From the South Side to Entrepreneurship | Featuring Johnny Martinez

On this episode of the Q&R Podcast, Quincy and Ryan sit down with Johnny Martinez, a retired U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant, entrepreneur, and community leader whose journey proves that the mission doesn’t end when the uniform comes off.

Johnny shares how growing up on the south side of San Antonio shaped his work ethic and determination long before he ever stepped into the Air Force. During his military career, he served as both a Military Training Instructor (MTI) and Recruiter, two roles that required leadership, discipline, communication, and the ability to connect with people. Those experiences didn’t just shape his military career — they laid the foundation for the business mindset and leadership skills he uses today.

After retiring from the Air Force, Johnny and his wife Jessica Martinez took those lessons and turned them into something bigger — building multiple successful businesses that serve their community and amplify local voices.

Together they operate:
 • Party People Photo Booth – bringing energy and fun to events across the region
 • Top Flight Realty Group – helping families achieve the dream of homeownership
 • Social Plug Media – a creative platform dedicated to highlighting local entrepreneurs, leaders, and community stories

In this episode, Johnny opens up about the transition from military life to entrepreneurship, the challenges of starting and scaling businesses, and the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people who believe in your vision.

This conversation is about leadership, resilience, family, and building something meaningful after service.

If you’re a veteran thinking about your next move, an entrepreneur building something from the ground up, or someone looking for inspiration on how to turn life experience into opportunity — this episode is for you.

🎙️ Listen now and hear how Johnny Martinez turned service into success.

email: theqandrpodcast@gmail.com

http://www.youtube.com/@QandRPodcast

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587082354209

Ryan J. Nichols: https://www.facebook.com/ryan.j.nichols.3/

Quincy Harper: https://www.facebook.com/quincydharpersr

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:31

All right, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining the podcast, the QR podcast. My name is Quincy Harper, and I got my guy, Ryan Nichols, and we are live and in effect. Today we got a very special guest. I've been knowing this gentleman for how long?

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Quincy, about five years, I would say.

SPEAKER_03 0:47

Yeah, five, six years, something like that. CMaster Sergeant Johnny Martinez, retired, United States Air Force, former recruiter that has pivoted into the local New Broncos community doing some crazy big things. So, Johnny, shout out to you and thank you for joining us.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Thank you, man. Both of you guys, thank you for the opportunity.

SPEAKER_04 1:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

These opportunities, they'll just fall in your lap like this. So I got a call yesterday and I said, absolutely, this is what I want to do. I want to hang out with you guys and just talk, chop it up, help veterans. Yeah. I mean, do what we got to do just to make an impact. So thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:21

So Q, Johnny and I go back 20 years.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:24

Yeah. So he met me when I was young, senior Airman Nichols as an MTI.

SPEAKER_04 1:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Um, both of us were on the street pushing flights, yelling and screaming at kids, trying to make them better airmen for the military. Wow. That's when I first met him.

SPEAKER_04 1:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

But then fast forward to when I transitioned out of the military. We met up at what was it, uh festival downtown, and we're just crossing paths. And he was like, hey man, yeah, doing this real estate thing. You should do it. You know, in the normal Johnny fashion. Johnny fashion. Johnny fashion. You should do it. So next thing you know, I have my license, and then I get to join Top Flight Realty Group. And we'll get into all that a little bit later. But Johnny, tell us a little bit about where you're from, brother.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

So I'm from the south side of San Antonio.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Um, and I do remember that festival like it was yesterday. That was Dia de los Muertos, downtown San Antonio. That was like 2020.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Yeah. Well, right? Or maybe 19.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

19, because it was right before COVID.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

Yes, you're right.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

It had to be 19. Okay. So yeah, I remember that. And uh, I remember pushing pushing flights with you back at Lackland Air Force Base. That was uh some very fond memories. Yeah. And Lackland kind of brought me to where I am today. Yeah. Um, as far as you know, the skill sets and all that kind of stuff and the things I'm doing today. And yeah, so I can't wait to get into that that uh that kind of talk.

SPEAKER_03 2:43

Wow. So I'm having a veteran moment then. So we actually met 2017 when I was at the USO. Yes. And we did an event because you brought out the photo booth. We did a LinkedIn Mill City meetup at the Alamo. There it is. So that had to be 20 November 2017, maybe 2018 time.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

Yep. I remember that like it was yesterday as well. Yeah. So my memory kind of eludes me sometimes, but I do remember, but I do remember these these uh moments. Yeah like that.

SPEAKER_03 3:16

Yeah, yeah. Because um you brought the photo booth out, and Chuck Bunch was the one who was like, hey, I got this guy, he's coming out. I think you were still in at that time, right? Yes, yeah, yep, yeah, because we jumped on a call, we coordinated, yeah, yeah. So it was had to be 2018 when we were at the Alamo.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

Yep, I remember that.

SPEAKER_03 3:32

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 3:32

We've already touched on it. Two of the three things that you're doing right now within your community. So we got Top Flight Realty Group, which is real estate. Then we have Party People Photo Booth.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_02 3:43

And then there's also his media platform, social plug media.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Social plug media. And that's what don't you do? That's fun. Yeah. So the social plug media platform is a conglomeration of everything that I was doing in the Air Force.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Plugging people in. So that's it's in the name Social Plug, because we're all plugs, right? We're all connected to something. Yeah. And we're all connected to each other, and we're all connected to the community, right? And so we were kicking around what name, and we came up with that, right? And so what we do is we do podcasts, yeah, we do events. Uh, when I say events, we coordinate and plan uh community events, and now we're doing comedy shows in New Braunfels as well. Yeah. First of its kind, a weekly comedy show with uh top comedians from around the country. Yeah, because I I caught a glimpse of Martin from Fluffy's camp. Yep. Martin Moreno and his son Hooter. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, it's it's just fun, and it's all about the relationships. Yeah. I wouldn't have had those opportunities to even meet those guys if we weren't doing a podcast and out in the community. And we get noticed. Yeah. So, you know, all these things that we're building, it gets noticed by people. And so uh I commend anybody who's just out in the community shaking hands and just making uh relationships. It's fun.

SPEAKER_02 5:04

And I'd be remiss if we didn't talk about number one, your wife, Jessica Martinez, yeah, who you're building all of this with.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

But let's backtrack a little bit because even before you got to this point to have all those skill sets, you were in the United States Air Force.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

I was.

SPEAKER_02 5:23

And you served over 20 years. So tell us a little bit about your career, how that journey looked, and what it was like for you.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

So, like I mentioned, I'm from the south side of San Antonio. I went to Burbank High School, right? Okay. I I didn't I didn't know what the heck I was gonna do with my life. I was I was working at Walgreens one day and I was stocking toilet paper, and I was like, what the heck am I gonna do with my life?

SPEAKER_04 5:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

And I had a family friend who was in the Air Force, and he was kind of telling me, like I told you, you should do it. You should do it. And I was like, uh, I don't know. And so I ended up joining. And when I was a senior airman, I met Jessica.

