to past, present, and future legends, as well as business owners, employees, media, and land use warriors— men and women who have found their way into this exciting and addictive lifestyle we call off-road. We share their personal history, struggles, successes, and reboots. We dive into what drives them to stay active in off-road. We all hope to shed some light on how to find a path into this world that we live and love and call off-road.

[00:00:46.600] - 

Whether you're crawling the red rocks of Moab or hauling your toys to the trail, Maxxis has the tires you can trust for performance and durability. Four wheels or two, Maxxis tires are the choice of champions because they know that whether for work or play, For fun or competition, Maxxis tires deliver. Choose Maxxis. Tread victoriously.

[00:01:13.420] - Big Rich Klein

On this week's episode of Conversations with Big Rich, I'll be talking life with a longtime four-wheel drive enthusiast and friend that turned from mechanic to shop owner. My guest is Chad Roy. Hello, Chad. It's so good to have you on the podcast.

[00:01:30.850] - Chad Roy

Yeah, thanks, Rich. Thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to this.

[00:01:34.880] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah. So let's, let's get started where I start with everyone. And where were you born and raised?

[00:01:42.930] - Chad Roy

I moved around a lot as a kid. I was born in Los Angeles and steadily moved my way east. I had a hippie mom and dad, so we moved and moved and moved and moved. My mother is originally from southwestern Minnesota, so that's kind of where we kind of moved to when I was, gosh, 10, I think. And then I've been in Minneapolis ever since. So kind of in the metro.

[00:02:15.500] - Big Rich Klein

How many places do you think you moved in those first 10 years?

[00:02:19.380] - Chad Roy

Ah, let's see. Probably close to 8.

[00:02:24.830] - Speaker 3

Wow.

[00:02:25.800] - Chad Roy

7 or 8. Yeah, uh, we were in, uh, Denver for a bit, um, Montana for a little bit, and then made it our way to, uh, Oklahoma for a bit. So we moved to a couple places in, uh, Bartlesville and Tulsa in Oklahoma, and then from there we kind of went north.

[00:02:45.350] - Big Rich Klein

Okay. And where did you spend the most time during those early first 10 years, do you think?

[00:02:52.850] - Chad Roy

Uh, uh, riding my bike and, uh, meeting kids. You know, when you're, when you're moving around a lot, it's hard to, uh, meet people. Um, so you really kind of have to put your neck out there, and it's, it's pretty frightful and all the things. But once you kind of get over that, you meet some really cool people, and you just— I was an outdoor kid, so we were playing baseball, we were playing soccer, football, all the things. So that's kind of where I met all my friends.

[00:03:21.810] - Big Rich Klein

Right.

[00:03:23.110] - Chad Roy

And so, yeah, whatever I do outside, that's where I was.

[00:03:27.150] - Big Rich Klein

So do any of those— do you still have any of those friends from that first 10 years of moving around?

[00:03:33.240] - Chad Roy

I'm almost 50. I don't have any of those friends anymore.

[00:03:36.760] - Big Rich Klein

Okay. Fair enough. I understand. I have a handful of guys that I'd say that I've been friends with from school, but I stayed in one community and—

[00:03:49.300] - Chad Roy

Oh, right.

[00:03:50.740] - Big Rich Klein

There's only two of them that were like what I would call best friends, and one just passed away. And I'm 68, so there's a lot of, there's a lot of time in there, you know. But luckily, because of what I've done over the years, especially the last 25 years, And I can say the time I spent away from home going to college, that I have friends from periods in my life that are still friends to this day, just very few from school.

[00:04:22.130] - Chad Roy

Right. When I was— when I finally got established in the metro here, I went to an inner-city school, and I still have— I still frequently see some of those friends from high school. You know, Minneapolis or Minnesota tends to be a pretty small place and the circles are pretty small. So I get to see them quite often. But right now, you know, for the last, jeez, like 20 years, I've been just hanging around my off-road friends, you know, between rock crawling and then overlanding as well. I've created a pretty good, uh, support group and, uh, friend system through that, right?

[00:05:10.040] - Big Rich Klein

I'd say I'm the same way with the racing community, competition community, and, uh, you know, doing the rallies that we've— that we, we help with and stuff like that. It's, uh, built some pretty good relationships and friendships. Um, what's amazing to me though is, is how I can travel the country. And if I break down somewhere, I can post up that I'm broken down and need help. And I got help on the way within like a half an hour. It's absolutely amazing.

[00:05:40.740] - Chad Roy

It, it's almost emotional. It's happened to me several times. We can get into that too. But when it happens to you, and you're kind of stranded, and you put out the call, and you have several people that will go way out of their way to do it, it's super, super cool. And there's not a lot of communities that would do that for someone.

[00:06:00.770] - Big Rich Klein

Right.

[00:06:01.050] - Chad Roy

So that's why I feel really fortunate to do what I do and, and be where I'm at.

[00:06:07.110] - Big Rich Klein

So in those early years, all the school years, even the high school years, what were— what was your favorite classes? What kind of— what kind of student were you?

[00:06:19.910] - Chad Roy

Awful. Well, it was funny. I was— I was building RC cars this morning and my wife was kind of going through some stuff and she found an autobiography from when I was, I think, in Oklahoma. And she read it out loud to me and it said, you know, what do you like to do? You know, anything sports, you know, soccer was my game. What don't you like to do or what don't you think you're good at? And it was every other, everything except for gym. I did not like, didn't have time for, you know, Um, you know, in hindsight, you know, I've gotten older, I wish I really, really paid attention back then. Um, but I was not good at math. I had to do a whole bunch of tutoring just to graduate high school. Um, I had no interest in like English or anything like that. I was, I was, uh, out and about and making friends once I found out that was my game, right?

[00:07:20.870] - Big Rich Klein

And did you play sports in high school as well?

[00:07:23.930] - Chad Roy

Yeah, I, uh, I was a pretty— I'm a kind of Type A competitive person.

[00:07:28.280] - Big Rich Klein

Okay.

[00:07:28.810] - Chad Roy

Um, so when I, um, when I moved to Minnesota, it was baseball and soccer. Um, and when I became about 12, 13, I had to pick one of the two to play competitively, and I chose soccer. And that, that really took me a long way. And I played, I think, up until I was about, uh 45 years old.

[00:07:50.570] - Big Rich Klein

Oh wow, okay. Yeah, club, club type events and stuff.

