Security Halt!
Welcome to Security Halt! Podcast, the show dedicated to Veterans, Active Duty Service Members, and First Responders. Hosted by retired Green Beret Deny Caballero, this podcast dives deep into the stories of resilience, triumph, and the unique challenges faced by those who serve.
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Security Halt!
Cody Hightower: Building Platoon Daddy, Military Community and Life After Service | EP 459
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How do you turn military humor, shared experiences, and an online community into a brand that represents the people who actually serve?
In Episode 459 of the Security Halt! Podcast, Deny Caballero sits down with Cody Hightower, founder of Platoon Daddy, to talk about his military career, the unexpected growth of Platoon Daddy, entrepreneurship, military transition, mental health, and the importance of creating a community where every service member can feel represented.
What began as a meme page grew into something much bigger—a military-focused brand built around authenticity, shared experiences, and the people behind the uniform.
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Chapters:
00:00 Meet Cody Hightower, Founder of Platoon Daddy
02:05 Cody's Path Into the Military
05:23 Alaska and Learning to Operate in Extreme Cold
07:19 Deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan
09:26 Building a Business While Serving
14:12 How Platoon Daddy Started as a Meme Page
18:51 Representing Every Part of the Military
20:50 Building a Brand for Real Soldiers
24:17 Preparing for Military Transition
27:24 The Future of Platoon Daddy
36:38 Authenticity, Branding and Community
43:11 Mental Health and the Weight of Service
55:37 Don't Wait to Ask for Help
01:09:50 Preserving Military Stories and History
01:12:02 Final Thoughts and What's Next
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The Weight Leaders Carry
SPEAKER_02Responsibility like weight to carry that a lot of people don't talk about. Ten years ago, there was no podcast, there was no military meme pages, and then everybody called you a pussy if you went into behavioral health. And so, you know. I've had a lot of friends kill themselves. Like, that's not sexy, but probably like around 10 people that I've worked with directly, and you would never expect it. It's always the dude who's like cracking jokes or like somebody you look up to and you're like, damn. So it just goes to show you that this stuff is important and it needs to be talked about.
SPEAKER_01I think it's one of the most uh important things about this journey, man, is um I don't know if you thought about this I 100% probably did, but when it comes to like your retirement in that transition, even though this has been a labor of love and it's taking so much to to do and and maintain and and keep you know flourishing like this is going to be something that phase off in ways that you may not have thought
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SPEAKER_01Cody Hightower, aka Platoon Daddy. Welcome, Security Hall Podcast, man. How are you doing? Great. Thanks for having me on here. Dude, absolutely, man. Um, dude, it's um it's incredible to see your career um kind of take the step forward in the the spotlight the last couple of days as you've been sharing with us all on social media like the uh the finish line, the the uh the hallowed grounds of finally coming to retirement. But uh it's you know, it's time for us to um learn a little bit more about you, man, to be a little to put you on the spotlight and to kind of give you your um you know your round of applause, man. Like I always say it, it's it is not an easy thing to make the military a career. Uh and it's certainly not an easy thing to do it in combat arms, in the infantry, as an artilleryman, anybody that's out there grinding and doing it the best they can. It's not an easy thing to do, man. So I I want to give it to you and and give you a standing ovation for making it, brother.
SPEAKER_03I appreciate it. It's it's one of those things where it's like you look forward to it your entire career. You're like, oh, once you commit and once you're over that like the hop, you're like, we're gonna walk in and finish. And now that it's there, it's like this is not it's not necessarily what I expected so far. Like the uh the excitement factor is not there at all right now.
SPEAKER_01It's kind of odd. It is, man. Like there's there's no great ascension. You're not you're not gonna the blue light doesn't come down and immediately like take you upwards. No, no, it's um it's a it's a beautiful chapter, and and um, you know, it I I'd like to kind of revisit the entire career,
From College To Enlistment
SPEAKER_01man. Like tell us like how did it all start for a young private high tower?
SPEAKER_03Well, I joined, I went to college after high school because you know that's what society pushes you to do, especially if you don't have something like better to walk into, I guess. So me and my buddy from high school went to the same college together, and the apartments you didn't have to live in a dorm, right? So, as the apartments we moved into, we moved into a 22 and a 23-year-old, and we were 18. So, as you can imagine, it was just a party the entire time for a couple years, and there wasn't a lot of academic learning going on. I learned a lot, but not necessarily the classes I was taking. So I ended up dropping out, working some I wouldn't say BS jobs, but you know, stuff that wasn't really fulfilling, or and then I finally made the decision to join. I'd always thought of it. I hate using the term plan B or plan C, but it was never my like first plan. But I come from a military family, dad, granddad, fourth, fifth generations, even back to the Civil War. Um, and they're all well, my parents are both Navy, and I I decided to join the army, so better than nothing, I guess.
SPEAKER_01It was kind of shocking when when you posted that picture, and I'm like, man, I wonder if he just kind of like stuck it to his dad and like, I'm not going into the Navy or Marine Corps, going army. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03No, it was better than what I was doing, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_01You know, and that's that's the one thing I've realized for a lot of us. Uh I think for a vast majority of us that serve, um, you know, it's not like this thing where it's like directly in front of us. Like we we're not, you know, we're not, we don't have like these uh these stories where it's like it was perfect, it was perfectly executed, it was well thought out. It was like just kind of found yourself looking down, you know, different options of like, man, do I really want to live this life? Or could I, you know, dare to achieve more, man?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. No, I so I was a recruiter for a couple of years, and as a recruiter, you see the other end of the trade deal where you would see people come in like I did and just say, fuck it, we're gonna join the army today. But you'll be people who are like perfectly plan, I want to do this, I want this in my contract, I want to go to this selection, I want to go to Rasp. I didn't do any of that, I just was like, let's go to the recruiter today, and I want to be infantry, and that was that was it.
Alaska Shock And Early Deployments
SPEAKER_03Um so yeah, I joined, went to Alaska as a brand new private. I shipped out of Atlanta, Georgia in December. It was about 60. And then when I got to Fairbanks, Alaska, I'm not joking you, it was like 50 plus degrees below zero. It was like being on a different planet up there in the winter time.
SPEAKER_01Bro, did you I can't imagine that there has to be some sort of pipeline or some sort of like, hey, briefing where it's like you may want to stop by REI and buy every piece of cold weather gear.
SPEAKER_03No, there was no briefing. So me and a bunch of my buddies from Basic Training, we all kind of ended up there. And you fly in and you get to the uh Fairbanks airport, it's super small, and then there's a uh, I don't know, like an L and O or liaison for the army there who clicks everybody up in a duty bus and takes you back on base. We went out to smoke a cigarette, it was so fucking cold, dude. Like it's like the wind just punches you in the throat. I was like, dude, I can't even be outside and breathe. It's too cold to even breathe outside. So everything there was it was an experience. It's pitch black day in, day out for several weeks, close to like a month or more, and then you just see people like skiing around posts. It's like, what the hell is going on, dude?