SPEAKER_04 5:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Um she's from San Antonio as well, so I met her in San Antonio, and uh, she was with me since I was a young senior airman at Dias Air Force Base. Were you ever stationed at Dias? No. No drove by it. No, Abilene, Texas. No, right? No, that's that's that's right in the center of Texas, and not a lot to do, but there was a lot of um uh cool people that I met there. Yeah, and so my wife Jess, you know, she I can't say she that I helped her grow. I think she helped me grow, man. Yeah. Because she's a little younger than me. Okay, she's about six years younger than me. Okay, but she helped me grow and mature, and she showed me what true support from a spouse really is. Yeah, and she changed my life, and uh, she's my my wingman. Yeah, my I mean, everything. And I wouldn't be where I'm at today if it wasn't for the Air Force and Jessica Martinez. And that's and that's just real.

SPEAKER_03 6:55

And that's real, right? Because every photo, every uh endeavor I see you get involved with, she's somewhere in the picture, right? And um, so so shout out to Jess who's not here, but glad, glad you found that, right? But I want to go back a little bit. What did you do in the Air Force, right? Because you didn't come in as a TI.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

No, I was at DIES, I was I worked on B-1 bombers. Okay. So I was an avionics tech.

SPEAKER_04 7:16

Ah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

Right. And I went to Burbank High School. I didn't think it, you know, the ASVAB was important or things like that, but uh paying attention in school paid off. Yeah. So I I I scored kind of well on in on the ASVAB test. Yeah. And I got that job and it was great.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

But it wasn't enough for me. Yeah. Turning wrenches and troubleshooting wires and things like that was cool, but I found my calling when I became a military training instructor.

SPEAKER_03 7:40

At what rank were you?

SPEAKER_01 7:41

Uh I was a uh staff sergeant. Staff, okay. Right. And uh so I got to be able to have the opportunity to build teams and meet people and get mentored. That's when I truly got mentored about leadership. Not that I didn't have leaders when I was on the flight line working working aircraft, but I really saw the fruits of their labor paying off with the teams they were building.

SPEAKER_04 8:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

Turning civilians, young civilians, into men and women with the military mindset. I mean, that is remarkable to do that in six weeks. So, and Ryan, you got to do that. So I know for you too, I don't want to speak for you, but I know it was a game changer for you.

SPEAKER_02 8:20

It was a life-changing moment for me. And uh, you know, shout out to Master Sergeant David Boudreau at the time, who was again that mentor that took me aside and was like, hey man, I see all this potential in you, but you're wasting your talents.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:35

And so he helped took me down to the education office, got me signed up for classes, which then began my journey of making sure that I was getting my education as well.

SPEAKER_03 8:43

But isn't it funny though, how sometimes, you know, we all come from different backgrounds, right? Whether you had your parents, grandparents, or whatnot, how sometimes others can see something in you that you can't see in yourself.

SPEAKER_02 8:55

Facts. Right? It's a beautiful thing, man. Because we doubt ourselves so often in a lot of things. Even today, we still doubt ourselves and things so often, but then somebody is able to speak that positivity into you and give you that push and that drive to be better than what you think you can be. So yeah, you're right, man. It's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 9:15

Yeah, and Ryan, I saw that potential in you as well. Because I was like, this guy has a skill set, and you didn't even know your potential. Uh, when you transition out of the military, I'm like, Ryan, you need to get yourself on camera. You have a gift. You have a gift of influence and impact where you can help people grow, get inspired, get motivated. And I'm thankful that you invited me here today, and I'm thankful for you as well.

SPEAKER_04 9:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

And Quincy, my man, I've always seen that in you since the first time I met you. You have this demeanor of professionalism, yeah, of uh distinction. Yes, the cigar and maybe the bourbon. Yeah, yeah. And uh, yeah, so it definitely is your brand. Yeah, yeah. And your brand is also impactful, and you're very professional and things like that. But the Air Force, I think, did that for us.

SPEAKER_03 10:05

Agreed.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

And so the MTI job did that for me, and it showed me a bigger scope of responsibility that I needed that I didn't even know I had. I didn't and didn't know that I had the uh the skill set to build teams and do all these things, lead teams, and I we got to lead hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Young men, young men and women. And once I was done with that career field, Quincy, I had the opportunity to go be a recruiter. Oh, wow. So I was a recruiter for 16 years. Jeez. And not a street recruiter, like I didn't always do the same recruiting. I uh got to develop into a uh district manager, regional manager, and then I would I had uh the full responsibility and scope of worldwide operations as well within recruiting. So that gave me a skill set of strategic scope where I can see things from 30,000 feet, solve problems, being able to see bigger picture stuff. Yeah. And that's kind of the way I see things today, just from a bigger scope. Now, of course, we got to be able to see things from under a microscope, but we have to have the capability to see it from a broader scope as well. So I learned that skill set in in the Air Force and I'm I'm thankful for that. So three different career fields, right?

SPEAKER_03 11:19

Avionics, uh, MTI, recruiting. Which one was your favorite?

SPEAKER_01 11:26

Ooh, I I would say overall, if I had to choose one that's uh impacted me today, the recruiting piece. Recruiting. Okay. Yeah. Okay. But the MTI piece made me a better recruiter. It made me rigid, more understanding about leadership. Not that I didn't understand leadership, but it made me more aware of the leadership aspect.

SPEAKER_04 11:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

You know, how you know, bigger impact and how to mold people and how to prepare them for military duty and things like that. So a lot of people didn't get the opportunity to do those two jobs back to back.

SPEAKER_04 12:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

And it's it's there's very minimal people who had who had that opportunity. So, and there's a few, uh, Katie McCool and Chris McCool. I don't know if you guys know those, but they had the opportunity to do that as well. But there's very few of us that were able to do both those jobs. And those two are very successful as well. Big shout out to Katie McCool. She's uh currently a chief. I don't know if she's gonna retire anytime soon, but she's done a phenomenal job within the Air Force. And uh yeah, so great question. I think the recruiting piece has made me uh the marketer, the uh strategist, the community guy.

SPEAKER_04 12:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

Because as an MTI, you're not gonna out in the community.

SPEAKER_04 12:45

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 12:45

Right? The community's coming to you. Right. But I was able to uh meet a lot of people while I was in that I still work with on the outside, whether I'm helping them buy and sell real estate or helping them with their business and things like that.

SPEAKER_03 12:59

So well, there's a direct correlation, you know, from being a recruiter. I've never been a recruiter, but you I can only imagine um that in recruiting you have to be the face of the organization for your local community, but also out in the community. And that's exactly what I see you doing now with all of your endeavors, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:17

So recruiters are definitely the brand. Yeah, they are the liaison, yeah, they are the ones putting you in the Air Force, and you have to be able to trust these guys.

SPEAKER_04 13:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Because there's recruiters all over the country, and some are in some places that don't have a military base even close. Yeah. And they have to educate the schools and they have to educate counselors, principals, chamber of commerce, things like that about what the Air Force has as far as incentives and benefits and things like that. Because some people are ignorant when it comes to that. When I say ignorant, they just don't know. Yeah, all I see is what's on TV. Right. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:49

Here, and especially when things start going bad, you know, everything blows up, and then that's all everybody remembers about the military. The structure is what I took away from being a military trainer instructor, man. You know, rigid, you know, zero week to six week, and how everything carried out. I think from what I heard, you took a lot of that structure, and when you became a recruiter, the confidence that you gained as a TI only helped you as a recruiter.

