Ladies Offroad Network founder and media mogul, Charlene Bower, on Episode 67

Founder of many things, including the Ladies Offroad Network, Charlene Bower, shares her colorful history in off-road. Included are the highs and the lows and a lot of personal history between Big Rich and Charlene. It’s a great listen.

4:19 – I had the coolest van in high school – metallic blue

6:47 – my coach said No dirt bikes

12:27 – I’ve got a couple of ATC 70’s that are all blown out, they’re pretty aggressive

15:35 – my first job at Zoom Motorcycles – first girl they ever hired, vetted me the same they would the guys

24:23 – mini skirts and high heels to work every day

26:46 – do you want to hear the truth or what you want to hear?

29:28 – Hot Boats in Disco Bay

33:17 – I took six months off, hooked up my trailer, and went to Pismo, I was done with retail 

36:22 – I’ll take the job, but I’m not starting until after Christmas

41:51 – the first thing companies do in a recession is cut their marketing

45:28 – I did what any good business owner would do, I started my own business sitting on my parents' floor 

50:11 –three elements that make the industry work

55:23 – how I ended up in Arizona

1:00:23 – I hit another wall, I wasn’t filling my bucket back up

1:04:30 – Boom, there it is – Rallyventure, Uwharrie and Rebelle Rally – just say yes

1:14:44 – what am I supposed to do if I win this thing??

1:19:04 – we offer lifetime memberships now

1:24:40 – Bower Academy will be an online school

1:28:51 – we kept them out of jail and nobody died!

We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.

www.maxxis.com

www.4lowmagazine.com 

Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

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Transcript

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[00:00:01.080] - Big Rich Klein

Welcome to the Big Rich show, this podcast will focus on conversations with friends and acquaintances within the four wheel drive industry. Many of the people that I will be interviewing, you may know the name, you may know some of the history, but let's get in depth with these people and find out what truly makes them a four wheel drive enthusiast. So now's the time to sit back, grab a cold one and enjoy our conversation.

[00:00:29.490] – Maxxis Tires

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[00:00:56.040] - Big Rich Klein

Why should you read 4Low magazine, because 4Low magazine is about your lifestyle, the Four-Wheel Drive adventure lifestyle that we all enjoy, rock crawling, trail riding, event coverage, vehicle builds and do it yourself tech all in a beautifully presented package. You won't find 4Low on a newsstand rack. So subscribe today and have it delivered to you.

[00:01:20.420] – Big Rich Klein

On today's episode of Conversations with Big Rich, we have Charlene Bower. Yes, we've interviewed her dad, Bob Bower, but now we're in with Charlene.

[00:01:33.230] - Big Rich Klein

Charlene and I go back quite a ways and we'll discuss all of that. Charlene, thank you for coming on board and being on Conversations with Big Rich and talking to our listeners.

[00:01:48.960] - Charlene Bower

Absolutely. I'm so excited and you and I have a lot of fun stories to talk about.

[00:01:56.220] – Big Rich Klein

Yes, we do. I don't know if we're allowed to talk about them all.

[00:01:59.600] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, we can talk.

[00:02:00.660] - Big Rich Klein

We can talk generalities at least. I know we've got it. We've got to talk about your your crack kitten, you know, but it all Piston cat crack cat. The whole world. Yeah.

[00:02:16.560] - Big Rich Klein

Or the Oroville crack cat. Yes. That's the. Yeah, Piston was Piston's a lovely kitty. Anyway, so let's let's go and get started like we do with everyone and, you know, where did you grow up and, you know, born and raised.

[00:02:36.840] - Charlene Bower

Yep, I was born and raised in Palo Alto, California, which is in the Bay Area, San Francisco area with, as you mentioned, my dad, who is rad and thank you for having him share his story. And then my mom Deanna is very well known as mom around campus. And then my brother Brent, who is a couple of years younger than me, and I was bigger than him until he was about 11. And then I stopped having a smart mouth and realized he was bigger than me.

[00:03:11.970] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, it was an entertaining household.

[00:03:14.900] - Big Rich Klein

And I can imagine. I can imagine. So what were the earliest memories? Well, first, let's before we get into those memories of when you guys got started off roading, let's get into the basic facts of school. And you know how you know, what kind of student were you? You know, were you athletic? Were you scholastic? Were you did your own thing? Where do you fit in?

[00:03:48.580] - Charlene Bower

I was the good student. Believe it or not, you were the guy was a good little student, OK? Yes. Yep. So I went through high school playing volleyball and track shot put and discus, even went to the state in shot put this and gained a volleyball scholarship at the end and ran A's and B's through school, which really was it was all very kind of my parents because they're like, hey, you get good grades, you do great sports and don't worry about working.

[00:04:19.990] - Charlene Bower

You know, we'll handle that. So until they gave me a rad van to drive around that had a 460 Ford fuel injected engine in it, that was the coolest thing in Palo Alto. Clearly. A van?. And yes, was a multicolored and like round windows in the topic. It was metallic blue, metallic blue in the pinstripe, and it was like a faded red. So I convinced my dad that we had to paint it metallic pink because that was like that old school era 80’s color combo.

[00:04:59.380] - Charlene Bower

I my dad look at this. It's faded. We got to do something about this, can't we just paint it metallic pink. It'll just kind of go.

[00:05:06.400] - Charlene Bower

And he went with it. I like that.

[00:05:08.650] - Big Rich Klein

Don Johnson in Miami Vice look.

[00:05:11.800] - Charlene Bower

Exactly. Exactly. And so then they realized how much fuel that was costing every day while I was going back and forth to school. So I finally got my very first ever four wheel drive, which was a Jeep Cherokee white one. So every time I see a white four wheel drive Jeep Cherokee running around town, I always my heart just goes out to its XJ friends.

[00:05:34.030] - Charlene Bower

Nice. Thank you. So my brother got in trouble with it, I didn’t

[00:05:38.680] - Big Rich Klein

Oh, he got in trouble with it huh?.

[00:05:41.300] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, I was the good yeah, you were the I was a good kid.

[00:05:44.850] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, my brother and I flip flopped that role in our mid 20s, but at that time, I was the good kid.

[00:05:52.220] - Charlene Bower

He was the wild one.

[00:05:55.520] - Big Rich Klein

So, yeah, you did shot, put and discus and played volleyball. Volleyball is is a given because of your height. Yeah. And then no basketball.

[00:06:09.580] - Charlene Bower

No, I'm too lazy to run up and down the court that much, and that's why you that's why you were a thrower and not a runner, OK?

[00:06:17.930] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, yeah.

[00:06:21.710] - Charlene Bower

You know, am I. Yeah, that's not me.

[00:06:25.150] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, but muscle and strength.

[00:06:29.740] - Charlene Bower

You know me. Yes, that's me. Like yeah. So muscle and strength working on the way I worked out with all the football guys and. Yeah it was great.

[00:06:41.620] - Big Rich Klein

Excellent. So what was, what were some of the good memories back then.

[00:06:47.060] - Charlene Bower

To do with off roading was super fun as being a volleyball in the summertime, my coach hated that I rode dirt bikes because, well, he doesn't want his athlete to get hurt riding a dirt bike and refused to let me ride dirt bikes during the season. And I don't know if you know me well enough to know you don't tell me no. Right. That means that you're going to do it. And so it just really agitated me that he was telling me that I could not ride

[00:07:18.950] - Charlene Bower

Dirt bikes and the best part of the season right there in the fall. And so one day it was in August, it was during Doubleday's and they were paving our streets. And you couldn't move your car out. Right. You're stuck with the pavement. And so I looked at my mom and I'm like, no, it's a deal right now. Clearly, we didn't preplan. Or maybe I did a little. Like, the only way I can get to practice right now is a dirt bike.

[00:07:49.940] - Charlene Bower

So either I don't go to practice and I get in trouble or I pull the dirt bike out and take it, which they're dual sport bikes right there. It's that we were running five hundred miles per weekend. And so my mom's like, whatever. So I pushed it out. I got it out of the trailer. I put some gear on and rode it up to Gunn High School, to the gym and up right outside the gym and parked it.

[00:08:18.530] - Charlene Bower

And my coach came out and gave me the most awesome look I'll never forget. Are you serious right now, Charlene? I just kind of shrugged. Oh, my God. I had no choice. Either I ride this or I don't go there. Asphalting, my street, which one did you want? And so that kind of eliminated this whole conversation about me dirt biking, what I wanted to hear.

[00:08:42.530] - Big Rich Klein

And so you went to Gunn High School, huh? Yeah, I, I say when I was in high school, we swam against gun. Oh, yeah, yeah, it was always they had a. They had an invitational or something down there, or maybe we did sectionals or something, but I remember swimming at gun.

[00:09:02.640] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, nice school. Yeah, it's a nice, nice pool. Nice school.

[00:09:06.720] - Big Rich Klein

So anyway. Yeah, so then you guys rode dirt bikes a lot. Where were your favorite places to ride.

[00:09:17.640] - Charlene Bower

So we rode Hollister occasionally just for that quickly and, you know, quick the quick weekends and then our big rides actually in Nevada. So my dad would take us over the hill into Nevada with a bunch of his buddies and do two day runs. So they would always come up with some loop that they put together. Huge miles, though, big miles of dirt, big, big motorcycles. And off we went.

[00:09:47.660] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah, he talked about about hiding gas. Gas cans, yeah, so that you guys had enough fuel or my mom would chase for us from Chase in the van so we would have fuel and have our bags at the end of the night. The same vehicle, that same van with the would be. No, no, no different. No, that poor guy ended up at the crusher that day was really sad.

[00:10:15.140] - Big Rich Klein

So how many rows of seats did it have in it? That's the best way for school in the shore is the old school, the answer is this a Ford, but have the two front seats in the back seat and then a bed in the back. I would take it to Pismo by the time you could load up your quad. I loaded up my Banshee and would go out there for the weekend with friends or whatever.

[00:10:37.730] - Charlene Bower

OK, yeah. Yeah.

[00:10:42.060] - Charlene Bower

So you think back to those things we did. We're not intelligent all the time, were they.

[00:10:47.640] - Charlene Bower

Well it but fun.

