SPEAKER_02 0:00

It's really amazing. You guys have built almost like a lifestyle brand that people want to be a part of.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 0:05

There's branding, right? And then there's a whole nother level of it. The emotional type. Like you see people in your shirts all the time. They want to be a part of the company because you guys truly live the lifestyle that you sell, right? I think in real estate, the reason you guys are so big is because you're not just selling the house on Brevard County or the Space Coast. You're selling the lifestyle of the Space Coast. Oh, absolutely. And you guys present that in such an awesome way. And I truly think that's the difference maker and why you guys are the biggest brokers in the county. And I, you know, I couldn't agree more.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

You know, outside of sales, and it's something I tell my customers as well like almost every single one of us at Blue Marlin, like when we work with you, you have us for life. Whether that's neat you need a contractor, a plumber, a roofer, like it's definitely in our DNA at Blue Marlin to go that extra mile, to be that advocate and that human that you can rely on. Like we are neighbors, we are locals. It has made us stand out from the big box brokerages. So yeah, it's a community feel. We sell a lifestyle, we live the lifestyle. So who who better to guide you on that path?

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Welcome to the Studio 321 podcast, powered by Brightway, the Steve Trout agency. We're sitting down with real estate pros, insurance nerds, mortgage masterminds, and local legends who are making moves on the Space Coast. Hosted by the best insurance crew in the 321. At studio 321, it's all about community, real connections, and sharing a few laughs along the way. Strap in. Let's launch into today's episode.

SPEAKER_03 1:47

What's up everyone? This is Jason Buckner coming from the Studio 321 podcast presented by Brightway Insurance, the Steve Trout agency. Home for all your personal lines insurance needs. We've been open since 2011, serving over 16,000 clients statewide. Today we got a very special guest that I'm super excited about. It's uh it's been a long time coming. Yep. Uh as one, if not the top producing individual real estate agent in the county. You've got one of the most impressive work ethics I've ever experienced in any profession. You're a lot taller in person than I imagine. Ladies and gentlemen, Dylan Bout from Blue Marlin Real Estate. Thanks so much for coming on, man.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

Appreciate it. Appreciate it. I'm doing very well. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_03 2:29

I meant that as a compliment, by the way, as far as your sales or the height?

SPEAKER_01 2:33

Uh both.

SPEAKER_03 2:34

Yeah, we'll get into the sales in a little bit because we went out to lunch a few months ago and we kind of went through that and you told me. And it's just staggering, man. It's so impressive. I appreciate that. Um yeah. I mean, we'll just hop right in, man. Tell us a little bit uh about Dylan outside of real estate, uh, where you came from, yeah. Where you grew up.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Um, I'll try to keep it, you know, kind of as short as I can, but you know, give you a lot of meat, you know, on the phone there. Uh so grew up in Cocoa, um, grew up in Canaveral Groves, mom, hell of a mom, raised me and my little brother out there. Clue Lake Middle School, Coco High School, uh dual enrollment, uh, early admissions with BCC, where I got my AA. Went straight over to UCF, majored in marketing, minored in finance, junior year. Um, you know, really started diving into the internships, and I was always going to be in sales, you know.

SPEAKER_03 3:27

Finance, right? I think when we were at lunch, you said finance was the major, you said? No, no, marketing major. Marketing was major marketing.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Marketing major, finance minor. Um, there was too much numbers for a finance, you know, major. So was always marketing, was more about the personal branding and kind of the the psychology behind sales and branding yourself. And uh started interning, did it did a couple of internships, and you know, talking to you know, nine to five employees, and you know, want you to move to Fort Lauderdale or California. And I wanted to stay close to family. Yeah. My mom, my little brother, and my world. I was gonna say you've always been I know you know Seth too. So like um yeah, that those two are my world. And so like thinking about leaving them was hard. I saw what Nick and Chad were doing, and Blue Marlin was, you know, a baby fish in an ocean of real estate companies. Um, jumped on, uh kind of went full-time into real estate my senior year. So I was bartending, uh, I was full-time real estate and full-time college. So it was it was a hell of a workload, you know. Um, and from there I dove in and was coachable and took advisement and listened to every word Nick and Chad told me and took it and kind of put my own spin on it.

SPEAKER_03 4:42

That's awesome. Yeah, I mean, they were a huge part of your success for more than you go in more now, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:47

More than huge. Like, you know, that those are two individuals that you know believed in you and like didn't, you know, give it to you, but gave you every tool you needed and more than anything gave you the mentality it took to kind of make your own brand. And you know, there's one thing you can't teach, and that's hustle. And I think that's just something any successful entrepreneur has in them.

SPEAKER_03 5:08

Yeah. Yeah. Do you think uh were you competitive growing up? Is that where the hustle came from? So that was a loaded question. I had a feeling.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

Yeah. So uh oh, yeah, my mother could tell you stories like I couldn't lose a board game. Um it would cause family fights, and so yeah, always been competitive. Like, you know, if you're not first, you're last, like shout out Ricky Bobby, tell her notes. Um, so yeah, I always competitive. I always had to be the best. And if I wasn't, I would read or train or run, or there was just always like if there's gonna be something to succeed, and I'm damn sure gonna be the best.

SPEAKER_03 5:44

Yeah, where did where do you think you got that from? Because it I feel like you're almost born with it, right? So there's gotta be somebody in your family that came from.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Yeah, yeah. Well, so definitely kind of goes back to childhood, you know, growing up. Um for most of you know my my younger adult years, it was just me, my mom, and my brother. Um, there was hardships in that. There was, you know, a single mother that was doing everything. And I think when you're young and you see that from the outside looking in, like there's kind of a dog in you that's like, How can I help? So like I was, you know, 10 years old mowing lawns and doing this. And I think there's something in you that just wants to help. Um, help your mom, help your family be supportive. And I carry that into real estate. You know, now it's helping people. Yeah. Um, you know, funny enough, like I had a Facebook message with, you know, a young lady yesterday that wants to sell her house, and she was like, Hey Dylan, like it looks like all you do is you sell these big estates and these million dollar properties. Like, I own an average house in Merritt Island. And I love to tell people like, hey, I'm I'm not here for a price point, I'm here for people. If I can connect the dots and make this seamless and you're smiling at the end of the day, like that's what I'm here for. Um so the motivation I I think just came from an early age of seeing and experiencing struggle and doing whatever I could to overcome it. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 7:08

I think that's an important thing you touched on there about um, you know, for the people, because you know, social media kind of can give that that bad optic, like, oh, you only do what and that's not true at all. When people meet you, I've heard from sellers, I've heard from buyers say the same thing. Yeah, guy's a legend, he's just he's so nice, he's always there for me, always answering the phone. Um, yeah, it's it's really cool to hear. And it's somebody not in that industry, but similar industries, yeah. It kind of resonates because it's like, well, I see how successful you are. Well, he's doing some right. Yeah. So why wouldn't I try to implement some of those into my process that I do today to day? Absolutely. So I think that's cool to hear that out loud.