SPEAKER_01 14:16

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 14:16

And then recruiting taught you more of the business aspect of the Air Force as a whole. How much of that business aspect from recruiting have you take taken and now use in your day-to-day business today?

SPEAKER_01 14:31

All of it. Uh, like you said, Quincy, you are the face of the franchise. So at a young age in the Air Force, I was running my own business. Yeah. Uh in a in a nutshell. And a lot of people in the military don't have that where they're running their own business. Yeah. I have a storefront and I have the engagement of the community. I can go out there and I can reach out to an audience, and I'm building my audiences as I go along with each handshake, with each classroom presentation, with each counselor and principal that I meet.

SPEAKER_04 15:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

I am building a connection and we're all plugged in together. And so, yes, so what I do today, Ryan, it's the same thing. I'm going out meeting these clients and these customers and business owners. So I do a little bit of everything real estate, podcasting, and um, you know, photo booth and all that, but it all correlates together in business.

SPEAKER_04 15:25

Yeah. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

And um, yeah, and it's not always business. I'm not just a transactional guy, I'm a real I'm a relationship guy. So I'm not always business, but indirectly, you'll be like, hey, that guy Johnny Martinez, he's a he's a resource for me.

SPEAKER_04 15:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

If I need a problem solved, he can help me solve a problem. And if he doesn't have the capability to do it directly, he can refer me to somebody. With all the relationships that have been along the way, I have a little Rolodex of people and uh resources that I can be able to help you out with. So it's been it's been a blessing.

SPEAKER_02 15:58

Problem solver, man. I love that. So one of the problems that we all have as we're getting ready to transition, retire, separate from the military is what are we gonna do next? When you were getting ready to retire, you said, you know what, I'm done. What did that look like for you? Did you already know hands down this is what I'm going into, or did you not have a plan? How did that look for you?

SPEAKER_01 16:20

So, my plan in the beginning was to retire at 30 years. Yeah. As a chief master sergeant, the highest rank enlisted that you can possibly get. And as time went on, um, I had to pivot. I had to figure out because what we were all getting, I mean, we're getting closer to retirement. Yeah. And I was about my 22 and a half, 23 year mark, I was like, this is it. So let me let me tell you this, Ryan. I was living in New Broncos and I had to drive every day to Lackland Air Force Base. All right. So I had a lot of windshield time. I had a lot of drive time.

SPEAKER_02 16:54

35 will get you.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

35 will get you, right? And I had a self-analyze and I was always self-aware of what my stance was and what my position was. And I also had the awareness of what my capabilities were if I was to retire.

SPEAKER_04 17:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

Right. My wife had just gotten her real estate license and she had said, Hey, do you want to be a realtor with me? I said, eventually. I said, but my time right now is in the Air Force. Yeah. Right. And as we progress in our daily leadership roles, Ryan, sometimes there's so many changes and things in the military that you're like, you know what? I think it's time for new leadership to take over.

SPEAKER_04 17:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

And I'm gonna kindly exit stage left.

SPEAKER_04 17:45

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

Right. And I think I came to that point. And people always say, you'll know when it's time.

SPEAKER_04 17:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

Right? You'll just know it. It'll just hit you right in the face. And I figured out on my own that I wasn't having as much fun as I used to. Yeah. And it's nothing against the Air Force or the military. Nothing. I just knew internally that I had to go. Yeah. I had to do something else. And uh I'm glad I served. I owe the Air Force everything. But it was time for me to go and to answer your question. Yes, you just kind of know. And those drives made it a lot easier for me to contemplate what I wanted to do. I started listening to podcasts and started listening to these uh influencers and talking about business and talking about all these things. And they're abundant today.

SPEAKER_04 18:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

This this podcast here. Yeah, right? Hopefully somebody gets something out of this uh conversation we're having, right? But I was listening to these things and I'm like, man, I have a gift that I learned for the past 23 years that I can use in the civilian sector. Yeah. And it's not all about money, it's about impact.

SPEAKER_04 18:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

And if you can touch a lot of lives, the money's gonna come, right? If you build enough relationships indirectly, the money's gonna come. And it's not about money, like I said.

SPEAKER_04 19:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

If you're chasing money, you're chasing the wrong thing.

SPEAKER_04 19:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

When you're chasing positive relationships, the money is gonna just start say aloud, bruh. Coming, right? And when I say money, also opportunities are gonna start growing for you. Yeah, and it's about mindset. So I had been talking about mindset so many times to my troops and to the people I put in the Air Force. And as an MTI, I'm always talking mindset, mindset, be strong, be uh resilient. We use that in the Air Force all the time. Resilient, right? And I had to practice what I preached, and I was like, you know what, it's time. And I'm doing it today. And it's uh it's it's been it's been great.

SPEAKER_03 19:44

Was it a tough decision though? Because you go from 20 plus years of knowing what to do, when to do it, what time to eat, when you're getting paid, what you're wearing, to wow, what do I do now?

SPEAKER_01 19:57

Quincy, it was it was tough. Yeah. My entire adult life from 19 years old, yeah. All I knew was wearing a military uniform. Right. And here I am at, I was at 43, 44 years old.

SPEAKER_04 20:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

And uh a little long in the tooth when it comes to military uh longevity. And I'm like, man, uh I teared up a couple of times.

SPEAKER_04 20:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

I was like, this is it. And it was very tough. I sat, I sat on my back porch several times, you know, with some whiskey and some bourbon. Yeah. And I'm like, man, how am I gonna do it? How am I going? Is this really the end? And it's the fear of the unknown, guys. I mean, we don't know what's gonna happen next. So although we have these plans and these visions and these goals and dreams, you don't know if it's gonna play out the way you want to, no matter what your resume says, and no matter what experience level you have. So it was scary for me, and I and I retired during COVID. I had already put in my retirement uh paperwork and I went to real estate school in February 2020. The next month is when COVID hit. We were shut down. That's when the world, we didn't know if we were all gonna perish. We didn't know if we were all gonna get COVID and and disappear or we were gonna get past it, right? So I didn't even have a retirement ceremony. Wow. Yeah, it was one of those. So at first I was crushed, but then I thought about it after I'm like, you know what? I served. I'm I'm okay.

SPEAKER_00 21:21

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

The world doesn't care about my retirement. I just I just gotta keep keep going. Yeah, it's not about me, it's about those that have uh, you know, people passed away during COVID and all these. I had to think about that. And so when I thought about that, that the bigger picture and you know, the the goodness of the world, I was like, it's okay. I'm gonna be fine. Yeah, and uh it's it's it's been fine. I haven't even thought about a retirement ceremony anymore until just right now.

