Getting After It

125 - Blake Rossell - Mental Health Battles, Business Loss, and Cowboy Redemption

• Brett Rossell • Season 4 • Episode 125

Share episode

In this episode, I sit down with my oldest brother Blake for a conversation that’s equal parts hilarious and humbling. We walk through the rise and fall of our business Swello—how we bootstrapped it from late-night ad gigs into a full-blown agency with 20+ employees… and how it all came crashing down.

This isn’t just a story about business. It’s about losing a piece of your identity, dealing with depression and anxiety, and rebuilding your confidence one rope toss at a time. Blake opens up about the hardest day of his life—shutting down the company—and the years he spent afterward trying to figure out who he was without it.

Now? He’s found passion again in an unexpected place: team roping. And it’s brought him back to life.

What You’ll Learn:

  • Why failing publicly might be the greatest teacher you’ll ever have
  • How passion projects can save your mental health
  • What cowboy culture can teach us about discipline, brotherhood, and working with your hands
  • The importance of trying new things (even when you suck at them)
  • A reminder that no matter how lost you feel, it’s never too late to find your fire again

This one’s raw. It’s real. It’s full of bad jokes, cowboy hats, and a few lessons you won’t find in a business book.

Keep getting after it.

–––––––––––––––––-

Website: Keepgettingafterit.com
Follow on X: @bcrossell
Subscribe on YouTube: @gettingafteritpodcast
Follow on Instagram: @bcrossell
Follow on TikTok: gettingafterit_podcast

I hope today’s episode sparked something within you to pursue your dreams and unlock your true potential. If you found value in it, consider sharing it with someone who might need that same push.

This podcast is built for you—the dreamers and the doers. My goal is to provide a space where you can find inspiration, learn from others, and feel empowered to chase what matters most to you.

Send us a text

Brett:

Okay, what's recording? There we go. Okay, I forgot to do, do Not Disturb. Maybe a little bit Should I take off my glasses.

Blake:

So there's not a no flare. I can't see, it's fine. No, put it back on, dude, we really want no glasses. I wear them all the time. Alright, Very nice, alright. Game on. Game on. Very nice, all right game on.

Brett:

Welcome to the show, dude. Thank you, it's about time, it's uh it's been a minute listen, this is um. I've had drew on a couple times yeah and we've tried scheduling something. This is my second brother not my second brother, but he's my oldest brother. I'm the first brother he ever had. I've talked about you a lot on this podcast the swellow and all that stuff, so well, we have a lot to talk about. We have a lot and I'm excited.

Blake:

Yeah, uh, also, I think to kick this episode off and the hot topic for today. Yeah, I wanted us to match, so I brought you a gift. No, way. Okay, so I figured we got to do today's episode in cowboy hats.

Brett:

That's the only way to do it. All right, I feel like a real deal.

Blake:

Yeah, look at that, you look really good. A little hat tip.

Brett:

Should we try talking accents the whole time? Whatever? Probably not. Whatever gets people?

Blake:

going, Also sponsored by Element.

Brett:

This is new. We're not actually, but soon I'm an ultra marathoner.

Blake:

Have you ever drank one of these? You obviously have, but the people watching this. Yeah, they're very good, but they're also terrible at the same time.

Brett:

It's like you're drinking flavored salt, that's really it's like going to the beach yeah sweet salt, getting something a little sweet in there. I like it yeah, oceanside man, yeah, good stuff. But seriously, thanks for coming on, I'm excited I'm I'm stoked to be here.

Blake:

Yeah, I think brett's invited me 20 times and I finally said to hell with it, let's do this. Let's do it so but if we're doing it, we're doing it in cowboy. Cowboy hats that's right. I feel like that's how daddy does it now, do you?

Brett:

want me to edit that out or no?

Blake:

no, I want that in there I want people to know I'm daddy he's dead.

Brett:

Do some more asmr, that's good.

Blake:

No, no, that's viral. That's all you get but sweet dude.

Brett:

Yeah, I mean we just came back from your son um making it to almost the championship, sick baseball little little league.

Blake:

He's seven years old. The red hawks. The red hawks. We did cardboard cutouts of his face. He loved every second of it. It was legit. And uh threw him on our shoulders when you came out.

Brett:

They won in the fifth inning and he hit the game winning run he did and I'm very proud that's my retirement plan, so I have high hopes for him norman, if you're listening to this, in the future, you better get your act together yeah, don't let me down, but we love you so much don't let daddy down well, dude, I um, I'm most excited about this because there's a lot that's gone on with you over the past 10 years.

Brett:

Yeah, seven years, we'll say Sure, with Swellow and all that stuff, and now, you know, still in marketing, but doing other things? Yeah, getting new hobbies which I'm all excited to talk about, oh, yeah. But let's go back to when I was up in Rexburg, okay, and you were starting to get some side jobs for advertising.

Brett:

Um that was the beginning of the swallow. It was what you were. Employee number one baby. That's right. Yeah, that's all I'll say Nevermind, I won't. I won't go that way. Um, but yeah, that's true. Um, I remember it was like it. It was cool because I was up in college I was working at Frozen Dessert Supplies, Great place.

Blake:

Represent, if you're listening.

Brett:

Yeah.

Blake:

FDS for life.

Brett:

Saw you guys made it to Idaho's top 10 places to work again Congrats. Amazing, it's pretty good.

Blake:

This is actually a pretty good flavor.

Brett:

Lime, not bad. But yeah, that was cool because I was in college and I remember you called me and you're like, hey, listen, I got this idea like just can you run ads? I was like I don't know, I can probably figure it out yeah and I started doing a couple for um, I think it was a dentistry and a few other things. Um, but we'd talk every night and we'd try and build businesses together. Um, hello stevie, I think it was our first one. Yeah, tell, tell people about hello Stevie. What was that?

