May 17, 2025 • 5 mins
“What do you get when you mix a Plano school teacher, a Christmas ornament, and a liquor store checkout line?”In this laugh-out-loud episode of The Ben and Skin Show, hosts Ben Rogers, Jeff “Skin” Wade, Kevin “KT” Turner, and Krystina Ray dive headfirst into one of the most unexpectedly hilarious and inspiring business stories to hit North Texas: the rise of BuzzBalls and the jaw-dropping $16 million Plano mansion it bought.From the moment KT drops the “panty dropper intro” to the crew’s wild guesses about what a “buzz ball” really is (“a buzz cut for your testes?”), this episode is packed with side-splitting banter and razor-sharp wit. The gang unpacks the story of Marilee Kick, a former Plano West teacher turned beverage mogul, who turned a boozy brainstorm into a liquor empire—culminating in a mansion with a stocked lake, underwater pool windows, and a 20-seat home theater.Key Moments:
- 🥃 The hilarious confusion over what a BuzzBall actually is.
- 🏡 The jaw-dropping details of the $16M estate (yes, it has a lighted tennis court and immersive 3D audio).
- 💡 A deep dive into the genius of point-of-purchase marketing.
- 😂 KT’s deadpan: “People love to drink, and people love balls.”
- 🏀 The wild comparison between Luka Dončić’s real estate and the BuzzBall empire.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Did god a sauce philosophy, this routine usc.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Oh, this cocktail.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Sauce on top, biziness, battleship risk Oh my gosh. It
sounds like a game. It's not a game. I just
have some business stories.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
The sounds very sexual. It does sound sexual.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Yeah, so is the family feud music about to come in.
We're about to start gaming.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
No, no, it's not. It's not a game. The game. It's
a game playing Riskopoly.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
We just played the today game that's already happened. That's
the game game today.
Speaker 5 (00:42):
I think with our new format, we can't talk about
the rules of Riskopoly. We just talked at the time.
That's more of a podcast for us, big time panty
dropper intro Kevin.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I had nothing to do with it.
Speaker 5 (00:55):
Sounds like a familiar artist.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Yeah. Might have been played on the show before in
the past. Is that right when we did play a game. Yeah,
don't worry. We had to tell the audience everything. Move forward, man, Okay,
are y'all y'all know what buzzballs are. Yes, it's when
they're shorn. No, that's what I thought. That was a
buzz cut for your testes. When it's when your balls
(01:19):
go by the tower, right right, No.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
There are alcoholic drinks that usually find empty in an
alley way anywhere in Dallas.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Thank you for bringing some seriousness and levity to the show, Christine. Yeah, guys,
buzzballs are highly popular.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
And seen them. Youve seen them in a liquor store.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Oh yeah, it's like a shot that's at the point
of purchase.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Yeah, so it's a ball Christmas ornament. And then of course,
after a couple of years, let's make them huge. They
make some big ones too that you can buy.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
I prefer the big ones.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So the founder of Buzzballs, which is Buzzballs.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Was Carrollton based buzz Aldridge, the found founder of Lady
I remember, and she sold it.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
It is a lady. Her name is Merrilee Kick.
Speaker 5 (02:03):
That was a big story when she she was a
school teacher.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Right, I don't know about that, dude. I think she
I read this story.
Speaker 5 (02:08):
She was not this one. But when when this got
to be a big deal, she created She was a
school teacher and she created this and she sold it
for a ton of money.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
So Merrily Kick and her husband Timothy Timothy Kick, they
bought a house in Plano for fifteen point nine million dollars. Yeah,
because they made a ton of money off this.
Speaker 5 (02:27):
Dude. This has happened in the last three or four years.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Yes, they bought it from a guy named Matthew Rutledge
who owned the Internet store.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
WoT is her woot?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
No? I haven't either, but that might be why he's
selling his house that was going to be huge and
an internet store.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, internet retailer and me. It's what it is. It's
like a Timu or something probably, ok. I mean I
really don't even know what Wood is either.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
I mean I think it's called eBay. eBay, Yeah, Amazon,
that's like, Yeah, Wood is an Amazon company?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Absolutely is. How about that? Uh? Okay. So the point is.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
The buzz balls people who've just decided, we don't what
if we just put it in a Christmas ornament looking thing.