SPEAKER_03 21:49

But it's funny because I I didn't have a retirement ceremony. I was just ready to get out of Colorado Springs because it was snowing. Yeah, you know, so um I was more focused on you know getting. Set up in San Antonio, getting back to the family, getting started. A couple of things, right? You, there's only two people that I've uh met when I worked at the USO in their transition program that I knew were gonna be okay. It was you and K Kai Namal from NTI, right? Um, you guys just had that it factor, that that hunger, that entrepreneurship, that, you know, you brought the 3 to 360 machine out uh and you were still serving, right? So you were hustling, you had your crew, your team around you. So I knew right then, I was like, this dude's gonna be okay. Like, I don't need to give him the spill about, you know, making friends and relationships. You had it. But little did I know about your history at that point. Um, you were already locked in as a recruiter. So you knew how to navigate the civilian space already because of the Air Force. So, you know, again, shout out to you and kudos to you um for already kind of being pre-prepared for the transition. Um There's nothing that I've seen you do that has failed, right? However, thank you, Quincy. The wisdom in me, the wisdom in me knows that there's been some long days, some long nights, you know, some what if moments, some questioning who you are and what you bring to the table. Um, how do you get through those moments?

SPEAKER_01 23:22

Uh, talk to the wife, she's my sounding board and she's my uh she's my Quincy Harper. Yeah. The calm, the demeanor. She just makes sure that I'm, you know, because I'm a little high strung sometimes.

SPEAKER_03 23:34

Yeah, just a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 23:35

Um, I'm very passionate, and she's the one, hey, it's gonna be okay.

SPEAKER_04 23:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

It's uh she rubs my back and I'm like, you know what? All the weight of the world is gone when she talks to me and talks me off the cliff sometimes. Yeah. But yeah, I am a little high strung, and sometimes I carry my emotions on my sleeve.

SPEAKER_04 23:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:52

And uh that's one of my faults. If you know, you'll know if I'm in a bad mood. Yeah, yeah. You know, and I'm I'm still trying to fix myself as a man, still trying to uh I wish I had a little bit more Quincy Harper in me where you're almost like a uh uh poker player. You don't you don't you don't know what's going on with you. You just you always have the even keel.

SPEAKER_03 24:12

That's the Sagittarius in me, I think.

SPEAKER_01 24:14

And and it and I love that.

SPEAKER_03 24:15

Yeah, I appreciate that, brother.

SPEAKER_01 24:17

You know, so you've been inspiring to me as well, man. And and thank you for those words. But yeah, there has been some long nights.

SPEAKER_04 24:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:23

Uh there has been some struggles and things like that, business-wise. And uh with my family, my my daughter had uh thyroid cancer. She she still kind of does have some remnants in there. So we we deal with stuff like that, and that's some real life stuff.

SPEAKER_03 24:37

Real life, bro.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

And uh, you know, it was a low point in in mine and Jess's life when we didn't know we got the news. Yeah, you know, we just kind of broke down and we're like, man, what is going on here? But we had faith that we're gonna get past it, and I believe we have.

unknown 24:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

Um, and she's been doing good, she's been taking her pills and doing all that. So that was a that was a key moment for us as a family to bond even stronger, yeah, uh together as uh as uh as a family.

SPEAKER_02 25:07

So yeah, there's been some some trials and tribulations, but so a quick funny story about Jess. Um on my way down here, I was trying to call Johnny and kind of, hey Johnny, you know where you where you at? Let me make sure we get you in the building. I accidentally called Jess. And I was like, hey, is Johnny with you? Because normally they're together. Yeah. And she was like, No, he's already down there where you're at. Um, I was like, wait a minute, Johnny drove himself and she said, Yeah, he he's sorry, he's driving now. Day by driving.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Yeah, uh that's funny.

SPEAKER_02 25:38

But but that was one of the funny things that we would always joke about.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

Passenger princess.

SPEAKER_02 25:42

Yes. Johnny is a passenger princess. Wow, he sits there and texts and and uh you know, video and all the things while she's driving. And marketing while she's driving, exactly, but it goes back to their business. He's always trying to what can I do to put our business forward again? And that was a great thing about their partnership. Let's talk about Top Flight Realty Group, man.

SPEAKER_03 26:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:06

I know every time you I hear it, first thing I think of is Craig and Day Day.

SPEAKER_03 26:11

Top Flight Security Group.

SPEAKER_02 26:14

That's exactly what I think about. But the one thing you said to me was, Ryan, I came up with that name because it's all about marketing. Yeah, what is what are people gonna remember? And I was like, absolutely, because as soon as I heard it, that's the first thing that came to my mind, but it stuck out.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:30

Tell me about top flight.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

Big shout out to Ice Cube and and uh Craig and all that, man. Yeah, but yeah, so top flight. So when we were when I was in the Air Force, one of the awards for recruiting was top flight. I think we even had that throughout the Air Force, right?

SPEAKER_03 26:47

We did, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:48

Top flight, top squadron, top wing. Yeah. And so we, as recruiters, were always striving to get the top flight. And I said, man, I saw Jess and I were kicking around the name, uh, contemplating what to what to name our our team. And I said, Top flight. I said, we'll always be the top flight. We are the top flight. And so it's stuck around and it uh kind of looks like the Air Force logo a little bit. It has a kind of a flavor, yeah, but it's not really the Air Force symbol.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

It's not the logo, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:18

It's not the logo because I know that would be a trademarking for you. Yeah, no, yeah, you want to get the Air Force up so they still pay you, bro. Yes, yes, uh, but yeah, um, and it's kind of stuck around, and and uh I know there's a lot of brokers, uh brokerages that are all about you know their name, but people think we're a brokerage because we advertise top flight so much, and I'm like, I'm like, no, we're just we're just we're just a team. But everything is is top flight related. And uh yeah, it just it's one of those logos that if you see it, you'd be like, oh, that's top flight. Oh, that's Coca-Cola, that's H E B. Yeah, but you see it and you're like, nah, that's top flight. And so I love it. You know, that's I mean, that's the whole premise of having a business is you want people to know your logo and your brand. Yeah, things like that.

SPEAKER_03 28:04

So that's uh that's I I love that, right? Um, but I want to dive into the podcast world. Okay. You're very comfortable around the microphone. Um, I think the first time I sat with you, we were in the weed shop. Is that what y'all call it? Yeah, uh one of the first time. Greenleaf. Greenleaf, Greenleaf. Up in New Brunfels. In New Bronffels, right? So he didn't explain what the place was, he just told me how to get there. I was like, that's her podcast studio. Yeah. So they take me to the back room, and they of course they got this big dude back then. I'm like, where in the hell am I at? In the debuffles. In the newfalls, yeah. In the brothels, right? Um, what made you dive into that world?

SPEAKER_01 28:41

So, Quincy, great question. I was already kind of uh, my voice was already impactful to young people joining the military. And as I was getting ready to transition, I'm like, man, I once again, when I was transitioning out, I was listening to these podcasts, Gary V, uh, Joe Rogan, all these heavy hitters, Howard Stern. And I'm like, man, I wish I can just sit there and BS with people the way these guys do. And so I started making little videos, like little vlogs, I think they call it, video, you know, little things like that. And now, and so as I progressed, I was like, let me get some cameras. And be well, you know what? Before before we we dive into the cameras, somebody gave me the opportunity to do something called New Bronffels Nightlife. Okay. That was right after COVID.

