From Street Fights To Courtroom Battles | Ryan Wechsler

Most people think success is about talent.

It's not.

It's about surviving your own bad decisions long enough to become the person you're capable of becoming. 

In this episode of the Gold Coast Podcast, Eric Winegard sits down with Ryan Wechsler, Owner and Trial Attorney at Wechsler & Wechsler, P.A., for a conversation that starts with personal injury law and quickly becomes a masterclass on resilience, leadership, fatherhood, discipline, personal growth, and building a life you're proud of. 

Ryan openly shares his journey from a troubled childhood, arrests, fights, and poor decisions to becoming a successful trial attorney and business owner. He explains why fear can be a powerful motivator, how discipline changed his life, and why many people never reach their potential despite having every advantage. 

The conversation also pulls back the curtain on the insurance industry, how personal injury cases really work, what separates great attorneys from average ones, and the mistakes accident victims make that can cost them thousands, or even millions, of dollars. 

But what makes this episode special isn't the legal advice.

It's the honesty.

This is a conversation about becoming a better man, a better father, a better leader, and learning how to channel the same energy that once got you into trouble into something meaningful. 

In this episode:

•  Why fear was Ryan's greatest advantage 
•  The surprising downside of growing up with money 
•  How discipline can change your entire life 
•  What insurance companies don't want claimants to know 
•  The difference between good attorneys and great attorneys 
•  Why reputation matters more than money 
•  The truth about leadership 
•  Lessons on marriage, fatherhood, and family 
•  Why Ryan stopped drinking 
•  How to build a life you're proud of 

If you've ever felt like your past disqualifies you from success, this episode will change the way you think.

Because sometimes the traits that got you into trouble are the same traits that help you win, once they're pointed in the right direction. 

Guest:
Ryan Wechsler
Owner & Trial Attorney, Wechsler & Wechsler, P.A.

wexinjurylaw.com 
(561) 562-HURT

Hosted By:
Eric Winegard

Thank you all for listening in on today's episode of The Gold Coast Podcast!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I really just started to maybe the past three or four years in my life. Like when I was your age, dude, I was forty pounds heavier. No shit. I was looking like shit. I was drinking a lot. 'Cause I was in an unhappy career and an unhappy um marriage at the time. That's tough. You know, so it's like d I call it the double whammy. Like I I hated going to work and then I hated going home.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

All I wanted to go do was release, you know, on Friday.

SPEAKER_02 0:27

I hated an escape. Mm-hmm. Going home from work wasn't an escape. Going to work from home to going to work from home wasn't an escape.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

So awful. Yeah. So just dre dreading to go to sleep to dreading to wake up. It was, you know, I did that for probably three years. That was pretty bad. Then I found myself um reverting back to dumb stuff I did in my young 20s. And I knew I was like, yeah, it's probably time to like get out of this marriage, get a little healthier. Um, and then COVID hit, right? As my brain was thinking about all this stuff. And dude, I didn't become an entrepreneur until age 40.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

Really? No shit.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

Yeah, yeah. I worked for a company for 17 years, and I was great. I was What were you doing? Mar a marketing company. Oh, really? A digital marketing company, yeah. So it's like, so I got a degree. I I went into the Navy. I was a knucklehead when I was younger, but I so I went into the Navy.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Thanks for your service.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Yeah, it was an honor. Went into the Navy, got a degree in psych, got one job after college. I was there 17 years. Uh great salesperson, became a VP of sales, wanted me to be the CEO, didn't want to do that. COVID hit, all these life decisions. I just said, you know, let me go, let me go real. I wanted a fresh start. I really did. And I think that fresh start was also me uh treating myself better physically.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Good for you.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

You know, and and uh realizing that health is, you know, health is wealth, and met the love of my life that year. And today. Yeah, today's. It's crazy how things work out. Dude. Today's what? No, and today it today we're you know, she's six months pregnant, we're having our first child. So my compliments. Congratulations. Yeah, for sure. But basketball, so I started watching basketball in 1990. I've been a San Antonio Spurs fan my whole life.

SPEAKER_02 2:13

Okay, so I uh when I was a diehard Knicks fan as a kid, I remember the NBA finals.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

Yes, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:20

You got and the Knicks that were an eighth seed that year. Yeah. Went to the finals and we had a fucking crazy run. Yep. And we had a really good fucking team, but that Spurs team was crazy. Uh Tim Duncan was in his in his prime. David Robinson was still in animals, Sean Elliott, Mario Elliott, you guys had such a good team with God.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:40

That team was unstoppable.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Well, and back then it wasn't as much of a perimeter game.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

So trying to better game, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Well, and but trying to get a shot off on those two big guys down there, too.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Forget about it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Like you're not getting anything clean.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

And you're right, it was a it was it was a post it was a post-game.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:56

Now that's why I don't really enjoy the NBA like I used to, because it's really just an all-perimeter game. It's just three threes, threes, threes, threes. And it kind of gets boring. That's why I kind of like college, because it's more traditional basketball, which I'm a fan of. But a lot of people really like the NBA and all the high scoring and stuff, which I get. But I just liked how it would be mixed up in the 90s. You had a lot, you had guys who had a mid-range game, you had guys that took it to the rim, you got guys that could shoot from the outside, and then you guys that you know put their back to the basket and caught the ball in the block. Like I loved watching that. Tim Duncan was fucking amazing.

SPEAKER_03 3:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:29

You know, the way he catched the ball on the block and he could fucking bank that shit any angle on the court.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

Yo, he was crazy. So now that since you're a basketball guy, I have a cool theory about how to revolutionize the game of basketball. Let's hear it. In every other sport, the goal is to get to the goal, right? So in hockey, you're trying to get, you know, advance down the ice to get there. In soccer, same thing. Football, you get rewarded, you know, six points for a touchdown because you've advanced far down the field.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Right.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

What if they made a dunk worth three points? And reward you for getting into the opponent's territory.

SPEAKER_02 4:13

How are you gonna get how are you gonna measure what's gonna be a three-point dunk?

SPEAKER_00 4:17

A dunk is three.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

Any dunk is three. Okay, got you. Got you.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

A dunk is three.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

That's fair. Okay, I'm gonna do it. It's kind of gangster, dude. Yeah, because there's really there, there's no greater master of the opponent's territory than literally dunking the ball.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

Yeah, not a layup. A layup is two points. A dunk is three points.

SPEAKER_02 4:33

Just call Adam Silver. Let him know what you'd think.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

I'm telling, dude.

SPEAKER_02 4:37

They're losing viewership, so you might be on to see.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

I'm onto it, dude. And I and I think that because if you think about football, you know, you get rewarded half the amount for kicking the ball because you haven't advanced down the territory. I just think it would change the game to the point where now people are people love seeing those rim-to-rim trying to dunk on or blocks, and I think it might really alter the game in a positive way.

SPEAKER_02 5:02

I think you need to write a memo to Adam Silver and let him know what you think, and we'll see what he says.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

You're an attorney. Help me draft up something official. Let's get a 1% royalty on all the that could be a big check. On all the viewership, you know.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

That could be a big check.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

I have another. Do you like football?

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

I like all sports.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

So here's another cool theory about football. Here's another cool way to change the game of football that I think would make it more entertaining. Eliminate all special teams. Now hear me out. So if Patrick Mahomes is on the 20-yard line and he has 80 yards to go, he now knows he's playing with four downs. Okay. Now, the reason why you punt it on third down is because you're worried, oh, now this other team, if we give them the ball here and we go for it on fourth, they're gonna just be a field goal away from scoring.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

But now they're not a field goal away from scoring. They have they still have to advance the ball all the way to a touchdown. Right. I got you. Dude, get rid of punts, get rid of kickoffs, get rid of field goals. Turn that bitch into some rugby style and just make it football.

SPEAKER_02 6:11

So just make it uh pure four downs, and then if you don't get there, you turn the ball over. You have to go. They've got to do the same thing the other way. Yeah. All right, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

I'm telling you.

SPEAKER_02 6:22

It actually makes sense, yeah. Yeah. You know, it does make sense.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

And it would I they would obviously have to practice it and see how, you know, do some like preseason games with it. And I'm sure they'll never do it, but uh yeah, no.