[00:07:55.290] - Chad Roy

Yeah, yep. Um, um, I played, um, on Division I teams as a youth, and then, um, I played varsity, you know, back when it was important to play high school soccer. Um, when I was a freshman, um, we won state. Um, so yeah, I was— that was, that was my jam for sure. Um, you know, going forward, when I was 18, I got recruited to play in Ireland, which I ended up not doing. Oh, um, due to— I would have had to quit high school in order to do it. Um, so my mom was like, uh, absolutely not. So that was kind of that. And then I played, uh, Division I stuff all the way up until I was, you know, about 40, 45.

[00:08:40.670] - Big Rich Klein

You know, those, those kind of decisions that parents make for us. Like, I had a similar situation happen with skiing, and I, I wanted to go to a high school up in the Sierras. My parents said no. My grandparents lived up there, so I could have gone to the school I wanted to, and they said no. But, and I really bummed me out for a lot of years.

[00:09:08.690] - Chad Roy

Oh, for sure.

[00:09:09.500] - Big Rich Klein

But now that I'm— instead of being 14 and I'm 68, I look back on it and realize that my life would have completely changed. There would be no part of the life that I have now. I mean, I might have found off-road. In fact, I probably would have because I had moved up to that town after college and found off-road. But still, things would have been much different. You know, who knows where the skiing might have taken me.

[00:09:42.740] - Chad Roy

Yeah, I'm going through that with my daughter right now. Like, she's, you know, testing the water with competitive sports right now. So she asked me about my history and all this and that. And she's like, are you bummed that you didn't go to Europe to play soccer? And I was like, you know, I was then. I am not now. I mean, I would have never met your mother. I would have never had you. So my lifetime turned out perfect. Just the way it should have.

[00:10:06.390] - Big Rich Klein

Right. And where did you guys meet?

[00:10:14.470] - Chad Roy

In Minneapolis, Minnesota.

[00:10:17.130] - Big Rich Klein

Okay.

[00:10:17.630] - Chad Roy

We were just out, you know, when I went out with high school friends and she went out with high school friends and we just happened to be at the same restaurant one night. And I did the cheesy one-liner, moved in. I think I did the yawn, stretch, arm around her neck thing, all the goofy stuff. And that's what worked.

[00:10:38.050] - Big Rich Klein

Wow, that's awesome.

[00:10:40.380] - Chad Roy

Yeah, yeah, talk about not having any game and it worked. That was me.

[00:10:47.850] - Big Rich Klein

Well, you had some game, you just didn't know it.

[00:10:52.190] - Chad Roy

It was the opposite, probably.

[00:10:56.050] - Big Rich Klein

She felt pity for you.

[00:10:57.510] - Chad Roy

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I'll take whatever I can get, I suppose, right?

[00:11:01.140] - Big Rich Klein

Absolutely, because you got a good one, that's for sure.

[00:11:04.020] - Chad Roy

Yeah, yeah, yep. I wouldn't change a thing.

[00:11:07.260] - Big Rich Klein

So then you go through high school, you, you didn't, didn't really like school except for sports. Um, how did you, or what happened during or after high school to work your way into where you're at now? What was like your first job?

[00:11:27.550] - Chad Roy

Oh, so, um Well, first of all, if I went back to high school, I would— I remember vividly I was in a, uh, I had to take art, and I, I put my— I didn't really care at first. My teacher kind of, kind of sparked a little interest in a project that I was doing with a drawing, and I put my kind of heart and soul in this, and I was super proud of it. And the reaction of her face when I turned it in, of like I just spilled paint all over a piece of paper, like She's like, "This is not your game, Chad." It was just kind of heartbreaking. And I just, you know, I didn't know what to do after I graduated. I didn't know what to do after college. And my family are like half machinists, half farmers. So I was like, well, you know, if I ever need help, I want to get into something hands-on. I know I can get my associate's degree if I go to auto technology. So that's, that's what I did. Um, and I didn't like that either because that was like, I felt like it was 13th grade because I had to be there at like 7:30 in the morning and then you leave at 3:30.

[00:12:38.410] - Chad Roy

And I was like, this is 13th grade and I don't like it at all. Um, I have other interests. Um, so, and then I was working at night as well, so I wasn't getting home until like 1 in the morning. Um, so I, yeah, I just didn't, didn't like it. So then I got a job I was already working at like a tire store as their alignment tech. And so I just like, well, I will work for an engine shop, you know, that seems to be good. I'll kind of figure all that stuff out. And then I worked my way up to like disassembler to assembler. And then, you know, right around like 9/11, I was working at a transmission shop trying to learn as much as I could. Around transmissions, installing them, building them. And then I went to a, like, a Mineki, and I, you know, I was just like learning, you know, you know, welding and fat, like, exhaust fabrication, just very minor stuff. But then I kind of got me into the groove of managing a store. So then I actually managed that store for a couple years. And then I was, and I didn't like that anymore, so I got kind of tired of it.

[00:13:53.450] - Chad Roy

And then I went to, um, a buddy hired me on as a full-service technician, so I did that for a couple years. Um, and then if I back up a little bit, when I was managing that Meineke, we had a Matco tool guy who, uh, we connected with, um, because I was racing motorcycles at the time and he was a big motorcycle enthusiast. So we kind of just kind of hit it off and we became friends. Well, when I went to this full automotive place and I was working there, um, you know, he had quit the Matco job and was working at an off-road shop in Burnsville, Minnesota. And I was talking to him, we were kind of hitting off, we were both happy what we were doing, and one day he offered me a job. And so then I I was like, well, it'll pay me more. I'm actually interested in this, you know, because I owned a couple Jeeps up to this point. I'm like, I'm actually really interested in this. Um, and they hired me, and I started, you know, right away started do, uh, putting Hemi motors in when that craze first started.

[00:15:01.610] - Big Rich Klein

Okay.

[00:15:02.700] - Chad Roy

Um, and I was like, you know, really learning how to weld you know, so it looked pretty, it was functional, like all the things. And I was going in and I just met my wife about the same time too. But I was going in at like 3 in the morning and just building things, you know, that were my own and practicing until like my shift started at 8 in the morning. And then I worked my full shift till about 5 and then I would work for another 3 or 4 hours just learning. I did that for probably 3 years. 3 or 4 years just learning the craft of fabrication and, you know, just kind of thinking outside the box and building really cool things. And then at that same time, you know, the really— the Hemi Jeep craze really took off, and we were kind of premier place for it at the time, you know. So I was traveling the world installing HEMIs in Jeeps. And then I was traveling the United States doing the same thing. And then I was hitting the shows as well. And it was just a really cool thing. But that store closed and I got laid off.

