To Be the BEST, You've Got to Think You're the BEST.

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I reckon I call you once a month for a little
father-son talk and a pat on theback.
It's a crazy feeling I can'texplain it Probably the most
vulnerable you could ever be.
It's like a game of chess butit hurts.
I'm just setting the standardfor what I accept.
It has to be a relationship.
It can't be one-sided.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Seriously so proud of what you're achieving.
It's frigging awesome.
G'day.
Welcome back to another episodeof A Level Up.
We are back in the shed thisafternoon for another cracking
episode.
This one is going to be acracker because we've got young
Shane Steele back here.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
How are you mate?
Not so young anymore.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Come on, mate, you're still young, but we're going to
be talking everything todayabout house raising, team
building, gear getting knockedoff and a bit of fighting and
the rest.
Yeah, what's been happening,mate, you've been on before and
you're keen to come back,because you, I don't even know,
shay, what's it been?
It's probably a bit over a year, but Might even be Might even

(01:00):
be eight months.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
It'd be two years nearly, I would say.
I'd say it'd be two yearsnearly, I would say, I'd say
it'd be two years.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, so you've had a lot of shit going on in that
time.
Yeah, we've been flat out.
You've been doing a lot, mate.
Yeah, you're a quiet achiever,so you wanted to come back
because you've achieved a lotand you're always growing.
You and I have a lot ofconversations.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
Yeah, I reckon I call you once a month for a little
father-son talk and a pat on theback.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
I get a lot out of our chats as well.
I've definitely learned somestuff off you, man.
It doesn't go all one way.
But, like I guess, to startwith, I'd like to jump into you.
Like you're a house raiser, soin parts of Australia and the
world where people are listeningto this podcast, like there's
places where they don't do what-we do here.
But you've just gone.

(01:46):
You've taken it to the nextlevel.
For someone as young as you tothink outside the box and do
what you've done.
So for people that arelistening that maybe don't know
about house raising, here inBrisbane, queensland, we lift a
lot of houses and we move a lotof houses.
We've got a lot of old timberstructures and these guys come
in, bring all their um storesand they're stealing their

(02:07):
machines and stuff.
We jack the house up, we dig itunderneath it, put a new
structural steel and thenbasically build one level
underneath.
But you've taken it to anotherlevel because now you're lifting
houses three stories and you'vedeveloped these trusses that
are holding them up in the airyeah, well, like during the
pandemic, I suppose, as itstarted to ease off a bit and a
lot more people started to moveto Brisbane.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
obviously we've got a big influx of people moving
here.
I started noticing thesebasement dig jobs come across my
desk and maybe five years agowhen I first started, one would
come across my desk a year Oddprice it whether I won the job
like maybe one or two basementswould be getting done in
Brisbane for these houses, youknow.
And obviously I guess, aspeople are selling their houses

(02:50):
down in Bondi for X amount ofmoney, buying a house in
Hamilton up here for a quarterof the price.
That's when we started.
I don't know if that's theexact trend, but I would like to
think that that's sort of howit started Well people are
wanting bigger houses, aren't?
they.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
That like to think that that's sort of how it
started.
Well, people are wanting biggerhouses, aren't they?
That's exactly right.
They want bigger houses on thesame size box of land, and the
only way to get bigger houses isto add another level.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
And of the couple basementsI've done, I've noticed a lot of
them have been from Sydney orMelbourne actually like the
people because you talk to themwhen you do the house and
traditionally when you do like abasement dig or a massive dig
out, you, you and I and I seenone on the news and I was like,
oh, that's a bit precarious of abasement basement dig that

(03:30):
another house raiser did and Iwon't talk on that too much, but
I sort of I did one and you, asyou dig down, you've got to.
Obviously you got the sphere ofinfluence when you, when you
dig in beside your stacks, youdon't want them all to cave into
the.
So as you dig down, you've gotto back, prop the house, drop
the stack, dig where the stackis, rebuild the stack with more
blocks.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
It's very time.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
Consuming and then, because you're in underneath a
house, um, digging around stacksand that sort of stuff, you can
only use a small machine, soeverything takes longer
everything takes longer.
I've got to come back fucking 40times, yeah, and then, like
I'll be, might be halfwaythrough raising another house,
but but you're paying 140 bucksan hour.
So you want, you want yourstacks reset now and it's.

(04:12):
You can't really be in twoplaces at once and and because
of covid, we were so busy it was, it just was like undoable
sometimes.
You know what I mean and andand I I like to manage, manage
expectations and not not letpeople down.
So that was, that was one bigthing.
Saving money on the earthworkswas another big thing, probably.
The third thing was when youput an eight meter stump in the

(04:34):
ground, it's obviously,obviously, with the basement
it's all going in block work oror that afs stuff.
Or if let's say, over a twometer level, it's three mil out
of palm, which isn't hard to doby eye.
You know, by the time you get iteight meters eight meter long
stump by the time you get to thebottom, like to make it fit in
the block work.
So we have run around like blueice fly, running string lines

(04:55):
and stuff while we're pouring totry and make sure everything's
straight yeah, it's.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
It's difficult when you're that high in the air and
like even just trying trying toget an eight or nine meter
length of steel.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
That's straight that's exactly right.
And and then we're doing themon 405 blocks with 500 mil to
the boundary each side.
I don't want to climb up a sixmeter stack and try and move the
house five mil.
You know how do you write thatinto your swims or or whatever.
And then nine times out of tenthe the bottom level walls.
It's a car park it doesn't lineup.

(05:24):
So then you have to cut theposts out of the basement and it
just looks, looks shit, likepeople are spending big money
getting all these off-form slabsdone.
So I actually, uh, I got jackof it and I sort of was.
I jumped on instagram and Ithere's a there's a bloke over
in new zealand called aucklandhouse lifters that I, I was
chatting to him for a bit and,uh, he, he gave me a bit of

(05:45):
insight into how they do it,because they use a pretty
similar system over there.
And then probably the craziestthing was like looking at the
Yanks man.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
Yeah, man, they move whole brick buildings.

Speaker 1 (05:59):
Like on there, like whinging about a fellow leaving
a piano in their house, andthey've got like fucking
three-story houses up on fourstacks and stuff, you know, just
with massive steels.
So I was always talking to aguy in America as well and I
said, oh, like, do you mindsending me over some plans?
Like it's not, like I'm goingto come and pinch your work in
New Jersey, you know.
And so he sent me some plans,but they're all Imperial, so I'm

(06:23):
fucking scratching my head.
And then I ended up gettingsome designed.
I fabricated them myself andpaid for it to all get tested.
And I've got some friends, m&eCranes, that sort of, let me use
their yard and all thecounterweights off their cranes.
And we loaded up the trusses andtested them to failure.
So it was bittersweet becauseit was cool that I think without

(06:45):
I think that we had 50 mildeflection with putting 10 ton
in the dead center of the deadcenter of a 13 and a half meter
span which, like I guttedqueensland, I probably wouldn't
weigh much more than 10 tonitself.
But then obviously we youalways want to go see what it
can actually do.
So, um, and we ended up putting15 ton on it and it fucking
blew it to pieces.
So, uh, you know, I spent likea month building them just to

(07:09):
just to destroy them, you know,and and it was sort of up in the
air whether, whether theyactually would hold that sort of
stuff, you know.
And then, so once, once we didthat, I was pretty confident in
it and uh, but you, an engineer,saw in the end signed off an
engineer drew him up.
Yeah, well, I drew him up.
An engineer changed my sizesand we had a bit of an argument,

(07:30):
like a few back and forth on,on how I wanted them done.
But uh and yeah, and in the endthat he got him engineer, he
engineered them and we testedthem yeah, testing them to
failure, and they sort of overoverperformed overperformed,
which which I was real happyabout, and so I guess, to tie it
all up, what shane's um talkingto you.

Speaker 2 (07:49):
Like when we lift the house, it's a lot like it's a
lot of backwards and forwards.
You're temporary, temporarilypropping everything and then
when you go through storiesyou're quite often moving shit
around multiple times, whereasnow your new system they
basically come in, put these bigsteel trusses from side to side
, plus some lift them up threestories in the house with the
stars on the outside of thehouse, and it's all freestanding

(08:11):
it's all freestanding, you canuh, I actually had a 15 tonner
under my last job doing anunderhouse dig out, which like
if I told you that five yearsago you'd fucking call me crazy
and then which?
because the other thing withthat is like the suburbs that
this type of stuff's happeningin is generally shit soil.

Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:27):
And it's quite rocky, correct.
So in the old way and we'vealso done it where you've slid
the house off and pissed it offto the back of the block, done
all your work and then slid itforward again, and that's not
always- achievable as well.

Speaker 1 (08:40):
That's exactly right, and especially on these tight
blocks, people, people want moresquare meters on it, honestly,
like we're doing one in tenerifeat the moment and it's like
there's no room.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
and the other thing as well is but getting a bigger
machine that you can get throughthe.
If you hit the rock liketenerife there's a lot of that
porphyry rock and stuff likeyou're flat out digging the shit
out with a 80 tonne scv likeyeah, that's exactly if you uh,
the bigger machine you can getin, the quicker it's done, the
more efficient it is.
So, yeah, you're saving money.

Speaker 1 (09:06):
And then also, when it's sohigh, you can't make adjustments
after the fact.
The biggest thing I hate iscallbacks.
I suppose same with anyone.
With our new system.
It sets it outside the house.
You pour your off-form concreteslab, flick out your walls,
like you can never put a post inthe wrong spot again because,
yeah, or like everything, it'sso easy.

(09:28):
You know what I mean.
Compared to, like, trying toset out a house six meters in
the air, yeah, and then, youknow, then cut posts out later
that because obviously the houseneeds to hold up, but the
frames aren't.
So it just makes things 10times easier.

Speaker 2 (09:41):
I think it's brilliant, mate, but like I just
not only is the systembrilliant and it's more
efficient and it's and it in.
I think it's brilliant, mate,but like I just not only is the
system brilliant and it's moreefficient and in the long run
it's saving people money andit's producing a far better
product.
Like I just take my hat off youfor thinking outside the box,
like you could have just keptdoing it the way you're doing it
.
But to get like any business todo well and remain busy and
constantly perform, beprofitable all those things

(10:03):
You've got to be constantlybeing initiative or not
initiative, being innovative andcoming up with new ways to
improve the industry.

Speaker 1 (10:12):
Yeah, well, to wind that back, like originally we
had a structural steel companythat we used to buy our steel
off and they'd dick me aroundand dick me around and it pushed
me to the point where I had tostump.
So you got to be careful not todo that to builders, because
obviously you want, like youwant, the repeat work.
So, yeah, I always try and makelife easier, for because the

(10:33):
other thing as well, if you'readvertising to do work and
you're advertising that you dohouse raises, essentially you're
advertising for me.
Like, when it comes down to it,you're you're doing half the
groundwork for me.
Every, pretty well, every jobof every job I have quoted for
you I've done yeah, because wedon't get anyone else to price
it mate.

Speaker 2 (10:50):
But but what?
I'm saying, yeah, but what?

Speaker 1 (10:51):
I'm well, that's doing a good job, so we get you
back.
But that's exactly right.
But what I'm saying is like,essentially like you, you spend
a lot of money on your brand,and same with a lot of other
builders that I do work for.
They spend big money onmarketing and that sort of stuff
.

Speaker 2 (11:05):
But I want to point out I appreciate that as a
subbie, you pick up on that,because a lot of subbies out
there don't realize that if itwasn't for the builders just
feed it Builders feed subbieswork.
If you're a subbie, you do goodwork.
You look after the builder, youturn up on time, you keep your
pricing sharp.
You literally sharp, like youliterally are guaranteed work.

(11:26):
But if you fuck the builderaround, you don't do a good job.
Yeah, he's got to be followingyou up all the time.
You you're always rootingaround in your pricing, all that
type of stuff.
You're not going to build thatrelationship, you're not going
to get repeat work like.
So I think it's reallyimportant for subbies like I did
the same as you when I was asubbie, like my number one goal
was always making sure that thebuilder was happy yeah, and look
as as businesses get bigger andstuff there's.

Speaker 1 (11:46):
There's been times when I haven't put my best foot
forward on jobs and I've, but Ialways try my very best.
And and that's that's where itsort of come into it.
I there was a house that wasdesigned that for, for this job.
There was a house, a specifichouse I wanted to do them for
because it was just like there'sno other way to do it.
There's like it was just crazy,it was shit soil, like I just

(12:09):
couldn't think of a way to do it.
And then that's when I jumpedonline and sort of and and now
we're doing it.
It's the thing about innovationis like if I looked at those
jobs when I first started mybusiness, I'd just be like
fucking lucky.
I'd be so blown away.
But if you just take stepsevery day to try and get a
little bit better, a little bitbetter, a little bit better, if
you look back over five years,it's like holy fuck, like look

(12:31):
what we're doing now.
You know, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (12:33):
And oh, mate, you've come such a long way like I
remember from when we, when wewell, we had the conversation
last time you're on the podcast,like when you rung me you'd
only just started out and youtold me you'd been doing it for
ages yeah, and look, I had beendoing it for ages, working for
my parents, but but yeah, so I Iwas probably a year or two in
when I, when I come and did myfirst job for you but it's

(12:54):
important, like it doesn'tmatter at what level, it's all
about the relationship in it.
Like for me, it's about therelationship I build with my
clients for and then it's justimportant for me to build
relationships with my subbiesand like the fact that you take
that seriously really is anotherreason why you continue to do
our work.