SPEAKER_02 7:47

Yeah, I mean, outside looking in, man, I don't know you that well, but from what I know and what I've seen, like you are a really good connector. You know what I mean? Like I remember being at a real producer, like photo shoot thing, and you walk in the house, and every single person in the house got a handshake from me, hey, how you doing? Good to see you.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

You know, absolutely like everybody needs to feel valued, you know. And I I think if you treat that in all aspects of your life, whether it's meeting a stranger, you know, passing on the street or not, like I think everybody deserves respect. I think you know, chivalry's not dead. I think a lot of us can learn from that and you know, remember that we're we're definitely all living this journey for the first time. Everybody deserves respect and a handshake and eye contact and uh helps you in business as well. Absolutely. Treat people like humans. Yeah, I love that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:35

Going back to Blue Marlin a little bit, man. Absolutely. So as a business owner myself, who you know, I think we've done a pretty good job of growing our brand in the area. Absolutely. But when I look at Blue Marlin, dude, what they what you guys have accomplished from like a branding standpoint is really pretty remarkable. You know, I remember the very early days watching you guys from afar and just kind of seeing where you've come. It's really amazing. You guys have built almost like a lifestyle brand that people want to be a part of.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 9:03

And that's like there's branding, right? And then there's a whole nother level of it. Yeah, the emotional touch. Correct. Like you guys are actually like creating stuff that like you see people in your shirts all the time. They want to be a part of the company because you guys truly live the lifestyle that you sell, right? Yeah. And I think in real estate, it's been like it's well, the reason you guys are so big is because you're not just selling the house on Brevard County or the Space Coast, you're selling the lifestyle of the Space Coast. Oh, absolutely. And you guys present that in such an awesome way. And I truly think that's the difference maker, and why you guys are the biggest brokers in the county. And I I couldn't agree more.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

You know, it is cool. Um, you know, own a boat and always at Bird Island on the weekends and stuff. So, like, yeah, it's really cool at Bird Island. People are grilling out with their families, and dogs have little bandanas with Blue Marlin on it, and people have the dry fits and the flags on their boat. And you know, outside of sales, and it's something I tell my customers as well like almost every single one of us at Blue Marlin, like when we work with you, you have us for life. Yeah, yeah. Um, whether that's neat you need a contractor, a plumber, a roofer, like it's definitely in our DNA at Blue Marlin to go that extra mile to be that advocate and that human that you can rely on. Like, we are neighbors, we are locals. It has made us step, you know, stand out from the big box brokerages. Yeah. So yeah, it it's it's a community feel. We sell a lifestyle, we live the lifestyle. So who better to guide you on that path?

SPEAKER_02 10:38

Yeah, it's also the story of like the little guy making it, right? Like you're not the big broke, you're not the the giant names in real estate, right? And that's half the reason I joined with them. And it's pretty remarkable because you guys have come become kind of a giant name on the space. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

I mean, number one brokerage in all of Brevard County, including all the big boxes, every single other. Yeah, we're we are we are leading the pack proudly and humbly. Yeah. Um, and we're only getting better. We're we're only finding more tools to serve our customers, um, creating technological platforms to serve them better. So like we are always advancing and we're on the heels of every big box there could be. Yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 11:14

Yeah, we just had an episode drop with uh Mike Cartelli. Yeah, I watched that last night, actually. Yeah, so he was with Remax and a real Remax Real. He's a legend.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

Like works with Mike many, many times, like phenomenal legend as well. But he's doing awesome things for you know the Space Coast Association filters as well.

SPEAKER_03 11:32

Uh but we were talking about you know, smaller brokerages being bought up by big boxes. Yeah, this is a big thing. I kind of chuckled, but right because then you see how big blue is and national scale for sure. That's crazy. Yeah, it's just remarkable because you guys have broken not broken the mold, but you're just outside of the mold.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

Yeah, and it's you know, and at least in Brevard County, like, you know, that is happening on a national level, sure. Like they are scooping it up, they're taking market share. Um, those big box brokerages are definitely like what they're doing is they're buying leads. Like they're they're buying the the database, the CRMs that all these brokerages had. And I think that works in a lot of locations. I think it works in urban areas, higher density populations. I think it works. Yeah. But for us, like you know, we we get shout out all the time, you know, Nick and Chad happily, you know, donate to, you know, uh scholarships for you know, students at Merritt Island High School and the giveaways and helping people in need, the local baseball teams. Like it is such a more tightly knit program than like, hey, we're a big box brokerage. You know, here's your cookie cutter blueprint of of how to buy and sell real estate when like we want to do it differently. We want to show you houses on the boat, we want to pull up to the dock, yeah. Um, not only pull up to the front door. So it is, you know, I watched that last night kind of in preparation for this, and it was you know cool to see and hear both perspectives and to reflect on ourselves to see like sure, and yeah, we we were, you know, David and Goliath and and kind of combated that.

SPEAKER_03 13:06

Yeah, and I'm a little partial, obviously, born and raised here in Brevard County, but like I've visited quite a few places, obviously not everywhere in the United States, but I truly feel everywhere I've been, and I'm not plugged into other communities, but like we're the biggest small town that I've ever visited. I can say that truthfully. Like Merritt Island is not that big, but it seems huge, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:27

Oh, yeah, especially after the last couple of years, it definitely like has a different feeling.

SPEAKER_03 13:31

But everybody knows each other, it feels like that. You go any restaurant, everybody's shaking hands, uh just Merritt Island, but you can also Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa, Rothledge, Cocoa Village. I mean, it's crazy how big it is, but how small it really feels. Absolutely. And you guys tapped into that R market so well, and it's uh it's awesome. It's truly impressive, especially you, obviously. But I want to ask you too, did somebody told me you were the king of Port St. John? How did that come about? How did that come about?

SPEAKER_01 14:00

Uh yeah. So the actual coined phrase was the dawn of Port St. John. You know, you gotta make it a little bit. So it definitely was the dawn of Port St. John. And I kind of entered the self-proclaimed, not even self-proclaimed, but community-proclaimed um, you know, kind of title just because when I first jumped into real estate, like I came from Coco. Right. You know, like my grandfather owned a house right across from the Fay Park baseball fields. I grew up on those fields, watched my little brother play little league on those fields. So like I was from that area. It was close to Canavero Groves. Um, that's where I started.

SPEAKER_03 14:39

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

When I first started, you know, first-time homebuyers program was a huge thing. You know, the good one where they actually gave you 15K and forgave it after, you know, after five years. Yeah. When I first started, that was huge. So like my first coin was like, who wants to buy a house for a thousand dollars out of pocket? You know, the market was different, sellers were paying all closing costs, the down payment assistance program was amazing. Great time to buy a house. It was a great time, you know. So we're doing, you know, Joshua Quibado is doing first-time home buyer grants for you know, $150,000, $160,000 homes, $1,000 out of pocket, you buy a home. So Port St. John was for me an easy entry point, not only because of personal placement, but because of price of homes, um, general age demographic. Yeah, you know, and and so dove into that, and I quickly, you know, I I want to say in my first two years, I became like the leading listing agent in all of Port St. John within two years.