Blake:

Well, yeah, I guess, to back up Brett and I have tried building six businesses, five businesses together.

Brett:

Yeah.

Blake:

And yeah, one of them was a brand which was actually a pretty sick clothing brand. I think the Instagram is still around if you want to go check it out. Yeah, but it's called Hello Stevie and we built, we designed like surf and skate style designs and we were using like a third party, like a printful, I think is what it was called. Yeah, printful To print on demand and we got like some good orders. We got some people pretty stoked on them. Print on demand and we got some good orders. We got some people pretty stoked on them. My favorite design was the cheese grater that says, I think it said, stay shredded or get shredded.

Blake:

Yeah that was good. That was a popular print. I don't know. We did a lot of cheese themes. Actually there's another cheese triangle skateboarding doing the hang loose sign. That was good. So a lot of cheese. Yeah, it was fun. Yeah, the hang loose sign, that was good. So a lot of cheese, yeah.

Brett:

It was fun, though Maybe that's why it didn't take off Too much cheese. Yeah, everyone's like what is Hello.

Blake:

Stevie. Why do they eat cheese, Hello Stevie? Why do they like cheese so much?

Brett:

We're secretly rats. But I mean it's cool because, like we have done a lot of stuff like that together. Yeah, an entrepreneurial bone in your body, yeah, um, where'd that come from? Because I've always seen you grinding like I don't know all the time.

Blake:

I don't know I, I just like working hard yeah you know, and, and I have adhd? I think not, not. Uh, no, doctors ever said that, but I've said that. So that raw cells, it makes sense working hard and a little bit of distraction, I get down some rabbit holes, and usually that ends up with me being like that's an idea that could be a business and yeah I don't know we we started all those like we worked at fds.

Brett:

Yeah did you build that thing? I mean, that's what was cool about it.

Blake:

We literally built an office up in rexburg, like yeah, with which I didn't know how to do either.

Brett:

Right, you guys were in like yeah, you were in a warehouse.

Blake:

Like a small office, right, yeah. And then we built out a warehouse and hired a bunch of team members, and so I mean, like I don't know, I've just I felt like I've always been a builder, yeah, somebody that likes to go above and beyond what the status quo is and push myself. And now, granted, I've had that and I would say I have failed 150 times, but I mean it's part of it. It is part of it and I I enjoy that sometimes. Sometimes, those failures sting a little bit more than others. But yeah.

Blake:

I don't know. I honestly don't know where that came from. Like we didn't grow up with entrepreneur parents. Yeah, you know we didn't. Like I don't know. Our grandpa was a farmer, which is an entrepreneur. Maybe that came from that.

Brett:

but I think it really is the hard work thing, cause like same thing with me, like I've never had, you know, entrepreneur parents. We came from the same ones, yeah, but I've always wanted to work hard. Maybe that's true. We never know.

Brett:

You're a lot better looking than me. Well, I don't know about that. I can't rock a cowboy hat as good as you. I don't know. It's true, we'll let the viewers decide. Yeah, kind of looks like a sombrero on me. I like it, though. Like it, though, that was a mustache, and the mustache, yeah, and call you the cuero, I think. Yeah, nacho, yeah, but no, dude, I think it's cool. And um, back to this, the story, the ads. Um, what was like because I don't think I've actually actually asked you this like what was the thought process of, hey, I'm gonna start a business I don't know, scary well, and you had a kid at the time.

Blake:

Yeah, yeah, I had a kid. There were a couple things Like one. I've gotten laid off one job, my entire career and the job that let me go. I remember going home to my wife and kids or kid because we only had one at the time and just just feeling like I never want to feel that again. Yeah, so that was like a big driver for me to be like, hey, I'm going to be my own entrepreneur. And then, at the same time that that was happening, I was starting to collaborate and consult and work with all these other businesses. I think at the time I was working with like four different businesses and one of the people that we were working with we hired an agency to go out and do facebook ads and he spent like 8 500, which to me at the time was like crazy like the numbers I deal with now, that's we literally spend that it's like a day in like half a day, yeah, so it's like.

Blake:

But I remember he spent 8 500 and he had zero results and I remember being like lead generation is that what? He had zero results. And I remember being like Lead generation.

Brett:

Is that what it was? No, no, this was e-commerce. Oh, okay.

Blake:

Facebook ads and e-com were just kind of taken off and this guy's like, oh, we'll crush it. And he kept saying we'll crush it, crush it, crush it, which like drove me nuts. And this one guy that I was helping with, he like maxed out his credit cards to run these ads and pay this guy and I remember being like I could do that better. Like.

Blake:

I know enough about websites, I know enough about advertising and like creating content, and I was like I think I could do that better than these schmucks that I'd been dealing with and so that kind of like evolved with me, like pushing myself a little bit further to learn those things and start doing it in some of those side gigs. And then, and then I got to enough like I think at the time I was doing like I don't know 14, $15,000 a month in revenue and it was like I'm crushing it.

Brett:

I'm like I could do this.

Blake:

And then that kind of started to swallow.

Brett:

Well, I remember like I had to do the same thing Watch YouTube videos, yeah, do all that kind of stuff. Asked you how to do it. And then I remember like one time you called me and you're like, if we're going to do this thing, like I know we could I think you had two or three clients at the time yeah, like if we're gonna do this thing, you got to move down arizona and it was like a no-brainer for me because all my rexburg experiences I was like, okay, I'm coming down. It was like two weeks later you're like, hey, I'm here, I'm back.

Blake:

And then we started building out the office, which was wild, but I'll I'll never forget that brett looking over at you and we just got these like standing desks from costco hot bucks, whatever per desk, and we were like this is so sick. We're setting it all up, we, you know. First thing I think we did, we put lights up, Dude. That was such a fun experience.

