October 8, 2025 • 47 mins
What happens when a chef becomes a changemaker? For Robert Irvine, transformation starts with discipline, purpose, and service.
From the Royal Navy to Restaurant: Impossible, Robert has built a career helping others overcome the impossible—whether turning around struggling restaurants or creating mission-driven brands like FitCrunch, Robert Irvine Foods, and Irvine’s Spirits.
In this episode, he shares lessons on leadership, technology, and transformation: why empathy belongs in business, how automation can enhance - not replace - human connection, and why slowing down can lead to smarter, stronger growth.
Robert also reflects on the power of teamwork, the humility of service, and the importance of authenticity in leadership. His story reminds us that business can be a force for good—and that the best leaders are those who build both profit and purpose.
🎧 Tune in for an inspiring conversation on leadership, resilience, and the future of purpose-driven business.
Robert Irvine's Bio:
Robert Irvine is a world-class chef, entrepreneur, and philanthropist dedicated to improving lives through food, fitness, and service. Best known as the host of Food Network’s Restaurant: Impossible, he has spent over a decade helping struggling restaurateurs transform their businesses and their lives. Beyond television, Robert leads a portfolio of purpose-driven brands—including FitCrunch, Robert Irvine Foods, Boardroom Spirits, and Irvine’s Vodka and Gin—each built around a commitment to quality, performance, and giving back. His companies have generated hundreds of millions in sales across grocery, food service, and consumer products, all while supporting the mission of the Robert Irvine Foundation, which provides aid to service members, veterans, and first responders.
A former Royal Navy chef, Robert has carried the discipline and teamwork of military service into every venture. He has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Medal of Honor Society’s Bob Hope Award, the U.S. Department of Defense Spirit of Hope Award, and honorary designation as a U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer. Through his foundation, books, and speaking engagements, Robert continues to inspire others to lead with integrity, resilience, and purpose—building brands that serve people first.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rich (00:00):
What happens when a chef becomes a changemaker?
For Robert Irvine,transformation starts with
discipline, purpose, andservice.
Hi, I'm Rich Honiball, and I'mjoined today by guest co-host
Tony Wells, whose journey fromMarine to C-Suite marketer we
explored earlier this season.
And today the two of us had thechance to sit down with Robert.
A former Royal Navy chef,Robert Irvine has carried the
(00:22):
discipline and teamwork ofmilitary service into every
venture.
He is a world-class chef,entrepreneur, and philanthropist
dedicated to improving livesthrough food, fitness, and
service.
Best known as the host of FoodNetwork's Restaurant Impossible,
he has spent over a decadehelping struggling restaurateurs
transform their businesses andtheir lives.
(00:43):
Beyond television, Robert leadsa portfolio of purpose-driven
brands, including FitCrunch,Robert Irvine Foods, Boardroom
Spirits, and Irvine's VodkaEngin, each built around a
commitment to quality,performance, and giving back.
His companies have generatedhundreds of millions in sales
across grocery, food service,and consumer products, all while
(01:05):
supporting the mission of theRobert Irvine Foundation, which
provides aid to service members,veterans, and first responders.
Robert has been recognized withnumerous awards and honors,
including the Medal of HonorSociety's Bob Hope Award, the
U.S.
Department of Defense Spirit ofHope Award, and honorary
designation as a U.S.
Navy Chief Petty Officer.
(01:26):
Through his foundation, books,and speaking engagements, Robert
continues to inspire others tolead with integrity, resilience,
and purpose, building brandsthat serve people first.
In this episode, we dig intoleadership and transformation,
why empathy belongs in business,how smart systems can make work
more human, and when slowingdown actually accelerates
(01:48):
growth.
We also get into the power ofteams, the humility of service,
and the kind of authenticitythat sustains brands over time.
We invite you to stay tuned.
There's a revealing rapid fireround with a few unexpected
turns.
This one's about leading withpurpose, building people as well
as businesses, and what ittruly takes to overcome the
(02:08):
impossible.
So it is our pleasure today tohave Robert Irvine on Retail
Relates.
Robert, welcome.
How are you?
I am doing fantastic, and I'mjoined by Tony Wells today.
I figure if I'm going to havesomebody from the Royal Navy, I
needed someone from the U.S.
Marines to stand with me.
Tony (02:27):
Glad to be here!
Robert (02:28):
Good because this is what we call the Royal Navy and
Royal Marines, and we call themthe Real Marines.
Rich (02:35):
There you go.
So Tony, good to see you.
Robert (02:37):
Likewise.
Rich (02:38):
So, Robert, we've read your we've read your bio, and
we're obviously going to post itin the show notes.
What we like to do to start offwith is ask a question about
three pivotal moments.
Three pivotal moments you cango personal and professional
that brought you to where youare today.
Robert (02:57):
I think the first one was joining the military.
Um, I was a bad kid at the ageof 15 and a half years old.
I was drinking dad's beer andnot going to school.
Um, my mother called the houseand I answered like an idiot,
and the demise of Robert Irvinebegan.
Uh, one thing that that did forme, though, was um my father
was an army guy, my brother wasan army guy, and I was a sea
(03:21):
cadet, R O T C kind of thing.
So I would go to marine bases,naval ships every weekend, and I
said, Well, good, if I'm gonnajoin the military, it's gonna be
the Navy, and exactly what Idid at the age of 15 and a half.
She took me down and signed mylife away.
That was a pivotal moment in myyouth.
I s I think the second pivotalmoment was probably going to
(03:42):
work with Donald Trump at hiscasinos.
This is the biggest job I'veever had running a casino, food
and beverage, as a chef.
And the third would be, youknow, every company that we've
ever started, and 16 of thosecompanies, they're all been
pivotal moments in my growth asfrom a young sailor to, you
(04:03):
know, where I am today as 60years old.
They're pivotal moments.
And there are pivotal momentsevery day for me.
Rich (04:09):
So you mentioned the demise of Robert Irvine before
that demise started.
Is this the path you would haveimagined?
And was there a different pathyou had in mind?
Robert (04:18):
Well, it's funny.
I wanted to be a fireman forthe longest time.
I could run hoses and run upand down, but I wasn't so smart
in the in the mathematicalpercentages and whatever when I
took the firefighting test.
Uh, I think that was by God'sdesign, not mine.
I think a divine interventionon that, I believe.
Otherwise, it could hit me.
(04:38):
I could have been a firemanliving in Salisbury Wiltshire
for the rest of my life insteadof joining the military, doing
my career, uh, going to cruiseships, starting companies, and
the rest is history.
So yeah, I would have been afireman.
That was my dream job at thatpoint.
Every kid's dream.
I used to I used to love thefire truck.
And I would, a friend of minewas the local fire chief, and I
(04:58):
would go to run hoses and runthe towers, and I was ri I mean,
there's nobody could touch mephysically fitness-wise.
But I just wasn't smart enough.
Uh, and I'm okay with that.
Rich (05:09):
So you've had many successes and and you you've
talked about some of thechallenges.
Is there a particular challengeor setback that taught you
something that you've carriedwith you throughout your life?
Robert (05:19):
Yeah, absolutely.
Trying to be somebody that youstrive to be.
In other words, you you putsomebody on a pedestal and you
want to be that person.
And for the longest time Itried to be a person that I
wasn't.
And when I became myself, thatchanged my trajectory of life,
period.
Rich (05:37):
I have a feeling I'm going to come back to that after, but
I'm going to turn it over toTony to take a couple questions.
Yeah.
Tony (05:42):
Is there a belief or approach that's kind of shaped
uh how you lead today and thetype of leader you are?
Robert (05:48):
Yeah, totally.
I mean, the military, no matterwhether you're in the US
military uh or coalition forceas as Britain is, uh very close
ally, I think the militaryteaches you loyalty, leadership,
uh integrity, teamwork, allthose things that seem like
buzzwords when you first join,right?
(06:09):
You know, it's let's getrah-rah, let's get whatever.
But I will say all of thetraits that I learned in the
military have helped me besuccessful, organizational
skills, leadership skills,empathetic leadership, ego
keeping in check, the teamwork,all those things that, you know,
you learn, especially as aMarine, you know, in Paris
Island or the or wherever you doyour basic training.
(06:31):
I went into the military as aas a young man, and I had older
guys, 20, 24, 25, that have beenin college and universities,
coming in to be officers, youknow, and I was sleeping in the
same room as these guys, but myuniform was perfect, my bed was
perfect.
You couldn't follow anythingthat I did.
And as a drill instructor, theywould say to me, Oh, you're
(06:53):
perfect, but you're not a teamplayer.
So for me, the military taughtme about teamwork.
I literally at two o'clock inthe morning tipped all those
other guys out of bed.
Um, much to their angst, I cantell you.
I taught them how to cleantheir boots, how to bone their
boots, how to polish theirboots, how to press the uniform,
how to make a bed.
And I did that every night tothe point that they knew it was
(07:14):
coming at two o'clock.
unknown (07:15):
Yeah.
Robert (07:16):
Right.
But they we all passed out orgraduated together.
And that taught me one thingabout, you know, I was a young
leader to start with, you know,at 15 and a half years old, as
opposed to a 24-year-old collegestudent.
So I think the military is Isay to everybody, I wish the
United States would have atwo-year mandatory stint in the
military, non-deployable, justat home station.
(07:38):
Hey, I love that.
Tony (07:40):
That's a great, you know, and it doesn't have to be combat
arms, it could be Peace Corps,uh, Teach America, Conservation
Corps, this idea of working forsomething bigger than yourself.
Robert (07:51):
So I'm a big believer in that.
My kids, uh, one's almost adoctor, one's a lawyer, criminal
lawyer at 27-24, and they'vedone uh service, they they do
pro bono work, they do all thesethings, and they're better
human beings for it.
So I think the military hastaught me the way I run my
companies and live my life.
Tony (08:11):
So hey, you you're a very public person, like, or like you
know, people know your name,know your face, seeing you on
TV.
So when you think about uh howfolks may perceive you and your
area of expertise, what what'ssomething that people probably
have wrong about you?
Robert (08:28):
Oh wow.
Look, the the the instant thingon TV is oh, you're mean,
right?
Uh those people that actuallyknow me would uh and by the way,
this there's you know millionsof followers that will tell you
different.
But here's my here's what myreturn answer to that.
If you've got 48 hours tochange somebody's life that has
(08:50):
been doing something for 30years and doing it wrong,
they're about to lose the house,their family, their wife or
husband, whichever way it goes,do you want me to say please and
thank you?
I don't have the time.
It's a real 48 hours, and Ineed answers.
So mean, I wouldn't say I am,but intense, I would definitely
say I am.
Tony (09:08):
Okay, that's good.
When you think about the areaof kind of hospitality and
restaurant and service uhindustries, how do you see it
evolving right now?
Where do you where do you seethe big trends or what are the
big takeaways that you seehappening?
Robert (09:22):
Well, I think you're seeing the biggest problem in a
country, actually, in ourcountry specifically, meaning
the US, is we don't have themanpower in those spaces.
So nobody wants to be a cook,even for $40 an hour, by the
way.
Because there's bigger, wedon't have the the birth rate of
people.