[00:10:50.100] - Big Rich Klein

They were fun and. Yeah. You know, the thing is, is that nowadays I really feel, I feel sorry for the youth of America nowadays. We had so many more freedoms when we were kids and the you know, the United States has just gotten out of control. And, you know, you can't allow kids to do the things that we did. And and that's a shame. That really is yeah, that's why when I do see kids out partying or, you know, high schoolers out there with their kids and stuff and they're doing somewhat stupid things, I just laugh and let them go.

[00:11:32.200] - Big Rich Klein

Yet at the same time here, how can I help you? Right. How can I help you be better right now? Because you're actually the ones that gets it. And I want to support that. Right.

[00:11:44.200] - Big Rich Klein

Try to do that with our grandkids as they're growing up. Yeah, because we've been taking Jacob with us for a couple of years now on the road and trying to expose him to, you know, driving and shooting guns and, you know, going to national parks and, you know, that kind of stuff. Exactly. That he, you know, as as a as traveling like we do, we get to let him experience.

[00:12:08.560] - Charlene Bower

So, yeah.

[00:12:09.970] - Big Rich Klein

And I wish more kids had that opportunity.

[00:12:13.330] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, I agree.

[00:12:14.740] - Big Rich Klein

So let's let's get into. Into more of that that writing, you started collecting ATCs, I understand.

[00:12:27.830] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, yeah, that's not a bad have wanted that, so, oh, that was a lot later. OK, I have to ask you, 70s, that became a cool little trend and I'm like, well, I want to be part of that cool little trend back to the 70s and completely blowing them out. So they're both idiots. You see kids and have full paint jobs on them and everything. They're pretty aggressive.

[00:12:57.020] - Big Rich Klein

That 80s paint job again, or looking at what kind of paint?

[00:13:04.230] - Charlene Bower

One is they're both committed, OK? One is American flag, American flag, American flag motif, I guess. What's the word for that? I don't know what. American flag design. Yes. Yeah. An American flag motif. A very nice design that kind of goes across the whole Fender's sections. And I think. Right, because the tank is metal and then the fenders are plastic. So it has to be a certain paper that can do both.

[00:13:35.850] - Charlene Bower

And then the second one, it's a little more aggressive. It's that hot pink with the baby, blue with a bunch of Playboy bunnies on it. I'm not really sure where the theme came from at the time, but if I didn't, I'd seen pictures of them. And I knew that the one was was painted that, you know, with the pink and stuff. And but I didn't know about the Playboy bunnies on it.

[00:13:58.780] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, I just got to zoom in a little bit. There's always there's always some interesting detail in there.

[00:14:04.950] - Charlene Bower

Yes.

[00:14:07.440] - Big Rich Klein

So then your your ex s.j what year was it Eddie Ford for automatic. Nothing spectacular, 88, four door, OK, yeah, yeah, 88, wow, that's like one of the first years. OK, what came after the the.

[00:14:30.520] - Charlene Bower

Oh, I know.

[00:14:34.360] - Charlene Bower

I think that's when I got into a truck life, because that would have gotten me through college, so I went to Santa Clara University and majored in marketing with a minor in communications. And during that time, I worked two to three jobs just depending. So I was working at my friend's auto parts or service auto supply, and he gave me the opportunity to do all of his receivables, accounts payable and all the bookwork and working with their inventory control management.

[00:15:06.070] - Charlene Bower

So it couldn't have been a better opportunity of learning. Like he gave me the opportunity to learn books which I have ever used in my life, of learning, of knowing all of that, and then inventory control and how to get inventory in and out of stock. And which has also been like a huge life lesson in business. I learned probably more from him and I did in college, if you put it directly in line with actual schooling. Right.

[00:15:35.980] - Charlene Bower

And then I also worked at Zoom Zoom motorcycle accessory, which was in Santa Clara, and that was the motorcycle shop. So I was my very first job ever. Oh, this is a good story. You ready? Yep. This so that was the very first job ever. It was the zoom cycles. And I graduated from high school. And of course, now you get to go get a job. Right. And so I wanted to work the motorcycle shop, like, why can't I?

[00:16:01.480] - Charlene Bower

I know everything about it and I love going down there and why don't I work at it. So I went down and I put in my resume and filled out their little applications, be real about it. And then they hired me. And so I was super excited and my grandma from Bakersfield was visiting at the time. And so I went to work that day and was all excited to work at this motorcycle shop. I came home filthy from the first day, and they're like, OK, well, you get to go back and change tires all day today.

[00:16:38.760] - Charlene Bower

That's your job. It's like, OK. And so they took me back there and one of the guys that had been working there for a while showed me the ropes. And he's like, look, you do this and this and this and that. And I'm like, OK, I've never changed street by tire before. So that was new to me. And, you know, reading it correctly. Right. Right. But then the first dirt bike tire came in.

[00:17:03.750] - Charlene Bower

I'm like, oh, is easy. He's like, watch this. And he put it up on this machine and then bam bam. This motorcycle tire was fixed and done and ready to go off. And I'm like, wait a second, you don't have to do it on a bucket and the dirt on the grass on your knees. This is amazing. And they were not to me at that point. I'm like, oh, this is way cooler than changing gears.

[00:17:29.070] - Charlene Bower

I will take that home. So they're getting rid of me. And eventually I'm like, OK, I have found within two days and my grandma not being happy with me coming home all dirty, that that that was probably not my long term game and I needed to figure something else out.

[00:17:51.450] - Big Rich Klein

So you didn't want to be a motorcycle mechanic?

[00:17:54.750] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, pretty much.

[00:17:56.550] - Charlene Bower

And so so I kept sneaking up to the front when there wasn't a tire or something and I kept sneaking out and then I would help customers. And all of a sudden I was making these two, three hundred, four hundred dollar bills with helmets and gear and everything. And they just couldn't justify. I keep throwing me to the back, so I make my way to the front.

[00:18:16.650] - Charlene Bower

And and then throughout my college career, while I continued to work there, I also made my way into their office because they needed office up as well. And so, again, I learned a lot about business and books and inventory management and everything through working there as well.

[00:18:35.230] - Big Rich Klein

Well, hands on and getting ready. Getting paid to learn is a great way of doing it.

[00:18:40.740] - Charlene Bower

It's like you don't. And I always say this to kids, especially nowadays to you. I had no idea what I was learning at the time. I had no idea the value of what I was getting until later. You're like, Oh, I did this and this and this. And it's all because of these people gave me these opportunities. And as I have kids that work for me or, you know, I see kids around me, I'm like, take everything you can learn in here.

[00:19:07.710] - Charlene Bower

Let me teach you how to do this, because you may or may not need it right away, but eventually down the road, this is really going to benefit you and what you need to do. So, yeah, it's a big life lesson. But to to finish this motorcycle sob story, I didn't learn rich probably until ten years later. It was a long, long time that I was the first girl they had ever hired. And the whole deal, the owner and the manager kept it super quiet from me until until later, and I was the first girl they had ever hired, and the only way they said they would hire me is if I go through the exact same vetting process that the guys did with going to the back and changing tires and stuff.

[00:19:57.050] - Charlene Bower

Right. You always vetted everybody and they're like, yeah, as soon as you came up smiling because you got to change a tire on a machine instead of a bucket, we knew we were stuck with you.

[00:20:13.310] - Charlene Bower

So that was kind of interesting. You know, you think about the where women have come into the industry and there was a moment right there where we broke a ceiling and then offered jobs. That was pretty cool.

[00:20:24.650] - Big Rich Klein

That's that's great. That's. Yeah. I'm glad and hopefully they've hired women since and hopefully those women were able to change tires or learn to change tires.

[00:20:38.480] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, yeah, there's definitely girls working there after, which is cool.

[00:20:42.010] - Big Rich Klein

Excellent. So that got your start in in sales. And where did you go after that? What were the other jobs you had in college?

[00:20:52.950] - Charlene Bower

Um, I drove semi trucks in the middle of the night, so go out and do it. This is a very unknown fact, said go out in the middle of the night and do and dump. I said lowboy some truck work. Really? So that's why when I drive big things and can back up better than I can go forward and everybody wonders why there's a little secret. That's the one where everybody is that you know that that game everybody plays.

[00:21:24.690] - Charlene Bower

Nobody know about you. That's the one I use. So anybody that listens to your podcast now, I'm in trouble because that one is now out there.

[00:21:32.040] - Charlene Bower

Yep. There you go. Yeah. So those are the three things I did through college.

[00:21:38.430] - Big Rich Klein

I wish I'd have known that when you were on the road with us.

[00:21:42.010] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, right.

[00:21:45.390] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah. Because I could never get Josh or I can never get Shelley to drive. How do I know that you could drive. You would have been driving some of this.

[00:21:57.030] - Charlene Bower

Yeah exactly. Yeah. I love it. I mean that's my setup right now. It's 65 feet like aren't you nervous. I'm like oh this is awesome.

[00:22:07.530] - Big Rich Klein

Yep. That's good. Sixty five feet. You're just legal in California then isn't it. Sixty five or sixty five anyway.

[00:22:15.390] - Charlene Bower

I don't know. I sneak in and out of there anyways. I don't stay for long.

[00:22:21.270] - Big Rich Klein

I know that feeling. Yeah. I try not to take the semi truck there. I'll go into like when we do an event at Döner I'll sneak into Döner and then I'll sneak in the back. Right. Yeah. Sneak in the back way. I don't mind going. It's almost like they know me going through the Truckee, California truck stop. Yeah. I mean I, I just go past the scales and then go into the semi line and then.

[00:22:47.220] - Big Rich Klein

The one time the the guy goes, you know, Bill,of Lading and I said, no, no, it's a motorhome. And this is a motor home, and I said, yeah, you know, look at the windows, look at the propane tanks and the shitter pipes and the guy goes, oh, OK, check it out pretty bad. And he goes, OK, that's fine. He goes, oh, by the way, you have a highway patrolman with his lights on behind you.

[00:23:07.060] - Big Rich Klein

And I'm like, OK, great. So I start to pull over and then the highway patrolman comes up alongside me with his window down and he goes, You're good, thanks. And just takes off because he, you know, he ran the plates or, you know, saw that we were an RV. Yeah. And then so he let me go. So now I just blow through there and they never stop me. That was like the first time years ago.

[00:23:31.060] - Charlene Bower

Nice. Yeah, nice. Arkansas's in there. They're becoming a little more common. Yes. True. So that's helpful.