SPEAKER_03 15:38

So it's funny, I was out to dinner or something, somebody knew you, just we brought you up because you and I started working not organically either. It was like I had had I had my relationship with Chad and Nick, and I was on the list for that, and there is an insurance agent to refer to. I think you just reached out to me through that, maybe, and it just went from there, right? And then years go by and I'm like, man, every house is 3297. I've lived right down there. I lived in Port St. John. I'm like, I know that area, blah, blah, blah. Anyways, I was out to dinner and we're talking about you, and they're like, Oh, you mean the Don of Port St. John? I'm like, the hell are you talking about? And I never brought that up because we obviously didn't meet in person until that one day at um uh Marker 321. I know. Which is crazy. We've been working together like six, seven years, never met each other in person.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

I was gonna say six, seven, eight years we've been working together, and I felt like I had met you a million times. And we sat down. I was like, man, that this might be the first time we've actually sat down together. It was.

SPEAKER_03 16:32

We both had our shirts off, so it was very uh very unprofessional.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Love it though, love it. That's how it should be. You know, we should crush it up front and have fun on the back.

SPEAKER_02 16:41

Yeah, I thought it was really cool.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

That was awesome.

SPEAKER_02 16:44

One of the things I'd like to ask, man, when we have really successful agents in here, yeah, is what's the difference maker between the successful agents and the ones that struggle in this business? Because there's a wide range. Absolutely. I mean, I there's what thousands of realtors and over a little over six thousand. Yeah. So, you know, there's I would say 10% do 80% of the business, right? And so, like, what's the difference there and why is that? And what do you think sets you apart from the rest of the field?

SPEAKER_01 17:12

Yeah, so I mean, and and anybody who's ever seen me do the real producers kind of seminars and trainings, and I mean, of course, the the agents at Blue Marlin who I do trainings with, like, know that I'm kind of a savage, you know, I'm very direct, I'm very blunt. But the biggest problem with most agents who aren't succeeding is they think that this world's gonna hand them something. Um I think that's a common thing in this world, period, is everybody thinks that you know your leads are gonna walk in the door, like because you join a brokerage, you're gonna give, you know, be given X or when really it takes hard work. Um I'm an extremely, you know, disciplined human being, and I think anybody that's you know at the top, you know, I I have agents that pop in my head immediately that I know are crushing, even at different brokerages. The difference between, you know, the super successful and not is you know, discipline brings you where motivation can't. Are you interested or committed in this industry? I think most agents are interested. Like, oh, I heard you can make good money, I heard you can do this, I heard you can they're they're interested. Yeah, they're not committed. They don't see when you're on vacation snowboarding and your phone's out and you're sitting in the snow saving a deal, or you know, that the real successful ones until you get to a point of having systems and an assistant where you can step away, like it's a demanding business. Yeah. And so I think the biggest problem is a lack of discipline, a lack in self-belief.

SPEAKER_02 18:40

Almost like they're getting into it thinking, man, this looks easy. Oh, yeah. And they get in going, oh, this ain't that easy.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

Yeah, like, oh, I'm I'm gonna make X and work less than I did. And it's like it really doesn't work like that. You know, you've never had a customer that took a year and 200 homes you've showed them to finally make a purchase. And so it's like divide that by the number of uh of hours you gave them, and it it doesn't equate to you know as much as people think. I I think there's a lack of discipline in most human beings.

SPEAKER_03 19:09

The first couple years probably probably wasn't glamorous per se, right? Like you probably did pr well, okay. So you did pretty well right out of the gate.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

I I mean, I was hungry. Yeah. So I mean, yeah, my my first year, I think I did like 2.8, 2.9 mil.

SPEAKER_03 19:25

Um that's really good.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

You know, and in two in 2018, I you know, I think that's a reasonable first year while you're a full-time bartender, you own a house and you're paying a mortgage, you're full-time in school. I I think three mil was a good start. Right. So I went from year one, three mil, about three mil, year two, eight point one, year three, eighteen point one, year four, eighteen point three, and then we jumped to like twenty-five, twenty-eight. Last year was thirty-five. So it was just, you know, it's learning. It was discipline, you know, it was I wanted to succeed as much as I wanted to breathe. Yeah. Um, I went to school, I did this, I came from humble beginnings that that taught me discipline and respect, and I wanted it all.

SPEAKER_02 20:07

Yeah. And you're like, I'm I'm waking up every day figuring out how I'm gonna get better at this and absolutely every succeed.

SPEAKER_01 20:12

And and still, you know, there there's always hills to climb and challenges, like you guys are business owners, like there's always a way to become better. Yeah, whether that's marketing or the CRM you keep on the back end, or how do you stay in touch with your clients and make sure you are available when they call. Um I mean, your business and our business is all about Legion.

SPEAKER_02 20:31

Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 20:32

And if you're not if that pipe is dry, your bank account's dry.

SPEAKER_02 20:35

Absolutely. Like you can't you can't stop. Yeah. Um and that goes back to you being like a really great connector and a people person and not definitely, you know, probably one of the highest skills that I think I have is communication.

SPEAKER_03 20:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:50

Um, you can reach me at almost any time. Sure, I have boundaries. Yeah, you know, like we all have boundaries. There are times you shut off. In the beginning years, none. 11 p.m. at night, I'm texting you. You gotta do what you gotta do. Sunday morning, 6 a.m. I'm there wherever you need me. So like it and it took time to create those boundaries and have respect for yourself. And um you don't always believe that everybody's going to evolution, man.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

In the beginning, you're like, I want it all, let's go, and you're you're grinding, right?

SPEAKER_01 21:17

And then eventually you have to create you you you figure out how to create the systems and the boundaries and you know, people you can rely on along the way, and and you know, CRMs and databases, and there's efficiency that can be found in everything. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_03 21:33

Yeah, so like as you've grown now, you I see you online, not necessarily a team, but it's a team now, correct?

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Ah, we're we're getting around. How do you how do you explain that? So what I consider myself, and you know, for anybody else listening, like the this door is opening more and more. I consider myself a mentor. Okay. Um so I I you know take people under my wing, I teach them. I'm Self-analyzing to see, like, do you have it? You know, the the it factor, we can't really explain what it is, but like, do you have that dog in you that reflects of like even a small percentage of what I believe I have? So I mentor people. I like to take them fresh with you know, no bad habits or anything, and and kind of show them the way I do things. Um, and so it kind of develops into co-listing agent, co-buying agent. Um, for me, it's more like you said, you see me online, our business is about lead gen. I'm a lead generation monster. Um I I generate an absurd amount of leads online, digitally, um, through five or six different kinds of pillars of marketing. So it got to a point where I had to share these leads. Yeah, things were falling through the crack, or I would do an analysis of myself in November or December of a year, and I'd go back and reach out to 10 people, and nine of them purchased a home with somebody else. And I was like, Yeah, it comes that way. Yeah, it wasn't even an and where it gets in business. You're like, damn, it's not even about the income anymore. It's not, it's not even about the money or anything. It's about the brand. It's like, damn, there's nine people that might have had a better experience with it. I mean, it's the same with us, man. When we lose a deal, we're like, how the heck do we lose that deal? Yeah, or like I I can vividly remember one of them I reached out to um looked at me and they were like, Yeah, we should have used you. Like, we had a terrible time. Septic blew, you know, a year after we bought the house. And all I thought in my head was like, damn, there was how many people would have had a better experience if I had the ability to, you know, hold all of this business, to hold all of these leads, to serve them properly. So that's when it came on to where I've tried it with probably a dozen agents, and you know, people come and they go, and real estate's very similar to probably like the restaurant industry. They jump in, they're there for a couple of years. Holy shit, this is hard. They jump out. So yeah, I have gotten to the point that I do have, you know, a couple of solid agents under me that I do trust, yeah, um, carry a lot of the load for me. So that's cool. Team's coming. You know, I'm definitely that I think that would be, and I'm sure we'll go into that. I think that's what's next for me is building a team, doing recruiting, um, having my own office and something where like they take advisement straight from me.