(09:42):
We look at the immigrants, andI'm one of them, by the way,
that became an American citizen.
We don't have that summer flowas we used to for whatever
reason.
This is not political.
We don't have people wanting todo the lower-end jobs, cook,
clean, dishwash, right?
So what's happening istechnology is taking away those
(10:03):
jobs.
I know I'm part, I have acompany that does it.
So a couple of companies.
You know, we have roboticchipmakers, we have robotic
hamburger makers, because wedon't have people that will take
40 hours, $40 an hour to beable to flip hamburgers or shake
french fries.
Now we've got machines.
You see it all over.
We drive through, we've gotself-ordering platforms.
(10:26):
Again, I own one of them, soI'm trying to solve that
problem.
And that doesn't mean changing,getting rid of people.
It means taking the people andputting them in in better spots
where they'll make more moneyand be better for the business
instead of those mundane tasks,right?
A humanoid can't cook.
A humanoid can shoot, a dog canwalk and and do what they do.
(10:49):
And we've seen that in themilitary evolve.
But in in our food and beverageindustry, we are gonna need
those people and those positionsto be fulfilled by by humans.
Because we all like to go torestaurants, we like the
interaction, we like to say,hey, uh, hey Rich, welcome to
Robert Irvine's.
It's good to see you again.
(11:10):
Do you want your normal orwould you like something
different?
We like that interaction.
And machines, no matter howgood they are, and if you think
of big companies, McDonald's,Chick-fil-A, all these people
use machines now, and thenpeople in lines.
So they're not taking away thejobs, they're actually giving
them better jobs, paying themmore money instead of those
(11:32):
mundane jobs.
So I see I see that trendcontinuing a lot.
I've just put in the Pentagonuh those self-ordering platforms
that have been around foryears, by the way.
Um, but the Pentagon and theWhite House and all these other
places are very difficult to useuh technology because of the
buildings they're in.
And you'll see Walmart.
So Walmart does theself-ordering checkout, right?
(11:55):
Or or self-uh uh registercheckout, and so do a lot of
places.
But then in certain parts ofthe country, they take them out
because we need this.
So the whole change ofindustry, not just the food and
beverage, although that's hugeto me, but in general, you can
self-check out a t-shirt now, goto Navy Exchange, go to you
(12:16):
know, uh Marine Exchanges, go tothose places, and you'll see
that technology coming inbecause we don't necessarily
have the people.
Tony (12:23):
What's your take on the impact to the experience?
Because I will tell you, I wasrecently at a theater chain.
There was nobody there to helpme like order popcorn and so and
they actually missed out onmore business for me because I
couldn't figure out the kioskhow to make it work.
Robert (12:38):
And there's like one person So the experience, look,
experiences, experiences arelike restaurants, right?
You go to experience arestaurant because you walk in,
you get sat, the service lovesyou're spash shows, you order a
bottle of wine or not, you eatthe food, it's it's wow, you go
away and you talk about.
Same with movie.
But if if that operator ofthose movie uh theaters, just
(13:00):
like the restaurants that I dealwith, have really taught their
staff how to use, and by theway, it's quicker usage.
There's 28 to 35% increase insales with a machine as against
to a human being.
That's a proven fact.
So the experience could be goodif the operator has trained his
(13:20):
staff correctly.
I'll give an example.
I'm in Tampa, Florida rightnow.
Uh, there's a there's a chainhere, a very big chain, by the
way.
Used to have four or fivedifferent styles of restaurants.
15 years ago, they were using,20 years ago, they were using
iPads to order wine.
I can order the same wine.
It literally took three minutesas opposed to going through a
(13:41):
binder of stuff.
It's on the table, you orderit, it's there in three minutes.
So it's a good experience, andthere's a bad experience.
And it depends on the operatorto train those people that are
in the vicinity or in therestaurant or in the hotel.
Look, you can go to a hotelnow, you don't even go to a
front desk.
You use your your your yoursmartphone for your key to order
(14:01):
towels.
I know I I've set it up in SanDiego, the very first one with
Comcast.
It's unbelievable.
I had I had towels at my roomin three minutes, and that's not
an exaggeration.
We actually did a whole seriesof posts about it because we
couldn't get uh it was calledthe the Hotel of the Future,
(14:22):
just like the restaurant of thefuture, and we're seeing a lot
more of it now as Comcaststarted it 20 years ago.
Yeah.
Rich (14:28):
To take what you and Tony were talking about a little bit
further, there's the potentialthat we give up ourselves to
technology if you go by all thedystopian novels that we were
forced to read in school.
But what you're saying is thattechnology could restore us to
where we're able to be morehuman.
Robert (14:46):
I think so.
I I've invested heavily in inthe last five years of
technology on all levels, right?
From a fighting platform, froma restaurant platform, from a uh
uh production platform.
Again, I go back to this onething.
Take what people we have, paythem the value that they are,
and put them in a position, A,that they're happy, B, they they
(15:09):
can give the experience, and C,they walk away with a paycheck
and they're not they're not footand mouth or hand to mouth,
where they don't know where thenext dollar's coming from
because you know we're we'redoing $7 an hour or $12 an hour,
$15, whatever the minimum wageson the different states.
That's why people don't want towork in these jobs.
(15:32):
And you see the big trend in AIand and and all these robotics.
And think about this when youthink about the civilian war.
Look what the military isdoing, look at drones, and
that's a prime example.
And I'm talking about a $180million uh drone that a
19-year-old kid sits in a boxand he uses like a like a uh a
(15:54):
game boy and gets paid what hegets paid.
But that 180 million globalhawk that's up there is still
run by a 19-year-old kid thatgets up at five o'clock in the
morning, does PT, and if hedoesn't get fed or she and they
fall asleep, we lose that $180million drum because it's on a
joystick.
It's not a game, it's real.
(16:15):
So technology's already takenover in in that area, and young
kids today know that if I stayon this path of AI or I stay on
this path of I'm gonna make moremoney in the end.
And I think that's that'stelling.
Rich (16:29):
It's interesting.
There's a debate in educationright now, one that I won't wade
into, but you have studentsthat are using AI, they'll go
into a class, they'll record thelecture, they'll transcribe the
lecture, they'll use uh Googleto then turn it into a podcast.
Yeah, they'll create notes anda template and even a tutor.
(16:54):
They're doing the work, butwhat they're doing is taking the
way a particular professor maybe teaching it that they may not
be clicking with and finding aninnovative way through
technology to learn thematerial.
Yeah.
Robert (17:06):
Is that right or wrong?
And I would I'm gonna throwback with a question to both of
you.
As a doctor that spent 20years, maybe a heart surgeon,
let's call him a heart surgeon,right?
Or her.
You go into the hospital, theythink this is gonna happen to
you.
So you are 53% correct or 63%correct.
Then we have AI do the samething, and that may be 70%
(17:30):
right.
But together, the doctor andthe AI can diagnose and treat
100% the problem.
Which would you prefer?
If it was my heart, 100%.
Right.
I think there's good and bad inin AI, and that's what people
are worried about.
But my experience has beenamazing of learning as a
60-year-old.
(17:50):
You got all these young kidsthat are all over it, like you
just said.
But I think that's the few Idon't think it's going away.
So we have to embrace it, wehave to police it, and then we
have to think of ways to use itin a better way than good or
bad.
I think that's the the problem,the good, bad, and the evil.
And we have to figure out okay,how does it really help our
(18:11):
business, our sales force, ourour kitchen or whatever?
Rich (18:15):
I'm gonna agree with that because I I do think that it can
become a good or bad, andthere's people that are going
full bore into it, and there'speople that are putting their
head in the sand and avoidingit.
But to look at it as a tool.
Robert (18:26):
Well, look at look at today, look at what came out
today.
200 million for an AI contractwith the DOD government.
And you you can read it, it'snot it's not secret, it's out
there.
So we're already using it inmany platforms.
So I think you've got to jumpon board.
We do have to police it, but Ialso think it's great for retail
too.
I do.
Tony (18:46):
I think it's it's gonna give and unlock a lot of
consumer insight that differentfunctions at a retail brand may
have known in their silo, butwhen you pull it together and
you can scrape and start topredict timing and weather and
traffic patterns, it it could bea big unlock.
(19:07):
I do worry about labor.
We are gonna need some ways tomanage job loss, but there's
gonna be job gain.
And I think in areas likehospitality, we kind of have to
plan that out to reskill somefolks potentially and and not
have this turn into you know abig view that people are
(19:27):
concerned about losing their joband it's all negative because
there's a lot of positive to it.
Robert (19:31):
Yeah, for the last two years, that's all I've been
doing is saying, hey guys, theseself-ordering platforms,
they're helping you.
Now, now, Johnny, Melissa,Fred, Frank, instead of making
$15, $20, I'm now gonna pay you$30, but I'm gonna move you over
here.
You're gonna have a different.
But again, it it's about theemployee and the employer being
(19:53):
one and understanding what whatthat change is and why it's
happening.
And I think if you'retransparent, which you know big
companies are really nottransparent, but if if we're
more transparent with people,our world would be a lot better
placed in the workplace andenvironment because people would
understand those changes.
Rich (20:12):
So I'm gonna take you back a little bit.
You joined the Royal Navy andand went into culinary arts.
How did you make thatconnection?
Robert (20:19):
It wasn't my I'll take you back a little bit earlier
than that.
I was 11 years old.
My mother said to me, What doyou want to do?
And I said, Well, uh, I hatedeverything at school except
sports, woodwork, and homeeconomics.
And the only reason I like homeeconomics is because there was
30 girls and me.
And I thought, I'm a sports,I'm a football player, I'm a
(20:40):
sports player, I'm a, you know,I might get a girlfriend.
I made my first quiche Lorraineat 11 years old.
My father, a little five'eightIrish guy in the army, uh, meat
and potatoes guy.
I took the quiche home and Iwas amazed that pastry, cheese,
eggs, onion, and bacon, and alittle bit of milk can make this
(21:01):
thing.
I was totally amazed.
And my dad was very um meat andpotatoes.
He's like, what is this crapkind of thing?
And I would do that every week.
I would bring home food to tryand to try, to the point that
when I did my NAMIT test, whichis Navy and uh um maths and
arithmetic, uh sorry, arithmeticand English tests, one being
(21:22):
the highest, five being thelowest, I got five five.
And the recruiter said, Well,you're not gonna be a pilot,
you're not gonna be a brainsurgeon, you're gonna be a cook.
And I was very excited aboutthat, literally.
And when I went to school, HMSPembroke, which is which is
Chatham, so my brother was inthe army, which was Chatham
Dean, which was four miles awayfrom me, and I was in the old
(21:44):
naval base in Chatham, which isknown for, you know, their
warships and roparies and allthat kind of thing, I was amazed
that I could change somebody'smind in day by using food.
That makes sense.
So I didn't have an option, itwas what they give me.
Hey, congratulations, youngman, you're in the Majesty's
Royal Navy, and by the way,you're gonna be a cook.
(22:04):
And I'm like, woohoo! Great.
And I and I really did becauseI really enjoyed cooking.