We just put it in a big ball. People love
to drink and people love balls.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Nice. Now we can buy our sixteen million dollar house
and play.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Oh I was blown away by that figure.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
I don't know, you don't see many sixteen million dollar houses.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
I've never had one before. But it is great marketing
because every time you go to the liquor store, they
are right there.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
When you're checking out.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Oh that's the key. Can you come up with an
item that is a point of purchase item? Can you
get that counter space right there when people are checking
out and it's you've already got everything you came there
for and you're just waiting. Yeah, why wouldn't we take
a couple shots tonight. I'm gonna grab these.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
Yeah, one of the main reasons candy bars still crush.
They're just right there.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
They get your eye to the balls, and they're different colors.
Speaker 5 (03:54):
Is this a DMN story? Yes, Okay, if you scroll down,
there'll be related stories. And I bet it's the automn
Is the story from a few years ago when she
sold this thing.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
It's not in there years ago.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I thought it was just a month or two ago.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
The final sentence, how about that? It was what's that?
Are you ready? Yeah? Merrily Kicks started.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Buzzballs in twenty ten when she was a teacher at
Plano West Senior High School.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
So damn teacher getting the students drunk. That's that is
a huge amount.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Like you even hear about like the houses that pro
athletes build and move into, and it's.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Not that that's that's that sounds like La real estate.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Twelve three hundred feet sits on about seven acres, six bedrooms,
seven bathrooms, four partial bathrooms.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
To get seven acres in the middle of Plano.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Come on, has an one acre lake stocked with bass
and catfish, a lighted tennis court, a resort style heated
pull with underwater windows.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
That a twenty seat home theater.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Of course, oh in the immersive three D audio system,
because I think if you can tell the word immersive
into something that helps it, that helps your PK value.
Speaker 5 (05:05):
He's right.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Think about this.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
The guy who was about to be the highest paid
athlete in DFW making seventy million dollars per year is
what Luca was about to do. He bought a house
for fifteen million right before he was traded. Wow, so
that's even more than a guy who was about to
be making seventy a year, plus his endorsements and yeah,
plus his endorsement plus another decade of making money.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
Yeah, that seems like a lot of money. I think
I remember this story. She sold it for a ton
of money. So Luca is the buzzballs of alcoholic drinks.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yes, that's what we have deduced today. Good job and
business battleship risk.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Comply.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Next week i'll have some more business stories. You just
wait all weekend for that.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
That's a great intro
Did god a sauce philosophy, this routine usc.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Oh, this cocktail.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Sauce on top, biziness, battleship risk Oh my gosh. It
sounds like a game. It's not a game. I just
have some business stories.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
The sounds very sexual. It does sound sexual.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Yeah, so is the family feud music about to come in.
We're about to start gaming.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
No, no, it's not. It's not a game. The game. It's
a game playing Riskopoly.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
We just played the today game that's already happened. That's
the game game today.
Speaker 5 (00:42):
I think with our new format, we can't talk about
the rules of Riskopoly. We just talked at the time.
That's more of a podcast for us, big time panty
dropper intro Kevin.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I had nothing to do with it.
Speaker 5 (00:55):
Sounds like a familiar artist.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Yeah. Might have been played on the show before in
the past. Is that right when we did play a game. Yeah,
don't worry. We had to tell the audience everything. Move forward, man, Okay,
are y'all y'all know what buzzballs are. Yes, it's when
they're shorn. No, that's what I thought. That was a
buzz cut for your testes. When it's when your balls
(01:19):
go by the tower, right right, No.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
There are alcoholic drinks that usually find empty in an
alley way anywhere in Dallas.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Thank you for bringing some seriousness and levity to the show, Christine. Yeah, guys,
buzzballs are highly popular.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
And seen them. Youve seen them in a liquor store.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Oh yeah, it's like a shot that's at the point
of purchase.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Yeah, so it's a ball Christmas ornament. And then of course,
after a couple of years, let's make them huge. They
make some big ones too that you can buy.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
I prefer the big ones.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
So the founder of Buzzballs, which is Buzzballs.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Was Carrollton based buzz Aldridge, the found founder of Lady
I remember, and she sold it.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
It is a lady. Her name is Merrilee Kick.
