When you picture a family business, do you think of bulletproof vests and ballistic protection? That's the unique world Alex Stewart of Premier Body Armor and I explored as we unraveled the company's journey from a small metal shop to the forefront of personal armor. Our conversation took us through the transformation of protective gear, touching on the practicality of innovations like the everyday armor t-shirt bundle—a favorite of mine for its unobtrusive defense—and the clever inclusion of ballistic protection into everyday items like backpack inserts. Alex's insights reveal a commitment to safety that blends seamlessly with daily life, offering a sense of security without the bulk.
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Visit https://premierbodyarmor.com/hardmen and use promo code HARDMEN for 10% off your order. Got questions? Reach out to customer service or send their President an email directly at alex@premierbodyarmor.com and speak to him yourself.
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When you picture a family business, do you think of bulletproof vests and ballistic protection? That's the unique world Alex Stewart of Premier Body Armor and I explored as we unraveled the company's journey from a small metal shop to the forefront of personal armor. Our conversation took us through the transformation of protective gear, touching on the practicality of innovations like the everyday armor t-shirt bundle—a favorite of mine for its unobtrusive defense—and the clever inclusion of ballistic protection into everyday items like backpack inserts. Alex's insights reveal a commitment to safety that blends seamlessly with daily life, offering a sense of security without the bulk.
Sign up for the New Christendom Press Conference in June 2024.
Join the Patreon exclusive membership.
10 Ways to Make Money with Your MAXX-D Trailer.
Alpine Gold Exchange Website: alpinegoldogden.com
Set Up a Meeting: https://calendly.com/alpinegold/alpine-gold-consultation
Talk to Joe Garrisi about managing your wealth with Backwards Planning Financial.
Sign up for Barbell Logic.
Visit https://premierbodyarmor.com/hardmen and use promo code HARDMEN for 10% off your order. Got questions? Reach out to customer service or send their President an email directly at alex@premierbodyarmor.com and speak to him yourself.
Buy your beef or pork box today from Salt and Strings Butchery. Use code "HMP" to get $20 off your next order.
Contact Private Family Banking Partner at banking@privatefamilybanking.com to set up a free private consultation and get started building wealth now and unto future generations. "For a free copy of a new book "Protect Your Money Now! How to Build Multi-Generational Wealth Outside of Wall Street and Avoid the Coming Banking Meltdown" by Private Family Banking Partner, Chuck DeLadurantey, go to www.protectyourmoneynow.net
This episode of the Hard Men Podcast is brought to you by Joe Garrisy, with Backwards Planning Financial, by Alpine Gold, by MaxD Trailers, by Salton Strings Butchery, private Family Banking and by Premier Body Armor. Welcome to this episode of the Hard Men Podcast. I am your host, eric Kahn, and very excited for today's show. We have a guest, which is Mr Alex Stewart. He is the president of Premier Body Armor. We've been trying out some of their gear, including the everyday armor t-shirt bundle. They get a black version and a white version. You simply slide the level three a protection into the front and into the back. It's been very comfortable for everyday wear. We're going to have a great conversation with Alex how he got into that business family business run with his dad and really just an encouraging story.
Speaker 1:I value body armor because, let's be honest, sometimes my Twitter feed is in need of someone wearing body armor. You never know. That's something that we here at Refuge Church and the pastors have been trying out. It's been really comfortable on a daily wear basis, definitely for men who are looking to provide, protect your family and want to up your body armor game. The everyday armor t-shirt 2.0 bundle is one really great way to go, especially for a comfortable everyday wear. We encourage you guys to check that out. You can follow the link in the show notes for pricing and link to their website and all that good stuff. We are going to jump into this conversation with Alex. I really loved it. We're talking family, we're talking about masculinity, we're talking about the need to protect all that good stuff. It's just been such an encouragement to connect with so many like-minded people Christian's doing a wonderful business building for their communities. We're excited to be a part of that.
Speaker 1:Now we are going to jump into that episode with Mr Alex Stewart, president of Premier Body Armor. Well, welcome to this episode of the Hard Men Podcast. I'm your host, derek Kahn, and joined today by a very special guest. We have Mr Alex Stewart. He is the president of Premier Body Armor. Alex, thanks so much for joining me. It's a pleasure to be here. Alex, one of the things that you guys sent which I think is probably the coolest thing that you make hands down is the Body Armor Coozie. I don't know if people can actually buy these, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we make them. It's a fun party favor. A lot of people buy them for groomsmen's gifts and that kind of thing. It really is bulletproof, but it's mostly just for fun.