Brett:

It was so fun the whole. Thing the whole, thing, the whole journey was like so fun, but pretty hard. It was hard but it was fun. It was a lot of fun yeah but I mean, yeah, tell me about the swallow journey, like so now we're in arizona, we're building out this office. Um, we expanded a lot. It took three years to do that, but like we grew a team yeah, was it 23 people I don't know, I can't remember yeah, something like that, but it's just started with, if you count all the interns, you count all the that's just started with.

Blake:

If you count all the interns, you count all the that's fair Our own internal people. You count all the people we outsourced Like. I have no idea what that ended up being.

Brett:

It's pretty crazy though.

Blake:

Yeah, I mean it went from a few small clients to like kind of up leveling our clients over time. Yeah, the time I brought in a business partner as well and that first year we were up to like seven or eight people yeah and a little like that. I wish people could see this. I wish you had a picture of it, maybe I can add them.

Blake:

Yeah, add a picture people need to see our first warehouse, but our first office. But it was like somebody built a loft in like a really nice office, but there's like a loft where there's like rafters and it was a big open space and then a closet and then a random closet that we like put we put like a tv and couching for some reason so good yeah, like we, we, we grew out of that pretty fast, we.

Blake:

And then I remember, um, we were going around running around with a commercial real estate guy and looking at different spots, and we found this one spot that was like such a deal was huge.

Blake:

Yeah, all the desks in it, all the furniture in it had a garage and yeah, had a big old bay door and in a garage and I remember um coming back to you guys after we had signed it and being like, like we like circled up. You remember this. I remember um coming back to you guys after we had signed it and being like, like we like circled up.

Blake:

You remember I remember, dude, it felt like we were doing something huge oh, it just felt it was like man, we're freaking doing it and at the time, we were growing like yeah, really really fast, and we were investing a lot of money and spending a lot of money, and that was that was. You know, I think if, looking back, like you know, do you wish that we were a little more cautious, because who knows what happened? But we were growing and starting to grow and working to grow. Yeah, I remember sitting around being like guys, we just got this office, we're doing this, and it just felt crazy.

Brett:

Yeah, it was nuts Just, and I remember when we moved in that was like one of the most fun days, because we were like this is our office. This is gonna be sick. Yeah, and they left all the desks in there, right?

Brett:

yeah, they left everything and they're all nice standing desks and, excuse me, we had a large conference room and yeah a bunch of other was a cool setup I do remember that, like when we first walked in there and like drew and I set up our stuff in the corner, um, like starting the ads team branding, all those guys were behind us and I just remember like being at that size of a desk and I was like this is crazy.

Blake:

Like we're moving up. Look at this.

Brett:

And I was like it was cool Cause I was. You know, what was cool at the time was like hey, you took a chance on me cause I didn't know how to do any of that stuff. Like you're like learn how to do it, come down here and start building this thing out. And it was cool to see like the actual results help the clients out, and I mean we had some difficult ones.

Blake:

But yeah, we learned the hard way. I know it's interesting.

Brett:

Like, uh, just do your research, like we were so focused on. Like let's just close the deals, yeah. Like let's get anyone we can which makes sense, startup mentality like to who you can, yeah. But I think that's how you learn a lot of hard lessons.

Blake:

So absolutely. But you know what's cool about working with you. I could always trust that you would learn what you needed to do to be successful and it was like it means a lot like you and drew. It's like anytime we got big clients, I was always like they've got them, yeah, you know, and like I just trusted you to handle it and most first successes came from that, you know, I mean it was cool, it was really cool.

Brett:

Um, I mean, I remember, I don't know, we probably can say belong designs, designs like those guys.

Blake:

Oh, they're OG. They're like yeah, my favorite story, but check them out. There's our plug.

Brett:

Yeah, belong Designs. They're sweet, but that was cool, because they started like tiny and now they're huge, like I don't think we helped them get to that max level, but we definitely helped them get started. It was just cool doing that together.

Blake:

Yeah, I met him at a trade show in Colorado, hung out for a little bit. We actually worked with him multiple times over a few years too.

Brett:

Yeah, I remember that After. Swallow closed down. They were still using us. Maybe that's something we could talk about. Is what happened? How come we're not doing Swallow anymore.

Blake:

Kind of depends on who you ask.

Blake:

Yeah Well, let's let everybody has their own perspective, everyone has their own story on this, but ultimately for me it came down to trusting the wrong people and, alongside that, like I don't know, not knowing enough about like a proper growth strategy, you know, and and how to cashflow a business to pay for that growth, yeah, like I wasn't in the finances, I wasn't paying attention, you know, I didn't. I didn't really even know what a PNL was. I didn't know you know how to, how to categorize those losses like that. That it wasn't at the time, it wasn't even my responsibility, you know what.

Blake:

I mean, um, I was all sales, I was all product and our, which was our, services. But, yeah, so not, not really having my pulse or the pulse or finger on that, not and then trusting someone that I thought I could trust, yeah, um, who ultimately made the final call to to close our business, and so I don't know we essentially what had had happened is we had overinvested or over grew our team and you know we weren't, we weren't profitable, we were close, we were working on some really big clients, like really big Dude, I remember that that's some very exciting brands to be working with.

Blake:

And and the, the future looked really, really solid. Um, and then, within a few days, a couple people that owned majority equity in that business yeah made the call to to shut it down, and then it was just gone.

Brett:

Yeah which sucks because it's also like during covid, when all this happened during covid, and so it's just yeah, storm after storm, because you know we all had a. I remember the last day, that was one of the worst, that was tough.

Blake:

Yeah. Um yeah, the day it happened my wife was out of town. I called her, said hey, we're closing down the business, which was crazy.

Brett:

Yeah.

Blake:

It was crazy to do it that way within days. Right, it didn't even take a chance to try and like trim expenses or kind of redesign like our business structure.

