September 19, 2024 • 45 mins
In this episode of the PARTEE POD Christine and Kona are joined by DGPT pro and friend Stacie Rawnsley. Christine acts as a moderator and asks the ladies questions about the tour. They cover the expenses, the relationship drama, the sponsorship details we all want to know about. Things aren't always as they seem, but it's not all bad! Come partee with us and find out!
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Come Partee with us on instagram!
@theparteepodcast
@christinejenningsdiscgolf
@kona_disc
@hannahemcbeth
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
What is Up? Party? People? Welcome back to the podcast.
My name is Christine Jennings.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
And I'm ConA Montgomery, and this week we're.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Going to change it up a little bit and talk
about touring as an FPO player. So a while ago
we had an episode where Paul talked about getting sponsored,
and I wanted to dive in a little bit deeper
today to talk about how we can make it on
the road as an FPO player and what that journey
looks like. So in this episode, we have ConA joining
(00:40):
as a co host, and then we also have a
very special guest, Stacy Ronsley, joining us. Hi Stacy, Well, hello,
thanks for having me, Thanks for coming on. How goes it?
What are you guys up to? Oh?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Well, we just woke up. Well I just woke up.
You probably woke up before me. Got some brecky and
so the day.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Is just so nice.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I've been up for several hours. I edited some videos
from our Prat Girls practice round yesterday. That was really fun.
Everybody go check out our Instagram. We have a few
fun little videos coming out. And then just enjoying the
Vermont weather Man. Like I just sat on the porch
enjoyed the fall colors and it's just like a crisp,
(01:23):
perfect morning air, So.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
That sounds awesome. I'm currently in San Diego. I'm going
to be flying home later today, and the weather has
been like sixty five to seventy five and I'm in
the city, so like the sun's not beating down on you.
So it's just like kind of like what you said.
It's not as cool and crisp as GMC, probably, but
it's still very nice.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Beach mornings are the best, though, especially in San Diego.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah. Yeah, it's been really nice, but I'm also excited
to go home. The way that I structured this is
that I was going to moderate. I want you guys
both to give your take on the question, and then
I might occasionally jump in if I have something to add.
Because I did used to play, I don't anymore, so
if I have something to add, I will. So how
(02:09):
do you even get started as a touring pro? Think
all the way back to how you got started in
like local tournaments and talking about the progression of how
you could have landed a full time position on the tour.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Well, for me, I started playing disc golf initially in
twenty nineteen. I was still playing Ultimate frisbee also, so
I was kind of going back and forth and I
got all my information from yours, truly, Christine Jennings. I
had no idea what I was doing. And I remember
like she was the closest local pro to me, and
so I messaged her all the time, and she was
(02:43):
so nice still is one of my close friends, and
like be nice, Kona, and she honestly looked like gave
me the whole spiel of everything you need to know.
And at the time, so when I started wanting to
go pro, at the time, COVID had like just hit,
so all the touring stops were done in this like
(03:07):
at Waco and stuff, and so I kind of hopped
on later in the year in twenty twenty when all
of the events were coming back, I think a lot
of people weren't signing up still because they were a
little nervous because of COVID, So I think there were
a few more openings. So my first tournament ever was
Diglo in twenty twenty, and I got to meet Hanna McBeth.
(03:28):
What a first tournament, I know, I know, oh my gosh,
like diving well to the.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Tour, Hey is that when we were talking on the
picnic bench. Was that that year that was your first year?
I think, so ConA came over and like we kind
of like introduced you to Conah go wh.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I know, wow that cute. And then after that was
alledged done. So I did two events that year and
then I personally just kind of got lucky. I was
sponsored by a local retail shop, Indie disc Supply, and
they were willing to pay for all my entry fees
and I had to work in the off season. I
(04:08):
saved up about ten thousand dollars and went on the
road in my little tear Drop camper and my Honda Element.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Your tear I do remember that it was so small.
Stacey's a very tall person. Everyone in that tear Drop
was very small.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I am five eleven and a half and my sleeping
space was six foot one and like wide.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Luckily you didn't have Lola with you then, mm hmmm,
I wish you had Unluckily, yeah, I guess.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
But yeah, for me as a touring pro, I kind
of was playing more like pro events, but it was
like playing smaller stuff, not like disc golf Pro Tour.
And then I got sponsored by Eneva and moved to California,
got super involved in like in a factory store, worked there,
and then Colton obviously was like, hey, like come on
the road, And I didn't really know what tour life
(05:02):
was really like back then. It looked very luxurious and
everyone looked like they were just best friends and it
was just like this amazing tour and we'll definitely go
into you know, what life is truly like on the road.
But yeah, Colton was my introduction to the road and
we've been on it for five six years now, and
I think it takes a special person to be a
(05:23):
touring professional because you're you're moving all the time, you
don't see your family a ton, and it's just it's
a different kind of lifestyle and you have to be
very adaptable. So it's a different kind of life.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
I mean, even now, think about how hard it is
to get on the tour now, even for the FBO players,
you have to play all the Q series to get
enough touring points to get up here. And I feel
like we got in at a lucky time.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yeah, I agree, And also like as an FPO player,
not only like being a woman on the road, but
with us not getting paid as much me, touring is
a little bit harder for us because you know, like
you were saying, the men get paid more.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, I'd say if you look at how the women
and men stack up, at least financially a little bit,
the top tier men make double to quadruple what the
top tier women make, and then you just it trickles down,
so like the top tier or the Tier two women
make about half of what the Tier two men make,
(06:25):
and then Tier three, I mean, you're surviving off peanut
butter jelly sandwiches. I think, both for the men and
the women, but women especially, which which is why I
think we're really fortunate and lucky that disc off pro
tour cares abous enough to pay out fifty percent of
the FPO field. I think if they didn't, we'd see
a drastic drop in amount of women that can afford
(06:46):
the tour. And having to work in the off season
is totally fine and a definite way that I think
you pay your dues, I guess, but if you don't
have a savings built up and you're not willing to
deplete those savings as a Tier three player, you're going
to struggle. You have to be willing to burn through
(07:07):
what you make in the off season.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
It's difficult. Yeah, I think salary. Another thing for me
that I experienced was even the bonuses that you make
from the manufacturers. Maybe it's just the manufacturer that I
was with, but yeah, the bonuses are also structured differently
for MPO FPO, true, and I think that's.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Why a lot of players will see them like on
tour for like two or three years, and then we'll
see them transferred to more of like a like an
A tier tour where they're more home based and instead
doing smaller events where they get the bonuses from their team.
Because on the disc Golf Pro Tour it might be
harder to get that podium finish for an extra five
(07:46):
hundred bucks. But when you're playing the smaller E tiers,
closer to home, closer to family, a little bit more comfortable,
don't have to maybe pay as much for like travel
and like staying, you're making that extra bonus on top
of it if you win. So there's just there's different
aspects of like tour life and then like you know,
like mini tour life where you're back home. Obviously when
(08:08):
it comes like spotlight when you're on tour you're gonna
have more of an opportunity to show your face and
for people to know you rather than when you're back home.
But it might be different mentally and physically.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah. Yeah, when I was playing, I definitely did a mixture.
I was never like full time on the tour, but
Bart and I did like the regional thing because of
exactly what ConA said, My B tier at A Tier
bonuses would be more beneficial to me financially than to
spend you know, all the money to go over to
the West Coast and things like that. I also just
wanted to add because Stacey told mentioned that I was
(08:42):
helpful in my starting process. I didn't talk to ConA
when I got started, but ConA was my influence to
start posting on instagramluenced in each other. Oh yeah, so yeah.
ConA wasn't like holding my hand through the process of
becoming a pro, but she like helped me inspired me
to post a lot on Instagram, which actually helped me
(09:03):
in the long run.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
So ye, yeah, We're all very helpful girls have been girls.
So I have a question for you, Christine, was did
you have like more fun doing the local A Tier
swing than you did on the disc off pro tour
swing or was it just kind of both had mutually
beneficial and yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
The ladder both had. I'm motivated by money and I
feel like a lot of people that know me know that.
So in terms of having fun, I actually had more
fun on the pro tour because, like the experience is
just so much more elaborate. Right, It's this big thing.
But when it comes to like affordability, I would probably
(09:41):
have been in the negative at the end of my
career if I would have played on the tour full
time versus reaping those like bonus benefits from doing the
regional tour that I did. So I made it work
for me beneficially, but yeah, it would have.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Been more fun just to be on the full tour.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
So we're going to sign into sponsorships. As we're talking
about all these bonuses and whatnot, what kind of advice
do you guys have for someone looking to do the
same as you, and what should they look for in sponsorships?
And something that I want you guys to touch on
is looking for like more meaningful partnerships rather than having
a ton of you know, little affiliate codes here and there,
(10:25):
like talk about the different values in that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So when I first started getting sponsored, I had a
conversation with my dad, and obviously my dad is in
of a marketing director and he's been working in marketing
like his whole life. And we sat down back when
I was like getting into social media, and he's like,
you know, you should start building your brand, and you know,
I'd say I was one of the first few people
to have my own logo and like really like promoting
(10:49):
myself and like showing people who I was. And I
think the best advice I could give to someone is
creating your own brand, which you know, I think it
takes a lot, It takes a lot of ability. I
think it takes a lot of openness and being willing
to share with a lot of people your experiences. But
I think a lot of people in this world are
(11:09):
searching for that. They want to relate to someone, but
they also want to be inspired by someone. So I
would say building your brand. And also when I sat
down with my dad, part of that conversation was you
should invest in companies that like can give you a
bigger amount and a bigger amount of spotlight, rather than
(11:29):
investing in these tiny companies that can give you a
tiny amounts, and then when you have to promote them
or create content for them, you're creating all of this
random content that probably isn't quality anyways. It's like because
you're making so much of it for so many different people.