Speaker 1:It's going to protect your can, in case you need it. Some of the other products you guys make are pretty impressive. We'll get into that in just a minute, but I kind of want to get some of the backstory on the company, how you guys got into that world. I know your dad was involved with it and then obviously now you're the president. But how did you guys get into Body Armor?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. He started Premier Body Armor in my dad's frank Stewart, by the way, he started Premier Body Armor in 2013. So we just celebrated 10 years as a company Great milestone for us, very exciting. But prior to that he had a company called Ultramachine and Fabrication and it was Fabrication Company and they started out really small, just him in a shop making metal parts, and eventually he and his team managed to grow that company to do DOD defense contract work. So they ended up as subcontractors and prime contractors working on MRAPs and MATVs and other large armored vehicles that were getting shipped overseas to save warfighters' lives. So that was what he did for 25 years roughly. And I grew up in middle school and high school getting to go to the plant and watch all these trucks get welded together and I did a little bit of work here and there on small components. So it was cool to see that bigger type of business unfold.
Speaker 2:But under Obama, with secretation and funding kind of went away. He started looking elsewhere, ended up selling Ultra and moving on from that. But right on the cusp of selling it came up with a pretty revolutionary steel armor plate and it was the first of its kind with a true sappy curve on it. So it mimicked a ceramic plate but it was in a really hard armor steel. It was pretty revolutionary at the time but it was just a little too expensive for the civilian market at the end of the day. Steel plates were coming out around the same time and they just took the market by storm. So that got us started, got our name out there. But we quickly moved into polyethylene plates and soft body armor and just really embraced the wearable armor side of the business rather than the vehicle armor side of the business.
Speaker 1:So the steel plates that you were talking about. Those were for vehicles.
Speaker 2:No, they were built on the same technology we use for vehicles, same materials, same type of presses used, but just cut to shape for wearing on your chest.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great. So do you guys the mix between military and then civilian use? What's the breakdown for you, company-wise?
Speaker 2:Yeah, good question. We immediately started out serving law enforcement, mainly small and medium-sized police departments. They were buying those plates and also our soft armor products. But this would have been I joined going on seven years ago and at that point in time we had a really old school website that was just locked down to law enforcement. You had give credentials to get on there and everything. So when we opened up the website, that really just opened the floodgates for civilians to start checking out Premier Body Armor and considering us as another option. At the time there was only a handful of companies selling body armor to civilians All the big, big players in the body armor space. They didn't do it then and they don't do it now. So when we opened up that website it gave civilians access to the technology that we had and the products we were making. That totally shifted that product mix from 100% law enforcement to now a majority of our company is based on civilian sales and service.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's really interesting because you see the uptick, the time I've spent in the firearms industry, there's more of an uptick, and it's twofold. One was 511 and working out it was the guys who were doing CrossFit. But let's be honest, you just look really cool when you're running down the street with body armor on and they're like no, it's for the added weight. Okay, that's cool. So there was that part of it too. But I also think, like with John Lovell Warrior Poet Society, as those guys got going and encouraging guys in self-defense and preparedness and stuff like that, it seems like there was also a lot of uptick, with guys were thinking through like, hey, what plate carrier do you have? That sort of thing? Were you guys seeing that same phenomenon happening?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. We actually followed John Lovell for a little while and then started working with those guys and they sold some armor, mainly for backpacks at the time. This was several years ago, but yeah, like when him and some other people started talking about civilian applications of armor in a way that was actually practical, that totally changed the game. I started thinking about armor not only in in reference to a, you know like, go to war, play carrier rig, but really more of how can I take this practical piece of equipment with me everywhere? Cause there's, you know. Some say there's more guns in this country than there are people, and whether or not that's true, there's a whole lot of them out there and the likelihood of encountering one in a violent situation is not not super high. But you know, a small investment lends a lot of peace in mind and civilians really started to catch on to that, that truce and that concept. So that totally changed the game.
Speaker 1:Well, it's really interesting too, Cause one of the things we talked about on this podcast is just Genesis 215, going back to men's role as a protector of the family obviously provider, but a protector as well and it seems like a lot of guys you know it's in their nature, so they resonate with that sort of quality of, yeah, I need to protect my family, I need to think through it and it goes through a lot of things. You know, making your home, you know, hard to making it a hard target, making it hard to break into, making sure you have a family preparedness plan, that sort of thing. It seems like with sort of what's going on in society too. You know, I've thought about this a lot of times. I'm like, well, we say some spicy things on Twitter from time to time We've had some interesting people visit the church.
Speaker 1:So one of the things that I really like is you guys offer some really like daily wear concealment type options for people that you know like. We wear ours as pastors. We wear them under our suits. You know we've worn them since we received them a couple of weeks ago, very comfortable, but you know people can't really tell that you're wearing a, you know, a plate carrier or something like that. So talk about some of those options that you guys have developed for concealment. Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2:I think that's really what we're trying to be known for and we're trying to be experts at, because our area of expertise is not in the super tactical plate carriers and pouches and that kind of thing. We really I mean I push people towards brands like Crye, precision or Spiritune Systems, faro Concepts, those guys who have been out in the field overseas, they've done the operations and they really know how to put a kit together that's gonna operate in those tactical environments and they really, really will. So, although we have some products that are great to get started in that area and that are really quality will last a long time, really, what we're focused on is incorporating armor into the normal everyday life situation here, state side, in a way that doesn't change your lifestyle at all. Right, like what you're referencing are everyday armor t-shirt. It's our best selling product because it offers you the ability to wear body armor without having to wear a vest, which has never really been a thing before you would have to.