[00:16:21.510] - Chad Roy

And I was sitting around a campfire in the Black Hills, South Dakota. I got laid off around the campfire. I got by text message.

[00:16:29.470] - Speaker 3

Wow.

[00:16:30.980] - Chad Roy

Yeah, I was pretty heartbroken. Um, you know, and we were, you know, just had our daughter, and I was just like, are you kidding me? And I got like 3 job offers, uh, just sitting around the fire. And I was like, this is so cool. Like, I've learned my thing, I've got confidence, you know, people are noticing. Um, and I went home. Uh, so the next day a tornado went through Minneapolis. And so my wife and daughter were home alone, the power was out. I get a call saying, you know, get home now. And I was like, are you kidding me? Like, by the time I get to Sioux Falls, the power is going to be back on. Like, she's like, get home now. And I was like, yes, ma'am. Like, jumped in it, loaded up the truck, jumped, got home. And, uh, I told her about the situation, uh, how I was laid off and all these job offers and And she's like, nope, we're staying here. And I was like, are you kidding me? Like, this is everything I've ever wanted, you know? And she's like, well, we decided if we're gonna have a child, we're staying here.

[00:17:36.990] - Chad Roy

You know, we— our support system's here, your mom's here, my parents are here. Like, that's where we're gonna stay. And I was like, well, that kind of makes sense. So we stayed here and I tried to open a I got hired on by a buddy at his, like, a car audio auto start business. So then I tried to start his off-road program, which we kind of did. And I just didn't like the way it was going. I didn't like, you know, the product that we were producing. I wasn't making any money. So I ended up working for a dealership here in the South Metro. And I was kind of their accessories guy. I was putting in lifts, axles. I was making a ton of money. It was great. And I just didn't like the boys club of what a dealership offers. Like, you know, you just have to kiss a lot of ass to do anything. And so my wife and I sat down and I was like, I can't do this. I don't like it. I'm not learning. I'm not progressing. I'm just sitting here and I'm not, I'm kind of a loner when it comes to stuff like that.

[00:18:48.410] - Chad Roy

And so I'm not gonna kiss ass. And she's like, well, let's start our own business. Let's do what you were doing, but let's just do it our way. And then, you know, in 2016 is when we kind of pulled the trigger, wrote the business plan, got a really small loan from the bank and started Zeus Off-Road.

[00:19:11.050] - Big Rich Klein

And then shortly after that is when I met you.

[00:19:14.030] - Chad Roy

Correct. Yep. And yeah, we were— and so 2016, we were just kind of getting the loan and all that. And then I, I can't remember when we met.

[00:19:28.290] - Big Rich Klein

We did a— we came, we did a tour when we bought— when we had the magazine, and it was in the wintertime and we drove up. And I think that was the year that I met you.

[00:19:40.650] - Chad Roy

Yes. Yep.

[00:19:41.920] - Big Rich Klein

And so it was, it was shortly thereafter. I mean, you guys were over there by Iron Rock, correct?

[00:19:48.430] - Chad Roy

Yep. In fact, they rented me the space. Yep. But it was, but it was super scary. Um, anybody that opens anything as a business or whatever, it's just super scary. Like, you don't know. I never had a business class in my life. I I had no idea what I was doing. And I just knew that, just like any other entrepreneur, like, I just thought I could do it better than everybody else. And that was my north star. So 2016, I got invited to co-drive the Ultimate Adventure.

[00:20:25.790] - Big Rich Klein

Okay.

[00:20:27.490] - Chad Roy

For Peterson's 4x4. And the Jeep that we took, I didn't know before we had left that there was some mechanical issues with it. And I probably should have asked more questions, but I was just pretty excited and the driver didn't tell me any of this stuff. He was just more concerned on putting bigger tires on it than anything else. And we got there and we, I can't remember where we parked the trailer, but we ended up in Ridgecrest, California. And I needed to do a transmission filter 'cause it was, the tranny was getting hot. And we called someone, so this is sort of the off-road community. So we called someone back here in Minnesota and that guy got us in touch with, uh, Bender and Ridgecrest somehow. I have no idea how. Um, and so we showed up and he's like, yeah, come to our shop. And so we show up at the door, he's not there. We give him a call, he's like, oh, we're at the auto body shop right around the corner, and they're doing drift trikes. And I'm just like, I'm in heaven right now. Like, this is the most— one guy's like, you know, drifting his trike and the motor falls off and it's dragging behind the trike.

[00:21:50.860] - Chad Roy

And, um, it was just the coolest thing. And then We get to his shop and he's like, "Whatever tools you need." And this is all like race stuff, right? And I, being from Minnesota, we don't get into like rock racing much or kind of any kind of racing, off-road racing anyways. So yeah, so anyways, he like borrowed me all his tools, him and his buddy John, they borrowed us everything, helped. It was just incredible. And then after we got done doing that, Then the two of them sat me down. We were sitting on stools having a beer, and they're like generally like talking about what, you know, what I was doing, what I was all about. And I was telling them I was going to start this business, um, and they, you know, gave me all this advice. And it was just— it was heartwarming, you know, like it was just someone was, um, they cared and they gave me knowledge. And even to this day, I call them sometimes just, or text them or message them or whatever, and they give me all their advice, and it's just super cool. So, so now, like, when I operate Zeus Off-Road, I always think of that moment.

[00:23:03.910] - Chad Roy

And so if someone's in need or whatever, my payback is always to say yes.

[00:23:09.540] - Big Rich Klein

Nice, nice. Yeah, Bender and Flash are great guys.

[00:23:14.350] - Chad Roy

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, salt of the earth for sure. Yep. And then, and then even, you know, like was your competitor, but John Herrick, you know, we parked our trailer at his house. And then when we broke down, finally, he actually came and picked us up in a truck and drove us all the way back. I mean, just so it was just like this off-road community really came together to help us out, you know, two guys from Minnesota who don't really know anybody. It was just, it was super cool.

[00:23:46.780] - Big Rich Klein

So what was your first off-road vehicle?