And I also feel like you're not able to give
(11:50):
that company the recognition they deserve when you have seven
other companies you have to promote. So personally, I think
really investing in a few really big ones and really
promoting them the best you can.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Yeah, I'm actually personally running into that issue this year.
I have like eight or nine sponsors this year. They're
all really small. Yeah, I know, I know. I don't
even know that I know, and I've done a terrible
job of advertising for all of them. I actually had
a conversation with one of them a couple months ago
where they were like, yeah, we just feel like you
aren't promoting our products, and I was like, well, I
it's like all over my feed, but I guess I'm
(12:27):
not specifically saying like go to the site and buy
this thing, and I like that, Yeah, it's ianic. I
don't want my feed to be one hundred percent advertisements, yeah,
because everyone will leave me. Please don't go. It's just
it's definitely different this year. I had a good year
(12:48):
last year, so a lot of people reached out to
me this year. But it is nice to have the
benefits of having I would say multiple sponsorships like that
is you have more people kind of in your corner.
I have a lot of people rooting for me, not
necessarily just for their business.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
I have.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
I chose specifically this year all the companies that are
kind of smaller so that it is more of like
a family feel instead of more just like you're just
another number. Yeah. Yeah, and I'm having a lot of
a lot more fun with it than I have in
years past, where it did feel like very corporate, very
like kind of pushy, and this year it's actually been
(13:27):
really nice. But I have run into that issue where
I haven't been able to promote each one as much
as i'd like to without making my Instagram completely ads.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
So yeah, that's something that took me a while to
figure out. Like the first couple of years when you're
starting and like your Instagram is growing, like people reach
out to you and you're just like stoked to have
someone that wants to sponsor you. So then you say
yes to all of these things, and then suddenly you
have like way too many and when they all most
of these companies have like posting requirements, so then the
(13:57):
posting requirements just kind of like get too heavy on
your feed. And then like you guys said, you know,
if you have ten sponsors that need three posts a month,
your entire month, thirty days is full of sponsorship posts.
And I also think and that just looks nice.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I also feel like it gets exhausting for the touring
players because it's like you're trying to practice and you're like,
you know, traveling to all these events, and then you're like, crap,
like I need to put out a post and like
I need to go do this real quick in the
middle of practice. So I think like it also takes
from the mental aspect of being on the road.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Oh, absolutely wholeheartedly agree with that. I think when in
the middle of practice rounds, you're you only have a
certain amount of time to figure out what you're throwing
on each hole, figure out what your focus point is,
how you want to play it. Are you playing it
for par Is, this the hole that you want to
be aggressive on or not. There's so many variables that
go into deciding how you're going to play a hole
(14:50):
in a tournament, and there's so much focus that goes
into practice as well, and when you break up practice
to make it about advertisements and making videos, and it's
almost like you have to dedicate a whole new day
or a whole new time frame to focus on that.
And then also everyone's practicing the course at the same
time as you, so there's constantly backups. You're throwing in
(15:12):
front of the people, Like there's a group in front
of you, a group behind you, and you don't want
to make the people behind you wait too long, but
you're also waiting on people in front of you. But
you also need to practice, so you know, you want
to throw like six practice puts from different spots on
the green, but then people are waiting on you, and
so you feel rushed and you're just going on to
the next one. And it's very difficult to work in
(15:35):
making sure your social media is up to par pun intended.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Nah, Yeah, for sure. One thing I wanted to just
mention before we get off the sponsorship topic is Emily Weatherman.
So Emily Weatherman is a good example of someone that
does not have a manufacturer especially for its successful as
she husband and I don't know, I don't know how
I feel. I think I commend her for not taking
(16:02):
a manufacturer sponsorship. I think her idea is that she
is looking for, like, you know, she has to prove
herself and then get a big contract, which is like
not something that we've heard of before. Typically it's just
you keep, you know, grabbing these small sponsorships and you
work your way up, and I feel like she's doing
it a little bit backwards, which is interesting.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Yeah, I've talked to her about it quite a bit.
I think the main reason that she hasn't picked one
yet is mainly because it's towards the end of the year.
She doesn't want to change her bag. She's having a
lot of successes here and jumping on to a contract
mid season. Changing your bag mid season is an adjustment,
(16:42):
I'll say. And she's being very particular about who she
wants to go to, what she's looking for. She's not
just going to take a sponsorship to get a sponsorship.
I think she understands what value she brings and how
much success she's going to have in her future, and
she's trying to set herself up for multiple years instead
of what looks good right now.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Yeah, and I've also heard from Emily too, Like you know,
you're talking about the financials, about touring pros, so most
people can't tour without like a sponsorship. She was given gifted,
I believe, a decent amount of money at the beginning
of the year from a very kind individual to help
her with her tour. So that has helped her be
(17:24):
able to tour to people who have no idea how
she's on the road. That is I think how so very.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Helpful for her. Yeah, kind of like a situation kind
of similar to mine. Got lucky someone you know, went
out of their way to invest in me and at
the same situation really kind.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Yeah, I want to jump into planning for the tour,
so this tour schedule comes out, it's already out now
for twenty twenty five. How do you guys manage to
make your schedule and decide where you're going to be playing?
Do you just decide to play the whole tour? Is
there financial aspects you consider? What is that? Like?
Speaker 3 (17:58):
I think my only planning as if I'm going to
Europe this year, I plan to do literally all of it.
I planned to go to every single event. I planned
to go to Europe. Unfortunately I did not get a
qualifier position to get into European Open, so I did
not go to Europe this year. The injuries just kind
of made this year a little less than desirable. But
(18:25):
I plan on just doing the whole tour and live
in my van and just go from there.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Sorry, everyone, I'm confused because Stacy Ronsley's been telling us
that she might not be touring next year, and now
she's saying she's doing a Fall Tower full.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Too for this year. I didn't know if I was
ready to announce that yet.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
I was so confused.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Okay, for twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
For twenty twenty four she did full tour, Yes, okay,
same so yeah, same here. I just when I'm looking
at tour, obviously we're under contract for I'm under contract
for several different years, so it's kind of just like,
all right, let's hope that the tour is good next year.
And I think this upcoming year we talked about it
in episodes before, we're having a few more off weeks,
which is nice. My tour might be a little bit different.
(19:07):
I might be doing more media rather than playing, but
It's just like, I don't think anyone really knows what
their true tour will be like until January, because like
manufacturers might be dropping some of their players or might
be getting a new manufacturer. Who knows if they'll pay
for all of your events. That's part of you know,
(19:30):
I'm my sponsorship, you know, like you know, some people
get their tournaments paid for, So I think that's kind
of right now. I don't know if everyone's really planning
quite yet, like they're like, oh, yeah, I'll definitely do
that hopefully if I have a sponsorship.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
M h yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
For me personally, I won't be shopping next year. I'm
gonna hopefully stay with cast Classes as long as I can.
They've been very good to me. I love you cast Class.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
For a while, I was gonna go where I was
going with that either. But maybe next year you might
do a full tour.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Well oh yeah, yeah. So the next year I might
be doing more local stuff, trying to be home a
little bit more often.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Maybe some TV stuff in the future for Stacey, so
stay tuned.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
I'd love to join or start a ladies league in
my hometown because there isn't one, and I'd love to
start that.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
So I wanted to ask both of you guys live
in a van, how did you guys land on that?
Because I have something to say about that.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
For my because Christine is not a camper.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Okay here, let me just start first and then you
guys can add. So bart and I, I'm fortunate to
have a partner that traveled with me because that splits
all the costs in half. Like we literally split everything
fifty to fifty when we were on the road. So
we had looked at vans when we first started dating.
And we're very particular about our comfort. So the vans
that we were looking at were like fifty to seventy
(20:56):
thousand dollars, okay, And I'm pretty culby my comfort Bartney
to space and so like the like living in tight
quarters didn't seem like a good idea. On top of
that financial investment of fifty to seventy thousand dollars, that's
like half of a house at the time that we
were looking right like five years ago. So we lived
(21:17):
in hotels and sled everything in half, and that ended
up coming out to be like two to three thousand
dollars a person a year. It might have been a
little bit cheaper. And so if you do the math
on that, we would have needed to be on the
road for ten years to make a van make sense.
And then on top of the fact that we were like,
who knows if a van would even last that long
or if we would even last that long because we
(21:37):
can be living in tight quarters for four years, which
luckily we did it because we only like toured quote
unquote for like two or three years before we just
both stopped. So how did you guys decide that a
van was the best idea?