Speaker 1 (13:09):
Like and if you, if you pick up, say, 10 or 20 good
builders that always pay thebill.
Do you know what I mean?
Like like I send you a bill, ifI send you one wednesday night,
it gets paid the followingwednesday.
If I send you one friday night,it gets paid on wednesday.
It's like I'm an employeeessentially.
You know what I mean and that'sgot to stand for something,
because I actually don't reallylike doing you know a lot of

(13:31):
client jobs where they're likeowner, builder or whatnot.
It's not even worth the extra20% that I would charge, like in
theory, a builder's margin,because then I'm like chasing up
the surveyor, oh, there's nosite toilet.
Oh, like it's because then I'mlike chasing up the surveyor, oh
, there's no site toilet.
Oh, like, if I can just rock upto a job and you probably take

(13:51):
it another step, and I have afew builders in that same
category where they set theposts out before we get there.
I can just rock up and just domy job and fuck off.
Like it's so easy.

Speaker 2 (13:59):
You just punch the ticket and Well, I've just
always been been, even when Iwas a contractor, mate.
Everything has always beenabout you, gotta, and you have
to think of the other trades andlike.
Something that happens a lot inour industry now is no one
gives a fuck about anybody else.
All they think about is whatthey're doing when they're there
and, like I know you're thesame because you're always when
you do your earthworks and stuff, like you, I know you ring me,
you check on heights and you'reasking, oh, where do I need,

(14:20):
where do I need to dig?
Or we have a conversation onsite Like everyone's working
towards the best outcome foreverybody, and we see it from
our sites.
Our sites run very efficientlyand all of our trades all get on
well together becauseeveryone's always looking after
each other.
It's something that just shouldhappen, but it doesn't.

Speaker 1 (14:38):
Yeah, I can't speak for other people, but I just,
yeah, and maybe there's a littlebit of an ego thing.
I like and same with thetrusses and stuff, like we're
the only people doing them.
I like when people can't matchyour energy.
When I can sit there and sayI'd like to think I'm the best
house raiser getting around.
But if you are that wayinclined, you got to put your

(14:58):
money where your mouth is andactually be the best house
raiser getting around.
So I like doing a good job.
I like I like thinking that wedo a better job than other
people and and not to say likewe're better people or anything
like that.
But if we, I, if you genuinelystriving for excellence if you
strive for zero, you still fuckfive percent of shit up, and if
you don't care it, I don't evenknow what that big number would

(15:20):
be astronomical.

Speaker 2 (15:21):
You know what I mean yeah, you, um, but so where's
the drive?
Like let's the um.
The last podcast we spoke a bitabout um.
Like you wanted to impress yourgrandfather because he um, you
always looked up to him andstuff.
So like I feel like even sincethe last time you've been on the
podcast because we do have ourregular chats so you just keep
growing like so many, likethere'll be a lot of trades age.

(15:44):
Like you only turned 28 a monthor so ago that just aren't as
committed, they're not puttingin the effort, they're not
striving for excellence, they'renot trying to be the best.
It's got to come from somewhere.

Speaker 1 (15:56):
I honestly I don't know where, but like if I didn't
like I.

Speaker 2 (16:01):
Well, what makes you get out of bed every day and go
fuck.
I want to be better than I wasyesterday.

Speaker 1 (16:06):
I've actually never asked myself that question, I
guess.

Speaker 2 (16:09):
But you push hard.
You ring me quite a lot andlike want to run things by me
and stuff, and we haveconversations about things.
So you're obviously constantlythinking about improving things.

Speaker 1 (16:18):
I just fucking hate inefficiency in anywhere in my
life, like I hate things beinghard and so if it's easy it's
good.
You know, I like, I've beenlike, obviously I and so
learning makes it easy, doesn'tit?

Speaker 2 (16:31):
yeah?
Yeah, it like that, that'sprobably well, actually I
shouldn't say that it learningimproves it, but the more you
learn, the more you grow and youcan implicate those things yeah
, you can implement them and youcan you like, as like,
everything feels like it'sbecome easier because you're
growing as a person.
So, stress, you feel likeyou're not as stressed, but it's

(16:52):
just that you've learned tohandle the stress.
You feel like your team'sbetter, but you've learned how
to manage the team better.

Speaker 1 (16:56):
And then you can load up with more stress because
you're doing more things.
Yeah, I've always, I guess.
I reckon I would have ADD,maybe undiagnosed or whatever
because I just lay in bed atnight and just think, oh, like,
what, like you know what I mean.
And the other thing I do, likeI track every one of my jobs,
even though I'm only a subbie,like I'll You're not only a
subbie mate.

Speaker 2 (17:16):
You're running a business.

Speaker 1 (17:17):
But when you run like it would be a lot harder for
you to track a job than it wouldbe for me, because I know lock
and line materials are prettymuch the same fit they're,
they're I don't think it matters.

Speaker 2 (17:27):
I don't think it matters like a builder.
Builder has a wider range ofthings to track, but every,
every subbie should be trackingthings.
So so what do you track?
Like tell, because I want.
The whole idea of this podcastis so people learn how other
people run their businesses andimprove on it on a job job.

Speaker 1 (17:42):
Obviously I track the boys' hours per job and then at
the end of the month I look aton a job-to-job basis where
because as a general rule ofthumb the margin is the same,
and then the ones where themargin doesn't stack up at the
end of the job I'm going to askthe questions like what went
wrong here?

Speaker 2 (18:01):
So do you track it?
Do you break it down?
Because the way I look at it,from my perspective, is you have
like you if you're not, youshould be breaking it into
stages, because you have, like,a stage where you come in and
you prepare yep, and then youhave a stage where you come in
and set the stacks, all thestars, and get all your
temporary steels in.
Then you have a stage where youinstall the new structural
steel and then you have a stagewhere you mark out and drill

(18:22):
your holes and then you have astage where you install the new
structural steel and then youhave a stage where you mark out
and drill your holes and thenyou have a stage where you fit
the post and you can do theconcreting I probably and that's
probably something I couldrefine as well.

Speaker 1 (18:33):
I probably don't break it down to that, to that,
but nine times out of ten I canlook at one of those jobs and go
, oh, we fucked this up, that'swhy, that's why that happened.
Or the profile wasn't installedso we had to tools down for
three hours while we waited forthe surveyor to come.
And and that's nine times outof ten the ones that don't stack
up are for that reason is we'veeither done something

(18:56):
incorrectly on site I've missedsomething in the when I've done
the quotes or, especially as youget more, like I used to do I
used to quote the job, type upthe quote, send the quote off,
then I'd order the material,then I would cut the material,
so I know what stock lengths.
So as you get bigger and youare farming these things out to
people, I've had to makeprocesses like when I do the

(19:19):
quote.
I used to just I do the quotein my diary, in a diary, and I
just do every quote in a diaryso I can look back at that in a
year's time.
get on the quote ease best quotesoftware in the business man,
I'll have to get onto the quoteease but I know what you're
talking about because you're soyeah, I just did the same like.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
So, if you're doing the takeoff for your steel, so
you might be ordering stocklengths of steel and you you've
worked out what gets cut out ofeach length.
So do you find yourself nowthat you're farming that out?
You've now got to write whatgets cut out of each stock
length.

Speaker 1 (19:47):
And once you break it down andnow that we do our own steel so
at the back of my shed I justbuilt a big steel rack so we can
have the next five jobs rackedready to go, and Energex and
that sort of stuff it's alwayslike, always like oh, the gas
hasn't been disconnected, wedidn't get building approval
because the, the town planner,didn't realize that we're

(20:11):
encroaching, we, we like.
So all the time it'll be likeoh, we're not ready for you, for
another or inclement weather,any anything along those lines.
So that was the first thing wasoriginal.
When I first started.
We used to.
We used to get the steeldelivered in the front yard and
remember how to win them and andgrind it back and mag, drill
and paint it.

Speaker 2 (20:28):
Yeah, and now yeah, the first couple of jobs.
I said, yeah, like I think youstill rocked up.
I was like, fuck you, you'regonna paint this.
You're like, oh no, we do itall inside and and what are you
doing, mate?

Speaker 1 (20:37):
and and like you gotta start somewhere, obviously
, but but now.
I believed in you, mate yeah,there you go, and, and so now
that goes to the shed getsprimed, drilled, racked, so it's
ready.
So that, oh, this guy's notready, there's no, no downtime,
it's no, you just take thosethat day of, oh, like, I've
already got the steel here,we'll just try and work through

(20:58):
it and and maybe wait a day tillthis today comes, or so the key
to success in making a businessmore profitable is coming up
with solutions for areas thatyou're you're getting yeah,
you're not efficient out on site, that are holding up payments,
all those types of things, hey.

Speaker 2 (21:13):
so the way I see it, just from what you're talking
about now, is you're justconstantly thinking about what
held us up on this job, what canwe do better next time.
But something I talked to mybuilders in our live life build
business all the time about youcan't take your foot off the gas
.
You have to have a pipeline ofwork and I think you're doing it
really really well from asubbies point of view.
You have enough jobs and I knowyou do it because you ring me

(21:35):
all the time when we have jobscoming up and like how are you
traveling?
I've had this issue on this job, so we might be a week later on
your job, whatever, like.
So you obviously touch and basewith all your builders and you
you're sort of getting an imageof where everybody's at so that
you can keep your team working,and I think like builders need
to do that with the jobs we takeon, like you have to have a big
pipeline of work because younever, ever know when a job's

(21:57):
going to fall over.
Whether you're a sub or abuilder, like you, could have 10
jobs fall over tomorrow yeah,exactly, it's so, so sporadic.

Speaker 1 (22:04):
It's like crazy, my office ladylozzie, she's always up my ass.
She's like how can we, how canwe make this better?
And I'm like we can't, likelook, we can refine what we do,
but that is just construction,like that is just the long and
the short of it.

Speaker 2 (22:17):
There's so many things that are outside of our
control.
Yeah, like you can't, a clientmight lose their finance and not
be able to get finance.
Like you said, there'ssomething might come up right at
the last minute with buildingapproval or town planning or
something that holds things up.
Like we got a job at the momentwhere the client like we all
thought we'd be on site at Apriland we were under the pump and
like if it had to come off wewould have pushed it and made it

(22:39):
work.
But like, literally right atthe last minute, unity Waters
made a stuff up with some of themeasurements on the approvals.
We've got an easement down theside of the property for a sewer
main and we've got to do aretaining wall there and no one
picked up that the footings onthe retaining wall are going to
encroach in the easement for thesewer.
So that was April.
We're nowhere near startingthat job, so you never know,

(23:05):
there are so many things outsideof your control as a contractor
or as a builder, um, and soyou've just got to keep your
foot on the gas, don't you?

Speaker 1 (23:08):
and that's why the things that are in your control
have to be mickey mouse toaccommodate for how fucked it is
when the things out of yourcontrol so how do you manage
that?

Speaker 2 (23:17):
but if, like so, you got racked with five, six jobs
sitting in it at the time.
Yeah, how do you manage likebecause I think this is an
important thing with cash flow?
So you've obviously built yourbusiness model around knowing
that you need to have a certainamount of stock and a certain
amount of stuff sitting on sitebecause someone could ring up
and say, hey, we can't start ourjob, so you just go and pull
another job out and go and movethat around.

(23:38):
So you've obviously got a lotof money outlaid.

Speaker 1 (23:40):
Took me a while to get to that stage, probably from
day one.
The business model I've usedand sometimes it might not be
the best for everyone is Ididn't pull a wage for the first
three years of my business.
Like I owned the property thatmy business ran out of before, I
took a wage from the business.
And I think, especially as ayoung bloke, a lot of young

(24:03):
fellows get to their fourth year, they start getting tradie wage
.
They go buy a Land Cruiser.
That stuff inhibits you, likeyour overheads inhibit you from
being able to grow becauseyou've got to shell out X amount
of money each week.
So it was a long process to getto that point.
But the other thing which kindof makes it worthwhile is

(24:26):
especially when you're buyingsteel from a structural steel
like from a manufacturer.
75 mil stump steel comes in aneight meter length.
That's the shortest you can buyit.
If you want to get it at bulk,buy from the mil, that's it.
So if you were to go buy 3.6meter posts, they charge you for

(24:46):
the four meters and they keepthat 400 mil.
And then that's something theyhang on to when, when I used to
have to buy steel for when Iwent job to job to job.
I had to use all that steel onthat job or take it back to my
mom's.
Have her blowing up at me.
Before I before I had a yardlike, whereas now I can look
three.
It actually there's thatinitial cost of, yes, having to

(25:08):
buy x amount of jobs more, butnow when I look four jobs in
front and I've actually taughtmy office lady laws to do this
oh, we need to.
And especially as beams getbigger, the short off cuts are
shit because yeah if it's 300pfc and a 900 opening.
That's what I mean, if it needsto be that big chances are it's
got.
Yeah, you don't put a 300 PSCin a 900 opening.
That's what I mean.
If it needs to be, that bigchances are it's got to span a
decent distance.
So it's like, oh, we need a sixon this job, but the smallest

(25:30):
beam you can buy is a nine.
Oh, but we need a five and ahalf on this other job.
It's like, oh, how about we buya 12, cut six, two, 50, five,
seven and just rack that.
And then so you actually becomemore efficient.
You just got to bite the bulletand have a big steel bill that
month and it didn't start off.
It wasn't like I went out andbought six jobs.
It started off as, oh, yeah,we'll buy, we'll get the next

(25:53):
two jobs in front.
And then the other thing aswell is, I'd project I don't
want to say my insecurities, I'dproject my incompetence on my
employees sometimes in the factthat I would be like, oh, we
need this fucking steel tomorrow, and then you're paying people
to work till all hours of thenight, which I worked to all

(26:14):
hours of the night anyway.
But but if I was everything?
My, my coach tells meeverything, shit that happens to
you after 18 years old.
You let happen to you Anythingbad in your life is.
You know it could be yourpartner playing up on you.
You still to have her as apartner.
You, you put yourself in thatsituation.
So look inwards when bad thingsare happening, not outwards.
Don't.
Don't find someone else.
Don't blame people because youlet that happen to you in some

(26:34):
way, shape or form, no matterhow small or big it is.
So like I'd blow up about blowup it.
Blow up at people about oh fuck, I, I had to.
Well, we didn't get this done.
Or I forgot to order the paint,we didn't have enough paint to
finish the job and I'm like, oh,I need it, I need it.
Monday, it's friday, I can'tget the.
You know like I would haveheated discussions with people

(26:54):
rather than going if I wasn't adickhead and I had that if, if I
had well, you're not a dickhead, you just you've got to learn,
but you've got.