Speaker 2:You know, in the past you would have to put on a full, soft armor vest or a really slick plate carrier with plates, but with the everyday armor t-shirt it's basically like things like an athletic fit under armor shirt with pockets in the front and back and you put soft armor panels in there and you've got protection from almost anything you would encounter on the street. You're not really gonna encounter a rifle threat. It's just not that common. If you're gonna encounter something, it's likely to be a common handgun round and the everyday armor t-shirt does really well against that.
Speaker 2:So that, and our backpack inserts and our laptop cases, we've kind of just taken soft armor and we cut it and shape it into different areas of your life so you can take it with you everywhere you go, so you're always ready. That's kind of the idea as to empower people to have armor no matter what. Like I'm here inside of a big, I guess meeting space inside of Raleigh, north Carolina, and I don't have a plate carrier or a bulletproof vest on right now, but I have a laptop case with me. That's level three A. So if someone God forbid someone comes in this building with a handgun or a shotgun, I've got body armor right here in my bag and no one even knows.
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Speaker 1:I think having multiple options for people too as well, one of the things I noticed with the everyday armor t-shirt. Obviously, you get two colors, which is nice the black and the white. The panels are not exceptionally heavy. It's got to be under a pound or something for each one. Yeah, roughly a pound. Ok, talk me through that material. You mentioned handgun rounds, but for people who don't understand the rating system, what is this protecting against? Well, I think it's a good idea to have. What is this protecting against?
Speaker 2:Yeah, good question. Ironically, I'm here in Raleigh right now because the rating system is about to change and I'm not here for a meeting for that. But the still active current standard is called NIJ06. So it's the National Institute of Justice. They've had six iterations of their ballistic testing standard. They developed this for the sake of law enforcement agencies, not necessarily for civilians, but as the standard for law enforcement or military goes, so goes civilian market as well. So right now it's all 06. Right, it's moving to 07. But that won't be probably until next year.
Speaker 2:So right now, with soft armor, concealable products, you've got basically two levels to consider level two or level 3A. Level two is going to stop Everything that a level 3A will except. Level 3A adds on a couple of rounds and level 3A is the one that's really common. So we can talk about that. That's what all of our concealable armor for civilians is made of, and it stops up to a 44 magnum and 357 sig, and then of course it'll do 12 gauge slugs and buckshot. It's special threat tested for a couple of extra rounds, like Liberty Civil Defense 9 mil, which is really hot, and a couple other things. So those two levels are really what's applicable in soft armor these days, with level 3A being the stronger of the two.
Speaker 1:So 3A is what's in the armor t-shirt and in the laptop case.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right, exactly and that's made for us. We make those out of Kevlar typically DuPont Kevlar or similar rolled materials from a different manufacturer, but they're all using lightweight US source material in our ballistic packages and that's why we get consistent performance and it's cool, it keeps all the labor here in the US and all that good stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, one of the other things I like about it, too, is it's got some flexibility to it. So, in terms of comfort, everyday wear you're bending over, you're picking stuff up, you're plugging your laptop in, whatever it is I felt like the movement was really good and, a really important part, you've got the moisture wicking fabric as well. So, in terms of comfort, that was one of the things that I always look at is, with anything concealed, carry, you've got to be able to do it on a daily basis in your job or wherever you're using it. So it's got to be comfortable. So that's got to be something that, with all this stuff you guys think quite a bit about, I imagine, is just comfort in everyday wear.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, and there's of course you can get into really, really premium armor packages. We have one, our elite executive vest, for example. It's at least 30% lighter than like. The ballistic package is 30% lighter than what you would have in an everyday armor T-shirt, but it's nearly twice the price. So that's like a shopping tip, I guess you would say when you're considering body armor. It's all about stopping power and weight. The ratio of the two things really is what drives price.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely On the concealable armor vest, still 3A. It's got side panels somewhat on that as well.
Speaker 2:On the concealable armor vest yeah, it's a full wraparound vest. Okay, so you get 360 degrees of coverage, yeah and, I think, a lot of this stuff.
Speaker 1:It's rated for knives as well, too, isn't it? Yeah, to an extent.
Speaker 2:Naturally Kevlar is extremely slash resistant, no doubt there You're not going to slice through it with anything. But it is not specifically designed for highly, highly edged weapons like, let's say, a needle or an ice pick or just a really, really sharp and tiny pointed blade. That kind of stuff just has a way of just sneaking through the weaves. So it's a whole different weave pattern to do like a rated stab armor.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. And then the panels are they pretty similar to or the same as what's going in the laptop case backpack application?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So we typically use the same ballistic package across all of our level 3A solutions, so we get that consistent performance, no matter which product you choose. And then we do offer, like I mentioned, the Elite Executive S, for example in a more in a lighter weight, more flexible material, so that's available too in some solutions.
Speaker 1:Have the backpack laptop cases. Has that been a pretty good seller for you? Definitely.