SPEAKER_03 24:23

That's awesome. Yeah, that kind of was leading me into like, it sounds like that's what the future holds for you.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Absolutely. You know, I I think there's a point. Um, leaders are meant to lead. I've always felt like a leader. I've definitely gotten some reassurance that I can lead, I can teach success. And so for me, I I think at this point, I'm an amazing, you know, salesman. I care about my clients, I'm there, I'm empathetic, but I can teach that. Um, to anybody willing to learn and that's hungry to take it to the next level. So for me, I do think, and of course, with Blue Marlin, love Nick and Chad. Yeah. Um, Nick, Chad, Blue Marlin, Chloe, Misty, you know, our whole entire staff. I I absolutely love where I am. I would not leave them. So, like, if anything, what I want to do in my next chapter is I want to find ways to help better the brokerage, to make us bigger, to take that next step for us as well. Um, so yeah, a team is on the horizon. Right now, I just think I'm like in a mentorship role. And um I do team up on a lot of listings with, you know, Nicole Miller, obviously. So there are uh there is a team on the horizon. There's a couple of hoops I have to jump through and you know, strategies that I need to think about. But that would be it for me is I want to teach. Yeah, I I want to lead, I want to teach, I want, I want to be able to recreate what I've created for others.

SPEAKER_03 25:44

Yeah, yeah. I think the loyalty part of that, at least and this is not making this about me, but I kind of am in the moment. Um that's awesome because I think that's missed out or kind of lost nowadays. Oh, there's and I'm not saying nobody should go off and do their own thing because that's what's best for them or they think it's best for them, but the loyalty part of it is so respectful because, like, at least for me and Steve, he gave me my shot.

SPEAKER_01 26:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:09

So, okay, yeah, I've built my business, whatever, to a certain point. Everybody's like, well, why don't you go start your own? I'm like, no. I got here because of him. Absolutely so what can I do to repay that? Absolutely. Can I present myself in a certain way to grow our business the right way?

SPEAKER_01 26:25

And I think that's what it is, you know, and like obviously same with you two. Like, you care about each other's lives and families, and it it's the same here. So, like, whatever I do in life, I I want to help give back to the people who did so much for me, who gave me a shot, uh, who made me feel like family. Yeah. Um, and pretty much took the leash off and said, Go, go, yeah, run, run, go get it. We're there when I needed them to. You know, so yeah, whatever I do, I I do believe it'll be to help the Blue Marlin brand. I believe in who we are, I believe in our community, I believe in what we stand for. So, like, whatever I do next, Blue Marlin's gonna be a part of it. I love that, man. That's so awesome.

SPEAKER_02 27:03

Absolutely. Going kind of to what Jay said, I mean, one of the reasons I keep pushing this company forward and really trying to grow this thing is it creates opportunities for everyone here. Yeah. So everyone here has their own personal goals and everything that they want to achieve, and I want to help them achieve that within the business. And so it's like, let's grow this thing. The bigger it is, everybody can achieve those goals, and everybody can be part of the success, you know, and so that's what drives me to go forward. Because you could easily, as a leader, just go, hey, this is good enough, you know. I've put in my time and let's enjoy it. But it's like I have so much respect for the people that work here, I want them to experience their that success too.

SPEAKER_01 27:40

And that's why I've been so loyal to you guys as well. Is I mean, obviously, I've known Jason for knocking on the door of a decade. Yeah, you and I have brushed shoulders a couple of times, but I've read the bios, I know your business background, I know half of your employees. I've been loyal to you guys. Yeah, which there's only you guys are are pretty much my only referral. Yeah, yeah, which so it's like I believe in you guys. I think we have a you know a very you know good model of synergy in in this industry, and I think we reflect each other's, you know, business ethics and values. And so yeah, well, we appreciate it. Yeah, we can't think it goes both ways. My buyers need insurance and you guys get them insurance.

SPEAKER_03 28:19

Yeah, I mean, yeah, one thing my own house. Pass guess we I don't know if we've really gone deep into it. Not that I want to go deep, but like how important is that the insurance side of things to you? Obviously, not talking about our individual or like our prior clients that we've done insurance for for you and whatever, but just on the scale, maybe another agent that in your office or something that's worked that has other agents. Like, how important is that process that we make it easy on you?

SPEAKER_01 28:45

Yeah, so the process between like agent and it is It's everything, right? It's one of the most important processes, but just because you know, let's consider in this county at least 85-90% of all of our buyers are utilizing a loan. Insurance is a mandatory requirement for almost any loan product that's out there. And so your responsiveness, your quotes, you know, our relationship with you over here at Brightway like is pivotal to if that's hitting the closing table or not.

SPEAKER_04 29:16

Right.

SPEAKER_01 29:17

Um, even how great you guys are with, you know, your vendors and everything and the prices that come in for your insurance quotes, a $4,000 for $6,000 quote on insurance can be the difference between that buyer buying a home and not. Um, you recently just got a buyer insurance on one of my own listings, and it's a good $2,500 lower than what the sellers currently have. So it's like you guys are constantly beating what people have, or I'll have clients that hit me up years down the road, and they're like, oh my gosh, like they just gave me a renewal and it jumped up to X. And I literally say, like, send Jason one email.

SPEAKER_03 29:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

And they're like, holy crap, it went back down. It was $200 more than what it was. And so I've used Jason and Brightway in general as uh kind of something to counter the objective of like, oh, insurance is so crazy in Florida. Like you guys have proved it time and time again that insurance over here is great. That relationship is, you know, invaluable. I can't do what I do without you guys as well.

SPEAKER_03 30:19

Thank you for that. Absolutely. We never really I never really brought it up with anybody, but it is it is yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:25

I mean, we built this entire model based on home insurance. Yeah, like we lead with home insurance, it's our it's our gateway into the the the home. We really did build this entire model around our referral partners, yeah, taking care of them, taking care of their clients. And the rest, if we do that, the rest takes care of itself. Yeah. Once once we prove that, hey, we're the best in the home, they want us to do their auto, they want us to do their flow, they want us to do all that, right? And so for us, it's always been about uh our lead gen has always been about relationships with mortgage, brokers, and realtors. Absolutely. And really honing in on that and creating a process for you guys that is painless. Absolutely. If there's a pain point in the process, we spend hours going, how do we fix this?