SPEAKER_01Dude, I um I never got the pleasure of being assigned to uh Alaska, but after my last trip to Iraq in 82nd, it was like a mass exodus. It it either you went to selection or you were getting orders to Alaska. I I never saw that, I never saw that happen before, but suddenly every single Leaf, every single Leaf in our company, and then our sister company, everybody was getting sent over to Alaska. I was like, overnight, all your friends are gone. So like you come back from selection, you're like, you're excited, and then like, oh yeah, uh, we got orders to Alaska. When you're leaving, tomorrow. It's like, what the fuck? Yeah.
SPEAKER_03What year was that? Or like what time area? It was uh 2010, 2011. Yeah. Okay, so there was a lot of stuff happening in Alaska at that time point. So I deployed out of there to Iraq from 08 to 09. Simultaneously, 425 down in Fort Richardson was in Afghanistan, and that's where they had the whole Bo Bergdahl uh fucking shit show. So all that was happening concurrent to us, and they were like asking for volunteers to go deploy with that unit, and then right after that, our brigade went back to Afghanistan. So it was a lot of I don't know, they probably needed like bodies, is I hate to say it in a better way, but yeah, it was crazy.
SPEAKER_01I I never never experienced that anywhere else. Um it was just like every single dude, it was it was like that that episode of Bander Brothers where everybody's fading out, everybody's I swear, like the only people that remain in Biko at in uh freaking 2504 was like the admin clerk kid and like a bunch of new people. Like everybody everybody like faded out, like Alaska. Alaska like later. But they had a great deployment after that. They went, um, the boys went to Afghanistan after that, and they they uh they were getting it, they were getting after it there. Um so and and a lot of them enjoyed it, man. A lot of the guys I talked to when they got there, of course. It's like when you're a kid and you move in, like uh it, it's it's it literally is like that. It's like when you whenever you move to New Town, everybody has the pecking order, everybody finds out, but dudes got promoted there, dudes found uh you know, made a home, made a family there. Um, some got divorced. Sorry, Maynard. So some PCS then probably went through a divorce.
SPEAKER_03It happens sometimes.
SPEAKER_01Happened to me. But that's uh that's same. Same. But I think that's life in the infantry, man. Uh I think that um which is another thing that I love about what you did. Um I never understood how difficult it'd be to build a business until I started doing it.
SPEAKER_04Um but I couldn't imagine trying to create a business, a brand and a community while in uniform, especially as a leader.
Building A Brand While Serving
SPEAKER_03Yeah. It was, you know, this could be an hours-long topic, just this one thing, but you're right, it's not easy. And I think the reason a lot of people don't do it or they try once and quit is because it's really fucking hard and you have to work on it all the time. Like I'm not exaggerating when I say that well, I would work army until army's done, and then I would do business until I fell asleep every day since 2022. Like I've posted on Instagram every fucking day. I read every message that comes in. Uh you know, emails, like we've got a pretty a bigger team now. Like, I have a lot of help. It's not just me, but it's it's got to the point where you're like, okay, this is too much. Like, it's sort of like um you could tie this in with like a ruck march or patrolling or mental health or anything. Like, you've got all this shit, and it's it's a lot of weight. Like, we'll call the weight as a metaphor for like responsibilities. Um and you can hump at shit for quite a while, depending on your strength and resiliency. But eventually, if it's too much, your ass is not gonna make it forever. And that that happened to me uh like last year. Like, I definitely hit burnout, and like everything was just like like I mean everything, like all at once. Uh so it's been it's been a learning experience, you know, prioritizing your time, what you what the value is and stuff, you know, the importance of things, and just trying to like delineate, manage, delegate better, and you know, aside from the army, I've got like three kids and a whole wife and two dogs too. So it's not just work and business. Like, it's all that.
SPEAKER_01So everybody needs everybody needs a piece of of uh daddy, real daddy and platoon daddy. But dude, let's um let's take it back to the initial, like, how did this come about, man?
Creating Merch For Regular Soldiers
SPEAKER_01Like this is um this is a huge, huge thing that I talk about. There are a million companies out there with, and I'm the I'm guilty of it. I'm absolutely fucking guilty. I like the skull, I like the nods. It it it fucks, it looks good, but there's a million soft branded t-shirts, swimwear, fucking protein. Everything wants to align with the the tip of the spear, the fucking operator. Uh and um there's there was nothing for the fucking paratrooper, the 11 Bravo, the artillerymen, the mortar man, the medic, the the fucking signals guy. There was nothing to rally the actual soldiers that are doing the fucking mission. Everything else is support, even special operations. Hate to break it to you.
SPEAKER_04Like, how did this come about, man?