Rich (22:09):
So when you moved into the restaurant business, both in
your businesses and then whenyou go into a business for 48
hours, what's the common threadthat you look for that is
indicative of where somethinghas the potential to succeed or
not?
Robert (22:25):
So I'll give you I'll give you an example from a
Fortune 500 company, because Ihave 16 of those that I am
working with, right?
For culture and leadership andand product and all that kind of
stuff.
But I also have my own 16companies.
So for me, the first thing Ilook at is leadership.
What is the vision?
Who's in charge?
(22:45):
Did we give them the tools todo that vision?
And do we have enough peopleand training to be able to do
that?
So if I go to a kitchen, forexample, I look at the distance
between the stove, therefrigeration, and the press,
meaning where we put the food upin a restaurant.
Is it one step, two step, threestep?
How's the kitchen laid out?
(23:05):
How many people are in there?
What is the menu?
And how many steps to make eachdish?
So there's a system I use ineverything, whether you're
Walmart, whether you're AmericanAirlines, whether you're I look
at all those systems that arein place and I ask questions.
And this is what makes peopleupset.
And we can talk about militaryin a second.
I ask the questions, why do wedo it this way?
(23:28):
And when somebody says to me,because that's the way we've
always done it, I get so upset,then I fly off my handle.
I'm gonna I'm gonna explainthat in a second.
So for me, I look at systemsand personnel and the speed of
service.
How can I put that food outfaster on a consistent basis for
6,000 people on aircraftcarrier?
(23:48):
And I'm gonna use an aircraftcarrier as an example.
I've been on every aircraftcarrier there is in the United
States Navy.
Sailed on them, flown on them,trapped on them, done all.
And it always amazes me.
And I sat this week with someshipyard people and Chief of
Naval Operations uh AdmiralCaudle.
I'm like, okay, this is how acruise ship works.
So we went to Miami and FleetWeek and we looked at a cruise
(24:09):
ship.
When it comes on, it gets done,goes straight up in elevator.
Then I look at an aircraftcarrier that feeds uh the new
Forts 5,000, Eisenhower, etcetera, 6,000.
Why do I have to go to astoreroom back aft when it
should be right there into thegalley?
Number two, why do we have sixthree rack ovens when there
should be six, 15 rack roll-inovens, right?
(24:32):
We're feeding 6,000 people.
I look at every business, nomatter whether it's the Navy,
the Army, the Air Force, uh,Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space
Force, Walmart, American.
I look at the systems and thenI pick the holes in the systems.
And I've done that for Comcast,NBC, uh a whole bunch of
people.
But I start with, okay, tell mewhy you do this.
Tony (24:55):
Well, it it's it's funny you say that because I I had an
old boss that said retail isdetails, and it is a very
precise way of doing things andhaving a process.
And to your point, when whensomeone can't explain why they
do it this way, it probably isnot rooted in any science or six
sigma analysis of how do wetake the flag and the lag out of
(25:16):
the process.
So that's interesting.
Robert (25:18):
Yeah, and you look at all these companies that that
have uh telesales and and cableoperators that you need to say,
oh, by the way, my cable doesn'twork today, or my credit card
doesn't work in your machine,and we farm that to people when
they can't answer with theoriginal call and they pass it
on to the next one, next one,next one, next one.
Then you wonder why we getfrustrated, right?
(25:38):
Instead of having the abilityto fix the problem right there
and then, which I've doneshortcut a lot of stuff.
And I think that's one of mystrengths.
Weakness I get, I get upsetwhen people don't change fast
enough.
That's a big weakness for me.
When we know we can savehundreds of millions, if not
billions of dollars, and I meanB with a B, billions with a B,
(26:01):
because I'm doing it now.
Rich (26:02):
I'm seeing it.
Yeah, if I relate it tometrics, and and Tony, you've
seen this.
We will, and for for studentsthat are listening to this, we
will teach a lot of metrics,we'll teach a lot of reports,
we'll teach how to derive them.
And then if you ask thequestion, okay, what are you
taking from that?
What's the value of the metric?
You can have 30 metrics.
(26:23):
If you don't understand whatthey mean and what you do with
them, I would rather take fiveor six metrics that I fully
understand rather than a reportwith a bunch of numbers that
looks good in a deck but doesn'ttell me anything.
Robert (26:36):
I would also uh challenge anybody that says
relationships don't count inwhat you do.
Because to me, that was abiggest learning thing about
relationships and understandingwhose role is what and why, and
having a cup of coffee andsaying, Oh, you have an issue.
How can I help you solve thatissue?
You come to me and say, HeyRobert, I need um whatever you
(26:57):
need, and I go away and I thinkabout it.
I say, I think we can do this.
Is that what you're lookingfor?
So I did that with Walmart on abunch of food items, and we end
up doing this amazing group ofproducts that were a
collaboration between twopeople, or or two groups of
people, I should say.
And I I think modern day wesay, Oh, go away with a problem
(27:20):
and fix it, instead of saying,Hey, Tony, I've got this
problem.
Rich, I got this problem.
This is what I think we can do.
Do you use what do you think?
Tell me, does it work?
Does it not work?
Why doesn't it work?
It's a collaboration of peoplethat makes the end uh result
better.
It's not one group of people.
And and when people say, Oh,we're gonna give this contract
(27:41):
to somebody, I'm like, uh, Idon't think that's a good idea.
Rich (27:44):
Let me ask a question.
So as you expanded fromrestaurant business into your
brands, Terra Armin and manyother brands that that you have
owned and the and that you ownwork on, you've answered it to
some extent.
But what are the commonalitiesthat you see from the food
industry to retail branding andthe success rate?
Robert (28:05):
I think I that's really interesting to me because it's
something I didn't understandwhen I got into my first
company, which was Irvine Time,like T H Y-Me, it's just herbs,
right?
But I was still working at at acasino and I had this side
business and whatever.
I didn't understand whatbranding means and and what
customer loyalty and turn ratesand burn rates and you know, all
(28:29):
those kind of things that Iunderstand now.
When we started Fit Crunch in2013, and this kind of goes in
the whole system of automationand things, we had in Pittsburgh
three lines of 18 people.
We made the cookies at night.
They came in top them.
We were doing 70,000 bars aday.
Walmart was customer, Costcowas customer, but we couldn't
(28:51):
keep up with those.
So we'd short one, we'd dothis, right?
Then I said, okay, how do wemake more?
Well, it's physicallyimpossible to make more by hand,
but machines can use faster.
It took another 30, 32, 35million to fix a line that could
400-foot line that could do300,000 bars uh a day.
Then you have a problem of, oh,how do you how do you put them
(29:13):
bars in a in a box and that'sanother 20 million?
So modernization of equipmenthelped build that brand to a
mega brand.
And we've taken that mentalityof now what we're doing with
terror armor, with the theunderclothes, now uniforms.
And I will tell you, everythingthat we put our hands in, a lot
of that money goes into ourfoundation to take care of the
(29:34):
men and women that wear thecloth of our nation and their
families and first responders.
So I'm a big believer in if wecreate a brand and it does well,
X amount goes in a year.
I think the branding piece ishuge because it has to be
authentic to you.
We don't get into anything thatdoesn't surround.
It's almost like having a pie.
And Tony, you wereunderstanding that.
(29:55):
So, so my core potential hereis food, but then there's
alcohol, then there's clothes.
Then there's fitness, thenthere's there's all these other
folks of the wheel that have tobelieve be believable to a
consumer.
So I'll give an example.
I make my own aftershave,right?
It's too blended, and uh andpeople say to me, Oh my god, it
smells amazing.
Where can I get it?
(30:16):
Who's gonna buy an aftershaveoff a chef?
It's like Paula did, Dean didyears ago.
She made um scented candleslike apple pie and things.
It didn't last very long.
You've got to know what peopleknow you for and they're gonna
follow you for.
That's your retail base.
And I do a lot of of what youwere talking about, Tony.
I do I buy a lot of uh ofinformation, right?
(30:39):
What aisles are going down,what's being sold, what's you
know, we don't know names ofpeople, of course we don't, but
we know their shopping patterns.
That's why casinos are so goodat putting colors and and and
maths and and things that leadyou to certain machines.
I go into a store with a listof stuff, and then the list goes
out because I love walking upand down the aisles to see
(31:01):
what's there.
Instead of spending a hundredbucks, I'm spending 200, 300
bucks because oh, I like that.
I want that.
I do uh and it's understandingthe patterns and you're talking
about branding, colors.
What are you known for in I'mknown in food, I'm known in
clothing.
So I look, I pick the fightsthat I think I can win, but I
(31:21):
don't go into a to a gunfightwith a knife.
Rich (31:24):
Someone has a follow-up to that, and then I'm gonna turn
it over to Tony.
So have you ever, I won't sayever picked a fight, and you
don't have to name the brandbecause it may be one of yours,
it may be another one, but haveyou ever taken on a project or
started a brand that you knewdeep down inside was it had the
potential for success and itdidn't work?
Robert (31:43):
Yes, totally.
So years and years ago,somebody came to me with a a
healing professional iced teatype of drink.
I bought into it in a big waybecause I really the science
behind it proved that it worked.
My problem was I sold it at thewrong price and the minimum run
was 100,000 cases.
I literally ended up giving100,000 cases away.
(32:06):
I didn't do my due diligence inthat space on pricing.
Because if I'd have put thatdrink in at $2.99, Coca-Cola
would have been buying mycompany out of $3 billion.
That it was that good.
And it went away, actually, uh,in a deal with another company.
So yeah, I mean, you're alwaysgonna have failures.
And what do you learn fromfailure?
(32:27):
Uh, don't make the same mistaketwice.
You know, it's okay to makemistakes, just don't make the
same mistake twice.
And that's where if I'd havesaid to if I'd have said to Tony
or you, Rich, you know, what doyou think this is a good price
to come in at?
You would have said, A, and Iwould have said, Well, yeah,
okay, you're buying it, I getit.
You're gonna put the mark uponit, but I would have come to a
middle ground and said, Okay,this is what I should have done.
(32:49):
And I didn't.
So, so I take responsibilityfor that failure.
And it may just be a productthat that nobody wants, you
know.
She can create all the productsyou want, but it is a consumer
need for it.
And I've done that.
My first real product was apizza, a frozen pizza.
It was amazing, made by uh inin Michigan, the best pizza guy
(33:12):
in the on the world.
But as soon as I put intoretail, a big guy came up, his
250,000 marketing money and getrid of Irvine.
And you know how that works.
I mean, it it's just the world.
And I learned from that, okay?
Don't go into those where bigboys can can take you out in a
minute.
Interesting.
Tony (33:29):
Hey, what what's the best advice you've ever received?
Robert (33:32):
Slow down.
I run a thousand miles a minuteand I have great ideas, and I
have a a book by the side of mybed that I that I write every
night when I wake up and go tothe restaurant, and then the
morning I try and figure outwhat it is, and then we run it
by the team now.
Uh before I used to say, oh,let's go and do this pizza,
let's do this drink, let's dothis, and you have a thousand
(33:54):
things going on, and then reallynobody wants that.