SPEAKER_01 31:03

Absolutely, you know, and I think that's any good business. Yeah. Yeah, you guys, you guys make me look good. Like you guys make me look good because you know, like part of like my mantras with any of my clients is like, I'm your one-stop shop. You don't have to call a home inspector, you don't need to go call an insurance agent. You know, the minute an inspection happens and I get a four point and a win mitigation, I literally CC the clients with you or Christina or somebody here at Bright Way In on an email, I get a response back in hours.

unknown 31:32

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 31:33

And they're like, oh, like, oh, I have state farm and I'm I don't know if I'm allowed to say other names on that. No, no, no, you're not dogging anybody. So yeah, I'll uh I'll literally mention or they'll say, like, oh yeah, like I have been talking to state farm, they have my car, and takes them a week to get back to them with insurance quote. And so when you guys answer that quickly and it it creates a process for me that like makes it seamless. That's awesome. You know, there there's big box you know companies out there as well, the the all-states, the state farms that are taking days to a week to get a quote back just for them to realize they're $2,000 higher. So you guys help me, you make me look good. Awesome. You help my one-stop shop, you help me be a tool for my resource or for my my customers. So, no hats off to you guys. Your communication is excellent. Yeah, appreciate it, man.

SPEAKER_03 32:20

Well, yeah, thank you so much. I mean, one thing we've always tried is speed is key. Yeah, that's what we learned in our industry for you guys, for lenders, for everybody buying, or whatever. Speed is key. Oh, absolutely. So we created the process to hopefully make it.

SPEAKER_02 32:33

Yeah, people just want their problem solved, and we try to be the fastest to do that. Absolutely, absolutely. And you do well. You do well.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

I wouldn't still be here if you wouldn't.

SPEAKER_03 32:41

Um over the years, I mean, I want to hear what your thoughts are on the market right now. How different is it, good or bad? Um, where do you think it's going?

SPEAKER_01 32:50

Yeah, so I think it depends number one, which side of the market you want to sit on.

SPEAKER_03 32:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:56

I think for maybe not the first time, but like feeling it being on the forefront, you know, boots on the ground, it does truly feel like one of the first times in probably the last five, six years where the playing field is split. Like it's 50% buyers, 50% sellers. Like to me, it feels very, very ethical and feels very even.

SPEAKER_04 33:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 33:19

I could list a property in Diana Shores, waterfront, canal front, desirable neighborhood. If you hit the price on the head, I'm getting full price offers, multiple offers, and one, three, seven days on market. Wow. Um I've seen competitors list with you know another agent 50k higher than us, and they're still on the market 60 days later. So I do think that you know, there's a lot of online resources in this market that have made pricing and what consumers think is a fair value for a home very transparent. So I think if you miss the mark on pricing, the market's gonna reject you and you're going to feel it. Well if you hit the price on the head and a buyer walks in and they're like, this makes sense. Sure, you might have to replace this or update that, but like compared to the 20 other homes I saw, this makes sense. Yeah. The buyer's gonna pay what they feel like the value is. And so sellers are still getting full price offers, low days on market, staggering open houses, if the marketing's proper, if the pricing's proper, and they don't have an agent that's just gonna nod their head and say, like, I'll list it for whatever you want. Yeah. I do you find that to be challenging in your business?

SPEAKER_02 34:29

I mean, you're cut because obviously it's it's super competitive business, and you're meeting sellers are probably meeting lower than one agent. Absolutely. And that one agent's going, well, if for me to get this deal, I'll just tell them I'll price it higher or something, you know. No, so I mean, yes, oh, I hear it all the time.

SPEAKER_01 34:44

Um, I like to go last when when people are interviewing three agents, I want to go last. Yeah, just because I'll walk in, they'll they'll say, you know, XYZ said that you know it was 50k higher. And I'll tell them straight up if I could sell it for a million dollars more, it's only better for me. Like I'm here to be ethical, accurate, honest. You know, if if if that agent's saying that to get a listing, and not only that, but I'm proving I have data, you know, like I have comparables, I have price per square foot, days on market, listing price to sales price ratios. So I walk in like loaded with data where it's like, hey, like this is an identical home. They tried the same process, they you know, listed for 600, they ended up selling for 525 after 120 days on market. Like, that's not our goal. No, we should start closer to that 525, maybe build in a little cushion. Yeah, but like if I lose you $75,000 120 days later, you're pissed at me. I'd rather be honest with you up front. So we do experience it a lot. Um, there are agents who who are definitely nod your head agents and will say a price to get a listing and they'll play the game a week or two later, hey, let's let's do a price drop, let's do a price drop. Um, I walk away from listings. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, I I do carry a lot of things.

SPEAKER_02 36:06

Do you think it hurts the listing having to go through a price drop? Does it give it almost a black eye?

SPEAKER_01 36:10

To an extent, yeah. I think days on market combined with those price drops is a really like pivotal key performance, you know, indicator. If uh, you know, let's say a home is on the market for a hundred days and you can jump into the history on Zillow or MLS or whatever you know online resource you're using. If you see them 100 days on market and they've done a 10K, a 10K, a 20K, yeah. You're the hardest question to overcome in real estate is what's wrong? Yeah. You know, like for a consumer, what's wrong?

SPEAKER_02 36:42

How many times has this been under contract and then come out of contract?

SPEAKER_01 36:45

Yeah, you know, that that that's what's wrong with it. They'll go look in a new listing, just it could be the perfect home for them, but the wrong strategy creates a bad taste in the market. What's wrong? Why has it been on the market for so long? Why has it been, you know, under contract twice and back?

SPEAKER_02 37:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:02

So, like, yeah, doing your due diligence up front, having knowledge, having data, being the seller that asks for the data. Yeah. Can you show me how you came up with that? Yeah. You you should have an agent who can do the data, who can pretty much do an appraisal on the spot, aka a CMA. Like the the data's important. Absolutely. So it is detrimental to a listing, but to an extent.

SPEAKER_02 37:25

We know we had another very successful agent in here, uh Zach Sperlock. Yeah. And he's one of the ones that hit my head, like super disciplined. He is uh he uses the data for everything. You know what I mean? Like that's how he's like he his thing was like so the best agents, they're using the right data to make the decision.

SPEAKER_01 37:42

It's all database. Like we we are literally, you know, and that that helps you down the road too. Like, sure, let's say a property is worth 600, you list it for 650, you get an offer for 650. If it's a loan, there's an appraisal. Yeah, if you're not using the same process to evaluate the home as an appraiser's using, when that appraisal comes in low, like who's the seller pissed at? Yeah, you're gonna blame the appraiser. It's your fault for missing the mark up front. Yeah, and so like I don't really see low appraisals on my listings just because it is data based, you know, it's data backed. Um and I'm definitely known for walking away from listings. You know, one a couple of weeks ago, maybe a one, two, one, three house won't list for less than one six, one seven. They won't self, I'm not your guy. Like I'm just not him. Yeah, like I wish you the best. And you know, when you want to be realistic and have a conversation, like I would love to be, you know, the guy in your corner.

