Veterans, Valor, and Timepieces: The Anti-Watch Watch Club Story

What happens when watch enthusiasm meets a passion for service? The Anti-Watch Watch Club (AWWC) is redefining what a watch community can accomplish by focusing on those who protect us every day.

Cody Fite, Head of Business Development at AWWC and 20-year Army veteran, takes us inside this unique nonprofit founded by veterans and first responders who initially connected through their shared love of watches. Unlike traditional charities bogged down by bureaucracy, AWWC delivers immediate help to veterans and first responders in need – whether that's emergency transportation, housing assistance, or specialized training that saves lives.

The conversation reveals how military experience shapes both their approach to watches and community building. For these veterans, watches aren't status symbols but tools that mark time – something they understand is precious and irreplaceable. Their Blue Guardians Program sponsors law enforcement officers to receive advanced training their departments can't afford, while their collaborations with watch brands fund scholarships and housing for homeless female veterans with families.

Beyond philanthropy, Cody provides powerful insights into the challenges veterans face when transitioning to civilian life. "That's your identity, that's all you know," he explains about military service. "When you retire or get out, that's a big part of your identity just gone." AWWC creates a community where veterans find the camaraderie they miss while navigating civilian careers.

This episode goes beyond typical watch talk to explore how timepieces can bring people together for greater purpose. Whether you're a veteran, first responder, watch enthusiast, or simply someone who appreciates authentic community building, you'll find inspiration in how the Anti-Watch Watch Club is using their passion to serve those who serve us.

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Episode Transcript

Blake Rea (00:02):
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of
the Lonely Worse podcast, andtoday we have a very unique
guest tuning in from theAnti-Watch Watch Club.
I know that sounds funny, butthe Anti-Watch Watch Club is a
501c3 nonprofit organizationhere in the lovely city of Las

(00:25):
Vegas who's actually rooted inpurpose, founded with a mission
to serve those who serve.
The AWC is a veteran and firstresponder powered community that
uses the symbol of the watchnot as a luxury status marker
but as a bold expression ofresilience, rebellion and
identity.
More than just a club, the AWCis a movement built by those who

(00:48):
protect for those who protectand committed to honoring the
service through storytelling,camaraderie and authentic
connection.
Everyone, please welcome thehead of business development in
today's epic podcast guest, mybuddy Cody Feige.
What's up, brother?

Cody Fite (01:05):
What's going on.
I don't know if I can follow upto that intro, but truly thank
you, blake, for allowing me tohop on your podcast.
I basically listen to everysingle episode you do on my way
to work or on my way home, likethis morning with Skylar, skylar

(01:25):
home.
Like, uh, this morning with uh.

Blake Rea (01:27):
Yeah, I listened to with uh Skylar, yeah, yeah, that
was a good one.

Cody Fite (01:30):
Um, I was like all right, like I can't wait for it.
So truly thank you.
I'm humbled and honored to bebe on your guest.
Thank you, yeah, we let I loveit.

Blake Rea (01:41):
I really did love it you know, like I guess not a lot
of people are talking about allthe the stuff that happens in
the back rooms of the watchindustry, the back dealings,
like we felt like it was prettyimportant to make something kind
of like that you know, yeah, Imean there's.

Cody Fite (01:57):
There's truth and transparency and y'all really
hit the nail on the head withduring that whole episode.

Blake Rea (02:02):
So thank you, thank you, yeah, we got.
We've got some more greatguests coming up, obviously,
including you.
Uh, let's please start off withyou guys.
Shift the spotlight here, um,tell us about I mean, I know
it's hard to follow up.
I did my best, um, but tell usthe early days of anti-watch

(02:23):
Watch Club Like what does thatmean as an insider, and tell us
how it all got started.

Cody Fite (02:31):
So I guess I'll go back in time, tell you, tell the
audience, how we all started.
So all of us kind of foundourselves in the singing owners
Facebook group page.
We all had singing intimates,we were buying them and pretty

(02:52):
obsessed, and went down therabbit hole from what Jake does
with singing and just by miracle, we just you know how it goes.
You start to talk in the samepost and you're slowly replying
to each other and then, beforeyou know it, you're DMing each
other and then all of a suddenyou're inviting all your other

(03:14):
buddies and brothers and sistersinto your chat and it's like,
hey, what if we did something?
And that's literally how westarted Alex, our CEO, who's in
Vegas, north Las Vegas.
He was able to be like, hey,boom, boom, boom.
Tony, joey, alex, zach, cody, abunch of others.

(03:42):
Like we kind of found ourselvestalking more directly to each
other versus everyone else onthe same page and then through
weeks turns into months andbefore you know it we're, I
guess, throwing around the ideaof hey, how can we give back to

(04:03):
the community that we haveserved in?
Three out of the I want to sayabout 90% of us has either
served in the military, servedin law enforcement or as a first
responder.
So, yes, there are so manycharities that we know
specifically of because we serve, so we know.

(04:25):
But with those big charitiesand they do great work there's
nothing wrong with what they do,but there's a lot of red tape.
So we literally wanted to cutthe red tape out.
We're like, fuck it, we'regoing to help our brothers and
sisters.
You just give us, you know thewho, what, when, where and why.
Hey, this person needs help.

(04:48):
We're going to help ourbrothers and sisters.
You just give us, you know thewho, what, when, where and why.
Hey, this person needs help.
We kind of talk to each otherabout it, get everyone's
thoughts and ideas and we'relike, yep, this is how we can
help and we instantly areallowed to help that service
member or that law enforcementofficer.
That I mean, yeah, pretty epicthat was like a what two minute,
five minute elevator pitch, Iguess no, that's.

Blake Rea (05:08):
I mean, hey, like I said, we're we're pretty uh
gloves off here um everythingthat we like to do.
I mean we, we're just trying tocut through it right, cut
through the bullshit yeah, um,we I think our our very first
year.

Cody Fite (05:24):
We we knew we had it coming out the gate swinging.
We had some hoodie shirts madeand then we were like, hey,
let's come up with our veryfirst strap.
So we all shot back and forth,had prototypes made, tested,
developed it further andliterally within our first year

(05:47):
we released our own strap.
It was called the Decon Strapand from all those sales we were
able to donate $4,000 to theVeterans Community Renewal Team
out in Connecticut veteranscommunity renewal team out in
Connecticut and their mission isthey house female homeless

(06:08):
veterans with their families.
So right out the gate we didthat and we're like, okay, this
is our mission, Like this iswhat we're about.
So we're like, yep, it's got tobe a nonprofit.
We want to maximize our returnof investment, If you want to
say, from all of our sales, justto be able to give them more,

(06:31):
if that makes sense.

Blake Rea (06:32):
Yeah, no, totally.
Um.
And then you said you guys gottogether.
Was it on a form?
Do I understand that correctly?

Cody Fite (06:40):
Uh, the lovely facebookcom Yep Uh.
Singing instruments ownersgroup.
Oh, singing instruments ownersgroup.

Blake Rea (06:48):
Oh, okay, okay, how did the name Anti-Watch Watch
Club?
Because I mean, it's a badassname, right?
I think I've even seen shirtsthat people are wearing
Anti-Watch Watch Club, and Idon't know if they're even
affiliated to you guys.