And and I've learned to slowdown, listen to people that need
something.
And and I and I'll give you anexample.
I get brought to me all thetime from major retailers, oh, I
want to do this on a privatelabel, whether it be alcohol,
whether it be food or whatever.
(34:14):
I want exactly this, andthey'll give me a package and
I'll say, okay, you want that.
But you want it cheaper, youwant it better, you want it
faster.
We can do that because we'renimble enough to do that in the
manufacturing world that we livein.
But I don't want to be doingthat for everybody unless they
can turn around and say to me,uh, Rich is ordering 100,000
units of this, then it's worthme doing it.
(34:35):
Only if the price is right, itsells through, and you order
another 100,000 units.
So I think it's the biggestadvice I would say, slow down.
What makes you unique in theproduct you have and focus on
the uniqueness of the product tosell it through?
But make sure it's not Rich'sjob or your job to sell my
(34:56):
product, it's my job to sell myproduct in your stores.
That there has to be that goingback to your experiential
piece.
What is the experience that I'mgetting?
Because if I put something on ashelf in a package and you
can't touch it and feel it andlook at it, and then you're not
gonna buy it, even once.
Yeah.
Tony (35:13):
What do you wish someone had told you early in your
career that you never learnedthat you you would pass on to a
young young person today?
Robert (35:22):
What makes you unique?
And nobody I I never had amentor in business.
I'm a cook.
I make eggs.
So I had I had a mentor toteach me how to cook eggs and
cook food, but manufacturing.
I wish somebody had told mewhat the reality of going to a
copacker and you know how theywork and what they do and how my
recipes can't be translated tomachines.
(35:44):
Even today, by the way, youhave to build the machine based
on what it is.
Some machines can't take sugar,real sugar, it has to be a
synthetic sugar.
And I think when we look at thefoods that we have in this
country, that information nevercame to me.
I've literally painstakinglyhad to learn the lessons of you
don't know what you're doing inmanufacturing, you've got to
(36:05):
learn it, buddy.
And again, I'm stubborn.
So for me, it's like, well, whynot?
Why can't we do that?
And and then they tell you,well, by the way, that machine's
gonna cost you this to be ableto do this, and it's gonna be a
three-year wait to make it.
So I think I would say beforeyou open your mouth, um, learn
what you don't know about whatyou're trying to do, whether
(36:25):
it's going into the Walmart'sAmerican Airlines, selling
liquor to uh to to bars, uhclubs, and things I've had to
learn that I didn't have, youknow, a Jean-Paul Mitchell or
DeJiel to to show me how tobuild a brand like Patron,
right?
He started Patrona out of theback of his car, just like his
hair, and sold it for $5.1billion, you know, X amount
(36:48):
later.
He learned the hard way.
He lived in his car, and thatthose people inspire me because
I didn't have a good educationat school.
I had a my life education hasbeen really good because I
failed so many times, and I'vehad to go back and trace the
steps of failure to be able tomake the blueprint for success.
So people like that thatinspire me.
(37:10):
Look, the tech things are wayabove my level.
Um, I invest in them, I bringin people that are smarter than
me now.
Uh and before it was all about,you know, well, I'm the boss,
and I'm, you know, I'm it's myway or the highway.
Now I'm like, no, listen,learn, and execute what was
being told if you feel goodabout it.
Tony (37:29):
Well, what what's the skill or trait that you look for
in people that you maybe wantto partner with or help or bring
onto your team?
What's kind of one of thoseunderrated things you you try to
sniff out?
Robert (37:41):
Well, I'll tell you you both would would get this.
And it was a a specialoperations general and an
admiral, by the way, that taughtme this.
So CEOs of Fortune 500companies look at resumes
because we look for experience,we look for all those things.
If you look at our specialoperations guys or people in our
military, it's the cohesion ofthe team.
(38:02):
So if I if I talk to Rich and Ireally got on well with Rich,
I'm like, Rich, I want you to bemy CEO or CEO because we click,
not because you've gotexperience in it.
We'll learn that together.
The person we hire has to clickwith the team.
I don't, and I don'tnecessarily look at uh
experience because I feel that Ican say somebody from FitCrunch
(38:23):
to run Terra Armor, to run thetwo distilleries we have that is
business.
Business 101.
It's you make more than moneythan you than you waste, you put
some away, and you keepproducing new product.
So for me, it's about thecohesion of the team, and this
is what we do.
I will put somebody we're gonnahire with my CO Justin and all
(38:45):
the key players, they have anhour of conversation.
Then the last one is really mywife, and because she's been way
smarter than me.
And and I hired three CW5s fromthe Army at big salaries and
give big jobs, and they allfailed me.
And she told me, don't do that.
And I end up fired them a yearor two later, after losing
(39:06):
millions of dollars, by the way.
So it's really how do thepeople click with a team?
And it's it's really fun.
If you want to watch somebodyput them in a room, and and you
see big companies doing thisnow, put them in a social
setting, not in an interviewsetting, and see how they talk
to people around them whenthere's quote unquote nobody
watching them.
Tony (39:25):
I love that one.
How do they treat the personthat's waiting in them on the
table, the hostess uh that itspeaks volumes?
In fact, I've always thoughtthat that was a great final
interview for like a C-suiteexecutive was to take them to
dinner and see how they you knowinteracted with folks around
them.
Robert (39:42):
I I've only I've only learned that last couple of
years, and I watch people howdifferently they are and how
they, you know, some aredismissive and and rude and
right, no, that guy's not gonnawork in our.
We spend a lot of time on theroad, 345 days a year on the
road, somewhere.
The teams have to work togetherbecause we spend so much time
together.
So for me, the cohesion of theteam is more important than the
(40:05):
resume.
Tony (40:06):
If you were advising a student uh and they were just
starting out, what what uhwisdom would you impart a young
student coming out of schoolthis this year when the job
market's a little soft and theeconomy is a little crazy, and
like what what advice would yougive them?
Robert (40:22):
I would I would say go and find the best in class that
you want to be in.
In other words, if you want tobe an AI, you want to be in
robotics, you want to be a chef,you want to the best in class,
and you go and work for them forfree for the first three
months.
And and the reason I say thatis this, because if somebody
knocks on my door and says, HeyRobert, I'm willing to work for
you for three months fornothing, but at the end of three
(40:45):
months, you have to decide on acontract, by the way, am I good
enough to work for you?
And you tutor me along thatway, right?
And it's hard for a lot ofpeople to do that now because
the job market and and by theway, getting no money, you've
got to live with your mom anddad and all those kind of
things.
But I I give that advice allthe time.
Go and see somebody that youreally think is good at what
(41:07):
they do.
Ask if I can work for a month,two months, whatever you decide.
But I think three months is agreat, is a great window of time
because you can go and startyour own companies, you've been
to school, you've got theeducation, whatever, but it
requires money, it requiresrelationships, and we all know
(41:28):
what I just said aboutrelationships.
So if you work for somebodyelse, you get to know the
systems that are in place thatmaybe you would change, but you
get to know the relationshipsthat these people have.
So I would say always, look,I'm not saying you have to work
for free, but if somebody saidto me coming out of school,
would you go and work withJean-George von Ricken for three
(41:48):
months for free?
I'm like, sign me up, I'llfigure it out.
My mother will pay me somethingto live somewhere in a hostel
or whatever, but for threemonths to work with this guy,
absolutely.
Because I'm gonna gain so muchknowledge of firsthand that I
would never see otherwise.
Rich (42:05):
Hey, Rich, over to you.
Yeah, I love that advicebecause you figure if you how
much you're paying for college,why wouldn't you pay for three
months to learn from somebodythat or or for free?
Robert (42:15):
Remember, college is this, and universities, and I've
got two kids that have justfinished them, two young ladies.
They're great at giving youbasics, but when you get in the
real world, what half of ityou've learned, you keep.
And then you have to turn theother half into doing real
business, right?
Whether you're a lawyer, you'rea doctor, whatever.
(42:35):
It it's not always thestraightforward line that that
universities and college teachesyou.
And I'm I'm very thankful thatI didn't go to, I wasn't smart
enough in the first place, but Ididn't go to college.
I had to learn it on the job.
Rich (42:47):
So we're gonna close with uh three rapid fire questions.
I'll take the first, Tony, youqueue up the second, and I will
close up.
And I've got a list and I'm notsure which one to ask, but I'm
gonna go with if you'retraveling to a new city, never
been to, what's the perfect day?
Robert (43:04):
Oh, I normally so when I travel, I'm coming from
somewhere to somewhere always.
And it could be from onecountry to another or one city
to another.
My biggest thing is a gym andthe hotel.
They're my two biggest luxuriesbecause I have to work out
every day.
Sometimes I'll eat on a plane,sometimes I won't.
Uh, I'm not worried about foodas much as I am a gym and a and
(43:25):
a clean room.
Tony (43:26):
Oh man, you're you're ruining my question, which was
because you're a food guy.
Like, hey, what's your comfort?
What's your go-to comfort food?
Robert (43:34):
It's funny.
I'm very simple.
And my wife will tell youbecause she cooks when I'm home,
and I love it.
Like, for a chef that I am ofthe caliber that I am, I'm not a
big uh go out of my circle andtry something new.
I'm set in my ways.
I can cook all differentthings, but I like you know,
roast chicken and mashedpotatoes, roast chicken and
(43:55):
sauteed broccoli, or or my wifemakes these uh by the way, very
I my wife's telling me liber.
I love liber.
But my wife makes these umground chicken patties with some
Italian hot sausage or sweet,doesn't matter, mixed into into
squash but uh uh smash burgersand a cast iron, but she puts
the onions and on the on thebase and then pushes the meat
(44:19):
into it and and I go nuts onthem.
I could eat, I could carry themall day, every day, everywhere.
Because they're that good.
I like comfort food, isbasically what I'm saying.
Mashed potatoes.
When when I order DoorDash,yes, I do, and my wife's away,
I'll do chicken massala and andand mashed potatoes and
broccoli.
And very simple.
Rich (44:39):
So I'm going to close out with because I am genuinely
curious.
And when I when we interviewedTony, he gave me a song that I
hadn't heard of that now pops upon my playlist every three
days.
What's your walk-on song?
Or if not a walk-on song,what's that song that when it's
it playing at the gym, you hitthe gym harder?
Robert (44:57):
There's no such thing as hit the gym harder for me.
The song that I've been doingsince I started uh in this
country in 1996 is The WinnerTakes It All by ABBA.
Because when I go into ameeting or when I start a TV
show, I listen to that before Igo into that meeting and that
show, and it pumps me up.
And just the words, the winnertakes it all, the spoils to the
(45:20):
victor, all those things.
That's on my playlist, militaryband music when I'm working
out.
People think heavy metal, I'drather the band of the Royal
Marines or or Royal Air Force orsomething playing in my ear
while I'm lifting.
It's the headspace I get intowhen I listen to that music.
Rich (45:36):
The winner takes it all.
I love it.
I I am uh We're gonna listen tothat now every time.
I'm gonna add it to theplaylist.
Um I'm acting I'm adding it tothe to the hiking playlist.
Robert (45:46):
So so here's what's what I want you to do.