Speaker 2 (27:01):
I think the what comes from that is you've.
You've now to learn, but you'vegot.
What comes from that is you've.
You've now taken completeownership and responsibility.

Speaker 1 (27:05):
You know and, and, and, then,and.
But it even went even furtherthan that.
Then we had like jobs gettingmixed up and that sort of stuff.
So what I did was, rather thanhaving a rack where we put all
this steel, I color coded allthe.
I color coded all the racks.
So there's red, green, blue,and then I got a cut list for
the steel that has to go on thatrack, spray painted the back of
that clipboard and there's sixclipboards on the wall, and then

(27:28):
everyone signs.
When they rack it, they sign asheet to say that they've racked
that much and then when theyunrack it, they sign it to say
that that's gone on the truck.
So then it comes back tolooking at jobs.
Did I miss the beam on thequote?
Did I miss the beam on thequote?
Did my sister not order itproperly?
Did the boys cut it wrong onsite, did it not?

(27:49):
Is it still in the yard?
There?
you, once you get every you'vecreated systems yeah once you,
and once you know every, every,every point of the journey, you
can pinpoint where things aregoing wrong and fix that and
improve on it.
And because sometimes, likeliterally, sometimes it's like
oh fuck, I didn't use yourquoting app and I forgot that
theme, you know, and then that's.

Speaker 2 (28:11):
But it's all growth, isn't it?

Speaker 1 (28:12):

Speaker 2 (28:14):
But the thing, like something I point out a lot now,
is like you don't know what youdon't know, yeah, so some
people just keep putting up withthe same shit all the time day.
Putting up with the same shitall the time, day in, day out,
instead of doing what you'vedone and sitting back having to
think about it and takingownership for it.

Speaker 1 (28:28):
And having how do I put it?
You know, some people they'llnever quit a job because it's
just bearable enough that theycan amble on through it, or
they'll never break up with acrazy girlfriend because she's-.

Speaker 2 (28:41):
They whinge about it every single day, but they do
nothing about it friend becauseshe's they win.

Speaker 1 (28:45):
You bet it every single day but they don't.
They don't enjoy their lives.
But it's just bearable enoughthat they don't.
Like, change your bearable tothis big and go.
Don't blow up about it and getangry about it, but go.
That slightly inconvenienced me.
Why is that slightlyinconveniencing me?
Change that bet.
Like, make your level ofbearable be so minute that you
have to fix things or you'll gocrazy, so to speak.

Speaker 2 (29:05):
You know it is unbelievable, isn't it what
people just continue to put upwith like because they they feel
that the change will be moredifficult than putting up with
what they're putting up withthat's exactly right.

Speaker 1 (29:15):
And then you go two years down the track and it's
like, oh my fucking god, yeah,I'll just waste another two
years.
I should have bit the bullet twoyears ago probably one of the
biggest things is uh, I poachedmy little brother.
He used to work for my mom andher two brothers and he come
over to help me out and and he's, um, he's been with you a while
, hasn't he?
Probably probably a year and ahalf, two years now, yep, but he

(29:35):
, he's even.
He's worse than I.
Am like, oh, I don't even knowhow to explain it, but he's sort
of I'm I guess I don't want tosay rough and tumble, but I'm,
I'm, he's very like, forinstance, he, he, when we, when
he was 17, he bought a vxcommodore with the ls1 in it, re
, fully rebuilt the ls1 in hislounge room, you know, and and

(29:58):
we were going to queenslandraceway doing the drifts and
that sort of stuff.
He's I'm, I'll push and getstuff done and he's very
meticulous and that sort ofthing.
So like he's, he's helped me somuch with, with, like, probably
with working on my car, but butalso like he does that, he, he
enjoys the tedious little shits.
I have to actually try reallyhard to do the tedious things

(30:21):
like fixing the trucks and thatsort of stuff.
It's, it's a, it's a stress onmy brain, whereas I just love, I
love not running into stuff,but I love going hammer and tong
and jacking a house up anddoing these sorts of stuff,
whereas he'll love to sit backand look at a problem and come
up with a complex.

Speaker 2 (30:39):
So what's he doing in the business?

Speaker 1 (30:42):
So he runs the stumping crew, I do the raises
and he, he runs the stampingcrew, I do the raises and he, he
stumps their houses um and andand so you.

Speaker 2 (30:49):
So you've found your.
Like, your focus on yourstrength.
Yeah, like a lot of peopledon't do that either.
Like you, you've got to figureout what your strengths are and
what adds the most, where, whereyou and every member of your
team add the most value to thebusiness.

Speaker 1 (31:02):
Yeah, that's's exactly right, and probably the
the biggest highlight of it forme was we were.
We were like, like I, he, hejust talks like oh, it's smoker,
you know what I mean.
Like me and the boys will talkabout fighting your girls and
he'll be talking about likenuclear fission or I don't even
know how to say it, you know,and I'm like like he'll talk to

(31:23):
me about it to the point whereI'm like man, like just fucking,
let me have 20 minutes tomyself to of of nothing.
Like let me just do nothing forthe next 15, like he's.
So I hated school.
I couldn't.
I couldn't sit in the classroom, I can't look at stuff like I
can fix problems I've got verygood problem solving as things
occur but I couldn't.

(31:43):
I couldn't look up, look up howto do something crazy like that
, and that would take 12 hoursof study.
Whereas when he was buildingthose cars, he's like, oh, I've
been on YouTube, you can use LS7lifters for this and it's
better.
Whereas I'm like, oh sweet, letme know when you've got it done
and we can do a burnout.
Everybody's different.

Speaker 2 (32:05):
So he's Like everybody's different.

Speaker 1 (32:08):
That's exactly right, and and, and we sort of
compliment each other in thatway, like he.

Speaker 2 (32:12):
So how did you feel at school when you like, did you
get shit at school?
Did teachers say like I gottold fucking plenty of times at
school that I'll never achieveanything?

Speaker 1 (32:25):
I'll never be nothing .
So I uh, I definitely, Idefinitely struggled, struggled
at school, I think, on a lot ofmy report cards and a lot of
teachers I talked to after thefact and I sort of say that I
was a I was a real good kid whojust did stupid shit and and
even, but even, like well,that's most, that's well, that's
half kids, I reckon and I likein in grade eight and grade
eight and nine, like I got putin like the class above I guess

(32:48):
it was called like Horizons orsomething you know.
And then I ended up getting anOP21 just because I'd checked
out from year 10.
And I sort of regret not doingan apprenticeship earlier
because I'd be three yearsfurther down the line.
But you can't whinge aboutanything.
That's happened already.
But yeah, definitely by grade11 and 12, I sort of was just
there to go out with me mates onthe weekends and have a good

(33:09):
time.
I had some real good teachersin the.
In the industrial side ofthings, nudgee was really good
like that.
Like we made.
I made um, uh, like dartboardcabinets, like crazy stuff
compared to what kids at publicschools.
So I'm real fortunate that mymum saved up and sent me there.
But, um, yeah, as far as, asfar as school goes, like I
couldn't think of anything worsethan going to uni or and and

(33:30):
yeah, like always had I'd leaveshit to the last minute and then
do it all the night before andand and still do all right but
it.
But I couldn't, I can't.

Speaker 2 (33:39):
If I'm not interested in something, it's not yeah,
and that's that's the biggestproblem with school.
Like you, most people aren'tinterested in it.
Yeah, and now you, like, you'veseen from your passion now and
how well you're doing inbusiness like you're, you're
interested in it, you'repassionate about it and it
becomes so easy if it'ssomething you want to do.

Speaker 1 (33:54):
That's that's one thing I say to kids if, if, if,
if school isn't your thing, youjust got to find your thing,
like but, but don't dick around,find something that you like
doing and then and even it couldbe like, like people think that
you gotta even, uh, chippies,they think, oh, I've got to go
do really high-end resi shit.

(34:15):
To be a millionaire, like Ihave to, I have to build million
dollar houses.
You don't have to build milliondollar houses.
You can do shitty maintenancejobs that no one wants to do.
Charge a little bit more andget there on time.
Do a good job, yeah, and buildthat business.
You could be a port-a-loo guyif you fucking make sure your
toilets are the cleanest andthey're delivered every day like
it doesn't matter what you do,mate.

Speaker 2 (34:35):
Like that's something that really shits me.
Like you get everybody.
Like you get.
Builders at wind I can't makemoney.
You get architects at wind Ican't make money.
Like you get.
You'll get school teachers likeyou.
You'll get people across.
Like cafe owners, you'll geteverything across every industry
, people whinging that they gotpoorly treated or they didn't
make enough money, or they theyget.
There's there's no opportunity,all those types of things.

(34:56):
But it's what you make it.
Because the flip side of thatis like there's architects worth
millions of dollars.
There's builders worth millionsof dollars.
There's cafe owners worthmillions of dollars.
There's builders worth millionsof dollars, there's cafe owners
worth millions of dollars.
Like there's no excuse, like atthe end of the day, it is
completely, 100% up to you andthe effort you put in, like
you're doing with your business,like you improve the
inefficiencies, you come up withnew ideas, you be innovative,
like and you get ahead.

(35:17):
Like it's not rocket science,and I think it's hard.

Speaker 1 (35:21):
It's hard because how do you obviously with you got
to choose your words carefullywhen you say, as we as a society
we've got to become, we havebecome more aware of our mental
health and these sorts of things.
It's hard to not cross thatline.
And are we making excuses foroh?
there's plenty of excuses when,like exactly what you were
saying about like the worldkeeps turning, no matter how

(35:43):
shit you've been treated likeand why that's one thing I've
found as a business owner withliquidated damages, all that
sort of stuff you can be havinga fucking shit day.
No one else gives a fuck, doyou like?
Is you, were you gonna wake uptomorrow so?
So in that moment you got tochoose whether you're gonna
delay the inevitable for anotherday or be accountable and go

(36:03):
fucking righto like let's makeit happen.
Just own it, and there's beendays like that when I haven't
wanted to get out of bed or like, and the quicker you can go
from being in that negativemindset to not necessarily even
a positive mindset.
But just like we're here now,where to from here?
I've found myself in thissituation.

(36:24):
I'm not going to fucking dwellon it, I just need to find the
best way out yeah, oh, mate, I'mresonating with everything
you're saying.

Speaker 2 (36:31):
I've been through it all in my younger days, um and
again.
That's why we do this podcastto tell people's stories and
make people understand likethey're not the only one going
through shit or having a toughday or dealing with a certain
situation, like we all deal withit.
It literally is as easy asflicking a switch, like just do
you focus on the problem or doyou focus on the solution?

Speaker 1 (36:52):
Yeah, and that's something I did struggle with.
You know, like it's a victimmentality, and up until from 18
to 25, even when I was on thispodcast, that's something I did,
poor me.
Why is it?
And if you can change that, itbecomes like shit works for me.
Because, rather than shitdoesn't work for me, because

(37:13):
even when something bad happens,a job gets pushed back.
Like when I first started, itwas like, oh fuck, why does this
happen to me?
Why did it get pushed back?
Now it's like a job gets pushedback.
I'm like, oh, it's okay,that'll, that's a path that's
been chosen for me, that thatthat was meant to get pushed
back for a reason you know.
And then some bloke will ringyou and say, hey, my fucking

(37:34):
house raisers just said he can'tdo my job.
I'm supposed to be doing itthis week.
It always, it always works out,and if it doesn't, then it
fucking does in another way.

Speaker 2 (37:44):
It wasn't meant to you know and everyone, it is
completely around the way thatyou look at things, like people
will be driving to work and geta couple of red lights and make
a decision that that day isgoing to be a shit day because
they've got three red lights ina row that's exactly right, and
that goes back to watch my coachsays oh, I got four red lights

(38:05):
on late for work.

Speaker 1 (38:07):
No, you're the dickhead.
That didn't factor in the factthat you might get four red
lights on the way to work If youleft 15 minutes earlier then.

Speaker 2 (38:14):
There's really no excuses for anything Like
everything, but what I wasgetting at with that, it's all
what you make of it.
Yeah, so if you get a red lighton the way to work, you can
focus on, well, a couple of redlights.
You can focus on those redlights and think that your whole
day is going to be shit becauseyou're stuck in traffic,
whatever.
Or you can look at the redlights oh, more time in the car,

(38:37):
I can listen more podcasts, Ican crank the tunes a bit longer
, like it.
Everything is about thedecisions you make and the and
the I don't know the, theoutlook you have on it, I guess.
So there'd be people that and Ithink about this all the time
because I think back like wehave stuff that happens in my
building business now.
That used to happen in the olddays, but in the old days it'd

(38:57):
just piss me off, I'd go off myhandle and everything had turned
to shit and then I'd take thatout on someone else and then
that had turned to shit.
But there's always a solution.
Every single freaking thing youdeal with every single day
always has a solution.

Speaker 1 (39:10):
You've just got to like look for it that's exactly
right, and I think how you canonly control how you react to
the solution, firstly, you cancontrol.
Firstly you can control, isthat is that a situation that
I've put myself in in some way,shape or form?
If it's, if it's an employeethat's constantly making
mistakes and and doesn't care,you employed him like and you're
putting up with it you'reputting up with it like that's

(39:32):
okay for you.

Speaker 2 (39:33):
Um you're only as good as what you accept yeah,
and that's exactly right solet's move on to employees,
because that's been some of ourmore recent conversations.
Yep so you were struggling to,I was make a decision to get rid
of some people.

