Episode 47 - Fishman | Car Curious

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it's really happening okay so it's it's finally recording now it is so fuck for

the people at home we're recording in person this is our second master tech

expo in person recording only time we've ever done a recording in person first

one was chip foos you can't tease it you know it's like I'm always thinking

you know what can it be next you know four times I was gonna have my own

TV show you know twice of course twice the producer dies right before the show

one of one time we did the pilot and was with the scribbles and corky corky

corker whatever the owner of tires he used to be the president of SEMA he was

gonna be the host of the show and speed channel got committed for 16 episodes

and do right when we were gonna start the producer producer dies oh geez yeah so

that's one of them then I was gonna do something for the discovery channel then

I was gonna do some other stuff then we came very close again with discovery

channel and they invested money once again right when it was gonna happen the

producer that was paying for the stuff dies so I got to the producers so you

know I could have my TV show it didn't happen what can I say but what I made

chip I don't know maybe 2008 actually 2008 when I built the Bel Air I've never

done an old car before I remember that too okay so I've never done an old car

before my life and and so this friend of my brother has the car and it wasn't

pretty good shape considering there's no car and because I'm not into old cars for

me it's piece of junk but for the world you know this car guys it's idiots like oh

my god they're like oh my gosh in great shape anyways so the owner he only had

about thirty thousand dollars max to put into this car well I'm very good

friends at the time with Keith layman he was the president of Kenwood and you

guys have been around especially you Gary you know Keith layman was president

of mbcourt and we go back 25 30 years and Keith layman was the first guy that

gave me my first shot when I opened up my shop you know so by this time by the

time you went with Kenwood I already have done some stuff with mbcourt I did

three projects with him so by this time he has a lot of confidence with me

because I've been mad at my work for whatever people may think about me

anybody ever hire me spend money with me when I say I'm gonna do something

unless I'm dead you know I mean like I will so anyway so I got this idea because

I'm always thinking so Keith layman now Kenwood is gonna have the new

boot space because Kenwood used to be in the other hall so instead of the

north wall I think they used to be in the south hall or whatever so they were

like I got this idea it's okay my buddy he's got the car he's got 30 grand I've

talked to Kim when I said look I got you the car and I got 30 grand and he's 75

more and I can have you the best show car and you move for CES just like that

he's like oh man that's a lot of money blah blah blah I said well maybe I'll

talk to Alpine maybe I'll talk to somebody but I'm gonna sell this to

somebody he already knows me he already knows that when I put my mind to

something I will find a company I will have a company to it for half the price

just to stick it up I told you so because believe me I did that with many

projects okay but anyways he goes let me think about it he comes back to me he

goes you know what fish let's do this so all of a sudden the $30,000 so the

deal was I talked to the owner so look there's the deal if I build your car

these are the rules I gotta be able to highlight Kenwood stuff and because he's

not a car guy he's like yeah do it so it's a win-win for everybody so anyways

we get the car in and I started building this whole car keep in mind I've only

used to be doing new cars so this is the first time I get to do this car so I

stripped the whole car apart and I realized the dashboard doesn't come out

the dashboard's metal and like I say I'm complete idiot like I mean so ignorant

about ignorant about this car because you know I'm not a car guy at all I don't

go to car shows I don't watch any of these TV shows I don't watch any of them

so strange I mean I don't want it's a weird too because I don't either I don't

go we've been over this what do you guys do with your time I watch sports I watch

sports I watch movies yeah you know so I don't care about the car shows because I

didn't grow up with a family with cars and whatever so so anyways these are

uncharted waters for me okay with this car so I stripped the car apart and I

spent like a week just this my little shopping Fresno and just staring at this

car and I'm thinking okay so I realized that he used to have a big bucket seat

in front I got rid of that and I got rid of the backseat so I say hmm I need some

bucket seats in this thing so I knew I needed something with metal you know so

I never got to junkyard before think about it put a week in there has never

been in a junkyard before that's very very rare okay so anyways I go to a

junkyard and I see these two seats they're like out of a Thunderbird

they so they all rusty they've been there for years I asked the guy how much

anyone like 250 bucks for these seats and I think the guys out of his mind

supposedly is a good price but I don't know because I've never worked in an old

car before so I went to a couple other places and I couldn't find anything so

I come back and I buy the seats so I stripped the seats so they can rechrome

the piece and stuff like that then my posterity guy so I started building this

car by myself so I five glass the whole entire floor the whole entire floor

because anyone carpet in this car so as I'm working in this car I don't know

what kind of theme I'm gonna do I saw the Belair shape you know that the fan okay