Brett:

I remember there was pricing.

Blake:

There were so many levers we could have, we could have pulled on, but instead it was just like boom sat down one day we're done. Called my wife. Hey, honey, we're done.

Brett:

Yeah.

Blake:

You and Drew came over, sat you guys down, said hey, I want to let you know we're going to be done, we're closing tomorrow. Letting everyone know yeah and then I didn't sleep that night, woke up the next day crying like a baby dude, that was a tough conversation.

Blake:

I remember that one that I mean the whole thing. I just felt like I let everyone down, including so many people that I trusted, who trusted me you know, not just my brothers, not just but like other people that I really, really loved and and loved working with. Um, yeah, I mean, I'll never forget that day. Took me years Still working through that day, to be honest. We let everyone know. Everyone was so gracious and loving to me which was like I was ready to just take the punches on the way out. I was so ready for it, but, yeah, everyone gave me a lot of love that day.

Brett:

I think it comes down to the way that you led the team. It was, hey, we're going to have fun, but we're also going to work super hard. That's the whole point of this thing. And then you would always make sure to take care of everyone, make sure they're good to go. Yeah, you check in on them Like you had personal relationships with everybody, and I think also, like when you sign up for a startup, that's always a risk. But yeah, I mean, it doesn't make it easier, like I'm sure, like feeling that internal, like man.

Blake:

I let a lot of people down. Um, it messed me up, you know, and I think most of it just came down to me being so grateful to the people that trusted and joined our team ended up getting screwed over and like it it still ended really well, like I mean, we still had enough money to run a payroll, and like I got to give my former business partner credit, like he handled a lot of that, and you know, it's still like it wasn't like we just actually screwed people over, but just letting people down. Like I'll just never forget that, you know. And then, not not just that that same day I called all of our clients, which was like I don't even remember at the time, but it was high.

Blake:

It was above 50 clients.

Brett:

Yeah, we had a ton.

Blake:

And I called every single one of them that day and let them know, hey, we're working through this. You know, if there were like we, you know, had to make some things right with some of the clients work through those, I tried to like like, hey, we still have people that work for us. They could freelance for you and try to like make those connections. But yeah, I mean I've I've never had been so beat up in one day.

Brett:

It's tough it's brutal, it's hard to watch, honestly, because, like that was I mean, you have kids, but that was one of your babies yeah and it was like I just remember. We spent hours and hours like I slept at the office do you remember when we pulled an all-nighter, we drank like I don't know 12 energy drinks. Oh my gosh yeah like I don't know if drew was there, but like we were grinding.

Blake:

That was when we were in the loft one yeah, I sold a twenty thousand dollar website and in two days I built it yeah, and I didn't leave the office that's crazy, like there is all sorts of stuff that we were doing like that, you know, and then doing sales calls, doing projects, doing like dude the amount of time we all invested in that for it to just be gone in minutes. That was probably the hardest part.

Brett:

You know gave almost four years of our lives just grinding yeah so I mean it is yeah, like four years, but like I mean, we learned so many lessons around that time and this is a tough question to ask, because I think you probably need some time to think about. But, like, do you have, like, what was your biggest lesson you learned during this event? Or, um, just a couple of things that like I don't know. You look back and you're like, yeah, I'm glad that I learned this from that experience, like I'm better for it because of it.

Blake:

Yeah, I don't know, that's a. That's a really tough question, cause there were so many things that I learned, yeah, like business, business wise, business acumen wise.

Blake:

Yeah, all the way to like leadership wise to, you know, like my own skill sets, like I was doing a lot of the services still you know, even when I like I'd sell a web, I'd sell a website and I go build a website, or I'd sell a photo shoot and I direct a photo shoot, like and I'm not even a photographer, so like there were so many things that I that I learned skillset wise, but I don't know. I do not know how to answer that.

Brett:

That's fair. That's okay. It's a hard question.

Blake:

It's just a million little things into one big experience that has ultimately made me who I am today and you know, uh, I'm really grateful for those, like all those experiences would you say, doing it made you a better person 100, yeah, 100, that's it challenged me at the end. You especially the way it went down. Here's the biggest thing. I put so much time into that and it was like another baby of mine, but it also was my personality.

Brett:

It's kind of true. There's a lot of that in business.

Blake:

The swag the merch, we had All the skateboards on the wall dude All of our culture, all the work I put into it. It was like a piece of me and that piece died that day Like actually died. I felt it die and I don't know. It took me a long time to come out of that and figure out who I, who I am, yeah, um, and what I want you know for my life, my family, my career, for fun, like it like yeah, I mean I've seen that spark come back though, and I think, a lot of it's like yeah, there you go.

Brett:

Um, let's talk about how you found that. Okay, let's get into how you found that. Okay, let's get into this journey a little bit, okay, because I think, yeah, it's like how long has it been?

Blake:

Three, years, four years it might be. Uh, I think it was 20, 2020 or 2021. Yeah, 2021.

Brett:

It's been at least four years, yeah, 2021. It's been at least four years, yeah. And I mean, like I remember um that time cause, like it was just really difficult for everyone. But um, like four years is a long time to go through a period where you're like I don't know really who I am, like I lost this. You know personality, that I'm invested in this business, um, especially as a 30 year old, yeah, that's tough, that's crazy.

Blake:

Having like four kids, being 30 years old and being like who am.

Brett:

I yeah.

Blake:

That's, that's tough.

Brett:

I mean, I feel like everyone runs through that at some point, but, um, I still am trying to figure out who I am. That's why I'm running so much. It's ridiculous, yeah, but, um, tell me about that. But tell me about that, how'd you find it?

Blake:

Yeah, no, it's the fun part, so I don't know Like. I'm still figuring myself out. Yeah.

Brett:

Straight, I have no problem admitting that.