Cody Fite (07:04):
Probably are.
Okay, uh, zach serves as ourcoup uh for the non-profit, so
he was kind of tasked to come upwith the name.
So he took the wholeanti-social social club and
right on it.
And then we're like, hey,anti-watch watch club.
Um, there's more meaning to it,obviously, because you know as

(07:30):
well as I do there's.
There's a lot of toxic culturewithin the watch enthusiast
world, watch collectors, so it'slike a play on them, right to
To be like, hey, we don't care,like screw you, go, sit in the
corner with your precious watchthat you're not willing to wear

(07:53):
or enjoy or to create memorieswith.
That gets transposed into thewatch and that watch goes to you
know, son, daughter, wife,boyfriend, whatever the case is
right, we wanted that to be toldfrom the get-go.
So we were like, hey, thosepeople great, they exist,

(08:15):
they've got amazing watches, butthey're missing the whole point
of a watch and life and what itmeans to be able to give
something back and pass time,because time's something you
can't get back yeah, I, I can'tagree more, um, especially with

(08:36):
sanjan.

Blake Rea (08:37):
Um, I mean, it's a really kind of utilitarian
purpose-built, you know,mechanism right, it's a tool,
right.
And I've talked I've talkedbefore about like there's
watches that that you have tokeep up with, and then there's
watches that like keep up withyou right yes, absolutely and uh

(08:59):
in the latter is the case here.
I mean, um, it seems like youguys, I think, even as these
watch brands grow and startembracing their community and I
mean, I know, you know it's moreof an independent brand, but
you know, you start to noticethat the owners of those watches
are kind of they're very muchthe same type of archetype, you

(09:25):
know as as as the independent ormicro brand owner, whatever you
want to call it um.
But it's weird how I know umfriends that have some of the
same watch brands as me and andthey're, we think, a lot alike.
It's so weird how we're allattracted to these little wrist
marvels, um, yeah, I mean it's.

Cody Fite (09:46):
I mean the cliche saying is right, like, hey, we,
we came from the watches, but westay for the people, right, but
like, yeah, if you think aboutit, like we don't need an
antiquated piece of equipment,right, to be able to sell date
time.
We got a phone, we got smartwatches, yeah, but we literally
do come together because of theshared obsession that we have

(10:13):
and then we're able to creategroups and we're able to create
groups that are able to giveback, like awwc, there's, uh,
you know, sketchy boys watchclub um, that's another military
first responder law enforcementgroup out there.
You know, you've sketchy boyswatch club um, that's another
military first responder lawenforcement group out there.
You know, you've got all thered bar groups.
You've got, you know, libertywatch group out of north

(10:34):
carolina.

Blake Rea (10:34):
So it literally is that that really means something
to us as watch enthusiasts andhow did you guys, just how did
you guys, decide to focus on,like veterans, like first
responders, like le, like what?
Where did you see the needwithin those, those communities,

(10:56):
or service oriented communities?

Cody Fite (10:59):
uh, so for sure.
Um, three out of the like, no,four out of eight, four out of
nine of us founders, you know,we were all active duty at some
point in our lives.
So I did 20 years in the Army,tony did you know 20 years as
well between the United StatesMarine Corps and the Army.

(11:21):
Alex, our CEO, he was Army aswell.
So we have so much of thatdirect connection to our
military brothers and sisters.
And then when Alex got out, hebecame a law enforcement officer
.
So now that's how we tied intolaw enforcement.

(11:44):
There's a lot of charities thatreally focus on the veterans and
that's great, but the lawenforcement first responders
kind of get taken care of, butnot on a scale that we do as
veterans, right.
So we really wanted to focus onlaw enforcement and first
responders, because they'redoing this day in and day out,

(12:08):
whereas during my career I'd goaway for six months, come back
for six months, so I'd have agood six months break, but our
law enforcement first respondersit's every single day.
So we wanted to focus heavilyon those, those core groups who

(12:30):
protect us.
Because, face it, if, if you'reneed, you're going to call
9-1-1.
Yeah, I don't care what youthink or what you say on social
media.
You're, you're going to call9-1-1, yeah, and you're going to
call 911.
Yeah, and you're going to wantthem to show up.
So we felt it a duty and anobligation to really take care

(12:50):
of them.
So we started a program calledBlue Guardians Program.
Sorry, let me take a drink ofmy IPA.

Blake Rea (12:59):
There you go.
We have to full screen that.

Cody Fite (13:06):
So Blue Guardians program is a program that we
wanted to start because Alexhe's a law enforcement officer,
so he sees it every single day.
So, typical police recruit, youknow, they go through their
training, they get qualified.
Now you're a police officer.

(13:28):
That's kind of all the trainingthey get, from first aid to.
You know non-lethal force tolethal force, you know how to
protect themselves, theirpartners, civilians around them.
That academy is really all theyget unless the police department

(13:50):
has a massive budget In themilitary.
You got the budget, you got themoney.
You can go to school,completely different than our
first responders and officers.
So we will literally sponsor afirst responder or a excuse me

(14:15):
LEO to go to an advanced firstaid class, say wilderness EMT,
right, where maybe they areparamedic but yet they may be a
big skier, mountaineer.
Well, wilderness EMT teachesvery specific skills to enhance

(14:38):
that EMT, but in a wildernesssetting.
Or we will sponsor policeofficers to join a mixed martial
arts gym and with that, youknow they owe us reports because
we're not just going to pay forsomething and not see anything

(14:59):
in return.
Yeah, so you know they send usphotos, they post on social
media, they tag us.
You know that way it's.

Blake Rea (15:10):
People are seeing it, their friends and their
officers are seeing it, and thennow they're applying to the
program or they might be able toadvance themselves ahead of
their peers well, we'll have tolink up kind of here off podcast
, because I actually have afriend that runs some CQB

(15:30):
courses which I mean, as I'msure you're probably aware, is a
big, important role in the job.
I mean, here you are in thestreets.
I mean, if Alex, I think, is hein Metro, is he in Metro, las
Vegas Metro?

Cody Fite (15:45):
No, he's not.
He's not not Metro, he's a, heis a federal LEO.

Blake Rea (15:52):
Oh, okay, okay.

Cody Fite (15:52):
Okay, yep, so um you know, we partnered with GBRS
group out of Virginia beach umyou know, DJ Cole, you know
their former dev group, you knowso they put on their own course
where it's.
You know anyone can attend,right, but we've sponsored
officers to go to those coursesjust because we want to better

(16:20):
the officer and we know thestandard that GBRS is going to
teach and uphold.
So yeah, but yet we justenhanced that officer's ability
to protect himself or herself ortheir partner or you and I, you
know.
God forbid that time ever comeright.

Blake Rea (16:44):
What branch did you serve in?

Cody Fite (16:47):
So I was in the Army.
Okay, 2003 to 2023.

Blake Rea (16:54):
I know this is kind of cliche too.
I'm sure you guys are tired ofhearing this, but I also
appreciate your service.
Thank you.

Cody Fite (16:59):
Well, literally, thank you, because without your
support, right, it would be abad time for us.
So thank you for supporting us.