[00:23:51.470] - Chad Roy

It was a— oh God, I can't remember what year it was. It was a YJ, and I thought it was super cool because I put 33-inch tires on it, which were, you know, huge back in the day. And I couldn't even— at the time, I didn't know how to do a lift properly, um, you know, Skyjacker leaf springs and you know, and man, that thing rode rough. It was, you know, and here in Minnesota, we didn't have, you know, the off, like the premier off-road park that we have now. So it was just kind of like hill climbs and stuff like that. And it was cool 'cause I could take the top off and, you know, run some mud. But it wasn't really kind of my jam, you know. So I ended up selling that to a guy who, um, it rode so rough that the, you know, it kind of started hurting my lower back. And the guy who bought it for me is like, oh, I'm moving to Texas, I'm driving there tomorrow. And I was like, well, good luck.

[00:24:56.000] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah.

[00:24:56.170] - Chad Roy

And, uh, but that was my first one. And then I didn't— and then I ended up buying another YJ when I started at the off-road shop in Burnsville. Another YJ. And that was part of my kind of like self-training, is it was so rusty that I had to cut out like every floor pan, um, you know, body panel and, and all that to kind of make it right again.

[00:25:20.180] - Big Rich Klein

And did you drop a Hemi into it?

[00:25:23.360] - Chad Roy

I did not. Uh, my, uh, I ended— so I had that YJ and then I I think I sold that and I've been kind of trading up ever since. But I think I got a TJ at one point and then I was doing work for Mopar and they— I don't even know if I— I ended up getting a two-door diesel chassis and a tub. And then that was the— that was a JK. And I, so I cut, that was the only vehicle in my life I've ever like custom painted, but that had a long arm, Hemi, Atlas roll cage, like all, it had everything. And so it was so pretty, it worked so great, and I loved every second of it. But about that time is, as soon as I got that done is when I got laid off. And I had— the biggest part about getting laid off is that when, you know, for so many years when I worked for this off-road shop, when we'd go out wheeling at our events, we would just go out wheeling with like us, this off-road shop, and friends of this off-road shop, and that's all we would off-road with.

[00:26:46.300] - Chad Roy

And so I was kind of in this little bubble. So when I got laid off, I had to like figure out, you know, like when I was a kid, I had to like meet new friends again. And it was literally the best thing that's ever happened. But I remember vividly driving this really pretty JK into this ravine. Rich, you've actually been in this, this is Big Johnson down in Frontenac.

[00:27:08.810] - Big Rich Klein

Yep.

[00:27:09.840] - Chad Roy

Just big ledges, big sharp rocks. And I couldn't climb the gatekeeper to this thing in my two-door. And so I ended up having to go out of the ravine, up a core road, and watching all these guys that I'm trying to meet and hang out with, uh, with buggies. And I was like, I'm selling this thing right now. In fact, I went— I went— I think a week later I had my Jeep sold, and I was, uh, I bought a roller chassis buggy and I started building that.

[00:27:40.630] - Big Rich Klein

And that's the one you still have today, isn't it?

[00:27:42.920] - Chad Roy

Correct, yep. It's now, it's held up for I think, what, almost 12 years now. You know, I put bigger axles in it, you know, new seats here and there, rear steer now, new shocks, but the chassis is the same, the motor is the same. I always like, you know, affectionately refer to it as my big, really big hunk of crap. There's things I want to change on it all the time, but it just, it's a little mountain goat and works. And I love every second of it. It is my toy.

[00:28:17.840] - Big Rich Klein

And you, when you started your business, you tried to build a, did you try to build a community?

[00:28:27.180] - Chad Roy

Yes. You know, I tried. I've been in the off-road community at this point in Minnesota for about 10, 12 years. So I thought I had a pretty good grasp on it. And this was kind of right when, you know, social media was a baby, you know. So when we started Zeus, you know, I went to all the events and I knew, and I didn't advertise at all, but I had a lot of friends in the off-road community and I knew that none of them would actually have work done by me. 'cause they did it all themselves. But I knew that if someone asked them to do it, they would tell that person to come to me at Zeus Off-Road. And that's actually what happened. And then the circle kept growing and growing and growing. You know, 10 years now, it's still growing. And we have a really very, very small advertising budget. So everything that we do is word of mouth. Minnesota is, you know, what's the running joke I tell myself? Who opens an off-road shop in the plains?

[00:29:34.940] - Speaker 1

Right.

[00:29:36.070] - Chad Roy

You know, like, and so the community is pretty small. So you really have to be on your game all the time to keep that circle growing. 'Cause you do one thing wrong and, you know, especially social media today, they'll tear you up.

[00:29:50.220] - Big Rich Klein

Oh yes.

[00:29:51.650] - Chad Roy

So we—

[00:29:52.610] - Big Rich Klein

Even if you don't do something wrong. Yes. If it's a perceived slight.

[00:30:00.300] - Chad Roy

Oh, yeah. It's, it's the first thing now that, you know, people think to do when they break. It's not like how to fix and self-recover. It's like grab my phone and, and tell someone about it or complain about it. Right.

[00:30:17.970] - Big Rich Klein

And, and too many people nowadays think, okay, I just upgraded. Probably because they were broken or they saw their friends had something they didn't. And then they go out, they beat on it, something breaks, and then it's, it's not because they were beating on it. It's because, well, somebody didn't do something right. And that is such bull. People have to understand in the off-road community, if you're going off-road and you're not just mall crawling, things will break.

[00:30:55.230] - Chad Roy

It is, but it's also a different— so I always try to look at things from both sides, right? Like, if I had— I come from the self-recovery world. I think that's, that's half the fun of, uh, of off-roading, um, you know, just trying to hang out with your buddies, talking shit, and if something breaks, figuring it out. And because those are the people that I want to be around.— that can do that. You know, if I don't have an answer, one of my buddies will, you know, and vice versa. But on the other flip plane of that, you know, especially as a business owner, I'm charging money to install expensive parts. And so if it's not installed correctly, then, you know, it is our problem. I have to do whatever it takes to get this thing off the trail and whatever.

[00:31:48.170] - Big Rich Klein

True.