Speaker 2:It's the easiest one to get into right. A lot of people don't want to spend a bunch of money on the vest, like a full on vest that they might not wear very often. But to spend $200 on a backpack insert that protects against handguns and shotguns and lasts for at least five years, I mean to me that's a great deal.
Speaker 1:I hope it is for our customers, yeah no, absolutely One of the things I want to ask you about obviously, working in a family business, kind of what was that process for you like? Did you know that that was something that you wanted to do? How did that come about for you?
Speaker 2:It's a funny story. I went to Gardner-Rubb University, which is a small Christian school outside of Shelby, north Carolina, just up the road from where I grew up, and I actually studied discipleship. That was my major discipleship studies and when I graduated that was my major and my minor was in ceramics and pottery. And my dad was like, hey, what are you planning on doing with that? I was like, well, I don't know, I don't really think I'm going to be able to support a family with a pottery thing and I don't really feel called to be a pastor at this point. So he was like, well, why don't you come work for me? I'm getting this thing going with body armor. And I was like you know what that sounds? Cool? I was getting married soon.
Speaker 2:Right after college my wife and I got married and so I said let's give a shout out. So I started out in shipping and assembly, putting basically magazine pouches together, and then. So I did that for a while and then moved over to the website side of things and then into sales and then started being a seed. From there I became the vice president of the company and kind of running day to day under his supervision, I suppose. And then eventually, two years ago, became the president of the company which is the office that I hold now. So that's kind of how I got into it. I couldn't say no to my dad, I suppose.
Speaker 1:It's probably you know, in terms of provision. I'm not saying that you can't make a lot of money in pottery, but it seems like this.
Speaker 2:Well, I went to like a pottery conference per se and I heard from one of the guys who was one of the top names in the style, I suppose, that I would want to be in wood fire handmade pottery, and he's been doing it at that point for 30 years plus. And he looked at everybody in the class and said you know, if you want to have any chance of success being a potter, you're going to be working at least 60 hours a week for the rest of your life. And I was like man. That does not sound conducive to family life. And I mean, the guy loved it. Right, it was his passion, it was his gifting, he was one of the best you know in the world at it. So I could see why he did it and I was okay, but not that good yeah.
Speaker 1:You got to be all in on the pottery and it makes total sense as you work with your dad. You know we talk a lot about like multi-generational people working together. I guess like what stands out leadership, wise leadership, lessons that you know, I'm sure, from. We're all kind of in that boat. You graduate college or like what do I want to do in my life? But it really is important that you have people around you who are forming leadership and in those qualities. So I'm just curious, like what lessons have you picked up along the way from him?
Speaker 2:Oh man, Too many to talk about in one episode. It's been a blessing. I count it truly as one of God's greatest blessings to me besides my wife and children that I've gotten to work with my dad every day for so many years now. A couple things that come to mind would be I think my dad is known for putting people first, which is an easy thing to talk about, I think, but I've just seen him actually put it to work so often. He's so patient with his employees. Him and my mom were, of course.
Speaker 2:The Lord blessed them with business success, but they shared that with their employees. Things like at one point in time they offered a health clinic at Ultra this is back in the day and it was completely free to employees but not only employees, but to their whole family as well so they could come in and get check-offs, they could get prescriptions there the whole nine yards and they did that all for free. Then I got to watch them bless people with cars many times over. People needed new vehicles. They paid for funerals, which is so much stuff that they were able to, I guess, put their money where their mouth is per se. If the Lord blesses you and you're able to do that kind of thing and you don't do it, you're probably not stewarding what the Lord has given you very well, but I'm grateful that I got to see someone else do that and model that so that the Lord decides to bless me and my family as well in that way. I'm looking forward to doing that. Of course, I mentioned his patience. He's really a patient. That's one of the big things I've learned from his.
Speaker 2:In business, not everything happens overnight. Some things surprise you and you get big success out of nowhere, but a lot of things take time. A relationship that you established today, or someone that you choose not to ignore today, someone that you're kind to two years later, may be the thing that really helped you In my, I would say, three, four years ago. I was so impatient with, let's say, affiliate or ambassador relationships. We would meet somebody and they were interested in working with us and I was like what do you mean? It's us, it's premier. I was a bleeding premier and they just weren't. Yet Then I wasn't the mouthpiece my dad was. Instead of being impatient, I was tempted to be and, having much more experience than I had, he understood and he was kind to them.
Speaker 2:Now a lot of those people we're friends with. They come to our booth at Shotshow. They know us by name. It's big hugs. We don't have to pay them tons and tons of money for them to be excited about doing something because they know they have the relationship with us. Everybody's had relationships is big in business, and that's just true. It's one of those cliche things that is actually true. I would say take care of your people, be really patient, trust the Lord to provide over time and work hard. Obviously, then, never overlook anyone in business. You just never know who the Lord is going to raise up over the years and you might need them in your court or want them in your court at some point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome. It also seems like a big part of the company. Your life is family. That's one of the challenges in business is wanting to go hard in the paint but making time for that as well, I guess. Just talk about some of the examples that were set and what you've tried to do on the family front to make sure that not only you but I'm sure your employees as well, have room to tend to their families, that sort of thing.