Speaker 1 (39:52):
I, um, probably about four months ago now, and so
it's big and it's one of thosethings I was fighting.
So I was, um, you know, Itrained probably 20 hours a week
.
Holy shit, you, you startaccepting things that you
wouldn't accept from before.
And then I probably did acouple there was obviously a few
jobs in that time that, like abeam checkout was wrong, or you
know, people were maybe having alonger smoko because I wasn't
there, you know, and it's sostupid because my brother was

(40:14):
speaking to me about thesethings as they were occurring
and I sort of was like puttingthem off, putting them back,
putting them back, you know.
And then same with employees.
One thing I used to used to doagain, it's my own problem I'd
fucking blow up about something,but then I wouldn't take any
action.
A bloke was late, I'd fuckingjump down his throat, but then

(40:34):
he would be late next week andI'd jump down his throat again
and it would just continueforevermore and I would accept
that because I'd blown up, I'dsaid my piece and then I'd
simmer down, whereas now I don'tget angry anymore.
I don't, there's no, I'm thenicest I've ever been, but
probably the most ruthless I'veever been.

Speaker 2 (40:54):
In that same token, so where did that come from,
matt?
Because it obviously built upto a point, because you spoke
half a dozen times in two weeksabout this and then you made the
call to sack most of them.

Speaker 1 (41:07):
Probably from.
Obviously, I started thebusiness when I was 21, I think,
from 21 to 25, and even more sofrom from 18 to 25, even even
younger than that.
I had, you know, employees,that same deal you, you, someone
else would put you in a, in amood.
They would do something likemine, you, and you'd blow up at
them, and then you would losethat employee because you

(41:27):
couldn't handle your emotion oryou let that person push you to
that point, you let someone takeyour energy to that point, and
then you would lose friendshipslose, relationships lose, and I
sort of probably it was aroundthe time I first came on the
podcast, I was probably 24, 25,and it was like in my life
there's probably been three orfour women that could have been

(41:47):
the one per se.
You know, I'm I'm real happy Ihave found the one.
Yeah, I'll, I'll make sure Isay that.
Um, and then, same deal withemployees I had.
I had blokes that hadcapabilities to be to, to get me
off the tools.
They, they like a, like a.
Look back now and and, and, inparticular, brent Fordyce.
He worked for me for a coupleof years.

(42:09):
He would have done the firstjob out at Wynnum with me and I
did the wrong thing by him bynot nurturing him.
We used to and other houseraisers still do this.
Just as an example climb up,like, raise the house to fucking
five meters in the air and thendrill the like the posts
obviously get hung off coachbolts Climb up a ladder, a

(42:30):
trestle and drill the holes outon the day for the like, oh, run
the string line.
After you've raised it, run thestring line.
And he he come from acommercial background, he was a
chippy, he went to Europe,played up for a bit and then.
And then just said oh man, likeI'm just doing labor hire.
And then just said oh man, likeI'm just doing labor hire, like
I wouldn't mind doing a day ortwo with you.
And I used to to set out thehouses.
I'd come off one side of thehouse, like where the bathrooms

(42:51):
is or it's irrelevant anyway,but I would say I would set up
because the outside of the housewill always be wobbly.
So I go front and back.
We're putting the front andback on those on that profile
line.
I'll do the whole set out offthat front and back.
So I'd run a three meter offsetand then, rather than hooking
onto the outside of the bear inthe middle of the house and and
measuring 3100 to a wall, I'llgo 100 mil off the offset.

(43:12):
And if the that way, if theoutside of the house has a 30
mil bow in it, the post line isis straight.
I didn't build the house I.

Speaker 2 (43:18):
I can't I, I can't.
You're only going off the oldhouse, I'm only going off the
old house and then.

Speaker 1 (43:23):
So I used to do the three meter offset and then I'd
be there three, four, five instring lines on the bottom of
the house and he's like herocked in and then I afterwards
I would drill all the holes outwith me and then hold the post
up, mark, oh quick, quick, quick, drill the hole and then drop
the post back down, then lift itback up to and he's like, and
it was just like he'd never donehouse raising before.

(43:43):
He just walked in and was like,man, why don't you just use a
fucking line laser to like, setup the three minute offset, get
a line laser and, um, and justget a like a mark out plate and
and drill the holes out whenit's at head height so you
circumnavigate, or.
But just because, like that'sthe way my parents did it,
that's the way we've done it for40 years, he really started
getting me in that I learned somuch off that dude and he was an

(44:06):
employee you know what I meanand he's a bit of a lazy cunt,
so he'd find the easiest way todo something.
But then obviously, like I hada blow up at him one day and he
sort of said, oh, look like I'mgoing to go do something else

(44:28):
and we're still good mates tothis day, no issue.
But I sort of got to 24, 25 tosum things up, and I looked back
on previous relationshipswhether they'd be romantic, um,
workers, friends, whatever andit was like why don't people
want to stick around?
Like why don't people want tobe in it?
I'm a pretty good looking dude,I do, I do, we do awesome work.
We, we have heaps of work.
Why do people not want to stayin my life?
And then, honestly, probably30% of that was the same deal.

(44:51):
Everyone thinks they had a hardtime by growing up.
Or I got picked on at schoolthis that I had a fucking chip
on my shoulder.
So I'd project that insecurityon other people.

Speaker 2 (45:01):
Yeah, well, that's what most people do, man.

Speaker 1 (45:07):
And so if you want to overcome that, you got to fix
it.
Or people just tell you to fuckoff like, because like we're,
we're alive for such a littleamount of time, it's not worth
like and fortunate for me, Iprobably was.
Probably was that not that bad,but that?
mate, we're not even finishedthis podcast yet, but I know
like you got a bit teary lasttime because you wanted your
grandfather to be proud of youand I'm like I'm sitting here
listening to you and I can tellyou right now, if he's looking

(45:28):
down, he'll be proud of you andthen that's exactly yeah, and
and so, like I was sort ofreflected one year like oh,
we've, we've had a high turnoverof staff, or and then, and then
I, and then obviously I've beenworking on myself putting
processes in place because Idon't, you don't need the
processes yet, like if you werebuilding a house yourself and
you had all the amount of timein the world, you wouldn't need

(45:49):
any processes because you've gotit here, it doesn't matter.

Speaker 2 (45:51):
Like oh, you do everything yourself.
You know what?

Speaker 1 (45:53):
happens, and it was the same for me as the business
started to grow.
That's when you have thoseissues where it's like what the
fuck, Surely you would have.
Just how was that the best youup with?

Speaker 2 (46:08):
but then it's my fault for not getting that and
and teaching them that andpeople's brains work different
ways, but the business outgrowsyou.
That's.
I think that's what happens toall of us builders and tradies
like we.
The work just starts coming andbefore you know, you got heaps
of work, but then the businessovertakes you and all of a
sudden you get to a point where,like you said, it's it's.
You've got to get it out ofyour head, because when you're
doing everything yourself, it'sreally easy.
You just know what you've gotto do.
But then, as the business growsand you need, you have more

(46:29):
employees and you have moremultiple jobs on at the same
time.
Then all of a sudden, you feellike all you're doing is putting
out fires because people aren'tdoing the things the way you
did them or the way you wantthem done.
And it's comes back to youcan't like, you're not
communicating.
Well, you're not.
You got no, you're not.
You've got no systems andprocesses Like you.
You've got to get it all out ofyour head.
And I think it's an importantthing to realize because, yeah,

(46:50):
once a business outgrows you, ifyou want to go to the next
level, you've got to work onyourself.

Speaker 1 (46:56):
That's it.
And and when you start abusiness, you're always stuck in
that old mentality of like, oh,I'm not going to pay people
this much, because, because Ilike I can't afford it.
When and and this is probably aconversation I had six months
before I sacked all those dudeswas with you, I was talking
about putting a supervisor onand I'm like, what like?
And and yeah, and obviously you, you told me the benefits that

(47:16):
I had for you and and just like,and so the supervisor I put on,
I put on a supervisor and hewas like man, like, this is
really toxic workplace, you know, and and sort of had let it.
And my brother was telling meas well and I sort of had let it
go because I, you know, duringCOVID especially, I had so much
work.
It was like, it was almost likeexactly what you're saying.
It was almost like you, I hadto accept less than it cut me,

(47:39):
like, it fucking hurt me to whenyou've got, you know, blokes
working for you and and theydon't have their company's best
interests at heart.
And and I didn't, didn't letanyone go because, because, I
thought I needed it.
And then it just like one day,one day we were, um, I was
packing up, packing up the help.
I raced over to help the boyspack up the tools and and

(48:02):
everyone wants to be, everyonewants to be a big dog, get paid
more money, but doesn't want tosay I fucked up when, when
something is wrong, do you knowwhat I mean?
And pushes the blame and thatsort of stuff.
So I had I had a couple guys inthose sort of roles where they
should have been beingaccountable, but but just nah,
that's someone else's fault,that's someone else's fault.
And it just got to the pointwhere, exactly what I was saying
before, where it was, it was sounbearable and I was trying to

(48:25):
have have you know, like I'lltry and have do things for the
boys where, okay, we're allgoing to go to the pub for
dinner tonight, or we're goingto go to bowls, or we're going
to go do this, and people wouldjust like say, fuck this, I'm
not going to that, I don't wantto hang out Like you know what I
mean.

(48:50):
And you've got to the point.
And then one day I think I waspacking up tools for the boys on
another job site and I hadthese two young fellas and they
don't know any better.
And the other thing as well isI would get new employees that
would be really good workers andthen after a month or two, I'd
work with them for a day and belike what the fuck happened to
this guy.
He was because, like it's sohard to change the culture where

(49:13):
you have a massive group ofpeople and they're used to doing
one thing you can't.
I was trying so hard to be likelisten, I'm If you keep
accepting it, that becomes thenorm.
And then it's hard to changethat norm, it's hard to pull the
reins back in.
When people are used to having45 minutes smokers, used to
having an hour smokers, itbecomes like all right, mate,

(49:33):
it's been 35 minutes, we got alot of work done, we're gonna
get a lot of work done today.
Um, and yeah, pretty much thesupervisor, I had this, this one
job in particular.
We had had to get this job done, like, like it was going to
piss down rain and we weredrilling the holes and that sort
of.
We were hanging the post as wewere drilling the holes to push
the job along.

(49:54):
And we sat down for lunch and Iactually bought lunch that day.
So, like no one went down forsmoker or nothing like that, I
was happy to blow $150 on pizzasor whatever it was, to just be
like look, I understand, it's a,you know.

Speaker 2 (50:07):
Like you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (50:08):
Just to keep it rolling, you know, because it's
if I get the job poured.
It's easy, you know, and I got.
So I got up after 30 minutes.
I looked over and for about 10minutes he sat down on his phone
.
I said oh he goes.
Oh, like he goes, oh, like I'vegot.
I had three minutes left in mysmoker, you know, and I thought

(50:28):
I just thought I'm just livingto employ you right now.
You know what I mean and Iunderstand.
Like, fair enough, he did havethree minutes left of his smoker
when he probably took 10 afterthat.
But if I don't have someone inmy business that would look at
me in a time of distress and gofuck it, you know what, like,
I've picked up three minuteshere, there and everywhere.
It has to be a relationship.

(50:53):
It can't be one side.
I can't be, I can't be ruinedwith an iron fist and and and
and not doing anything right bythe boys.
But at the same time and it'sthe same for me, if I look at
one of my, one of the boys thatworks for me now, and and
they're having a bad day orwhatever, if I don't offer to
help them out, I'm a fuckingasshole, like, do you know what
I mean.
Hey, mate, what's, what's goingon?
If I can fix it or if I canhelp, then you know what I mean.
So I just and then that justmade my mind up that day and I
uh, and I just sort of said tothe boys, those couple boys, at

(51:16):
the end of the week I said itwas actually like my whole
workforce, and then it was likeI was so scared of going back to
um, going back to, uh, just me,and you know what I mean Like I
was so, so scared.
And it was funny.
Like I went to training and mycoach is like you got to
remember who the fuck you are.
Like you started it.
It's your name on the fence.
Yeah, cut the cord.

Speaker 2 (51:38):
You keep mentioning this coach.
Is this your boxing coach?

Speaker 1 (51:40):
Yeah, it's my Muay Thai coach, Steve yeah.
Sounds like he's a bit of a lifecoach as well he, uh, he is a
bit of like well, as I said, weprobably spend 20 hours a week
together, like pretty well,one-on-one, like he.
He, um, he's probably, like Iwould say, changed my life.
Yeah, he's, he's a bit full-on,but he's really, he's real old
school, um, but yeah, like yeah,and and so I actually let go of
all those boys, um, I'll let goof, I think.

(52:03):
I think I lost six blokes inone in one day, and it was hard
because a couple of them werebrothers.
So I let go of one and then theother brother said oh yeah,
we'll see you later as well,even the ones I wasn't going to
let go of.
But I sort of went into thatconversation knowing that that
was going to happen.

Speaker 2 (52:19):
And then now, so I think we had a conversation that
morning and I think you rang meback and said I'm gonna do it,
yeah, and then and then, yeah,okay, I think only a couple.

Speaker 1 (52:30):
it was only like two or three days later you rang me
back and said fuck, I got thebest team ever that's it, that's
, and I'm like I put a c-cat upand and I just got, like it was
like and I'm, I'm, I guess I'mmildly religious, I guess you,
if you can be mildly really like, I think, if you think, if
you're trying to do the rightthing by people and you're
trying to do better, like shitgets handed to you, do you know

(52:51):
what I mean?
And so, like the boys arepretty, like I put a sea cat up
and then, like I just asked afew people and like, sure enough
, rounded up a ragtag bunch ofhouse raisers and actually it
sucks because I haven't beenable to fight for the last.
I had to put my own personalaspirations on hold.
I haven't had a fight.
Like I haven't really been ableto fight since that was in
February.
I had.