Blake Rea (17:08):
Thank you for also the care package that you sent
me, of course, the straps that Imean.
I wish I probably should.
It would be more appropriatefor me to be wearing it right
now.
Um but uh.
But man, those things workreally well on my speedy and my
Seamaster and I don't think thatI've ever even taken it off my

(17:29):
uh, my Seamaster.
It's like it fits perfectly,it's comfortable.
So I'll have to we'll make surewe plug these guys.
And I'm curious I'm surethere's probably a time in your
past life, maybe as a servicemember, that made you think like

(17:51):
or gave you the first fullcircle moment to bring you into
this mission you're doing now.
I'm curious, maybe if you couldtouch on that.

Cody Fite (18:07):
Yeah, so there's a lot of programs in the United
States Army that are forimmediate assistance of all
sorts of types for servicemembers, this is not sponsored
by the.
DOD.
I'm just speaking from my ownexperience dealing with them.
So let's say you call me, rightand you're in dire financial

(18:30):
needs.
You're on your vacation and yougot four flat tires, baby
screaming, you need to find ahotel, or you need funds, right,
because maybe you really don'tmake a lot when you're starting
in any military service.
Okay, so let's say I'm yourboss.

(18:52):
You'd call me like hey, what'sup?
Blake Cool got it.
Let me see what I can do for you, us as leaders.
That's when we start callingour resources and start coming
up with solutions and answeringtheir questions and providing
them the required information inorder for you to get these

(19:17):
funds.
But the clock's already tickingright.
So then I have to get my bossesinvolved, and that's more time
added that you're stuck on theroad.
So it's a process, and so it'sa process.

(19:49):
I mean, it's a great process,but we know, uh, this guy's
daughter's taken to the er.
Can we provide the meals?
Yep, hey, here's, you know,gift cards to provide a family
meals in a matter of minutes,right, versus the time it takes

(20:13):
for you to explain the situationto me, me to start calling the
bosses and start calling toresources and regurgitating what
you told me to them, but it maynot warrant their need.
They could be like, nope, sorry, we wanted to cut that all out

(20:35):
completely.
So we've done everything, fromprovide countless rides for
veterans going from their placeof residence to a va clinic.
We provide them, you know,basic sanitary.
We're very big on meals.
Like just Alex will go buy allthese meals and just hand them

(20:59):
out.
Nice, right, um.
So much so that we even startedour own scholarship.
From what, uh, jack Mason, withPeter.

Blake Rea (21:08):
Oh cool.
Yep so good person to team upwith.

Cody Fite (21:13):
Yeah, um, we, that was our second launch collab
that we did, uh, we did.
Our first one was notice andWes and Colin and their amazing
team, and then, um, we, uh, oursecond collab was with Peter and
his team.
So, yep, so, um, scholarshipprogram is it's, it's growing,

(21:36):
it's all set up financially andthe accounts and all that stuff.
So those who may have fallenmaybe that $100, lost their
mother or father, they can applyand we can at least help them
with some type of cost towardstheir education.
Right, yeah, we can't covereverything, but something is

(21:59):
better than nothing.

Blake Rea (22:00):
Yeah.

Cody Fite (22:02):
So we are super proud of that, because this is only
going on year three for us.

Blake Rea (22:08):
That's crazy.
Seems like you guysaccomplished a lot in three
years crazy.

Cody Fite (22:16):
So seems like some of you guys accomplished a lot in
three years.

Blake Rea (22:18):
Uh, you, you know there's, there's a lot of people
that will listen, that you know, you, who are probably veterans
themselves, right like you,can't tell us no, yeah, well,
you give us a problem, we'llwe'll solve it that now that I'm
actually like I guess I'm likeabsorbing this right now too,
because you know we've talkedbriefly and you know, obviously

(22:39):
doing a little bit of researchfor the pod, and then thinking
back now that you've justliterally like kind of like
dropped that bombshell.
Working with, I mean, the VA isa nightmare.
Like working with a VA is afreaking nightmare working with
any type of like veteranoriented non-profit I mean

(23:00):
applications, applications, umand and there literally is just
so much freaking red tape.
And a lot of times, like, basedupon my experience and a little
context, I'm sure you probablyknow Actually I don't know if I

(23:20):
ever told this story on mypodcast, but I told it on
another person's podcast butAugust of last year my dad
passed away and he was a vet.

Cody Fite (23:30):
I'm sorry to hear that.

Blake Rea (23:30):
first of all, Thank you, yeah, I appreciate it.
And so you know, as I was goingthrough this whole process, you
know I'm doing like the estateI'm dealing with, my brother,
I'm dealing with, like all ofyou know, what's left of his
assets.
You know, um, you know, try totake care of the service, all
this stuff.
Um, somebody had mentioned tome, like in this whole process,
that, um, you know, if you're aveteran, like the va will cover

(23:55):
you know your, you know your,your, your like, your, your
service right, your cremation,or you know memorial service, or
you know whatever.
Um, so there there I am sittingthere filling out all this va
paperwork, um, you know, tryingto get all this shit covered and
and no, like I don't know if Ijust filed it incorrectly or

(24:16):
what, but they denied to help mydad with his cremation, exactly
so like it's better thannothing.

Cody Fite (24:26):
Right?
The VA, it is what it is.
Yeah, yeah, it's always goingto be this way.
But if there's something thatyou know nine dudes can do, five
of it who really do it actively.
If there's something that wecan do like we're going to do it
Literally, like we've sent justflowers and balloons and cars

(24:50):
to, you know, new fathers or newmothers who are posted in our
Facebook group like with a.
You know new fathers or newmothers who are posted in our
Facebook group like with a youknow wrist shot with their
newborn.
Like that's something right.
Like these people took the timeand created that instant moment
with that picture that watchthat newborn right, like, and

(25:14):
they're choosing it to post iton our facebook page.
Like it's truly humbling.
Like it's awesome, right likeyou can't beat that um and so it
sounds like you guys to va.
Right like it.
It just goes to if there'ssomething we can do, we want to

(25:35):
do it to the best of our abilityand to as much of it we can do
for them, and it's a couplethousand dollars, or hey, I just
need like an Uber ride from myresidence to the VA clinic.
Right Like, okay, that's easy.

Blake Rea (25:55):
Yeah, I was under the impression too that the VA was
supposed to even take care ofstuff like that, but I'm sure it
was a huge process to even getinvolved or to get paid for.

Cody Fite (26:06):
Yeah, it's just, and it's.
You know, states have theirpiece of the pie too, right.
So you know the state.
And then also in all the VAcenters, they need their piece
of the pie too right.
So, yeah, the state.
And then also in all the bacenters, they need their piece
of pie.
So, like it is just, I don'tknow how many ubers alex has
provided for, you know, peoplejust going to their appointments
.
Yeah, it's not even like athought to us.

Blake Rea (26:29):
You're like, yeah, duh, like if, if you ever, and
you, but you may or may not cometo vegas.
But, um, I know you're back outeast, but going to the va in
vegas.

Cody Fite (26:41):
Last time I was in vegas was like 2002.
Oh oh, wow shit.

Blake Rea (26:47):
It's been a while like, yeah right, like it was a
world decoding weekend theremight have been 2001 you'll,
you'll have to come this yearfor like, like, shot Show or
something like that.
It seems like a good one tocome.