SPEAKER_00 29:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Okay. So we were highlighting businesses, their chips and salsa, their drink specials, uh, hamburgers, things like that. And we were building relationships throughout the community of New Brunfels and San Antonio with a cell phone. I forgot about that. Right? And we had the two little um the little mics, the road mics. Yeah. I had one, and the person I was interviewing had one, and we had little microphones, and we were just doing back and forth like that. And then that's when I figured I have this this skill that I can do this on camera where I can talk about anything.

SPEAKER_04 30:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:17

And so we bought some cameras at that point.

SPEAKER_04 30:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

And it was an investment, and Jeff was like, I don't know why we're doing that. And that's, you know, are we sure we want to do this? And I'm like, yes, this is something that can that can take fire and we can we can do it.

SPEAKER_04 30:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:32

And um, so we started our own company, which is social plug media.

SPEAKER_04 30:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

And now Ryan and Quincy, we interview doctors, lawyers, athletes, uh, musicians, comedians. We've had vets on. We we can interview anybody because it's just dialogue. Yeah, it's just having a conversation. And if I don't know enough about it, that's why I'm asking you questions. So you can talk to me about your career field or talk to me about what you do to help people. And it's just two guys, a guy and a gal, whatever, just talking, shooting the poop, making sure that we are impacting our audience. Even if we only have one listener, it's okay. As long as you impact one person with either inspiration, motivation, education, uh, some kind of laughter, some kind of entertainment, you're gonna be okay.

SPEAKER_04 31:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:21

So we've interviewed a myriad of different kinds of people. People that have lost weight, people that have been molested as kids, yeah, people that have gone through divorces, people that own venues. It doesn't matter. Nobody is off limits. So the premise of one of our podcasts, because we got several podcast platforms. Yeah, the one that I host specifically, the social plug podcast, we highlight ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

SPEAKER_04 31:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

And you were my third guest, I believe, Quincy.

SPEAKER_04 31:46

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 31:47

And I said, I need to have you on because you're making an impact, and you're just an ordinary dude, but you're making an impact with extraordinary results.

SPEAKER_04 31:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:58

You're helping the veterans, you're you're in the community, you're doing all these things. And it was very meaningful. And people liked the podcast.

SPEAKER_04 32:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:07

And our little short clips and all that made an impact. Even today, people are still commenting on those things.

SPEAKER_04 32:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:13

So that's kind of what we do, and it's kind of what you guys are doing. Yeah. You guys have a voice. And this goes for anybody. This is advice to the masses, whether you're a vet, whether you're just trying to get started. If you have some meaningful value to give to people, you can do your own podcast, you can do your own vlogs, you can just sit there for 30 seconds, one minute, and just give some kind of advice when it comes to educating somebody. Maybe you're going through something, maybe you're having a bad day. How do you get over that?

SPEAKER_04 32:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:43

Maybe you just need to hug somebody. Maybe it's okay. Yeah. And a lot of times people think that they need to be perfect on camera. No, you don't. Just do it. I don't care if you're stuttering. I don't care if you have a lisp. I don't care if you have a uh lazy eye. It doesn't matter. Get on camera and just go with it. You're not, yeah, you're not uh reporting the news or something where you got to be perfect looking at the teleprompter. Just get on there and just make an impact. That's it.

SPEAKER_02 33:12

One of the funny videos him and Jess posted, it was a hot dog truck, I think it was, that y'all were uh the uh showcasing in your neighborhood.

SPEAKER_01 33:23

It was the wiener dog truck, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:24

Wiener dog truck, but that every hot dog had like a funny name connotation to it. So there they are having a conversation about what hot dog they're gonna get. The the foot long, nice and sloppy, like it was something crazy like that.

SPEAKER_01 33:38

Big wiener. I was like, Jess, can you take the big wiener, you know? And but it was funny, but it was funny, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:44

I think that video had 3,000 plus hits just because of the entertainment value of it. And that's one of the things that you would always tell me when I was on the team. He was like, Ryan, dude, just make the video and put it out. Like, stop thinking so much. Yeah, and even still, you know, I'll sit back and second guess myself. Yeah, and you know, do all the things until the point where I finally said, you know, it it doesn't matter, yeah, is what I'm giving, value added, and it's gonna help somebody down the road.

SPEAKER_01 34:16

One person.

SPEAKER_02 34:17

That's all I need.

SPEAKER_01 34:18

Whether you get one view or a million. You don't have to go viral. No, everybody thinks they gotta make a video to go viral. No, just just make a video. Yeah. Just put it out there. And it's consistency, your reps. You talked about uh me being good on camera, thank you for that. But it's just the reps that I put in. You get comfortable, and I'm comfortable in front of a camera. Yeah, I don't even realize there's I mean, I of course I realize there's cameras here, but it's not scary anymore. Yeah, it's not something that's intimidating. Yeah, and as you progress, it's gonna be the same way.

SPEAKER_03 34:47

That's that's dope, man. You're you're like the the guru, you know, you're the goat, you're the OG, um, you and Richard Delgado, and there's a couple of others, right? That I watch and I follow and try to emulate or bite and steal some of what they're doing. So you're the very inspiration, I think, what made me comfortable, right? Because I'm not gonna lie, when I came out there, um, I'm not advocating for drinking and driving, but I did hit a little bourbon, you know what I mean. Let me get out of here and do this show, right? Um liquid courage. A little liquid courage. Um, but man, now that I think about it, I think I've interacted with you probably four times. I forgot about you had a boxer uh at the social spot one night, and they did a panel. We were all veterans and we did some stuff. Yes, yeah, yeah. You've done like four shows with the uh at the downtown social. Downtown social. Yep, and then Casper and I came out and you shot a video uh podcast of us, I think, with J-Rock, if I'm not mistaken. So right, yeah, man. You're you're like you're that guy. Um, so I'm very appreciative of the work in this space that you've allowed. Why do you think podcasts are so popular?

SPEAKER_01 35:58

I think people like the humanistic element. Okay, they don't like to be um uh they don't like to see people disingenuous, and they can be able to tell if you're disingenuous, uh disingenuous or not. Yeah. So on my podcast, I like it. I don't have a lot of notes. It's raw, uh, unfiltered. If we cuss, sometimes we cuss. Yeah, it's just dudes talking. Um, and sometimes people get passionate, they might drop the F-bomb or whatever. It's okay.

SPEAKER_04 36:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:25

This is our podcasts are not made for nine and under.

SPEAKER_04 36:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:28

You know, they're made to impact people, to be able to get over uh something that they're going through or whatever. And and we say it right there on the title. This is what this is about.

SPEAKER_04 36:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:38

But yeah, I mean, it's just, I mean, it's it's been it's been it's been fun, man. And people like podcasts because they like being informed, inspired, educated, uh, entertained. And there's so many podcasts out there right now, Quincy. And I love seeing a lot of vets now. Yeah. Because when we were coming through in the 90s, early 2000s, this didn't stuff didn't exist. Yeah. The education and the resources that we have today in 2026 is crazy compared to when we were transitioning out even in 20.

SPEAKER_03 37:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:15

Some people, when did you get out?

SPEAKER_03 37:17

2016.

SPEAKER_01 37:18

Okay, so there was nothing like this. No.

SPEAKER_03 37:20

No.