SPEAKER_02 6:33

That's another memo you can write to the to the NFL. Get a one percent.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

Yeah, one for every sport.

SPEAKER_02 6:40

You'd be fucking loving it. If one lands, if one lands and you're connected to it, forget about it.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Yeah. No, I I love sports. I um you know You look like an athlete. I was, I was a I was a good athlete. I was the quarterback, punt return punts, kicks. I played varsity basketball in ninth grade. I was really good. But I I was a knucklehead, dude. I really was. I was I was unparented.

SPEAKER_02 7:02

Yeah, me too, kind of, in a certain way. Wow. I had like I listen, I love I love my parents, and they were good parents, but I was kind of unsupervised and left to my own devices. So I had so I don't want to say I don't I don't want to say I didn't have parents. I did. But like they were working and they were busy with their shit, and I was kind of left on my own devices, and that let me run loose and kind of learn quick, you know?

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Yeah. Friday night they weren't asking you where you are. No. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:28

They were just asking maybe why I was coming home with a black eye or you know, stupid shit like that, but it's because I was getting into trouble, you know.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

Yeah, now where'd you grow up again?

SPEAKER_02 7:38

Down here in South Florida.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

Oh, in South Florida. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:41

Okay, my dad's family's from the Bronx.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

Okay, okay. Because I hear I hear it in you. I hear it.

SPEAKER_02 7:45

Right, yeah. I talk like my dad a little bit. My dad's from my dad's from Pellin Parkway in the Bronx, which is like a classic Italian, Irish, Jewish neighborhood. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

So you grew up where in South Florida exactly?

SPEAKER_02 7:56

Uh Parkland, Carl Springs.

SPEAKER_00 7:57

Okay, cool. Yeah. Okay. So what does a troublesome teenager do in Parkland and Carl Springs on a Friday?

SPEAKER_02 8:05

It's weird. Where we grew up, um where we grew up, everybody was just always trying to show everybody how tough they were. And it's stupid because a lot of people, like, they came from like good families or came from money. Yeah. But it didn't really matter. Uh you know, everybody wanted everybody had a chip on their shoulder. And everybody wanted to show everybody else how tough they thought they were. That was like a thing when I was growing up. Um and we also were there was like a diverse mix. There was also people from lower income, and then you had really, really high income. Uh, but drugs were around a lot. You know, fortunately I've known a lot of people that have died from like overdoses and stuff like that. South Florida. So the South Florida suburban culture in Broward County where I grew up with, where I grew up was a little wild, and it there's like an underbelly to it, and I was part of that underbelly, you know, for better or for worse, so I got exposed to a lot young, probably.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Interesting. So I don't know the South I I've been living down here six years, but I only know Meisner Park and Atlantic Avondel Ray. I I call it mature fun. Yeah. I I haven't really witnessed the knucklehead scenes. Sure.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Well you're not going to in those areas for sure. Yeah. You're not going to. But you're also older, you know, so when we were teenagers and stuff, we would stay out late. We would go to warehouse parties, and you know, if another school was there and there was some, you know, piss and vinegar on their side and piss and vinegar on our side, we would get into a fucking melee. You know, it's just the way it was. And I also, you know, I had some friends that were legitimate tough guys too, you know. But that was kind of a thing growing up, and it started for some weird reason in like middle school. It was a fucking war zone. I went to Coral Springs Middle, and it was a fucking war zone. Okay, it was nonstop fighting. If you didn't stand tall and fist fight, you were a pussy, which was like the worst thing you could be in school.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Got punked, right?

SPEAKER_02 10:11

Yeah. And look, some people strayed away from that kind of idiotic behavior. I didn't. I went right in with a full head of steam. And you you either win some fights or you lose some fights, and you just live to fight another day. And that's kind of how it was when we were growing up. And it sounds fucking ridiculous, and it is fucking ridiculous, so I'm not glorifying it, but it's it's the reality that I grew up in. And like anyone from my demographic guys, I still talk to to this day, they'll tell you that that's how it was.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

Well, you're not, you know, listen, let me let me let you in on some of my past a little bit. I'd love to hear it. Yeah, because I want you to feel even because I want to ask more questions about this. I'm blown away by this because I think it's so cool. And this is why I started this podcast. Sounds like you were a knucklehead, hung out with the knuckleheads, and today you're this wildly successful personal injury attorney. Thanks. Right? Like, look how well dressed you are, look how charismatic you are, and uh polished you are. And a lot of people, when they meet me today, they're like, they can't even believe I was who I was when I was younger. So I in middle school, I lived in this town called Greece, New York, and it's a big suburb. It's probably a hundred thousand people, it's large. Yes, heavy Italian community, and a lot of the community is also bordered, a lot of the community borders the city, so you get a lot of urban and lower income infused into hardworking Italians.

SPEAKER_01 11:39

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Right? You know, yeah, you tried drugs at 11, 12 years old.

SPEAKER_02 11:45

That's young. But you know what? That kind of shit was going on too where I grew up.

SPEAKER_00 11:49

Yeah, it's like, you know, you're just that's what everybody's doing, and that's what the cool kids are doing. Dude, I lost my virginity when I was 12.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

Fuck, that's that's pretty that you beat me. You beat me.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

I mean I'm not gonna name drop her or nothing, but it's that's good.

SPEAKER_02 12:04

I'm not gonna name drop any women either. My wife will fucking kill me anyway.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

And uh, but that was like, you know, like we would have the parties, and you know, we're in middle school, and like once you're done with the party, you grab your girl and you do whatever you're doing. It wasn't kissing.

SPEAKER_02 12:22

No, and in in middle school, you know, I have daughters now, so I look back and I'm like horrified at the kind of shit that used to go on, but there would be like oral, and I'm not saying I took plays in this stuff, but or there would be oral sex in school, like behind portables and shit. And I like at the time when you're a kid, you don't think that's crazy at all. Like we're just all growing up fast. But like now I have like daughters of my own, and I'm like, oh my god, like I can't, and so I right away I told my wife, uh, our daughters are going to private school, uh starting at at a minimum in middle school, you know, because you uh you want to shelter them from that kind of stuff. But yeah, I you know, not to interrupt you, but no, no, no, yeah. We we dealt with the same stuff. It it it it was like that, and it's like, you know what it is? You know that movie Kids? Yes, you know, that's like a more extreme, and it's obviously in Manhattan, but that's like an ex kind of an extreme, but not so extreme version of like the way I grew up, in a sense that like kids were growing up way faster than they probably should have been. Yeah, and not all kids, because they're I'm sure even in your neighborhood there were people that didn't get into that shit for sure for whatever reason. Either their parents were all you know, helicoptering them or maybe they had it internally where they were never gonna go in, you know, south. But you did apparently, I did, for whatever reason, we dabbled in that shit, or at least were exposed to that kind of stuff. And it makes you grow up fast, but some people don't turn it around. You know, so I got friends that you know they kept going south and now they're in prison for the rest of their life, or they're doing a couple decades, or you know, they're just getting out of prison. I just fortunately pivoted and it you know and I wasn't not a perfect story. It's not like I made an immediate pivot and never got in trouble ever again, but you start to you start to turn the boat a little bit and hopefully you start getting away from that shit. And fortunately I had some luck and I was able to swim out of stuff and then you know get to where I'm at.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

Are you a spiritual person?

SPEAKER_02 14:28

Spiritual in the sense that I believe very much in good karma.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Okay. Um there's something so there's something uh influencing luck.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

I I I believe in that very much. I believe I believe it I believe the energy that you're putting out will come back and reward you a hundred percent.

SPEAKER_00 14:48

See, I think I've I believe that energy is God now. Yeah, I do. Good for you. I do. It took me a long time to get there. But you said something so fascinating. You said I got lucky. And I can tell you there are a hundred times that I got lucky. I should have been in jail, I should I should have overdosed on drugs, I should have got a s td, I should have gotten I'm embarrassed to admit how many girls are pregnant. And I just got lucky and lucky and lucky and lucky and lucky and lucky. And eventually I kind of started putting it all together and I go, wait a minute, like what's like I'm a good mathematician here. How much how much luck can I get? And it I don't want to say dawned on me. It took me to age 44 to get there, but I said, Oh my god, God is God has a hand in in my life. So I think whenever I hear these stories, you know, I I would encourage you to look back and see how lucky your ass has been and and wonder if it's just a mathematical anomaly or if there's I don't think that it's a mathematical anomaly at all.