Cody Fite (26:59):
Yeah, alex will be there, I know that for sure.

Blake Rea (27:03):
He'll be there, yeah and so.
So, vegas, right, and just asan example, like you know, when
I, when I lost my job, like Iwas doing Uber, like just you
know, as a side way to makeextra bucks to keep some food on
the table, and going to the VAin Vegas is a freaking excursion

(27:24):
.
It's like 45 minutes outsidethe city, northwest Las Vegas,
nowhere close, nowhere close toVegas.
And so, um, you know, I I'mpicking up people and driving
them there and then, you know,taking people back and that's
like another 45 minute trip back.
But, um, you know, bringingthis a little forward.

(27:46):
Um, you know, you guys startedthe group based on, you know,
your, your shared passion forwatches.
Um, was there ever a concept towrap it around something else?
You know, I mean, you can wrapa community like this not only
around watches, but it seemslike, uh, you know, all of us

(28:07):
are into the same stuff, likeguns, cars, edc, stuff, you know
, instruments, pools, like, orwas this the watch?
Just the natural community towrap it around?

Cody Fite (28:17):
cars, edc stuff, instruments, pools, or was the
watch just the natural communityto wrap it around?
So anyone who has any career,everything is dictated by time,
right, Totally.
But you ask any militaryveteran or active duty service
member, you ask him about time,it will literally give us like a

(28:39):
full-blown panic attack,anxiety attack.
Or, you know, you don't eventell us like hey, we're going to
be late, or else like we willpop a blood vessel.
Um, it is that ingrained to usfrom a fairly early start in
your branch of service.
Hey, you will not be late,you'll be like 45 minutes early

(29:04):
to the 45 minutes early to youknow, the 10 minutes early.
So everything is dictated bytime.
So all of us, of course, worewatches Seiko, sengens, didn't
matter.
So that core antiquated pieceof technology that we love is

(29:33):
what brought us all together,because we all knew how
important time was to us and ourexperiences from across the
seas.
Right, like hey, like time toeverything, time to everything.
So that core piece brought usall together, that core piece
keeps us all together, becausetime's the one thing you can't
get back.

Blake Rea (29:51):
That makes sense.
And I can't give you any moretime one thing you can't get
back that makes sense and Ican't give you any more time.
Um, you know, and you guys havegiven away so much of it to the
community as well.

Cody Fite (30:01):
That's, that's our passion, that's what drives us
to be better for our community.
Um, so we're always, we'realways looking to help out.
And how can we help out more?
So I think this year we havefive more LEOs that are going to

(30:23):
start courses in Q4.
Nice, so they're all across thestates.
It's not just Vegas, it's notjust Savannah Georgia, it's not
just vegas, it's not just, youknow, savannah georgia.
It's not virginia beach, it'sliterally like a sheriff in
bozeman, montana if he wants togo to a course, just apply like

(30:44):
it's that easy so, now thatyou've flipped this script on, I
think what would be what wewould call a traditional watch
club, whatever that is.

Blake Rea (30:55):
What are you guys trying beyond the mission?
What are you guys trying tocommunicate to your audience,
the community?

Cody Fite (31:10):
And it goes back.
You and Skyler talked about ittoo, right?
It doesn't matter what you'rewearing.
We literally just want you torock whatever watch you have and
use it to create memories.

Blake Rea (31:27):
Yeah.

Cody Fite (31:28):
Use it to create memories that can be passed on,
so that when your daughter'swalking down the aisle or you
know your son's waiting on thealtar or whatever the case may
be, right like they'll alwaysremember hey, I remember dad
wearing his seamaster, his belland ross, his blow for you,

(31:49):
right, his, his doxa, right like, yeah, there, key.
And my kids do it right, theyknow my watches, they know, like
, which one I'm wearing, becausethey have their own watches,
but there's memories alreadyingrained in them with my
watches on and those things andscratches and chips.

(32:14):
Um, you know, that tells astory and that's a story that
should be shared and enjoyed.

Blake Rea (32:24):
I'm sure you guys inside the leadership team at
AWWC have probably talked aboutmaybe, um, you know legacy,
right, like you know you justkind of touched on it with with
your maybe you know legacy,right, like you know, you just
kind of touched on it with yourfamily.
But what does legacy mean, youknow, for a community like
Anti-Watch Watch Club.
You know what type of impact,not only in the day-to-day lives

(32:47):
, are you guys hoping toaccomplish, but you know, for
the culture at large.
You know what is that If wecould echo those into the
community.

Cody Fite (32:58):
So for sure we all of us um, this is something we
want our kids to be a part of.
This is something that we wantthe community at large to know
that it's okay to reach out forhelp, because a lot of us are
very we're afraid to ask for anytype of help and we're very

(33:21):
self-aware of how much we are indenial of that.
We want the community to growand know that we're all in this
together, because at some pointthat uniform's going to come off
and all that we will have isthose memories that should never
be forgotten or trashed orlooked down upon.

(33:44):
Um, we just want to get back topeople being people right, like
bill and ted.
You remember bill and ted'sexcellent oh, yeah, oh yeah, be
excellent to each other, rightyeah we want that, when we hand

(34:06):
this business to, in thisnon-profit of ours, to our kids,
like we want that instilledinto that going, you know, 20,
30 years from now yeah, um,let's air some things out, okay,
because not not a lot of us Imean your former military, like

(34:30):
my dad, former military, youknow.

Blake Rea (34:33):
So, not a lot of us have, you know, a military
spouse, partner, father, familymember.
Um, I want you to air out, youknow, some of the there's a lot
of struggles that I've seen.
You know, I've had a lot offriends in the military.
Um, not to mention,transitioning back to civilian

(34:55):
life is, I mean, probably morechallenging than even joining
the military itself.
Um, but what are some of thechallenges and struggles that
you know, you guys see, amongthe veterans and first responder
community and I have afollow-up question for that, but
it's so while we were in, it'sthat's your identity.

Cody Fite (35:20):
That's that's all you know, right?
Um, I'll use myself, forexample.
So you know, from 2005 tobasically mid late 2014, like my
life was six months gone, sixmonths at home, but during that
six months I'm also gone for youknow, two or three months out

(35:43):
of the six months and then backagain for six months, and that's
your identity, that's who youare like.
That's that's all you know.
And then you move up in rank oryou move up, you know, to
different units and that's yournew identity, right?
Like you're always serving andyou're always doing something

(36:07):
and then, all of a sudden, whenyou retire or you get out,
that's a big part of youridentity.
That, especially for you know20 years, but even three years,
like it's three years of yourlife.
That's three years of youridentity just gone, and you
really don't.
It's like what do I do?

(36:29):
Like I don't know what to do.
I applied to so many jobs likebecause I didn't know what to do
.
I I applied to so many jobslike because I didn't know what
I wanted to do.
I knew my end game, like what Iwould love to do, but like I
didn't have a degree at first,like when I got out, I don't
know why I didn't, but neitherhere nor there.
But you lose that camaraderie,you lose that team aspect where

(36:53):
it's it's all about the team,not the individual, whereas
corporate america, right like,it's all about blake, it's all
about cody.
But what can I?
What?

Blake Rea (37:03):
can you do?
You see, it's all about all mycorporate profits exactly right
like and your controllables.