Speaker 2:We definitely try not to extend work beyond work hours as much as possible. Some of you might disagree, so don't go asking them or maybe you should, but we do try to respect that we don't call each other a bunch after hours and stuff. We also something that's cool, I guess, maybe a humble brag or whatever we were able to by the Lord's blessing us last year and just solidifying our business moving forward, we were able to open up some of our benefits this year for our team. One of the things that we're doing that I'm really excited about is helping families with newborns. So we're helping provide diapers and some extra funding just to offset some of the costs when any of our employees have children, because we've always said that families are important, but we really wanted to reinforce that by just putting some funds out there and helping people along the way. That's definitely one way we're doing it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, absolutely. As you think about it too, the country where everything is at, it seems like I'm sure that every time period has this but turmoil. I think they. Yesterday, right, we had the Super Bowl parade. There's a shooting at the Super Bowl parade. People are thinking about those things. I guess. How do you think about it in terms of, obviously there could be the encouragement yeah, have body armor, be prepared, whatever. But as you think about raising sons in this generation, I guess what are some of the unique challenges that you see as you look around?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know it's funny. I don't want to act like I'm an expert in this at all, because I feel like I'm learning now from Joe Rigney. I'm reading Wilson. I'm trying to gain all the wisdom I can because my sons are so young. I have a four-year-old and a 15-month-old. It's a good time to start. Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm so grateful for them.
Speaker 2:It's so fun to have two young boys in the house and they're just, they're wild and full of energy, but I can see in them a desire to be strong, to be courageous, to protect.
Speaker 2:My oldest son talks about protecting his mom and even keeping his younger brother safe and that kind of thing. So I think the encouraging piece, I think the thing that I would say, is that I think there's evidences that I see all the time my boys, that the Lord did build men for protecting not only their family but their community around them and in light of that, we need to think about carefully how we, I guess, live out that dominion mandate from the Lord and that gifting from him, from him to be protectors and providers. So when I think about my sons, I'm trying to think in those terms as much as I possibly can, just to help them be prepared mentally and even in their theology, to be ready for what the future holds. I don't think there's a hopeless future in front of them, but I do think they're called by God to honor him by being bold and courageous. So I need to help them with that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely One of the things you mentioned. Just kind of people that you've, you know, doug Wilson, joe Rigney, a lot of people we love. We've had them on the podcast, really encouraging. I'm curious in terms of books, literature, what have you read that has impacted you? What sort of has shaped you?
Speaker 2:It's good to be a man, it's great. I can tell you what I'm reading right now. Anything in the past is kind of blurry at the moment. Right now I'm reading the. You know, based on Yall's recommendation, I grabbed Ibrahim. Yeah, I ended up grabbing a second. Yeah, I ended up grabbing a second book on accident Defenders of the West, which is great. But yeah, man, it's awesome.
Speaker 2:I'm not very far into it, but I'm learning things that I've never heard of before, which is crazy. To think that I have to relearn all the history that I learned, you know, in school. It feels like that in some ways, but I'm grateful that I'm doing that now so that I can teach my boys this stuff later on. Also, I just started a confessional county by Raymond Simmons, really interested in that one. I've always been interested in politics, but it's hard to reconcile the concept of politics and, you know, having a bold Christian faith on this day and age. It's just so everybody thinks it's so counter. You know that things don't go well together. So that's, I'm digging in that one. I'm curious there.
Speaker 2:You know, my wife and I attend, and our sons attend, the North Ox Presbyterian Church in Lowell, north Carolina, which is in Gaston County and all the men in the church are reading John Cowellan's Institutes this year, which is a big lift. So I'm excited about that one. I don't know how many pages I'm in, maybe a hundred pages or so but and the guy just he thought through this theology and applied it to everyday life so well. So I'm really encouraged right now by reading that and then, of course, throwing in some fiction in there. Me and a couple buddies are in the fellowship of the ring right now moving through that. So yeah, all the good stuff, hopefully.
Speaker 4:Did you guys know that I'm going to be turning 40 this year? What, what? Yeah, looking back, one of my biggest regrets is that I didn't know the basics of investing, that whole world was foreign to me and I didn't know where to go to get help. The thing is, I missed decades of opportunities to build inheritances for my kids and to take care of my wife and me in retirement.
Speaker 1:You know what, Dan? I'm in somewhat of the same spot, except I still have all my hair. My eyes glaze when people talk about IRAs, life insurance and tax strategies. But not only that, Dan. I don't have time to sit at my desk, study stock market charts and read tax codes.