SPEAKER_02 15:56

There's something there's something there. And I don't know what that thing is, but I believe that some good decisions that I've made because I've always been a a generous person. I've always been the person that will give my friend the shirt on his on my back. That's just how I was. That's part of the reason I got into ten million fights growing up, is because you know, if you were fucking with a friend of mine, I stepped in immediately, you know, but for better or for worse. Uh but I think I think putting goodness out into the world does come back and reward you, and there is a greater power to that. And I have been exceptionally fucking lucky because there's all so for the things I did get in trouble for, there's a million things I didn't get in trouble for or I swam out of, and it was just luck.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

Because it could have it could have been very different for me.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

So this is how this is how many fights I got into when I was a young knucklehead. The school I went to was like, have you ever seen uh Euphoria?

SPEAKER_02 16:55

That's another show that kind of like straddles this reality.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

Yeah, but it's kind of that's most of the country.

SPEAKER_02 17:03

Yeah, no, and that's that's what was crazy for me to see. It was like I was finally seeing this on like a national television show. I'm like, yo, that's kind of how it was. And I'm telling my wife that. I'm like, yo, that's kind of how it was for real.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

That's what I told my wife too.

SPEAKER_02 17:17

And she's kind of looked, and she drove South Florida too, but she was more of like a goody two shoes, much more than me. She's like, Yeah, maybe a little bit. I'm like, no, kind of a lot of bit. Like it was a lot like that. Yeah. I watched that show. Like I felt I felt the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

The connection we're feeling on that right now is crazy because I watched it and I was like, I told my wife, my wife is a goody two shoe. I told her, I was like, babe, that's kind of how I grew up. Right. Like, like I was I was one of the bad boys in Euphoria. Right. You know?

SPEAKER_02 17:44

Yeah. It it that's so funny you say that, bro. I got like chills hearing you say that. Because when I watched that fucking show, and my buddies and I that I've been friends with for 25, 30 years, we were like texting, like, yo, have you seen this show? It's like, it's like based on how we grew up, and like everybody agreed.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

I love the show. It's just the first episode. When you show 150 penises and they're insinuating that they're 15 and 16-year-old boys, even though you know they gotta be 18. I look at my wife. I'm like, babe, I can handle you know one here and there for the effect, but I'm like, 150 dicks? It's kind of weird. This come on. And thank God that was only it was prevalent throughout the show, but at least it calmed down. But if they would have kept that up, I never would have.

SPEAKER_02 18:33

You know that kid at uh Angus Cloud, uh, the one that plays like the kind of hardcore white kid who's really cool. He's like got a soft spot for the main character.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

He's got the bald head, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:43

He's like got the shaved head and the deals dope.

SPEAKER_00 18:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

You know, we got he died of an overdose. He's not in the show anymore.

SPEAKER_00 18:49

Yeah, no, I haven't seen the new episode or the new uh series.

SPEAKER_02 18:51

I haven't either.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

Fuzzy? What's his name like Fuzzy or something? Uh something I I'm trying to remember what Yeah, but he was of such a popular character.

SPEAKER_02 19:00

Yeah, he was a real well, you know what was cool is he, you know, you I ended up finding out he was kind of playing himself. Wow. Which is consistent with how he died because he ends up overdosing in real life, that actor. But like I saw like interviews of him and I read up on him a little bit, and he was kind of playing himself. He wasn't really acting, is interesting.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

Dude, when I was in this is how bad of a kid I was. When I was in s uh seventh grade, I got so angry at a teacher that I I went up to her and punched her. In seventh grade.

SPEAKER_02 19:33

Okay, that's fucking wild, bro. Punched her. That's not something I would have done.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

Yeah. No, I was crazy.

SPEAKER_02 19:39

Now you you sound like you're a fucking berserk.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

Now, this is pre-puberty, fortunately. Punched a fucking teacher. You had to get expelled. Oh, the second, yeah. I I had I was home school the second half of my seventh grade year. I was a bad kid. And this was like a euphoria. This was like a bad euphoria TV show type school. This was, you know, don't get me wrong, good kids, bad kids, but there's a lot of troublemakers, you know. That's how my school was. And I was such a troublemaker, and I got into so many fights, I got completely kicked out of the school district.

SPEAKER_02 20:12

Jesus. They were like, None of them wanted you.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

No, they're like, you gotta go. You gotta go. Now, my mother took me to this new high school, and this was like uh Brighton, New York, and it's um um a much more very affluent community, and I saw a completely different world of kids. Now, I thought a lot of them weren't that tough. Sure, sure. You know, playing football and basketball with most of them, you're kind of like, eh, you know, like like their best athletes go play soccer.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

Right. You know, not cut from your claw, that's not at all your feeling at that time.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Exactly. Yep. And uh, and I just honestly, and I don't mean this to insult them all, but I'm sure they're great men today, but I just thought they were kind of nerdy and dorky. Sure. I probably would have felt the same way. I was like, I was like, we're the hot cheerleaders, and like you guys are squares, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

I get it. I probably would have felt the same exact way.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

But it did, but it did make me help me see that there was more to life, and I was like, wait a minute, this that's good. This kid's 16 and he's got a Lexus truck. Like, what do his parents do? Oh, his dad's an attorney, his mom's a doctor. And I'm like, oh, that like that's real life. And and it did open me up, and I and I, even though I really still struggled in high school, it's my eyes were opening sure to the possibility of success. If I would have stayed in that other district, if I wouldn't have gotten kicked out, I don't know if I would have seen the possibility of success.

SPEAKER_02 21:38

Well, was the district poor?

SPEAKER_00 21:39

The definition of middle class.

SPEAKER_02 21:41

Got it. See, like where I grew up, see, I was always in the lower middle. Lower middle. I got it. So like we had a mixture of low we had some we had some poor areas, but most most of the people at my high school had money. So it was an affluent community at Stoneman Douglas. So I saw, you know, I come from like upper middle, but it was kind of a struggle in my house. It was uh the bills were tight, m financial stress was a major part of my family.

SPEAKER_03 22:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:14

Um, and I hated that because it was the reason my parents fought all the time, caused dysfunction in my home. Um, but I had friends who their parents were uh tremendously successful from a financial standpoint, and I always wanted that. So, in the same sense, my I always had this desire to be financially successful. It just so happens that along the way when I was young, I was doing things that were counterintuitive to that. Because I think I believed it would all shake out. Um, and then um I didn't get into any colleges. Uh I didn't get into any major university because I I had a weird transcript. Like I would write for the newspaper of the school and write for the yearbook and get awards from the Sun Sentinel, and then I'd have F's and math. So I had a fucked up transcript, and then I had a uh a criminal record. You know, I had two first degree violent felonies and was locked up in high school. So I didn't get into any schools, and that scared the shit out of me. You know, because I'm watching everybody else go off to college, and I'm, you know, not to disparage community college, but I'm starting at a community college and I feel like I'm I've totally underachieved because I knew I was at least bright enough to get into a good school. And then I was like, holy shit, am I gonna end up being one of these people who struggles financially for the rest of their life? And I just did not want that to fucking happen because I watched what that did and the stress that it caused my family. Um, and that's when I really started to change. I really got booked heavy into the books. I got straight A's all through community college, and then I transferred to Florida State, and I still had knucklehead ways. It's like that's why it's not a clean story. I was still actually getting into fist fights and having idiotic behavior like that, even when I was in college, and frankly, even sometimes in law school. Uh but I was still I was very disciplined with the books, bro.

SPEAKER_00 24:14

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:16

And that and because I just I was fucking, you know what it was? I when I have like I'm when I meet somebody who's young and they're like, what made you end up being successful? And uh to me, I always say fear. I was fucking scared as fuck to be broke or scared as fuck to have like no freedom in my life because I'm a slave to trying to make money to survive, and I just didn't want that. I don't give a shit about buying nice things. That's nice, but it's just nice to have the freedom to be able to if if I want to take my family on vacation, I have the ability to do that. You know, just stuff shit like that.