Cody Fite (37:09):
Right, like cody manages controllers better than
you blake.
Why is that?
Right, like cody managescontrol where it's better than
you blake.
Why is that?
Yeah, like it's so that team iscompletely gone as well.
Because now you're like can'twe all just work together?
Where everyone is else is likenope, I got where's, where's the
next ring on the ladder.
Yeah, and then you were likeman.

(37:31):
You also have a very hard timelearning how to speak and deal
with the civilians.
Right, because, like the, theculture and the, the ability to
say what we want to say in themilitary.
You know we can't talk likethat to civilians, which, yeah,
totally understand, but you doit for 20 years.

(37:54):
That's ingrained in your brain.
Right, like saying hey, goodmorning, you know f base or
whatever, right?
Um, like I said, I'm trying tokeep it professional do you say
whatever you want.

Blake Rea (38:06):
Say whatever you want podcast.

Cody Fite (38:08):
I'll make sure we put the explicit content label on
this one so, like you could, youand I could be serving in the
same squad and live in the samebarracks room, a one-bedroom
apartment, but we're sharing it.
We share the bathroom.
We could just talk shit and belike fuck you, Blake, Don't fuck

(38:28):
yourself.
Blah, blah, blah, blah.
But yeah, we got each other'sbacks, yeah, and when you get
out you're like man, like Idon't know who to trust.
I don't know who.
My peers that I'm workingamongst like have the best
interest of me.
Does my new manager, my newboss, have the best interest for
me and my family?

(38:48):
Are they going to, you know,teach, coach and mentor me to
maybe apply for that promotionor that new role that's opening
up?
Like that's all gone, Like youdon't know what to do.
So we want to be there for ourcommunity to be like hey, like
yep, I did my 20 years.
Like I've transitioned to youknow my role, corporate America,

(39:12):
and this is how I dealt with it.
This is what I did.
It may not work for you, but atleast they're able to hear it
from someone who's done it, andthat's not for me.
It's our 10,000 plus followers.
We're an open community becausewe know that someone maybe in

(39:39):
that community don't even haveto know each other.
Maybe they went through theexact same experience or maybe a
similar experience and they'reable to relate and now they have
that connection, All becausethey came for the watches.
They support the mill, leoworld, but they're staying for

(40:04):
the people because we missed it.
We missed the people aspect ofa lot of watch groups.

Blake Rea (40:14):
Yeah, something that comes to mind too.
And you know, obviously, like Isaid, I grew up with a dad who
was in the military and I meanI'm sure that you guys have
figured out how to break thiswall, but everybody who I've
ever met who's been in themilitary, they have an

(40:35):
incredible sense of pride, right, and they're kind of taught,
you know, through militarytraining to like get up, like
rub some dirt on it and like getback into battle.

Cody Fite (40:49):
Yes, yeah, absolutely .

Blake Rea (40:51):
So, with that mentality right, I'm sure you've
came up with it being achallenge in itself to even get
people from that community tosay, hey, I need help.

Cody Fite (41:05):
Oh yeah, it really is right, like it's.
We've all dealt with it.
My personal experience like Idenied it for so long and then
towards the end I was like, yep,something's not right.
But luckily, like my wife is,you know, she is my soulmate, my
best friend, so she was the onethat was starting to recognize

(41:29):
it.
And she's a veteran herself, solike, she's not afraid to call
my bullshit out, right?
That's what the whole point ofour soulmate is they're our best
friend, They'll call us out onour bullshit.
She's like you need fuckinghelp.
Yeah, you're probably right,babe, but not everyone has that.

(41:50):
Not everyone has that exact samesupport system at home.
They could be single, theycould just be dating, whatever
the case may be.
But it's hard.
But you have to be willing andyou have to put yourself out
there first for them to see thathey, so-and-so did it,

(42:11):
so-and-so came out and said, yep, I've, I've sought counseling,
blah, blah, blah.
This is how it helped me.
I still go, or not?
But it it all starts with thatveteran who is willing to put
their ego aside and be like yep,I'm I'm proud to say I'm

(42:32):
getting help.
I'm, I'm proud to say I'mgetting help.
I'm I'm proud to say I am thismuch better because I saw help.
So it all starts with leavingthe ego at the door.
Be humble enough to know thatif I don't speak up, if I don't
lead, then if I don't speak up,if I don't lead, then may or may

(42:54):
not help someone.
But the moment they see someonestep up with, they know like
hey, like yep, he did his threeyears or 20 years in Marines
Navy, whatever the case is, orbut they're still able to see
that, that they are openingthemselves up.

Blake Rea (43:15):
Yeah.
To the other part Step in theright direction.

Cody Fite (43:19):
Yep, so that's uh, we try and do that and you know
we're we're able to have DMSamongst ourselves and to our
community.
They can DM us all the time andsay, hey, I'm going through a
bad part, what's up, man?

Blake Rea (43:37):
Yeah, dms all the time and say, hey, I'm going
through a bad part, what's up,man?
Yeah, and, and in yourexperience, you know, not only I
mean you talked about, you know, I mean training, right, you
know you talked about even uberhere their meals, right, um, but
in your experience, what do youfeel is the most rewarding way
to support the community?
Is it like emotionally?
I mean, have you guys?

(43:58):
It seems like you guys are nowstarting to step into the
creative space with watch brandsLike what do you feel is the
most rewarding way to supportthe community?

Cody Fite (44:10):
for me, personally, it's when we get that Thank you
or that the person who we everwe helped out right, when they
post a picture or you know, hey,get well soon, love you, take
care, we're here If you need us.
When they post it like, to methat is the most rewarding
aspect.

(44:30):
Um, yeah, because we justsignificantly helped this
individual during a maybetroubled time or a significant
event in their life.
That's what's rewarding for me.
When they're like yep, we didthat.
Like when we provided housingfor female veterans and their

(44:53):
families, we did that justthrough Facebook, just just
through remote, just from awatch strap, that's like that's
our reward for us.
Like, damn, like we did that.
Like, wait a minute, like thesedudes, I've never met alex,

(45:15):
I've never met joy he's incalifornia, really, wow, um,
I've never met Alex.
I've never met Joy.
He's in California, really, wow.
I've never met Tony.
He's in Virginia Beach.
I have hung out with Zachseveral times.
He's in, you know, connecticut.
But we're all able to do thatremotely through text message
emails teams, through textmessage emails teams, and then

(45:45):
we see a massive ROI through apost on Facebook or Instagram or
, in the case of the veterancommunity renewal team, we just
help those individuals just bygiving them a roof over their
family's heads or by sendingthis you know firefighter to
advanced rescue or high anglerescue class.

(46:08):
That's rewarding to us andthat's what.
That's what we want.
Yes, the likes and the followsare all great.
You know our, our watchcollaborations when they sell
out, that's all awesome andstuff.
But, um, our rewards like whenwe see our OI, our OI just by

(46:32):
the feedback that they're givingus and by posting.

Blake Rea (46:36):
Yeah, it sounds like you guys are really kind of
peeling back the curtains on thephilanthropy.
Are there any brands or maybeeven people out there that, like
you've, you've, like you lookto you as maybe like inspiring
your form of philanthropy?