Blake:

I have no problem saying that, but like coming out of Swallow. Yeah, you know, I did some consulting jobs. I went and worked in a marketing law firm which don't do that, don't?

Brett:

recommend it. I remember those stories. Those are good too.

Blake:

Rough industry, really rough industry, but good learning experiences there too. And then now I work at a wallpaper company wall blush TM. It's legit, Go check them out. Yeah, it is sick. If you need any wallpaper, I'll hook you up, Just slide in my DMs wannabecowboy on TikTok.

Blake:

Yes, so like my career is kind of like I've gone through these steps, I'm starting to find where I'm at. I'm at such a great place career-wise. Yeah, I work with amazing people. I really enjoy what I do, but there's still like that piece of me. I went through anxiety. I went through anxiety. I went through depression. Like in the last four years I've gained some weight in all the right places, ladies, but I mean seriously. I went through that.

Blake:

And you know, like, in all that, like I'm trying all these different things, yeah, like I was like really into wake surfing for a bit my buddies all had wake surfing boats, and before I was like really into mountain surfing for a bit, my buddies all had wake surfing boats, and before I was like really into mountain biking. I was like trying to get back into that and I'm like I'm gonna be this person and that person. You know, I'm like trying all these hobbies and things and like nothing stuck and I was freaking miserable, yeah, um, and then the beginning of this year this is like all very recent I set a goal for myself, so I'm gonna learn how to team rope that's so cool.

Brett:

How come you got to explain the back?

Blake:

all right, okay, okay, and I'm jumping around here a bunch, so this might be your least watched episode no, it's fine, it'll be good, come on or listen to this podcast right.

Brett:

I mean, yeah, it's both Okay, both of them All right, we're stepping it up Cool cool.

Blake:

So, anyways in well, first off, we come from farmers. Yeah, Riggs Road here in Arizona that's our mom's maiden name, where Riggs is. You know old farmers. Our great grandpa was a World Series champion, team roper yeah, one of my heroes, you know. So, like we grew up going up to our cabin or going out to his place and riding horses, I always thought I was a cowboy Like there's a picture of me wearing checkered slip-on vans on the back of a horse with a cowboy hat, like posing real sexy somewhere. That's pretty sick. See if I can get that one for your podcast as well.

Brett:

I'll put up two pictures, one of that and then one of me and Papa. Yeah, we'll put them up, yeah.

Blake:

Rip.

Brett:

You miss Papa. Rest in peace. Put that up. Put that up.

Blake:

Yeah, so we grew up with that. But in junior high a guy in our neighborhood his name is Dave Hastings, another hero of mine called me up and was like hey, I need some help around my, my property, and he owned a big roping arena, a big house. Um, you know, he had some team roping horses him and his boys are incredible ropers I was just about to ask, oh, excuse me there you go. I hit some of this you can edit. Edit that, all right, the coffee no, it's, it's all in here.

Brett:

This is uh. Okay, it's a raw podcast.

Blake:

Yeah, this is great, we do raw tm. So anyways, he called me up, I went over there, started shoveling horse crap, yeah, driving his dummy around. You know I learned a lot about roping. Actually, you know I go run the chutes, yeah, um, run the steers up exercise the horses I'd exercise the horse, which was a blast. I get on a quad, chase them around with a uh whip. You know there's so many times they came close to like kicking me too and stuff was.

Brett:

It was awesome I learned all these things. Oh, it's great.

Blake:

Knock you out but you know that then I like did a lot of the horse care and yeah, washing them and picking their feet and saddling them and I don't know, just all the cowboy stuff, and so so that was my job. Like I did that in junior high. There's a little bit of a gap where I stopped and then all through high school until I was 18. Like I was out there doing that three times a week and I remember that I always thought it was cool, cause I was like I don't know.

Brett:

I always just looked up to you during those times, cause you'd leave super early, right, you'd get there pretty early.

Blake:

Well, it depends, yeah, like one time I got there at 3 am to castrate steers. Oh, there you go. Right before high school? I'll never forget that.

Brett:

What was that like?

Blake:

Oh, that was sick. Castrating steers was so fun, is that?

Brett:

the rubber band thing. No, they rope Straight up.

Blake:

Dude, they rope the head, rope the legs, and then Dave Hastings would come up with a razor blade knife. No way, slice them out and then put a freaking rubber band on it so it wouldn't bleed out. That's real cowboy stuff I'll never forget. Actually, he sliced the tip of a I don't know if I can say this on your podcast, you can Of its nutsack and threw it at me and said there's your coin purse, blake. No, didn't keep it.

Brett:

You should have, I should have.

Blake:

I wish this day I would have. But yeah, those were the kinds of lessons I was learning. So you know we talked about hard work. Like that, for me, was where I learned to work hard, like 115 degrees and I'm out there picking weeds, working his garden, you know, taking care of the horses like such hard work and you know I mean that's why dave's one of my heroes is.

Blake:

He taught me how to bust my butt and enjoy doing it, you know, I mean like I look back at that experience and I didn't hate it, like I enjoyed putting my cowboy hat on and sweating.

Brett:

You'd leave every day with like a gallon like cooler, like one of those igloo things yeah, a gallon of water. And I always remember I was like that's so much, there's no way he like drinks the whole thing. But now I do the same, but like, yeah, insane, I always thought that was like the coolest thing for some reason as a kid the water you've always liked water. Yeah, but you said a good example. Like you wake up, you get up and like put your boots on. Like you said, go to work I loved it.

Blake:

It's great so so, yeah, that, why, like for me, I'm like thinking about this next year and what I want to do and it just was kind of calling to me I'm like I'm gonna learn how to rope, I'm gonna learn how to team rope and I'm my goal still is, my goal this year is to buckle Really, to go to like a jackpot or I probably won't go do rodeo, but like a local jackpot where they've got. You know, usually they'll have like a saddle, a breast collar, some cash buckles, but I want a place.