Speaker 2 (21:53):
You know, when I first came on the road, I
was in an RV with Colton and bart so I
was with two other boys, and so it was just
like like oh no, and I camped my whole life,
like I was used to like tent camping and roughing it,
and so it was like nothing new, and I didn't
mind going in gas station restrooms. I guess, like your
your standards definitely get lower as you become a touring
(22:15):
professional disc golfer, because like in my van, I have
a tiny mirror. I can only see my face. I
cannot see the rest of my body or you know,
like you know, I'll walk outside and I'll look in
my phone and my Colton, you didn't tell me I
have a unibrow, you know what I mean. It's just
like you know, tour life. It's just you know, you
get used to how things are and if the van's
dirty or if you don't shower for a day or two.
(22:38):
But so we ended up with the transit van because
it's high roof so we can stand. It's longer so
there's more space, and it has a normal van base,
so it's like if we needed to get work done,
it's not as expensive expensive as if it was like
an RV. So that's why we chose the van. But
we're also like we've been in it for like six years.
(23:00):
To some people is just like insane because it's such
a small quarters. But like I said, like it takes
a special individual and it takes a special couple to
be on the road full time in such short quarters.
Small quarters. But also it's just like life short why not.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
What are you guys gonna do When you buy a
house and Colton's on one side of the house and
you're on the other side of the house, you'd be like.
Speaker 4 (23:21):
I miss you.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
We're gonna have to get a tiny house because I'm
going to be like so lonely and like where is he? Yeah,
it's gonna be weird.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
It's funny. I've been looking at houses and all I
keep thinking is, man, that's a lot of space to clean. Yes,
that's all I keep thinking about, so much.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Space to clean. This is true. Thanks, I'm glad you're
considering that.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Yeah, I don't know how you guys do two people
in the van. I struggle with me and a forty
five pounds dog. So I can't imagine, Like, Okay, if
you're cooking and I'm in the bed just like scrolling
or something, I need to get out and go to
the restroom. Okay, So let's say so, then I have
to be like, hey, stop cooking, please, can you go
(24:11):
to the area out of my way so that I
can get around you to go to the door to way.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
This has happened because CON's favorite thing in the world
when Colton needs to use the restroom when I'm cooking,
because I'm using the counter, I'm using the automan, and
I'm using the dresser, like to cut things on the
automan on my cutting board, and then I'm doing something
up here. And as soon as he needs to use
the restroom. I'm like, yo, bro, like I have to
move all this off of the cupboard onto this, and
(24:37):
then you have to get around me. I have to
go up front. Oh yeah, it's it's a it's amaze.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
There's only room for one.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
It's only room for one standing at a time.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Yeah, yes, it's rough.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
Well for me.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
I chose to do a van, and I wish I
got an RV instead. I would not say I am
regretting that choice. I just knowing what I know now,
I would have gotten a Class CRV instead, to have
more space, to have more climate control. I am not
a person that went camping a lot when I was
a kid, and I kind of figured, well, okay, so
(25:13):
there's pros and constant both.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
My first year I lived in a Honda Element and
that teardrop camper. That was small, okay, that was rough
in it, and that was full time. I lived in
that for eight months a year, so that was a lot.
I personally don't want to do airbnbs or hosts because
I have really bad ADHD and bringing something into the
house back into the van, the constant trips back and
(25:36):
forth from van to house, even if it was just
like a car would drive me absolutely up the wall crazy.
And the way that I leave Airbnbs is I just
throw it all in the van and then that's a
problem for future stacy to deal with. And imagine doing
that with a small like sedan. And that's like your
daily life going from house to house to house every week,
(25:56):
Like literally think about that. Every single week. You have
a new house, you're learning where everything is, you're you know,
it's just it's too much adjustment too often. I could
not do that. So, uh, my choice in getting a
van was honestly because it was the fat at the time,
it was the popular thing to do, and I liked
the benefit that you could still go through drive throughs
(26:18):
and you could pick like you could judture me eight
foot six, this is the clearance I can't go.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
I cannot go.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
Tall, that's too tall, and I can fit in a
parking spot. And I think that's a huge benefit. And
I kind of like that it's not obvious that it's
a house camp. Yeah, where you know, someone sees, you know,
a single woman by herself getting in an r V,
you know, a little yeah, yeah, a little more scary,
(26:50):
more scary. So and I have a dog. Yes, but she's.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Too nice, friendly, too nice, be like, wow, do you
want to say hi?
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Oh my god?
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Are you guys willing to share the cost aspect of
the van, because like I was mentioning the vans that
Bart and I wanted similar to your guys as vans,
but they were they would be more decked out, and
that was like fifty to seventy thousand. We would not
have paid that all in cash. We would have financed that,
which would have probably been I don't know, I'm really
(27:26):
estimating here, like four hundred dollars a month. Maybe. So
is that payment like monthly payment situation more ideal for
you than paying for like hotels up front.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I think it's way more ideal just because, like honestly,
being in a van saves so much money compared to
like living in a house. Just like, for example, Colton
bought the van for I think like thirty forty K.
We've had it for six years or seven years, and
we're about to pay it off, So I mean less
(28:04):
than what you kind of were estimating with ten year payoff,
a little bit less than what you guys were looking at.
So that was that I would say we probably spent
like I don't know, like five grand altogether, like on
the things inside the van and on top so like
the solar, the batteries, you know, all the expensive stuff
(28:24):
on top of Like but like we use like dressers,
like things that we already had and like screwed them
in there. So like that goes on to that. But
like we only pay like two hundred and fifty for
insurance a month. In his car payments like two hundred
bucks a month, so it's like four hundred and fifty
bucks for everything altogether, which seem bad? Oh is that
(28:48):
face a lot?
Speaker 3 (28:49):
I'm jealous of that.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Oh you're jealous of that?
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Yeah, what's yours? My van payment is like seven hundred
and thirty a month.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
How many years did you finance that for?
Speaker 3 (28:57):
I don't remember.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
It must have been. I mean auto loans are much shorter,
like I have a three years, we have whatever six years.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
How are you paying that much?
Speaker 3 (29:10):
I don't know. It was a twenty twenty one. It
only had twenty six miles on it.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Maybe that's why.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Yeah, I bought it thirty okay, I bought it for
forty two thousand and then. Yeah, but my insurance is
less than yours. My insurance is like because I'm not
paying insurance for the renovation on the inside, Like I don't,
that's not insured. It's just like the vehicle, so it's
only like one hundred and twenty or something, you know.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
But we are just like a home like an RV,
Like we're paying an RV, which made it cheaper. Oh
see you should look into that. Yeah, because ours has
like living quarters.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
And see that's a big reason why I regret getting
the van, because I wish I got an RV so
that it would be less.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
I think you can classify it as an RV. Okay, okay,
I could maybe save you a fews.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
Hey, let's go.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Oh yeah, I paid forty two thousand for the van itself,
and I paid seventeen thousand for the renovations on the inside.
Don't get me started on that got screwed over so
robitt hole right, Yeah, it was awful anyway. So I'd
say total, including like extras and stuff, I've probably spent
sixty five to seventy thousand on the van. I worked
(30:24):
two off seasons. I worked very hard for two off
seasons to afford the van.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
But like the difference between I think us and Christine,
because Christine looked at it from a super financial standpoint,
is we weighed the passion for playing disc golf more
than we did the money for sure, Like we saw, like,
you know, this is what I want to do right now.
I'm enjoying this. I have a passion, and I think
(30:51):
I have the potential to be really good. Where Christine
was like, I think I have the potential, but this
isn't the future that like I'm looking for.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
You know, I agree, So you got.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
To weigh the way it.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Yeah, for me, it was about the experience. I would
have paid for the experience every time, even if because
I mean, you only live once. This isn't something that
this isn't an adventure I'm going to be able to
repeat in the future. So for me, it was like
you know what money comes and goes live this to
the fullest while you can. Little did I know that
I was not meant for vanlife. I am not very
(31:34):
good at it.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Yeah, that goes like straight into like kind of our
next topic of like you know everyone from the outside,
which you know, like we say, we're very grateful for
this life. We get to travel. We've I've been to
all fifty states. I've played disc golf in all fifty states.
You've been to all fifty I've been all fifty. Oh, yes, ma'am.
But I think what people don't get to see are
(31:55):
like the hardships, the struggles when it comes to like
creating friendships on the road. Like everyone from the outside perspective,
like everyone's like, wow, everyone's friends on the road. Like
everyone looks like they get along. It looks like a family,
and like to a certain point, yes, especially in like
certain situations where like someone needs help with their van,
like people are helpful. But like from my own experience,
(32:19):
and I'm sure Stacy could definitely relate, it's just like
it's hard seeing some people every single weekend. Like let's
say I'm friends with Stacy, but we have an issue.