SPEAKER_00 24:52

So I would always when I was in high school, I always had this, and it tell me if you can relate to this. And and maybe in you can relate to this in the way that the kids that went to good colleges out of high school and you went to community college. I remember I would always look at these kids and they were better off than me, but they were not better than me. I always had this inner confidence. I'm like, the only thing you got over me is a better daddy. I go, when it comes time to grind, and it comes time to to wow a room when I'm 25. I always knew when I was 16 that I was I was more capable than than everybody around me. So I I even though I didn't have the economic means or even the right temperament at this time, I always had confidence in myself. And I feel I'm feeling from you that sense of fear that you had was no no, I I know I'm just as good as these motherfuckers.

SPEAKER_02 25:52

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 25:53

Right?

SPEAKER_02 25:54

I did feel that way, a hundred percent. I I I had a chip on my shoulder. A hundred percent. And look, my my parents instilled a lot of confidence in me, especially my mom. My mom was always like, you know, thought I could do everything, and she would tell me that, and that was a major force in my life. And then my dad was kind of like just always telling me I was an idiot, and I love my dad, but my dad was never gonna like sugarcoach shit with me or give me like pats on the back. I play listen, my dad was my basketball coach my whole life, and I sat the bench on his teams. You know what I mean? It's just how my old man was. Um But anyway, uh uh, you know, my my parents had a lot to do with the confidence that I ended up having, and I did have I did have that confidence, and I still have that confidence, and that helped me push forward. And it's it's the the dichotomy is interesting because a lot of the people that had a lot of money whose parents spoiled them and bought them amazing vehicles, and they had all this kind of shit that now I'm just buying for the first time in my life at 38 years old that they had when they were 16, it didn't really help them. It hurt them because they didn't have that instinctual desire to obtain things and to achieve things because it was all already given to them. I know a few exceptions, and there's some big exceptions. Um, but for the most part, the overwhelming majority of the people that were spoiled in that way, using that word, that's what it is, in my opinion, it didn't help them for the long term. And now it's it's strange to see those people that I grew up with, they kind of struggle now. And they might even still have money, but it's like their parents are kind of controlling their life, their parents are funding everything, their parents are making decisions for them, and it's like, holy shit, dude, you're 38 years old and you still haven't figured it out. And now I'm on my own two feet, on my own, independently doing things to help my family, not having anyone help me. So, and you maybe have seen that you know in your experience, but that that's how it was down here.

SPEAKER_00 28:00

Well, let me so unpack that. You said that when a parent spoils, because I'm about to be a parent here, right? So this is my own selfish reasons here. When a parent spoils their child, you said that it's detrimental to them.

SPEAKER_01 28:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:19

Why is it detrimental? What is it mechanically that's going on psychologically that hurts them?

SPEAKER_02 28:26

I think that they're not able to develop that hunger for more. It's already been given to them, so they have no appetite for it. You know, when I saw when I saw my friends' fathers, you know, driving S-Class Mercedes-Benz's, I was like, I want that. And you kind of alluded to that earlier, that when you went to this new school district, you saw how these people were living and it developed an appetite for you to be successful. Well, it's hard to have that appetite of success when everything is just being handed to you. And I I I don't think that you know you should not reward your kids for good hard work, but there's gotta be levels to that. If you're driving an S-class Mercedes or any Mercedes for your first car, you're you're not living in a real-world reality. So I think it sets you back. And there are exceptions, you know, everybody's different. I know one family, you know, I'll I'll just say I know I know one family, uh, the guy is a major, major developer. He's a I think he's a billionaire at this point. He's from Parkland. His kids ended up being very independent and successful. So like he's a family that's a family I think of um that is the exception to the rule. But a lot of families that were and maybe and maybe that's because the patriarch of that family wasn't spoiling his kids. He just happened to be very wealthy. Um, but the overwhelming majority of kids that were spoiled, that were just being given shit, given shit, given shit, luxury item, luxury item, luxury item, it didn't help them. And I also look back at that and I wonder, were those parents spoiling their kids because of how much they love their kids, or was it a way for them to try to show off to everybody else what they have? Whatever the reason was really doesn't matter because at the end of the day, based on the percentages, you're not helping your kid.

SPEAKER_00 30:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:41

In my opinion.

SPEAKER_00 30:42

The the big shift that I had going from Greece, New York to Brighton, New York, yeah, I literally went from the west side of town to the east side of town, is on the west side of town, the reason why you are popular is if you were in good shape, you were cool, you were tough, you were an athlete. Right. And then the big culture shock for me was the kids that were popular on the east side of town were the kids with the rich parents.

SPEAKER_02 31:08

Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 31:09

Right? Because everybody would go to their parents' house for this thing, and you know, people just kind of admired them for wealth, and that was like, whoa.

SPEAKER_02 31:21

Well, see, it's the interesting part is the first your first district is probably based more in reality and the things that actually matter, like what kind of a person are you, whereas you know, this this this next phase of your life is more about what things somebody has. I can't really I don't like that mindset, you know. I wanted to I wanted to uh obtain you know financial freedom. That was my goal to make it to improve my family. But in pu in terms of this South Florida, because we we got this big time down here, this showing off bullshit. I'm not into it. Like I don't give a shit what kind of watch you have. Uh I don't care what kind of car you drive, I don't care what kind of house you live in, what kind of a person are you? Yeah, you know, I've got friends, look, I got buddies that they don't do as well as I do, so I take them to dinner, I I pick up the check. That's what you should do.

SPEAKER_03 32:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:14

But some you'll see, and I've you may have seen this, I don't know how long you've been down here, but some people just try to cling on to other rich people. Yeah. Cause that they think that they think that that's meaningful. That's what develops a meaningful relationship. Who gives a shit?

SPEAKER_00 32:30

Yeah. Yeah. No, I have I have uh no, no, interesting. My my wife and I do a podcast too, and we were trying to define the difference between social climbing and leveling up. Because right, because that feels like a social climbing. Yes. Yeah, but then there's also leveling up, like I want to be the I want to be the poorest, least knowledgeable, least experienced guy in the room.

SPEAKER_02 32:53

That's true.

SPEAKER_00 32:53

Yeah, yeah. But what you're talking about is social climbing.

SPEAKER_02 32:57

Yeah, and I think the difference is leveling up is you're trying to better yourself and but you're not relying on somebody to take care of you. You're you're basically looking for growth internally. And I think social climbing is more about projection externally. You're you're trying to you're trying to fake a reality, not make a reality. And I can't respect that. You know, I respect people that try to make it reality. And I worked with people that try to fake reality. They still fake reality. I'm not into that. I can't respect that.

SPEAKER_00 33:37

So let's keep taking me down the path of your so of your journey. So you went to Florida State, get your degree there. What was your origin what was your um undergrad in?

SPEAKER_02 33:49

I did business management.

SPEAKER_00 33:50

Business management, okay.

SPEAKER_02 33:51

Then I took a year off, then I uh got into Florida State for college. Uh okay. Uh for for for law school. For law school. Okay. So I'm a double seminal. And then uh after that I uh I started on the personal injury side. Um I was actually at a def a large defense firm representing the insurance companies, and then I realized very quickly I didn't have a stomach for that. I didn't like being against um a human being and representing an insurance company. So what what was happening is I was against somebody that was injured by, you know, let's say it was a motor vehicle collision, you know, a company truck plowed into this person from behind, caused them to need a neck surgery. I was defending the company truck and the company through the insurance company. And I didn't like that. So then I jumped over to the plaintiff side, and then that that's where I've been ever since, representing people.

SPEAKER_00 34:43

Let me let me ask you this. This is my I I know I've actually worked with a ton of PI attorneys over the years. I mean probably 150. Wow. Oh, easy, oh yeah. I had a talk. No, no, definitely. Yeah, and I have I got the secret sauce for you, I really do. I'd love to hear it. Yeah. Um I think that this is correct me, what I just heard is interesting from you. Let's say um let's say Susan gets into a car accident and has a traumate traumatic brain injury. Is the insurance company trying to pay zero or are they trying to pay as uh little as possible?