Cody Fite (46:54):
Yeah, I mean, oh man, there's a lot.
So me personally, sean Ryan,right, like his podcast, I'm a
huge, huge fan of what he hasdone and the layers of the onion
he has peeled back.
He's not afraid to call itbullshit either.

(47:16):
He's not afraid to call out thebullshit either.
We just want to be like him inthe fact of our outreach and our
ability to say like, hey, he'snot the only one, or she's not
the only one.
These 5,000 other Facebookfollowers of AWWC, they saw the

(47:37):
exact same thing.
So it's I don't know.
It's a tough question, blake,that's a good one of.

Blake Rea (47:42):
AWWC.
They saw the exact same thing,so it's I don't know.
It's a tough question.
Blake, that's a good one, yeah.

Cody Fite (47:46):
I try to ask some hard ones.
So we don't.
We don't want to be the norm ofthe male LEO nonprofit
organization.
We want to be.
We want to be the creativeaspect of what a military leo

(48:07):
non-profit can actually dowithout the political stuff,
without the red tape.

Blake Rea (48:17):
Let's talk about the future of AW and, yeah, that
shirt is sick, I'm going to haveto.
You have to send one, Send one,yeah, you have to send one.
I'm sure you guys have talkedabout I mean, you talked about,
you know passing it down.
You know, through thegenerations, right, Maybe your

(48:38):
family, or you know the familiesof you know, your co-founders,
your friends, your colleagues,the community stepping forward.
But is there any milestonesthat you guys have set, saying
like, hey, this is like a big,like notch on our belt that we
want to accomplish?
You know, like, and that'sanything that you guys are
working towards, you know,obviously, you know we talk

(48:59):
about aspirational goals anddreams.
You know a lot of it is justputting it out there, right,
Putting it, talking about it,thinking about it, feeling it.
Um, is there anything out thereright now that you guys are
talking about, thinking about,feeling that you hope to
accomplish in your tenure at awc?

Cody Fite (49:18):
uh, yes, yes and yes, um.
One thing is under embargo forus, um, but it is happening
within the next, uh, 90 days,but we'll say that, um, that is,
this is going to be very, very,very, what, very, what's the

(49:39):
right word?
It's going to be fuckingawesome.
It's just going to really, likeyou said, it's going to be a
notch on our belt with what wehave going on and what's planned
.
And next year we want to beable to, or no, we don't want to

(50:04):
, we will.
We're going to sponsor someevents with Wildlander 6 and her
team, if she's down.
That's something we tried to dolast year.
We just couldn't happen.
Make it happen for some,whatever reason, it was, um, but

(50:25):
I don't know.
We just we take it quarter byquarter, like fiscal year by
fiscal year, and, um, you knowit's not easy, especially being
remote, um, across, you know,several different time zones,
but I think the end game for uswould be like if we could have

(50:45):
our own building, like we allworked there, like our kids, our
colleagues, our peers, our, youknow, future AWWC members, team
members, like they have all onelocation where they come, work
out, shoot, have a few cocktails, um, while they came paying for

(51:06):
.
You know, the next collab was,you know, said brand watch or
whoever the case may be is.
Or, you know, maybe open up ourown va clinic.
I, I don't know.
The sky's the limit for us, butwe're literally just taking it
day by day and trying to learnthis nonprofit world as we can.

Blake Rea (51:30):
Yeah, it's a challenging world.
It's a really challenging world.

Cody Fite (51:35):
Businesses fail, nonprofits fail.
It's a challenging world.
It's a really challenging world.
Businesses fail, nonprofitsfail.
So we're very cautious and verydiligent in everything we do.
That way we don't make mistakes, or if we make mistakes, we're
able to learn from them andprevent them to not fail.

Blake Rea (51:55):
Basically, yeah, let's talk about the community
real quick and then we'll wrapthings up here.
Um, beyond purchasing some ofthe merch you guys have six
shirts, you have six straps um,beyond purchasing the merch, you

(52:15):
know how can people getinvolved in the community, how
can people support the missionthat you guys are?

Cody Fite (52:23):
working on.
You literally go toantiwatchcluborg.
You can literally donatethrough our website right then
and there, like you said, youcan buy some merch site right
then and there, um, like yousaid, you can buy some merch um,
or even just join our facebookpage, or or follow us on

(52:44):
instagram or shoot us a dm, orjust you don't even have to, I
want to watch, like it doesn'tmatter to us.
Um, you serve, you serve.
You wear the uniform.
You wear the uniform.
Um, well, yeah, anti-watchcluborg.
You can straight donate to us,or, you know, you can always
reach out to me through oursocial media, um, to see if you

(53:07):
want to work with us or collabwith us, or whatever the case
may be, or even if you'd like todonate via e-gift card to said
emergency.
That may or may not hasn'thappened yet.

Blake Rea (53:21):
we can absolutely take care of that too yeah,
something, something that I, Ithink, um, you know, really gets
misunderstood, as you broughtit up to you, like this
community is so rewarding in thesense that watch enthusiasts
like even if I don't know youand you're a watch enthusiast

(53:41):
and maybe we've talked on theinternet or would you you just
have an incredible connection,if you're a watch enthusiast, to
the community and, uh, I mean Ihaven't seen any other you know
, organizations or non-profitsmaybe I'm just I'm blind or
ignorant, or maybe maybe both umthat are doing what you guys
are doing and that areaccomplishing what you guys are

(54:01):
accomplishing and that are, youknow, giving back to the
community in a unique way andhelping to kind of break down
those barriers.
Um, you guys obviously havehave a huge, you know, challenge
ahead, like, like all of us andyou know that are, that are in
the media or or in you know, insome some type or in some type
of sense, trying to make achange make an impact in the

(54:23):
community.

Cody Fite (54:26):
One ripple right, that's all it takes now to be
able to create that ripple.
That's the challenge that weface every day, really.

Blake Rea (54:37):
Yeah, yeah yeah.
We went through a lot here.
Obviously, I'm going to plugthem in the link here.
I'm going to link them in thepodcast.
You guys definitely need tovisit them, engage, check out
their community and, if you cancontribute in some type of way.

(55:00):
But is there anything that thatmaybe you were hoping that we
were going to talk about that.

Cody Fite (55:06):
I didn't get a chance to ask no, I mean like, like if
I could turn my platform overto you right now um, no, I mean,
like we, you know, trying tocram awwc and all of its, you
know mission intent andstatements and everything we've

(55:27):
done into, you know just 60minutes, not even 60 minutes
because you know we've gone downsome rabbit holes.
Yeah, you know it's hard, it'sit's it's hard to capture.
You know what, what we havedone and what you know.
The other military watchcommunities, what watch groups,

(55:47):
what you know.
It's hard to capture what theyhave done as well.
Um, but I mean, we're all inthis space together.
There's and there's room formore, but we just want to grow
and just be the best that we canand serve our community the
best stewards that we can.

Blake Rea (56:09):
I mean, yeah, it sounds Obviously.
I'm a fan and I'm going to dowhat I can to help spread the
word, to support the mission,the objectives that you guys
have set out.
Hopefully I'll get a chance tomeet Alex, cause I think at this
point there's there's no excuse, considering he was not I, I

(56:31):
cause, you know like we, we bothknow Jean Carlo.