Well I have to see her next week, and I
may even have to play with her next week. So
it's just like you know, working through those like super
interesting relationships with people on the road. And like there's clicks, man,
(32:41):
there are so many club and like you if you're
not in their click, you're not you're not hanging out
with us. Yeah, she can't sit with us, she can't
play with us. So you know, there's there's that aspect
of it as well, and you know, I would I'll
let Stacy talk. But it can get lonely, you know.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Yeah, it definitely gets very lonely on the road. I
personally have jumped through multiple clicks. I would say I've
been through all of them, and it's hard to find
the people that you could spend a ton of time
with consistently year after year. There's definitely little intricacies, little
(33:20):
family dramas, because I mean, this is there's no escape
these people. They're literally your coworkers, they're you're outside of
work friends, they're your dating pool, they are literally this
community is all you have when you're on the road,
and you can get to know more local people, but
(33:40):
it's kind of different because everyone kinda it's a different dynamic.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Will you see him for a week and then you
say people.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Yeah, and then you're out, Yeah, see you later. It's
completely different dynamic. And so there, Yeah, there's just no
escape these people. And we love them. We you know,
it is a tight knit family and I think you know,
you have certain uncles, cousins that you just kind of
a there's some fable that you just kind of, you know,
(34:07):
you just kind of nod and wave, and there's other
people that you don't you go up and hug them
almost every single time you see them. But it definitely
gets very lonely when you don't have like the person
or people that you do everything with, which is what
you know, I've had troubles with and what I'm experiencing.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
So outside of van luxuries and relationships, how about like
your diet or exercise routines, practice and fatigue, Like how
is how does that play in with your whole situation?
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Yeah, I mean obviously we're we're athletes, so it's like
we need to be good about our diet. But like personally,
like there was a week where we were driving so
much and I wasn't eating very well, and like that's
when like I had my gall bladder attack, and so
it's just like it's it's easy to kind of lose
track of your diet sometimes when you're traveling so much,
and like you don't want to stop and cook for
(35:06):
an hour, so it's like, oh, I'll just grab a
McDonald I don't like McDonald's, but you'll stop and grab
one of these things real quick because it's easy, but
like you're not getting what you need. So it's like
I think I eat the best from like Wednesday to
Sunday when we're in the area. I've established my living situation,
I've established my kitchen, and like I have my my
(35:29):
everything for the week, like groceriy wise, because I think
like Monday Tuesday is like travel day and like grocery day,
and then the rest I do a lot better. As
for like exercise, man, I would love to be like
Rebecca Cox buff. We talk about this all the time.
We were late being buff to Rebecca Cox way too often,
(35:49):
but like I would love to be Rebecca Becca Cox
top like buff, but like we're on the road, we
have to do practice rounds, we have to do tournament rounds,
and like it's hard to do hard workout sessions without
being super sore the next day. So I think that's
going to be more of an off season thing for
me to get into. Is like get more of a
routine of working out and then keep it during the
(36:10):
year so I'm not as sore. But like that's like
a big thing. Is like I want to be more
buff and like in like shape fit, but it's like
it's tough to do that when you're practicing.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
For sure. It's really really hard to build a routine
when you're in a new place every single week, because
you have to force yourself to set a routine at
a new location. So your new routine this week, let's okay,
So for example, I'm staying five minutes away from the course.
Other tournaments, I'm staying fifteen to twenty minutes away from
the course. Other tournaments, I'm staying on the course Planet Fitness,
(36:43):
where I shower is sometimes five minutes away, usually about
fifteen to twenty minutes away, And then you have to
get there, get all your stuff, walk in, and by
the time you're getting all your stuff, you do not
want to work out. You're so tired. Like everything, especially
specifically with van life, everything takes at least two times
(37:06):
longer to accomplish. So you also have to like map
out okay, this is the time. Okay, Planet Fitness closes
at this time, so I need to get there before
you know this certain amount of time to It's just
the planning of your day to day is exhausting, and
like I said, every week it's a new routine that
(37:26):
you have to figure out and get used to and
by the time I get used to my routine at
a new place, it's time to go to the next place.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
I mean, Christine, that was one of your biggest things
with tour life was like you were going through some
health stuff and it was like I couldn't get my
body into a routine, right.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Yeah, because I like to try to work out like
three or four times a week. And at the time
I was touring, I had an Orange Thory membership, which
is hit workouts. It's like a sixty minute hit workout.
You just go in, they tell you everything to do.
It's great. I was also doing weightlifting, so typically if
I was staying in a hotel, I would try to
find a hotel that had a gym in it so
(38:13):
I didn't have to like leave somewhere to go. And
sure it's just like dumbbells and like basic things, but
that was good enough for me to like get the
muscles going. And even then it's like if once you
get to a course to like Idlewild or Eglow, you
do a practice round and you don't want to freaking workout,
or like vice versa, I don't want to work out
because I don't want to exhaust myself before I go
(38:33):
practice a course like Iwow Diglow, So like when you
want to those parts of the tour, it just became
very difficult. And then, like Kono was mentioning Monday and
Tuesday or your travel day, so it's like, do you
want to try to break up your travel day and
work out? But then at this point, I haven't worked
out in two weeks, so I'm going to be really sore,
and it's like all of these things to consider just
to try to get a workout in was something that
(38:55):
was very difficult for me because I value my ex
exercize for sure. Yeah, it was hard. So playing twenty
plus events a year for you guys, since you typically
just play the entire Disco Pro tour, how is this
as a whole in terms of like your thoughts on
the schedule, thoughts on all of your driving, thoughts on
(39:18):
the time off between events, Like what do you think
about the schedule?
Speaker 3 (39:22):
I think I'm tired. I think I'm very exhausted and
burned out, especially when we get to this part of
the year. Luckily we're in Vermont and it's beautiful and
that kind of balances it out and makes it a
little easier, but twenty events, yeah, the whole stretch.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
So yeah, MC and MVP are like very nice for
like the last couple events for sure.
Speaker 3 (39:44):
And I think, I don't know, it's just it's a
very long season and there are certain events that you
like playing, certain events you don't like playing. But then
you have to think about the fact that every single
event you are at trying to be at complete focus,
determination to succeed, and you don't really get time to
just be like, you know what, I don't even care.
(40:06):
I just want to relax and enjoy my time. There's
no loll in the season to regroup if you're especially
if you're doing the whole season, and it's it's very tiring.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
It gets tiring in the aspect of like being thrown
across the country like here, let's start in the Midwest,
so and then we're gonna go over here to you know,
the West coast, and then we're going to go here
to like the East coast. Like I feel like we
kind of get thrown around a little bit. So I
just think like that can be a little bit exhausting.
And then we obviously everyone always talks about having more
(40:40):
off time in between But I.
Speaker 1 (40:43):
Was gonna ask you, so, what would the ideal situation be,
like less events, more time in between events, which I
feel like unless you do less events, you can't have
more time in between events just because of the way
the schedules lay out. So what is like your ideal situation?
Speaker 2 (40:58):
I think it'd be cool if like DGPT could take
out a few events and then like really like promote,
really like invest in like a like a smaller amount,
and then that way, not only would the players be
like time less tired, you know, more excited, but like
there would be more money involved maybe and maybe more
(41:19):
you know spotlight, and also like our DGPT employees wouldn't
be so burnt out, and then like there could be
more social media and advertising that could go into the
event without it being like the next week, the next week,
the next week, you know.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
Yeah. Yeah, more quality over quantity, yes, which they did
downscale that when they did when they got rid of
the Silver events and they turned them into the Q
Series because the DGPT crew had to go to the
Silver events when those were happening. So that was like
thirty events a year men. Yeah, And at that point
that was before like because the Q Series now, I
(41:57):
think it takes away, like if you guys played the
Q Series, you don't receive points because the Q Series
is for newcomers to where the Silver Series was different.
The Silver Series points did count though, like some of
the mid level players would go to the Silver Series,
which then they were actually playing thirty events a year,
which is way more so.
Speaker 3 (42:15):
See, I like the way that the tour kind of
did it this year. Like what you were saying, the
Q Series don't get us points, so those are more
optional events, but they are en route for the most part.
So I think I love that we got a choice
this year. It felt like if you wanted to play
a ton of events, those options were available to you.
(42:36):
If you wanted to take more time off, that option
is also available to you. I think this year's probably,
for me, in my opinion, the most friendly tour so far.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
I'm out of questions. Is there anything else that you
guys wanted to mention or talk about on your road life?
Speaker 4 (42:57):
No?
Speaker 2 (42:57):
I mean I think we covered a lot and I
think we get people a lot of insight that maybe
they weren't aware of, especially when it comes to like
tour life and tour culture. Overall, I think all three
of us can say we're super grateful to have had
like the opportunity to do the job that we have had.
You know, we get to travel, Like we said, we're
(43:19):
in Vermont right now. I got to wake up at
seven am and look at some fall trees and later
I'm gonna go play some disc golf. So it's like
super grateful for our lives and our opportunity. We just
hope that we can be you know, supported and you know,
given the opportunity to keep on keep on doing it.
Speaker 3 (43:36):
So it's been an amazing experience for sure. Being able
to be on the road and do disc golf for
a living has been the adventure I think, the greatest
adventure of my lifetime. I don't think I'll do anything
more exciting or.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
What's the word I'm looking for or memorable.
Speaker 3 (43:56):
Memorable, that's the exact word. Thank you so much than
this and everything that I hoped it would be, as
far as how it feels to be out here and
the adventure that I go on. And I'm just so
grateful for sure that I was ever able to do this,
and it's it's been so fun to get to know
you guys, I.
Speaker 4 (44:15):
Know.
Speaker 1 (44:17):
Oh yeah, oh that's so sweet. Yeah. Hopefully we were
all able to shed some light on the different options
that there might be, different scenarios, different feelings that we
all experience during the touring life. So thank you both
so much for sharing your life and all of your
experiences on the road. And thank you stay Sy for
(44:38):
coming on in the show. It's always nice to have you.