SPEAKER_03So I'll try to do like a brief play-by-play, but I got my you know feet wet in the business back in like 2017. I worked with a different company where I learned a lot of the skills to like running an e-commerce site, social media. And when I came here to Fort Bragg in 2019 as a platoon sergeant, I was like, I don't have time for this shit anymore. So I got out of that business, you know, and then fucking COVID-19 hit. Like, as soon as I came to Fort Bragg, we're redeploying Third Brigade from Afghanistan, and they're like, uh, there's this like thing on the news, and then like as we're planning um brigade-wide, jump master refresher, and like all this redeployment, this is like developing in real time every day. And then it's like, actually, everybody that comes back, they're gonna go to quarantine in the fucking woods. And so my almost entire platoon start experience was managing everything normally, but also with COVID-19, like quarantine, bringing trays to your guys, half your people not coming to work because they're in quarantine. And so during like that the actual legitimate lockdown period, which wasn't very long for me, I was sitting at home and it's like I'm broke as fuck, I'm paying child support, which doesn't help, and I there's nothing to do here. So I I took, you know, kind of like the experience that I had previously, and I was like, I want to make my own thing. Um and so it started off pretty much just as a meme page, right? Like you gotta get buy-and you can't just start with a business. You have to have you have to offer something to get people to, you know, come and invest in it. And for me, it was like humor, so funny memes, content, and then we kind of grew this like really small community, which if you've been with us since then, like you're uh an OG, but it kind of like grew and grew and grew to the point where I was like, okay, I guess we could probably test the water with like some products, and everything we put out in the beginning was like super generic, it was nothing really military-related at all. Uh actually, this was one of the first things we made. This is the first one ever made, and it says regular guy, and the whole concept was to make something or stuff for regular people, right? Because, like you said, if you especially like 10 years ago, everything is like either super generic and cheesy, or it's like for tier one operators, and like nobody can relate to it. So you're either you're either that guy, or you're just a wannabe. That's that's basically what the market was, right? Like, if you if you are not part of those organizations, it's kind of corny to wear that stuff because that's not reality. So I wanted to make something that was like never once claiming to be badass or cool or like high speed, or a lot of companies or brands will use like just vague anonymity to make it seem like it's a lot bigger or cooler than it really is, you know. So it's just I've obviously I've been anonymous because uh army, you know, you gotta you gotta walk the line. Um, but I've always tried to keep it like 100 as the kids say, and just project like a little bit of personality into it because without personality, it's just there's no authenticity, it's just bland or whatever. Exactly. So you know, it kept going, and then I would come up with ideas that I thought were cool, nobody liked it. Um, and you you do this process where you you invest money into paying something or paying for somebody to make something, and you do all this work, and then you don't sell any of it. And it can be very um it can kind of like wear you down, or you're like, man, this is not worth it, I should just quit. So we just kept messing around and playing with stuff, and I think the first one we did was like a mortar, a mortar design, like in the tarot card style. And that was it, dude. Like people were like, that's sick, you should do this, and then it went from that to like 10 to 20. So now we have like over 350 designs for either units or branches or MOSs, and it's it's kind of like exhausting because there's so many to do and it all takes time and money, but it's cool because there's that much interest and there's that much you know room to keep growing. But I think the the key to like what you were getting at earlier was there is absolutely zero representation for a supply guy or 42 alpha or 88 mic. Like nobody makes anything for anybody unless you're like high speed, maybe like some airborne stuff, but everything else is just like whatever. So it's been really cool to watch the community grow and you know, just really thankful for everybody's like feed uh buy-in and feedback and participation because it's the brand is the community, it's not it's not me. So I just happen to be the one lucky enough to fuck around and make it, I guess. But you know, it's it's really cool.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's it's it's absolutely amazing, man. Um to just go back to that point, man. We have professionals in every career field, people that love what they do, people that show up every day and are excited to be a professional soldier. Like if you it it and I know we we make fun of each other, we we dog on S1, but one of the best soldiers I ever had, one of the best soldiers I ever saw, was a female NCO in our S1. She fucking crushed it. She was a professional in her field through and through anything, and and you saw the value in that person, that human being, and it you saw how proud they were of their mission. Like, and that person deserves to be able to go online and be like, hell yeah, this represents me. Same with S6, man. Like, more people need to understand how valuable that fucking career field is for those cool guys. And they're never gonna get highlighted on CBS's Navy SEALs. Like, you're not gonna see Ty Sheridan or Taylor Sheridan create a TV show for the stink debt kids, but they deserve to be able to see themselves represented and seen as being cool enough to have a cool flag, a cool t-shirt design, because there's they're absolutely professionals, man. And that's what has been missing. And I think more people are starting to key on that, but you built a following because you gave them a voice, you gave them something that they could be proud of. Um, and they knew you were there. Like even though you didn't do an admin reveal, they knew man, the motherfucker behind this brand, he's serving. He's one of us. And I think that's one of the coolest fucking things because, dude, I couldn't imagine trying to run a business and being a platoon sergeant.
SPEAKER_03No way, dude. Yeah.
Anonymity, Trust, And Team Building
SPEAKER_03I mean, you just have to like I made sure like everything is 100% delineated. So like when I put on the uniform, I go to work, I don't talk about the business to anybody. I don't tell anybody I do it or what I'm doing. I just work. And like that's the most important thing to me at that time is doing a good job, taking care of people and like being a good person. And then you know, on a break, I'll slide in the DMs or on the way home, then your brain is like, okay, now I gotta switch modes and do this. And so it's almost like I wouldn't say two personalities, but like you definitely have to like switch on and off as to what what you're doing.
SPEAKER_01Dude, well, how was it? Did you have any of your close friends that were completely in the dark? And then when they saw your face pop up, they're like, What the fuck?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I had uh quite a few. I've I've tried to make it a point to like everybody that I actually know. Like I I've let them know as able because I don't, you know, my friends I trust. It's just the strangers on the internet that you can't trust because people out there are spiteful or they'll try to take steps to like kind of fuck up what you got going on. But yeah, dude, like I've told all my friends. I was at Fort Bidding for Best Ranger uh as a sponsor back in May, no April. Oh wow, no way. Yeah. So I went to my buddies, I went to my buddy's uh basic training, like a basic training, like the bay of the starship. I was like, where's first art uh evangelist? And they're like, right this way, sir. And I go in there, there's like five fucking up with my flags in the orderly room. I'm like, what's up, dude? And he's like, oh shit. And then yeah, like I guess that's another thing, not necessarily about the business, but if you stay in this profession long enough, you will know a lot of people, and all those people will continue to spread throughout the country. And so anywhere you go, like you're probably gonna know at least one or two people at that duty station or in that city, which is great because having that network like really ties in with just the business, and then you know, helping to grow and like learn from other people and share and help each other out and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_01So yeah. And I think it's one of the most uh the most important thing about this journey, man, is um you I don't know if you thought about this, you I'm 100% probably did, but when it comes to like your retirement and that transition, even though this has been a labor of love and it it's taken so much to to do and and maintain and and keep, you know, so it's flourishing, like this is gonna be something that pays off in ways that you may not have thought of, and that's the the identity and purpose and mission piece. Like a lot of us don't have the don't have that drive to create a business while we're in. You know, they don't have the the ability to see it as something that like it's worth investing in. And now as you're you know, you're taking off one hat, like are you gonna be embracing this as a full-time endeavor, or do you see it like something that you'll you'll manage, but you're moving towards a different objective?
SPEAKER_03No, this is this is the main plot right now. So I've already I made this decision like over a year ago, you know, with the current Army regulations, you can drop your retirement packet for 24 months out, and I did like on the dot as soon as possible. And so last year I was like, okay, let me start looking at my skills that I could put on my resume. Like, what realistically could I get hired to do that I wouldn't absolutely hate? And there's I have some options, but it doesn't make sense to put the business on the afterburner when it's doing so well. Uh, and I actually really enjoy most aspects of it. Like I get on the website and I'll like tweak stuff and make improvements and like interacting with people and the comments. Well, not all the people, but a lot of the people I like interacting with. And I really enjoy it. It gives it the like you're creating something, just like if you are a woodworker, like you're creating something out of nothing, and it gives you that sense of like maybe not purpose, but like a satisfaction of knowing like you're making something and bringing something into the world versus just being the guy that sits on the computer all day and sends out negativity and like tries to belittle other people because there's plenty of those people out there, and anybody out there who you know tries to make their own thing or create or build a business, nobody's gonna encourage you like almost at all. Like the people that will hype you up are complete strangers or people that you've met on the internet, and then like usually family, friends are like uh, you know, you're doing that, or I don't know about that, but you just gotta really want it for yourself and just you know keep trying until you want to quit and then quit if you're gonna quit, just like anything else in life.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. No, it's uh I I think that the great thing, like there's when you're having to split yourself into all these different bits and pieces, different factions, if you will. You gotta be, you have to be the professional NCO, you have to be the the full-time father, husband, and then businessman, like it it, you're only getting like there's we only have so much bandwidth. And now with you know, with retirement, it's here, you're finally able to focus on this. Like, this is going to like it's already a huge brand. It's already has a huge following, but it's gonna like kick into overdrive, man. This thing now would you're be it as you're focusing on this as your primary mission with how well it's already been doing, like I I don't see why this thing can't overtake a lot of the other brands out there. I'm not gonna name some names, I'm not gonna put them on blast. I'm just saying you better watch out because uh this shit's way cooler, and now he has nothing else to focus on.