SPEAKER_02 35:19

Both. Now, if there's if there's a case of uh clear liability where like clearly Susan did not cause this crash and the the insured, the company vehicle did cause the crash, like a rear end crash is a classic example of that. The insurance company knows they're on the hook for something, but they're gonna do everything they can to pay as little as possible. Wow. Even to the point where you know these insurance companies will go to the hospital sometimes and meet with somebody that's maimed or very injured, and act like they're philanthropically there and offering, hey, five thousand dollars, ten thousand dollars, and we'll cover your medical bills. Just sign here, sign this release. Meanwhile, that claim the real value of what this person has lost and what they're gonna go through for the rest of their life could be worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions, right? But they signed that dotted line um with the insurance company and took a quick check. So the insurance companies, look, I don't want to make them out to be the devil. You know, I'm not I don't believe in what that guy, whatever his name is, Mangioni did, you know, killing that uh insurance guy.

SPEAKER_00 36:32

Yeah, yeah, you know United Health or a camera.

SPEAKER_02 36:34

Right, crazy. Uh but for sure the insurance companies are not trying to look out, okay? They're not in the business of looking out, they're not in the business of um, you know, paying high or can measure it compensation on claims. They want to save money.

SPEAKER_03 36:51

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:52

And so what I do is we fight against that. You know, that's our that's our job as plaintiff lawyers.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

Yeah. Wow. So I remember one time I got into a got into one accident in my life. I was in the passenger seat, and my passenger seat got nailed by an oncoming vehicle. So the the impact hit me directly. And, you know, we spun out a little bit. Both cars were totaled. I actually felt okay. I was like, whoa, I, you know, I got a couple. Yeah, I felt okay, but they they did ask me, they were like, Oh, you know, how do you feel? And I said, I said, uh, my neck's a little tight, my shoulders a little tight. I go, but I'll live. I'm probably 21 years old. Got a call the next day from Geico, hey, we'll give you $800 to settle now. And it was like, and I just that opened up my eyes to the insurance game. Like they were just trying to get it just done.

SPEAKER_02 37:44

Off the books, correct.

SPEAKER_00 37:45

Yeah, just you just be done with it, you know.

SPEAKER_02 37:47

Because they don't want, they didn't, they're trying to get you to sign that release before you go out and hire a plaintiff lawyer.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:53

I don't know what, I don't know if you if it was a temporary injury, but there are situations where you know somebody has that tightness in their neck, it feels like a strain. And they're like, Yeah, you know what? I'll probably be okay. Sure, I'll take the 500 bucks from the insurance company. Thanks. That's great. And then three months later, they're like, I'm still dealing with this. What's going on? And then another three months later, it's getting worse. Now it's extending into their arm. They have ridiculopathy. Now they're dropping things. They find out they have a disc herniation.

unknown 38:25

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 38:26

They settled the claim two days after the crash for 500 bucks or $1,000. Um, and meanwhile, now they're dealing with a ongoing systemic permanent injury that they're going to need medical treatment for. And there's obviously a a wide range of what that can end up looking like, but on the severe end, if you have a disc herniation that's impinging on the cord, you could be at risk for paralysis. You might need, require a cervical disc replacement where they take out a piece of your spine. Something that makes a claim, you know, worth $500,000 up into the millions.

SPEAKER_01 39:03

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 39:03

You signed, you know, unknowingly one year before, two days after the crash for $500, you signed away your claim. But the insurance company knows that. They know that that is a possibility that that could end up happening. But they want to get to it early so you don't so you don't end up hiring somebody like me. Because when I get a new client, they're not always immediately catastrophically hurt. You know, they they're telling me that same thing. You know, I'm sore in my neck and it's been bothering me, but I don't know if it's such a big deal. And what I tell my clients is, neither do I. I don't know that. I can't tell you that right now. What I can tell you is you should never sign a release right now. We need to find out how much insurance money there is. We need to find out how hurt you are and are going to be, and what your prognosis is. And that's going to take some time, but you need a lawyer there by your side to help oversee all this and to prevent you from killing your own potential claim.

SPEAKER_00 40:00

So would you suggest that anybody that ever slips and falls or gets in an accident always reach out to a PI attorney first? Is that like the first course of action?

SPEAKER_02 40:10

Immediately, and uh with the caveat that you should reach out to the right one.

unknown 40:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 40:14

And I'm I'm not trying to disparage my industry, but because there's a lot of great plaintiff lawyers that I uh consider my friends, colleagues, and family, people that I've strive to emulate uh and that I learn from to this day. But there's also a major group, particularly in South Florida, that are unworthy of the profession, in my opinion. Um because they don't do the work, they don't care about the client. So I always tell when somebody calls me and they're they're shopping between plaintiff lawyers, I don't I don't put the screws to people. That's not it, that's not in my repertoire. I'm very forthright. I tell them what they need to hear, and then they can make the decision. But what I always do tell them is you can you can hire whoever you want, but be careful that you hire the right plaintiff lawyer. Because there's a lot out there, frankly, that I wouldn't want representing anybody.

SPEAKER_00 41:15

And unpack that. What is it? What is it that an unscrupulous, I guess would be the right way, or scrupulous uh uh PI attorney, personal injury attorney would do that's not in the client's best interest?

SPEAKER_02 41:27

Well, one is not working, okay? Not working. They aren't working the file, they don't know the file, they don't know the client, and they don't care. They only care about signing up the case and then delegating it to non-attorney staff to turn the case over as quickly as possible. There's no strategy behind it, there's no work being put into it. There's uh personal injury firms that are MILS, and their business plan is simply to sign up as many cases as possible and churn them over. And I get it, yeah, you make dollars doing that because there you have such massive volume. But each client is being misrepresented because their cases are settling for a discount. Also, there's plaintiff lawyers out there that don't litigate. In other words, the insurance companies know that they're weak and they will not take a case to the mat, either because they don't know how to, they're too lazy, or they're afraid to do it. One of those three things exists. And this is prevalent with a lot of personal injury firms. How do you think the insurance company treats that client that's represented by that lawyer? They walk all over them because they know nothing's gonna happen. You need a plaintiff lawyer that's gonna take them to the mat. Oh, you're gonna send that back a bullshit offer to Sally Jones, my client? All right, it's on. I'm taking the gloves off. I'm filing a suit, and we're gonna litigate, and I'm gonna put the fucking screws to you until you pay my client what she deserves. And if that includes taking it to trial, let's fucking go. It's just like in the street. It's just like in the street. You know, like you can talk that shit at the lunch table, but I will show up after school. And there's a lot of guys that talk shit at the lunch table, but they didn't show up after school. That's what those plaintiff lawyers are like.

SPEAKER_00 43:16

Um, so I just love that parallel you just made.

SPEAKER_02 43:20

I think about this shit. Thanks, brother.

SPEAKER_00 43:24

Like I'm gonna put some gangster ass music in the minute on you.

SPEAKER_02 43:28

Listen, we're gonna say that's a good idea. But I think about why I am the way I am, and I and I think back on my life, and I'm like, I've always kind of been this way. And I'm I'm kind of still fighting, but I'm just fighting in a profession.

SPEAKER_03 43:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:44

And my profession that's the whole point of what I do is to fight. So it's weird that I, you know, I had this way about myself um as a kid, and it was something that got me into trouble, and now it's it's transcended. That and now I'm in a profession where it works for me because I have that motherfucker in me. It didn't go away. I just channeled it. I'm sure the motherfucker is still in you. It doesn't go away, it just gets tamed and put under control. But I'm sure it comes out for you in your business in the way that makes sense for your business. You basically channel that shit.

unknown 44:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:20

Like I'm not going to go punch the insurance adjuster in the mouth. Sometimes I want to. But no, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it the legal way. You know, I'm going to take it to you that way. I'm going to make you sorry that you fucked with my client.

SPEAKER_00 44:33

So I really want to unpack this for the someone listening to this. So I I knew this woman. She was working at a restaurant. She slipped and fell. And I can't remember if it was her hip or her knee, but something that truly she can't physically work. Oh, it sucks. Truly physically can't do it. And I know she reached out to a PI attorney and she was all confused by it. So is what you're telling me, and anybody listening to this, is that if she chooses PI attorney A, that's big firm that's just processing, and not all of them, but some of them. Yes. Just processing and manufacturing as many of these cases as they can. They delegate the paperwork in the case to lower level interpreters of it, and they just want to, you know, get their 50 grand and their 30% of 50 grand. And the insurance company knows that this attorney is weak. So that's how that case is going to go. Versus I hire myself an attorney that treats this like a fight, a PI attorney. Theoretically, now that insurance company knows, ah, goddammit, this this fucking attorney, fuck. They know they're into it. And potentially you could get 10x or 20x, and more importantly, what you actually deserve.