So I catch up with us next week as we'll
be going over how things shake out at our first
DGPT playoff event at the Green Mountain Championships.
Speaker 4 (44:50):
Thanks anybody,
What is Up? Party? People? Welcome back to the podcast.
My name is Christine Jennings.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
And I'm ConA Montgomery, and this week we're.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Going to change it up a little bit and talk
about touring as an FPO player. So a while ago
we had an episode where Paul talked about getting sponsored,
and I wanted to dive in a little bit deeper
today to talk about how we can make it on
the road as an FPO player and what that journey
looks like. So in this episode, we have ConA joining
(00:40):
as a co host, and then we also have a
very special guest, Stacy Ronsley, joining us. Hi Stacy, Well, hello,
thanks for having me, Thanks for coming on. How goes it?
What are you guys up to? Oh?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Well, we just woke up. Well I just woke up.
You probably woke up before me. Got some brecky and
so the day.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Is just so nice.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I've been up for several hours. I edited some videos
from our Prat Girls practice round yesterday. That was really fun.
Everybody go check out our Instagram. We have a few
fun little videos coming out. And then just enjoying the
Vermont weather Man. Like I just sat on the porch
enjoyed the fall colors and it's just like a crisp,
(01:23):
perfect morning air, So.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
That sounds awesome. I'm currently in San Diego. I'm going
to be flying home later today, and the weather has
been like sixty five to seventy five and I'm in
the city, so like the sun's not beating down on you.
So it's just like kind of like what you said.
It's not as cool and crisp as GMC, probably, but
it's still very nice.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Beach mornings are the best, though, especially in San Diego.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah. Yeah, it's been really nice, but I'm also excited
to go home. The way that I structured this is
that I was going to moderate. I want you guys
both to give your take on the question, and then
I might occasionally jump in if I have something to add.
Because I did used to play, I don't anymore, so
if I have something to add, I will. So how
(02:09):
do you even get started as a touring pro? Think
all the way back to how you got started in
like local tournaments and talking about the progression of how
you could have landed a full time position on the tour.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Well, for me, I started playing disc golf initially in
twenty nineteen. I was still playing Ultimate frisbee also, so
I was kind of going back and forth and I
got all my information from yours, truly, Christine Jennings. I
had no idea what I was doing. And I remember
like she was the closest local pro to me, and
so I messaged her all the time, and she was
(02:43):
so nice still is one of my close friends, and
like be nice, Kona, and she honestly looked like gave
me the whole spiel of everything you need to know.
And at the time, so when I started wanting to
go pro, at the time, COVID had like just hit,
so all the touring stops were done in this like
(03:07):
at Waco and stuff, and so I kind of hopped
on later in the year in twenty twenty when all
of the events were coming back, I think a lot
of people weren't signing up still because they were a
little nervous because of COVID, So I think there were
a few more openings. So my first tournament ever was
Diglo in twenty twenty, and I got to meet Hanna McBeth.
(03:28):
What a first tournament, I know, I know, oh my gosh,
like diving well to the.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Tour, Hey is that when we were talking on the
picnic bench. Was that that year that was your first year?
I think, so ConA came over and like we kind
of like introduced you to Conah go wh.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I know, wow that cute. And then after that was
alledged done. So I did two events that year and
then I personally just kind of got lucky. I was
sponsored by a local retail shop, Indie disc Supply, and
they were willing to pay for all my entry fees
and I had to work in the off season. I
(04:08):
saved up about ten thousand dollars and went on the
road in my little tear Drop camper and my Honda Element.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Your tear I do remember that it was so small.
Stacey's a very tall person. Everyone in that tear Drop
was very small.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I am five eleven and a half and my sleeping
space was six foot one and like wide.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Luckily you didn't have Lola with you then, mm hmmm,
I wish you had Unluckily, yeah, I guess.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
But yeah, for me as a touring pro, I kind
of was playing more like pro events, but it was
like playing smaller stuff, not like disc golf Pro Tour.
And then I got sponsored by Eneva and moved to California,
got super involved in like in a factory store, worked there,
and then Colton obviously was like, hey, like come on
the road, And I didn't really know what tour life
(05:02):
was really like back then. It looked very luxurious and
everyone looked like they were just best friends and it
was just like this amazing tour and we'll definitely go
into you know, what life is truly like on the road.
But yeah, Colton was my introduction to the road and
we've been on it for five six years now, and
I think it takes a special person to be a
(05:23):
touring professional because you're you're moving all the time, you
don't see your family a ton, and it's just it's
a different kind of lifestyle and you have to be
very adaptable. So it's a different kind of life.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
I mean, even now, think about how hard it is
to get on the tour now, even for the FBO players,
you have to play all the Q series to get
enough touring points to get up here. And I feel
like we got in at a lucky time.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Yeah, I agree, And also like as an FPO player,
not only like being a woman on the road, but
with us not getting paid as much me, touring is
a little bit harder for us because you know, like
you were saying, the men get paid more.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Yeah, I'd say if you look at how the women
and men stack up, at least financially a little bit,
the top tier men make double to quadruple what the
top tier women make, and then you just it trickles down,
so like the top tier or the Tier two women
make about half of what the Tier two men make,
(06:25):
and then Tier three, I mean, you're surviving off peanut
butter jelly sandwiches. I think, both for the men and
the women, but women especially, which which is why I
think we're really fortunate and lucky that disc off pro
tour cares abous enough to pay out fifty percent of
the FPO field. I think if they didn't, we'd see
a drastic drop in amount of women that can afford
(06:46):
the tour. And having to work in the off season
is totally fine and a definite way that I think
you pay your dues, I guess, but if you don't
have a savings built up and you're not willing to
deplete those savings as a Tier three player, you're going
to struggle. You have to be willing to burn through
(07:07):
what you make in the off season.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
It's difficult. Yeah, I think salary. Another thing for me
that I experienced was even the bonuses that you make
from the manufacturers. Maybe it's just the manufacturer that I
was with, but yeah, the bonuses are also structured differently
for MPO FPO, true, and I think that's.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Why a lot of players will see them like on
tour for like two or three years, and then we'll
see them transferred to more of like a like an
A tier tour where they're more home based and instead
doing smaller events where they get the bonuses from their team.
Because on the disc Golf Pro Tour it might be
harder to get that podium finish for an extra five
(07:46):
hundred bucks. But when you're playing the smaller E tiers,
closer to home, closer to family, a little bit more comfortable,
don't have to maybe pay as much for like travel
and like staying, you're making that extra bonus on top
of it if you win. So there's just there's different
aspects of like tour life and then like you know,
like mini tour life where you're back home. Obviously when
(08:08):
it comes like spotlight when you're on tour you're gonna
have more of an opportunity to show your face and
for people to know you rather than when you're back home.
But it might be different mentally and physically.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah. Yeah, when I was playing, I definitely did a mixture.
I was never like full time on the tour, but
Bart and I did like the regional thing because of
exactly what ConA said, My B tier at A Tier
bonuses would be more beneficial to me financially than to
spend you know, all the money to go over to
the West Coast and things like that. I also just
wanted to add because Stacey told mentioned that I was
(08:42):
helpful in my starting process. I didn't talk to ConA
when I got started, but ConA was my influence to
start posting on instagramluenced in each other. Oh yeah, so yeah.
ConA wasn't like holding my hand through the process of
becoming a pro, but she like helped me inspired me
to post a lot on Instagram, which actually helped me
(09:03):
in the long run.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
So ye, yeah, We're all very helpful girls have been girls.
So I have a question for you, Christine, was did
you have like more fun doing the local A Tier
swing than you did on the disc off pro tour
swing or was it just kind of both had mutually
beneficial and yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
The ladder both had. I'm motivated by money and I
feel like a lot of people that know me know that.
So in terms of having fun, I actually had more
fun on the pro tour because, like the experience is
just so much more elaborate. Right, It's this big thing.
But when it comes to like affordability, I would probably
(09:41):
have been in the negative at the end of my
career if I would have played on the tour full
time versus reaping those like bonus benefits from doing the
regional tour that I did. So I made it work
for me beneficially, but yeah, it would have.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Been more fun just to be on the full tour.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
So we're going to sign into sponsorships. As we're talking
about all these bonuses and whatnot, what kind of advice
do you guys have for someone looking to do the
same as you, and what should they look for in sponsorships?
And something that I want you guys to touch on
is looking for like more meaningful partnerships rather than having
a ton of you know, little affiliate codes here and there,
(10:25):
like talk about the different values in that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
So when I first started getting sponsored, I had a
conversation with my dad, and obviously my dad is in
of a marketing director and he's been working in marketing
like his whole life. And we sat down back when
I was like getting into social media, and he's like,
you know, you should start building your brand, and you know,
I'd say I was one of the first few people
to have my own logo and like really like promoting
(10:49):
myself and like showing people who I was. And I
think the best advice I could give to someone is
creating your own brand, which you know, I think it
takes a lot, It takes a lot of ability. I
think it takes a lot of openness and being willing
to share with a lot of people your experiences. But
I think a lot of people in this world are
(11:09):
searching for that. They want to relate to someone, but
they also want to be inspired by someone. So I
would say building your brand. And also when I sat
down with my dad, part of that conversation was you
should invest in companies that like can give you a
bigger amount and a bigger amount of spotlight, rather than
(11:29):
investing in these tiny companies that can give you a
tiny amounts, and then when you have to promote them
or create content for them, you're creating all of this
random content that probably isn't quality anyways. It's like because
you're making so much of it for so many different people.