[00:23:40.870] - Big Rich Klein

So, OK, so then you worked at the bikes at the motorcycle shop. And in college, right?

[00:23:49.810] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, so, yeah, I graduated college, OK, and with these fancy degrees and this really nice plaque I have in my office and thought I was going to get a real job and I was going to be a marketing professional for a computer company that did inventory control management in the automotive industry, which is super familiar with it through working at service auto and why it was coming up. So this is ninety nine. I graduated in ninety nine from college and Y2K was coming up.

[00:24:23.120] - Charlene Bower

And so they hired me specifically to take on this Y2K project and I'm like, oh, this is going to be great. This is going to I mean this is what I've been working for. I'm going to wear mini skirts and high heels to work every day and do this rad marketing program so committed and worked through Y2K and quit the money working in Orange County and high yields and mini skirts is not for me.

[00:24:52.360] - Charlene Bower

It's about as bad as me changing tires every day. This is not going to happen. So luckily, through a group of my dad's friends and my friends and the motorcycle industry got a job with the owner of Chapperel Motorsports, Steve Damron. And so I went into his office one day and he interviewed me and got a job as the. The mail order manager, OK, so Chapperal Motorsports is the largest motorcycle and motor sports shop in the country and at the time and I'm still sure now, but I don't know for sure as far as their their ship outs go.

[00:25:41.790] - Charlene Bower

But on the top of the motorcycle companies, that does mail order. And at the time, you know, mail order was a catalog goes out and you call in and you order back in 19 or two thousand now or in two thousand. We made it through Y2K, but nobody crashed. Yeah. And yeah. So I got this job him. And did the mail order manager and so my desk was right outside his office and it stressed me out, right.

[00:26:13.110] - Charlene Bower

Like you're answering all these all these people's calls that are I'm a manager. So anybody that's taking a call has a question they have to come ask me. It's right in front of the owner's office. And this is not a small establishment like this is a big deal. Right. There's 30 something people working in this mail order house. Oh, my gosh. So one day he calls me into his office and it was within like two weeks. And he's like, oh, so I want you to go out on the floor and go walk around the shop and the store.

[00:26:46.850] - Charlene Bower

Just been out there. And I just want you to come back and tell me what you see. I'm like, OK. And so I went out and hung out in the store all day, and you came back at the end of the day and he's like, well, what did you see in typical Charline fashion? I'm like, well, you want me to tell you the truth or tell you what you want to know? He's like, I want you to tell me the truth.

[00:27:11.220] - Charlene Bower

And I'm like, Parts department is not paying attention to their customers. And it's very obvious and challenging. He's like, sounds good. You're in charge tomorrow. And so I became a party member of Chapperal Motorsports and I had about 20 guys from the age of 16 to sixty five working for me and two girls. And for the next four years we just made a significant difference and did all kinds of. Interesting and awesome things and built a wholesale commitment for them and all kinds of things.

[00:27:49.200] - Charlene Bower

So, again, it was the whole process was big. It was really awesome. And I learned a ton from Dave and his business strategy. And as they continue to grow, they're building. He also gave me the accessories manager job, which was on the floor. So all of the clothing, if you've ever been there, ever have a chance to stop, to stop. It's insane how amazing this motorcycle shop is. And I said, I can't do it, I'm like, I can't do it, I can't be parts and accessories, like it's a seven line dealership for just the state.

[00:28:27.910] - Charlene Bower

And then the accessories side is me chasing kids that are supposed to be working the floor, helping customers out of the racks from chit chatting with their friend. This is before text messaging was the thing. I don't even know how they do it now. And it's like, yeah, yeah, you need to hire somebody else for that job. Like, let me continue to be successful here. So it was a great experience. Chapperal was really awesome.

[00:28:54.090] - Charlene Bower

And launched me into, you know, that having to go back to the bay, go back home for a couple of years to that launched me into East Bay Motorsports, which I was their parts manager there, and helped out with a lot of big programs there, including hot boats. So that was I ran their programs and their marketing program for monster trucks and Supercross.

[00:29:19.200] - Big Rich Klein

Oh, wow. Okay.

[00:29:20.970] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, that was a lot of fun.

[00:29:24.300] - Big Rich Klein

So educate me. Educate me.

[00:29:26.460] - Charlene Bower

I never heard. Right.

[00:29:28.050] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah, exactly. So educate me on on hot boats. Are as small like Yamaha type.

[00:29:38.490] - Charlene Bower

No, they're the thirty eight foot dual engine. Oh, OK, badness. Oh, all right. Have a CIA style Disko Bay. I mean, you launch them out of Disco Bay.

[00:29:51.420] - Charlene Bower

OK, all right. Yes.

[00:29:55.320] - Charlene Bower

Yeah. The owner got into those and he's like, we need to start selling these. And you're the only one that knows how to drive one. And I'm like, OK, no problem, let's do this because I just come from Southern California. That was part of my lifestyle. So I'm like, all right, let's go play. Well, I was taking customers out on out on drives. They could see if they wanted to buy their next two hundred thousand dollar boat.

[00:30:25.440] - Big Rich Klein

Buy another house.

[00:30:26.430] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, I went up. I mean, I thought it was cool. It was a great job.

[00:30:33.360] - Big Rich Klein

Was that where the housing downturn.

[00:30:37.850] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, this is still like two thousand four ish, OK, so we're just about there. Yeah. So the. I also spent writing Don't tell my mom, she says she hears this, she's going to get mad because she's never really found out. But this is also when I got started riding crotch rockets and the extra one thousandth and everything, there's girls that would run around. So I played that little game for a minute. And then I'm like, this has to go away and bought my Mach one, which you’ve seen.

[00:31:07.820] - Charlene Bower

Yes. My black Mach one Mustang that took over my need for having something for succeed.

[00:31:15.830] - Charlene Bower

Yeah. Yep.

[00:31:17.720] - Charlene Bower

OK, yep. Yeah. So after ten years in retail management, I said I've had enough. If anybody's worked retail, you absolutely understand that comment because you know, no matter what level of management and when, when you're 10 at that time, ten dollars an hour employees call in sick, you're the one working. Yes. It was an amazing opportunity to think, but it was not an amazing opportunity to live a life. And, you know, regardless of all these awesome opportunities that my bosses gave me to be successful, it was time to get out of retail.

[00:31:57.950] - Charlene Bower

I was over it. I understand, so I hate. Yeah, yeah, like I so much respect for service managers because I was one of my oh boy, I did that for a week and a half of my service manager was sick. And I'm like, oh, no, never again. I will always support you. Like what he is happy when they call you, are they. He's like, nope. So you learn a lot like you learn respect for different people's jobs and different people's personalities and things that happen.

[00:32:32.340] - Charlene Bower

True. Which I think has made me a much better person in the bigger picture. But it doesn't mean I have to do it for a living anymore.

[00:32:40.500] - Big Rich Klein

Right. So after just after dealing with the customers on retail side where you move to next year.

[00:32:49.110] - Charlene Bower

So I took six months off. This was the fun part. OK, so during that time when I was East Bay, I had that's what I had built to to 70s. I had built those up and then my Bantry got blanked out to match my won the red, white and blue at seventy. So everything was blowing down, everything was running great, everything was red. But I couldn't go anywhere. Right, because I was working all the time.

[00:33:17.460] - Charlene Bower

So I took six months off. That was my, that was my set amount of time with the money I had in the bank. Like you have to get a job. You have to figure out what you want to do in life next within this amount of time. And so I took my truck to my trailer, same trailer I have today. And that you always the same trailer I had with you, but a different truck. It was my brother's truck, the ninety seven f three fifty freestyle and hooked up my truck to my trailer and I took off and went to Pismo and went here and went there, just went riding everywhere, did whatever I wanted and tried to figure out what I wanted to do next.

[00:34:00.330] - Charlene Bower

So this is where the seventies kind of come into play because a magazine had caught wind of them and said, hey, we want to do an article on them, can you meet us? And I'm like, sure, you talk to an insider. My schedule's wide open. They're like me, Pismo.

[00:34:19.830] - Charlene Bower

At this day. I'm like, sure, no problem. So I'll tip as well for two weeks instead of one day and hung out and did the photo shoot with them. And in typical fashion, and you can appreciate this, I'm like, oh, so this looks like a fun job. How do you do this? Get into the magazine business. And they looked at me and said, you don't want to do it. Do it. Walk away.

[00:34:45.590] - Charlene Bower

Run while you can. There's nothing anybody in the magazine is laughing to be like. Don't do it. It looks better than it is today. And I'm like, but it looks so cool. And they're like, yeah, and I did it.

[00:35:02.390] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, absolutely. So I didn't really stop. Right. And they said, here's the deal. If you want to play by, here's what you should buy and meet us an Oregon in two weeks at the Oregon Dunes on my OK, so I bought this camera online and had it shipped my parents house in Palo Alto and from Pismo I went to my parents house, picked up this bar, never even opened it and went to Oregon and met him in Oregon.

[00:35:27.950] - Charlene Bower

And I showed up and I think they were stunned and I hand them, this box does not even open. I'm like, here, you're going to have more exciting opening this box than I am. So I brought it for you.

[00:35:37.530] - Charlene Bower

Great, because I don't know what it is. This is the tool. And for them, it's like the coolest camera they've ever seen because they're totally into it. So that week gave me the opportunity to be successful and to learn how to use the camera and to learn what to do and how to do. And they're actually being two magazines up there and Sand Addiction magazine and UTV Sports magazine and UTV Sports was the one that did the article on my ex.

[00:36:09.770] - Charlene Bower

Well, see,,Sand Addiction magazine heard about me being up there and that I was interested. And now there was a battle for Charlene between these two magazines.

[00:36:19.880] - Charlene Bower

That's always a good thing getting me right now.

[00:36:22.250] - Charlene Bower

I know. I know. Quit entertaining because I didn't need a job. Like, I wasn't wanting to go back to work any time soon, so. Kind of kind of let it do its little path in the sand addiction finally got me into an interview and it was on my way down to Glamis for Thanksgiving for two weeks. And so they interviewed me up there and it's pretty cool. And they were talking about this new magazine that they put together and that was pretty exciting.

[00:36:55.120] - Charlene Bower

But in the mix of it all, it also learned how my editor makes and as we both know, we have to appreciate all magazine editors. They do it for the love of the sport, not for the money. Very true.