(53:11):
That was the 1st of March.
So like there was three monthsthere where, like I haven't been
able to, I haven't been able tofight or train or whatever.
Because I've been, I had to getactive.
I did.
It was one of those times whereI put an hour bag on and I had
to bust my ass and I had to do10 hour days and I had to climb
stacks.

Speaker 2 (53:27):
And you got the business back to where it needs
to be.

Speaker 1 (53:28):
But I did it and now we have an awesome culture.
I take the boys to the pub oncea month or we like we got we're
going to go to SlidewaysGo-Karting on Saturday night and
I genuinely walk into the placeand I and I like being around
people.
You know what I mean and Idon't even get angry anymore.
I just tell people.
I just say to blokes like lookmate, like that's unacceptable,
I won't stand for that.
I want you to fix that.

(53:49):
If you can't fix that, then Idon't have a position for you.
Rather than blowing up and thenaccepting that later on and
then blowing up and just rinse,repeat, I just say, look man,
we're not about that here.

Speaker 2 (54:01):
If you gotta set standards, like.
People need to know what yourstandards are and what you'll
accept and what you won't accept, because if yeah, yelling it.

Speaker 1 (54:09):
I, yeah, I yelled at people for years, man, it just
does nothing and then it's likeit comes back to like you can't
really say it, but like, likeemploying people is like having
a dog.
If you flog the fuck out ofyour dog every single day and
yell at it and scream at it, itgets to the point where it's
like it, just that that'snothing to it, because that's
the you that it's used to.
That's okay.

(54:29):
And whereas if you and that wasa learning curve for me, I'm
not saying I've always been thebest boss, but I genuinely try
and be a good person and someonepeople can confide in.
And younger blokes when Istarted, did my apprenticeship,
the builder or the tradies thatI worked with like, if you
didn't carry two sheets of, ifyou didn't carry two sheets of

(54:50):
fucking yellow tongue, you're aweak.
You know like if you it wasvery, very like that, you know.
If you, if you don't do that,you're a whereas I'm not the
culture we have now.
It's like let's have a goodtime and let's, let's get it
done, you know.
So, yeah, I have it's very hardto unlearn those things.

Speaker 2 (55:08):
It is Especially if you've come from a background of
learning from older tradies andbuilders.

Speaker 1 (55:14):
Yeah, and I did come from working for my uncles and
stuff.
That was hard but they weregood.
But when I did my carpentryapprenticeship I did have a
couple bosses that were like,well, like if you don't do this
or you don't like like createlike a, uh, a click within it,

(55:34):
and you, and you know you'refighting for their approval to
try and be you know, you knowwhat I mean whereas like if they
, if they made you want to cometo work, you would have been way
more productive than if then,if you, then you try like, oh, I
don't know if this guy fuckinglikes me or what, you know what
I mean.

Speaker 2 (55:49):
The way you show up rubs off and reflects on your
entire team.
If you're showing up every dayand whinging and bitching about
stuff and I think even back inthe day I'd turn up and I'd be
whinging and bitching about theclients that I hadn't paid the
bills and at the end of the dayit was all my fault, I'd done
shit wrong skills or and at theend of the day it was all my
fault, I'd done shit wrong, Ihadn't followed paperwork and
documents and all those types ofthings.
But and then that rubbed off onthe team like it gets the whole

(56:10):
team down and you can see themdragging your feet and then it's
.
Energy is a powerful thing.
You've got to turn up, you'vegot to be in a good mood.
You've got to say good day toeveryone, talk to them about the
kids, how's their weekend like,get involved and, as you said,
like when you show interest inyour team, they're going to show
up to work every day and put ina good work.

Speaker 1 (56:30):
And create some camaraderie.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, that's one thing, andsince then I've probably let
four or five blokes go, just ifthey don't want to buy in, if
they want to give other people ahard time.
I have no time for that.
We're here to have a good time.
We're here to get the work donein a safe manner.
Yeah, and if you, if you don'twant to do that, then then then

(56:52):
that's all, good man this isn'ta place for you to work.
Look on that, that's okay.
Look, if you want to live likethat, that's.
I'm nothing against you, yeah,but I can't.
I can't have you in hereruining my shit, because it's
too it's good, like to you andjohn that I'm seriously so proud
of what you're achieving.

Speaker 2 (57:10):
It's freaking awesome , the uh and like.
You're not just like doinghouse raising anymore.
You bought a couple of trucks,you're doing a bit of earthworks
and that sort of stuff and it'ssort of and and um same deal.

Speaker 1 (57:22):
During covid I'd get a machine and I had a guy who
had an awesome bunch ofoperators and during COVID
obviously I'm the loyal old dogI'll get him every job anyway.
So then it gets to a pointwhere you might and maybe it
wasn't even his fault because Ididn't put my best foot forward
sometimes during COVID becausewe were so flat out as well but

(57:43):
it just got to a point where,especially when you drill, like
so I marked the post out on thehouse up there, I used to have
to have a young fellow therewith a plumb bob and a stick to
make sure the post get drilledin the right spot, you know, and
and you'll get some 50 year oldmachine operator guy that wants
to go home.
He lives in rochedale, we'redoing a job at red cliff, it's
one o'clock on a friday.
The young boy says oh theseholes, oh these holes, they need

(58:06):
to get chipped out a little bit, we've got to move them over.
And he goes nah, mate, they'llbe right.
And then obviously you're notgoing to have me as a business
owner, I'm not going to have mymost expensive dude there,
because all he has to do is makesure the holes are in the right
spot.
So that happened a couple oftimes.
Then you go to hang them, thenyou could crow, but rather than
just doing you and he's a subbie, he's never going to see you
again, doesn't matter like,doesn't worry him, he's still

(58:28):
got his 140 bucks an hour past.
Go like, yeah, which, I gotnothing against that guy, like
there's, there's a place for himdigging our garden beds or
whatever they come back to whatwe're talking about before, like
people don't give a fuck aboutthe next person that's exactly
right and I fucking let thathappen.
I let him not give a fuck aboutthis.
So, like, rather than trying toblow up and and try and get the
same operator all the time, itjust got to the point where I

(58:48):
was like, oh, I'm just going todrill the holes, I'm just going
to drill the holes and I'm goingto do it five bucks an hour
cheaper for the builder.
So he's getting you, you'regetting a good deal, and then I
don't have to pay someone 30bucks an hour to stand there.
So actually I'm saving 30.
I'm saving 25 an hour before bythe time I clip your ticket.
Yeah, everyone's winning.
You know, and it's funny, likeI'll get an operator and I'll
say look, mate, like, becauseobviously by the time you have a

(59:10):
150 200 base plate in a 450hole.
Best case scenario you got 70mil on the.
On the very best day, red dirtgoes down, mickey mouse.
Best case scenario you've got70 mil.
You know, and also, like, ifyou go to plumb and it's
happened to me before you go toplumb up a post it fucking hits
the side of the hole and doesn'tgo plumb.
So you're there trying to,trying to sledgehammer it over

(59:32):
at the bottom and that sort ofstuff.
You don't have 50 mil cover onthat post, bro, that's.
That's your builder's license,that your chance in that.
When, what do you do?
Do you?
Do you rip the post out, whichI have, if, if, if, if I can't
get the post nice like I want it, pull the post out, trail it
off, and then I'm going to cutthe fucking post off and
fabricate it and bolt it downbecause it's it's not up to spec

(59:54):
, and so I I put on, put on.
I bought one machine and, uh,started drilling my own holes.
And and, um and uh, it's funnyyou put on an operator and you
tell them, hey, I need the holesin the right spot.
And they're like yeah, yeah,mate, I drilled a million holes,
you know.
And same deal I would blow upbefore when they didn't drill
the holes in the right spot,whereas now I just go, oh, yeah,
no, that's all good man.

(01:00:14):
So what you're going to do isyou're just going to get off the
machine tomorrow, like that.
Next day I'm going to say, oh,excavator, I'll get you to race
over here, and they'll, they'llcome over and I'll go oh, yeah,
sweet, there's the crowbar.
I'll get you to chip those 15holes and clean the shit out of
the bottom of them, because theygot to be like dinner plates
before we pour, and they'llnever drill a hole in the wrong
spot again.

(01:00:34):
And it's, and I'm not gettingangry, I'm not.
I'm just setting the standardfor what I accept, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:00:40):
and if you find telling the why but makes a big
difference, like telling thelike with those sorts of things,
like I've definitely found,like you got to tell people the
why if you're just tellingmachine operator, hey, I need
that hole to be bang on there.
To him bang on could be fucking300 mil either way that's
exactly right, unless you takethe time to explain to him.
Hey, mate, like we've got to putthis post in plum, it's 75 mil

(01:01:00):
post, it's got 200 mil baseplate on it and that base plate
has to be in the center of thathole.
So it's really important thatyou you take the time and you
get the hole where we need it tobe and I and I do do that.

Speaker 1 (01:01:11):
But sometimes you still get those dudes that, oh
yeah, young fella, I've done ita million times that like I've
drilled heaps of holes, mate,I've done it millions under
house digs or and I'm like, yeah, I understand that, but I won't
accept that hole being in thewrong spot.

Speaker 2 (01:01:25):
If other house raisers do that fucking good on
them, that's their, that's theircaper yeah, we'll go the other
way and say, look, that's allgood, but if any of these are,
uh, out, I'll be sending you mytime for the time that we're
gonna take to ship these, andand.

Speaker 1 (01:01:38):
But then it becomes a thing like when you you, let's
say, you get a big herbie's milebeing, or you get eagle or
whatever, contesting the bill.
It's just more so.
It just got to the point whereI was like, oh, it's just
literally easy for me to do it,the builder, because before,
like, obviously, as you know,you never the Earthworks is
never in the price, it's alwaysjust, however long it takes,

(01:01:59):
because if I give you a PC some,then you're trying to put a PC,
it just just it becomes a bitmessy.
So what I do now, you don'thave to organize, you don't have
to organize a machine.
I've got that and also like thatas a earth moving contractor.
They don't work for me.
I can't expect them to be therethe next day like they've got
their own lives because I'm onlydoing three jobs a week.
Fair enough, I might thinkthree jobs a week is a lot of

(01:02:21):
work and I and then I should getpreference over other people.
But but maybe I'm looking at itthe wrong way.
But whereas when it's my guy,he works for me.
So I'm racing to get the houseraised up, so I've got enough
earthworks for him to keep goingon with.

Speaker 2 (01:02:37):
And then he's obviously it makes sense,
because then you're doing thesite cuts and stuff as well.

Speaker 1 (01:02:41):
It's more responsibility, obviously, but
if you're willing to take on theresponsibility, it just makes
the builder's life easier.
One less cog.

Speaker 2 (01:02:51):
Yeah, so what happened with the?
I want to talk about the geargetting knocked off, because I
think it's a good story.

Speaker 1 (01:03:01):
So obviously we're in an industrial estate down in
Sandgate.
There the truck and the trailerdoesn't fit in the yard.
It's the only truck thatdoesn't go in my yard.
Everything else gets parked upat night in the yard.
So, um, I had the someone brokethe window and uh and uh, hot
wired the truck and uh and pinchpinched.
Uh, it had a bobcat on the back, a plant trailer, a full load

(01:03:24):
of gear and um, and obviouslythe truck.
So an excavator too didn't havea trailer, a bobcat on the back
, a plant trailer, a full loadof gear and obviously the truck.

Speaker 2 (01:03:27):
An excavator too, didn't it on the trailer?

Speaker 1 (01:03:29):
Yeah, a Bobcat, a skid steer, skid steer on the
trailer, yeah so, and this isprobably just on the like, we've
got a few machines and thatsort of stuff now, but this
would have been when it was juston the cusp of that.
So it was the only means I hadto keep the business going.
So, like for the first threedays it got knocked off.
You know, like I was crying, Iwas paying the boys to mow my

(01:03:49):
lawns and stuff because, like,as you said, like the boys, they
work for someone on the premisethat they have work every week.
Like in theory, I make the bigbucks, so I have all the fucking
dramas.
They just rock up, do their job, get paid on Wednesday, they
don't have to worry about noneof that stuff.
So, and especially withlaborers, if you don't have work
for them for two weeks, likeand and during COVID they just

(01:04:10):
go somewhere.

Speaker 2 (01:04:11):
Why?

Speaker 1 (01:04:11):
wouldn't they go somewhere else.
They got it.
They got it.
They got a family to look after, you know.
So like I had, like I reckon myyard would have been fucking
swept like 30 to, was that anylike I think you put a post out
like 24 hours late or something,didn't you?
and so it took three days to getmy.
I had air.
I got air tags in the in the.
I just put them in random partsof the truck and um trackers,

(01:04:34):
trackers, yeah, and then I'vegot trackers in them.
Now, now I've got trackers inthe machine, like like gps ones
as well as air tags, ran likeyou know what I mean, just a few
different fail safes.
So the people that pinched itmust have had androids, because
I couldn't couldn't find whereit was, and so there was the.
The bobcat has one where youturn the bobcat on as well and

(01:04:55):
it it sends like ping straightto you.
So it blew up and and it wasactually on.
You know, on the way out hereon, on the way to brendale,
there's like the big hill on theleft hand side yeah, on
linkfield road linkale.
There's like the big hill on theleft-hand side.

Speaker 2 (01:05:09):
Yeah, on Linkfield Road.
Linkfield Road there's like oldhousing.
Yeah, they bought that housingestate through and there was
that one big house left on theend there near the power lines.

Speaker 1 (01:05:15):
Yeah, so that's where it was.
Like I get there and like mytruck's not there, but the
Bobcat's there, all the stickersare fucking peeled off, all
shirts and all everything out ofthe trucks is in a in a bag
there, um, some like and there'sa fire there, like people are
about to burn, about to um, likeburn the shit.
Like it was just like weird,you know.