When you listen to it the firsttime, write down these thoughts
afterwards.
Rich (45:53):
I absolutely will.
Well, and I keep actuallywhenever the uh whenever Tony's
song comes on, I think about it,I smile.
What was Tony's song?
Tony (46:00):
We ready.
It's uh it's a it's like atheme song if you're going into
a big sporting event.
Robert (46:06):
Love it.
Got it.
Yeah, it's the same, it's thesame kind of thing.
It pumps me up the words, andthen you go in there and you you
nail it, you know.
Rich (46:13):
Well, Robert, thank you very much.
This is this is phenomenal.
I appreciate you sticking withus.
Of course, technology isn'talways our friends, but we
adapt.
What is it, Tony?
We adapt, improvise.
Yeah, there you go.
That's the marine motto there.
Uh simplify there, Robert.
Robert (46:28):
Appreciate you both, and uh great chatting with you.
And if you need anything, uh,you know where I am.
What happens when a chef becomes a changemaker?
For Robert Irvine,transformation starts with
discipline, purpose, andservice.
Hi, I'm Rich Honiball, and I'mjoined today by guest co-host
Tony Wells, whose journey fromMarine to C-Suite marketer we
explored earlier this season.
And today the two of us had thechance to sit down with Robert.
A former Royal Navy chef,Robert Irvine has carried the
(00:22):
discipline and teamwork ofmilitary service into every
venture.
He is a world-class chef,entrepreneur, and philanthropist
dedicated to improving livesthrough food, fitness, and
service.
Best known as the host of FoodNetwork's Restaurant Impossible,
he has spent over a decadehelping struggling restaurateurs
transform their businesses andtheir lives.
(00:43):
Beyond television, Robert leadsa portfolio of purpose-driven
brands, including FitCrunch,Robert Irvine Foods, Boardroom
Spirits, and Irvine's VodkaEngin, each built around a
commitment to quality,performance, and giving back.
His companies have generatedhundreds of millions in sales
across grocery, food service,and consumer products, all while
(01:05):
supporting the mission of theRobert Irvine Foundation, which
provides aid to service members,veterans, and first responders.
Robert has been recognized withnumerous awards and honors,
including the Medal of HonorSociety's Bob Hope Award, the
U.S.
Department of Defense Spirit ofHope Award, and honorary
designation as a U.S.
Navy Chief Petty Officer.
(01:26):
Through his foundation, books,and speaking engagements, Robert
continues to inspire others tolead with integrity, resilience,
and purpose, building brandsthat serve people first.
In this episode, we dig intoleadership and transformation,
why empathy belongs in business,how smart systems can make work
more human, and when slowingdown actually accelerates
(01:48):
growth.
We also get into the power ofteams, the humility of service,
and the kind of authenticitythat sustains brands over time.
We invite you to stay tuned.
There's a revealing rapid fireround with a few unexpected
turns.
This one's about leading withpurpose, building people as well
as businesses, and what ittruly takes to overcome the
(02:08):
impossible.
So it is our pleasure today tohave Robert Irvine on Retail
Relates.
Robert, welcome.
How are you?
I am doing fantastic, and I'mjoined by Tony Wells today.
I figure if I'm going to havesomebody from the Royal Navy, I
needed someone from the U.S.
Marines to stand with me.
Tony (02:27):
Glad to be here!
Robert (02:28):
Good because this is what we call the Royal Navy and
Royal Marines, and we call themthe Real Marines.
Rich (02:35):
There you go.
So Tony, good to see you.
Robert (02:37):
Likewise.
Rich (02:38):
So, Robert, we've read your we've read your bio, and
we're obviously going to post itin the show notes.
What we like to do to start offwith is ask a question about
three pivotal moments.
Three pivotal moments you cango personal and professional
that brought you to where youare today.
Robert (02:57):
I think the first one was joining the military.
Um, I was a bad kid at the ageof 15 and a half years old.
I was drinking dad's beer andnot going to school.
Um, my mother called the houseand I answered like an idiot,
and the demise of Robert Irvinebegan.
Uh, one thing that that did forme, though, was um my father
was an army guy, my brother wasan army guy, and I was a sea
(03:21):
cadet, R O T C kind of thing.
So I would go to marine bases,naval ships every weekend, and I
said, Well, good, if I'm gonnajoin the military, it's gonna be
the Navy, and exactly what Idid at the age of 15 and a half.
She took me down and signed mylife away.
That was a pivotal moment in myyouth.
I s I think the second pivotalmoment was probably going to
(03:42):
work with Donald Trump at hiscasinos.
This is the biggest job I'veever had running a casino, food
and beverage, as a chef.
And the third would be, youknow, every company that we've
ever started, and 16 of thosecompanies, they're all been
pivotal moments in my growth asfrom a young sailor to, you
(04:03):
know, where I am today as 60years old.
They're pivotal moments.
And there are pivotal momentsevery day for me.
Rich (04:09):
So you mentioned the demise of Robert Irvine before
that demise started.
Is this the path you would haveimagined?
And was there a different pathyou had in mind?
Robert (04:18):
Well, it's funny.
I wanted to be a fireman forthe longest time.
I could run hoses and run upand down, but I wasn't so smart
in the in the mathematicalpercentages and whatever when I
took the firefighting test.
Uh, I think that was by God'sdesign, not mine.
I think a divine interventionon that, I believe.
Otherwise, it could hit me.
(04:38):
I could have been a firemanliving in Salisbury Wiltshire
for the rest of my life insteadof joining the military, doing
my career, uh, going to cruiseships, starting companies, and
the rest is history.
So yeah, I would have been afireman.
That was my dream job at thatpoint.
Every kid's dream.
I used to I used to love thefire truck.
And I would, a friend of minewas the local fire chief, and I
(04:58):
would go to run hoses and runthe towers, and I was ri I mean,
there's nobody could touch mephysically fitness-wise.
But I just wasn't smart enough.
Uh, and I'm okay with that.
Rich (05:09):
So you've had many successes and and you you've
talked about some of thechallenges.
Is there a particular challengeor setback that taught you
something that you've carriedwith you throughout your life?
Robert (05:19):
Yeah, absolutely.
Trying to be somebody that youstrive to be.
In other words, you you putsomebody on a pedestal and you
want to be that person.
And for the longest time Itried to be a person that I
wasn't.
And when I became myself, thatchanged my trajectory of life,
period.
Rich (05:37):
I have a feeling I'm going to come back to that after, but
I'm going to turn it over toTony to take a couple questions.
Yeah.
Tony (05:42):
Is there a belief or approach that's kind of shaped
uh how you lead today and thetype of leader you are?
Robert (05:48):
Yeah, totally.
I mean, the military, no matterwhether you're in the US
military uh or coalition forceas as Britain is, uh very close
ally, I think the militaryteaches you loyalty, leadership,
uh integrity, teamwork, allthose things that seem like
buzzwords when you first join,right?
(06:09):
You know, it's let's getrah-rah, let's get whatever.
But I will say all of thetraits that I learned in the
military have helped me besuccessful, organizational
skills, leadership skills,empathetic leadership, ego
keeping in check, the teamwork,all those things that, you know,
you learn, especially as aMarine, you know, in Paris
Island or the or wherever you doyour basic training.
(06:31):
I went into the military as aas a young man, and I had older
guys, 20, 24, 25, that have beenin college and universities,
coming in to be officers, youknow, and I was sleeping in the
same room as these guys, but myuniform was perfect, my bed was
perfect.
You couldn't follow anythingthat I did.
And as a drill instructor, theywould say to me, Oh, you're
(06:53):
perfect, but you're not a teamplayer.
So for me, the military taughtme about teamwork.
I literally at two o'clock inthe morning tipped all those
other guys out of bed.
Um, much to their angst, I cantell you.
I taught them how to cleantheir boots, how to bone their
boots, how to polish theirboots, how to press the uniform,
how to make a bed.
And I did that every night tothe point that they knew it was
(07:14):
coming at two o'clock.
unknown (07:15):
Yeah.
Robert (07:16):
Right.
But they we all passed out orgraduated together.
And that taught me one thingabout, you know, I was a young
leader to start with, you know,at 15 and a half years old, as
opposed to a 24-year-old collegestudent.
So I think the military is Isay to everybody, I wish the
United States would have atwo-year mandatory stint in the
military, non-deployable, justat home station.
(07:38):
Hey, I love that.
Tony (07:40):
That's a great, you know, and it doesn't have to be combat
arms, it could be Peace Corps,uh, Teach America, Conservation
Corps, this idea of working forsomething bigger than yourself.
Robert (07:51):
So I'm a big believer in that.
My kids, uh, one's almost adoctor, one's a lawyer, criminal
lawyer at 27-24, and they'vedone uh service, they they do
pro bono work, they do all thesethings, and they're better
human beings for it.
So I think the military hastaught me the way I run my
companies and live my life.
Tony (08:11):
So hey, you you're a very public person, like, or like you
know, people know your name,know your face, seeing you on
TV.
So when you think about uh howfolks may perceive you and your
area of expertise, what what'ssomething that people probably
have wrong about you?
Robert (08:28):
Oh wow.
Look, the the the instant thingon TV is oh, you're mean,
right?
Uh those people that actuallyknow me would uh and by the way,
this there's you know millionsof followers that will tell you
different.
But here's my here's what myreturn answer to that.
If you've got 48 hours tochange somebody's life that has
(08:50):
been doing something for 30years and doing it wrong,
they're about to lose the house,their family, their wife or
husband, whichever way it goes,do you want me to say please and
thank you?
I don't have the time.
It's a real 48 hours, and Ineed answers.
So mean, I wouldn't say I am,but intense, I would definitely
say I am.
Tony (09:08):
Okay, that's good.
When you think about the areaof kind of hospitality and
restaurant and service uhindustries, how do you see it
evolving right now?
Where do you where do you seethe big trends or what are the
big takeaways that you seehappening?
Robert (09:22):
Well, I think you're seeing the biggest problem in a
country, actually, in ourcountry specifically, meaning
the US, is we don't have themanpower in those spaces.
So nobody wants to be a cook,even for $40 an hour, by the
way.
Because there's bigger, wedon't have the the birth rate of
people.
(09:42):
We look at the immigrants, andI'm one of them, by the way,
that became an American citizen.
We don't have that summer flowas we used to for whatever
reason.
This is not political.
We don't have people wanting todo the lower-end jobs, cook,
clean, dishwash, right?
So what's happening istechnology is taking away those
(10:03):
jobs.
I know I'm part, I have acompany that does it.
So a couple of companies.
You know, we have roboticchipmakers, we have robotic
hamburger makers, because wedon't have people that will take
40 hours, $40 an hour to beable to flip hamburgers or shake
french fries.
Now we've got machines.
You see it all over.
We drive through, we've gotself-ordering platforms.
(10:26):
Again, I own one of them, soI'm trying to solve that
problem.
And that doesn't mean changing,getting rid of people.
It means taking the people andputting them in in better spots
where they'll make more moneyand be better for the business
instead of those mundane tasks,right?
A humanoid can't cook.