SPEAKER_01 37:21

So the you had to do extra research on how to transition out and business stuff. Now you can go on YouTube, Brian, and people are gonna tell you step by step how to build a business, right? And they're gonna be vets on there telling you how to fix a car and doing all these. And I love seeing the vets, especially, because there's a lot of vets when I was when uh you know in that were retiring, they didn't know what they were gonna do. They were not as confident as we are today. Yeah, and I think getting these reps on the podcast and other vets seeing what we're doing, and you said you were you were emulating, yeah, they're doing the same thing.

SPEAKER_04 37:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:58

So social media is very impactful, and it's almost like a uh it's a great tool and a great resource for people, and that helps people transition a lot smoother and easier. And whether they're getting VA, uh, you know, going through VA uh steps or whatever, there's so much uh information out there. Chat GBT, AI, there's just so much. Makes me makes me feel smart, bro. Right. And it's it's just it's it's a miracle.

SPEAKER_02 38:26

So that's that's the premise of the QR podcast is we want to talk to veterans about things to help them realize you can transition from the military into entrepreneurship. Yeah, you can pursue something, that dream that you've been wanting to do forever. And don't pursue it, fail, and then quit. Fail, learn from that failure, get up, listen to the QR podcast. Yeah, let us walk you through it, and then let's get to that entrepreneurship, that business goal that you're trying to reach. Yeah, I think we skipped over a little bit the party people photo booth because I think that was second after Top Flight Realty Group. Am I right?

SPEAKER_01 39:05

That was my first business. Oh, yeah, okay. So I owned Party People Photo Booth while I was still in the military.

SPEAKER_02 39:10

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 39:10

Because I had, you know, I was a recruiter and I was, you know, owning my own business uh as a recruiter. And I was like, man, I'm gonna at some point I'm gonna retire or transition out. So Party People Photo Booth was a catapult for me to get into the community and how to learn entrepreneurship because it's a low overhead uh field. Yeah, right. I just have to buy the equipment, maybe do the software, purchase software once a month. And Jess and I would run the photo booth. So it was pretty simple.

SPEAKER_02 39:40

Right.

SPEAKER_01 39:41

And but with Party People Photo Booth guys, I was able to meet so many people. I met you, Quincy, yeah, because of Party People Photo Booth. Yeah, small business, but it had big impact on the relationships that I was able to build and the value that I was able to add to people's events. And they talked highly of us and because we were professionals and all this kind of stuff. And so Party People Photo Booth was the first one. Then it was Top Flight Realty Group once I retired, and then social plug media uh a few years after that.

SPEAKER_03 40:14

That's amazing. Yeah, he's a hustler, man. From the south.

SPEAKER_01 40:17

As of right now, I think I think I'm I'm good with those with those things. That's it. As of right now, but those three entities live in an ecosystem.

SPEAKER_04 40:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:26

Just like uh in the jungle, you have the elephant, the giraffe, and the zebra. They all live together and they all need each other. So same thing with uh with my businesses, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:35

And that uh and I think that's a very great point. You know, all of your businesses revolve around people, and people are gonna want to gravitate to all three of those entities at some point, right? Which leads me into the next point: comedy. How does that play into all of this?

SPEAKER_01 40:52

So everybody loves comedy, everybody wants to laugh. I don't think there's anybody out here in existence that don't want to laugh and hasn't laughed at some point in their in their lives or throughout their daily uh uh journey. Laughter is is a medicine.

SPEAKER_04 41:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:06

Right? And it brings people together. So we got involved with the comedy industry through social plug media. Okay. All right, podcasting and things like that. Uh we got mentioned earlier, we got to meet Martin Moreno, who is a powerhouse when it comes to comedy. And he noticed our value, and we had him on a podcast and things like that, and we were able to build relationships with him. And uh, we just kind of took off. He had the idea, hey, why don't we do some kind of comedy shows weekly here in Ubronville? So I'm like, let's do it.

SPEAKER_03 41:40

Damn. Does he live there?

SPEAKER_01 41:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 41:42

Okay, yeah, okay, that makes sense then. I'm like, you got this guy flying in. I need that sponsor if you do.

SPEAKER_01 41:47

Yeah, yeah. He's yeah, he's he's a uh he's a resident. Okay, and he's become a pretty good friend of ours. Wow. And we're very thankful. So he's he's a mentor as well. Now I'm not a comedian, but I can say some funny stuff sometimes.

SPEAKER_04 41:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:00

And as a podcast, you can't only be serious all the time. Yeah. You gotta be able to be diverse, yeah. You gotta be humanistic.

SPEAKER_04 42:09

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 42:09

Right? So sometimes we have some zany characters on that are cussing and laughing and you know, doing whatever. You just have to adjust. And we we can adjust like chameleons, yeah, and we go with it. Sometimes there's some uh you know funny stuff and vulgar stuff, whatever. But we gotta understand this is comedy. It's comedy, yeah. Right. And so we took that uh premise of having a comedian on the podcast, and we created now comedy shows. So we've we've teamed up with a man named Sean Latham, who's also in that in that uh circle of of friends, and he's taken off. So we've had six shows already in New Braunfels. Wow, six sellouts.

SPEAKER_02 42:51

That's amazing. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 42:52

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 42:53

So we uh we're winning over there in New Bronfels, you've been winning, you've been helping that city win no Johnny shit, man, probably for five, six years. Like real talk. Appreciate that. You know what I mean? So yes, they're winning, but I would not be surprised through all of your endeavors if one day you ran for mayor or six years ago.

SPEAKER_01 43:14

Have you? I have, but I'm like, man, that's a that's a broad bandwidth. Yeah. Because if I'm running for mayor, now I don't know if I can do the things that I really love, like podcasting and real estate, because there's be a conflict of interest, and you know, there'll be all kinds of other things. And um, and I'm not afraid of my past.

SPEAKER_04 43:31

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:32

I don't have anything crazy out there that I that I know of.

SPEAKER_04 43:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:35

But yeah, going going for uh city council or mayor or some kind of elected official position kind of takes away from all these other things. So I have to be all in on that.

SPEAKER_03 43:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:44

And I don't think I'm all in right now.

SPEAKER_03 43:46

Yeah, you got the freedom of movement right and the paradox of choices right now. So yeah, yeah. It was just a thought that, you know, most of the time when you see people, you know, on these type of trajectories, there's some sort of political, but no, I I agree, man. Stay um keep that freedom of movement.

SPEAKER_01 44:04

I love the freedom. I love the mental freedom that comes with this and transitioning out of the military.

SPEAKER_04 44:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:10

One of the toughest things that when I was in the military, I was always worried about what other people thought.

SPEAKER_04 44:18

Say that.

SPEAKER_01 44:18

And I was always worried about pleasing people. Yeah. Not only my people that were working for me, I was working for them. But my peers and people above me, and I was always trying to be perfect and always trying to be somebody that I wasn't. I'm just a dude with a bunch of flaws.

SPEAKER_04 44:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:41

You know, I'm not perfect. Some days I have bad days, sometimes I have good days, and some days the motivation is high, sometimes it's low. And so that was one of my toughest things while I was in. And I had this stress all the time. And I know a lot of military members too, Ryan and Q, they're stressed out because of that. Trying to get promoted, trying to lobby, trying to do all these things. Yeah. And it takes over your life and it takes over your relationships. It takes over everything.