[00:37:08.410] - Charlene Bower

Yeah. There's no way like, I'll take this interview, but I'm not going to do that. Well, they offered me a sales job. They offered me an ad sales job. And they said, so what do you think I'm like, well, I'm headed out to Glamis, hang over there and I'll let you know when I get back, because again, I didn't want a job. And they're like, OK. So I went to Glamis and came back and I said, sure, I'll take the job.

[00:37:36.050] - Charlene Bower

This sounds fun. And then they're like, great, can you start next week? I'm like, no, all my stuff in the bay have to move down here. How about I start after I get back from Christmas break and we'll start January? So that's how that relationship started setting your own. That's good.

[00:37:55.450] - Charlene Bower

Yeah. Yeah. So that started the magazine business and really understanding editorials and photography and how to get press releases and for free and how to manage those relationships with the from the media perspective and the business perspective. And then they did start a new magazine, which was side by side Action magazine, and that was the very first YouTube magazine that came out. So we're talking like the rhino for was badass at the time.

[00:38:28.460] - Charlene Bower

Right. Right.

[00:38:29.840] - Charlene Bower

And that's what we're yeah. That's what we were running out of Glamis. So there's about six of us that were probably in the true heart of that industry growing. A lot of people don't realize that about me because it's been kind of a past chapter. Yeah. All the initial TV businesses all advertise or I worked with them to make sure that their product was out or did an article on them for side by side Action magazine. It was a great, great time.

[00:39:03.560] - Charlene Bower

It was really cool.

[00:39:04.940] - Big Rich Klein

And what year what year was that? Was that or what year?

[00:39:08.550] - Charlene Bower

So that was like two thousand five. Twenty six to five, six, seven. Yeah. Because then 2008 happened. Right. Right.

[00:39:18.950] - Big Rich Klein

But when he said when did we first meet because I know it was a sports show and you were, you were heavy into the TV or you knew everybody in the TV market at that time.

[00:39:31.710] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, so it could have been right, it could have been any of those years, right, or even after I've been to every single one of those sands for Supersaurus. Well, never missed one in twenty two years now. Three years.

[00:39:43.540] - Big Rich Klein

The only one I ever wanted was that one.

[00:39:47.170] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why last year was so hard to me, it was hard for a lot of people because, like, you broke my string.

[00:39:57.880] - Big Rich Klein

Well, that and people didn't all of a sudden our schedules were, oh, we're just going to be.

[00:40:05.020] - Charlene Bower

Yes, yeah, yeah. Because everybody is coming back better and different and different isn't always better. Yeah, but. That time was a lot of fun because the the magazine owners, it's small, right? It's not a big affiliate group. It was actually owned. Mm hmm. And so we all had to do a lot of jobs. So with me being an ad sales person, they would also send me out to events because I could do the ad sales, take care of the customer and write a story and take pictures, write.

[00:40:41.710] - Charlene Bower

Yes, there is a lot of fun I got to do a lot of really cool trips during that time. I wish some days I really wish I had documented everything I've always done because. You can hardly think back to the mall, which is a great problem to have.

[00:40:58.560] - Big Rich Klein

Yes, I mean, the same thing with me, with events. I mean, I've been putting on events since 2001 and there's got to be three hundred fifty four hundred events that I've done, whether they're my own or somebody else's. And it's like, yeah, I can't I can't remember all of them. Yeah, you know, in a diary would have been nice. Of course, I could have started it at any point when I thought about it and I still don't do it.

[00:41:25.810] - Charlene Bower

So I'm guilty. I'm guilty. Yeah. Yeah, definitely guilty.

[00:41:31.700] - Charlene Bower

OK, so what I probably should mean you're still young enough. Do it.

[00:41:37.960] - Charlene Bower

I do. You know, with me, it's that chapter. Yeah.

[00:41:43.120] - Big Rich Klein

So my diary, my next diary will start with retirement sometime. That's what I'll do.

[00:41:50.740] - Charlene Bower

Yeah.

[00:41:51.820] - Big Rich Klein

So anyway, sand addiction. How long did that see the Clinton side by side action? The magazine world last until 2008. And then the crash happens. And and it was ugly because unfortunately, as we know in recession, the first thing companies think they should do is cut all marketing. I'm shrugging my shoulders right now. I know you can't see me, but I can hear it.

[00:42:25.240] - Charlene Bower

I knew exactly what you were doing.

[00:42:29.020] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, they cut all their marketing and when they cut all their marketing things like magazines that are dependent on, you know, almost to the hundred percent on ad revenue goes down. And I was the salesperson and I saw this happening. So unfortunately, the writing was on the wall and I was starting to see it happen more and more and more and more. And I'm like, you know, I have two choices here. Either I look at myself and I abandon the ship before it sinks or I think with the ship and potentially take on that reputation.

[00:43:07.210] - Charlene Bower

And sorry to be selfish, but the only thing I have in this industry is my reputation and I'm very conscious of that. And so I needed to make the right decision for me, which is and a I either had a better pick at trying to find another job in the industry, which was questionable at the time or. What do you do? Right, right, so again, I took a little bit of time off to reflect because I don't reflect or think about what you want to do next in life when you're going 100 miles an hour all the time.

[00:43:45.910] - Charlene Bower

And all my friends, all my family, not all my family, all my friends were very supportive and saying, you need to start a business, you need to start your own business. I'm like, but what do I do? That's you know, I'm not good enough. I'm not good enough to start my own business. I don't know what to do. What what should I do? And they said, you are good enough and you're great at marketing and this is what you should do.

[00:44:11.320] - Charlene Bower

And so I started really looking at the market. And I'm always had this niche for looking at the market and understanding where the needs are, where the holes are maybe a little bit too early. Unfortunately, most of the time. But this time it worked out really well. And I looked at the market and I said, OK, all the magazine industry is going down. They're going to go away. It's going to go away. The Internet had been trying to be successful, but really up until that point, it was not really the key thing everybody went to.

[00:44:46.500] - Charlene Bower

It was just starting to be something like Facebook really wasn't even around yet. MySpace was rad.

[00:44:53.920] - Charlene Bower

Oh, yeah. Everybody's friend Tom. Yeah.

[00:44:56.720] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, but Facebook wasn't around yet, and so I started looking at it and I said, oh, I have all these relationships, I know all these people that are about ready to start websites because that's what editors would go do. But they don't understand that in the Internet you have to have fresh content every single day or you could be dead. Nobody is going to keep coming back. And I know how pictures work and I know how press releases work.

[00:45:28.370] - Charlene Bower

And I also found out through the grapevine when I couldn't get press releases from companies that they were paying like five hundred eight hundred dollars for a press release and then having to pay somebody else for a picture. I'm like, oh, my gosh. So. I did what any good business owner would do. I started my own business sitting on my parents floor trying to figure out how to use Photoshop for the first time ever and create a logo that has stuck with me for now 15 years.

[00:46:00.620] - Charlene Bower

OK, and. Undercut the market. One hundred percent and I came in and I said, I'm going to start doing press release pictures for one hundred and fifty dollars. Who wants one and just started building it up and building it up and building it up, and that's how I started our motor sports media. Is very, very on the gas, and then it took Jeff Mello introducing me to Dave Cole and Jeff Knoll, who were in now their first year of King of the Hammers.

[00:46:36.600] - Charlene Bower

They had just had their initial one where it was just racing for a year and they were ready to take it to the next level. And just like you need to meet this, you need to be a part. You know, you need to have her help you out. And so that's how I became part of King of the Hammers initially from the get go. And that introducing me into the four by four gang and being part of four by four and helping out a four by four to life, which I went up there every month to organize that, cohosted it and handled cammo somehow and then handled both of us somehow lasted all the magic.

[00:47:19.590] - Charlene Bower

I just put all together and got the conversation going the way we kept needing it to go. Redirect, redirect yet. So then that turned into that whole phase, which was a blast. I mean, every piece of my life has been a blast and so thankful for my job opportunities, which also then turned me on to you and WE Rock and ended up traveling with you guys for, gosh, a couple of years at least. Yeah. And all kinds of comedy and chaos there in the.

[00:47:58.900] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, and Piston cat from Oroville, he's actually sleeping right now. He's behaving himself. Yeah. I mean, there's just there's so many great stories that go with that whole phase of media and and really, you you're a part of it to you. And you look back at that phase of offroad and four wheel drive. I almost hate to say it, but that was the heart of it right then. There's so many things that come out of that few years of time and now forever involved in offroad.

[00:48:39.730] - Charlene Bower

It's really interesting.

[00:48:41.590] - Big Rich Klein

No, you're right. It's. You know, that buildup of pirate and WE Rock and, you know, power, I mean, all of it, you know, really came of age, you might say. You know, we were our events were really big before the recession, and then we had to rebuild it. Yes, because the recession just about killed us.

[00:49:10.230] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, yeah, you know, and the and the media exposure that then we were able to do through through the Internet. Now, that didn't cost us any money. Right. Just a little bit in the videos. I mean, when I started our media, I could not tell you today that. Oh, yeah. By the way, I have about nine hundred videos on my YouTube channel. Have you checked them out? And I self taught myself every single thing of that element.

[00:49:40.120] - Charlene Bower

And here we were able to put stuff like that out. I was talking to Dean Buliloch the last week. He's like Charline. I have no photo albums of me. The only photo album I have is the one that you made for me from King of the Hammer's. And, you know, there's there's so many amazing things that we were able to do back then with the media and the pictures and the press releases and working for Roger Norman and his PR person while he called and was one of the top trophy truck drivers.

[00:50:11.680] - Charlene Bower

I mean, these are things like you can't see in a normal sentence and the lucky the people that I've been able to represent from the business side as well, huge companies. I've been there, their social media backbone. And so I'm actually the one running their social media, but nobody knows it's me and we still have it that way. So I'm still not mentioning names, but, you know, big companies that are doing that. And then how I've always described my business as our media when I built it is there's three there's three elements that have to make the industry work.

[00:50:52.090] - Charlene Bower

You have the companies that build the products. Right. You have the researchers that want the products, but they have to go off somewhere. And then you have the event series and the event series did the research. And they also need the companies support as well. Right. What I did is I put myself right in the middle of the three and was able to work with companies like Grease Wheels and put together an awesome support system for all their research.