SPEAKER_02 38:38

Listen like that, you're gonna invest a lot of money into it too.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

Well, that's I carry a zero dollar cancellation fee. I do videography, I spend a lot of money on marketing, especially for a seven-figure listing. So when it fails, I'm the one that takes a five, six thousand dollar bath. I'm, you know, I have a business to run, not a charity. Yeah, it's a business. It's a business to run, not a charity. So you know, and that's yeah, I'm I'm known for walking away from it. I walk into those conversations like, oh, she said she would do this at the shop for sure it'll sell at that price. If the data can't convince you, then it's not my job to change your mind. Yeah, I can be honest and transparent with you and show you the data. I'm not here to twist your arm to believe me. Yeah. You know, when it doesn't work out though, I hope you call me back. You know? Yeah. That's all you can say about it. Yeah, when it doesn't work, and you know, they when they ask for the first price reduction two weeks later, like please call me and just like say, Hey, Dylan, you were right. Yeah, I know it's gonna be super hard, but tell me.

SPEAKER_02 39:35

I mean, you hear so many stories in the industry about you know, first listing didn't go well. And and then literally, like the difference maker sometimes is they painted the wall a different color in the living room and stages a little bit different. And then when you walk in, it just feels like a way bigger home. Yeah. Oh, I mean just the little stuff, right?

SPEAKER_01 39:49

Like, oh yeah, there's and it is about taking the proper advisement. You know, it's as a homeowner, as a seller, as a buyer, take the advisement because individuals like myself, like we've done this a thousand times. We've written thousands of offers, we've listed hundreds of properties, um, hundreds of millions of dollars of of real estate sales. So it's like, yeah, like we probably have done this before, but we're not just telling you this because we want you to spend your Sunday painting a room. I hate painting. I wouldn't ask you to do it unless I thought it was gonna work. Exactly. You know?

SPEAKER_03 40:23

Did you used to do that when you started? Like go in and you had to paint a wall or something, like what Steve said.

SPEAKER_01 40:27

Or do you have Yeah. I hate to admit it. Um it's part of the thing that I like teach as a mentor now is like remember what you're doing. I was gonna say, remember where you came from. Yeah, like because people will take advantage of you, you know. Like people will take advantage of you to mow their lawn or to you know paint this room because I, you know, fell. And it people will take advantage of you. Like there are so like, yeah, I I definitely and I've done things just to get to a closing table as well. Like, you know, final walkthrough happens on one of my listings. They call me like, Dylan, this house is disgusting. Damn. My cleaners are booked out, it's supposed to close at 12, it's 9 a.m. in the morning. Like, what do you do? Gotta say you gotta get done. Yeah, you know, as long as it doesn't intrude on anything else, you know, the lead generation and the discipline you have in the other parts of your business. Yeah, yeah, I'm in Canaveral Groves, hands and knees, scrubbing a 1300 square foot house just to get it to a closing table. Like, yeah, so yeah, there there are times you do that. There's eventually a point though where like you need to be really keen to who's taking advantage of you and who really needs help. Like, always want to help. I will always give somebody time, but there are no one to sniff that out. There's manipulators in this world and you have to sniff it out. Yeah, you have to sniff it out.

SPEAKER_03 41:44

I feel like that's a a trait not a lot of people have, and but when you have it, you're lucky. Oh yeah. You can sniff that shit out of my way. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:51

I know I can you have to read people, and it's you this this business is more psychological than most you know consider. You read people, you need to get to know people, you need to be empathetic, you need to feel their decision making and know when something feels wrong for them and make a decision that's best for your client, even if it's not best for you. Yeah, even if it means like, oh man, I'm gonna go show 12 houses on a Sunday now. It it is about the client. Yeah, that's what gets you the Google reviews, that's what gets you the word of mouth business. Um, that that's what's helped me so much is not caring about the dollar and caring about the person.

SPEAKER_03 42:25

Yeah. I love it. And as far as marketing goes, you obviously went to UCL for marketing. How um how much did that factor into where you are now? More than I ever expected.

SPEAKER_01 42:34

Really? You know, like I I was probably that typical, you know, new college graduate that was like, oh, I just got a degree and I'm going straight into 1099, you know, entrepreneurship. I'm never gonna use it. What I learned the most from you know getting a marketing degree. Sure, I know how to market, I know how to do the data analysis, I know how to check insights and kind of learn targeting on a marketing aspect. What it taught me was structure. You know, the same thing that school does for kids is like the show up, the get your work done, how to write a thesis, how to be polished, how to because I get UCF that the college of business did phenomenal. Like they taught you where to hold your hands and like how to put business cards on the table. So like you learn a lot of mannerisms from that program, not only like the the concrete, you know, substance of marketing, sure, sure, but they taught you how to polish yourself and how to talk and love that, you know, how to really connect with somebody and relate to them and feel their decision making more than just become a salesperson. Yeah, you're in anybody can sell, but like how do you care about what you're selling? So it worked a lot. You know, I definitely use the targeting, I definitely use the knowledge every day. The things that I never thought I would use were the silly things the mannerisms, the mannerisms, the the professional courtesy, the you. Out, those are the things that stick with me the most was the structure of how to be a business professional that I got from school. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 44:07

That was the biggest thing that I took away. Um back to marketing, man. How's technology helping you? I mean, technology has changed so much just over the last few years.

SPEAKER_01 44:16

Um like AI has come along. Yeah, so I was I was gonna ask if you're specifically I'm getting there. I'm I'm getting there. I uh I feel like I'm super old school. Yeah, you know, I'm I'm 33. I feel like I'm super old school because like I was so like no AI at first just because I take a lot of pride in you know how versed I am, and I kept seeing you know things that I was doing that like genuinely come from me now being copied from AI. So I was a little anti-you know AI and technology in the beginning just because I was like, this is cheating. You guys are all cheating, like nobody knows who you are. Like, are you real? Are you fake? Are you an idiot? Are you really that intelligent? Like, I don't like I don't know if you can speak that eloquently. Like, you know, so I was pretty taboo against it, but I found ways to create better systems from it. The lead gen and sending things places and how to structure business plans. So most people in our industry, I think, are using it for MLS narratives. I think they're like, God, I don't know what to say about this house. You know, type me a narrative on a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house, and you know, I think that's what most are using it for. I started using it on the back end. How can I get my CRM cleaner? Can it organize my data based upon what I fed it? What would be the best algorithm for me to use based upon my content base? And so I've used it a lot to simplify and create systems in my business more than I've used it for speaking for you? Yeah, anything on the front, you know, like I have that part down.

SPEAKER_03 45:53

You can sniff an AI content from a mile away. I read a thing, I'm like, this house is not a paradise. And I mean, no, I mean it's it that way, but like be real here.

SPEAKER_01 46:03

Paradise, tropical oasis. And bro, we are in Brevard County. Like I love Brevard County, but like there's no tropical oasis anywhere close to here.

SPEAKER_02 46:13

There's a huge, there's a huge movement, especially in like big corporations, to move towards like an AI experience, right? Even like call centers when you call in, it's like you're talking to an AI buy. I hang up. Yeah, it's a chat. So like I think I I think companies are missing the mark. Because obviously there's a financial incentive to to accomplish that. Well, of course. But I think the most successful companies are utilizing AI as a tool to better their people, not to communicate with their customer. That's kind of exactly what you're saying.