[00:31:48.330] - Chad Roy

But also, if if they're beating on it and don't know what they're doing, you can break whatever part known to man, right? But I think what's lost in it right now is the, you know, I think when we started wheeling, you know, the big tires were 31, 33s. Entry level now is 37s. And no one is really, you know, they're buying expensive parts. Our customer base is kind of the, you know, middle to upper echelon money, right? And they're buying expensive parts. They wanna get in, which I think is great. Like they're wanting, they probably wanted to do this for a long time. And they're able to do that now. The problem is, is that they never really learned how to drive. You know, putting a tire on a rock, picking a line, going through smoothly, you know, double-footing the brake and accelerator, like all the things that we kind of take for granted now, you know, being in the sport for so long. And I see it every day when we have events and people are driving and you tell someone to two-foot it and they're like, I'm sorry, what? You know, so that's where kind of the lost step is.

[00:33:15.720] - Chad Roy

And even when you know all this stuff, things could happen and you have to be able to self-recover. So those are the two things that right now that are kind of hurting, at least I think in the Midwest, that's really all I see. But, you know, and that's why there's classes up here. We as a company, we, We tried doing classes. There's a company up here that actually takes people out on trails and shows them how to recover, maybe think outside the box a little bit. So there is things happening to make it do it, but it used to be like your parents, you know, my mom, my uncles, my friends teaching me how to do this. You know, you wanted it more from your family, but when your friends teach you, it comes with a lot of shit talk, which is also kind of fun too.

[00:34:05.140] - Big Rich Klein

Right.

[00:34:05.780] - Chad Roy

Um, um, and, you know, sometimes they're brutal, and that's where the thick skin comes in. But it's all, it's all in fun. I just, I just, you know, hope that people are kind of taking that, because wheeling's super fun, but it's also super dangerous. Um, so just figuring out like these little things that would help you and be safer and easier on your rig and probably actually wheel better.

[00:34:34.330] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah, I think that that is lost with nowadays with people buying a vehicle that's, you know, their first vehicle is already built or they go and buy a vehicle and then take it in and have somebody build it without without lockers, without, you know, they didn't learn how to drive a bone stock rig, right? Or what, you know, you would consider a bone stock rig. Um, they didn't go through the breakage and realize that, oh man, if, you know, if you got wheel spin and all of a sudden you have lots of traction, you're going to break something, right? You know, and, uh, I mean, when I learned back in the '80s, it was about, you know, there wasn't all the modifications that everybody has now. Um, the modification was going from stock axle Jeep to finding, you know, Chevy 44s, or, you know, the 44s out of a Wagoneer or something like that, and, you know, out of a pickup. Or something. It was not— it wasn't, you know, all these aftermarket '60s and fancy-built 14-bolts that are shaved and all the stuff that comes with that now. And, you know, the 300M axles and, you know, super joints and all the stuff that's out there.

[00:36:09.490] - Big Rich Klein

So I learned to drive cautiously.

[00:36:14.360] - Speaker 3

Right.

[00:36:14.870] - Big Rich Klein

Because I couldn't afford to drive any other way. So I wouldn't, you know, if, if it took a lot of wheel spin, I was finding a different way of doing it. You know, I would pull the winch cable and winch myself up before I would just hammer down.

[00:36:35.660] - Chad Roy

And it's funny because we still am that way. Yeah, well, so am I. And, you know, companies are making such good products right now, um, that, you know, we don't break a ton anymore, you know, unless it's like our own weld or doing something stupid. I mean, like, 50-degree steering is like common now, um, and when you put U-joints at that kind of angle, like, you're, you're gonna break eventually. But that— there's, there's not as much carnage as there used to be. And I think, I think customer businesses are just building such good product right now. So you're not having to, to kind of self-recover. I mean, I use my, my winch more to suck my, my bite onto the axle than, than to self-recover, which I think is just crazy. And I always think about it too, because I see the rope hanging there, but Yeah, it's just, it's a different time. And I think it's cool, but there's different things that go along with that.

[00:37:38.410] - Big Rich Klein

Right. Well, especially in the buggy world, you know, the, where I see it is like in Moab during Easter Jeep Safari or anytime in Moab. And you see guys with, you know, brand new JKs or JLs or TJs or JTs, I should say. That, you know, are tricked out, have, you know, aftermarket housings, um, you know, they're running Atlases, they're running modified motors, and I mean, the thing's a brand new vehicle, and it's, you know, so they spent $50,000-$60,000 on the vehicle and then drop another $50,000-$60,000 minimum into it.

[00:38:21.930] - Chad Roy

Oh yeah.

[00:38:23.330] - Big Rich Klein

And they're brand new, you know, and they're, they're still trying to learn when to use a locker, when not to. I mean, I've been on trail rides where, with a, with, with some tire companies and stuff, where they've got, you know, some club members that are local spotting. And first thing you do when they drive up to the, you know, you drive up to an obstacle and they're going to spot you up it, which I never pay attention to. They, the first thing they say is, okay, put your lockers on. And I'm like, I'm here to test these tires, not to test the lockers, you know, as a magazine owner and writer at that time. So it's like, okay, I'm going to go up here with no lockers on. And then if I need to, I'll put in, you know, I'll put it into rear or front. And then if I need more, I'll put in the next axle, you know, but it's, I don't use all the tools unless I need to.

[00:39:28.090] - Chad Roy

Right.

[00:39:28.500] - Big Rich Klein

Because what I found is if you're using all the tools and then you get stuck, you're now really stuck. You know?

[00:39:39.930] - Chad Roy

Yeah.

[00:39:40.900] - Big Rich Klein

And I've always been that one, you know, that, You know, got lockers, got a winch, got the Atlas, maybe got a steering brake. Um, you know, I got dig. You know, I've never had a vehicle with rear steer, but, you know, but I've always had full-body vehicles. I've never had a buggy. And I, I use— I mean, I don't even— on most of the trails in, in Moab, I don't even use four-wheel drive. Until I absolutely have to have it.

[00:40:12.520] - Chad Roy

Right.

[00:40:13.020] - Big Rich Klein

So I'll just run, you know, one tire fire, then throw it into front wheel drive, you know, put front lock, put, you know, shift into front. So now I've got, you know, two-wheel fire, one front, one rear, and then I'll throw a locker on. Then maybe I'll throw another locker on, but rarely do I look at something and said, okay, I need everything right now. I mean, I mean, if you're on Pritchett, there's places where you need everything right now, right? That comes with experience. But some of these— so many of the new drivers have never driven that way. They were taught by whoever it was that brought them out wheeling that you got to put everything, you know, oh, you know, we're on the trail, put the lockers on, air down. You know, we're in four-wheel drive and we're going to work our way through the trail.