[00:51:20.800] - Charlene Bower

And so now I'm working with all of their researchers, but at the same time supporting the event series while I'm on site at your event or King of the Hammer's or it doesn't Reeses at the square races and everything else that we could be on site and actually use that content for the drivers and the companies. And yeah, the hustle was real. You saw me. Oh yeah. You saw burning rubber on the tires like everywhere. So for about. Oh, jeez, two, three years, I basically lived on the roof in my trailer and truck and trailer.

[00:51:59.710] - Charlene Bower

You're kind of shadowing you most of the time, correct?

[00:52:03.850] - Big Rich Klein

I remember when you when you rode with us because your truck got broken into for me, I was wondering if you're going to bring that story up.

[00:52:12.490] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah, that was not that was that was not a that was not a Charline happy, happy story.

[00:52:18.730] - Charlene Bower

No, that was probably so. That was a moment in time where I got to make a decision if I wanted to continue about media or not. And there's been like two of them very okay. And that was definitely one of them. And that was the one where I was on my way to Auroville, of all the fine places that we went. And I stopped to meet with a researcher. And I always parked truck and trailer in a populated area, but I had just parked it off enough, apparently, where somebody thought that they needed to break into it and scavenge.

[00:52:54.460] - Charlene Bower

Everything happened to be my laptops and my hard drives and all of my content that I had that I carried around because I don't know, I'm weird. I always thought, well, if my if anything starts to burn down grabbing my backpack that has an even to this day, I do the same thing. I'm grabbing my backpack that has my laptop in my purse and my cats and we're out. Nothing else matters but the laptops and the hard drive.

[00:53:20.530] - Charlene Bower

So you can't replace them. Right. So what happened on a Wednesday, Thursday and I was headed to the event, Lance from four by four, covered me, brought me a laptop so I could go live for pirate that weekend during the awards. And right afterwards we were headed, you and Shelley and Josh and I were headed to Tennessee to go to the Grand National Right.

[00:53:48.890] - Big Rich Klein

Was it the Grand National Zoo or was it the event after the or the tornado came through here?

[00:53:54.560] - Charlene Bower

Was the event after the tornado? Yeah. Yeah, they just had a tornado there and. I was at the bottom of my bottom, right, and I remember one for like four days.

[00:54:09.500] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, because I took I took what I took I took a nighttime cold medicine, I told Shelley I might take nighttime pills and I'm taking I'm taking Joshua's bed. Just don't bother me. I don't know what to do because that's always so hard and so extreme that that's what I needed. There's no way I can make a conscious decision unless I had had sleep. And so I took that time while you drove us across country to sleep. And I woke up and we got to Tennessee, maybe the state before I don't know, we I got another laptop.

[00:54:51.440] - Charlene Bower

I apologize to a bunch of people because they didn't have their content anymore. Right. It was awful. It was a crash. And and we rebuilt and he came back and we did other cool things and. Oh, no, I don't think it was long after that that I ended up in WE Rock here in Arizona. It was in a January and or February, the beginning of the season. The first one of the season. Yep. Congress, yeah.

[00:55:23.880] - Charlene Bower

About Congress and going down that stupid dirt road that we all hate. The back of my trailer fell apart. And so I went to I had been helping the Let's Roll Off-Road teams with some of their marketing. And so I called and said he my trailer just fell apart. I just need to it or something. I have no idea what's going on. Hopefully I can get it over to your Edgartown. Can you help me? He's like, yeah, no problem.

[00:55:50.970] - Charlene Bower

I'll take care of that for you. And so he brings me to his house in which stop at the time, parks me down the side yard, has some other friends coming in. From Canada that trapped me in there and it took about three weeks for my trailer to get fixed while I was a hostage, is what I say. Held hostage in Arizona, which was not a problem because it was an amazing place to be in February. It was awesome.

[00:56:24.960] - Charlene Bower

I was looking for a place to stop and make a home, and there happened to be a cute boy involved. So I decided to stay in Arizona. Yeah. So I left here for six weeks because I had a six week trip which was going back to L.A., doing a bunch of doing a bunch of events. We had to do something in Reno and then it was straight to estrogen safari. I remember all the events, but like we can we can we can weekends.

[00:56:53.430] - Charlene Bower

And that's how my would go. So halfway between. Reno and Easter deep in the fine time of Elko, Nevada. My truck then blew another head gasket and I'm like, I'm done. So sitting in my trailer in their parking lot where they are generous enough to let me camp for the two nights. Well, they fixed my truck and I panicked about being late for my jobs. That extra jeep. I rented the house sight unseen in Arizona and submitted and actually had somebody come to you to Moab and drive me to Arizona.

[00:57:36.410] - Charlene Bower

Like I don't even know how to get there. I don't care. I just needed to be done with this right now, get off the road that I had to get off the road. So that's how I ended up in Arizona. Everybody's like, well, how'd you get here? I'm like, I broke down like, no, you didn't like. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:57:56.050] - Charlene Bower

At a. And here first. OK, yeah, the trailer broke down here first, and then I went on that loop and my truck broke down and then I broke down personally. So we'll call it three breakdowns made for a for sure Arizona home base. I love it, here is the best decision I made.

[00:58:18.070] - Big Rich Klein

That's what I was going to say. Yeah, yeah. So then what? I know you've been on the road since then, but there's a lot of story between. Getting to Arizona and then going back on the road again. So let's talk about about some of that time.

[00:58:37.720] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, so during that time I tried a lot of different projects because essentially Barometer's sports media was based around being at events. Great. And it was taking pictures of the events, videos of the events or how do I do that job. And I'm not at the events because I am agree with that. And so it was really hard. And I luckily had a lot of friends and had always supported all the photographers that were out on course and such.

[00:59:07.300] - Charlene Bower

And so I started subcontracting and the beginning of that phase was working with other people. And here I need pictures from this person, this person, this person. And. All right, the press releases. And it worked out really good, but that's not a long term game that was going to end at some point. So I started the race team store, which was four that had all the racers apparel in it. I started the certain swag club, which then was, hey, I'm just going to send you a new shirt every month because I know how you boys weld and put holes in them all.

[00:59:43.810] - Charlene Bower

And that's a funny story. That one actually got too big. And so we ended up having to shut it down because they couldn't find enough teams or or companies that wanted to play in the numbers we started to play in. So that's kind of a silly, backwards story. And then I don't and I'm not just a girl, which was my shirt and clothing line for pretty much the beginning of time since our media started. But put some more effort into that, but some more designs out.

[01:00:11.230] - Charlene Bower

So I was always just like picking at things to be really honest. And I reflect and can be honest about that. And I even started our power hour, which was an hour long show that we did, and it was awesome. I love that face. Just like you're loving doing these podcast. It's so fun to talk to people and hear their story, and I appreciate that. And that's what my whole business is built around. It was people's stories and what they're doing.

[01:00:38.740] - Charlene Bower

So that lasted and and then it kind of hit had a challenge and then. Here came the next decision, Rich, and you're probably the first one I'm telling this to publicly in a statement that is going out nationwide. OK, I hit another wall. I'm like, I can't do this anymore. I'm done writing press releases. I hate it with a passion.

[01:01:05.910] - Charlene Bower

Have you ever been there? Oh, yes.

[01:01:07.570] - Charlene Bower

But you lose your business for like I cannot stand to write another press release. I don't want to edit another picture in my life. You get to that point. Right. And it's not fun anymore. And the reward isn't there anymore. And so I wanted to quit. Right. And I wanted to quit in a big way, and I was in such a way where I even called my parents finally and said, listen, here's the deal, we're done.

[01:01:35.720] - Charlene Bower

You go get a real job. Finally, my dad and mom are like, yes, I'm sure internally, like, oh, my English is going to go get a real job. We all know the end result that didn't happen, but in the middle of how that got changed is I reflected on the why and this is where I really encourage anybody that's listening right now. Like when you get to that point of I am so done with this, reflect on the why, like, why am I done with this?

[01:02:12.950] - Charlene Bower

What did I do to myself to get to this point? Because generally speaking, has something to do with us internally. And I was doing every single thing for everybody else. I was always helping other people be successful, which is not the problem. That was my job. But it was running me down in the background and I wasn't doing anything for me. I wasn't filling my bucket back up.

[01:02:39.200] - Charlene Bower

Right.

[01:02:39.890] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, there was no bucket refilling. It was just a bunch of tick, tick, tick, which again, that's my job. But we got to refill it somehow. So I made a commitment to myself. This is in 2016, like you're going to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way, because I had been seeing people like, hey, why don't you come do this, resume, do this, or why don't you do that?

[01:03:05.640] - Charlene Bower

And I'm like, no, no, no, that's not me. I you know, I make everybody look good from the backside. And so that was I love that they now have a movie about the day, but this is a yes year. And so I started saying yes. And that's how I got I was already a performance team member for BFG for a few years. We had won an event the year before the rally venture or tied tied for the win.

[01:03:37.520] - Charlene Bower

Right. Which in my mind we won. I just want you to know it was a tie based on social media. And I'm like, I don't I don't buy it. We won, so.

[01:03:54.050] - Charlene Bower

So we had one out the year before they asked me to come do it again. I said yes. And then in the same conversation and this is Richard Winchester, another one of my number one people of why I'm successful in the industry. And he said, we also just signed a contract with thirty six hours uwharrie We're going to be their prime sponsor, and that means we can put a team in. Will you be our team? Yes, probably should have done some research on what that event was, but I went with it, my guess, and so they said great.

[01:04:30.330] - Charlene Bower

And I'm like, OK, Charlene, here's your chance. So my friend told me in November that she's starting this brand new event. It's going to happen in October as first time ever, and she wants to participate in it. It's called the Rebelle Rally. Would you be willing to support me? And we can just make this like a three event deal? And she said, yes, I'm like, boom, there it is. All right.

[01:05:00.840] - Charlene Bower

Now what do we do? So in the background, this is where, you know, that business, mine didn't work out too well in the background. I'm stopping all my PR and marketing and shutting my business down because the next year I was going to go get a real job. And my expenses, as I decided to do these three massive events were going up as I was having fun and doing what I needed to do to refill my bucket.

[01:05:32.010] - Charlene Bower

And nobody, nobody really knew I was shutting my business down, just me and my parents and, you know, those very close to me that were affected by it. Right. So, yeah. So we went out and here's another really important moment in women and often is right after King of the Hammers in February, the very next weekend, Emily Miller had reached out to Nina Barlow myself and said, hey, let's go to Glamis for the weekend.