SPEAKER_02 45:56

Right.

SPEAKER_00 45:56

Is that what you're saying? That's 100% correct.

SPEAKER_02 45:59

And I I know that for sure is true because again, I started my career on the defense side. I worked for one of the biggest defense firms in the entire state, actually, the biggest defense firm in the state of Florida.

SPEAKER_03 46:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:10

Emails would go out like, hey, this guy, Mike Smith, he showed up on a case of mine as the plaintiff lawyer. What's the what's the 411 on him? Weak. He'll lay down. He won't take cases to trial. Mickey Mouse lawyer. Like you'd see that stuff go out. And then it would be Roger Jones, this is the plaintiff lawyer that showed up on the other side. And they'd be like, whoa, that guy's a dog. He's going to take it to you. And they might say, yeah, he's a straight-up guy. He's a good guy. But he's got that dog in him. Like he's going to take a case to trial. He knows how to litigate. He's not afraid. And those people get treated differently. And these insurance companies, they have metrics for somebody actually, a big time defense lawyer down here, actually recently talked about this on a podcast. These insurance companies have metrics on these plaintiff lawyers. So they know the timing typically of how long this plaintiff lawyer will handle the case, how they'll handle the case, and what distance they'll go for the case. And they basically are able to come up with a spectrum of weak and strong. And you want a lawyer that's more over here, not over here. Because that guy's a joke. And that guy might be on a billboard. Trust me, a lot of them are. But they suck, okay? And they're not who you want representing you. And let me be sure, there's some good there's some guys on billboards that are great. So it but the point is it it there's a there's a there's a wide range of of competency and aggression, and you want somebody that's on the right side of things, you know, not the left.

SPEAKER_00 47:52

You know, it's interesting. So in in my business, you know, as a marketing company, you know, what we let me let me rephrase this. It's hard for a consumer to understand which P which PI attorney is the fighter, which PI attorney is not.

SPEAKER_01 48:10

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 48:10

I think it's also difficult to understand, you know, if you're uh a business and you want uh to paint your office, it's tough to know which painters are legitimate and which ones are illegitimate, the ones that'll cut corners, right? Right. Um and uh I'm in the business of helping businesses stand out and kind of cut through the noise and look as credible and as reputable as possible. Because that decision, I I always put myself in the shoes of the decision maker. It is tough. What are some, if you could give advice out there, what are some indicators that you might not see on a a Google search? Are there any other indicators that you that a consumer could see to choose a good PI attorney?

SPEAKER_02 48:57

Well, I love that you asked that, because this is why I feel so personally about it, because I always have so much empathy for the consumer because they don't know and they get tricked and then they get fucked, and they never even will even know they got fucked. Um so you know, a good place to start would be looking at that law firm's website and their case results. What are their case results? And that sometimes, unfortunately, can be misleading too. Because yeah, maybe they've got like five bragworthy case results, but they did that over a 20-year period. Or like I I know some law firms that brag about case results that they obtained, but meanwhile, they farmed that case out. And they didn't do anything to get that case result. It was another high-esteemed lawyer that took over the case from a separate firm that got that result, but this referring firm was still attached to it. So even that can be misleading. But start with their case results and then knowing what questions to ask, and unfortunately that's where the consumer is weak. Do you litigate? If the answer is no, you shouldn't be hiring that lawyer, respectfully, because that means that they go into a gunfight with a butter knife. They're already at a disadvantage. Um you take cases to trial? When is the last time you took a case to trial? You know, how long have you been practicing? Are you a figurehead of the firm or are you going to be actually handling my case? Unfortunately, some plaintiff lawyers will lie about that. Every client I have has my cell phone number, so my track record speaks for itself. Um and I can say that and you can make this go viral and and and it's backed up. Every single client has my cell phone. That's how I roll. But those are the kind of questions that you should be asking your plaintiff lawyer because you really want to know who is this person that I'm hiring? Is he strong or is he weak? Is he a businessman or is he a practitioner? There's a lot of plaintiff lawyers that make a lot of money, but they're businessmen. They don't practice. They've never busted a grape, they've never drafted a motion, they've never gone in a courtroom, and they've definitely never picked a jury. Wow. So, you know, but they make a lot of money because they churn over a lot of business. To me, there's some things that transcend money, like my respect and dignity. Look, I'm in this to make money too. I'm not saving the manatees. Okay, like I wouldn't do this for free. But if I gotta make a little less, but do quality work and have a good reputation, that's more important to me. I don't need eight Bentleys, I don't need five homes. Like, I don't. Some people want that, and that's more important to them than anything else. And that's okay. That's your prerogative. It's not okay, though, when you're putting your interests over your clients because we took an oath. So my job is to do everything I can for my client. And I get rewarded for that too. I make money, but another way I get rewarded is through my reputation, which is more important to me than my money.

SPEAKER_00 51:48

Yeah. I I would argue the way the way you're doing business, I think we're in this world now where you know, you hear about like I'm very close to this one entrepreneurial community, and there was a trusted financial source there that was doing some crypto investing. Boom, we find out it's a $800 million Ponzi scheme. Jeez. You know, you hear about that, obviously the Bernie madoffs, you hear about, you know, the various crypto schemes, you hear about um, I mean, you can go on there's so many of them now. So many. And and then you hear about, you know, and listen, I I don't know if you know who Ty Lopez is.

SPEAKER_02 52:24

I'm name's familiar.

SPEAKER_00 52:25

He he's a he's like the first social media influencer. I don't know the situation, but it came out. He's involved in a Ponzi scheme. Usually when the feds get involved, usually they can't. It's a dunk, usually. Yeah, unless you're P. Diddy. Who knows what's going on there, right? But it's 99 out of 100, right? So, but whatever. So I don't I'm not passing judgment until the judgment comes down.

SPEAKER_02 52:51

Um that's good of you, by the way, respect.

SPEAKER_00 52:54

Yeah, no, for sure. Because you know, I don't I'm not hanging out with the guy, I don't know what he's doing, right? Um and uh I I I just think it's I don't think I know. Everybody's fed up with this nonsense. And and people are very suspicious. So I would argue today that the way you're doing business, I think in the next three or four years, you're gonna be extremely much more wealthy than the knucklehead not fighting for his client.

SPEAKER_02 53:24

Well, that'll be cool. I'll be happy about it because I like money too, just like the next man. I'm not, you know, I'm no, I'm no lord and savior here, but you know, it it there's just a way to do things and the way to treat people. And I I take the responsibility of being an attorney very seriously. Someone's hiring me at what might be the worst time in their life, and they're relying on me. And they don't have the knowledge to handle this on their own. So they're totally putting all their faith and their marbles in me. I've got to deliver. It's my job. Some people can look in the mirror every day and not, and you know, they can be lawyers and they don't care about that. You know, they're just like, how much money am I gonna make today? I I just I don't I'm an empathetic person. I don't I I can't relate to that.

SPEAKER_00 54:08

Let me ask you a flip side question. Sure. So the insurance agencies are insurance companies are trying to, you know, run their business, and you know, maybe there's a uh a lack of compassion there, right? But maybe it's har you know, the CEO of that company, it's hard to be compassionate for twelve thousand people or whatever the number of cases is. Not agreeing with it. What about the flip side? Have you ever witnessed an individual try to really unethically screw over an insurance agency?