SPEAKER_01 46:43

That's what I think AI should be used for is how do you how do you better you and your employees? AI will never replace relationships, and regardless if anybody wants to admit it, and you know, in the age of digital content and you know, scrolling being kind of a daily food group for most people's brains, I think humans are always gonna crave human interaction. Oh, yeah, they're always gonna crave a relationship, somebody they can trust. Um, AI is unbiased, sure, you know, but I I do think that it should be used to better your systems and to better yourself, but not to become its own personality because people crave human connection. Absolutely. They want somebody to depend on, and all you have to do is be that person to depend on. Use AI to become better. Yeah, how can I serve better by getting tools like AI?

SPEAKER_02 47:32

You know, it can help you quickly do some research.

SPEAKER_01 47:36

I'm the first one that calls one of these call centers to speak to a representative. Speak to a representative right now. Yeah, yeah. Like, no, no, no, I can't, you know, because we all we all want a human touch. No, especially in our industries, they want a human touch.

SPEAKER_03 47:50

Yeah, I mean to say it out loud, like we've experienced it not working.

SPEAKER_02 47:54

Yeah, we've we as as a company, um not you know, as a bright bright way, as a company has tried to do some of that stuff and it quickly failed because this is a human business. You know what I mean? Oh, absolutely. And oh yeah, ask Jason.

SPEAKER_01 48:09

He can barely get me to email Christina, like Oh yeah, yeah. And Christina's like looks over at me and she's like, What the heck, dude?

SPEAKER_03 48:16

I talked to him. And I'm like, it's not like that. It's just when you get comfortable with what's good, you're very successful, you know what works, it's really hard. And you know, me with the new position, I've still working with you, a couple others in the same scenario, they're very successful.

SPEAKER_01 48:33

But you had to tell me that, and that's when I was like, oh man, I totally get it because I'm trying to do the same thing. But then you're like, I'm trying to do the same thing, I get it. I'll try to free up your plate a little bit. So, Christina, I promise, uh I will be emailing you more directly. Christina's a rock star, but I'm not sure. Yeah, I'm still gonna all of you are.

SPEAKER_03 48:49

I'm still gonna CC Jason in there, but again, as a relationship business, like I know that, right? I'm moving role. My job is to make sure our agency is successful, whatever. Well, you're one of the most important referral partners for us, and we have a great relationship. So I don't like it's not that I mind or don't mind, like I want to take care of it. Yeah. Because I love my team, my team is fantastic. They're all could do the same great job, but I want to take care of you because you've taken care of me. Absolutely. Some loyalty. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:16

So the feelings mutual, and I I think that's all it is. I think that's where I AI comes in too is you know, if I if I all of a sudden need an insurance quote and I get an AI response from Jason's email, I'm calling you. I'm literally walking back in that front door the next time, like, okay, guys, like this is crazy.

SPEAKER_03 49:35

But at the same time, for me to flourish in my new position, if I'm stuck, not stuck, but you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_01 49:41

If I don't delegate to in a certain manner, you have to delegate, delegate authority so that you can do what you do best, so Christina can become you, if not better than you. Because I think that's all of our goals as a mentor, as a leader, is the person below you. You want them to be better than you. Yeah. How do I make them better and to teach them the mistakes that I, you know, have in myself or have done in business? You know, same with you. Yeah. You need to delegate authority to get them together. Yeah, delegate.

SPEAKER_02 50:07

Yeah, and there's nothing better as a leader man to watch the people have success, the people around you have successes too. Oh, absolutely. Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 50:14

Oh, I get calls from agents all the time, like, dude, it worked. Once you told me I literally did it word for word and it worked, and I'm like, yeah, man, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 50:21

Angela in her office was the number one producer in our region this past month, and she just won a big award. Oh, good for her. And like, we're all like I just when you look at the chat, like the inner office chat after she won the award, it's just like it's such an awesome feeling to see everybody rooting her on and cheering for it. See, that's fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 50:38

That team mentality is impossible to replace. And I know you guys too.

SPEAKER_01 50:43

Oh gosh, that's exactly how we are. We celebrate wins together, we're learning from each other. Uh, you know, Tom Arnold, amazing, amazing agent. I mean, he's a big agent for you, too. Yeah. Yeah. No, Tom, Tom and I, you know, we work hand in hand, you know, on a couple of bigger listings. We're always typically number one and number two in the office, and we sit down together, just a pow wow, and like we celebrate each other's wins, almost all of us in the office, you know.

SPEAKER_03 51:09

He started around the same time as you.

SPEAKER_01 51:11

A little bit before me. A little bit before. Tom is one of the like the OGOs. Like, he's like first agent in the door. He came with Chad and pretty much from century 21, that's right. Yeah, century 21. So I uh so Tom's been in it probably a good, I mean, shoot, maybe three or four years longer than me. He's he's been into like he's an OG in the industry. Thank you. You know, love Tom. But it's that that is our brokerage climate as well. Is like we know we can lean on each other. If I'm ever, you know, in a private office at the office, the doors open, people come in and sit down and vent it out, and like, what the hell would you do? And you know, so we have the same thing. We celebrate wins together, we're all 1099s. Like, technically, we're all kind of competitors of each other, but like we always want to see everybody thrive, you know. We we thrive together and we cry together. Like things happen, we'll help each other get out of holes and pits, and yeah, it's a very, very similar climate. And I think that's hard to repeat out of big box.

SPEAKER_03 52:08

Yeah, I would love to come sit and be a fly on the wall, not as an insurance person, just as a somebody who's in business. Yeah. Just to hear you guys' trainings, hear everybody's that was super cool. That's I mean, I know it's super chill, but I would love to hear you guys um, you know, powwow together, like the whole office, hear our trainings go.

SPEAKER_01 52:23

It's super real.

SPEAKER_03 52:24

Because I'm trying to learn, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 52:26

It's super real, it's very, very raw. Um, it's the trainings are always uh led by Chad and Nick. You know, they're both very raw, very respectful to everybody's business, but they're very raw, and like if you can't see this is what you're doing wrong, then like I can't help you. You know, so it's always very raw. It's very like, do this, like this is what's working, this isn't. They're so attached to every market in the nation that it's like if they're talking, you guys should shut up and listen. Yeah, you know, like they know what they're doing. Um anytime.

SPEAKER_02 53:03

Awesome. Anytime. We'll do. Dude, we should just talk a little Space Coast here. So you know. So favorite restaurant, man. What do you like?

SPEAKER_01 53:12

Oh shit.

SPEAKER_02 53:15

You're not gonna offend anybody. No, it's not offending anybody. Because like there's so many good ones.

SPEAKER_01 53:20

So anybody that's ever been out to you know, dinner with me or eats with me, I am the most indecisive. Oh, yeah. Like, oh, like definitely probably worth worse than both of your wives. And like, where do you want to eat for dinner? I don't know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:35

That's me. Oh like my wife's pretty black and white, like me.