[00:41:04.000] - Chad Roy

Yeah. Well, it's also those groups too. There's definitely, you know, groups where, you know, you have capable people who know what they're doing. There's other groups who they all kind of came into at the same time. And, you know, they're trying. They're doing, you know, their best, but they just don't have someone to look up to for knowledge in that kind of situation. And it's unfortunate, but they're trying. And it's good for me as a business because I love teaching people. You know, half of my business is education, especially in the aftermarket accessory world. So it really, it helps me train people from the shop. It's just being there in real time to kind of like, hey, yes, try it. If you want to put it in 4-wheel drive, put it in 4-wheel drive. You know, if you need the rear, if you're not making it, put the rear locker on. If you're almost there but you're still not making it, throw the front locker on. But you know, my guy, when you do make it up there, make sure you turn the front locker off. Okay, get to the top, you know, let let that thing breathe.

[00:42:20.820] - Chad Roy

Um, you know, just little things like that, that, you know, become second knowledge, uh, you know, way of life for some people, and, and new people are just getting into it and they just don't know yet, right?

[00:42:31.840] - Big Rich Klein

It's that education is really important. And yeah, so I've met some shop owners when a customer comes in and says, okay, here's my, here's my platform, I want all this stuff done. And, you know, they start going through the catalogs or, you know, I, I'm one of those that believes that the first question that should be asked to that customer is, how are you going to— how do you plan on using this Jeep?

[00:43:01.420] - Chad Roy

Yeah.

[00:43:02.230] - Big Rich Klein

How do you, how do you do that when a customer comes in, say they got a brand new JT and they say, hey, my friend down the street has got 40s on his JT and I want to do like he's done. You know, what do I need to do?

[00:43:17.600] - Chad Roy

Well, at the end of the day, it's their vehicle, and we will, you know, we're a little bit behind the 8-ball with the, the amount of different types of vehicles that we work on at Zeus. Um, so, and then all the different trim packages, and, you know, because we work on a lot of Toyotas as well and full-size trucks. Um, And so they've— I call it, you know, whiskey research, you know, like, you know, have a glass of whiskey and web search for hours and hours. So, and I'm guilty of it too. So we're a little bit behind the research that the customer has already put in. So if they come in and they have their idea of what they want to do already, you know, we have a consultation with um, every, every person that comes into our shop to, you know, from a person who doesn't really know what they want, um, so then we have to start asking the questions. Are you going to drive this on the trail? Do you just want to look good? Um, you know, Minnesota, you know, it's the plains, and, you know, mall crawling is definitely, uh, one of the categories for off-roading here.

[00:44:30.330] - Chad Roy

So if, if they just want you know, big wheels and tires and wants it to run good on the highway, you know, that's one build. If you want to run bigger tires and you want, you know, tons of articulation, I mean, that's another build. But at the end of the day, we have these conversations and we educate, we try to educate everybody that comes in. So it's a big task, 'cause it's a big conversation. But I think at the end of the day, the customer is more educated on stuff that they're actually getting that they've already done their research on and know some of the things that probably weren't on the description. Having said that, it is their vehicle. Right. So if they want all this stuff and they're never gonna use it, that's not my decision. And so I will 100% put that stuff on for them. But at the end of the day, we've talked about it and the customer knows, and that's all. And that's all we can do. I'm not gonna be like, we are not doing that, you know, like, unless it's a, you know, a rusted out piece of crap and it's unsafe.

[00:45:48.240] - Chad Roy

We only put out safe things. So that's kind of our break. But we always want to just make sure that the customer knows all the differences and, you know, what their budget is, what their knowledge is, you know, all that. But like I said, at the end of the day, the customer makes a decision and gives us a credit card.

[00:46:08.620] - Big Rich Klein

I sat in a, in a guy's shop for hours and I watched his salesman answer phones and talk to people as they came in off the street. And the people would come in and go, yeah, I need to, uh, you know, I want to go take— start taking my, my Jeep out and I want to start wheeling it. I'm— I want to do this lift. And immediately he would jump to the absolute lowest thing price-wise.

[00:46:40.520] - Chad Roy

Yeah.

[00:46:41.170] - Big Rich Klein

And I won't bag on the company, but we probably We can both say it. And I'm— I— after the, you know, after like 4 hours of this and probably talking to 10 customers, I asked him, I said, why do you offer them a starting point of the worst out there, the, you know, the lowest, absolute lowest Temu price, you know? And he goes, well, that's our— that's what our That's what our customer base is. And I said, how do you know that?

[00:47:15.410] - Chad Roy

Right?

[00:47:15.900] - Big Rich Klein

I said, you're pre-qualifying the customer without asking them how much they're willing to spend. You know, how much you're, you know, what do you plan on using it for? You know, if they're just looking to be cool and they're going to keep it, you know, in the, in the parking lots or on the street, you know, maybe that, that very lowest end, you know, I said, why don't you offer them, you know, hey, well, there's packages that go from here to here and here's the differences between those. And it depends on how you're going to use the vehicle. And right, he was like, well, no, our customers always pick the cheap one. And I said, I haven't heard you offer them anything but the cheap one. And the salesman was really taken aback and I was like, You know, when I— now I'm reaching way back at Sears Automotive when I was a store manager and teaching new salesmen. It was like, you know, you give a price range, you talk about the benefits of the tires that are in those price ranges, and then you let the customer decide where they fall in.

[00:48:28.220] - Chad Roy

Right.

[00:48:28.850] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah. You know, do you want that high mileage, 70,000-mile Michelin? Or do you want that, you know, that's at that time $80? Or do you want the $19.99 tire that's got a 15,000-mile warranty, you know? And basically, you know, you'll be lucky to get 15,000 miles out of it or 16,000 miles out of it. And, you know, there was people that said, oh, I want the better tire, you know, I want this thing to last. But there was other people said, man, all I can afford is this. And say, okay, great, let's set you up with that. But you had to, you know, I wanted the salesman to approach it. You never know how, by how somebody is dressed, how they're acting, what they look like, where they are financially, right?

[00:49:19.190] - Chad Roy

It's not up to us to judge, correct? That I think it's, you know, if What we deal with at Zeus and most off-road shops is if that's all they do. I just talked to an owner in Michigan and we really agreed on this. You know, if you're doing, most people that have come in have done their research and they kind of know the price line anyways. But if you do your consultation and you do it the right way, you should learn all this information that you— it would, would point you in a direction and what their price point is, right? Like, if they're gonna go wheeling and, and they want to get after it, and you know that you're going to go to upper echelon everything, right? You're not going to give a spacer lift for someone who's going to go rock crawling. And I mean, it's just, you're not doing your customer any kind of favors doing that.