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Speaker 1:Here at the Hard Men Podcast. You know I'm a huge supporter of men who value hard-knows-hard work. Our country is literally built on the backs of men who have carried the weight of responsibility for their families and driven the economy forward. That's why I'm so excited to join forces with MaxD Travers, a Texas-based and family-owned company, to bring you this episode. I'm proud to partner with MaxD to see the vision of New Christendom establish one small business at a time. Maxd builds innovative, hard-working trailers for the builders, fixers and growers of the world. The company proudly supports Blue Collar Hollers men whose businesses depend on MaxD Travers. You can follow their stories by checking out MaxD Travers on Instagram or by visiting the link in the show notes. Learn more about MaxD Travers by visiting maxdtraverscom, where you can check out the article 10 ways to make money with your trailer.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, that's awesome. I remember for years I would hear like pastors would always be like it was basically like they were quoting from either Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings. I was ashamed so I was like I don't know, I was probably college before I'd ever actually read any of it and I was like why are they always quoting this? They seem kind of obsessed. And then I started reading it and now I do the same thing.
Speaker 1:So it's good and it's nice too, I think, because as we think about particularly for sons, I'm just amazed. You know, my boys are just a little bit older. My oldest is 16. My youngest is 12. And then we have a 14-year-old. But it's amazing how many of the concepts get into their hearts through story. You know, I could sit them down and be like well, theologically you know you should provide and you should protect, but then we tell them a story of, like, jan Sobieski and the charge of the winged hussars, and it's like you can see, you know I was talking to Pastor Dan about this just a little bit ago and he goes yeah, I played the Savaton song, winged hussars and we listened to that and then I told my boys the story and he said within, like the next three hours, like four times. They were like tell me the story again.
Speaker 1:I want to know the story again, because it just gets into their bones. You know, and I think that's a huge part of it is having examples of men in history who were valiant defenders of Christianity and Christenom and the church, but also of their nations and the way that they viewed godliness or piety in terms of, you know, defense, you know, and often it was armed defense. So I think that's just such a cool thing for the kids as well, where, you know, my boys, fortunately, you know, they grew up kind of reading that stuff and hearing those stories and then now it's cool just to see that that's something that still kind of inspires them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's awesome. I've been playing this storytelling game with Charlie, my oldest, where I'll. It's just a back and forth. Right, I'll start a story and I'll just stop right before you know the high point and then he'll finish it off. And then I'll go again and then he'll finish it off, and it's like he always goes towards like slaying something or climbing a mountain, or like I'm like, yeah, keep going, this is good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's so great, yeah, and I love it. It makes me think too. You know, one of the things we talk a lot about here is you know, legacy. You know what kind of legacy do you want to leave to your kids? And we'll generally say you know, faith, wealth and culture are three of the main things that we want to impart to our sons. You know from, from refuge, church, but also just from our own families, and who the men are. As you think about legacy, you're early in the game, but you've got some good examples behind you as well with your father. What are you thinking about in terms of business legacy? What kind of men you want your sons to be?
Speaker 2:It is something that we talk about a lot because it's me and two brothers, right, and my dad. So he has three sons that he is attempting to do this with as well. So I'm getting to see it in, you know, three generational at the same time, which is cool. It's my, and actually I shouldn't I shouldn't leave out my grandfather as well. He lives in Columbia, south America, but my dad goes to see him all the time and right now he's watching, you know, all the generations beneath him carry on, what legacy that he's leaving behind. So it is something that we're conscious of, I think, maybe just because we have only boys in our family. Right now we don't and and we're, you know, we're called to lead that charge. So it's definitely on my mind and I think right now for us, our focus on with our boys is is really just two fold it's it's obedience to me and my wife right now, along with respect. Those two things kind of go together respecting his elders, and then the second is just instilling good theology from day one. We're heavily leaning on catechisms and just straight reading Bible verses as often as we can.
Speaker 2:We're about to start doing a formal family worship where it's you know we're shooting for once a week Something I'd never heard of before, right, I'd never heard of family worship.
Speaker 2:I grew up in the Southern Baptist church Like that's who in church on Sunday, and then, you know, I got a youth group on Wednesday and that was pretty much the extent of family worshiping activity, right.