SPEAKER_03Exactly. No, I appreciate it. No, it's you're right. Like, I got everything kind of like going the direction, like with any system, like you build it and you build it to be autonomous, and then once it's kind of driving itself, you have the tendency to like back off and let it run itself. Um, so things were kind of like on autopilot for the last couple years, just being truthful. Like it was successful enough, and like I would go in and like put out fires or address things that were like an emergency, but it was sort of just like running on a loop uh for the last couple years. But now that I've stopped going to work and I'm sitting at home every day, you know, I I can't sit in the house and stare out the window and I'll go crazy. But I'll, you know, I'll go work out, I'll go work outside, I'll go sit on the computer. I just have this like ADHD round robin of like things I do every day. And yeah, I've already like, oh, this area could be improved, I could fix this, change this, like it's it's happening fast. And so I'm excited too. Like this point now versus this point next year, it's probably gonna be a big change.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, I I don't foresee it like stagnating or or like I see a lot of innovation coming. Um and plus too, like now, now you're you're you're able to network, now you're able to go to events, you're able to do a lot more to get the brand out there, man. Like that's that's a big thing. But uh now you get to embrace a whole new um market sector, which is the transition folks. Yeah, yeah. Are we gonna be seeing a line of retired former platoon daddy?
SPEAKER_03Now who knows? Like, honestly, the only the only limit is just time. You know, I've got a hundred designs to make and 20 projects to do at all at any given time. And it's like just like if you're I'm gonna keep using stupid army metaphors. So just like if you're at the qual range, what do you shoot first? The fucking one that's right in front of you, because it doesn't stay up very long. It's the most important, the most serious threat. So that I just treat everything like that. It's like this, not threatening, it's gonna go in the back burner. This needs to happen like right fucking now. So that's sort of like been like, you know, the thought process behind getting things done. And before I forget, we have an awesome team of people. So it's definitely not just me. I've got you know partners that make all my stuff. I was doing this with my wife out of the house two years ago, yeah. Like packing orders every fucking day, going to the mailbox every day, and then we had a baby on the way. We're like, this is not feasible. So we linked up with um American trigger pullers. Oh, hey. So out of Texas, all veterans, Ranger owned. So I've been working with them for two years. They have taken like an immense load off you know, my back helping out, and then we've got somebody else.
SPEAKER_01John's incredible. Um I got to meet him at the Rice University's veteran uh veteran business battle, and uh you couldn't imagine a greater fucking brother that's out there doing incredible things, incredibly humble, and all he wants to know is like, how can I help you? What point in your business can I can I help you? Is it with connections? Is it like I was like, fuck, dude. Like, and he I didn't know who he was at first. He's like, he doesn't like most people that are big and they have a pretty significant business, they'll you know, if they're assholes, they always lead with like that arrogance of like, do you know who I am? John's completely different. Like we were talking for like the entire day before I realized, like, holy fuck, like I have no business talking to this guy. Way out of my league.
SPEAKER_03You know, great guy. Yeah. Uh and then aside from them, we've got people who've been working with us for years doing customer service, uh, running other social media pages, uh, marketing. So it's, you know, it's one of those things, too, where like you don't know what you're doing at all the first time you do something. It's like if you joined the army and went to a school and they didn't give you a block of instruction and then they gave you a test, like everybody would fail everything. Like you, there's no rule book or like step-by-step guide that somebody hands you. And so it's like you just go learn as you go, and then there's a lot of mistakes to be made. Most cost time and money, either or some both. And then you start getting to like the legal side of things, the tax side of things. It's like I'm under equipped to do all this shit.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like really on that. Just don't send me to prison. Well, there's just so much shit we're not exposed to while we're in because that's that's not our world. Like we we have, you know, we have a particular set of other things that we're we're trying to keep, you know, an 18 and 19-year-old from killing themselves uh and and to show up on time for PT. Like that is a lot of bandwidth. Um, but then you dive into this world and you've got to build a team. You've got to reach out to people. Like I didn't know about like I didn't know that there is a particular set of scammers that literally go out looking for websites that aren't um exactly programmed for people with disabilities. Like, I didn't know that. I didn't know that that was a thing that you had to protect yourself from. Please don't come after me. I still don't have money to enhance my website. So I haven't closed that loophole. So please don't be a dick and attack me. But I I didn't know that. I didn't I didn't know that until I started talking with people and understanding, like, yeah, you got to make sure your your website's ADA compliant. That's it, the Americans with Disability Act. Like, I didn't know that was a real thing. I didn't know that's something that you had to protect yourself because these scammers are out there and they're literally just hunting for any website that they can attack and bring into a legal battle because they'll know that you'll figure out a way to settle. That's all they want. So if you come after me, $250. That's it. That's all I can afford. That's all I can afford. But you just have to go out there and find people, man. Um, did you how did you go about building your team? Were they other veterans that were serving alongside, or do you reach out and utilize networks like LinkedIn?
SPEAKER_03No, so almost everything has happened by way of social media. So nobody that works with me I have known previously. They're almost all people that I met online. So shit. People I asked for something, people volunteer. We come to an agreement on compensation and responsibilities, and some have stayed the entire time, some come and go, like that's life. But you just kind of it's like if you were a squad leader and you got the entire pick of the battalion, right? Let's say you're like the scout platoon sergeant, and you could handpick your like dream team. That's what I get to do because it's like you, and then if you don't work out, that's great. We'll replace you with somebody else. If you, you know, life I've had some people who are great, they have other stuff in life that they want to go do, and it's like, okay, now we just gotta, you know, fill the the slot, just like anything else in life. So it's really great, very appreciative of everybody. And um, yeah, everything is by way of networking and word of mouth, which is yeah, it's fucking awesome. I think it's a test of the a test to the power of like the the network, the community, and not you know, not just the business, like lots of people have been helped out throughout the community in the country, just like, hey, can you share this? Can you do this? Where'd this come from? I'm trying to find this person. It's like, you know, you can't do everything, but it is nice to be able to help out and give back here and there when we can.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, and and that's um that speaks to the power of building something that's authentic. Um it wouldn't work. It would not have worked if this the primary mechanism was just to to fleece people and get as much money out of them. Like it wouldn't have worked. Um, I think that that's a big thing a lot of brands are starting to realize. A lot you you see a lot of bigger brands shift their marketing these days to try to be more appealing, like you know, brands like yours that are are organic, that started from a place that's deeply rooted to a community. So they're seeing the playbook. And the reality is like people are still gonna see through it. Um, because it's not a genuine person that's trying to like rally behind a cause and promote a great idea. Like, hey, let's give everybody a round of applause they deserve. Let's give let's create something that gives you know everybody a chance to be able to be highlighted, man.