And I also feel like you're not able to give
(11:50):
that company the recognition they deserve when you have seven
other companies you have to promote. So personally, I think
really investing in a few really big ones and really
promoting them the best you can.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Yeah, I'm actually personally running into that issue this year.
I have like eight or nine sponsors this year. They're
all really small. Yeah, I know, I know. I don't
even know that I know, and I've done a terrible
job of advertising for all of them. I actually had
a conversation with one of them a couple months ago
where they were like, yeah, we just feel like you
aren't promoting our products, and I was like, well, I
it's like all over my feed, but I guess I'm
(12:27):
not specifically saying like go to the site and buy
this thing, and I like that, Yeah, it's ianic. I
don't want my feed to be one hundred percent advertisements, yeah,
because everyone will leave me. Please don't go. It's just
it's definitely different this year. I had a good year
(12:48):
last year, so a lot of people reached out to
me this year. But it is nice to have the
benefits of having I would say multiple sponsorships like that
is you have more people kind of in your corner.
I have a lot of people rooting for me, not
necessarily just for their business.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
I have.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
I chose specifically this year all the companies that are
kind of smaller so that it is more of like
a family feel instead of more just like you're just
another number. Yeah. Yeah, and I'm having a lot of
a lot more fun with it than I have in
years past, where it did feel like very corporate, very
like kind of pushy, and this year it's actually been
(13:27):
really nice. But I have run into that issue where
I haven't been able to promote each one as much
as i'd like to without making my Instagram completely ads.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
So yeah, that's something that took me a while to
figure out. Like the first couple of years when you're
starting and like your Instagram is growing, like people reach
out to you and you're just like stoked to have
someone that wants to sponsor you. So then you say
yes to all of these things, and then suddenly you
have like way too many and when they all most
of these companies have like posting requirements, so then the
(13:57):
posting requirements just kind of like get too heavy on
your feed. And then like you guys said, you know,
if you have ten sponsors that need three posts a month,
your entire month, thirty days is full of sponsorship posts.
And I also think and that just looks nice.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I also feel like it gets exhausting for the touring
players because it's like you're trying to practice and you're like,
you know, traveling to all these events, and then you're like, crap,
like I need to put out a post and like
I need to go do this real quick in the
middle of practice. So I think like it also takes
from the mental aspect of being on the road.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Oh, absolutely wholeheartedly agree with that. I think when in
the middle of practice rounds, you're you only have a
certain amount of time to figure out what you're throwing
on each hole, figure out what your focus point is,
how you want to play it. Are you playing it
for par Is, this the hole that you want to
be aggressive on or not. There's so many variables that
go into deciding how you're going to play a hole
(14:50):
in a tournament, and there's so much focus that goes
into practice as well, and when you break up practice
to make it about advertisements and making videos, and it's
almost like you have to dedicate a whole new day
or a whole new time frame to focus on that.
And then also everyone's practicing the course at the same
time as you, so there's constantly backups. You're throwing in
(15:12):
front of the people, Like there's a group in front
of you, a group behind you, and you don't want
to make the people behind you wait too long, but
you're also waiting on people in front of you. But
you also need to practice, so you know, you want
to throw like six practice puts from different spots on
the green, but then people are waiting on you, and
so you feel rushed and you're just going on to
the next one. And it's very difficult to work in
(15:35):
making sure your social media is up to par pun intended.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Nah, Yeah, for sure. One thing I wanted to just
mention before we get off the sponsorship topic is Emily Weatherman.
So Emily Weatherman is a good example of someone that
does not have a manufacturer especially for its successful as
she husband and I don't know, I don't know how
I feel. I think I commend her for not taking
(16:02):
a manufacturer sponsorship. I think her idea is that she
is looking for, like, you know, she has to prove
herself and then get a big contract, which is like
not something that we've heard of before. Typically it's just
you keep, you know, grabbing these small sponsorships and you
work your way up, and I feel like she's doing
it a little bit backwards, which is interesting.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Yeah, I've talked to her about it quite a bit.
I think the main reason that she hasn't picked one
yet is mainly because it's towards the end of the year.
She doesn't want to change her bag. She's having a
lot of successes here and jumping on to a contract
mid season. Changing your bag mid season is an adjustment,
(16:42):
I'll say. And she's being very particular about who she
wants to go to, what she's looking for. She's not
just going to take a sponsorship to get a sponsorship.
I think she understands what value she brings and how
much success she's going to have in her future, and
she's trying to set herself up for multiple years instead
of what looks good right now.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Yeah, and I've also heard from Emily too, Like you know,
you're talking about the financials, about touring pros, so most
people can't tour without like a sponsorship. She was given gifted,
I believe, a decent amount of money at the beginning
of the year from a very kind individual to help
her with her tour. So that has helped her be
(17:24):
able to tour to people who have no idea how
she's on the road. That is I think how so very.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Helpful for her. Yeah, kind of like a situation kind
of similar to mine. Got lucky someone you know, went
out of their way to invest in me and at
the same situation really kind.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Yeah, I want to jump into planning for the tour,
so this tour schedule comes out, it's already out now
for twenty twenty five. How do you guys manage to
make your schedule and decide where you're going to be playing?
Do you just decide to play the whole tour? Is
there financial aspects you consider? What is that? Like?
Speaker 3 (17:58):
I think my only planning as if I'm going to
Europe this year, I plan to do literally all of it.
I planned to go to every single event. I planned
to go to Europe. Unfortunately I did not get a
qualifier position to get into European Open, so I did
not go to Europe this year. The injuries just kind
of made this year a little less than desirable. But
(18:25):
I plan on just doing the whole tour and live
in my van and just go from there.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
Sorry, everyone, I'm confused because Stacy Ronsley's been telling us
that she might not be touring next year, and now
she's saying she's doing a Fall Tower full.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Too for this year. I didn't know if I was
ready to announce that yet.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
I was so confused.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Okay, for twenty twenty four.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
For twenty twenty four she did full tour, Yes, okay,
same so yeah, same here. I just when I'm looking
at tour, obviously we're under contract for I'm under contract
for several different years, so it's kind of just like,
all right, let's hope that the tour is good next year.
And I think this upcoming year we talked about it
in episodes before, we're having a few more off weeks,
which is nice. My tour might be a little bit different.
(19:07):
I might be doing more media rather than playing, but
It's just like, I don't think anyone really knows what
their true tour will be like until January, because like
manufacturers might be dropping some of their players or might
be getting a new manufacturer. Who knows if they'll pay
for all of your events. That's part of you know,
(19:30):
I'm my sponsorship, you know, like you know, some people
get their tournaments paid for, So I think that's kind
of right now. I don't know if everyone's really planning
quite yet, like they're like, oh, yeah, I'll definitely do
that hopefully if I have a sponsorship.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
M h yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
For me personally, I won't be shopping next year. I'm
gonna hopefully stay with cast Classes as long as I can.
They've been very good to me. I love you cast Class.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
For a while, I was gonna go where I was
going with that either. But maybe next year you might
do a full tour.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Well oh yeah, yeah. So the next year I might
be doing more local stuff, trying to be home a
little bit more often.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Maybe some TV stuff in the future for Stacey, so
stay tuned.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
I'd love to join or start a ladies league in
my hometown because there isn't one, and I'd love to
start that.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
So I wanted to ask both of you guys live
in a van, how did you guys land on that?
Because I have something to say about that.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
For my because Christine is not a camper.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Okay here, let me just start first and then you
guys can add. So bart and I, I'm fortunate to
have a partner that traveled with me because that splits
all the costs in half. Like we literally split everything
fifty to fifty when we were on the road. So
we had looked at vans when we first started dating.
And we're very particular about our comfort. So the vans
that we were looking at were like fifty to seventy
(20:56):
thousand dollars, okay, And I'm pretty culby my comfort Bartney
to space and so like the like living in tight
quarters didn't seem like a good idea. On top of
that financial investment of fifty to seventy thousand dollars, that's
like half of a house at the time that we
were looking right like five years ago. So we lived
(21:17):
in hotels and sled everything in half, and that ended
up coming out to be like two to three thousand
dollars a person a year. It might have been a
little bit cheaper. And so if you do the math
on that, we would have needed to be on the
road for ten years to make a van make sense.
And then on top of the fact that we were like,
who knows if a van would even last that long
or if we would even last that long because we
(21:37):
can be living in tight quarters for four years, which
luckily we did it because we only like toured quote
unquote for like two or three years before we just
both stopped. So how did you guys decide that a
van was the best idea?
Speaker 2 (21:53):
You know, when I first came on the road, I
was in an RV with Colton and bart so I
was with two other boys, and so it was just
like like oh no, and I camped my whole life,
like I was used to like tent camping and roughing it,
and so it was like nothing new, and I didn't
mind going in gas station restrooms. I guess, like your
your standards definitely get lower as you become a touring
(22:15):
professional disc golfer, because like in my van, I have
a tiny mirror. I can only see my face. I
cannot see the rest of my body or you know,
like you know, I'll walk outside and I'll look in
my phone and my Colton, you didn't tell me I
have a unibrow, you know what I mean. It's just
like you know, tour life. It's just you know, you
get used to how things are and if the van's
dirty or if you don't shower for a day or two.