SPEAKER_04 45:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:13

Your relationships with your family, and you're always stressed out. And once I got out, guys, it it all was released.

SPEAKER_04 45:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:21

And the only person I have to answer to is probably Jess.

SPEAKER_04 45:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:26

And vice versa.

SPEAKER_04 45:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:27

And I don't have to worry about doing all these crazy things, PT tests and all that. My man, I've lost a lot of weight on my own. Yeah. Yeah. Without somebody having to tell me. Like I said, I love the military, I love the Air Force, but the structure, I think, sometimes was too much.

SPEAKER_04 45:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:46

We are self-analysts. Yeah. And we know what we're supposed to do, but we constantly have this burden over us and you know, of having to perform every single day. You can't be, you can't have a bad day because somebody's going to notice it, right? Yeah. You can't be a human. You got to be some kind of robot sometimes, especially when you're in a leadership position. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:09

And that that transcends to officers. Yes. You know, and especially officers. You know, especially officers and certain positions on the enlisted side, but that's a hard thing to shake. Right. Some of us, it may take two or three years. I think for me, it took maybe, you know, damn near four years to realize that, dude, you know, your next door neighbor's not going to care if you're smoking a cigar and you're out at midnight. In the military, that may be an issue, right? Hey, Harper, put that cigar out. You know what I mean? Or, and I'm just using that as an example, but there's a lot of things that um we carry over into retirement. How hard is that to shake? Did you experience that?

SPEAKER_02 46:54

I would say I experienced that probably, like you said, first three or four years, because everything I did during when I even when I was uh on the enlisted side as an MTI, uniforms have to be perfect, perfect. You gotta shine your boots, your hat, you know, when it starts to bow up, you gotta get a new hat because it's supposed to lay flat. Like all those stresses of being the epitome of professionalism as an MTI, like that was stress. Then I transitioned into an officer and I was responsible for air traffic control, airfield management. Now I have to be smart enough to be able to have a conversation with my bosses about things that are happening on the flight line or in the airspace that were unsafe. And again, it's that every waking moment I felt like I had to be perfect.

SPEAKER_04 47:46

Yeah, pressure.

SPEAKER_02 47:47

Yeah, pressure. Now, don't get me wrong, I thrived in that pressure cooker, but it did take a toll on me. Yeah, mentally, physically.

SPEAKER_04 47:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:59

And again, you you mentioned it uh earlier. You know, I'm still working on myself.

SPEAKER_04 48:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:06

You mentioned you're working on yourself still. What was there to help you work through some of those things, those stresses, those pressures that you felt when you got out?

SPEAKER_01 48:17

Oh, when I got out?

SPEAKER_02 48:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:19

I just had to figure out, you know, on my own, uh, talking to people, and people were telling me, hey, it's okay. You're not in the military anymore. Yeah. And nobody gave a crap if what my rank was. Nope. Nobody cared if I was an E1 or an E9. First of the month. The only time it matters. But that's that's the pressure we had. We had to make sure we personified this rank and this and this person. Yeah. Right. And that's extra pressure. And I know those that are in right now, they have that pressure. And if you say you don't, it's BS. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:51

That was the extra stress. But yeah, great question. I just as I got over it. And another stressor that I had was in the military is I try to control everything. And and we would preach.

SPEAKER_02 49:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:08

Ryan? All the time. Control what you can control. We would say it. But we wouldn't do it. No, we wouldn't do it. And there was a lot of things within our squadrons or within our flights or whatever that we try to we took home with us mentally. You know, somebody's child was sick or all these things. And it it weighed on us. Yeah. Not that we still don't do that today, but now it's not where we're this the sole, you know, problem solver.

SPEAKER_02 49:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:38

There's now resources and things like that, but we didn't have that when we were in the military. We had to solve that like right then and there.

SPEAKER_02 49:44

No, because it was it was faux pas for you to say, I need to go get help, or I need to go talk to somebody, especially as an MPI, because if something's wrong with your mental, they don't want you out there pushing flags.

SPEAKER_01 49:56

You're incapable.

SPEAKER_02 49:57

You're incapable. I know it's changed somewhat today, but a lot of that still sticks with you, I'm not supposed to go get help because that's what was ingrained in me for 20 plus years that I'm not supposed to ask.

SPEAKER_01 50:12

So yeah, it's that stigma.

SPEAKER_03 50:14

Emotions, TDYs, deployments. How can you get to this level?

SPEAKER_01 50:18

And you can't say no. If somebody gives you a job or a task, yes, sir, yeah, I'll make it happen. And in the back of your mind, you're like, man, I don't know how the hell I'm gonna do this. Because now I can explain to my wife and my family that I'm not gonna be here for Christmas or whatever. I'm going TDY. But telling your boss, yes, sir, I'll make it happen because that's that I'm in a leadership role.

SPEAKER_04 50:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

How can I say no? If I say no, then what's gonna happen? I'm not gonna get promoted. Yeah, I'm gonna lose money and all these things. So ambitions and goals come into play. So today I have the mental freedom of just controlling my own destiny, controlling what I can control, truly control what I can control, and I don't give a shit what anybody thinks.

SPEAKER_04 50:58

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:59

That's that's my mindset. Of course, it's not completely true what I just say. I care what my customers think and people that are trusting me with their service or their or their products or with their you know comedy show, whatever.

SPEAKER_04 51:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:15

But ultimately, those on the sideline, I don't care, Quincy.

SPEAKER_03 51:19

Yeah, don't matter.

SPEAKER_01 51:20

But I used to care before. Isn't it crazy? Yeah. These people that I never served, these people that weren't in the positions that we were, why do we care about that so much?

SPEAKER_03 51:28

Yeah. Perception.

SPEAKER_01 51:30

Right. I mean, were you kind of in the same way?

SPEAKER_02 51:32

Oh, I mean, it's probably gotten to where we are today, even.

SPEAKER_04 51:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:38

To where I don't think about it as much. Because, yes, I carried a lot of that weight, and you know, trying to make sure people were good. A lot of times I would care more about somebody else's career than they cared about their own career. That too. And then I would be upset when they weren't successful. And that that weighs on you. It took a toll on me. But where I'm at today, man, it's about me, my family, and our generational goals. Like I want to change, you know, my my family tree, my generational wealth and stuff like that. That's what I'm focused on now. And if anything is getting in the way of that, I cut that out.

SPEAKER_01 52:18

Yep, it's not worth it.

SPEAKER_02 52:18

It's not worth it.

SPEAKER_01 52:19

And I see a lot of athletes today. We can get into that. Yeah. I see a lot of young athletes that play into the social media game of you got these naysayers and these critics and all these, and they're under stress.

SPEAKER_02 52:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:32

And some pro athletes are taking their lives. Yeah. You know, I don't know if it's because of that, but mental health and the mental health um awareness is is more prominent now.

SPEAKER_00 52:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:45

But people are now, I think, more vulnerable. Maybe in the in the military. I haven't been in the military for five years, six years, but I think people are preaching now more. Hey, go get go get some help. Yeah. Go, you know, check yourself in because it looks like you need need some help. And I hopefully it's not the, you know, still the stigma of you're not going to get promoted or things like that. Because people need a break. People need a mental break sometimes.