Veteran Culture And Online Negativity
SPEAKER_01Like that's that's literally what I love about the brand, dude. Like anybody that has served can see themselves represented in some way, shape, or form. Um, and that's needed, man. Like I think for a long time, service in our military, like you guys felt bad. They felt shame that they weren't part of range regiment, they weren't part of group life, they weren't part of the SEALs, like, or or Air Force special tactics. Like, it's like, oh, I'm just, I'm just that's uh I hate fucking hearing that. That's one of the biggest pain points that I try to tell people is like you're not just this, you are an artilleryman, a mortarman, a paratrooper. That's fucking incredible. The real battles, the real fucking engagements that held ground, held territory, and kept fucking bad dudes at bay are fucking large units. Like the scalpel, the small tier one dudes that fly in, you're not holding terrain. You're you're going for a specific mission to take out a dickhead in some corner of the world and you're out of there. That's it. It's an 18, 19-year-old kid that's willing to lay in the prone fucking for days after days after days, that's doing the work. So they deserve to have their moment. Like, I think we we had this movement with it. It started with uh operator as fuck, and that's not what they are now. Um, but it was just like a hyper gl like glorification of the special operations community. It felt like if you got featured on their on their website or on their social media, it felt like you you got the the Wheaties cover box. Like everybody was amped for that shit. And it really fucked up what it meant to serve. I really do truly believe it did. Because and I'm I'm guilty of it. I was a kid, I was I was a dude in the 82nd, once his election, and then you're like, oh fuck, this is the greatest dream ever. Like the endless summer Afghanistan, you're you're an operator now. It's like yeah, it was never meant to be a fucking like glorified thing where people were like almost collecting you like a fucking baseball card. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. No, I think you know, yes, all the cool jobs are glorified because the sexier it is, the more people want to watch it, and that's just human nature. But the the the fault lies with the fucking veteran community, and I'll just say that point blank. The veteran community is the biggest group of like shit talking, hating people against themselves, each other. And it's not everybody, but you go, and it's been that way for 20 years since Facebook was invented. You go to anything, you post anything positive or like proud of what you've done, and here come 50 comments just sharp shooting, sharpshooting you, critiquing you, gay, this and that. Let's find one thing wrong with this guy's kit, and like that'll be the focus of our attention. And fucking everybody does it. So why do you think nobody's proud of their service? It's because uh, it's the uh I can't think of the word now. Not um whatever. Where it's like you gaslight yourself into thinking like you're not important or nothing you do is like good or good enough, even though you can do like tons of cool shit and be successful, it's like either you compare yourself to somebody else, or somebody else is gonna compare you to somebody else, and it's like da-da-da. You see it a lot now on social media, it's always been there, but you know, I think that would be the biggest way to improve everything, is if people just, you know, I've matured a lot. I I've I've been that guy. I'm not gonna don't get me wrong. I've talked my fair share of share share of shit on the internet, but you come to the realization eventually, it's like is it really that bad or like cringy, or you just you're projecting like your you know, this hate or like negativity, you're just projecting it out on any target you can find, and it really says more about your mental state than it does a person you're talking shit against.
SPEAKER_01So absolutely nobody that's doing well goes on the internet to talk shit about somebody. Nobody. Um because I've done it and I know that when I've been antagonistic and talk shit about people is when I was at my worst. At no point in my life when things have been great have I been like, I'm gonna log on and I'm gonna personally attack this person. No, you're you're you're going through something. That's why like I anytime I I I see that now, I try to reach out. And by and large, that a lot of people won't they'll feel embarrassed, they won't reply back, or and some do, and then they'll they'll quickly uh engage with you and then apologize. We're just like, dude, I can tell you're not going, you're going through a rough patch. You saw something, you you it alleviates a little bit of your suffering by being a dick to other people. Um, but then if you just offer an olive branch and say, hey man, like what's going on? How are you doing? Like they're quickly to say, oh fuck, this is a real human being. Like maybe I don't want to call him a piece of shit.
SPEAKER_03No, absolutely. You know, there's a saying we could, you know, we could go all over the place with these conversations, but like I've been really big into mental health. That's been like at least it was a really big focus when I started the brand. I still try to like hit on it a little bit, but you know, I've been through my own struggles for a long time, and there's a saying it's like hurt people, hurt people, and it's true. So, like when life's fucking whooping your ass and like you're not happy with yourself or your circumstances that will come back out as like aggression, anger, hate, like just kind of like not positive energy. And you know, I think a lot of people just don't realize that, but a lot of the uh a lot of the stuff stems from that, I think.
Leadership Stress And Suicide Reality
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah. Man, I I tell you, um I'll share with it openly, man. Like we I thought being a good leader when I was a young young man in 82nd was being loud, being mean, derogatory, getting your Joe's attention, because that's what I saw. It's like, oh, that's what a leader is. He's he's abrasive, gets things done. That carries on in your personal life, I will tell you. And then you quickly realize that nobody wants to be with someone that's always a fucking asshole. Just nowhere to live. And it it sticks with you until you have to change, until you realize that nobody wants to be married to that guy. Nobody wants to work with that guy. Like that's not a good positive trait. And it wasn't until I started seeing other leaders, other people that were way better at it that I realized, oh no, this is this is just being a piece of shit. This isn't a good leader.
SPEAKER_03No, you're right. I think you know your leadership style will usually change or progress throughout your career. But yeah, when we joined it was shut the fuck up, get the fuck over here. You're a fucking idiot. Do push-ups, do burpees, bear crawl, you stand up right rest, you don't fucking say nothing. And people don't understand that it was really like that. And so you're like this is the standard so by the time you're an E4 team leader or a sergeant you're like hey motherfucker like and then eventually you know time goes on and they're like oh now you can't smoke people like we the army has gone through this big like thing where okay now I got to adapt my style I got to convince people to do it I want versus force them to do it I want you know you got to get buy-in and like you gotta they gotta see the vision and you know want to work with you as a team uh versus just beating them into compliance which is that was like the SOP for a long time. It certainly was and you're right dude like even everything like the army one thing I've realized is the army lifestyle at least being a leader in like a combat arms everything that you learn and like master it optimizes you to be the most efficient person possible so like you're the most efficient at communicating at leading you get stuff done as fast as possible with as little input you I don't want your feedback or your input I'm telling you how to do it go do it and everything is just like you become like this like machine like for lack of better words.