(01:05:37):
And then, um, so I got thatback and I was like, oh, like
you know, and then it was at atime where it was a 12 month
wait on machines.
So I I was like I was literallyfucked.
I was literally like hiringstuff and like you know what I
mean.
Just so much more time getsconsumed in dropping machines
off, picking them up, borrowingtrucks, budget truck rentals.

(01:05:58):
Oh, this dude's under 25.
He can't drive the truck.
I've got to fucking drive it.
It was like.
And then the tracker pinged atat a, at someone's house, at um
yeah, you put a post up and we,camille, shared it.

Speaker 2 (01:06:11):
Yeah, and then one of the lady messages yeah, I think
that truck's in my backyard.

Speaker 1 (01:06:14):
I don't want to stitch her upin case I hit, but but a certain
in a roundabout way, someonetold me where the truck was, you
know, know, and yeah, it wasfrom the post getting shared,
yeah, and so, and I sort of, andthen, because it was like the

(01:06:36):
tracker pinged near there andthen I got that call and Sheila
was like I got some photos sentto me and like the dude's
literally there cutting piecesoff the truck, you know, and I
rang the police and they sort ofsaid, oh, without a warrant,
mate, like there's nothing wecan do unless, like I don't know

(01:06:58):
, like they just blew me off.
They called police, like I'mlike mate, there's some bloke
cutting up my fucking truck inhis backyard.

Speaker 2 (01:07:07):
It's crazy, isn't it?

Speaker 1 (01:07:08):
I just can't.
I was blown away and like thisis probably for bigger companies
and what these people wouldprobably get away with it.
But for me it was like I've gotfive blokes there that like
can't feed their families if Ican't pay them this week and I
can't pay them this week, orlike obviously, yeah, if I can't
pay him this week and I can'tpay him this week.

Speaker 2 (01:07:26):
Or like, obviously yeah, if I can't get the work
done, if I can't get the workdone.

Speaker 1 (01:07:28):
They keep the money coming in, like, yeah, fair
enough, they can mow my lawn fora month, but like fuck, after
that it's the same result.
So I actually jumped the fenceand I jumped the.

Speaker 2 (01:07:40):
I would love to see the footage of this.

Speaker 1 (01:07:41):
I think it'd be hilarious footage um, and I'm
not gonna go into too muchdetail, but you're allowed to
talk about anything on thispodcast.
I heard you were throwing themoff, verandas and I jumped the
fence and and um, and it's funny, the the lady that told me
about where it was.
She's like oh, watch out, therethey're bikies and they're this
and that and the other.

(01:08:01):
And I I jumped the fence andopened the front door and I,
shit you not, this blokeke issmoking a fucking crack pipe,
like in the lounge room.
And I was just like, obviouslyI was fuming, so like I didn't,
I didn't, I didn't take that in,but looking back now, like
that's like that's almostcomedic.
Like and um.
So we got into a bit of a tussleand, uh, and my brother come

(01:08:26):
with me, and a few of the boysthat work for me come with me,
because they're like, oh fuck,we don't have a job, we'll come
get your shit back.
You know what I mean?
And it's funny, like a dudewalks around the corner with a
ballpoint hammer and mybrother's like, what are you
doing, mate?
And so we got into this bigbarney with him and it was like

(01:08:47):
a week after I had my first MuayThai fight.
So I was like I'm ready.

Speaker 2 (01:08:51):

Speaker 1 (01:08:52):
Still buzzing, I'm still buzzing.
And then they actually rang thepolice on us.
So like flip the script and thepolice rocked up.

Speaker 2 (01:09:01):
I just find the whole story hilarious, mate.
Like these guys are runningthis big, didn't they have
number plate printers and allsorts of shit.
It was like Like these guys arerunning this big, didn't?

Speaker 1 (01:09:08):
they have number plate printers and all sorts of
shit.
It was like it was a big setup.
That's what I mean, Like it was.
It was so funny.
I was like I was dumbfoundedwhen they called the police
because, like, the police rockup, gives me a stern talking to
for taking the law into my ownhands.
And I said, look man, likehonestly I'm going so I don't
really give a fuck about whatyou're going to charge me with.
There's nothing that is worsethan me not being able to

(01:09:29):
provide for my family.
Keep my business going.
Like, throw the book at me.
I'll admit.
Yeah, fair enough, I did thewrong thing, but you, I was
fucked without getting my truckback, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:09:38):
I rung you first.

Speaker 1 (01:09:41):
You didn't help me.
And it's so funny, like I'mthere, like my truck's got a
number plate printed out on thefront of it, um, and I checked
the number plate and it was offlike another high.
No, so they're obviouslyscoping out shit that looks the
same and printing out the numberplates and then lemonading them
and putting them behind numberplate cases and that I looked
like, it looked like legit, youknow.
And then, and then the policeactually were half happy by the

(01:10:04):
end because because they hadlike three builders trailers
there, you know 20 grand worthof milwaukee tools, um, and like
I look back now and I I pissmyself laughing when it happened
, because I'm sitting there,like we're sitting there, sat
down getting charged or whateverfor for, um, trespassing and
and uh, public nuisance and shit, and and I'll make rings this

(01:10:28):
fella up and he goes hey, mate,we've found your motorbike,
we've found your kazaki ninja.
And I look over and it's afucking swing arm on the ground,
man, and I'm like like they'reringing people about their,
their stolen goods, but likethis bloke's gonna go oh yeah,
they found my motorbike, and heand they rolls in and it's just
like a tire and a like just bitsand pieces.
And the sheila there said, oh,we've got him on camera flogging

(01:10:52):
us up.
We want him charged.
So they said, oh yeah, sweet,so you'll have whoever brought
all this stolen shit here oncamera, wouldn't you?
And she's like, oh, we don'thave anything on camera.
But there was like no shit.
It was like a trade tools inthe back shed there.
Like they opened it up jet skis, motorbikes, cars.

Speaker 2 (01:11:11):
Yeah, so you've just got heaps of people's shit back
and done everyone a lot ofpeople a big favour.

Speaker 1 (01:11:16):
That's what I mean.
And then that's what I said tothem.
I said look like if you had gotmy truck back.
But like my truck was fucked,like they pressure packed back
the whole thing.
So I was was fucked, like theypressure pack black the whole
thing.
So I was like super cheap autorattle can fucking paint job,
you know, like I was droppinggear to jobs like like half you
know, dip the hat on the youknow, because it just looks so

(01:11:36):
fucked because it still ran,good, but it just looks so
fucked for like the next week.

Speaker 2 (01:11:40):
But uh, but yeah, like they and that's like it's
crazy that that shit goes onlike theft is one thing that
really boils my blood.

Speaker 1 (01:11:50):
And especially like when you steal someone's ability
to make a living.
I can't that's.

Speaker 2 (01:11:56):
It's just scumbags Like if you want something, go
and work and earn it yourself.
Don't knock it off from peoplethat work hard to get it.

Speaker 1 (01:12:04):
And I say that to the poise as well.
I make a point of not, I stillbuy secondhand stuff, but I make
a point of not like fishingthat sort of stuff out when you
see it on Facebook marketplaceor whatever.
I definitely make a point ofnot buying other people's shit
because you just you know, likeI'd be a TAFE five, ten years
ago and other apprentices wouldbe like, oh, I've got a mate

(01:12:25):
like I bought this cordless kitoff him for 50 bucks or whatever
.
And you're like well, kind ofyou can't buy the fucking
Milwaukee cordless kit for 50bucks.
If you buy into it and you buythose things, then you're
enabling people.
And it's funny I've got anothermate and he sort of said he
said to me, oh, it's probablylike a month after that and he

(01:12:49):
said I got this mate, that's gota, got a, um, got this, I'm
gonna buy it off him right, likehe got it from bunnings or
whatever the story was, and Isaid oh man, like, if you want
to, that's all well and good.
But I said like, especiallyafter having my shit knocked off
, that further enforces the factthat I'm I can't buy other
people's.

Speaker 2 (01:13:03):
I can't, I can't I can't you said you can't enable
people, I can't enable people,people to keep doing it.

Speaker 1 (01:13:06):
I can't enable people to keep doing it.
And he goes oh yeah, righto, noworries.
And then, like he rang me backtwo days later and he's like oh
fuck, I fucking, I was on a jobsite, I just stuck down the road
for 10 minutes and they pinchedthis, this and this and all I
could fucking think was it's myfault, so you should like that.

Speaker 2 (01:13:24):
That is your fault, you know he goes, he goes.

Speaker 1 (01:13:26):
Yeah, I fully understand what you like.
You know what I mean, and sothat was a hard life lesson for
him to learn, but but at thesame time, yeah, like.

Speaker 2 (01:13:33):
So, man, what's?
That was some good practice foryou.
You're into your fighting nowyou.
You're bloody doing a fewfights.
You're looking fit as yeah,I've lost the um and, like you
said, your coach has helped youout a lot in life and that's
flowed through to your business.
But I imagine the fighting hashelped you, like fitness helps
everybody.
Yeah, it's become a bit of arelease for you to take out the

(01:13:54):
stress or work and that sort ofstuff yeah, and that's sort of
it.

Speaker 1 (01:13:57):
Uh, yeah, so uh, steve-o makes us run seven k's
every other and then we, youknow, do rounds on the pads for
you know, so I'll get home andI'm just fucking destroyed, wake
up the next day and do it again.
It's something.
It's a.
I've always struggled to sitstill to and then that was the
other thing.
Like I go on instagram and andfuck around and just waste hours

(01:14:18):
of my day just trying to notnumb myself, I guess, but but to
wind down, so to speak.
So it's sort of I've got arelease now in the way that I go
train every afternoon.
It's obviously like I don'tlook into the body chemistry
stuff of it, but apparently itreleases endorphins and make
like I genuinely when I'm.
I would say I would have beendepressed before, before I,

(01:14:39):
before I started it.
Yeah, like I would have been.
You know, I was 100 and 100 andI think it was 118 kilos when I
, when I first started, when Ifirst walked into the gym and I
was so what made you want to doit?

Speaker 2 (01:14:49):
Is it something you always wanted to do?

Speaker 1 (01:14:52):
I had a boxing fight when I was 18 and I was pretty
fit at the time and I reallyenjoyed it.
I've always sort of at school Iused to get in blues all the
time and that sort of stuff.
It was sort of something of.
It's always sort of crept intomy life in one way or another.
I guess at 40 I'd be a bitrough and tumble and I had
probably my best mate from whenwe were like maybe 13 years old.

(01:15:16):
He passed away and he wasactually my first employee when
I bought my house the firstbloke I ever lived with, and
when we were kids.
Like I've got a lazy eye so weused to get especially not that
Nudgee's bad school or anythinglike that.
But, like I come from, my mum'sgot enough money to send me

(01:15:36):
there, but not the sort of moneythat other people have there.
So, like you know, she'd bedropping me off to school in the
Falcon with a dickie seat inthe back and I'd be getting her
to drop me down the bottom.
So no one's seeing me driving toschool, um, and and I can't
even remember, but he was justlike not to say he was a weird
kid, but he was just a bitdifferent, you know, and where.
So we got picked on a fair bitduring school for, for whatever

(01:15:58):
reason, and I got to a pointwhere I was like I got a bit
bigger, your puberty and, and Isort of fended for myself a bit
and and and and as sad as it isnow to this day, I sort of there
was times in in group scenarioswhere I didn't stick up for him
, you know, like I was justhappy to not be getting shit
hung on me that I didn't, youknow.
And then we got out of schooland we got like you know, you

(01:16:19):
start partying and that sort ofstuff, and he sort of got more
and more into that lifestyle andand when you're in that
lifestyle and you put whatpartying and stuff.
Yeah, and obviously all thethings that go with it, like
drugs and that sort of stuff.
People gravitate towards you,but they're fake people, you
know what I mean.
So he passed away pretty much ayear before I had my first

(01:16:40):
fight and, as sad as it is, Ithink he died never truly being
happy with who he was inside.
And that's a fuck thing to saythat he lived his whole life and
maybe wasn't comfortable withhimself.
And then about the same time,me and my brother got into a
barney and he said you thinkyou're a big, tough cunt?

(01:17:01):
Like go have a fight, go do itin the ring.
You think you're you, you know?
And I said, and I was like Iwas 120 kilos at the time and I
sort of said I'm gonna.
It started off as I'm just gonnado it for for me, mate, like
I'm gonna, I'm gonna go have ablue and and and obviously like,
fuck it.
Like yeah, I would have beenreal self-conscious at the time.
Like you like to say, oh, Idon't, I don't care about what

(01:17:21):
other people, but even withinmyself it just didn't feel good
to be especially because I'monly 5'10", like I was a big
dude, you know.
So I just it was one of thosethings.
It was a bit of a turning pointin my life and like obviously he
had health implications forother reasons, but I was looking
at myself in the mirror andgoing like man, like I'm going
to be a big dude if I keep goingdown this road, you know.

(01:17:44):
And just as much as doingpositive things positively
affects everything, doingnegative thing, being negative
and and being in that, that shitmentality like work all day,
driving home at six o'clock atnight because you didn't put any
processes in place, then you'refucking too tired to cook
dinner, so fuck it, I'll justget maccas, and then that turns
into pizza the next night.
And then it gets to the pointwhere you're like, oh, you look

(01:18:05):
back and back and like Just alllaziness, isn't?
it.
It's all laziness and my missusreckons I'm still lazy.
She cooks my meal plan, so I'vegot to give her a bit of a
shout out.
But yeah, so I sort of and,yeah, my mate Bo, I said I'm
going to fucking, I'm going todo this, you know, like I'm want
to do something for you.

(01:18:25):
And I rolled down to the gymand I said, yeah, I want to have
a fight.
And Steve looked me up and downand said, yeah, you can have a
fight, but you've got to run 7Ks.
You run 7Ks every day for amonth to get into fighters
before training.
And I ran the first day.
I ran.
I ran 3Ks in like 26 minutes orsomething, and then it took me
about six months of it took meabout six months of.