SPEAKER_02 54:43

Like all the time. And and I'm glad you brought that up, because there is another side to it. Yeah. And I don't want to I'd be biased and misleading and untruthful if I said that there's not fraud that takes place and there's not plaintiffs out there that are full of shit. There are. Uh I like to I like to know that the clients I represent, I believe in their causes. And if I don't, I either reject their case or if I know they're full of shit, um, not only will I reject their case, but if another lawyer reaches out to me as looking at the case, I'll tell him what questions he needs to ask his client. You know, I dealt with this recently of a lady that um was telling me one thing happened and it was a fall, and then I obtained the video, and the video told a very different story, and let's just say the story was not good for her case. When I got the video, I rejected the case. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna perpetuate this bullshit. You're lying. You made this up, you wasted my time, which is fine. That's that's the risk I take. But this ends now. Like I'm not gonna pr I'm not gonna I'm not gonna take this bullshit one step further. Um I I have too many legitimately injured, suffering clients that need my help. Um so that does take place, and I think in the same way, I could sit here and be jaded and just bash the insurance company all day. Yeah. An insurance company could also become jaded and think that every single plaintiff claim is is fraud. And there's truth on both sides, because there is fraud that's perpetuated. There are cases that are injected with artificial bullshit and blow them up into what they're really not. Um that's not really the ethical way to handle the case, but a lot of plaintiff lawyers do that. So I understand I understand the knock on what I would call ambulance chasers, because that's what they are, and I can understand why an insurance adjuster could be jaded to any plaintiff lawyer. Hopefully, through your practice, you develop a reputation that this guy handles legit claims. This guy's not full of shit, this guy's a straight shooter. I I like to think that's my reputation. But yes, that does exist.

SPEAKER_00 56:58

Okay, so is it possible to say like like car insurance is expensive? For my two vehicles, dude, we spend like it's obscene. It's like $1,300,000, $14,000, $1,500 a month. It's obscene, right? It's like $20,000 a year.

SPEAKER_02 57:13

And it is ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 57:15

It's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 57:16

I know. When I'm paying insurance, it's like mind-blowing. Mind-blowing.

SPEAKER_00 57:19

Now, one could say, one could argue that, oh, the insurance companies are screwing us. Well, maybe the drunk drivers are screwing us. Maybe, maybe the reckless drivers are screwing us. Is it and I'm not trying to lead you, I'm asking this as a question. Are some of those people that are trying to abuse the system the ones potentially at fault for the insurance companies trying to be so scrupulous with other clients?

SPEAKER_02 57:48

They're a contributing cause a hundred percent. And this comes up in jury selection sometimes when we're when we're picking the jury. Yeah. You know, some jurors, a lot of times I'll get jurors that will say, you know, they'll raise their hand and they'll be like, you know, we're just so sick of all these um, you know, plaintiff lawyers or fraudulent plaintiffs just making stuff up and then making these insurance companies spend and causes our rates to go up. And they're not wrong, because that that does happen. There's another side of it too, though. Insurance companies fight very legit claims and they drag things out. And they spend, spend, spend, spend, spend defending a case when they should have just paid the person what they deserve. Um but the the answer to your question is yes. That is that a problem? Yes. Should that stop? Yes. And it's there's there's good and bad on both sides, and there's certainly bad on on the plaintiff's side of the fence. And really, the the kind of lawyers that I was alluding to earlier, they're a major contributing cause of the of either the fraud or just what I would just maybe it's not exactly fraud, but it's bullshit. You know? So yeah, it exists and it's a problem, and it is a reason that rates go up.

SPEAKER_00 58:59

So you gotta sift through a lot of this nonsense a lot of times.

SPEAKER_02 59:02

Like, yeah, but you know what? I I'm lucky in the sense that I don't really come into that very much. Like I don't have a lot of cases come my way that are bullshit.

SPEAKER_03 59:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 59:13

I've been fortunate in that way. And a lot, maybe that's because a lot of my referral sources, a lot of people that refer me business, which is really flattering, are other lawyers.

SPEAKER_03 59:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 59:22

They're not gonna waste their time referring a case if it's not legit. So I I'm just fortunate in that way. I don't get these Mickey Mouse claims. A lot of my claims are legit. Not all of them are massive, but I'm almost always dealing with somebody who is legitimately injured.

SPEAKER_00 59:39

What's uh so Wexler injury law?

SPEAKER_02 59:43

It's Wex Wexler and Wexler, because I is uh my wife is my partner.

SPEAKER_00 59:46

Oh, I didn't even know that.

SPEAKER_02 59:47

Yeah, my wife is legit and she's a badass attorney too. She is much more badass than me.

SPEAKER_00 59:51

I have no doubt.

SPEAKER_02 59:52

She's smarter than me, for sure. Much smarter.

SPEAKER_00 59:54

Wow. Okay. So yeah, that's uh, you know, what's it like working with your wife?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:01

It's great because we have a we have a great marriage, and I trust her, and you know, sometimes she's gotta kick my ass a little bit, and sometimes she's gotta tell me to chill the fuck out. But um, it's been wonderful. She's the best partner I've ever had.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:12

Do your strengths compliment each other or interfere with each other?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:16

I think they compliment each other. I'm more of like a type A maniac. Can't tell. And my wife is more like cool, calm, collected, and she's fucking wicked smart. She really is. So I think we compliment each other, and uh she makes me a better husband, father, human being, and and she does make me a better lawyer. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:35

So I uh my my wife, the best thing that ever happened to me, not even close. Good for you. Yeah, she um she brings out the gentleness in me, you know. And I and don't get me wrong, I have a very gentle side, but she's brought it completely, fully out, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:52

Um Do you know what do you know what sex your kid is gonna be? Daughter. Wait till your fucking daughter gets here, bro. It's amazing. It's amazing. Oh, I can see you get it. Yeah, it's it's amazing. Having daughters is is it's unbelievable. It really is. So I get that. My wife brought, you know, softened me up a bit, and then when I have my daughters, man, it's like how old are they now?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:18

Two and four.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:20

When when did having your four-year-old first just nail you?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:24

You know, the when she was first born, I had that moment where I was like, holy shit, but I'll be honest, and I I people laugh at me about this. I'm not I I don't really love the baby baby stage. They're like a fucking crying potato. I was kind of like, yo, there's something wrong with me. Like I'm not getting all mushy about this. When she started becoming like like getting close to one, and she starts to kind of become like a toddler and she's walking and talking, or like trying to talk, and they're they start to become a person, that's when it like really hit me. And then dude, when they come up and you get now, you know, I get home from work and they run up and grab my leg and they're like, Daddy, it's like, oh my god. You know, it's it's just it's it's incredibly rewarding. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:07

What are their names?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:08

Isla and Lena.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:09

Isla and Lena. Yeah. How do how do that how do I and Lena handle mommy and daddy being such hard workers?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:17

Well, we're gonna find out. We're gonna find out. They're so young at this point that I don't know that it's materialized. I hope that it's gonna inspire them to work hard. But they know what like Isla, my four-year-old, knows what work is. You know, she says, like, daddy's working, and then she'll say, Daddy, are you going to work shortly or longly? Like, if I'm lonely, it means it means I'm not gonna be home by the time she goes to bed. You know? So like sh they she they're they're picking up on this culture of hard work. Because my wife is a hard worker too, although she doesn't work as much as me because she also helps with the kids. We have a nanny. I'm very fortunate and blessed to have an an extended member of my family. My our nanny is basically family to me. Um But you know, the it's a culture that that that is very intrinsic in our family home, and I'm sure it will be that way with your daughter. I just can hope I'm just gonna try to do based on things we talked about earlier, I'm gonna do everything I can to to cultivate my daughters in a way that they will be driven to obtain their own success. And I think that starts in the home. You know, with how you raise your kids and the and the kind of model that you set for them.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:31

Yeah. I heard uh I heard somebody say something really fascinating about being a father. It's so uh with a daughter, it's so important for daddy to love his daughter up and down so she's not raised yearning for another man's attention.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:51

That is fucking on the money, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:54

Like that that's on the money. And my wife is big on that too, because she's a very independent um uh woman. You know, she never wanted to rely on a man. She doesn't rely on me. You know, she's she doesn't need to work, she still does because she has that in her. And you know, she's a self-made lawyer on her own. She met me when I had, you know, seven cents in my pocket. Um but that's so true. Like you're you're you can't raise your daughter to well, you in my opinion, you shouldn't raise your daughter to be seeking the love and uh seeking to rely on another human being, especially a man. Like they need to be able to establish their own footing and their own independence.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:39

Yeah, you you never want like all trust me, my you know, having a child, I'll be 46 next month, right? So having a and our daughter's supposed to be born in August, like my my mental shift has already occurred like not mental shift, but mental heightening because I've already shifted a lot the past five, six years of my life. But everything's about her now already, and it's everything's about her. Every decision I make is about her and my wife, and you know what example am I setting? You know, I will not let my daughter be in a household where she sees mommy and daddy fighting.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:20