Speaker 2:But you know, we joined the, the Presbyterian church that we go to, and it's family worship is talked about. You know, I think it's awesome, like what a great way to carry on, not only carry on but set the foundation of worshiping God regularly with good theology and then carrying that on throughout every week, you know, even multiple days a week, not just on Sunday. It makes it more normative in your life, it gets God and good theology on your mind throughout the week. So we're trying to, you know, start with the basics with our sons right now, at their age, and then, looking ahead, I think our next step with Charlie, our oldest, is going to be just education, finding a right education setting. We've considered homeschooling out. I don't think it's for us right now where we're at with our busyness, I suppose. But we're looking for good classical Christian schools in the area or even just Christian schools in the area, and that's going to be the next piece there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's so exciting. I mean just thinking about that. You mentioned something like family worship which, as you said, I didn't grow up necessarily with that either. We had youth group, that sort of thing. But it's amazing to me because when I started I had an older pastor tell me he said your kids are little, they're in diapers, and he said you'll be amazed what they can actually pick up from you. So just read the scriptures faithfully, do the catechism. And it was surprising to me because I remember thinking, oh, there's a lot of questions in the catechism, westminster, it's hard, whatever. And then my kids are like five, six, seven, eight, and now they come home and they're like dad, I would like to pray the Lord's Prayer in Latin and then in Greek.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 1:I'm like, oh, and it's good, because part of it is like we want our sons to outshine us and they're like you know this right in Greek. And I'm like not per se, not per se, like all of it or any of it. But I'm going to work on that. Now that you guys have done that, that's awesome. So it's just such an encouragement. And then you think about, like that stuff seeps into them on a daily basis, even where they're able to sing certain Psalms. They know them by heart. They've learned them in school, we've learned them in church, same Psalm settings. So it's just a really cool thing to see how it shapes their minds and hearts. And then, as they get older, we start talking about things like mission and as the boys have gotten older, like reading Michael Foster's book, as you mentioned, it's good to be a man and starting to get them to think about things. But because all that foundation has been said, it all kind of makes sense to them. It's not like a foreign language. You're trying to speak to them. You're saying, guys, you got to have a mission, what are you going to do to provide for a wife? This is what we're aiming at. And then, as my boys have gotten older. It's really cool.
Speaker 1:I got this tip actually from interviewing Joel Beakey and he's sort of you know he's a pastor but he's taught a lot on family worship and he said, yeah, just as the boys get older, I'll walk them through prayer and you don't kind of whisper in their ear and then you know, eventually they get to the point where they're able to do portions of it. But now you know I've got a 16-year-old and I tell them I said, okay, well, like, treat this like this is you know the family that you're going to raise? Like how are you going to lead your brothers through the catechism, go through the questions being equipped for that, so that you don't? I mean, fatherhood is a daunting and enough task. I don't know if you ever felt this way, but I stepped into it. I remember going home from the hospital with my first son and I was like they just let us take him, like they're just, he's a fucking human. Are you coming with me home?
Speaker 2:nurse, because this is not kind of I'm not sure I know what I'm doing. I don't know if I'm qualified for this.
Speaker 1:And there's just so much you have to learn. So anyway, yeah, it's a really cool. It's a cool part of the process, I think. And then you know, like you said, being able to do that with your kids from a young age is really, really powerful. Yeah, that first day coming home from the hospital, that was tough, but really it's just so much more.
Speaker 2:That was tough, but really for me it was the whole first year.
Speaker 2:It was like the idea of it's funny how exposing it was of my immaturity and of my sin.
Speaker 2:Having a young baby there that just demands so much of you, just like we did of our parents of course all babies do it exposed so much of my masculine sin and I don't mean that in a good way, I mean my tendency towards anger, for example, or frustration, selfishness of man. This baby's waking me up again, like I gotta go to work tomorrow, like I need to sleep, but like, yeah, but it was in those really hard nights that eventually and I'm not saying that it happened right away, but the Lord humbled me and brought me through the other side and now, with our second son although he has slept much better, I will say, which is great I haven't had as much temptation towards frustration and anger whenever I hear him crying in the middle of the night and I have to wake up and give. The Lord softened my heart and reminded me that he's a blessing to us. This is not a curse and not a hardship. That's not worth doing. This hardship. That is worth it. That's gonna be a blessing for many years to come.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome. Well, and I think a big part of it too, like when we had our first two boys especially, I think within like two years of that, I went back to my parents and I was like I'm so sorry I was. You guys did so much work. I didn't even appreciate it.
Speaker 1:But as you kind of go through that process you realize, yeah, like dad worked for a lot of years and I remember my dad was a coal miner when I was little and I would come home and I now understand like what it took for him, because I'd be like dad, let's throw the football, dad, let's wrestle, and he would do it every time. And I look back at that and I'm like what a saint that man. Because you know, like the coal mining is like a physical job too. And even when I get home from the office I'm like you know the kids now, even even at 16 and 14, they're like dad, we want to wrestle on them. Like I'm old, I'm almost 40. I can't do this, but I think my dad and I think you know what, get in there and do it and play with your kids and that's a wonderful, wonderful thing.
Speaker 2:That's a great point. That's an awesome example of generational wisdom being passed down. You know, your dad had the guts and the strength and the courage, I guess, to push through that annoyance, which seems like a little thing when you talk about it now, but in the moment it's so compelling that you say you know what? I'm not going to wrestle right now, I'm going to do whatever I want, but, man, that's awesome that he did it and that now you're doing it, and now your, your sons, will have an example for them to do it too when they act kids one day. So that's just such a small but awesome example of the generational aspect that we're talking about.
Speaker 1:The encouragement for a lot of guys I always go back to, like somebody like Samwise Gamgee. You know we've talked about this recently in our office, but I said you know what it amazes me that Sam defeated the ring by saying look, I'm not, I'm not made to rule kingdoms, I just have to tend to my garden and my own little patch of land. That the you know. Anyway, we would say that the Lord has given us and I think it's an encouragement.