SPEAKER_01 53:38

I have to be last to order at, you know, when the server comes, I have to be last to order because I'm stuck between six things. And it's like, do I order two just because I can't decide? Totally feel that. Um if I had to say, like, again, super hyper local, I think I always love the quality of the food, how fresh it always is. I I'm a big environment guy. I love sitting outside. Marker 24. Yeah, great. Um, you know, every day after bird or every time after, you know, an island day, stop by there, get a beer and a smothered cobia sandwich because the cobia comes straight out the port. Like, you know, and the the turf and the live music and the palm trees, like amazing. You know, like place is incredible. Yeah. Pacific Rim. Yep. Best sushi, like I'd love to say on the whole East Coast, like amazing, amazing. Love the owners, always love the small businesses. Um, so definitely Pacific Rim, marker 24. I think those are probably some of my top two. Um, I know in in Cocoa Beach. No, no, it's fantastic. It was actually a place, you know, over in Cocoa Beach, there's a new restaurant called Coa. So like I've heard it's very good as well. Yeah, I've been there. Um, so heard it was very, very good.

SPEAKER_03 54:50

Yeah, it's obviously Howie from Backstreet Boys. Go a little Greek to it. Go a little Greek to it.

SPEAKER_01 54:55

But like yeah, maybe we keep that one out just because pack rim and marker I'd I'd keep in this just because um I've actually been there. But yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:04

No, Coa's good. You've been there? Yes, a couple times, but podcast related. You've been there. No, definitely, yeah. Um it's actually a great place. Go get a drink, like happy hour or something. Not happy hour, but go to the bar. They had great food. Um the brunch is the brunch is really good. The brunch is more gr uh Greek leaning, but their taboo there is phenomenal if you like Greek food. Yeah. Um I would argue that Coco across the street, small place, like a 12-top table or 12-person. It just got mentioned in uh the Michelin guide. Oh, really? Michelin star got mentioned in the Michelin guide. First one in Brevard County history. Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02 55:41

You know, I haven't even heard that either. He can't get it. Cocoa Japanese pub. It's uh it's phenomenal, dude. I've been there. Yeah. I've been even I've only been there. I've been there three times, but I the first the first time I was there having lunch with my wife one day, it's midweek, and I'm sitting there eating, and the whole time I'm eating it, like I'm just quiet, just like, man, this is so hell there. And I just look over at my wife and I go, This is the best lunch I've ever had. It's awesome. I mean, that's how good it was. I might have to hit that this weekend.

SPEAKER_01 56:08

Because to be real with you, I don't like go out to eat. Like ever. You cook a lot. I cook a lot, I I meal prep a lot. Um I don't know what it is.

SPEAKER_03 56:18

Yeah, we didn't really touch off it. Clearly, you're into fitness. Big it's a big part of your life.

SPEAKER_01 56:22

A little bit.

SPEAKER_03 56:22

Yeah. It's mostly genetics. Yeah. I just came out this way. No. Um, I was gonna ask, this is actually a good question. What's your favorite cheat meal?

SPEAKER_01 56:32

I'm sorry to keep on food here, but food's a big part of my life. No, please do. Like, I yeah, I'm a foodie. Like, you know. Favorite cheat meal. I'm almost like super, super ashamed to even say it. Yes. I'm ashamed. This is a great question, though. I'm so ashamed. Checkers. Uh a baconzilla checkers burger with extra pea sauce and mozzarella sticks instead of fries.

SPEAKER_03 56:58

I'm so glad you mentioned specifics too. It's gotta be from this.

SPEAKER_01 57:01

Chocolate banana, half and half shakes. Let's go. Bro, I will I will smash triple patty, baconzilla, extra cheese, mozzarella. I will smash that, go straight to sleep. I love that. And I wake up like so disappointed in myself. Oh it's not working if you're not disappointed that. Yeah, because I mean, because realistically, outside of like the you know, once a month cheat meal like that, or maybe even once another, I haven't had fast food or soda in 12 years. Holy shit. So like that's kind of like the discipline thing. And when I have checkers, I'm like, oh my God, I just ate fast food. Like, it's not it's not only what I ate, it's that, oh my gosh, I went through a drive-thru. Like, I mean the guilt of it. Yeah, I'm like wearing a wig and a fake mustache when I'm driving through it, like nobody can see me going through this thing. It's not a new car. Yeah. We run up and get a rental really quick. That's awesome. That's hilarious.

SPEAKER_02 58:01

I grew up on Checkers. When I was a kid, I grew up across the street from Checkers, and so I was there all the time. Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_03 58:07

I used to be pretty disciplined. I used to be in the Venice, working out a bunch, had kids. It's not on the top of the priority list now. So I can say fast food has entered more than it used to. Not a whole lot more, but a lot more. Oh God, I feel like such a peach.

SPEAKER_02 58:21

I think for me, like, we don't we don't eat a lot of fast food at all. My wife is super anti-fast food, but I am not. And and my kids, my kids don't get to experience it. So sometimes I like taking them just because it's their first time experiencing it. You know, like I've been with them, it's the first time they've had Taco Bell. They're like, they're like 12 and 14, they've never had Taco Bell. I was like, what are you guys doing? Like, we have to go to Taco Bell right now. But you're like, don't tell mom that we went to Taco Bell. I'm like, we have to go to Taco Bell right now. Yeah, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 58:52

Oh my gosh. But yeah, I can remember growing up and like killing it, like drinking a 12 pack of Mountain Dew, like sitting in bed playing Halo on a Sunday, 12 pack of Mountain Dew. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:03

My age, I was Nintendo 64, Doritos, Mountain Dew, and Domino's Pizza. Oh yeah. Yep. Smash it.

SPEAKER_02 59:09

Yep. Yep. All right, man. Let's end on this question. So, what's your favorite thing about the Space Coast? When you think about the Space Coast and why you love it here, what's your favorite thing?

SPEAKER_01 59:18

It's an awesome question. It could be a really long answer, uh, but I do think I'm gonna lean back into kind of what we were discussing earlier about like how local this place is. You know, I mean, obviously, it's not Miami, it's not West Palm, it's not Fort Lauderdale, but we have very similar waterways. We have a very similar style of living without the population. Yeah. You know, I the fact that we can go to Bird Island and you park your boat next to the same people you saw, and you know, they're coming up like, hey, I have an extra burger, or like they're it's just it's community. It feels so hospitable of a community, like you make connections with people and you run them into them and at Publix, or you get invited to Fourth of July parties, or this it's just so hyper local, which is why we've succeeded so much as Blue Marlin. But I I love that we have that nautical lifestyle without the same price points you find down south. Yeah, you know, I I I love the boating. I love we said we're kind of the best kept secret, man. We until COVID popped, and now everybody and Elon's really bringing a lot of attention as well. You know, like I do think that the whole space coast is a well kept secret. I think we're valued perfectly. I think we have amazing recreational activities. And I think we, you know, as a generalization, I think our community is like something that just resonates with me. I think I'm very similar to everybody here, and we a lot of us still look out for each other, you know. Like it's I think it's just a tightly knit community, waterfront, yeah, that you know, you can't really find in other places without spending a lot of money or dealing with populations, yeah, or maybe having to learn Spanish.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:58

Such a good answer. You hit everybody on the nose. Yeah. Listen, man, I can't thank you enough for taking the time out of your busy day. No, I think I really appreciate it for having me. And um, yeah, good luck for the rest of you crushing it, buddy.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:08

Thank you, banded. Thanks, guys.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:11

That's a wrap for this episode of the Studio 321 Podcast, powered by Frightway, the Steve Trout Agency. We can't thank you enough for being part of our journey. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with a friend. Until next time, 321, we're out.