A humanoid can shoot, a dog canwalk and and do what they do.
(10:49):
And we've seen that in themilitary evolve.
But in in our food and beverageindustry, we are gonna need
those people and those positionsto be fulfilled by by humans.
Because we all like to go torestaurants, we like the
interaction, we like to say,hey, uh, hey Rich, welcome to
Robert Irvine's.
It's good to see you again.
(11:10):
Do you want your normal orwould you like something
different?
We like that interaction.
And machines, no matter howgood they are, and if you think
of big companies, McDonald's,Chick-fil-A, all these people
use machines now, and thenpeople in lines.
So they're not taking away thejobs, they're actually giving
them better jobs, paying themmore money instead of those
(11:32):
mundane jobs.
So I see I see that trendcontinuing a lot.
I've just put in the Pentagonuh those self-ordering platforms
that have been around foryears, by the way.
Um, but the Pentagon and theWhite House and all these other
places are very difficult to useuh technology because of the
buildings they're in.
And you'll see Walmart.
So Walmart does theself-ordering checkout, right?
(11:55):
Or or self-uh uh registercheckout, and so do a lot of
places.
But then in certain parts ofthe country, they take them out
because we need this.
So the whole change ofindustry, not just the food and
beverage, although that's hugeto me, but in general, you can
self-check out a t-shirt now, goto Navy Exchange, go to you
(12:16):
know, uh Marine Exchanges, go tothose places, and you'll see
that technology coming inbecause we don't necessarily
have the people.
Tony (12:23):
What's your take on the impact to the experience?
Because I will tell you, I wasrecently at a theater chain.
There was nobody there to helpme like order popcorn and so and
they actually missed out onmore business for me because I
couldn't figure out the kioskhow to make it work.
Robert (12:38):
And there's like one person So the experience, look,
experiences, experiences arelike restaurants, right?
You go to experience arestaurant because you walk in,
you get sat, the service lovesyou're spash shows, you order a
bottle of wine or not, you eatthe food, it's it's wow, you go
away and you talk about.
Same with movie.
But if if that operator ofthose movie uh theaters, just
(13:00):
like the restaurants that I dealwith, have really taught their
staff how to use, and by theway, it's quicker usage.
There's 28 to 35% increase insales with a machine as against
to a human being.
That's a proven fact.
So the experience could be goodif the operator has trained his
(13:20):
staff correctly.
I'll give an example.
I'm in Tampa, Florida rightnow.
Uh, there's a there's a chainhere, a very big chain, by the
way.
Used to have four or fivedifferent styles of restaurants.
15 years ago, they were using,20 years ago, they were using
iPads to order wine.
I can order the same wine.
It literally took three minutesas opposed to going through a
(13:41):
binder of stuff.
It's on the table, you orderit, it's there in three minutes.
So it's a good experience, andthere's a bad experience.
And it depends on the operatorto train those people that are
in the vicinity or in therestaurant or in the hotel.
Look, you can go to a hotelnow, you don't even go to a
front desk.
You use your your your yoursmartphone for your key to order
(14:01):
towels.
I know I I've set it up in SanDiego, the very first one with
Comcast.
It's unbelievable.
I had I had towels at my roomin three minutes, and that's not
an exaggeration.
We actually did a whole seriesof posts about it because we
couldn't get uh it was calledthe the Hotel of the Future,
(14:22):
just like the restaurant of thefuture, and we're seeing a lot
more of it now as Comcaststarted it 20 years ago.
Yeah.
Rich (14:28):
To take what you and Tony were talking about a little bit
further, there's the potentialthat we give up ourselves to
technology if you go by all thedystopian novels that we were
forced to read in school.
But what you're saying is thattechnology could restore us to
where we're able to be morehuman.
Robert (14:46):
I think so.
I I've invested heavily in inthe last five years of
technology on all levels, right?
From a fighting platform, froma restaurant platform, from a uh
uh production platform.
Again, I go back to this onething.
Take what people we have, paythem the value that they are,
and put them in a position, A,that they're happy, B, they they
(15:09):
can give the experience, and C,they walk away with a paycheck
and they're not they're not footand mouth or hand to mouth,
where they don't know where thenext dollar's coming from
because you know we're we'redoing $7 an hour or $12 an hour,
$15, whatever the minimum wageson the different states.
That's why people don't want towork in these jobs.
(15:32):
And you see the big trend in AIand and and all these robotics.
And think about this when youthink about the civilian war.
Look what the military isdoing, look at drones, and
that's a prime example.
And I'm talking about a $180million uh drone that a
19-year-old kid sits in a boxand he uses like a like a uh a
(15:54):
game boy and gets paid what hegets paid.
But that 180 million globalhawk that's up there is still
run by a 19-year-old kid thatgets up at five o'clock in the
morning, does PT, and if hedoesn't get fed or she and they
fall asleep, we lose that $180million drum because it's on a
joystick.
It's not a game, it's real.
(16:15):
So technology's already takenover in in that area, and young
kids today know that if I stayon this path of AI or I stay on
this path of I'm gonna make moremoney in the end.
And I think that's that'stelling.
Rich (16:29):
It's interesting.
There's a debate in educationright now, one that I won't wade
into, but you have studentsthat are using AI, they'll go
into a class, they'll record thelecture, they'll transcribe the
lecture, they'll use uh Googleto then turn it into a podcast.
Yeah, they'll create notes anda template and even a tutor.
(16:54):
They're doing the work, butwhat they're doing is taking the
way a particular professor maybe teaching it that they may not
be clicking with and finding aninnovative way through
technology to learn thematerial.
Yeah.
Robert (17:06):
Is that right or wrong?
And I would I'm gonna throwback with a question to both of
you.
As a doctor that spent 20years, maybe a heart surgeon,
let's call him a heart surgeon,right?
Or her.
You go into the hospital, theythink this is gonna happen to
you.
So you are 53% correct or 63%correct.
Then we have AI do the samething, and that may be 70%
(17:30):
right.
But together, the doctor andthe AI can diagnose and treat
100% the problem.
Which would you prefer?
If it was my heart, 100%.
Right.
I think there's good and bad inin AI, and that's what people
are worried about.
But my experience has beenamazing of learning as a
60-year-old.
(17:50):
You got all these young kidsthat are all over it, like you
just said.
But I think that's the few Idon't think it's going away.
So we have to embrace it, wehave to police it, and then we
have to think of ways to use itin a better way than good or
bad.
I think that's the the problem,the good, bad, and the evil.
And we have to figure out okay,how does it really help our
(18:11):
business, our sales force, ourour kitchen or whatever?
Rich (18:15):
I'm gonna agree with that because I I do think that it can
become a good or bad, andthere's people that are going
full bore into it, and there'speople that are putting their
head in the sand and avoidingit.
But to look at it as a tool.
Robert (18:26):
Well, look at look at today, look at what came out
today.
200 million for an AI contractwith the DOD government.
And you you can read it, it'snot it's not secret, it's out
there.
So we're already using it inmany platforms.
So I think you've got to jumpon board.
We do have to police it, but Ialso think it's great for retail
too.
I do.
Tony (18:46):
I think it's it's gonna give and unlock a lot of
consumer insight that differentfunctions at a retail brand may
have known in their silo, butwhen you pull it together and
you can scrape and start topredict timing and weather and
traffic patterns, it it could bea big unlock.
(19:07):
I do worry about labor.
We are gonna need some ways tomanage job loss, but there's
gonna be job gain.
And I think in areas likehospitality, we kind of have to
plan that out to reskill somefolks potentially and and not
have this turn into you know abig view that people are
(19:27):
concerned about losing their joband it's all negative because
there's a lot of positive to it.
Robert (19:31):
Yeah, for the last two years, that's all I've been
doing is saying, hey guys, theseself-ordering platforms,
they're helping you.
Now, now, Johnny, Melissa,Fred, Frank, instead of making
$15, $20, I'm now gonna pay you$30, but I'm gonna move you over
here.
You're gonna have a different.
But again, it it's about theemployee and the employer being
(19:53):
one and understanding what whatthat change is and why it's
happening.
And I think if you'retransparent, which you know big
companies are really nottransparent, but if if we're
more transparent with people,our world would be a lot better
placed in the workplace andenvironment because people would
understand those changes.
Rich (20:12):
So I'm gonna take you back a little bit.
You joined the Royal Navy andand went into culinary arts.
How did you make thatconnection?
Robert (20:19):
It wasn't my I'll take you back a little bit earlier
than that.
I was 11 years old.
My mother said to me, What doyou want to do?
And I said, Well, uh, I hatedeverything at school except
sports, woodwork, and homeeconomics.
And the only reason I like homeeconomics is because there was
30 girls and me.
And I thought, I'm a sports,I'm a football player, I'm a
(20:40):
sports player, I'm a, you know,I might get a girlfriend.
I made my first quiche Lorraineat 11 years old.
My father, a little five'eightIrish guy in the army, uh, meat
and potatoes guy.
I took the quiche home and Iwas amazed that pastry, cheese,
eggs, onion, and bacon, and alittle bit of milk can make this
(21:01):
thing.
I was totally amazed.
And my dad was very um meat andpotatoes.
He's like, what is this crapkind of thing?
And I would do that every week.
I would bring home food to tryand to try, to the point that
when I did my NAMIT test, whichis Navy and uh um maths and
arithmetic, uh sorry, arithmeticand English tests, one being
(21:22):
the highest, five being thelowest, I got five five.
And the recruiter said, Well,you're not gonna be a pilot,
you're not gonna be a brainsurgeon, you're gonna be a cook.
And I was very excited aboutthat, literally.
And when I went to school, HMSPembroke, which is which is
Chatham, so my brother was inthe army, which was Chatham
Dean, which was four miles awayfrom me, and I was in the old
(21:44):
naval base in Chatham, which isknown for, you know, their
warships and roparies and allthat kind of thing, I was amazed
that I could change somebody'smind in day by using food.
That makes sense.
So I didn't have an option, itwas what they give me.
Hey, congratulations, youngman, you're in the Majesty's
Royal Navy, and by the way,you're gonna be a cook.
(22:04):
And I'm like, woohoo! Great.
And I and I really did becauseI really enjoyed cooking.
Rich (22:09):
So when you moved into the restaurant business, both in
your businesses and then whenyou go into a business for 48
hours, what's the common threadthat you look for that is
indicative of where somethinghas the potential to succeed or
not?
Robert (22:25):
So I'll give you I'll give you an example from a
Fortune 500 company, because Ihave 16 of those that I am
working with, right?
For culture and leadership andand product and all that kind of
stuff.
But I also have my own 16companies.
So for me, the first thing Ilook at is leadership.
What is the vision?
Who's in charge?
(22:45):
Did we give them the tools todo that vision?
And do we have enough peopleand training to be able to do
that?
So if I go to a kitchen, forexample, I look at the distance
between the stove, therefrigeration, and the press,
meaning where we put the food upin a restaurant.
Is it one step, two step, threestep?
How's the kitchen laid out?
(23:05):
How many people are in there?
What is the menu?
And how many steps to make eachdish?