Good for you.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:21

My my daughter will not be in a household where she sees daddy consuming too much alcohol.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:28

You know, I woke up on January 1st this year. And I'm not a I've never was a somebody that like struggled with alcohol. I but I don't have an addictive personality. But you know, I caught myself, you know, I have a nice pool in the backyard and I'd be like throwing them back on the weekend, you know, like on a Saturday, like I'd be throwing drinks back. And I wasn't ever falling down like you know, like uh Billy Madison, but you know, I'm impaired. And I woke up on January 1st and I said, I'm I don't want that shit anymore. I don't want my daughters to see that part of me.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:05

I don't even want that to be part of me. I've actually totally cut back on drinking altogether. I don't really drink anymore. Um if I might if I have a drink, I'm done. Uh I just don't want that in my life. But uh I don't want my daughters to think the standard of a man is somebody that gets impaired all the time.

unknown 1:06:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:24

And and I I woke up that and it sound this sounds like a made-up story because of like it was on New Year's Day, of course. I woke up a little hungover, probably a lot hungover. And I was like, you know what? I'm fucking done with this shit. Like, why? It doesn't, and a good friend of mine, Adam James, he's actually a motivational speaker, he's tremendous, but you know, he said something to me. I was telling him about how I just don't even have alcohol anymore. Uh and he said, you know, what value does alcohol even bring to your life? And it was like a profound, it's a basic question, but it's it it's profound. It brings no value to my life. And I and I'm not judging anybody who wants to have a drink. Do your thing, but I I I don't want to have that shit around my kids. And you know what? I didn't grow my dad, God bless him, my dad never drank or smoked, so he set a good stage for me. You know, he never I didn't have that, I didn't have substance abuse in my house. Thank God. I don't want that in my house. I don't want that to influence my daughters. And you know, somebody that I that's a mentor to me said to me, you know, if your daughter is seeing you get impaired sometimes, she's gonna eventually think that when she's looking for a partner, that's okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:34

Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:35

And I don't want that.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:37

Yeah, no, I I um I feel like I made a friend here today, dude. You're yeah, yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:43

Listen, you're cut from a good cloth, bro.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:45

I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:46

It's similar to mine.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:47

Yeah, no doubt. I uh I I've had an interesting life, you know. I um my the only family I ever had was my mother. She passed away about a year and a half ago. I'm sorry. And thank you. She and and we had a very fractured relationship, and um, you know, but a whole other story, you know, I met my father and the father's side of my family, and and I married into a really good family. My uh, you know, my brother-in-law works here, my sister-in-law works here.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:16

Oh, it's a family-run business.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:17

Good for you. Yeah, my my my wife and I founded it and uh found you know five five years ago.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:23

And good for you.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:24

Yeah, yeah. And she's she's uh she's much like your wife. She does a lot of the operations stuff. So even pregnant, she's back home doing that stuff. But I'm like the William Wallace. I gotta be here, you know, I am leading the charge, you know, as much as I can.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:39

Um I can tell you have great leadership qualities about you, and that's you know, but when I found out about you through Alex, um that's how he spoke of you.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:49

I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:50

So and that's I've been around poor leaders, as I'm sure you have. Guys that don't show up early to the office, guys that take long lunches and they and they're not here, guys that don't put in the work, but demand from everybody else, and that's not how you lead.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:05

It's interesting. I I don't want to uh go too much longer because I try to keep them a little short uh under an hour and a half or so, but my observation of a leader when I was coming up was what was accepted was because a guy can own a room and because he knows how to I don't want to say instill fear in people, but yeah, right, and almost be intimidating that that makes playing golf three days a week or you know drinking excessive amounts of alcohol or all the company and team bonding is always focused around getting obliterated.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:45

You're fucking nailing it, dude.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:47

It's crazy, and it's like so. I grew up as a guy in the mid-20s observing this, and I was like, oh, okay, that's what we do. And I and I fell in that trap, and you know, you know what a sales culture is, what you do on Friday night. You know, come on, these guys are wilding. Yep, you know, and it's it's nuts. Like, and I fell into that by the time I got to be about 32, I started to wake up. I'm like, this doesn't feel like winning. This doesn't feel like this doesn't feel like this is going against the grain of who I want to be.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:19

Good for you, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:20

It really was. And and and I really started to struggle with you know the environment I was in.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:25

And I dealt with that too.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:27

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:28

I'm no saint. Like, listen, I've been there, done that. Yeah. I'm done with that.

unknown 1:10:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:33

And that's not the way you lead, you know, and and that shit reflects on ref that shit reflects to your staff. You know, like I like I had made a decision, I'm not gonna drink in business anymore. And I know the podcast is running.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:48

No, you're good, you're good. I used to want to keep you two on.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:50

I um I I I made a decision that I don't want to drink in front of my staff anymore. You know, we would have like parties and stuff, and people would be drinking and stuff, and that's not how my staff should see me. You know, it's kind of like the same thing with my daughters, you know, but not that my staff and my kids, but they're looking at me as a leader, and I need to act that way. I need to own that responsibility. And you're not owning that responsibility by killing four Jack Daniels, you know, and like being sloppy or talking with a, you know, talking with a slur or having that glossy eye, you know.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:27

So And you look kind of stupid, let's be honest. We look at it. We look kind of stupid.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:32

And did you ever wake up after that? Like I I I would wake up after situations like that where I maybe I threw back too many. I was never happy that I did that the next day. I was like, I acted like a jerk off yesterday. And so maybe some of my friends would be like, oh, you're being too hard on yourself, chill out. But no, like I acted like a jerk off. Like I shouldn't have acted like that. I wouldn't have acted the way I did. I wouldn't have had that conversation. I would not have had that conversation if I didn't have that many drinks. I would not have used the language I used if I didn't have that many drinks.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:03

And you just get to a point, you know, you did it earlier than me. You you said at 32 that you cut that out. I mean, my compliments. But I got to a point where I don't want any of that shit in my life. Yeah. It doesn't bring value, it doesn't make me better, it makes me worse, it sets me back. Why would I bring it into my life?

SPEAKER_00 1:12:20

Yeah, I think I think I I know this guy to each their own, by the way. To each their own. To each their own. To each their own. And I'm not suggesting, you know, a guy drinks a six-pack a night in front of his daughters. I'm not suggesting that. But if the daughters are being babysat somewhere by the in-laws, and you want to have, you know, throw on some RB music with your wife at the house. Absolutely. And and, you know, and and you guys want to ru have a little bit together and get a little fun together.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:50

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:50

God bless you. Amen. But I but I think as example setters in front of employees and children, like you got to be that ultimate role model. And this is the cool thing about entrepreneurship. It forces you to bring out the best version of yourself.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:03

That's exactly right. That's exactly what I was thinking. You're not just doing it for them, you're doing it for you. Like, I this is it's not altruistic of me. Like, yes, I do want to be a good leader because I've I have empathy for the people that uh that work for me and that that are looking up to me. But it's also for me. Like, I'm a better person because of it. So everybody wins.

unknown 1:13:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:24

You hit it on the head.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:25

Yeah. Well, you obviously have a killer future. How do you do it? I'm excited. I think you're gonna have a bigger firm than you think in 10 years. And well, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:32

Maybe you can help me. We'll talk about that.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:34

Yeah, for sure, for sure. I got I got some tricks up my sleeve for sure. Do me a favor, uh, take a look in that camera, and for a quick 20 seconds, um, tell us if if who should reach out to you if they're considering a PI attorney, and if someone does decide to reach out to you, what's the best way to where can they find a phone number, website? Where should they look you up?

SPEAKER_02 1:13:57

So, yeah, anyone that has suffered an injury and you believe it's because of the negligence of somebody else, call me. Uh, I'm always available. And our website's WEX WEX injury law.com. And I'm also a good referral lawyer. If you're handling personal injury cases and you know you feel like the insurance company is not treating you right, or you know, you need to take the next step with the case, need to litigate the case, you need to potentially take the case to trial. I work out very good uh referral fee arrangements with uh referring counsel, and I'm happy to not just help your client get the result they deserve, but maybe I can share some things that teach you and make you a better lawyer yourself so you never need to call someone like me again. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:41

Guys, thanks again for tuning into the Gold Coast podcast. Like and subscribe. We'll see you again.