[00:50:21.120] - Big Rich Klein

Exactly.

[00:50:22.580] - Chad Roy

So, and we deal in fun money, whereas like a regular auto shop is dealing in sad money. Like they just dropped their transmission, their engine, their brakes, whatever. And they weren't expecting to pay hundreds of dollars to get it fixed. Well, when they come into Zeus or any kind of off-road shop or modification shop, they've been saving up. And they've been, they've been studying, and to the best of their knowledge, studying and trying to figure out what they want. And then they— and then it's our jobs as professionals, because this is what we do all day, every day. We study every kind of make and model. We've been doing it for years. I have a phenomenal staff of great sales and technicians that this is all we do. We don't, we don't fix you know, broken down cars. We build cool off-road rigs. You know, we will maintain them and all that stuff. But when we have that consultation, you know, that's when we figure out like, hey, you know, all I can— I do want to look good and this is the amount of money I have. And, you know, sometimes it's not enough and we have to be like, you're gonna have to save some more.

[00:51:37.240] - Chad Roy

Or someone comes in and is like, I really want to get after it. This is what I want to do.. And then, you know, that's, so that's all talked about. So that way when the customer picks their vehicle up from us, they're getting exactly what they wanted. And I actually have this thing, it's called the 6 Octave Build. Um, and that is, I had a gentleman who turned out to be one of my really good friends. Um, but I worked on his Jeep and it was nothing big. It was, it was a black Jeep. Turned out, you know, black wheels, tires, um, like a 2.5-inch lift. And he picked it up, and he was a bigger gentleman at the time, and he gave this 6-octave scream that I thought like there was a 13-year-old girl outside. And that's— it's like, call it the 6-octave build down. And I feel like every customer deserves that. And so that's what I'm trying to do. 'Cause I want everybody to like, when they come in, they're super interested and smiles and they're having a good time. You know, when they give us a down payment, you know, they're not hesitant at all.

[00:52:43.010] - Chad Roy

They're confident in everything that we're doing. When they drop the vehicle off, they're just super excited and they better damn well be 6 octave when they're picking the vehicle up. 'Cause that's what they deserve as a customer of Zeus. And that's what, that's what brightens our circle. And it's, it's all— you put all those things together, the perfect storm of how you do business, and it's, it's, it, it makes you feel great, you know. As a salesman, you're, you're trusting your technicians. As an owner, I'm trusting my sales and my technicians. And, um, everything comes together. And, and the customer is— and then so when we go to events and we actually see them out in the trails, um, you know, they're giving me high fives and all that. And that's the perfect circle, right?

[00:53:30.720] - Speaker 1

Right.

[00:53:31.450] - Big Rich Klein

I get it. And, and I've been one of those people that in the old days it was like, if you didn't build it and you bought it, you're not as good, you know?

[00:53:43.010] - Chad Roy

Yeah, yeah.

[00:53:44.000] - Big Rich Klein

Built is a thing, you know? Home built is better than store built. And I look at it this way. I have skills, and then there's some things that I am not skilled at, right? Like myself in off-road, I think my skill is in a business owner and as a person that understands the markets and the, and the competition scene But I'm not the fab guy, right? I can't weld to save my life, okay? Um, would I like to?

[00:54:29.750] - Speaker 1

Yes.

[00:54:31.020] - Big Rich Klein

Have I took— taken the time to learn? No.

[00:54:34.720] - Chad Roy

Right.

[00:54:35.110] - Big Rich Klein

Will I someday? Probably. But at 68, am I going to turn another career and become a fabricator? No. So when I need something done, who do I look for. I'm not looking— I mean, if it's a brake job or, you know, R&R, you know, an alternator or something like that on my rig, okay, I'm doing it. But building a bumper, putting on, you know, a four-link on a, you know, changing a leaf-sprung vehicle over to a four-link, um, you know, putting an Atlas in, you know, changing the engine or transmission from, you know, the 6-cylinder to a V8. No, I'm going to take it to somebody that has done that work in the past, that I trust their work because I've seen it.

[00:55:26.520] - Chad Roy

Yes.

[00:55:27.570] - Big Rich Klein

And I've seen it perform, and I'm, you know, I'm trusting them to deliver my dream to me, right?

[00:55:40.710] - Speaker 3

The—

[00:55:41.210] - Chad Roy

we always get, you know, comments that, you know, it's the man world, right? Like, oh, I could totally do this, I just don't have the time. Yeah, or, oh, you know, I could totally do this, I just don't have the space to do it. Oh, I could totally do this, but I don't have the tools to do it. You know, I don't honestly care, right? Like, if you can do it, I mean, there's— different variables of why you're coming to see me to do this. Um, it inherently is a safety thing. If you don't know what you're doing, then don't do it. I can't do IT stuff. I mean, you've seen me type, Rich. I like— that's not my jam, you know, like, you know, and I, you know, I just— that's not my game. I can build you a cool rig. That's my game. And so Um, I feel like, and you shouldn't have to have an excuse. Like, you, right, you, if, if you're, if you're, you know, in the Midwest here, like, I don't think there's a ton of money in buggy stuff here personally. Um, most people that, you know, in my group, you know, build their own.

[00:56:51.330] - Chad Roy

So, and, but a lot of people with Jeeps, you know, their jam is IT, medical, you know, stuff like that where they're, you know, they didn't— we weren't raised turning wrenches and understanding stuff like that. On the flip side of that is the people in my group, I definitely wouldn't want them stitching me up, you know, or, or, you know, right, writing my, uh, you know, uh, doing bank stuff for me. You know, so, but everybody should be able to enjoy this sport. And this sport to me is just about being outside and being with your friends, right? We just kind of have to bridge the gap a little bit of like what happened, because something can inherently happen. Um, failure of part, uh, failure of, uh, workmanship, uh, a medical something. Um, those are all tools that can be fixed and trained in. To do something. You know, the running joke is I think everybody that I wheel with has a medical bag in their vehicle at all times, but if you ask any one of them to open it up, including myself, I wouldn't know what to do with any of that stuff, right?