Brett:

I'll get myself my buckle so well, whenever that is, tell me and I'll come down hell yeah um, yeah, let's talk about that for a second, because one thing that I don't know I notice a lot of people deal with, including myself, is when they're in a spot where they're like they feel lost in a way and they're trying to explore hobbies, kind of like you were Like I'm going to do wake surfing on a mountain bike, and a lot of fear comes with it. It's like I'm going to try something new. I'm going to look like a beginner, I might look like an idiot, but I'm willing to try it.

Blake:

Did you um, did you feel that?

Brett:

no, really, yeah, hmm you're just, I'm going in like I mean, what's the worst that's gonna happen?

Blake:

yeah, that's like I don't have those kinds of fears. I don't care how stupid I look yeah like. I mean, I'm the kid at the beach. That's like building a digging a hole. I'm 35 years old. Like I don't care, I'm doing good at it, though.

Brett:

Yeah, yeah.

Blake:

So, like I don't know, I was just like I'm going to do it, I'm going to try it, like I really feel excited about it. Yeah, you know. And so found a place and went to it and started roping a bucket, getting the fundamentals down. You know, it was like I don't know, three months before I got even on a horse really, actually that long. Yeah, we're just roping on the ground and they're walking me through all sorts of stuff that, like I already knew because I've been around team ropers my whole life. Um, but like every time I went I was like, oh, that was fun, that was fun. Then I'd go home and I'd practice on my dummy and like work on my like work on my, my fundamentals, work on what I was learning.

Blake:

And yeah, now we're here today and I'm roping lives to yours and you bought a horse and I bought a horse. So this is like, what is it? It's May, yeah, it's like five months from being like I'm going to get a buckle to like, yeah, now I own a horse. His name is Mickey, he's 20 years old, he's the perfect horse they call him. I still need to meet him. Oh, you got to meet him. But yeah, they say he has training wheels. No, I don't know what that means. But all the guys I rope with who are actually legit, really good ropers, out roping every weekend and winning, I mean those guys are nuts.

Blake:

Oh they are nuts.

Brett:

Oh, they're, they're they are nuts that side of mom's family, like grandma Karen and all the um man, I can't remember their last name Reed's, kirby, kirby there, thank you. Um, all the Kirby's like there. I remember going to the you know Christmas party at little grandma's house and, um, they all have like massive belt buckles and I'm like I feel weird showing up here in my Volcom hoodie, but it was cool, it was cool to see. So, anyways, you found those guys.

Blake:

Yeah Well, so the story is kind of crazy actually. So I started doing this, this clinic. I was just roping the ground. I ended up getting on a horse like two or three times during this time. But I was starting to get frustrated in the process, cause I'm like I want to rope, I want to rope, I want to get on the horse, I want to rope a live steer, I want to you know, or a dummy even, I just wanted to rope on the back of a horse and, uh, I was talking to my boss. My boss is like, hey, my brother-in-law is a big roper. Like, hmm, I'll meet you out there, let's go to his place. So I'm like, okay, you know, like thinking, I thinking I'm gonna go out there and and run the shoot.

Blake:

Well, first off, I go out there. A guy's incredible, his name is john. He's like ride this horse, super expensive, beautiful head horse. Yeah, like he's top notch, like he's, he's such a smooth, beautiful horse. Well, I go out there, get on the horse and I rope a steer and turn it. Never done that in my life. What does turn it mean? Like you, you dally the horn and you turn the steer, yeah, you get across the arena, so the healer can come in and rope the heels and then you tie them up and get your time.

Blake:

That's sick. So I I rope one that night. But then the other other side. I go up to this one guy who it looks as cowboys. He gets yeah I go to him like hey yeah so I heard you're a really good roper.

Blake:

He's like, yeah, I'm like, yeah, I come from Kirby blood. I thought it was the coolest thing. And he goes well, I come from Kirby blood Really. I'm like, okay, that's weird. Who's your mom? Yeah, cammy Kirby Really. Which is Uncle Ricky's daughter? Yeah, so he's our cousin. So I'm like, oh, we're related. This is crazy.

Brett:

What the heck dude. I didn't know that. So since then, yeah.

Blake:

And that's who I've been training with. That's who I bought my horse from. He's actually a performance horse trainer, yeah, and he's gotten me all the way to a point where I roped one that night, which I should not have roped one, but my adrenaline was so high and I was committed. First one, I missed, second one, I got I felt like a million bucks and that horse did a lot of the work too.

Brett:

Wait, so they know to chase the steers. Oh yeah, Horses do.

Blake:

Yeah, they react to slight pressure. Huh Between, when you're in the box and you just put your reins down a little bit, they'll take off, and that that means they know to get up on a on the steer. And then, once you catch them, you turn them a little bit and put your your reins down and they'll turn like a good horse. That's broken, train knows. That's crazy. I didn't know, and you learn to trust that, because at first I was not.

Blake:

I'm like jerking the horse around um, yeah, like I went from not being able to rope to being able to rope, I wrote I try to rope once a week, um, sometimes twice. But you know, I'm training and roping every single week and that's so cool, learning a lot of great things, and my family's into it now that's been fun to see actually.

Blake:

Oh it's, it's so great yeah so great that side, but like I still haven't hit my goal yet, but like just getting in there and grinding and exploring and meeting people, like met so many cool people that are down to earth, just good people, that are giving me tips and help me along the way, and it's just been, it's been a blessing that's so cool.

Brett:

So that's so cool. Yeah, I mean I don't know actually that much about roping and like what goes on with it, but neither did I. It's pretty cool, like it's tough dude, it's tough um last week I wrote with a guy.