(22:38):
But so we ended up with the transit van because
it's high roof so we can stand. It's longer so
there's more space, and it has a normal van base,
so it's like if we needed to get work done,
it's not as expensive expensive as if it was like
an RV. So that's why we chose the van. But
we're also like we've been in it for like six years.
(23:00):
To some people is just like insane because it's such
a small quarters. But like I said, like it takes
a special individual and it takes a special couple to
be on the road full time in such short quarters.
Small quarters. But also it's just like life short why not.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
What are you guys gonna do When you buy a
house and Colton's on one side of the house and
you're on the other side of the house, you'd be like.
Speaker 4 (23:21):
I miss you.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
We're gonna have to get a tiny house because I'm
going to be like so lonely and like where is he? Yeah,
it's gonna be weird.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
It's funny. I've been looking at houses and all I
keep thinking is, man, that's a lot of space to clean. Yes,
that's all I keep thinking about, so much.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Space to clean. This is true. Thanks, I'm glad you're
considering that.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Yeah, I don't know how you guys do two people
in the van. I struggle with me and a forty
five pounds dog. So I can't imagine, Like, Okay, if
you're cooking and I'm in the bed just like scrolling
or something, I need to get out and go to
the restroom. Okay, So let's say so, then I have
to be like, hey, stop cooking, please, can you go
(24:11):
to the area out of my way so that I
can get around you to go to the door to way.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
This has happened because CON's favorite thing in the world
when Colton needs to use the restroom when I'm cooking,
because I'm using the counter, I'm using the automan, and
I'm using the dresser, like to cut things on the
automan on my cutting board, and then I'm doing something
up here. And as soon as he needs to use
the restroom. I'm like, yo, bro, like I have to
move all this off of the cupboard onto this, and
(24:37):
then you have to get around me. I have to
go up front. Oh yeah, it's it's a it's amaze.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
There's only room for one.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
It's only room for one standing at a time.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Yeah, yes, it's rough.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
Well for me.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
I chose to do a van, and I wish I
got an RV instead. I would not say I am
regretting that choice. I just knowing what I know now,
I would have gotten a Class CRV instead, to have
more space, to have more climate control. I am not
a person that went camping a lot when I was
a kid, and I kind of figured, well, okay, so
(25:13):
there's pros and constant both.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Right.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
My first year I lived in a Honda Element and
that teardrop camper. That was small, okay, that was rough
in it, and that was full time. I lived in
that for eight months a year, so that was a lot.
I personally don't want to do airbnbs or hosts because
I have really bad ADHD and bringing something into the
house back into the van, the constant trips back and
(25:36):
forth from van to house, even if it was just
like a car would drive me absolutely up the wall crazy.
And the way that I leave Airbnbs is I just
throw it all in the van and then that's a
problem for future stacy to deal with. And imagine doing
that with a small like sedan. And that's like your
daily life going from house to house to house every week,
(25:56):
Like literally think about that. Every single week. You have
a new house, you're learning where everything is, you're you know,
it's just it's too much adjustment too often. I could
not do that. So, uh, my choice in getting a
van was honestly because it was the fat at the time,
it was the popular thing to do, and I liked
the benefit that you could still go through drive throughs
(26:18):
and you could pick like you could judture me eight
foot six, this is the clearance I can't go.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
I cannot go.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
Tall, that's too tall, and I can fit in a
parking spot. And I think that's a huge benefit. And
I kind of like that it's not obvious that it's
a house camp. Yeah, where you know, someone sees, you know,
a single woman by herself getting in an r V,
you know, a little yeah, yeah, a little more scary,
(26:50):
more scary. So and I have a dog. Yes, but she's.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Too nice, friendly, too nice, be like, wow, do you
want to say hi?
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Oh my god?
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Are you guys willing to share the cost aspect of
the van, because like I was mentioning the vans that
Bart and I wanted similar to your guys as vans,
but they were they would be more decked out, and
that was like fifty to seventy thousand. We would not
have paid that all in cash. We would have financed that,
which would have probably been I don't know, I'm really
(27:26):
estimating here, like four hundred dollars a month. Maybe. So
is that payment like monthly payment situation more ideal for
you than paying for like hotels up front.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
I think it's way more ideal just because, like honestly,
being in a van saves so much money compared to
like living in a house. Just like, for example, Colton
bought the van for I think like thirty forty K.
We've had it for six years or seven years, and
we're about to pay it off, So I mean less
(28:04):
than what you kind of were estimating with ten year payoff,
a little bit less than what you guys were looking at.
So that was that I would say we probably spent
like I don't know, like five grand altogether, like on
the things inside the van and on top so like
the solar, the batteries, you know, all the expensive stuff
(28:24):
on top of Like but like we use like dressers,
like things that we already had and like screwed them
in there. So like that goes on to that. But
like we only pay like two hundred and fifty for
insurance a month. In his car payments like two hundred
bucks a month, so it's like four hundred and fifty
bucks for everything altogether, which seem bad? Oh is that
(28:48):
face a lot?
Speaker 3 (28:49):
I'm jealous of that.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Oh you're jealous of that?
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Yeah, what's yours? My van payment is like seven hundred
and thirty a month.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
How many years did you finance that for?
Speaker 3 (28:57):
I don't remember.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
It must have been. I mean auto loans are much shorter,
like I have a three years, we have whatever six years.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
How are you paying that much?
Speaker 3 (29:10):
I don't know. It was a twenty twenty one. It
only had twenty six miles on it.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Maybe that's why.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Yeah, I bought it thirty okay, I bought it for
forty two thousand and then. Yeah, but my insurance is
less than yours. My insurance is like because I'm not
paying insurance for the renovation on the inside, Like I don't,
that's not insured. It's just like the vehicle, so it's
only like one hundred and twenty or something, you know.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
But we are just like a home like an RV,
Like we're paying an RV, which made it cheaper. Oh
see you should look into that. Yeah, because ours has
like living quarters.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
And see that's a big reason why I regret getting
the van, because I wish I got an RV so
that it would be less.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
I think you can classify it as an RV. Okay, okay,
I could maybe save you a fews.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
Hey, let's go.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
Oh yeah, I paid forty two thousand for the van itself,
and I paid seventeen thousand for the renovations on the inside.
Don't get me started on that got screwed over so
robitt hole right, Yeah, it was awful anyway. So I'd
say total, including like extras and stuff, I've probably spent
sixty five to seventy thousand on the van. I worked
(30:24):
two off seasons. I worked very hard for two off
seasons to afford the van.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
But like the difference between I think us and Christine,
because Christine looked at it from a super financial standpoint,
is we weighed the passion for playing disc golf more
than we did the money for sure, Like we saw, like,
you know, this is what I want to do right now.
I'm enjoying this. I have a passion, and I think
(30:51):
I have the potential to be really good. Where Christine
was like, I think I have the potential, but this
isn't the future that like I'm looking for.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
You know, I agree, So you got.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
To weigh the way it.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Yeah, for me, it was about the experience. I would
have paid for the experience every time, even if because
I mean, you only live once. This isn't something that
this isn't an adventure I'm going to be able to
repeat in the future. So for me, it was like
you know what money comes and goes live this to
the fullest while you can. Little did I know that
I was not meant for vanlife. I am not very
(31:34):
good at it.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Yeah, that goes like straight into like kind of our
next topic of like you know everyone from the outside,
which you know, like we say, we're very grateful for
this life. We get to travel. We've I've been to
all fifty states. I've played disc golf in all fifty states.
You've been to all fifty I've been all fifty. Oh, yes, ma'am.
But I think what people don't get to see are
(31:55):
like the hardships, the struggles when it comes to like
creating friendships on the road. Like everyone from the outside perspective,
like everyone's like, wow, everyone's friends on the road. Like
everyone looks like they get along. It looks like a family,
and like to a certain point, yes, especially in like
certain situations where like someone needs help with their van,
like people are helpful. But like from my own experience,
(32:19):
and I'm sure Stacy could definitely relate, it's just like
it's hard seeing some people every single weekend. Like let's
say I'm friends with Stacy, but we have an issue.
Well I have to see her next week, and I
may even have to play with her next week. So
it's just like you know, working through those like super
interesting relationships with people on the road. And like there's clicks, man,
(32:41):
there are so many club and like you if you're
not in their click, you're not you're not hanging out
with us. Yeah, she can't sit with us, she can't
play with us. So you know, there's there's that aspect
of it as well, and you know, I would I'll
let Stacy talk. But it can get lonely, you know.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Yeah, it definitely gets very lonely on the road. I
personally have jumped through multiple clicks. I would say I've
been through all of them, and it's hard to find
the people that you could spend a ton of time
with consistently year after year. There's definitely little intricacies, little
(33:20):
family dramas, because I mean, this is there's no escape
these people. They're literally your coworkers, they're you're outside of
work friends, they're your dating pool, they are literally this
community is all you have when you're on the road,
and you can get to know more local people, but
(33:40):
it's kind of different because everyone kinda it's a different dynamic.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Will you see him for a week and then you
say people.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Yeah, and then you're out, Yeah, see you later. It's
completely different dynamic. And so there, Yeah, there's just no
escape these people. And we love them. We you know,
it is a tight knit family and I think you know,
you have certain uncles, cousins that you just kind of
a there's some fable that you just kind of, you know,
(34:07):
you just kind of nod and wave, and there's other
people that you don't you go up and hug them
almost every single time you see them. But it definitely
gets very lonely when you don't have like the person
or people that you do everything with, which is what
you know, I've had troubles with and what I'm experiencing.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
So outside of van luxuries and relationships, how about like
your diet or exercise routines, practice and fatigue, Like how
is how does that play in with your whole situation?