SPEAKER_01And then you're absolutely right like still like you go home you're not just a different person when you go home like that is like built into your DNA after two decades of doing this for a living and so it's like yeah you're like uh I look at my wife I'm like uh we're supposed to leave in five minutes she's like yeah no like but you're but you're not ready and so it's like okay too court beat me outside no it's you know it's one of those things where it's like I still have this like built-in sense of urgency for like any task like I wanted to get it done now as fast as possible let's check it off the list and do the next thing but it's like that's not how normal people operate so it's been like uh trying to like rewrite the code I guess in my life for a lot of different things at this point yeah dude it's um you're not gonna do this career without and should most people most people will have some sort of issues with their mental resilience with their mental health because of the weight of the response the responsibilities what you have to do and we were locked in a 20 year war man like plus like there is a lot of weight that we carry in leadership like I don't think people understand what a platoon sergeant's really tasked with doing when I look back to my my most influential leader was my platoon sergeant I thought he's the he's the first person that I I told my my career aspir aspirations wanted to do and always looked highly like I I put him on a pedestal. I thought he was the the bee's knees I thought like fucking that that's a guy that's a guy who's got it all figured out and you look back in time and he was a 32 33 year old man and I'm I'm putting the weight of the world like the weight of the world is on this guy's shoulder to get all these fucking kids back home from a deployment in Iraq and you think like how much pressure was in that guy on that guy. Like how much was he struggling with when I reflect back to my when I got into his when I earned that rank when I was his age you know and of course I was in a different element I wouldn't have to like carry on the weight of an entire platoon with me. But still I I remember looking back and thinking to myself like oh fuck man had all this shit and all these fucking people to take care of and no wonder he chain smoked no no wonder he was like fucking always yelling like that is a lot of freaking weight on your shoulders it's a lot for you to take on like when you you know how did you carry it all throughout your career it's it's just been one of those things where for a long time I would say all my 20s up to like 30 36 or 7 right everything was just like you just take it as it comes like oh I gotta do this easy decision.
SPEAKER_03Like you don't necessarily process it or reflect back you're just like you're in the moment and you just do this thing. But there's a lot of hard decisions that had to be made like you know if you're the platoon sergeant or a squad leader of a you know scout element and you report to the commander for something it's like I need all your people to go on do this mission at this time but then you've got your soldier who's like my fiance just broke up with me or my son's in the hospital and you're like fuck like what you do not get paid enough in the military to make the decisions you have to make and that's like not a joke. Like you gotta choose between somebody's well being who you have to take at face value and trust they could be lying to you also another thing you don't know and then you're like hey just stay back. Just take care of your kids and it's like all those little micro decisions that you'll do on a you know maybe monthly or annual basis and then you get when I was a platoon sergeant we had uh we had we went to Fort Stewart right so we jumped into Fort Stewart and we had a kid die first day on the drop zone. He was one of our privates on Rear D different company at the time but it was like it was a different aircraft but like I was a jump master and that was like we landed and then as more people came they're like hey collect all the cell phones and as you know that's not a good thing when they do a combo blackout so we're like fuck so then you sit and just go through the whole other two or three weeks had two more of my kids almost die one got laid in an anthill as a sawgunner he was definitely allergic to fants and he went to anaphylactic shock we gave him um like two rounds of epinephrine weed in the PA and myself and the medic and he had to get evac like he couldn't breathe and then you know I had another soldier from my platoon kill himself you know later and it's like there's all these things that are just gonna like hit you and at the time they may not you know seem crazy but they do carry weight and they do stick with you. So then you're like damn I could have done this different or you know I should have done this or that so you know there's definitely consequences to everything and it's not exclusive to the military like any high stakes job like if you're a law enforcement or a paramedic or firefighter like you know everybody even everybody in life goes through traumatic shit but like to your point it is a lot of I guess responsibility and like weight to carry that a lot of people don't talk about you know 10 years ago there was no podcast there was no military yeah there was no military meme pages um and then everybody called you a pussy if you went to behavioral health and so you know I've had a lot of friends kill themselves like that's not sexy but probably like around 10 people that I've worked with directly and you would never expect it. It's always the dude who's like cracking jokes or like somebody you look up to and you're like bam so it just it goes to show you that the stuff is important.
SPEAKER_01It is and it needs to be talked about we wear masks man we're really good at wearing masks um and there's a lot of different factors the cultural factors um you know if you had a dad and like if you're if you're blessed to have a dad that was around uh or or you know the the thing that was taught for a long time was you know boys don't cry but you just stuff it down just you know and and not to our you know it's no fault to a to us as men like it's the culture we were brought up in like hey man you don't cry like you just suck it up but I'm I'm now that we're we're older we're experienced and we're like you said like we're losing friends we're losing brothers that we love dearly like we have to figure out a way to get these emotions out we have to have to figure out a way to talk about this stuff because when you are in charge of soldiers of troops like you take that ownership they're your kids every dude every platoon sergeant these are my fucking guys my dudes my my boys every single one of you out there listening that that have that wonderful position and and that that comes with all that weight every every soldier that gets assigned to you every time there's a loss every time there's an issue that's something that's impacting you even if you can't if you even if you're not willing to admit it right now at some point you're gonna sit down you're gonna take a knee and it's gonna overcome you it's gonna overwhelm you the one more drop in that bucket is going to be the thing that sets you off. And I'm telling you don't wait don't wait be willing to talk to somebody be willing to talk to a friend and if you're that friend and somebody's being vulnerable with you don't be a dick. That's the last thing they need just be there for them. Just listen man because like what you just shared is something I would say a vast majority of our our force is dealing with a loss multiple losses they they they can't reconcile they can't figure out why why it was Steve and not Bill. Why why we why was he alone in this room and not willing to connect with me or man if I would have just raised my hand to take his position he would still be here so many of us are wrangling with those questions with with those ideas and I'm telling you man like talk to somebody be willing to sit down with your brothers and talk about it we're not trying to solve the problem we're just trying to be there for you and sit down and hold space and then be willing to say like hey let's go to behavioral health together. I'm not gonna let you walk in alone and feel that stigma we'll go there together.