So there's a system I use ineverything, whether you're
Walmart, whether you're AmericanAirlines, whether you're I look
at all those systems that arein place and I ask questions.
And this is what makes peopleupset.
And we can talk about militaryin a second.
I ask the questions, why do wedo it this way?
(23:28):
And when somebody says to me,because that's the way we've
always done it, I get so upset,then I fly off my handle.
I'm gonna I'm gonna explainthat in a second.
So for me, I look at systemsand personnel and the speed of
service.
How can I put that food outfaster on a consistent basis for
6,000 people on aircraftcarrier?
(23:48):
And I'm gonna use an aircraftcarrier as an example.
I've been on every aircraftcarrier there is in the United
States Navy.
Sailed on them, flown on them,trapped on them, done all.
And it always amazes me.
And I sat this week with someshipyard people and Chief of
Naval Operations uh AdmiralCaudle.
I'm like, okay, this is how acruise ship works.
So we went to Miami and FleetWeek and we looked at a cruise
(24:09):
ship.
When it comes on, it gets done,goes straight up in elevator.
Then I look at an aircraftcarrier that feeds uh the new
Forts 5,000, Eisenhower, etcetera, 6,000.
Why do I have to go to astoreroom back aft when it
should be right there into thegalley?
Number two, why do we have sixthree rack ovens when there
should be six, 15 rack roll-inovens, right?
(24:32):
We're feeding 6,000 people.
I look at every business, nomatter whether it's the Navy,
the Army, the Air Force, uh,Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space
Force, Walmart, American.
I look at the systems and thenI pick the holes in the systems.
And I've done that for Comcast,NBC, uh a whole bunch of
people.
But I start with, okay, tell mewhy you do this.
Tony (24:55):
Well, it it's it's funny you say that because I I had an
old boss that said retail isdetails, and it is a very
precise way of doing things andhaving a process.
And to your point, when whensomeone can't explain why they
do it this way, it probably isnot rooted in any science or six
sigma analysis of how do wetake the flag and the lag out of
(25:16):
the process.
So that's interesting.
Robert (25:18):
Yeah, and you look at all these companies that that
have uh telesales and and cableoperators that you need to say,
oh, by the way, my cable doesn'twork today, or my credit card
doesn't work in your machine,and we farm that to people when
they can't answer with theoriginal call and they pass it
on to the next one, next one,next one, next one.
Then you wonder why we getfrustrated, right?
(25:38):
Instead of having the abilityto fix the problem right there
and then, which I've doneshortcut a lot of stuff.
And I think that's one of mystrengths.
Weakness I get, I get upsetwhen people don't change fast
enough.
That's a big weakness for me.
When we know we can savehundreds of millions, if not
billions of dollars, and I meanB with a B, billions with a B,
(26:01):
because I'm doing it now.
Rich (26:02):
I'm seeing it.
Yeah, if I relate it tometrics, and and Tony, you've
seen this.
We will, and for for studentsthat are listening to this, we
will teach a lot of metrics,we'll teach a lot of reports,
we'll teach how to derive them.
And then if you ask thequestion, okay, what are you
taking from that?
What's the value of the metric?
You can have 30 metrics.
(26:23):
If you don't understand whatthey mean and what you do with
them, I would rather take fiveor six metrics that I fully
understand rather than a reportwith a bunch of numbers that
looks good in a deck but doesn'ttell me anything.
Robert (26:36):
I would also uh challenge anybody that says
relationships don't count inwhat you do.
Because to me, that was abiggest learning thing about
relationships and understandingwhose role is what and why, and
having a cup of coffee andsaying, Oh, you have an issue.
How can I help you solve thatissue?
You come to me and say, HeyRobert, I need um whatever you
(26:57):
need, and I go away and I thinkabout it.
I say, I think we can do this.
Is that what you're lookingfor?
So I did that with Walmart on abunch of food items, and we end
up doing this amazing group ofproducts that were a
collaboration between twopeople, or or two groups of
people, I should say.
And I I think modern day wesay, Oh, go away with a problem
(27:20):
and fix it, instead of saying,Hey, Tony, I've got this
problem.
Rich, I got this problem.
This is what I think we can do.
Do you use what do you think?
Tell me, does it work?
Does it not work?
Why doesn't it work?
It's a collaboration of peoplethat makes the end uh result
better.
It's not one group of people.
And and when people say, Oh,we're gonna give this contract
(27:41):
to somebody, I'm like, uh, Idon't think that's a good idea.
Rich (27:44):
Let me ask a question.
So as you expanded fromrestaurant business into your
brands, Terra Armin and manyother brands that that you have
owned and the and that you ownwork on, you've answered it to
some extent.
But what are the commonalitiesthat you see from the food
industry to retail branding andthe success rate?
Robert (28:05):
I think I that's really interesting to me because it's
something I didn't understandwhen I got into my first
company, which was Irvine Time,like T H Y-Me, it's just herbs,
right?
But I was still working at at acasino and I had this side
business and whatever.
I didn't understand whatbranding means and and what
customer loyalty and turn ratesand burn rates and you know, all
(28:29):
those kind of things that Iunderstand now.
When we started Fit Crunch in2013, and this kind of goes in
the whole system of automationand things, we had in Pittsburgh
three lines of 18 people.
We made the cookies at night.
They came in top them.
We were doing 70,000 bars aday.
Walmart was customer, Costcowas customer, but we couldn't
(28:51):
keep up with those.
So we'd short one, we'd dothis, right?
Then I said, okay, how do wemake more?
Well, it's physicallyimpossible to make more by hand,
but machines can use faster.
It took another 30, 32, 35million to fix a line that could
400-foot line that could do300,000 bars uh a day.
Then you have a problem of, oh,how do you how do you put them
(29:13):
bars in a in a box and that'sanother 20 million?
So modernization of equipmenthelped build that brand to a
mega brand.
And we've taken that mentalityof now what we're doing with
terror armor, with the theunderclothes, now uniforms.
And I will tell you, everythingthat we put our hands in, a lot
of that money goes into ourfoundation to take care of the
(29:34):
men and women that wear thecloth of our nation and their
families and first responders.
So I'm a big believer in if wecreate a brand and it does well,
X amount goes in a year.
I think the branding piece ishuge because it has to be
authentic to you.
We don't get into anything thatdoesn't surround.
It's almost like having a pie.
And Tony, you wereunderstanding that.
(29:55):
So, so my core potential hereis food, but then there's
alcohol, then there's clothes.
Then there's fitness, thenthere's there's all these other
folks of the wheel that have tobelieve be believable to a
consumer.
So I'll give an example.
I make my own aftershave,right?
It's too blended, and uh andpeople say to me, Oh my god, it
smells amazing.
Where can I get it?
(30:16):
Who's gonna buy an aftershaveoff a chef?
It's like Paula did, Dean didyears ago.
She made um scented candleslike apple pie and things.
It didn't last very long.
You've got to know what peopleknow you for and they're gonna
follow you for.
That's your retail base.
And I do a lot of of what youwere talking about, Tony.
I do I buy a lot of uh ofinformation, right?
(30:39):
What aisles are going down,what's being sold, what's you
know, we don't know names ofpeople, of course we don't, but
we know their shopping patterns.
That's why casinos are so goodat putting colors and and and
maths and and things that leadyou to certain machines.
I go into a store with a listof stuff, and then the list goes
out because I love walking upand down the aisles to see
(31:01):
what's there.
Instead of spending a hundredbucks, I'm spending 200, 300
bucks because oh, I like that.
I want that.
I do uh and it's understandingthe patterns and you're talking
about branding, colors.
What are you known for in I'mknown in food, I'm known in
clothing.
So I look, I pick the fightsthat I think I can win, but I
(31:21):
don't go into a to a gunfightwith a knife.
Rich (31:24):
Someone has a follow-up to that, and then I'm gonna turn
it over to Tony.
So have you ever, I won't sayever picked a fight, and you
don't have to name the brandbecause it may be one of yours,
it may be another one, but haveyou ever taken on a project or
started a brand that you knewdeep down inside was it had the
potential for success and itdidn't work?
Robert (31:43):
Yes, totally.
So years and years ago,somebody came to me with a a
healing professional iced teatype of drink.
I bought into it in a big waybecause I really the science
behind it proved that it worked.
My problem was I sold it at thewrong price and the minimum run
was 100,000 cases.
I literally ended up giving100,000 cases away.
(32:06):
I didn't do my due diligence inthat space on pricing.
Because if I'd have put thatdrink in at $2.99, Coca-Cola
would have been buying mycompany out of $3 billion.
That it was that good.
And it went away, actually, uh,in a deal with another company.
So yeah, I mean, you're alwaysgonna have failures.
And what do you learn fromfailure?
(32:27):
Uh, don't make the same mistaketwice.
You know, it's okay to makemistakes, just don't make the
same mistake twice.
And that's where if I'd havesaid to if I'd have said to Tony
or you, Rich, you know, what doyou think this is a good price
to come in at?
You would have said, A, and Iwould have said, Well, yeah,
okay, you're buying it, I getit.
You're gonna put the mark uponit, but I would have come to a
middle ground and said, Okay,this is what I should have done.
(32:49):
And I didn't.
So, so I take responsibilityfor that failure.
And it may just be a productthat that nobody wants, you
know.
She can create all the productsyou want, but it is a consumer
need for it.
And I've done that.
My first real product was apizza, a frozen pizza.
It was amazing, made by uh inin Michigan, the best pizza guy
(33:12):
in the on the world.
But as soon as I put intoretail, a big guy came up, his
250,000 marketing money and getrid of Irvine.
And you know how that works.
I mean, it it's just the world.
And I learned from that, okay?
Don't go into those where bigboys can can take you out in a
minute.
Interesting.
Tony (33:29):
Hey, what what's the best advice you've ever received?
Robert (33:32):
Slow down.
I run a thousand miles a minuteand I have great ideas, and I
have a a book by the side of mybed that I that I write every
night when I wake up and go tothe restaurant, and then the
morning I try and figure outwhat it is, and then we run it
by the team now.
Uh before I used to say, oh,let's go and do this pizza,
let's do this drink, let's dothis, and you have a thousand
(33:54):
things going on, and then reallynobody wants that.
And and I've learned to slowdown, listen to people that need
something.
And and I and I'll give you anexample.
I get brought to me all thetime from major retailers, oh, I
want to do this on a privatelabel, whether it be alcohol,
whether it be food or whatever.
(34:14):
I want exactly this, andthey'll give me a package and
I'll say, okay, you want that.
But you want it cheaper, youwant it better, you want it
faster.
We can do that because we'renimble enough to do that in the
manufacturing world that we livein.
But I don't want to be doingthat for everybody unless they
can turn around and say to me,uh, Rich is ordering 100,000
units of this, then it's worthme doing it.
(34:35):
Only if the price is right, itsells through, and you order
another 100,000 units.
So I think it's the biggestadvice I would say, slow down.
What makes you unique in theproduct you have and focus on
the uniqueness of the product tosell it through?
But make sure it's not Rich'sjob or your job to sell my
(34:56):
product, it's my job to sell myproduct in your stores.
That there has to be that goingback to your experiential
piece.