SPEAKER_03 53:09

Yeah. You got to check out. You have to, you know, take a cruise, take a trip, you know, go visit someone, go to the cigar bar, whatever your jam is. You got to be able to release some of that. And one of the things I think I learned through therapy was about stuck points. Right. We all have stuck points or um distractors or triggers. Right. Right. And I really had to learn and understand that so that I can unpack it, so that I can get up and move on and do the things that I want to do, right? Or that I'm called to do. Um, so you know, as we get ready to wrap, Johnny, this has been awesome, man, sitting down, talk with, talking with you about your journey and your transition from the United States Air Force. Um, what's next?

SPEAKER_01 53:52

Uh, whatever it takes, Quincy.

SPEAKER_03 53:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 53:55

Um, it's just every day is just an opportunity to grow and to uh help others. I know it's a cliche. Everybody says, I want to help others, but it's it's true. And I say that from the bottom of my heart. When you're able to help others, you're building a legacy of value and resource.

SPEAKER_04 54:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:15

When I'm in that box, when it's all said and done, I want my wife and kids to say, Man, that guy right there, he gave a shit.

SPEAKER_04 54:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:21

He really cared about us, and he cared about what his obligations were, and he cared about the community.

SPEAKER_04 54:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:30

He just wasn't in it just to, you know, make a buck or things like that. You know, like I said, it's not about money at all. We all want to be successful, but successful to me doesn't mean money.

SPEAKER_04 54:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:40

It means impact. People think the world of you. People, you know, when they think of you, they think of problem solver, they think of, you know, uh a veteran with honor, dignity, things like that, who's able to serve with a purpose. And I think that's my purpose, Quincy, just serving others, man. And having a damn good time.

SPEAKER_04 55:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:06

Um, and having having just that mental freedom that we talked about.

SPEAKER_04 55:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:09

Just doing what you want to do at your own discretion without you know limitations. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 55:17

So speaking of having a damn good time, you say y'all are doing a comedy show once a week. Who do you have coming up this week? Time on the docket, location, shout all that out.

SPEAKER_01 55:26

So two people that we'll definitely have on the docket on the on the uh on the list would be Hooter Moreno and Sean Latham. Okay. So Sean Latham, he uh coordinates the the talent that comes in. We'll probably know that by by Monday, okay. Tuesday. So a couple of days before the show. All right. Um so that's one of those things that's kind of like a surprise. But every single show, guys, has been lights out, been funny. Typically, we have six to seven comics going up there, and it's 15 bucks to get in for a night of comedy. And to get six or seven comics, if you go to one of these other comedy shows, it's gonna be 30 to 35 bucks. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 56:02

So uh when is the next show?

SPEAKER_01 56:04

Wednesday. So every single Wednesday at Wildside New Bronfels. So Wildside is right across from downtown social. Okay, okay, yeah, right across. It didn't exist when uh when we had the downtown social event.

SPEAKER_04 56:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 56:16

But now it now it exists exists and it's it's definitely on the map for comedy. And it wasn't designed to be a comedy club. Yeah, it's just a little local bar, right? But the comics give us feedback like, man, we're like in our living room. Yeah, just yeah, it's it you can fit 60 people in there comfortably and they love it. So these comics are just getting their reps. We talk about reps a couple of times. Yeah, they're just in there, you know, coming up with uh new material and trying out new material and things like that, and we're able to take it all in. And they kind of see, okay, did the crowd like that? Didn't like that? Yeah, feedback. But it's but it's but it's funny. Yeah, and uh it keeps the crowd rolling and they they keep they're thirsty for more.

SPEAKER_02 56:54

So wall side Wednesday night, what time?

SPEAKER_01 56:56

Uh it's gonna start at eight o'clock. So $15. $15 to get in.

SPEAKER_02 57:00

Perfect.

SPEAKER_03 57:01

It's not a bad price point for some comedy.

SPEAKER_02 57:03

Before we let you go, one of the things we ask all our guests is three nuggets of wisdom that you would pass on to the next person that's trying to transition, leave the military, whatever it may be. What would those three nuggets be?

SPEAKER_01 57:16

Three nuggets. Okay. Great question. Get your degree once you're in. Okay. Uh build relationships with people on the outside. When I say build relationships, you kind of have an idea what you want to do when you get out. Build people or build relationships with people in that industry, if possible. Yeah. Okay. And there's another thing. Don't be afraid. Just get out there and just do it. Start marketing yourself now. Get your reps in. Social media is king right now. And if you're not on social media, it's going to be kind of tough for you if you're going to open up your own business. If you're a veteran that just wants to work at uh at Walmart as a door greeter, don't get on social media. Stay below the radar. Yeah. But if you're an entrepreneur who, and a lot of people want to be entrepreneurs today, if you're an entrepreneurial mindset that wants to get out and make an impact in the community and do nonprofits and help vets and do all these things, link up with these two men right here.

SPEAKER_04 58:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:18

All right. Q and Ryan. These guys are a wealth of knowledge. And how many, I mean, how many years of experience you guys got? About 50 together?

SPEAKER_04 58:25

50 between it? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:27

Okay. I'm available as well if you guys want to reach out to me and all the wonderful guests you guys have as well. Yeah. Reach out to those guys. These guys do a great job of giving you value, resources, conversations that you guys can take on, whether they're doing short clips or long podcasts, listen to their podcasts on your way to work, listen to the, you know, on uh in the gym, things like that. These guys have over 50 years of uh military experience or just about, but they have even more of just fatherhood, uh just value of problem solving, things like that. So that's my advice. Reach out to you guys or anybody like you guys. If you have somebody in your wheelhouse, in your network that are like them, cling on to people like that. When you cling on to people like that, they're all gonna make you better, and your transition to get out is gonna be that much smoother. So find a mentor, find somebody who's been there, done that, and it's gonna make you way better than you ever were. So just open up your mindset.

SPEAKER_02 59:27

Johnny, shout out where they can find you at on social media.

SPEAKER_01 59:30

So you can find me on my personal page uh on Facebook, uh, Johnny Martinez. I'm on Instagram, Johnny Martinez341, uh, top flight realty group on both Facebook and Instagram. Uh for Party People Photo Booth, same. Uh, Instagram and and uh Facebook, uh social plug media. So you can find us on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube. So we have a YouTube page as well. And did I mention Facebook? Yes, sir. So yeah, so we're kind of all over the place. We are we are up and running. We just have a good time, we have a lot of content. And uh, yeah, hopefully you guys can be a part of of uh the journey with these guys or myself and just create your own journey. So uh the road is yours, the road goes two ways. Always provide value and make sure that those that are with you are providing value to you. Because if you don't, if you have people in your corner that aren't providing you value, what are you doing? They're just dragging you down.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:21

So there it is, folks. Thank you, Johnny Martinez. Thank you, Chatterbox Studios, for having us today. Hey, folks, go out there and create your own journey. This has been the QR podcast. I'm Ryan Nichols, and that's Quincy Harper. We'll see you next time.