SPEAKER_03Fuck first sergeant I'll talk to him tomorrow let's all go together get that appointment book we got to do that for each other man because the opposite the the opposite end of the spectrum is we're gonna continue to isolate ourselves we're gonna continue to try to tamp it down with alcohol with drugs pharmaceuticals then we're gonna lose more people man yep no absolutely I that was a big learning point for me is all this stuff is like common sense like your brain already knows you're like yeah drinking by yourself is probably not good for your mental health but we'll still find ways to like put ourselves in that situation like I haven't worked in a while right so like my job I got my replacement had an internship leave all this stuff like I haven't worked in a while and I don't have a job so it's like I sit at home and then sometimes you know wife and kid will
Isolation, Drinking, And Staying Connected
SPEAKER_03go visit family. So it's just me for like a week or two sometimes and you're like damn uh I'm bored let's drink and it's like you know it's one of those things where it's like this shit is really not good for your mental health and it's not necessarily just I drink and I get sad. It's like it rewires the chemistry in your brain to where it it takes away like the the the fight the motivation like the will to exist and you're just like fuck you know the only thing that cures a hangover is what more fucking alcohol the next day right so it's like it's really not a good habit routine to get into and the isolation part is huge. Like I live out here in the country we moved to Sanford a year ago.
SPEAKER_04Oh no shit.
SPEAKER_01Yeah so I've got cool neighbors but I do not socialize brother like very rarely like I don't go to bars I don't go do meetups I don't we don't go to um like everybody my age group has kids most of my friends have PCS' a long time ago so it's like uh and then isolation is just really negative because you can go out and socialize and like as you leave the conversation you're like like damn I feel pretty fucking good right now like you feel normal or like life feels normal but if you sit by yourself for weeks or a month or more all you have the only interaction you have and the only input is like your brain and your brain is going to tell you really nasty false things dude I will tell you right now find your LGOP find your little group of paratroopers man um I know it sounds cheesy but a good morning text from a friend that says hey man I love you like I will tell you right now every last one of us no matter what part of your journey you're at like I'm doing pretty good I've I've I've come a long way I still have bad days but one of the things I'm most grateful for is that that little text thread that that little chirp from a friend like you got to nurse that thing you gotta you gotta feed that text chain and and and start with your top five your top five dudes you can talk to and just every morning make it a habit or every afternoon make it a habit or reach out to those friends because I'm telling you when you're sucking and you're not having fun when the business is like you lose a client or something that's like in my life like fucking had a horrible week and that one friend came in it's gonna get better you're good you're fine it's like you're right man I got this and the more I I've shared that the more I talk about that people are reaching out I was like dude you're right there's something about this like dude the only way we're gonna keep our friends around is if we continue to reach out and continue to talk and and make those plans and and I'm telling you it's worth it it's worth it like be there for each other like be a pain in each other's ass. Like be willing to be that friend that's like fuck all right I'm gonna call him instead a call is good a text great a meme always hits a spot but a phone call fuck man like reach out to your friends because you never know and be vulnerable enough to say man wasn't doing so good but that phone call like my buddy Tim I don't know what it is anytime I'm really fucking sucking I'm really sitting there like having like the worst fucking day Tim will reach out and uh you know it it's like with the perfect like gay joke um because he he's a marine raider so of course they're gonna they're gonna have a gay gay joke um but it always it always lifts me up man like uh there's a lot of things that we gotta do to get right in in your own time in your own time I'm not pressuring anybody listening to to to kickstart anything today I know it's it's difficult for everybody man but be willing to to reach out to your friends man they're gonna keep you alive and you're gonna do the same for them dude um because man like nobody else understands us like yes medical providers counselors they're all necessary and and that's a definitely a step you got to take and and warm up to um there's a lot of friends that I've tried being like hey let's go to counseling and they promptly tell me go fuck myself like so if they're on that side of the camp just be there for them just call them yeah no absolutely I think the isolation piece is uh the one that we all have to wrestle with when we get out I'm no different there's there's so many times where I'm like I'm gonna go go I'm gonna go golf I'm gonna go um reach out to my neighbor and then I don't and then before you know it your neighbor PCS's and he leaves and you're sitting there with like this this idea that you let somebody down because you you kind of did dude you kind of let your neighbor down because you you weren't willing to just get over your own drive to just be focused on something else like and that's the true thing I had a great neighbor here great neighbor great fucking dude and we were supposed to go golf and every time I was supposed to pick up the phone and message him and go do something got part of me that wants to be isolating and and and be working on something else let my bro down man so learn from me folks.
SPEAKER_03Be willing to reach out to your dudes yeah I think social media is great because you can reach out to anybody anytime and send something but the downside of everybody being geographically dispersed is like I gotta drive an hour to see somebody I know. And so if you you add in kids to the mix oh we're doing this oh I gotta go to this it's like it feels almost impossible for two families like timelines to align to actually do something together.
SPEAKER_01So it's hard but yeah that's why we just we have to what we need to do is just get so fucking mega rich and just we start a a commune a uh a a commune for retired dudes and families and we can have all our best friends there. Um figure just minus the Kool-Aid part uh yeah yeah it does suck man there's so many so many of my friends are in I'm in the same boat that they live so far away it's like but like you know trying to be intentional with like those virtual hangouts like there's there's a lot of good dudes out there that are are trying to do that the Discord meetups the video games so many different things man but fight that urge brother like that urge to isolate and and go inward fight that shit man um yeah I will say shameless plug we do have a Discord channel hell yeah I'm not on I'm not on there I don't I have too much stuff to do but but there are people that manage it and it's it's a pretty clean and like positive place.
SPEAKER_03So if anybody wants to join the Discord there you go.
SPEAKER_01Dude um yeah um send me the details and uh for my editor I'll put the Discord information right here. Sorry dude I I I promise I will get you the stuff to do that promptly don't edit this out. I want I want the audience to hear this banter I got a great editor the dude's fucking awesome I don't deserve him does great work uh and uh dude it it's yeah it's incredible to see what you're what you're building dude and and now that this is your main gig man like before I let you go dude I I kind of want to hear some of the ideas that you got building because now it's uh you can create so much fucking
What Comes Next For Platoon Daddy
SPEAKER_01Shit. You can branch out and create long form content. What do you have in the on the works for for uh what's next?
SPEAKER_03Uh so just like this kind of a standard like annual thing. We're gonna sponsor Best Ranger every year. This year was our second year in a row. We sponsored Best Sapper this year. No way next year. Yep. Um we're just continuing to uh network. We've started working with the Army Sniper Association, Engineer Association, Ranger Association. So we're trying to like get into more legitimate organizations where we can help each other and give back and like ultimately give back to the soldiers at the lowest level, uh the fighting, the ground level. Um so those are things we're gonna do. We're gonna keep expanding like our products and designs to like literally everybody. It's gonna take time, it's gonna take time and money, but we're gonna finish the army, Marines, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, law enforcement, first responder. We're already dabbling in it, but you know, there's there's thousands, and it all it all takes time and money. By the way, by the way, a real person draws my heart, so fuck you, everybody who says it's AI, it's not. Um ads all the day, all day. It's like whatever. But um, no, aside from that, I've got this project I've been working on for a few months, and I just can't quite get it ready. So if you've seen Fog, shout out Ford Observations Group. So they make this like it's a photo book basically, with like maybe some short stories, short form stories, photos. Well, I've been making something similar, but it's all um photos of people in the military, like deployment photos, just like badass shit. Some of it's mine, a lot of it has been submitted. So and there's gonna be like some some like blog style stuff in there and stories, but the issue has been getting the cost to match the quality. So I gotta find the right manufacturer to get the cost where I want to sell it because I don't want to make it outrageous. I want it to be affordable, but I'm also not gonna do it if it's not profitable because number one rule business is don't do anything that loses money, you're not gonna be in business very long.