Blake:

I had that the steer perfectly. I turn him. My partner comes up, rolls the heels, comes up to me and he's cursing. He's like Blake Blake, his thumb stuck down between the rope, he almost popped his thumb off.

Brett:

Oh, that's what happened to uncle Ricky.

Blake:

Oh, yeah, popped right off. Oh but he, he ended up being fine. But I mean, like you experience, I got kicked in the knee by steer Like there's two. Oh yeah.

Brett:

What's the craziest story that's happened so far, or your favorite story?

Blake:

I bulldogged a steer a couple weeks ago with my back was out. Bulldogged it, you wrap your arms around the head and flip it on its back. Oh wait.

Brett:

You sent videos of that. That's nuts. That was. Your back was blown out.

Brett:

Oh, yeah, my back was out I was sideways and I freaking jumped on the back of one and flipped it to when your back goes out. You're walking sideways for a long time. That's actually very impressive. Give you kudos, thank you. That's good, but that's cool, man. I mean, what has that done for, like, your mental health? Like brought you back to finding out who you are? Like make that connection, like what was that? Like I don't know, man, it's because it's always been something that's in your life. Like horses, I remember riding with papa. I remember you going to the hastings, um, and like it seems natural, you're like right back into it I mean that's what it feels.

Blake:

Feels like obviously I never really lived the cowboy life. I never really roped and I would ride a couple times a year versus a couple times a week. Um, mentally I'm the best I've ever been. Yeah, like, and I'm locked in in my life too, not not just like it's, it's brought me out of a place like that funk that I found myself in the last four years. Yeah, it's.

Blake:

It's like I feel emotional, saying that Cause, like it was hard. There were times I was like, screw this, this is too tough. Yeah, so to be able to say, hey, I'm, I'm feeling really good in my brain, it's incredible. But just like the rest of my life, you know's like I'm out there, I'm working hard again out in the arena, yeah, and like doing all that like I love I'm still going out there and shoveling shit, which is freaking awesome.

Blake:

But then in my work life and like some of my other passions and like my like entrepreneurship's kind of coming back into my life a little bit, where I'm working on some projects again you know whether they make me money or not um, yeah, just finding something that I'm passionate again about, like think I go to bed thinking about roping and I'm sitting there watching roping videos. That's so cool, dude. Um, you know it's brought me back to to a very good place, like, like, just finding your passion, no matter what it is, is so, so important. I think just living your life, you know, in a, in a way that's driving you Absolutely Like what it is.

Brett:

You got to figure out what you want to get after and then commit to it.

Blake:

I mean, look, look at your life, dude, like you're a freaking ultra marathon runner and you're doing someone you're doing some crazy. You're about to go do a crazy one this year. You know it's like and that drives you and all of these successes on your other side of your life, like they're all they.

Brett:

They follow, you know, I mean I mean, I think it's like, I don't know it's. I just tell ali she always gets annoyed at this, but I'm like it's a great metaphor for life, because some days are up, some days are down. Your body hurts. You don't want to do it. Some days are great. You never really know. But that's the thing I want, to see how hard I can push myself.

Brett:

And I've realized that those lessons where it's like, okay, well, this run sucked, this one was good. It's the same thing with like my days, like I'll have good days, I'll have bad days, but I know it'll always end. Like I know the next day will come and there's always something I can like take from this day. Um, but like I mean I found running like three years ago I would say like right after I was getting healed up from being sick and stuff, and um, I don't know it was just like there's something about that. It requires discipline that I love, and like it's always a battle with yourself. So it's like if I can overcome that, then I can overcome anything. I can handle whatever comes like during the day.

Brett:

So, um, but to your point about like the passion, like it's, it's so important to find that. And like the same thing with the podcast. I've noticed days when or phases when, like it's not, like it's kind of in the backseat and then I'll work on it more and then I feel that same passion, like cause I love hearing people's stories, I love like seeing if I can help some people learn lessons in their lives and like I feel like I'm, you know, lighting up almost, and so you got to have a passion and it's so important to find something that interests you that you can keep doing for a long time, that you don't get burnt out on, because, like, there will be days at work when you're like, don't want to do this, yeah, and I I'll be honest, like and I'm sure this is the same way with roping the podcast sometimes does feel like a grind, but it's one that I'm excited to chase, it's like I'm willing to do the work.

Blake:

It doesn't matter how hard it is. You're going to keep doing it. Yeah, exactly.

Brett:

So I think it's huge. And I don't know, man, it makes me so happy to hear that because the last few years have been tough to watch.

Blake:

Honestly, it was that because, yeah, the last few years have been tough to watch, honestly. It was like your brother. It's been tough, but tough to live, tough to watch, tough to I don't know, but I mean like. I think you are like like you said.

Brett:

Like it's, it's been awesome. Um, I always have this version of you that's like. One of my favorites is vacation blake like party he's still around he's, he's been around a lot more, and I love it.

Blake:

He still likes to play he's coming out.

Brett:

Uh, this wedding yeah, we're better.

Blake:

Well, yeah, we're going to a wedding this weekend, but, more importantly, we're going on a cruise. Oh yes, and talk about content. We're gonna have some good stuff coming out of the cruise honestly, yeah, we'll get some.

Brett:

Uh, maybe we can just go up and interview random people on the boat and be like what's been your favorite thing? How many drinks have you had today? Yeah do you think I'm?

Blake:

in our, in our uh, in our special suits that were oh man, have you ordered yours yet?

Brett:

I think I'm behind, but I gotta do it. I'm going.

Blake:

Miami vice, yeah, I'm going all gold, I think I love it.

Brett:

Dude, there we go. Yeah, but that's sick, dude. I mean, if there's someone out there who's like I want to try something, but they're unsure to do it, what would you tell them? They're like man, I really want to start baking, but I'm not a baker. I don't have the time.