Speaker 1:There's so many guys where it's like you're not going to be Elon Musk, You're not going to be, you know, a world leader, you're not going to be Tucker Carlson interviewing Putin or something like that. You know. But you can make a difference simply by doing those small things of lead and family worship, play with your kids, love your wife, be patient. You know all of those things and that really does. If everybody will do that, it makes a really tremendous difference in culture and in society and the way things go. I also think it's interesting, as you guys think about, with Premier Body Armor. You've been at it a while. You're almost a decade, right, yeah me.
Speaker 2:I'm going on seven years.
Speaker 1:Okay. So, as you think about the next 10 years of the company, what you guys want to accomplish, what sorts of things are on you guys' mind? I would say it's on our mind.
Speaker 2:It's really just staying true to the fact that we want to offer a line of products that are actually practical to people. We really don't wanna get consumed by the notion that everyone is a soldier, you know cause. It's just not true. Like, yes, there could be a day when every civilian needs to, you know, put up arms and hey, I'll be right there with you. I defend in my family too, but I think our niche, our area of expertise, is more in the everyday landscape. So I really want to, as we expand our company, as we expand our products, expand our team, to make sure that we stay true to the core focus of providing protective solutions to civilians in their everyday life. Yeah, that's what we're good at. I think that's what we're the best at. Honestly, I don't think anyone is better than us at that specific goal. So, long-term, I think we should stick with that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's really helpful. One of the things when we started New Christian Impress, we hit it off with podcasts and Dan and I happened to be reading through a bunch of Jim Collins stuff and I think it's in great by choice. But there was this line where he said you know, obviously, your hedgehog principle you wanna figure out what you're the best at the world at, what you love doing, what you're passionate about all that stuff. But that one question of like what's the one thing that we're really good at? And so we said, well, right now it's like podcasting, podcast studios, right, like that goes really well.
Speaker 1:But I love the line from Jim Collins where he said you know, companies are always thinking about how can we grow, how can we expand, and you're thinking about the next thing. And he said oftentimes the next great thing is the thing you already have. And it was. I mean, it seems simple, but it was so pivotal just to say like, don't chase a bunch of crazy. You know, don't try and do a million things kind of half-heartedly, but if you can just do one thing really really well and execute on that, it's amazing how far you can take a company. And you know he's talking about it, jim Collins is in the context of like 30 year top performing companies. What do they do that other companies don't? And a lot of the answer to the question was they don't chase shiny objects, they don't try to do a million things. They figure out what they're good at and they just keep repeating that process.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the company that comes to mind when you say that are some friends of ours at T-Rex Arms, and I'll just brag on them for a second, because what they are really good at is education. They are just excellent at taking any product line, any theme of products in the tactical space and providing the best researched information to their customer base. But they can't you just can't get it anywhere else better than they do it Been to their facility. I mean, not to mention that their holsters are awesome, but they're really good at answering all your questions before you even have them, with the historical background and everything. So I think and they've never left that, they've always stuck with it, you know, I think that captures what you're talking about for sure. Like I don't see that changing for them, even though they've added tons and tons of products to their catalog and they're doing so well. They're still focused on educating their customer base and I love that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, absolutely yeah. We had Lucas on the show, great conversation, his brother's great as well, isaac and just yeah, I think it's just an encouragement to see other companies doing that well, loving their people, taking care of people. I think that's another thing that they do kind of behind the scenes. That is really cool to see, you know, christian people doing great work. Yeah, it's a blessing to people, which is, I think, why it's so. Alex, I would want to point our listeners to, obviously, the website PremierBodyArmorcom. They can check out some of the products as well. Is that the best way for people to make a purchase from you guys?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, and reach out to our customer service infoPremierBodyArmorcom if you have any questions. Somebody's always monitoring that phone during business hours and there's a chat and email. Of course. If you have any questions, you want to ask me directly, you can. It's just Alex at PremierBodyArmorcom. I'd love to have a conversation, check it out, see if it holds up to your needs.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Well, we definitely love our product. It's been really good. I know the guys have been wearing it and I think. One other thing I think you said to size was it size up or take the bigger?
Speaker 2:size Size down.
Speaker 1:Size down. Okay, yeah, size down, Size down, you'll have plenty of space. Mine fit perfectly so.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Yeah, you want that everyday on our T-shirt to fit tight. Pull the armor into your body. But yeah, thanks for giving it a try. I'm glad you guys like it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. We appreciate you and thanks for coming on the show. We'll, of course, have links in the show notes. Encourage people to check out PremierBodyArmorcom. You can follow the link in the show notes as well. Alex, thanks again for coming on the show. Thanks, eric. Thanks again for listening to this episode of the Hardman Podcast and special shout out to our Patreon supporters. If you're not yet a Patreon supporter, you can join today for as little as $5 a month, and that definitely helps keep this work going. We are glad to partner with you for content that builds a new Christendom and reclaims biblical masculinity at the same time. You can check the show notes for the link to become a Patreon supporter of the Hardman Podcast today. Stay frosty, fight the good fight, act like men and we'll see you next time.