Speaker 2 (34:44):
Yeah, I mean obviously we're we're athletes, so it's like
we need to be good about our diet. But like personally,
like there was a week where we were driving so
much and I wasn't eating very well, and like that's
when like I had my gall bladder attack, and so
it's just like it's it's easy to kind of lose
track of your diet sometimes when you're traveling so much,
and like you don't want to stop and cook for
(35:06):
an hour, so it's like, oh, I'll just grab a
McDonald I don't like McDonald's, but you'll stop and grab
one of these things real quick because it's easy, but
like you're not getting what you need. So it's like
I think I eat the best from like Wednesday to
Sunday when we're in the area. I've established my living situation,
I've established my kitchen, and like I have my my
(35:29):
everything for the week, like groceriy wise, because I think
like Monday Tuesday is like travel day and like grocery day,
and then the rest I do a lot better. As
for like exercise, man, I would love to be like
Rebecca Cox buff. We talk about this all the time.
We were late being buff to Rebecca Cox way too often,
(35:49):
but like I would love to be Rebecca Becca Cox
top like buff, but like we're on the road, we
have to do practice rounds, we have to do tournament rounds,
and like it's hard to do hard workout sessions without
being super sore the next day. So I think that's
going to be more of an off season thing for
me to get into. Is like get more of a
routine of working out and then keep it during the
(36:10):
year so I'm not as sore. But like that's like
a big thing. Is like I want to be more
buff and like in like shape fit, but it's like
it's tough to do that when you're practicing.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
For sure. It's really really hard to build a routine
when you're in a new place every single week, because
you have to force yourself to set a routine at
a new location. So your new routine this week, let's okay,
So for example, I'm staying five minutes away from the course.
Other tournaments, I'm staying fifteen to twenty minutes away from
the course. Other tournaments, I'm staying on the course Planet Fitness,
(36:43):
where I shower is sometimes five minutes away, usually about
fifteen to twenty minutes away, And then you have to
get there, get all your stuff, walk in, and by
the time you're getting all your stuff, you do not
want to work out. You're so tired. Like everything, especially
specifically with van life, everything takes at least two times
(37:06):
longer to accomplish. So you also have to like map
out okay, this is the time. Okay, Planet Fitness closes
at this time, so I need to get there before
you know this certain amount of time to It's just
the planning of your day to day is exhausting, and
like I said, every week it's a new routine that
(37:26):
you have to figure out and get used to and
by the time I get used to my routine at
a new place, it's time to go to the next place.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
I mean, Christine, that was one of your biggest things
with tour life was like you were going through some
health stuff and it was like I couldn't get my
body into a routine, right.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
Yeah, because I like to try to work out like
three or four times a week. And at the time
I was touring, I had an Orange Thory membership, which
is hit workouts. It's like a sixty minute hit workout.
You just go in, they tell you everything to do.
It's great. I was also doing weightlifting, so typically if
I was staying in a hotel, I would try to
find a hotel that had a gym in it so
(38:13):
I didn't have to like leave somewhere to go. And
sure it's just like dumbbells and like basic things, but
that was good enough for me to like get the
muscles going. And even then it's like if once you
get to a course to like Idlewild or Eglow, you
do a practice round and you don't want to freaking workout,
or like vice versa, I don't want to work out
because I don't want to exhaust myself before I go
(38:33):
practice a course like Iwow Diglow, So like when you
want to those parts of the tour, it just became
very difficult. And then, like Kono was mentioning Monday and
Tuesday or your travel day, so it's like, do you
want to try to break up your travel day and
work out? But then at this point, I haven't worked
out in two weeks, so I'm going to be really sore,
and it's like all of these things to consider just
to try to get a workout in was something that
(38:55):
was very difficult for me because I value my ex
exercize for sure. Yeah, it was hard. So playing twenty
plus events a year for you guys, since you typically
just play the entire Disco Pro tour, how is this
as a whole in terms of like your thoughts on
the schedule, thoughts on all of your driving, thoughts on
(39:18):
the time off between events, Like what do you think
about the schedule?
Speaker 3 (39:22):
I think I'm tired. I think I'm very exhausted and
burned out, especially when we get to this part of
the year. Luckily we're in Vermont and it's beautiful and
that kind of balances it out and makes it a
little easier, but twenty events, yeah, the whole stretch.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
So yeah, MC and MVP are like very nice for
like the last couple events for sure.
Speaker 3 (39:44):
And I think, I don't know, it's just it's a
very long season and there are certain events that you
like playing, certain events you don't like playing. But then
you have to think about the fact that every single
event you are at trying to be at complete focus,
determination to succeed, and you don't really get time to
just be like, you know what, I don't even care.
(40:06):
I just want to relax and enjoy my time. There's
no loll in the season to regroup if you're especially
if you're doing the whole season, and it's it's very tiring.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
It gets tiring in the aspect of like being thrown
across the country like here, let's start in the Midwest,
so and then we're gonna go over here to you know,
the West coast, and then we're going to go here
to like the East coast. Like I feel like we
kind of get thrown around a little bit. So I
just think like that can be a little bit exhausting.
And then we obviously everyone always talks about having more
(40:40):
off time in between But I.
Speaker 1 (40:43):
Was gonna ask you, so, what would the ideal situation be,
like less events, more time in between events, which I
feel like unless you do less events, you can't have
more time in between events just because of the way
the schedules lay out. So what is like your ideal situation?
Speaker 2 (40:58):
I think it'd be cool if like DGPT could take
out a few events and then like really like promote,
really like invest in like a like a smaller amount,
and then that way, not only would the players be
like time less tired, you know, more excited, but like
there would be more money involved maybe and maybe more
(41:19):
you know spotlight, and also like our DGPT employees wouldn't
be so burnt out, and then like there could be
more social media and advertising that could go into the
event without it being like the next week, the next week,
the next week, you know.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
Yeah. Yeah, more quality over quantity, yes, which they did
downscale that when they did when they got rid of
the Silver events and they turned them into the Q
Series because the DGPT crew had to go to the
Silver events when those were happening. So that was like
thirty events a year men. Yeah, And at that point
that was before like because the Q Series now, I
(41:57):
think it takes away, like if you guys played the
Q Series, you don't receive points because the Q Series
is for newcomers to where the Silver Series was different.
The Silver Series points did count though, like some of
the mid level players would go to the Silver Series,
which then they were actually playing thirty events a year,
which is way more so.
Speaker 3 (42:15):
See, I like the way that the tour kind of
did it this year. Like what you were saying, the
Q Series don't get us points, so those are more
optional events, but they are en route for the most part.
So I think I love that we got a choice
this year. It felt like if you wanted to play
a ton of events, those options were available to you.
(42:36):
If you wanted to take more time off, that option
is also available to you. I think this year's probably,
for me, in my opinion, the most friendly tour so far.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
I'm out of questions. Is there anything else that you
guys wanted to mention or talk about on your road life?
Speaker 4 (42:57):
No?
Speaker 2 (42:57):
I mean I think we covered a lot and I
think we get people a lot of insight that maybe
they weren't aware of, especially when it comes to like
tour life and tour culture. Overall, I think all three
of us can say we're super grateful to have had
like the opportunity to do the job that we have had.
You know, we get to travel, Like we said, we're
(43:19):
in Vermont right now. I got to wake up at
seven am and look at some fall trees and later
I'm gonna go play some disc golf. So it's like
super grateful for our lives and our opportunity. We just
hope that we can be you know, supported and you know,
given the opportunity to keep on keep on doing it.
Speaker 3 (43:36):
So it's been an amazing experience for sure. Being able
to be on the road and do disc golf for
a living has been the adventure I think, the greatest
adventure of my lifetime. I don't think I'll do anything
more exciting or.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
What's the word I'm looking for or memorable.
Speaker 3 (43:56):
Memorable, that's the exact word. Thank you so much than
this and everything that I hoped it would be, as
far as how it feels to be out here and
the adventure that I go on. And I'm just so
grateful for sure that I was ever able to do this,
and it's it's been so fun to get to know
you guys, I.
Speaker 4 (44:15):
Know.
Speaker 1 (44:17):
Oh yeah, oh that's so sweet. Yeah. Hopefully we were
all able to shed some light on the different options
that there might be, different scenarios, different feelings that we
all experience during the touring life. So thank you both
so much for sharing your life and all of your
experiences on the road. And thank you stay Sy for
(44:38):
coming on in the show. It's always nice to have you.
So I catch up with us next week as we'll
be going over how things shake out at our first
DGPT playoff event at the Green Mountain Championships.
Speaker 4 (44:50):
Thanks anybody,
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