Blake:

They make all these can I look up a quote?

Brett:

yeah, on my phone, is that right?

Blake:

you can look up a quote for sure so this comes directly from one of my uh, one of my mentors, my roping mentors all right, I like this, you which roping mentor I'm not. I'm gonna leave one named because of the quote okay, I'm excited now let's see if I can even find this quote I'm excited, see, I need a producer, that's, that's.

Brett:

Uh, I'll say hey, hey, jamie, look that up. Not that level yet we'll get there this is.

Blake:

this is gonna be like the longest cut ever. It's okay, you're going to have to edit this out for sure.

Brett:

This is the only part I'll edit out. I promise I like everything.

Blake:

Okay, so I think it is it Dale Brisby. They hauled Kai Hamilton out of this building on a stretcher. Yes, it's Kai, all right. So here's the quote. This is what I would say to someone who is struggling, scared to be a baker, scared to get out there and find their passion, scared to try something because they're embarrassed or they're too old, or whatever the freaking thing that's in their head. There's a famous guy his name's kai. Oh, what was the? I literally just had his name's kai hamilton.

Blake:

Okay, famous bull rider. Goes and competes in this huge bull riding competition, gets knocked out, gets a concussion. They put him on a stretcher, take him to to the hospital. Well, he says to hell with that, escapes the hospital, comes back, rides again and wins it. Are you serious? Yes, he won it. And so they come up and they're interviewing him and in that scenario they're like hey, if you would have hit your head again, you would have died. Like what do you have to say about that? And he looked dead in the camera and he said don't be a pussy. So that's my advice. There you go. That's great, actually, listen. Like there's no, absolutely zero reason to not try something. Life's too short, man. It's too short, way too short. It's too fast. It doesn't matter how old you are, it doesn't matter where you're at in life. If you want to try something and you have a passion and you're excited about something, go live for it. Yeah, I love that, because it's not worth it to not, so don't be a pussy TM.

Blake:

Don't be.

Brett:

Get after it instead. I love that dude. That's so good. It really is. It's like I don't know if you've ever heard the quote fear is a mile wide. Fear is a mile wide, but an inch deep, yeah, like until you step into it. You like you make up all the stories in your head and once you step into it, it's like, oh, I can walk, yeah and yeah don't tell yourself stories.

Blake:

It's not that scary just do it.

Brett:

Yeah, like I don't know it goes for everything except for drugs. Don't do those kids yeah, yeah, we've seen too many stories that turn in the wrong way with that one. So yeah, don't do drugs, that's a bad, bad thing to do. Um, but yeah, dude, I mean it's been, it's been nice having you on here. We gotta do another one of these I'm down anytime I want to only anything else.

Blake:

My only thing is we have to wear cowboy hats. That's easy. Yeah, that's the only request I have look, how good we look, we gotta look proper here.

Brett:

We'll need to get, like some root beers or something to drink, some toothpicks some toothpicks and root beers and get a. What are those shirts called that they wear?

Blake:

next time the podcast can be out at the ranch we did talk about about that before.

Brett:

That would have been fun Having horses go all around.

Blake:

We could do that. We could do it in the pasture with all the steers. There's like 25 head of steers there.

Brett:

we go Bulls? Yeah, we can have like vegetables. So if any come by, we can try and feed them. That would be yeah, it'd be a great video. Yeah, tell someone or leave with them. It's important to you I don't know, I think.

Blake:

I think a lot of people struggle. I think a lot of people don't talk about it. Yeah and uh, I don't know. I just think it's okay to struggle, it's okay to be depressed, have anxiety about life. The important thing is to keep fighting, keep pushing, you know. So that's my advice.

Brett:

I love it, dude. That's all I got left is. I mean, life is a struggle and I last thing I'll say on this is like you have to have some form of self-induced like what's I can't I never remember the word, but it's like you put yourself through difficult things. Like it's self-induced um me with, like it's running you, it's roping, like things that are difficult to master, like I cannot. I've tried roping before, like on a dummy, and I can't even do it on a dummy, so I can't imagine doing it on a moving horse.

Blake:

I'm still working on it, bro.

Brett:

But like, still, like, like you know, it takes time for these things and it is going to be a struggle, but life is a struggle and those lessons you learn during those times help you just do life better. Yeah, a little bit easier, and like, like you said, that fire starts coming back up. So I love it. I mean, that's such a good message. Everyone needs to hear it. And yeah, everyone struggles. It's just how do you keep going?

Brett:

yeah, push yourself I love it, dude, you're the man. Thanks for having me on. Um, do you always have this? Yeah, push yourself. I love it, dude, you're the man. Thanks for having me on. You always have a welcome.

Blake:

This is actually more fun than I thought it was going to be. Really, I kept saying I don't know what I'm going to say. And I just talked way too much.

Brett:

The episode that comes out tomorrow. It's with my buddy, Peyton Sellers. He just tells like bad dating stories the whole. It's great. I have none of those. You're just Mr Joe Cool over there.

Blake:

I've never had a bad date. Never had a bad date.

Brett:

But I love you, dude. Thanks for coming on, you too, man Peace.

Blake:

Everyone else keep getting after it Like subscribe, so that Brett doesn't have to do OnlyFans.

Brett:

I do have to do OnlyFans and I'm going to have to wear a cowboy hat now, so it would help a lot like and subscribe.

Blake:

So Brett doesn't have to do that help me out also Jocko. Please sponsor us and Element.

Brett:

Joe Rogan, have me on maybe.

Blake:

Yeah, joe, joey come on, we'll bring you a cowboy hat.

Brett:

I'll bring you a cowboy hat, joey. Alright, come on, this is going to be a close one. We'll bring you a cowboy hat. I'll bring you a cowboy hat, joey, all right. Thanks, dude, I love you man.

Blake:

Thank you.