[00:58:07.660] - Chad Roy

So, it's always good in your group to have, you know, someone who can do medical, someone who can build the rigs, you know, that would probably be a pretty good storm to have in your group.

[00:58:19.020] - Big Rich Klein

Yep. And then, and then maybe a lawyer friend too.

[00:58:23.010] - Chad Roy

Don't start me on that.

[00:58:30.720] - Big Rich Klein

I've learned that, uh, that from the competitive side, putting on events for so many years, that at any point that, like, I'll have search and rescue there EMTs, that kind of stuff. And all of a sudden something happens and one of the rock crawlers is jumping in there, you know, like a first responder. And I go, so, you know, I didn't know that you were in the medical profession. No, I, you know, I learned this in Iraq.

[00:59:02.740] - Chad Roy

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:59:04.520] - Big Rich Klein

You know, they were a medic or whatever. You know, it's amazing. Or somebody will go, Oh yeah, I do this for a living. I'm a, you know, I'm a surgeon, you know. Yeah, you know, I'm— and I'm just blown away because I didn't know that about those—

[00:59:20.010] - Chad Roy

about them.

[00:59:21.370] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah, I— and that was it first. Now I try to get to know the competitors so that if there is a problem, I know who to reach out to, you know. I, I know which, which competitors we have that are lawyers. I know which ones are doctors or in the medical profession. You know, I know which ones are our mechanics. I know, you know, I luckily I've not needed a psychologist. I'm sure very— I'm sure a lot of people think I do need one. But, you know, I personally have never felt I needed one, but I'm sure we've got them out there. We got physical therapists. That's what they're for.

[01:00:01.540] - Chad Roy

Yes.

[01:00:03.130] - Big Rich Klein

Yes. So true.

[01:00:04.250] - Chad Roy

You know, We don't have, we don't have any, like I said, we don't have any racing here, um, in Minnesota really. I think the closest is, uh, Crandon, right? Um, um, you know, I've always wanted to do one at the, uh, Gilbert OHV Park, but I just never had time to, to do that. You and I have actually talked about that in the past.

[01:00:24.110] - Big Rich Klein

Yes.

[01:00:24.610] - Chad Roy

But, um, but like knowing, you know, so we, we talk to people like through the shop And so just in conversation, we kind of, you know, just out of the blue figure out what people do. So like when I go to events, I usually know what most people do by the time we get to events and, you know, kind of get out on the trails and do that kind of thing. You know, and it's just meeting people. Like if you're meeting someone for the first time, what's the first two questions usually is like, hey, what's your name? Which I usually forget. And then, um, and, and then, uh, you know, what do you do? Or what kind of rig do you have? You know, I think the running joke is usually you can't remember the person's name, but you know them by the vehicle that they drive.

[01:01:09.700] - Big Rich Klein

Yes.

[01:01:10.990] - Chad Roy

Um, so that and their profession. I mean, that's— those are two basic questions of getting to know someone, and then it all starts from there.

[01:01:19.450] - Big Rich Klein

Yep. And that's, that's important, especially as a business owner. To know your customer, especially after they've left.

[01:01:30.360] - Chad Roy

Right. Yeah, because you're going to see them again. You always want to see them on the trail and have a laugh with them and stuff like that. That's the best part of my job.

[01:01:40.140] - Big Rich Klein

Absolutely. Absolutely. If you had a second life and you said, wow, this is what I'd like to do, Do you know what that is?

[01:01:59.320] - Chad Roy

Um, I had a second life. I really like what I do. I don't know, like I said, I was never good at school and all that stuff. And, um, you know, I'm not good at office, like, you know, white-collar office stuff. I don't like any of that stuff. I like being out and hands-on, and that's kind of my jam. I think I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing.

[01:02:22.920] - Speaker 1

Perfect.

[01:02:24.050] - Big Rich Klein

That's a great answer, actually. Really is.

[01:02:26.940] - Chad Roy

And I, and I, you know, I was lucky enough to marry a woman who loves to be outdoors as well. Um, you know, she did, and she's a risk-taker. So I'm, you know, the two of us together, you know, Bonnie and Clyde. You know, she did the Rebel Rally a couple years ago, not really having any training on any of that stuff. I know that you, you helped her out a little bit, motivating her and stuff like that. So that, I mean, the two of us together, yeah, it works well. And we love being outside. She's, she's the IT person. I'm the hands-on person. So it really works well. So I don't know if I would change things.

[01:03:04.720] - Big Rich Klein

And which way is your daughter growing up to be?

[01:03:09.190] - Chad Roy

Oh, like my wife, for sure.

[01:03:12.100] - Big Rich Klein

There's nothing wrong with that. Every man needs a wife like that.

[01:03:15.790] - Chad Roy

Yeah. Oh, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Super proud of her. She's, she's doing great things. She's kind of finding her way through. She's 13 now, so she's finding her way through, through the world. And I think she's doing a pretty darn good job.

[01:03:27.830] - Big Rich Klein

Awesome. Awesome. Chad, I want to say thank you so much for coming on and being on the podcast and talking about your life and sharing it with everyone. You're refreshing, I gotta tell you that.

[01:03:41.240] - Chad Roy

Thank you very much, I appreciate it.

[01:03:42.470] - Big Rich Klein

It's a great time, it's always a good conversation with you. Um, you know, I'm in the same town as you right now. We met earlier in the week, you know, the middle of last week, and, and had a nice conversation at your shop and decided to do this interview over the phone because just because of the shop noises going on and stuff. And, uh, I think it went really well. I appreciate your, uh, your friendship over the years.

[01:04:08.500] - Chad Roy

Absolutely. It's been 100%, and I really appreciate everything you do.

[01:04:12.500] - Big Rich Klein

All right, well, you take care, and, uh, I'll let you know when this airs.

[01:04:17.110] - Chad Roy

Awesome. Thank you so much, Rich. I appreciate it.

[01:04:19.000] - Big Rich Klein

All right, Chad, thank you. Well, that's another episode of Conversations with Big Rich. I'd like to thank you all for listening. If you could do us a favor and leave us a review on any podcast service that you happen to be listening on, or send us an email or text message or Facebook message and let me know any ideas that you have, or if there's anybody that you have that you think would be a great guest, please forward the contact information to me so that we can try to get them on. And always remember, live life to the fullest. Enjoying life is a must.

[01:04:54.640] - Speaker 1

Follow your dreams and live life with all the gusto you can. Thank you.