What is the experience that I'mgetting?
Because if I put something on ashelf in a package and you
can't touch it and feel it andlook at it, and then you're not
gonna buy it, even once.
Yeah.
Tony (35:13):
What do you wish someone had told you early in your
career that you never learnedthat you you would pass on to a
young young person today?
Robert (35:22):
What makes you unique?
And nobody I I never had amentor in business.
I'm a cook.
I make eggs.
So I had I had a mentor toteach me how to cook eggs and
cook food, but manufacturing.
I wish somebody had told mewhat the reality of going to a
copacker and you know how theywork and what they do and how my
recipes can't be translated tomachines.
(35:44):
Even today, by the way, youhave to build the machine based
on what it is.
Some machines can't take sugar,real sugar, it has to be a
synthetic sugar.
And I think when we look at thefoods that we have in this
country, that information nevercame to me.
I've literally painstakinglyhad to learn the lessons of you
don't know what you're doing inmanufacturing, you've got to
(36:05):
learn it, buddy.
And again, I'm stubborn.
So for me, it's like, well, whynot?
Why can't we do that?
And and then they tell you,well, by the way, that machine's
gonna cost you this to be ableto do this, and it's gonna be a
three-year wait to make it.
So I think I would say beforeyou open your mouth, um, learn
what you don't know about whatyou're trying to do, whether
(36:25):
it's going into the Walmart'sAmerican Airlines, selling
liquor to uh to to bars, uhclubs, and things I've had to
learn that I didn't have, youknow, a Jean-Paul Mitchell or
DeJiel to to show me how tobuild a brand like Patron,
right?
He started Patrona out of theback of his car, just like his
hair, and sold it for $5.1billion, you know, X amount
(36:48):
later.
He learned the hard way.
He lived in his car, and thatthose people inspire me because
I didn't have a good educationat school.
I had a my life education hasbeen really good because I
failed so many times, and I'vehad to go back and trace the
steps of failure to be able tomake the blueprint for success.
So people like that thatinspire me.
(37:10):
Look, the tech things are wayabove my level.
Um, I invest in them, I bringin people that are smarter than
me now.
Uh and before it was all about,you know, well, I'm the boss,
and I'm, you know, I'm it's myway or the highway.
Now I'm like, no, listen,learn, and execute what was
being told if you feel goodabout it.
Tony (37:29):
Well, what what's the skill or trait that you look for
in people that you maybe wantto partner with or help or bring
onto your team?
What's kind of one of thoseunderrated things you you try to
sniff out?
Robert (37:41):
Well, I'll tell you you both would would get this.
And it was a a specialoperations general and an
admiral, by the way, that taughtme this.
So CEOs of Fortune 500companies look at resumes
because we look for experience,we look for all those things.
If you look at our specialoperations guys or people in our
military, it's the cohesion ofthe team.
(38:02):
So if I if I talk to Rich and Ireally got on well with Rich,
I'm like, Rich, I want you to bemy CEO or CEO because we click,
not because you've gotexperience in it.
We'll learn that together.
The person we hire has to clickwith the team.
I don't, and I don'tnecessarily look at uh
experience because I feel that Ican say somebody from FitCrunch
(38:23):
to run Terra Armor, to run thetwo distilleries we have that is
business.
Business 101.
It's you make more than moneythan you than you waste, you put
some away, and you keepproducing new product.
So for me, it's about thecohesion of the team, and this
is what we do.
I will put somebody we're gonnahire with my CO Justin and all
(38:45):
the key players, they have anhour of conversation.
Then the last one is really mywife, and because she's been way
smarter than me.
And and I hired three CW5s fromthe Army at big salaries and
give big jobs, and they allfailed me.
And she told me, don't do that.
And I end up fired them a yearor two later, after losing
(39:06):
millions of dollars, by the way.
So it's really how do thepeople click with a team?
And it's it's really fun.
If you want to watch somebodyput them in a room, and and you
see big companies doing thisnow, put them in a social
setting, not in an interviewsetting, and see how they talk
to people around them whenthere's quote unquote nobody
watching them.
Tony (39:25):
I love that one.
How do they treat the personthat's waiting in them on the
table, the hostess uh that itspeaks volumes?
In fact, I've always thoughtthat that was a great final
interview for like a C-suiteexecutive was to take them to
dinner and see how they you knowinteracted with folks around
them.
Robert (39:42):
I I've only I've only learned that last couple of
years, and I watch people howdifferently they are and how
they, you know, some aredismissive and and rude and
right, no, that guy's not gonnawork in our.
We spend a lot of time on theroad, 345 days a year on the
road, somewhere.
The teams have to work togetherbecause we spend so much time
together.
So for me, the cohesion of theteam is more important than the
(40:05):
resume.
Tony (40:06):
If you were advising a student uh and they were just
starting out, what what uhwisdom would you impart a young
student coming out of schoolthis this year when the job
market's a little soft and theeconomy is a little crazy, and
like what what advice would yougive them?
Robert (40:22):
I would I would say go and find the best in class that
you want to be in.
In other words, if you want tobe an AI, you want to be in
robotics, you want to be a chef,you want to the best in class,
and you go and work for them forfree for the first three
months.
And and the reason I say thatis this, because if somebody
knocks on my door and says, HeyRobert, I'm willing to work for
you for three months fornothing, but at the end of three
(40:45):
months, you have to decide on acontract, by the way, am I good
enough to work for you?
And you tutor me along thatway, right?
And it's hard for a lot ofpeople to do that now because
the job market and and by theway, getting no money, you've
got to live with your mom anddad and all those kind of
things.
But I I give that advice allthe time.
Go and see somebody that youreally think is good at what
(41:07):
they do.
Ask if I can work for a month,two months, whatever you decide.
But I think three months is agreat, is a great window of time
because you can go and startyour own companies, you've been
to school, you've got theeducation, whatever, but it
requires money, it requiresrelationships, and we all know
(41:28):
what I just said aboutrelationships.
So if you work for somebodyelse, you get to know the
systems that are in place thatmaybe you would change, but you
get to know the relationshipsthat these people have.
So I would say always, look,I'm not saying you have to work
for free, but if somebody saidto me coming out of school,
would you go and work withJean-George von Ricken for three
(41:48):
months for free?
I'm like, sign me up, I'llfigure it out.
My mother will pay me somethingto live somewhere in a hostel
or whatever, but for threemonths to work with this guy,
absolutely.
Because I'm gonna gain so muchknowledge of firsthand that I
would never see otherwise.
Rich (42:05):
Hey, Rich, over to you.
Yeah, I love that advicebecause you figure if you how
much you're paying for college,why wouldn't you pay for three
months to learn from somebodythat or or for free?
Robert (42:15):
Remember, college is this, and universities, and I've
got two kids that have justfinished them, two young ladies.
They're great at giving youbasics, but when you get in the
real world, what half of ityou've learned, you keep.
And then you have to turn theother half into doing real
business, right?
Whether you're a lawyer, you'rea doctor, whatever.
(42:35):
It it's not always thestraightforward line that that
universities and college teachesyou.
And I'm I'm very thankful thatI didn't go to, I wasn't smart
enough in the first place, but Ididn't go to college.
I had to learn it on the job.
Rich (42:47):
So we're gonna close with uh three rapid fire questions.
I'll take the first, Tony, youqueue up the second, and I will
close up.
And I've got a list and I'm notsure which one to ask, but I'm
gonna go with if you'retraveling to a new city, never
been to, what's the perfect day?
Robert (43:04):
Oh, I normally so when I travel, I'm coming from
somewhere to somewhere always.
And it could be from onecountry to another or one city
to another.
My biggest thing is a gym andthe hotel.
They're my two biggest luxuriesbecause I have to work out
every day.
Sometimes I'll eat on a plane,sometimes I won't.
Uh, I'm not worried about foodas much as I am a gym and a and
(43:25):
a clean room.
Tony (43:26):
Oh man, you're you're ruining my question, which was
because you're a food guy.
Like, hey, what's your comfort?
What's your go-to comfort food?
Robert (43:34):
It's funny.
I'm very simple.
And my wife will tell youbecause she cooks when I'm home,
and I love it.
Like, for a chef that I am ofthe caliber that I am, I'm not a
big uh go out of my circle andtry something new.
I'm set in my ways.
I can cook all differentthings, but I like you know,
roast chicken and mashedpotatoes, roast chicken and
(43:55):
sauteed broccoli, or or my wifemakes these uh by the way, very
I my wife's telling me liber.
I love liber.
But my wife makes these umground chicken patties with some
Italian hot sausage or sweet,doesn't matter, mixed into into
squash but uh uh smash burgersand a cast iron, but she puts
the onions and on the on thebase and then pushes the meat
(44:19):
into it and and I go nuts onthem.
I could eat, I could carry themall day, every day, everywhere.
Because they're that good.
I like comfort food, isbasically what I'm saying.
Mashed potatoes.
When when I order DoorDash,yes, I do, and my wife's away,
I'll do chicken massala and andand mashed potatoes and
broccoli.
And very simple.
Rich (44:39):
So I'm going to close out with because I am genuinely
curious.
And when I when we interviewedTony, he gave me a song that I
hadn't heard of that now pops upon my playlist every three
days.
What's your walk-on song?
Or if not a walk-on song,what's that song that when it's
it playing at the gym, you hitthe gym harder?
Robert (44:57):
There's no such thing as hit the gym harder for me.
The song that I've been doingsince I started uh in this
country in 1996 is The WinnerTakes It All by ABBA.
Because when I go into ameeting or when I start a TV
show, I listen to that before Igo into that meeting and that
show, and it pumps me up.
And just the words, the winnertakes it all, the spoils to the
(45:20):
victor, all those things.
That's on my playlist, militaryband music when I'm working
out.
People think heavy metal, I'drather the band of the Royal
Marines or or Royal Air Force orsomething playing in my ear
while I'm lifting.
It's the headspace I get intowhen I listen to that music.
Rich (45:36):
The winner takes it all.
I love it.
I I am uh We're gonna listen tothat now every time.
I'm gonna add it to theplaylist.
Um I'm acting I'm adding it tothe to the hiking playlist.
Robert (45:46):
So so here's what's what I want you to do.
When you listen to it the firsttime, write down these thoughts
afterwards.
Rich (45:53):
I absolutely will.
Well, and I keep actuallywhenever the uh whenever Tony's
song comes on, I think about it,I smile.
What was Tony's song?
Tony (46:00):
We ready.
It's uh it's a it's like atheme song if you're going into
a big sporting event.
Robert (46:06):
Love it.
Got it.
Yeah, it's the same, it's thesame kind of thing.
It pumps me up the words, andthen you go in there and you you
nail it, you know.
Rich (46:13):
Well, Robert, thank you very much.
This is this is phenomenal.
I appreciate you sticking withus.
Of course, technology isn'talways our friends, but we
adapt.
What is it, Tony?
We adapt, improvise.
Yeah, there you go.
That's the marine motto there.
Uh simplify there, Robert.
Robert (46:28):
Appreciate you both, and uh great chatting with you.
And if you need anything, uh,you know where I am.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.