Speaker 5 (02:03):
That was a big story when she she was a
school teacher.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Right, I don't know about that, dude. I think she
I read this story.
Speaker 5 (02:08):
She was not this one. But when when this got
to be a big deal, she created She was a
school teacher and she created this and she sold it
for a ton of money.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
So Merrily Kick and her husband Timothy Timothy Kick, they
bought a house in Plano for fifteen point nine million dollars. Yeah,
because they made a ton of money off this.
Speaker 5 (02:27):
Dude. This has happened in the last three or four years.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Yes, they bought it from a guy named Matthew Rutledge
who owned the Internet store.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
WoT is her woot?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
No? I haven't either, but that might be why he's
selling his house that was going to be huge and
an internet store.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, internet retailer and me. It's what it is. It's
like a Timu or something probably, ok. I mean I
really don't even know what Wood is either.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
I mean I think it's called eBay. eBay, Yeah, Amazon,
that's like, Yeah, Wood is an Amazon company?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Absolutely is. How about that? Uh? Okay. So the point is.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
The buzz balls people who've just decided, we don't what
if we just put it in a Christmas ornament looking thing.
We just put it in a big ball. People love
to drink and people love balls.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Nice. Now we can buy our sixteen million dollar house
and play.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Oh I was blown away by that figure.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
I don't know, you don't see many sixteen million dollar houses.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
I've never had one before. But it is great marketing
because every time you go to the liquor store, they
are right there.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
When you're checking out.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Oh that's the key. Can you come up with an
item that is a point of purchase item? Can you
get that counter space right there when people are checking
out and it's you've already got everything you came there
for and you're just waiting. Yeah, why wouldn't we take
a couple shots tonight. I'm gonna grab these.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
Yeah, one of the main reasons candy bars still crush.
They're just right there.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
They get your eye to the balls, and they're different colors.
Speaker 5 (03:54):
Is this a DMN story? Yes, Okay, if you scroll down,
there'll be related stories. And I bet it's the automn
Is the story from a few years ago when she
sold this thing.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
It's not in there years ago.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I thought it was just a month or two ago.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
The final sentence, how about that? It was what's that?
Are you ready? Yeah? Merrily Kicks started.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Buzzballs in twenty ten when she was a teacher at
Plano West Senior High School.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
So damn teacher getting the students drunk. That's that is
a huge amount.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
Like you even hear about like the houses that pro
athletes build and move into, and it's.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Not that that's that's that sounds like La real estate.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Twelve three hundred feet sits on about seven acres, six bedrooms,
seven bathrooms, four partial bathrooms.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
To get seven acres in the middle of Plano.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Come on, has an one acre lake stocked with bass
and catfish, a lighted tennis court, a resort style heated
pull with underwater windows.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
That a twenty seat home theater.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Of course, oh in the immersive three D audio system,
because I think if you can tell the word immersive
into something that helps it, that helps your PK value.
Speaker 5 (05:05):
He's right.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Think about this.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
The guy who was about to be the highest paid
athlete in DFW making seventy million dollars per year is
what Luca was about to do. He bought a house
for fifteen million right before he was traded. Wow, so
that's even more than a guy who was about to
be making seventy a year, plus his endorsements and yeah,
plus his endorsement plus another decade of making money.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
Yeah, that seems like a lot of money. I think
I remember this story. She sold it for a ton
of money. So Luca is the buzzballs of alcoholic drinks.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yes, that's what we have deduced today. Good job and
business battleship risk.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Comply.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Next week i'll have some more business stories. You just
wait all weekend for that.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
That's a great intro
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