SPEAKER_01So, yeah, I should adhere to that one. Uh damn, I'm a dog shit entrepreneur. Sorry to my uh whoop community. I haven't been able to do giveaways because daddy's gotta get back in the green. Do a lot of like concept two roar giveaways, and boy, that hit me hard.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah. We we used to do a lot of giveaways, and I love giving to people, but I absolutely cooked myself one year giving away so much money, and then once you get behind the ball on finances, it's really hard to fight your way out. So it's uh it's a constant learning game.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, yeah. Um it'll come and it'll go, but yeah. I promise you guys at some point I will be back with uh the whoop community to be doing some more giveaways, but but Papa's gotta make money. I gotta, I gotta turn a profit. It's gonna play.
SPEAKER_03You gotta have you gotta have money to run everything or nothing happens at all. So dude, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, man. Um, I love that idea. I love the book. Uh I have um Dicks on Walls. That's my favorite uh book to come out.
SPEAKER_03Um let me plug something else real quick if you don't mind. So this is called Attention Service Member, and it was made by Ben Brody. He gave me this and he's sort of been helping me with my project. But it's it's thick, it's thick, and he took, I'm pretty sure, all these photos from his time in Iraq and or Afghanistan. Uh, so it's really nice, and you can buy it. I'll I'll give you the link. Send me the link, that'll be an episode description. If you're into like history and like you know, it's got like shitter art and just like random photos from a time that no longer exists. Like it's it's a really cool product.
SPEAKER_01So hell yeah, dude. Yeah, man. We need to have that. I always tell people tell your story, share these things. That's the stuff we need to get out there. People have already forgot, and it's such a big part of our not only our lives, but the American experience. Like, we can't let it forget. We can't let people forget. We need to share it. And if you're listening, tell your story. It doesn't matter that if you think oh, it's not cool. I'm telling you, I want to hear it, I want to know about it because you're holding a piece of the puzzle, you're holding a vital piece of history that will go with you to your grave. So if you were part of the G Watt experience, be willing to share it, man, whether it's a book, a blog, a newsletter, a podcast, get out there and create it. I'll be a fan. Share it with me, man. Um we need it. We need it, man.
SPEAKER_03And I want to share one more thing to that point before we go.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So anybody out there who's thinking about, you know, I want to do something, I want to build something, I want to share my story, just fucking do it and don't let the naysayers discourage you. Because my experience in the the last year, which is where I've started to like do more networking and like share more of my personal life, everybody I know who I actually respect is supportive and likes me. Everybody, like tier one guys, navy SEALs, fucking Green Berets, people who have done stuff, they're all like, hell yeah, dude. And the people who fucking hate and talk shit are not anybody I would ever ask for advice on anything ever. I don't, you know, so it just goes back to your point. Just fucking do what you want. The people who are gonna talk shit don't fucking matter in the first place, anyways.
SPEAKER_01So exactly, man. There's a thousands of you out there with great ideas, great concepts, and you're letting some fucking loser keep you from doing it because some slide comment. Don't fuck those people. Here's a prime example. If you can dream it, you can do it. Cody, I can't thank you enough for coming here, brother. Uh, it's I've been a longtime fan, and now that I got to sit down and talk with you, I'm even bigger of a fanboy. Um, I cannot wait to see this brand explode even more. You're gonna be everywhere. Um, I I know like years from now, you're gonna have like this amazing foundation, and you're gonna have a nonprofit side of the house. You're gonna be going to all the great events, and I'm gonna be proudly able to say, like, hey man, like I had that guy on my D list tier podcast one day. It's fucking awesome.
SPEAKER_02No, you're the first one, too, by the way.
SPEAKER_01Hold on. Yeah. Nice, nice, dude.
SPEAKER_03Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate the invite.
SPEAKER_01Dude, it it honestly, dude, like I I couldn't, I I I cannot tell you how important this brand is and and how great it is, because we need more of it. We need more of it. And now that I know that you're expanding, because everybody that signs up, everybody that serves that wakes up and gets in their uniform and they're they're thrilled to do their job, they need representation, man. They need to be able to say there's a brand that backs me because that's what I fucking do. That's that's fucking awesome. To have individuals that serve in our military that are excited and thrilled to do their job. They deserve to have a sticker they can slap on their launchbox, a flag they can have in their dorm, in their in their freaking dorm room. Like, that's what we need, man, to be able to celebrate this because fuck, man, like now that once you're out and you realize you're no longer part of the team, like you're not cool anymore. Yeah, like the the person wearing the uniform, they deserve the credit. Um, and I'm thrilled to see that there's a brand like yours that's out there doing that, brother.
Where To Follow And Final Ask
SPEAKER_01But before I let you go, where can people go to connect with you and buy some sweet freaking merch?
SPEAKER_03Well, if you go to our main Instagram page at pltdaddy, I'm the only person that monitors that page. So if you send a DM, I'll be the one that sees it and replies. Um, and then the website is just platoondaddy.com. It's pretty much everywhere: Facebook, TikTok, Google, Instagram, whatever. So it's out there. And no, we don't give veteran discounts because fucking everybody's a veteran, so that wouldn't make sense. I had to say that like my brother of Christ. Everybody here is a veteran. Everybody.
SPEAKER_01It's all of us, dog. We have a civilian discount. Right. Oh my god, Cody, thank you so much for being here, brother. Absolute blast. Can't wait to have you back on already. Uh it's yeah, it's awesome, dude. And to everybody listening, thank you guys for rallying around the show. Thank you for being here. Um, but you know the spiel, this episode's over, so please do me a favor, go to the episode description, click those links, send a friend request to Platoon Daddy. More importantly, buy something. Rep the brand, share it with a friend, or buy it as a gift for somebody you love and you want to see them wear the swag. Buy a flag or two, send me one. I'm not ashamed. Send me some swag for free. Um, you got my info there. Go go to seccall gmail.com if you need support or want links to resources. I'm here for you. You know, mental health is a big part of this game. And uh to everybody listening, thank you guys for showing up. Thank you for being here. Cody, thank you for making the time, and we'll see you all next time. Till then, take care. Thank you. Stay in the fight. Hell yeah.