[01:06:07.470] - Charlene Bower

I'm going to pull some girls together and let's just go out and have a good weekend and. Drive and see Indians like nothing official, nothing big. I don't have any kind of agenda. Let's just go have fun. I mean, I was like, yeah. And I'm like, yeah, that sounds good. And I'd never driven a jeep in the sand dunes. I don't follow me on a dirt bike, but in a jeep that scares me.

[01:06:31.270] - Charlene Bower

A great big four door JK.

[01:06:34.150] - Charlene Bower

So I mean I'm like, oh I can buy for a minute because I'm kind of scared and she's like, yeah, you'll be fine, OK. So we went out to Glamis. All these girls were camped like sleeping in these tents. And I was in my massive trailer and I'm like, oh, you guys want to toilet? It's over here. You guys have fun in your tents out there. Like, who are these people? Why are they sleeping in tents?

[01:07:00.670] - Charlene Bower

So that right there. Rich, honestly, is the beginning of a massive era of women in motors and often also in this segment, and I can I can pull it back to that because from there, Emily Miller went on to be a rad owner of the Rebelle rally. What it is today, you're a part of it. Like, look how awesome it is. Bala is a powerhouse in the cheap and off road market myself. Well, my own story keeps going, right?

[01:07:37.170] - Charlene Bower

Yeah. So I asked Nina on that weekend, I'm like Nina. And by then I also had the acceptance of the rebels rally. So we knew I was in and now I needed drive like conservers for all this stuff. So ask me now, I said, Nina, you want to be my partner, 36 hours Yori like you know your stuff. I know it's tough. Let's go kick some boys asses, right? And he's like, oh, let me look at the calendar.

[01:08:11.670] - Charlene Bower

And she had something going on that weekend. Probably the best thing that's ever happened, because with her having something going on that weekend, I had to come up with a different game plan. And in the five hour drive from. Glamis back to California, they came up with this ingenious plan to have a challenge that I called PFG on on Monday morning and says, what do you think? If I run like a contest, like a challenge, girls have to enter and then they can be my KOH driver.

[01:08:45.420] - Charlene Bower

And I said, whatever you want to do, Charline, or 100 percent behind you. So that's what was the very first ever ladies KOH driver challenge and a half weeks when we went out to Moab, Utah. I launched it at our first or Hedy's network Get Together, which comes in I cohosted. I'm like, Dusty, I'm going to have this event. You want to come hang out and be part of it? And she's like, Yeah, something like Sweet.

[01:09:12.180] - Charlene Bower

So that started our annual event there in Moab and like talk about timing of everything. Right. And so then. I announced that we had 91 women from around the country and church would be our my co-driver, and luckily I had a plan of how that was all going to work out. And, you know, three KOH drivers, right?

[01:09:35.520] - Charlene Bower

I needed three and literally rich.

[01:09:38.570] - Charlene Bower

All I really wanted was 10 people to enter so I could find three that had enough vacation time to hang out with me. Right. Like, I don't care about anything else. But yeah, it was amazing. And I'm like, where did all these girls come from? What's happening right now? Like, how is this working? What's going on? I don't get it. And it took me a long time to figure it out. But they all want the same thing.

[01:10:05.420] - Charlene Bower

Right. And I was very open, like, I need something that means you all probably need something to let's do this together. I don't care when all I care about is we do the best we can. Just try hard. Hmm. So the this is the first event was supposed to be rarely venture got canceled and so BFG instead sent us on the 2016 trail emissions with Cameron's deal, which is now an ABC special. So you can look that up and watch that.

[01:10:41.780] - Charlene Bower

It's pretty awesome. Yes. And so that got us introduced pretty fast with what we were doing out and about. And then the second event was 36 hours, you worry, which is North Carolina in August for 36 hours, straight of wenching heat and building bridges.

[01:11:03.720] - Charlene Bower

Yeah. And physical activity on top of it. Remember that I don't like to run part or Padel.

[01:11:10.700] - Charlene Bower

And yeah, I had to learn how to new. I learned how to canoe on the grass an hour before we were canoeing like I've never before and had to take the canoe on and off the dinghy multiple times like yeah I was is sincerely aggressive. We ended up taking second in the pro class twice behind Casey Kuria or in the Amazon. So I'll take that second place all day long, right? Absolutely. Yeah. Those those two together are machine and then and these are with with contest winners.

[01:11:50.810] - Charlene Bower

Right. Again, just girls. Right. This girl's hand-picked nothing and just girls, girls wanting to live their life. And all I ask is we did the best we could. So we're coming into October. And October is always a month for understanding when the you know, when the contracts are coming out for the next year. Right. For a business. Yeah. And CEMA comes in November and and so forth. And so around the end of September.

[01:12:25.040] - Charlene Bower

I started letting some of my key people know that he was shutting down our media down, and I appreciate you very much, but please don't. Suggest me to anybody. I don't want to have to tell them now. I just don't even bring my name up. So Barbara Rainey was one of my calls and I told this. I says, you're going to shut it down. And she's like, you know, Charlene You just need to take a deep breath.

[01:12:50.530] - Charlene Bower

You just need to breathe.

[01:12:51.880] - Charlene Bower

Typical. Are you serious? I you know, I'm like, are you serious right now? You're telling me to breathe? I've been breathing for two years and it's not working out anymore. We're done. I made a decision. I'm having a great year. We're having we're living life. I'm going to get a real job, which, by the way, my real job was working at Coldstone in their marketing department. Oh, really? Headquarters. Their headquarters is down the street.

[01:13:17.170] - Charlene Bower

One day I might actually work there. We'll see.

[01:13:20.560] - Big Rich Klein

That was what you were going to do?

[01:13:22.930] - Charlene Bower

Oh, yeah. Yeah, that was my goal job. So she just told me that she's like, why don't you just breathe for a couple of weeks, like, OK, whatever. I mean, I've been breathing. We're good. We're prepping for the Rebell Rally and getting everything together and getting it going, which is quite a feat in itself. And so two weeks later, Barbara calls me and she says, Hi, Charlene, this is Barberini calling on behalf of the offroad Motorsports Hall of Fame.

[01:13:58.910] - Charlene Bower

And I'd like to let you know that you've been nominated as the rising star in the industry category. Like, are you serious right now?

[01:14:09.730] - Charlene Bower

It's like, yes, I'm like, did you know this two weeks ago? She's like, Oh my gosh I now what do I do? Right. And so I called my parents and I said, I got good news and bad news. Which one do you want? And I always make my parents talk to me at the same time because they have to tell the story once. So my mom, of course, was the good news. So I said the good news of getting the nomination, which is amazing that you've been on that you've been on the docket like it's an amazing feeling, right.

[01:14:44.950] - Charlene Bower

To be even looked at by the street peers, much less on that list. I'm like, holy cow. So I guess what I'm doing is making something worth of a difference. And then my dad's like, what's the bad news? I'm like. What am I supposed to do if I win this thing? Just have my resignation notice done and I can just walk it to the podium and say, well, thanks for believing in me, but here's my resignation notice to the entire industry, like, what do you do?

[01:15:14.750] - Charlene Bower

What do you do?

[01:15:16.370] - Charlene Bower

And and so had that conversation. And my dad's like, well, this girl thing is really working out. It's now you have a lot of a lot of following right now. And if there's anybody that can do it, you can do it. And when my dad says something like that, you listen.

[01:15:34.130] - Big Rich Klein

Right?

[01:15:36.830] - Charlene Bower

And I'm like, I don't know, dad, I don't know these girls, they just came out of nowhere. I don't know what's going to happen, know it could be just like one of the other projects. And it's just like a false it's a moment. Great. And I'm so done with the struggle and so down with all this. And he's like, well, what are you going to do? Like, I don't know. We'll figure it out.

[01:15:58.070] - Charlene Bower

Two weeks later, we go on to win the rebels rally, the first ever rebel rally, two weeks after that. I'm up in front of the Oxford Motor Sports Hall of Fame accepting the award for the impact on the industry category, like, well, I guess we're going after working with these girls because I've canceled every other contract I have at this point and then help I basically replace myself and every company. And that was the true beginning of ladies, our network, when I really put time, energy and effort in to understanding what women want.

[01:16:39.470] - Charlene Bower

The first year was all about research and marketing and understanding. What do these girls even want? Like where did they come from? What is the need, what's happening there? And for we just celebrated five years of Ladies Network and we've just been pretty much. Presenting that question every day. And how do we make IRAD programs for them to be successful?

[01:17:09.090] - Big Rich Klein

And you're still doing challenges.

[01:17:12.360] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, we're just wrapping one up right now, we're wrapping up our fifth annual sixth annual because we yeah, because the first one wasn't even part of ladies off the network officially at the time. So it's our sixth challenge wrapping up right now. And it's interesting in the style, instead of doing the co-driver situation now it's 11 challenges and 10 weeks that they have to do for themselves. And the woman is a top ten weekend. So 10 girls get to come to my house for four days and basically offered to spoil them, my house or L.A. or somewhere to take them.

[01:17:51.690] - Charlene Bower

So it's pretty fun. Awesome.

[01:17:54.270] - Big Rich Klein

And then so you started you started a convention as well. As part of the sweeps off road network, yeah, the first weekend in August, that will be our fifth annual ladies offroad convention, which is four days and it's all women in a hotel environment. So part of the convention it was, how do I eliminate all of the excuses? I don't like to camp my it's my husband's vehicle. I don't want to drive. It's like, how do I eliminate all of these excuses?

[01:18:27.570] - Big Rich Klein

And so I'm like, oh, I don't know how that works out. Perfect. Like, I like showers all the time. And so we have a hotel environment, which really, unless you understand me and unless you understand the bigger picture, you're like, how can I learn about operating in a hotel? And when you come and experience it and see it, you're like, oh my gosh, I cannot believe what I just took out of here in four days because much of its hands on and a lot of there's so many things you can learn without being out on the trail and then the friendships that you build off of it.

[01:19:04.080] - Big Rich Klein

There's been we now have lifetime memberships because it just became such a group of core women that were there for each other. They came together because of uprooting, but now they're always going to stay together because they have that common interest and they've learned so much about each other and experienced so many great things together. So it's really evolved into something that I don't even have words for all the time rich. Like I'm still trying to figure out the words, but it's amazing.