Speaker 2 (01:18:49):
It took me like six months to get into fighters, you
know, and it was one of thosethings that like, so what was
well that was driving you?
Yeah, like you wanted to do itfor your mates.

Speaker 1 (01:18:54):
I just wanted to, you know, and I wanted to.
I just like anything I've neverdone in my life like I've been
pretty half-right at a lot ofthings, I guess Anything I've
never done, it was because I wasin my own head.
I didn't think I could do it.
I didn't think I could.
And if I didn't have a coachlike Steve, I would never have
had a fight.

(01:19:14):
You know, and especially beingthe boss, no one holds you
accountable.
Like people will whinge aboutyou but no one says what are you
doing?
You dickhead.
Like when you, it flips thescript and you're getting
flogged up by a 16 year old kidthat weighs 50 kilos, like it,
it humbles you so immensely,it's not funny.
So you go from being the bigdog at work to going there and

(01:19:35):
you're the.
You're the slowest fattest.
You're the slowest fattestperson at at that.

Speaker 2 (01:19:41):
You know, you're the, you're, you're the first one on
this podcast to drop c-bombs,so, uh, you'll have to cut
you'll have to cut them out.
That's all right, mate.

Speaker 1 (01:19:48):
That's the house raiser coming at me but you're
the slowest, fattest personthere.
It brings you back down toreality and you realize.
But it also helps the business.
Actually helps, because I'vebeen in the Hurt Locker before.
I've started something fromnothing.
Look, what's the differencebetween me and a world champion?
10,000 hours, all right, noworries.

(01:20:08):
In 10,000 hours of training,I'll be there, like so.

Speaker 2 (01:20:12):
Like you've changed mate, like seriously, since we
first met.
Like I don't know how long it'sbeen.
What has it been Four or fiveyears?
Yeah, four or five years.

Speaker 1 (01:20:19):
Yeah, like you are on a mission Like it's even more
so now that I start to thinkabout having kids and that sort
of stuff.
I want to be.
Just be a good person is aboveall else.
There's like and then soobviously, yeah, like I've got a
bit of fire in the belly.
I guess that's why I do.
I do like fighting and, butthen to to be angry at people

(01:20:41):
and and I'm not that I have evergone that way but to be violent
towards people that don't don'twant it's a sport, you know
what I mean.
Like it's a, it's an outlet,it's a it's.
It's like a game of chess, butit hurts.
Yeah, like that's that's.
That's the simplest way to putit.
Well, I'm not going to playchess, yeah, um, so it's, it's.
Uh, I've learned so many thingsthat have transpired and like

(01:21:02):
so do you think the fighting is?

Speaker 2 (01:21:04):
I haven't done fighting.
Uh, a couple of my mates werechampion bloody kickboxers and
shit growing up and I trained alittle bit here and there with
them but I could just never getinto it.
But do you think it's more thecommitment?
You obviously get a lot out ofthe fighting, but I imagine you
get just as much or more out ofthe training and out of the
commitment.

Speaker 1 (01:21:21):
It makes you so mentally tough.

Speaker 2 (01:21:23):
And the consistency.

Speaker 1 (01:21:24):
And the consistency.
And if you consistently do shitthat you don't want to do, it
becomes easy to do things thatyou don't want to do and no one
wants to work.

Speaker 2 (01:21:32):
And that flows through to your business.

Speaker 1 (01:21:33):

Speaker 2 (01:21:35):
Everyone forgets about consistency and commitment
, and they all just want theeasy.

Speaker 1 (01:21:40):
And delayed gratification like nothing.
There's nothing in this worldthat comes easy and is good.
Yeah, you win the lottotomorrow.
You'll still feel empty becauseYou'll be broke in a week.
I wouldn't say no, but I wouldgo.
Now that I know what I know,I'd go buy new tools and new
trucks, because that's do youknow what I'm saying?
But yeah, like the, especiallylike the, I'm not a good runner

(01:22:03):
by any means necessary.
You know, and I think my best,I did a 7k, maybe a month and a
half ago in in four minutes and20 seconds, okay.
Four minutes and 25 secondsokay, which is about 30 minutes,
and that's like.
That's like a good pace, for Idon't know if you know much
about running, but that's a goodpace for anyone, let alone a
bloke.

(01:22:23):
That was 125 kilos.
And when you're on the run andit's like, yeah, and people will
always say, oh, there's betterthings you could do, like jump
on the bike and get yourexercise, get your heart rate up
, that'll get you fitter,quicker.
But nothing prepares you forwhen you're like 5Ks in and it's
another 3Ks and it's so shitand you just got to keep going.

(01:22:45):
Well, you've got to get back,haven't you?
You've got to get back, haven'tyou?
You've got to get back.
It's easy to step off on a run.
You've got to get back home.
That's exactly right and it'ssort of.
And then, and then, furthermore, from there, you know you sort
of think, you know everyone thatwatches boxing fights thinks,
like you know, when someone getshit, flush and knocked out, you
think, yeah, I'd get up.
I I'd get up, like everyonethinks they would.

(01:23:05):
And and you don't know if youwould until you, until you're in
that situation everyone'salways sitting up in the stands
and in the arena, mate andgiving people shit and at a
football game.

Speaker 2 (01:23:16):
You hear them on the stand singing out or watching
the state of origin or something.
Then everyone's like trying totell them what to do.

Speaker 1 (01:23:21):
Like you fucking get down there on the field and do
it then that's exactly right,and, and, and it's probably like
you know, the boys that workfor me come and watch me.
Come and watch me fight.
That's probably the mostvulnerable you could ever be in,
in, in front, in front of thepeople that look up to you as a
boss, right?
Or are you get knocked out infront of you know?

Speaker 2 (01:23:38):
so I uh, what's your goal?
What's your goal with thefighting?

Speaker 1 (01:23:41):
with the fighting.
I want to do it till I'm.
I want to do it for anothermaybe four years It'd be.
You know, obviously I'd beaiming to win like an Australian
title or something in three,four years' time, as it comes to
light.
I just want to.
And same again when I have kids, or even like even when I have
employees and they're 18 andthey're going and getting on the

(01:24:02):
piss with their mates on theweekends.
It's not that that's like wherethey're going to the valley, or
like going camping with yourmates Awesome.
Having a couple of beers inyour backyard with your mates
Awesome.
Going and spending your wholepaycheck at the casino, or not
awesome.
You know, I, I just I'm a veryheadstrong person in the way
that, like if someone, ifsomeone, wants to give me advice

(01:24:24):
, how, how credible are they?
That's that's how I look at it.
You know what I mean and I'mnot saying I'm trying to give
people advice or whatever, but Iwant to, at the end of the day,
stand on my own two feet andsay, look, I've done the hard
yards.
Like I've made the toughdecisions.

Speaker 2 (01:24:39):
You were saying before we started recording
today, you were talking to meabout you want to start a family
and stuff and you were sayingthat you don't want your kids to
get to a point where they sayto you what have you done?
Yeah, like, and I I thinkthat's like there'd be a lot of
parents out there that like, ifthey thought about it like what,
what have they completed?
What have they done?
Like you, you do.
You want to set examples forpeople, don't you like?

Speaker 1 (01:25:00):
and then that's true, and the worst bosses I ever had
were bosses that just told meto do shit.
The best bosses I ever had werebosses that said come on, come
with me, this is, this is howyou do it, rather than just and
and I've been.
I've been both.
Yeah, I've been.
I've been a boss that tellspeople what to do.
I've been a boss that grabssomeone by the shirt and says,
oi, come on I don't have?

Speaker 2 (01:25:21):
on the shovel this morning with their first year
apprentice and shoveled threecube of crusher dusk, is it
that's?

Speaker 1 (01:25:26):
what I mean, but I've worked for people that would
sit in the aircon in theirfucking car and pretend to make
calls and be and be on theirphone yeah, I agree, 100 mate.
Like you've got to, you got topractice what you preach like
and um and that's a that's uh,if you, the more you practice,
that's what.
That's what.
That's probably the biggestthing I love about muay thai and
kick.
Bringing it back to that is Inever want to go to train and

(01:25:49):
after work I never want to.
My toes are fucked from kickingpeople's shins.
I never want like I enjoy it.
But if I could sit at home onthe couch and get the same
results.
But you don't get the sameresults from sitting on the
couch at home.
So I just love the mentaltenacity that it builds in your
brain.

(01:26:10):
And when you step into the ringand fight someone and they can't
match your energy, that's apowerful feeling.
Don't get me wrong.
There's been times when I'vebeen the nail, not the hammer.
But even in those fights I hadwhere I was losing, I'm not
going to fucking give up.
That's not me.
I'm not capable.
Capable of that.
And then, if you, if you like,I just love that.

(01:26:33):
I love even the fights thatI've lost.
People go fuck that shane stillfell as tough or like he fought
a good fight.

Speaker 2 (01:26:39):
I know I've said you and I'm I am keen as to come and
watch you fight this.
Every time you've had a fightthere's been other shit on, but
I just want to come.
I want to hear him call yourname out.
You have got a name for afighter.
Here comes Shane Steele.

Speaker 1 (01:26:53):
And I walk out to my walkout song is Dolly Parton 9
to 5.
So it's like it's funny.
I was re-watching one of mylast fights and I walked out to
Dolly Parton 9 to 5 and thecommentator's like, oh, he'd
want to be a tough bugger to youknow, you'd want to have a bit
of gusto about you too, becauseeveryone that's the other thing.
Like I'm not trying to besomething, I'm not.

(01:27:15):
You know, everyone walks out tolike 50 Cent, eminem, like man,
I'm a house-raised stumper fromBeanley.
What do me and 50 Cent have incommon?
But I do work five to five.
So, like I just be myself, goout there, have a crack, have a
good time and everyone I've hada fight like I'm lifelong

(01:27:36):
friends with pretty well everybloke that I've had a fight in
the ring with.
Because it's a crazy feeling Ican't explain it Like.
I cannot explain a feeling likeit when you, when you're
walking out, like and I'mgetting like butterflies and and
the tingles on the back of myneck thinking about it because
it's like yeah, yeah, it's likeI can't even.

(01:27:58):
It's like I've played footy.
I've played half a right footy.
I've done heaps of things, butnothing, nothing compares to
that.
And uh, but yeah, and thatthat's what I love about it.
If you, if you just get upevery day and the the days that
I don't want to do it, you endup having the best session
because you, you, once you getover and you realize I'm here to
stay, it, it becomes so mucheasier and that's, that's

(01:28:19):
something, that's and and.
When I first, when I first wentand went down there and started
training, I did have a weakmind, like I did.

Speaker 2 (01:28:26):
There was days that I fucking give up and and and I
think you, I think your podcasttoday is going to inspire a lot
of people like I take my hat offto you if you keep like we're
gonna have to get you backanother 18 months, mate, because
I want to see you, I want tokeep continuing to watch your
journey and I guess, for anyonethat's listening or watching
this podcast, go back and listento shane's first one and you'll

(01:28:46):
you'll hear and see thedifference from the last one to
this one and probably thebiggest thing I'll say to people
is which I like about yourpodcast.

Speaker 1 (01:28:53):
I like about a few other podcasts that I that I
watch is everyone on mine willtell you how great they're doing
.
They tell you how they'refucking killing it, how
nothing's ever a drama, it's allsmooth sailing.
I'm the greatest.
I'll tell you like then this iswhat I project is like I've
been a terrible boss in my life.

(01:29:14):
I suppose it would be.
I've been in the way that, likethe COVID thing I didn't get
vaccinated but like if you canstand up in a room full of
people and have an opiniondifferent to everyone else and
voice it firmly, that's apowerful thing.
There's been times when Ihaven't been that person, and

(01:29:34):
that's okay if you're not thatperson right now, but as long as
every day you're trying, andsometimes and I'll bring it back
to Steve-O he talks aboutrowing a boat.
He's like you know, you jump inthe boat, you need to get up the
river, you fucking row and thenyou get washed down the river a
bit or you get washed off tothe side as long as you get back
on the horse.
And there's days where you'renot going to be the best and

(01:29:54):
there's days where you're goingto look back and be like, oh, I
didn't handle that the best or Iwasn't the best person in that
situation.
If you're genuinely striving tobe better every day, it'll get
to a point where you stillyou'll never achieve it.
You'll never achieve what youwant to.
You'll achieve what you want tobe.
When I talk about that, if youset a goal and you want to be
this, even if you don't get tothat, let's say it's an

(01:30:17):
unrealistic goal you're still 10times better than what you were
when you started and you got tolook back.
But don't forget to keep going.

Speaker 2 (01:30:29):
And that's you have to set unrealistic goals, mate
and like, even if you only gethalfway there, like you say,
you're still far better off thanwhere you were.

Speaker 1 (01:30:35):

Speaker 2 (01:30:37):
But you've got to push, you've got to aim for
something.
But, yeah, I think you're aninspiring young bloke mate.
I really, really love whatyou're doing.
Really love what you're doing.
I love our little chats we have, um, and I know you, you've
definitely inspired people today.
So, but before we wrap it up,is there anything else you'd
want to touch on before you?

Speaker 1 (01:30:54):
not really.
Yeah, I, um, yeah, like I, yeah, I just I definitely wanted to
finish on that that, like evenme now, like I'm not perfect,
I'm trying, like I it's.
I definitely don't want to beone of those people that acts
like it's okay to think, likeprobably what you were talking
about at the start of the show,where you said what makes you
get up and I made you thinkabout it, haven't I?

(01:31:17):
What makes you get up Likeobviously, I think I've got a
twinkle in my eye that otherpeople don't have.
I don't think I'm better thanthem, or I think I'm willing to
do what other people won't, buteven I guess.

Speaker 2 (01:31:29):
Just we'll touch on that for a bit before we wrap up
.
Like it doesn't.
Like when I asked you what getsyou out of bed every day, like
some people think that that hasto be something really special.

Speaker 1 (01:31:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:31:41):
But do you know what mine is?