Cody Fite (56:34):
So like, yeah, we met , I met you at intersect and you
know you y'all started vegaswatch society, you know so in
that group as well, and it'slike damn, like this, like when
you plug your events like hey,rsvp, or who's coming, I'm like
alex, go, just show up.

(56:54):
Yeah, he should okay, so, buthe is super busy.
I know that.
Sure, he wants to and heintends to.
By all means, he's a very busyperson though, just like we all
are, obviously, but you know,yeah, I'm going to force him to
meet you.

Blake Rea (57:14):
We have a bunch of like military in our uh, in our
community.
Um, one of our newest membersI'm sure you've probably seen
him in the chat um I mean he'sgot, he's a fighter, fighter
pilot um, and I guess when he'snot flying fighter jets he's
flying delta jets.
So, uh, and, and just seeingsome of he, he showed up this

(57:39):
last event um with like all ofhis like, uh, like um, like
squadrant watches and shit, andI was like man, like he even
showed up with his hunt.
I think it was like 150 years,160 years of delta or something
like that.
Like they did a delta black bayum gmt with like a delta logo

(58:00):
on it, like delta airlines, andit was like 150 plus years or
something.
But man, I mean just seeing allof his uh, his, I mean a lot of
them are brightlings, yeah he'sgot some I think iwcs and stuff
like that.
So we were kind of talking andand it.
It's really cool how you knowlike everybody, it doesn't
matter what walk walk of theworld you're from, you know

(58:22):
everybody appreciates.
You know time differently andeverybody looks at time
differently and everybody youknow appreciates watches
differently.
You know, and that's somethingthat I've come to learn through
this, this outlet.
You know, just having this,this outlet, you know, just
having these discussions, youknow, my watches mean something

(58:42):
different to everybody, you know.
And, uh, absolutely, and that'swhat I love, you know, because
we're all, we're all, we alllove him and we're all
passionate in our own differentways, but it all brings us
together you know it really does.

Cody Fite (58:57):
And like we've all talked about, like either on
your podcast or amongst friends.
Right, like like I've got a 55casio super loomer in my room.
Right, bought it off ebay,that's the coolest fucking watch
.
Like the loom on it, like it'sjust, it's crazy.
Right, I've got, yeah, that'sthe dial duro.

(59:19):
Right, like it's like 58, sothat one on ebay like it doesn't
matter.
Like we all love this passionof watches the same yeah, some
of us maybe more than others,and some of us, maybe less, but
we all, we all we're all um,we're all glued to it.

(59:41):
You said your number ofcollection of watches that you
have.
I'm just like I don't even know, like how you can even keep up
with the amount of watches youhave, I don't.

Blake Rea (59:50):
I get a lot of press.
I get a lot of press watchestoo, so like so how do you do
that?

Cody Fite (59:59):
Like I don't know, I, I, I fall into the like.
I wear either like one or twowatches and I was like man, I
can't get rid of that one.
I can't get rid of this oneCause it's an immutable reasons.
Sure, I can't get rid of thatone Cause I actually really like
it.
Damn it, Like, okay, like, okay.
I'm stuck, yeah, yeah, likewith the AR collection.

Blake Rea (01:00:17):
It's like man, I don't even know what you'd wear
a different watch every singlehour and be just fine, yeah,
I've been consolidating a lot,because a lot of these watches
I've started to realize thatit's just hoarding at this point
.
So I think recently I've partedwith maybe like 50 or 60

(01:00:37):
watches like I've consolidated,I've purged a ton and and now
that I I were, I don't even knowhow many watch brands I work
with at this point um I say whatis?
work with.
I say I, I'm, I'm and I'm notpay, I'm not on any payroll or
anything from anybody um.
But when I say work with, Imean like collaborate, discuss,

(01:00:58):
talk to you, know um a lot oftimes that you know I like the
autonomy right I don't thinkI've ever even talked about this
, but I talk about what I wantto talk about and I do what I
want to do, you know, I meanthere's, like you said, there's,
truth and transparency uh, yeahand no, no brand has ever
reached out to me and said hey,blake, do a review on this watch

(01:01:20):
.
And if they did, I'd probably belike yeah, go fuck yourself,
you know?

Cody Fite (01:01:23):
um, so before we go like what is your next?
What is on your radar?

Blake Rea (01:01:29):
uh, this is not my watch, but since it is on loaner
, I just can't take it off.
I mean, make it full screen, oh, you're, you're, yeah.

Cody Fite (01:01:42):
He posted that.

Blake Rea (01:01:43):
Yeah, that's, that's sick yeah, so so I got this
watch as a um, as a press loaner, and I'm working on a video
right now.
Uh, it's like the evolution ofthe chrono master.
So I've been working withzenith a lot and I've got a
bunch of projects in thepipeline with them, and they
came with this really terrible,like leather calf strap that was

(01:02:05):
embossed with like these little.
I'm sure you probably saw it inthe in the group.

Cody Fite (01:02:09):
Yeah, I saw it terrible.

Blake Rea (01:02:12):
Um, it's so that, so that, so that I reached back out
to the pr agency and I was like, hey, do you guys have that
fabric like, like, like, uh,like hook and loop that like it
comes with?
And they're like, yeah, we'llsend it.
So they sent it, right, and itcame without the hook or the the
loop system, right.
So I'm like, fuck, I can't evenwear this right.

(01:02:34):
So I've been having fun.

Cody Fite (01:02:37):
I'm sure you've probably seen because, you're in
the group, you see every likepretty much what I do every day
um, I've been having fun with a3d printer.

Blake Rea (01:02:44):
So then I, I jumped on my computer and designed this
little and printed this littlehook for it.
Nice, I know, it's not thecleanest shit you ever seen, but
, uh, it works, it works, itworks.
Yeah, at least I can wear it,because I was.
I was not wearing it because Ihated the strap so much and I
would love to have the braceletfor, because they have all

(01:03:05):
carbon bracelet.
But, um, a lot of times I, Imean, if I could go back and say
, like I wear my wcs a lot wheremy panerais a lot, I've been on
a vintage kick like zenith.
Um, I wear a lot of, like, um,my doxa.

(01:03:25):
I mean, it's hard and as I'm asI'm, as I'm growing and evolving
as a collector, I'm starting torealize that having this many
watches is is more of aliability and it's it's uh, it's
just not worth it.
Right, like, why?
Why do I deserve to own allthese watches?
You know, like, like I need, Ineed to like, you know, and I

(01:03:48):
guess, I guess, in a weird way,maybe this is my brain thinking,
but you know, I've accumulatedthis horde of watches and maybe
and I hope to God, this isn'tthe case, but maybe me owning
this watch is keeping somebodyelse from owning their grail
watch.
Does that, does that seem likethat's even possible?

Cody Fite (01:04:09):
I mean yes and no Right, but like, like all of
your watches right, they tell acertain aspect of your life.
Whether that's your hard workthat allowed you to get all of
them, you know that's your blood, sweat and tears that you did
no one else, you, just you.