[01:19:36.030] - Big Rich Klein

It's it's the best thing I've ever done. And I love every day of my job. Coming up, the next cool thing to do with them and the next awesome way for them to learn something, because all it's 100 percent based around education and learning. And then, of course, that friendship comes with it. So a huge give back.

[01:20:01.130] - Big Rich Klein

Well, there was there's a couple of things that I wanted to touch on that we haven't yet. One, I was going to say, what are your most proud moments? But I think that you've probably explained those. At least with the ladies off road network and and, you know, from 2016 on, but the other thing that that was was your four by four trainer certificate and certification and then your racing racer marketing school.

[01:20:33.650] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, yeah, so through the certification, there's been a few things I pushed myself to do because I feel. Back before everybody would say. And can you teach me how to do this or teach me how to do that? And I never felt not that I wasn't good enough, but I also felt like you need to go to a certified trainer that's going to teach you how to do it right. And I always used those words for anybody, because the way I explain it now is I learned from Bubba's dad, who learned from Bubba is dead.

[01:21:10.440] - Charlene Bower

And Bubba's dad, grandpa was probably super smart at the time and knowing what he knew, and then he passed it on to the dad and probably didn't lose too much in interpretation, but maybe a little bit, you know. And then now Bubba learned it will now Bubba is trying to teach you. And the unfortunate part about that process is technology of vehicles now is so incredibly amazing. The Bubba hardly know all the buttons and how to use them, much less how to teach you how to do it correctly.

[01:21:44.550] - Charlene Bower

And so I'm just really aware of that. And I always would say he just find a certified trainer that can teach you correctly. That's all I'm asking. You know less than that. Well, then I started kind of getting forced into that position of having to be that person because my lady's off road network.

[01:22:05.250] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, because of Lady's off road network. And I said, you're going to be a hypocrite if you start teaching and you're not certified. And so that was the very first list. And it was also interesting. It was part of thirty six hours. You were you were the effort to international four wheel drive Trainers Association was the one that was hosting part of hosting that event. And they sought me out. So I had already researched them not knowing they were part of that event.

[01:22:32.820] - Charlene Bower

Then they they pulled me aside at the event saying, hey, we really want you to be a part of my of our organization. And I said I just did research on you and I do to you. This has to happen. Let's make this work. And so I became a certified four wheel drive trainer. And and so we work together as a team to make sure that is up to date on the most current information and how to do this and make sure that we're training this this way, because a great group of guys and myself that are part of this group.

[01:23:12.110] - Charlene Bower

So, yeah, that's that's super important. I also have been through multiple wilderness first first aid certifications. So one I did for myself because now I'm taking people out on trails and well, let's be a little smarter than that. And then I started doing the class for the girls, not me teaching it. I have another person that teaches it because I'm not that level. But so I've gone through the class multiple times, just even being a host.

[01:23:44.480] - Charlene Bower

So it's continuing to help me remember what's going on. Yeah, and then I do a lot of community stuff as well, so I'm on this SBN, CEMA Businesswoman Network Committee where we're really working with all the CMA companies and helping the women be successful within their groups. And then the other is the Armored Motor Sports Hall of Fame, super supportive of that. So as I mentioned, as a 2016 industry rising star in the twenty eighteen, I was honored with the Advocate Award for Excellence, but often sports teams.

[01:24:28.650] - Charlene Bower

So I think those are the points on that list. Yeah. Are you still are you still doing the race or marketing school?

[01:24:40.110] - Charlene Bower

So there is a marketing school. Yes and no. OK, so it was very time time management because there's so much information and I talked this fast even, and it's still five hours. And so I started a program called Bower Academy, which is an online schooling system. Good. And I have been working at the research marketing school into that academy so that anybody can take it at any time. And it's about halfway done. And I've been working continually working at it.

[01:25:15.330] - Charlene Bower

But we run our challenges through that program now. And I also have a how to work on year four by four. All the basic maintenance items have a program in there for that. So you should see our academy coming up into the year first next year and have all those programs in it.

[01:25:33.890] - Big Rich Klein

Excellent.

[01:25:35.380] - Charlene Bower

And that'll be open to guys, girls, everybody. Like, that's the way to tears, knowledge. She was proper knowledge. Please give me the proper knowledge like we all use YouTube for education. I would lie if I didn't say I didn't use it also all the time. But is it right and is our source correct? And so this is a situation where you're going to have to pay a little bit, but guaranteed this is the way to do it correctly and safely so.

[01:26:09.100] - Charlene Bower

Good, yeah, and then the rest are marketing school is still a passion that's helping researchers be successful through through their marketing.

[01:26:19.220] - Big Rich Klein

It's amazing because people will come up to me and go, oops, you know, hey, I've got a you know, I'm taking a picture, somebody taking a picture of their car and they've got their window net out, you know, and they flip it in and said, oh, you know, Charlene would be mad at me.

[01:26:37.750] - Charlene Bower

Oh, I love it. That makes that makes me so happy. It actually and then something happens is I start watching like a live feed from somewhere or at the King of the Hammers. Last year I was walking the starting line and all these went down. That's where and I'm like, oh my gosh, I've been gone you long. These boys need to get in shape around here.

[01:27:04.950] - Charlene Bower

Yeah. So for anybody that's listening right now and you don't understand, we're talking about here's your tip for the day and how you can help your friends when you're window that out and it is flopped out of the car 90 percent of the time. Your main sponsor is right there on the door panel and you are covering your main sponsor partner toss window. And the people are taking pictures of your car up and then at home or wherever you are, that that means getting as much pop as possible.

[01:27:35.440] - Charlene Bower

Exactly. Every day that we don't let us down, it needs to be down on the inside of the vehicle, not on the outside of the vehicle, correct?

[01:27:43.010] - Big Rich Klein

Yeah. And if you have a window that's on both sides, make sure they're both in the same thing. Yeah, absolutely. Well, is there also is there anything that you can think of that we haven't touched bases on?

[01:27:58.680] - Charlene Bower

I don't know. I appreciate you for letting me ramble.

[01:28:01.470] - Big Rich Klein

Oh, no, it's been great. It's been great. Oh, I know what I wanted to ask, they didn't write my story, but you have a lot of stories for me, too.

[01:28:10.570] - Charlene Bower

Well, we kept it on the p.g tonight.

[01:28:13.810] - Charlene Bower

Oh, yeah.

[01:28:14.630] - Big Rich Klein

And that's a good thing.

[01:28:16.270] - Charlene Bower

So, OK, well, this this might get us out of that bottle. Hello. The trip where you went down and you had. Little rich Eric Anderson and Jesse comes with you.

[01:28:36.010] - Charlene Bower

Oh, my God, I don't know if I can tell that story.

[01:28:41.440] - Big Rich Klein

Well, you kept you guys kept Little Richard in jail, right?

[01:28:45.910] - Charlene Bower

Oh, my God. Yes, they did in the past. None of us died.

[01:28:51.610] - Charlene Bower

The truck came back in one piece. But I just saw a little bit after multiple years that something was wrong with the truck. And Lance never even knew about it. We laughed so hard. We were completely delirious because it was a point to point race. So as a police point race. Lance was Roger Corman and right, Norman is the trophy truck and is Point Winterized Lance Clifford Forbath, it was KOH driving. And the chief theme, and I was responsible for running all of the four before live coverage of the 1000, which nobody understands, no one, and how difficult it is to run live coverage, how difficult it is to run live coverage in a country like Mexico with no Internet or anything else.

[01:29:50.130] - Charlene Bower

And then the degree of which we were running live coverage at the time was unheard of. We were streaming. We were getting videos up. We were getting pictures of. It was it was an awesome time and live coverage and just pushing the boundaries limits would always push boundaries and I'd be like, OK, this is what really I'm like, OK, I can I can do it, but I need the team to be doing it. So. A little rich was our driver and Mr.

[01:30:29.470] - Charlene Bower

Anderson was part of that team and being a part of the driver driver situation and everything, security, and somehow Jesse Coombs got into the truck to I don't remember how exactly she wound up. I think it just became like a Haines. He needs a ride. Let's take her with us. And I'm like, OK, sounds good. And takes a look at Jesse, my relationship for people that don't understand, like we've been friends for a long time and we always laugh because we would talk in the background.

[01:31:01.100] - Charlene Bower

And there's a few girls that you can talk to and really offer the industry and understand what's going on and understand the challenges of being in light of everybody. Right. What you do matters and how you act represents not just ourselves, but girls in the whole industry and etc.. So I had a great relationship and our teasing things, but I was one of them. We slept in more beds together than we had boyfriends. Right? We always end up like in bar.

[01:31:37.900] - Charlene Bower

Here we are two girls. We were in the same bed together all the time and a lot of our trips were like that. We were always doing weird stuff. So this is one of those times. And yes, the chaos was real. Can't really tell all the stories. You definitely would not be a good thing. But there is a bit out there for mustard dog. It surfaces about every year. He pops it on the that we put together of us racing down this one little road because he race and it's hysterical.

[01:32:12.220] - Charlene Bower

Jesse, we kept in control. She's she's like a little blond that just runs all over the pits. And I'm like, oh, God, get in the truck. We got to go. And yes, it's got super drunk after not sleeping for two days when we got to the finish line at the celebration party. And yeah, I had to do some fast talking to people I refuse to experience to the cops and some fast movements and some embarrassing moments for a little rich.

[01:32:47.110] - Charlene Bower

But we kept them out of jail and it's forever our laugh like it's hysterical. So even hired Rich to little Rich to take me down to Mexico after that. And and another trip that we had as a driver. Oh, my God, he almost ended up in jail again. I'm like, what is your thing, dude? Like, why do I have to keep you out of jail time? So that's our running joke.

[01:33:09.710] - Big Rich Klein

Like, I don't know. Well, you know, Shelley and I ran from the cops. And again, from them, yeah, we just took off, it was oh, it's a story I have to tell you, the next time we're together, it's it happened out of Scorpion Bay. But we we took off across down the racetrack. And once I got to the racetrack, I knew that. Oh, they weren't going to be following me at that point when you, Le Parisien ran over to Boigny Ventura and then that's when Shelley stepped on the on the stingray and.