Speaker 1 (01:31:42):
What's that?

Speaker 2 (01:31:43):
I just want to be better than I was yesterday.

Speaker 1 (01:31:44):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, there you go, like that'sit, just want to be better than
I was yesterday, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:31:47):
Well, there you go.
Like that doesn't.
It doesn't have to be huge like, and reality is if, if you aim
to be better than you were theday before, putting more effort
than you did the day before,just that extra one percent,
just keep putting in that extraone percent all the time.
Reality is you are going toreach incredible goals and have
incredible things because you'recontinually growing.
And when you're continuallygrowing, that's when you get to

(01:32:08):
a point where you think thingsare easier, but they're not
easier.
You've just grown.

Speaker 1 (01:32:12):
That's yeah, and that is when, if you want to take it
to the next level, that's whenyou put a little bit more on
your plate.
You put a little bit more onyour plate when things get easy,
make them hard again and then-.

Speaker 2 (01:32:23):
That's definitely a key point too.

Speaker 1 (01:32:26):
And not hard in the way of like this is shit.
It's not working Hard in theway of like how can I find a way
to make this easier?
And then, once youcompartmentalize that, put it in
your back pocket.
Yeah, and as a business, you'lldo that put it in your back
pocket, turn around and fixsomething else, and then that'll
be fucked again.

Speaker 2 (01:32:41):
So you'll have to go back and fix that and the most
important thing is don't, whenthings do get a little bit hard
again, don't go back to your oldways, like you've got to keep
growing all the time.

Speaker 1 (01:32:51):
Well, yeah, that's exactly right.
And just trying, like somepeople, like sometimes stuff
doesn't work.
Like, when I built thosetrusses, it was like a gamble.
Like it was an educated guess.
Bet on yourself, like, bet onyourself, like, bet on yourself.
That's I, and then I.
I.
I say this and this probablymore so for younger blokes like

(01:33:11):
you get some I had.
I wasted so much time in mylife, from 16 to 22, going out
drinking, getting fomo.
Oh, what are my mates doing?
Just worry about what you'redoing.
Like, worry, like, worry aboutyourself.
And there'd be 40olds like I'dprobably come to that conclusion
when I was 24.
I needed to make a change.
There's no way I was going tolet it.

(01:33:32):
But if you're a 40-year-old andyou haven't come to that
conclusion, or things aren'tworking.

Speaker 2 (01:33:39):
You're going to kill it, mate, because that was a
huge realization for me.
Like, because you, especiallywith Instagram, like people are
so sucked into now to all theshit they see on instagram and
reality is like I I I know Icould be more real.
Like, I try and be pretty realon my socials and that's why a
lot of people are following thispodcast and doing what they're
doing.
But, like I know I could do alot more.

(01:33:59):
But there's days when I'm likeoh fuck, I haven't didn't get a
good sleep last night.
I look a bit shit, like um, andthen and then like, oh yeah, no
, I don't feel like doing a posttoday or whatever.
But like, I try and keep it asreal as possible and that's
people like authenticity.

Speaker 1 (01:34:12):
Like, like, like, I try and beas real as possible, like I like
I don't.
I like I am who I am and Ican't change who I am.
I that's, and it's so funny themore time you spend you'll.
The other thing as well is likeI found, when I was real
self-conscious about otherpeople and what other people
were doing, I was always judgingpeople.

(01:34:33):
Because that, that's the,that's, that's what's flowing
through you.
You're worried about whatthey're doing, so then you'll,
you'll, you walk past someone onthe street.
You know, like, like, um,someone might be down and out on
on the street or whatever, andthen you you'll judge them
without it.
These days, I'm like how yougoing, mate, no worries.
Like who gives a fuck, itdoesn't.

(01:34:53):
Like we all just exist intrying to have a good time, so
to speak.
The more you get consumed bywater, it holds you.
You're giving people yourenergy.
That's the biggest thing.
That I'm so against is like, ifI give someone five minutes of
my day, or not necessarily oneperson if I give anyone 10
minutes of my day, every singleday, whether that be on

(01:35:14):
Instagram, like I literallydon't even have and I've got a
real addictive personality.
Like with ADD is like I can'tstop myself from going on
Instagram.
I can't stop myself from goingon Facebook.
So I've literally had to hackmyself and get my office lady to
change the passwords on mysocial media.
And this is just me recognizingthat I'm not capable of like

(01:35:35):
some people are.
I'm not, so I've got on thesteel house raising phone in the
office.
I've got Instagram and Facebook.
And it's so hard now,especially because you need
social media.
Social media is such a big partof business, like it's crazy.

Speaker 2 (01:35:50):
It's incredible for business, but it's so addictive.

Speaker 1 (01:35:51):
So addictive Because, like who, like man, it's hard
to raise their house.
Who doesn't want to watchvideos of, like cars racing or
whatever you may be interestedin?
So like.

Speaker 2 (01:36:00):
I'm glad I'm not the only one mate hours racing
people doing skids.

Speaker 1 (01:36:05):
They need fishing, oh that's what I mean, Like you
know, and then it's sort of likekickboxing stuff, like all that
sort of thing I get.
So it's worse.

Speaker 2 (01:36:13):
Look, it's actually worse than drugs, isn't it it?

Speaker 1 (01:36:16):
literally is.

Speaker 2 (01:36:17):
There's people ruining their lives because they
are stuck on it so much.

Speaker 1 (01:36:22):
And also like the people that organize Instagram
and Facebook and that they're somuch smarter than us, like in
the way that, like like when youplay a poker machine, it they
make certain sounds that areharmonically pleasing to like
this.

Speaker 2 (01:36:36):
it's the same for instagram they have, like it's
all the algorithm mate they feedyou what you want to see.

Speaker 1 (01:36:38):
That's exactly right, then, to keep you there,
because then they can.
Then they can charge your shopan extra 50 bucks on an ad
because they'll go look amillion people like people, like
when you're swallowing through.
That's what they'll slip thatin.

Speaker 2 (01:36:49):
You know that's a whole other podcast man?

Speaker 1 (01:36:52):
Oh yeah, for sure.
But what I'm saying is I don'tnot that I don't care what other
people are doing, but I don'twaste my life.

Speaker 2 (01:36:59):
It's all right to say that, mate.
I say that Camille gets theshits with me, but I don't care.
I do not care what other peopleare doing.
I don't care what's happeningin the world.
All I care about is I need torun my own race and look after
my family.

Speaker 1 (01:37:12):
And that's where I'm at.
Like I need to be more presentin my relationships and I can
give more time to staff.
Like you know what I mean.
Like I'll be on my phone at theoffice and I'll go oh it's nine
o'clock, like that's two's anhour.

(01:37:33):
I could have been walking mydog, bro.
Like I'm I'm not that thing'swhole life, you know.
Like, like I literally licksthe windows when I come home,
you know you know, you know, youknow what I mean and it's like
I'm everything to him.

Speaker 2 (01:37:44):
I know I think that's awesome because my dog brings
me back to reality.
I look at my dog, Walter, andthere's not a care in the world,
Literally Like he just givesCamille and I talk about it all
the time, like he just loves us.

Speaker 1 (01:37:58):
That's what I mean, you know, and it's unconditional
.
No matter how shit your day hasbeen, no matter how you could
come in that gate, so grumpythat dog loves you.
You know what I mean come inthat gate so grumpy that dog
loves you.

Speaker 2 (01:38:08):
But how good is it likespending time out in the yard
throwing a ball or patting thedog, rather than sitting and
flicking social media on yourphone?

Speaker 1 (01:38:17):
You're doing him a disservice if you're sitting
there.
I know it was like a realitycheck for me.
One day.
I was like I can't rememberwhat I was doing.
I was real sick or for whateverreason.
I was just sitting on the couch.
I think it might have been.
It might have actually been.
After one of my fights my shinswere busted as but like.
I looked over at my dog afterlike being on my phone for three
hours and I was like fuck thisman, like let's go for a walk,

(01:38:40):
bro.
And it hurt me to go for a walkbecause my buck always saw, but
he's like sniffing everything.
But he's like sniffingeverything, like it was just
like just being present around,like.
That's something I've alwaysstruggled with is, and
especially like your generationactually existed before.
Social media, like Instagram,was like it was a big thing when
I was like 12, 13.
I feel bad for people movingforward from here, because my

(01:39:03):
generation, I'm the last person,the last age group, to ever
truly be bored.
You know, when you're like inyour room and like there's
literally nothing to do, youknow what I mean, whereas now
there's so much like-.

Speaker 2 (01:39:14):
Mate.
I was driving home from workyesterday and I'm driving down
the road and there's this kidriding a flash mountain bike.
He would have been 8 or 10years old and he had a phone
holder on his handlebars and onehand on the handlebars and like
one hand flicking.
So no way, yeah, he would havebeen on instagram.
And then I got a red light andhe he was like I passed him and

(01:39:36):
then I got up to a red light andthen he's come past me like no
hands, and then as I took offfrom the got the line turned
green.
I took off again.
He's running around no hands.
But then his hands keeptouching the screen.
yeah, right, and I'm like holyfuck like that like not only is
it super dangerous becauseyou're riding along the road
where the speed limit's 70 k'san hour, but you're more focused

(01:39:57):
on your phone than where you're, what you're doing and where
you're going or even just takingit in and that's and that's
what I thought to myself.
Fuck, when I was your age, mate, I, mate.
I was out on my BMX, we hadshovels, we were making mounds
of dirt, we were fucking layingdown on the ground, jumping each
other.

Speaker 1 (01:40:12):
That's what I mean, like crushing Coke cans, so it
sounded like a motorbike.

Speaker 2 (01:40:16):

Speaker 1 (01:40:18):
Like that's and I genuinely I feel like people
talk about how youngergenerations have it easier or in
some ways they do, but in otherways, like I feel bad from
they're exposed to that.
You know, like I got picked ona bit in high school but up
until high school it was like itnever was a thing.
Now kids are like they've gotsocial media, you know, and you

(01:40:39):
got little girls like and that'sa dangerous thing in a eight,
10 year old kid's- mind it'sinsane, and so probably that's
the that's the biggest thing Iwant my kids to just be like
when, when I talk about havingkids and and, and I want to have
something to share with them.
Like like me and my old man likenever had anything that in

(01:40:59):
common.
And then my poor mom, singlemom, and then obviously got my
stepdad a bit later on, but likehad had to run the business, my
, my, my two uncles and mygrandparents my grandparents had
come from housing commission,had no money.
Then they they got money.
Like they spent their wholelives just trying to.
And same with my mum and hertwo brothers, they've spent

(01:41:21):
their whole lives just trying toget to a point where they can
live.
And you know it's so funny.
Like my, my uncle, like he's aman of very few words but like
he got some old recycled likerailway sleepers but like bridge
beams, railway bridge beams andmade like at his house.
He's got a few acres made likea mongere, it's called like it's

(01:41:45):
an Irish term, it's a place inIreland and my nan used to call
his place that and so like.
And it's funny, I look, I catchhim just looking at it in his
yard.
And then I think about mygranddad.
I went up there not too longago and he's got like a vineyard

(01:42:10):
, like he's made a vineyard, youknow, and like you never
realize that these people haddreams and aspirations and that
they had to put on a shelf inorder to, in order to.
I think about how, how, what aweapon my granddad would have
been at kickboxing if he had theopportunities that I have.
You know what I mean and that'swhy that's why I want to do
that for my kids, to havesomething to to share with them
and then to to make themconfident in themselves so that,
like, when those things dohappen in life and chip you down
, it's okay because I'm betterthan that, I'm stronger than

(01:42:32):
that.
This is what's meant for me andmy path has been chosen, it's
okay, it's going to be all right.
Whereas, like, a lot of kidsdon't have that, they don't have
that, and then you fall intothose things of like drugs and
gambling, because you're chasinga bit of a-.

Speaker 2 (01:42:49):
Well, with social media, mate, you're always just
chasing what other people have.

Speaker 1 (01:42:52):
That's what I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:42:53):
You're not living your own-.

Speaker 1 (01:42:54):
When even people that's not even real.

Speaker 2 (01:42:56):
Yeah, yeah, it's all bullshit, it's all bullshit.

Speaker 1 (01:42:59):
My social media is pretty real.
I am working in the shed at 7o'clock on a Saturday night, but
I genuinely enjoy the life Ilive and I don't try and project
anything.
I don't try and be somethingI'm not, because you always get
found out around the traps youknow 100%.

Speaker 2 (01:43:13):
But, mate, look, really appreciate you coming
back having another chat today.
I think it's been fantasticLots of bombs dropped.

Speaker 1 (01:43:18):
Yeah, sorry, you'll have to edit those out.

Speaker 2 (01:43:20):
No, mate, it is what it is.
This is a real podcast.
So, look, if anyone yeah, checkShane Steele out house raising
on Instagram.
They do incredible work.
Go and check these trusses out.
You'll see the videos I've doneabout it.
It's frigging awesome.
I definitely think it's a hugeaccomplishment, mate, to be
doing what you're doing.
But, look, we want to continueto make this podcast Australia's

(01:43:41):
number one construction podcast.
So, like, share, comment, allthose types of things.
If there is a particular thingyou want us to talk about or
guess you want us to get on,then let us know.
But, yeah, keep listening andhopefully this one's been a
cracker and we look forward toseeing you on the next one.
Are you ready to build smarter,live better?
and enjoy life, then head overto live like buildcom forward
slash elevate to get startedeverything discussed during the

(01:44:13):
level up podcast with me, duanepierce, is based solely on my
own personal experiences andthose experiences of my guests.
The information, opinions andrecommendations presented in
this podcast are for generalinformation only and any
reliance on the informationprovided in this podcast is done
at information only and anyreliance on the information
provided in this podcast is doneat your own risk.
We recommend that you obtainyour own professional advice in

(01:44:34):
respect to the topics discussedduring this podcast.

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