(01:04:30):
Um, that's allowed you to getall those watches right.
Um, there's all sorts ofhobbies that you know, girls and
guys.
Like they've got hundreds ofpokemon cards.
Or you know they've got ahundred different bottles of
bourbon right.
Or you know their golf club orgolf balls from, say, every

(01:04:53):
master's tournament from thepast 10 years, I don't know
right, like it, that's yourpassion, like that's part of who
you are.
So it's not hoarding, it's justlike this tells the story of
blake and his crazy obsessionthat we we have for who blow.
Um, I don't know how you havethat, but that's another time.

Blake Rea (01:05:15):
Um, but that's no, don't think of it that way I, I,
I also think like of uh, youknow, in a weird way, there's
watches out there that, and soI'm starting to come full circle
, right.
So full circle for me is, firstof all, loving my watches,

(01:05:36):
right, appreciating them, andthen, you know, I want to stand
out as a collector at some point, like I want people to.
You know, I don't I don't wantto have the rarest of everything
, like some of these other guysdo, but I want people to see the
watch that I'm wearing andimmediately know that I'm a
watch enthusiast, right.
And there's plenty of outletsout there that sell you shit,

(01:06:02):
right, that sell you, that talkabout watches, that sell watches
, you know, or they're profitingoff.
You know discussions like this,oh yeah absolutely.
And to me I just felt like beingon the inside.
I mean, and you, you heard theconversation with skylar that

(01:06:25):
literally just dropped, butthere's not.
I don't know if there's a lotof honesty anymore.
And and I'm not just talkingabout the watch community, but
I'm talking about in a lot ofcommunities, with the rise of
online influencers or whateverthe fuck you know the social
media influencers?

Cody Fite (01:06:42):
yep, yeah, they, some of them are good, really great,
but there are there are somephenomenal for sure influencers
there's, there's some reallyshit ones that it's all about
the flip, it's all about thedollar, it's, I got this, I got
that, like blah, blah, blah,blah, no one cares.
Yeah, it's, it's hype, right,like, I'm sorry, I, I will drop

(01:07:03):
a.
You know a six hundred dollarsinging instruments that has a
seiko quartz movement or swissronda quartz in it or seiko
movement, and drop it and belike, huh, do, that's here,
twelve thousand dollar.
You know rolex or a tech, likesee if, see what it has.
I'm not, I know it'll be fine,but they're not willing to do.

(01:07:27):
They're like, uh, sorry, Ican't protect this precious
rolex that I waited 20 years foron the local ad or whatever the
case is yeah um, or the royaloak right, because that's all
that they will ever make and beknown for.
But they're not going to do thatsomething to watch.

Blake Rea (01:07:46):
Something I've noticed too, which is very weird
and also a very toxic likeframe of mind, is people
associate being moreenthusiastic with watches by how
much they've spent on watches.

Cody Fite (01:08:01):
Oh yeah.

Blake Rea (01:08:01):
And that's never the case.

Cody Fite (01:08:03):
Or even the latest and greatest from said release
that Watches and Wonders.
Right Like, oh my God, like,there's so many watch brands
that do watch releases that arenot covered, that will
outperform or better made moretech.

(01:08:25):
Right Like, they're the onesthat are advancing watch
technology, right Like, but yetthe shining light is on.

Blake Rea (01:08:34):
You know the Holy Trinity that's the way the
brands want to do it man ExactlyRight Like, and we're at fault
for allowing them to do it.
So I mean blame us, but uh wegot to take back the watch
community bro.

Cody Fite (01:08:48):
Um, yeah, it's all for me, it's.
I've.
Initially it was like TudorSwiss or Tudor Omega, rolex,
fuck Rolex.
Now I don't want one.
Okay, omega, love Omega, butnow it's like wait a minute.
Who's ever going to go diving300 meters realistically?

(01:09:13):
Who's ever going torealistically need a helium
escape valve in 2025 whenthey're on their vacation?
Yeah, and the bahamas, they'rejust going down.
You know, 18 feet, it's.
It's.
I love the watch, don't get mewrong.
Um, but I think there's morevalue in a lot of more of the

(01:09:35):
independent brands.
There's more connection tothose brands because you know,
like being able to talk to thethe crew of norcane, us, right,
for example.
Or west's colon peter, you know, mike from chris ward, right,

(01:09:55):
like you're not going to getthat anywhere else.
But the independent brands.

Blake Rea (01:10:02):
Yeah, and they listen .
You know I've said before thatthe whole micro brand
independence, whatever you wantto call them.
I know micro brand has become aderogatory term in some type of
way in some communities, butyou know that whole community
was built off brands notlistening to us yeah, we see it

(01:10:24):
right now.

Cody Fite (01:10:24):
Right, like they're.
They're bracketing themselvesto a newer demographic who wants
the latest and greatest release, just like probably all of us
with the freaking iphone.
Right like, yeah, oh, theiphone 16 came out.
Man, I need that.
I don't know why, but I never,never, understood that.
Um, that's, we see that today.

(01:10:47):
Right, that's the demographicthey want to go after and that's
their business model.
Great.
But like, if I only own onenotice, right, I know I can go
to west and colon, be like man.
Like, this notice is killing it.
It's 30 years old or 10 yearsold.
It's been through X, y and Zscratches and it's been kicking

(01:11:07):
ass.
Right, I think you're not goingto get that.

Blake Rea (01:11:10):
I think that's going to be the most rewarding part of
what I'm doing.
Maybe you know, but you know,watches have put me in
conversations, hundreds ofconversations like this, maybe,
maybe thousands at this point,giving me a platform, giving me
a voice.
You know, empowered, you knowme, through a community.

(01:11:31):
But to watch a brand likenotice or Jack Mason, you know
even Sal like I, you know sal,like I, you know, I think, alan
and sal baltimore, like superunderrated, um, but to see those
watches become, you know,instruments or tools or you know
hair looms that get handed down, shit dude, that will be but it

(01:11:55):
.

Cody Fite (01:11:55):
But it's more than that.
It's like they're allsupportive of each other.
They are, they are, they'regoing to support each other
because they have thoserelationships.
It's not brand X versus brand Y, it's like, hey, that's a solid
release, I need one, I want oneas a watch enthusiast, right

(01:12:18):
like you.
You can't get that anywhereelse other than those brands who
actually care what the consumer, the enthusiasts, actually want
and are driven by right,because the common man, right
like, five hundred isn't a lotof money, it is, $100 isn't a

(01:12:42):
lot of money these days.

Blake Rea (01:12:43):
Yeah.

Cody Fite (01:12:46):
I can make a killer say modded out Seiko for $75.

Blake Rea (01:12:53):
That's all you need too.

Cody Fite (01:12:55):
That's really all you need.
You can't get that anywhereelse other than the independent
brands.

Blake Rea (01:13:02):
Yeah, I think that's a good way to end the podcast.
Everybody, thank you so muchfor listening to Just Over an
Hour with me and Cody fromAnti-Watch Watch Club.
We are going to leave a link inthe description for Anti-Watch
Watch Club.
We are going to leave a link inthe description for Anti-Watch
Watch Club.
I would encourage you, guys, ifanything that you heard

(01:13:26):
resonated with you, if you wantto contribute to your local
first responders, lawenforcement, military veterans
or just the watch community ingeneral.
I think by the end of thispodcast you probably know how to
do it.
So with that we will leave youand until next time, we will see

(01:13:52):
you on the next episode.
Peace out.