[01:33:43.560] - Big Rich Klein

Oh, my gosh, yes. Turned into one of those. Oh, my.

[01:33:45.840] - Charlene Bower

But you know. You know, how has turned into Baja, yes. What happened, happened. Yes, well, Charlene, what are so many stories from that shouldn't come back?

[01:34:00.210] - Big Rich Klein

Is there anything on the horizon that you can share?

[01:34:07.160] - Charlene Bower

Ladies, our network is going to continue to just keep kicking ass for women in the industry. I love it. We're not going anywhere. I had I had an opportunity, you know, here we go again. I have an opportunity to quit. And 20, 20 and everything crashed. And again, here's my here's my business ladies off road network that's built around being at events. And there's not enough to be. Right. And so I sat there.

[01:34:38.270] - Charlene Bower

Well, I took a nap first for like a week. And then I woke up and I said, OK, what are we going to do about this? Either you have opportunity to walk away right now and nobody is going to blame you. And a lot of companies did that. Fair enough, yeah, and nobody can blame them or you can look at your picture and how can you rework this picture to make it where it's successful for people?

[01:35:08.880] - Charlene Bower

And so I made it successful people and we turned everything that we were doing to an online phase. And the number of women that have reached out to me and said, you're you being consistent online every week and having these opportunities for us is what allowed me to be seen through the whole 20, 20 lockdown.

[01:35:31.740] - Big Rich Klein

Right. When when everybody was feeling alone. Yeah, I mean, maybe you maybe they had their fan laughs, right, but they didn't have their environments, right.

[01:35:44.570] - Charlene Bower

Right. And I mean, those are heavy words. Those are big words. Yeah. And and at that point, when I when I made that decision to turn it to online, I also made the decision to come out with a lifetime membership. And I said, here's my commitment to you right now. We're not going anywhere. So if you want to be a lifetime member, how to do it? And if you don't know stress like the number four, most all of our stuff is cost savings everywhere.

[01:36:14.510] - Charlene Bower

And let's let's have some fun and let's be stuck forever.

[01:36:21.890] - Charlene Bower

So, yeah, there's a lot of girls I'm stuck with forever. I don't know. I think they're worse off. They're stuck with me.

[01:36:30.140] - Big Rich Klein

I don't think they think so.

[01:36:33.770] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, so we have to have some trainings coming up, we did it in 2000 19. I did. I went back out on the road. That's what you're trying to have me on point and did go back out on the road in twenty eighteen to 18. I took one month and all the people on the East Coast that said, oh, ladies, that was the West Coast to the East Coast. I called them out to the East Coast for a month.

[01:36:59.280] - Charlene Bower

Twenty, eighteen did twenty four stops and 4Low parts for the five hour class and it proved to be really well received. And so in twenty nineteen when my life changed and I had a release of time, I just there's no way I'm going to go on the road this year a diesel pusher and up my trailer and so the diesel pusher and off I went for six months and did 75 stops around the country for parts teaching a five hour class to use tons of women and men.

[01:37:35.640] - Charlene Bower

There are men that come to the class as well. It's hugely rewarding and amazing. So I don't foresee that in my future again. But we are doing smaller.

[01:37:47.340] - Charlene Bower

I was going to ask a little chewers.

[01:37:50.460] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, that was very aggressive. That was very aggressive, but it worked and it was great for the business and it was great for the girls and it was great for everybody.

[01:38:00.510] - Charlene Bower

Right.

[01:38:01.260] - Charlene Bower

So the but yeah, there's always something in the horizon, something interesting up my sleeve. Ghafour Academy and Think is the biggest one where finally I can bring the education to the men as well. They've been wanting it and I appreciate that. And, and I want to give it as well. And I want to give it in a way where everybody can be successful.

[01:38:26.760] - Big Rich Klein

So and I think online is a great way to do that. Yeah. For the simple fact that you can do it once you get it done, then it's the same thing. For everybody, and then you just have to update it as things as things change, but you don't have to do you know, you don't have to do it individually, five hours, you know, once a month or something like that. So I think in the long run, it's it's it's much better.

[01:38:57.740] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, and we've been testing it with our challenge challenges in how the girls are manipulating their way through it and what works and what doesn't work through this program that I've been using and so really successful about being able to put a big program together now and be able to, like you said, just leave it out there and let it continue to educate people. But each one of those programs still comes with personal time with me. Well, that's the research marketing school.

[01:39:26.360] - Charlene Bower

If you do the research marketing school online, you still get an hour with me at the end and saying, OK, let's talk about you direct, like with your let's do your one on one with your specific information. Now that you've learned all this and you know the questions I'm going to ask and you know what is to be expected of you, how can we put your program together? Perfect. So, yeah. So there's still the personalization to it.

[01:39:52.760] - Charlene Bower

I think you I don't want to lose that. That's my hardest part about going online. Right. And probably why I fight it is because I just I love being with the people. And how can I answer your question and make it right for you? Because at the end of the day, that's that's what's going to be the best element for them. Perfect.

[01:40:14.710] - Big Rich Klein

I think that's I think that's a great place to to call it quits on this conversation. I think that you've brought a lot of information not only about yourself, but what you're doing now with the Ladies Off Road Network and the challenges and and the convention and everything. And I think that's I think that all the ladies out there, I'm going to say this, men, if you have a girlfriend or wife that you want more involved with off road, have her check out the Ladies Off Road Network.

[01:40:47.760] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, yeah, and and even the ladies that are that are high, high, high educated or have lots of time. Right, and proving they Lovelady's off road network also because it's their people, you know, it's the people that understand what they're actually saying now instead of just sitting around talking about males. Yep. So it's it's your people. It's there's a bunch of girls that are high level operators that are part of it. And, you know, I'm pushing you to you.

[01:41:21.210] - Charlene Bower

There's places I can push that lady as much as I can, make sure a brand new lady doesn't feel overwhelmed, an event series. And and then just knowing you have those people behind you to talk to you is a really cool element as well.

[01:41:39.540] - Big Rich Klein

Exactly. But, yeah, you have one more thing to add. Are you ready? Yes. I have to thank you and Shelley for and Little Richard for everything that you guys have done for me as well. But you are one of the guys when I talk to men that have supported women in the industry to make sure that I have been successful and I have raised up to where I've been. You're absolutely one of them. And when Shelley became part of your team, she became part of my team as well.

[01:42:12.650] - Big Rich Klein

And that has just been a huge element. And Shelley has pushed me and recategorize, which is always fun. But I just really appreciate both of you guys and what you have also put into this industry and which given to me personally. So. Well, there's a lot of history there. Yes. And I love every every moment of it has been rewarding for me. And I hope it has been as entertaining for you.

[01:42:40.140] - Charlene Bower

Absolutely.

[01:42:42.080] - Big Rich Klein

Absolutely. Entertaining is one way to put it. Yes. No, it's been it's been great. And thank you. Thank you for that. You know, we we love. I got into this whole thing because I love the sport, and then I became I loved the people that were involved in the sport and I didn't want to see the sport disappear. And the companies that that that were that got it, you know, that grew because of the sport of, you know, especially rock crawling.

[01:43:18.170] - Big Rich Klein

And I just, you know, I don't ever want to see it go away. The sport or, you know, the the rock crawling or four wheel drive off road, any of that. But, you know, eventually things will change for for me or us. And, you know, that will you know, like I tell everybody, I've been doing this for 21 years. I'm 63. You do the math. I'm not going to be doing it at 84.

[01:43:45.170] - Big Rich Klein

It just ain't going to happen. Yeah. So, you know, eventually, you know, somebody else will have to pick up the reins and we'll see when that happens.

[01:43:55.120] - Charlene Bower

So, yeah, so I tell people, well, my numbers are twenty seven years this year and the offered mystery working in an every category and people don't realize that until you hear the story like today. Yep. So twenty seven years working in the offered industry, 12 years as our media, nine with I'm not just a girl now. Five is Lady Zaphod network. And it is so rewarding and yes, I absolutely buy this blond a lot, but it's rewarding and it's also the most challenging thing I think I've ever done in my life.

[01:44:34.490] - Charlene Bower

But but it's worth it's it's worth it. And I continue to tell myself that. And as you know, and I think you do the same thing, like you're rewarded by people telling you what a great experience they had at your events and that because of them competing at your event, this happened or that happened. I've watched you like you're rewarded by that. That's what gets continues to make you come back. It's for us. It's not about the money.

[01:45:05.060] - Charlene Bower

Let's be real about this. And that's the same way that I am to like I'm rewarded. When a girl texts me and says I made it off the Yujin path with it raining, my husband put me in the driver's seat because I had more experience than he did at a point. And I told him what I needed because I took your class and I knew what I needed. Like, that's rewarding, you know, knowing that you're giving people the tools to be successful in the life experiences to be awesome.

[01:45:37.610] - Charlene Bower

And that's what you do as well. So. As we always say, keep it up, hashtag never bored, absolutely.

[01:45:48.630] - Big Rich Klein

So thank you. Again, for four coming on board and. Being and agreeing to being a guest on here and sharing things that you hadn't shared before, so I appreciate that it's.

[01:46:05.150] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, I think that's the first time anybody's really heard. I was going to quit then. Yeah. I've told it locally, but not nationally, right?

[01:46:13.380] - Big Rich Klein

And I've I've heard it. I mean, because we were one of your clients.

[01:46:16.800] - Charlene Bower

So you're a part of it. Yeah.

[01:46:19.850] - Big Rich Klein

Well, Charlene, I want to say thank you again and may all of your endeavors be successful for whatever you try to do, and I hope that you're able to keep the ladies off road network fresh and moving forward, because there's a lot of ladies out there that that need to find out about it.

[01:46:42.600] - Charlene Bower

Yeah, and I'm excited to meet them. I'm the lucky one, I get to meet all of them. Yes.

[01:46:48.980] - Big Rich Klein

Well, thank you so much.

[01:46:51.410] - Charlene Bower

Sir, thank you.

[01:46:52.470] - Charlene Bower

I appreciate you, OK, talk to you later. If you enjoy these podcasts, please give us a rating, share some feedback with us via Facebook or Instagram and share our link among your friends who might be like minded. Well, that brings this episode to an end. OK, you enjoyed it. We'll catch you next week with conversations with Big Rich. Thank you very much.