I wasn't gonna put the cover we actually have the cover in the room so one of

the guys brought it to me so I realized that's that's the theme that Belair

shape because this is a very ignorant I don't know anything about this car I'm

just going by what I think you know so the dash was got the two humps the

speedometer on one side and the fan in the other side so I go okay so that's

going to be the theme of the car so I started building this car built in this

car built in this car next you know since we since I don't watch any of the

TV shows I didn't know that you can take the body out of the frame of a car

that's how little I know about cars so next you know I guess some people

involved with the car next you know this guy comes in suicide the back doors

they take the frame the whole thing apart the pieces parts of these things

are all over Fresno and I'm just going over my head in this car okay and out

of all the deadlines that I've had this one I have to be the closest of that I

ever didn't make it okay so anyways we built this car and I started building it

and the more people saw it more people want to be involved with this project

and because I come from the car car audio world I'm gonna think differently so I

got to integrate all this Kim will stuff but it can't be in your face you know

I mean you know the car has got to be somewhere in the middle where it's

representing you know Kim what but it doesn't take away from them trying to

deal with the car you know so my comment says just trying to figure it out

long story short we build the car so 24 hours before we got to get in the role

to go to CES the chroming all the chroming is me it's not in the shop and

you know the body frame is done to do this part in six different shops in

Fresno in order for this thing to come together somehow next you know and I'm

in a corner with a router I'm just building stuff I'm just building building

my buddy Vito which has helped me out with a lot of projects from Boston I

remember him yeah actually there at fish camp yeah yeah yeah he's you know he's

one like my little brother so he's the one you know directing the stuff my

brother listen Fresno sees also helping out but he doesn't know anything about

cars either I'm in the corner just rottering pieces

rottering rottering pieces I'm barefooted because I'm flat footed so my feet

hurt so much so I'm barefooted in my shop okay so next thing you know the

body comes in the frame comes in they put it together and this thing is kind

of shape yeah you know so the motor recession in the background of you

remember that the whole floor motorized up and it opened all up well this kid

that was putting it together he screwed the TV in the wrong hole so I kind of

the panel the facade around it the TV wasn't where it's supposed to be so when

I went to close the motorization the TV was sticking out to winches because he

screwed it in the actual one to break it yeah because yeah so now I have to

redo the panel that I did because this idiot screwed this thing which I

explained to him like 50 times what not to do yeah maybe I said it 49 times I

needed to maybe do a 50 so his brain could have just raised her head so he

did it so next thing you know I have to build something in the next four hours as

tires I am I haven't slept like for two days so we were supposed to leave Fresno

at midnight to make it at a certain time to Vegas from Fresno to Vegas is about

eight hours okay we do leave Fresno till 7 a.m. keep in mind Keith layman with

Kenwood is taking a big gamble it was my first show car my first project as

Fishman audio and Fresno he took a big gamble putting all that money in this new

booth I got everything rolling in the sting this guy they scored for UPS he

saw this thing coming a mile away he went to sleep so he can drive us to

Vegas so we take up to Vegas at 7 a.m. in the morning the car sold apart we

threw everything we take off so I'm not gonna call Kenwood at 8 o'clock in the

morning to tell him we just left Fresno let me get far enough and they come up

with a story once we get to Barstow so we get to Barstow I call him up they

thought that I was already in Vegas oh no we have flat tire we have days I've

tried to come up with every excuse I can think of okay okay so dude you better be

here so now they hire you know in Vegas of that they have to hire like a

manager for the booth because so union yeah okay so the manager was in charge

and because of the manager listen know my relationship with Keith you know

typical you know oh but but but he's going off of me I'm like okay so when we

have lunch I came back and I told my buddy to put those panels back in the

car because when this car goes to Vegas it's got to look like it's finished he

got into trailer put everything together we take off so this guy every half

hours calling me every half hours calling me anyways we're getting very close

he goes you know Vegas once they close that door I don't care who you are once

they close that door it's over so this guy's calling me he's gonna be me

complete idiot just just going off and I'm trying to be so we like a half hour

away and this guy goes well it's your ass because they're gonna close the door

and this car is not gonna be able to come in blah blah blah so I finally call

Keith I said Keith he goes fish what's up I will tell you all about it once we

get there just please do whatever's in your power I'm almost there so the

manager gets back in the phone I said do tell the guy in the door whatever he

wants I'll pay him so the guys gave me 250 bucks I'll give you 10 minutes I go

I'll pay we got there pulled up in the back and of course the car doesn't start

oh shit keep in mind we haven't slept for days you know how that yeah so now we

have to push the car out of the trailer into the entrance and this guy's

look it's got the chain of the door in his hands it sounds like a movie we were

the last car literally the last car they got into Las Vegas Convention Center

and the door closed they got looked at me was my money I get they got 300 bucks

so now the problem is this you know Vegas but this time all the booth are

already set up yeah so it's not a straight shot to the booth so the

coordinator get with this route we have to push this car I swear to you about a

mile through all these aisles to get to the came what booth anyways we pushing

and you know that is everybody this is me what's going on and I'm lying to them

oh they don't let us start the car so we have to push it the car doesn't start

no but I'm not gonna tell people that okay so I'm just saying what's going on

guys guys you know these people they don't let us drive it so we finally said

the camera booth and we're like so everybody came when you know they're

putting the booth together and stuff like that we push the car so they want

to see this car you know and I'm like and I look at I look at me though and I

look at the other two guys and my brother was and I go look guys tomorrow

I want to give you a big you know nothing works yet so no I can't keep a

mind that everything looks like it's put together but nothing works yet that's

not even audio yet okay nothing works yet in this car well I'm stressed for you

even though this happens to you and you know and so of course key you know

campus got what the other guy one of those white boys you know what I'm

thinking he's hot shot no we want to see the car so we know tomorrow you know

how to sell bubba bubba and this guy just pushing and I want to keys and I go

keys please my buddy wait until tomorrow it will be so much better please I beg

you he looked I mean okay fish so he tells his man that you wherever the other

guy guy tomorrow morning so now we leave because they still put in the booth

together we get our batches so we can get in at night we went out we went to

the hotel we took a shower we ate something let's go back to the booth like

at 10 o'clock at night now the show opens like at what 9 10 o'clock in the

morning the first day we have like three days of work to do when it matters you

know 45 minutes yes no no we had like maybe six seven hours you know so you

know what somehow we put this card together keep in mind that this was a

year and a half after I lost my job I met her okay so this was my comeback

kind of deal so somehow we put this card together and my buddy say fish go to

your room take a shower clean up because you're gonna have to do with these

people I got this okay one two room clean up came back as I'm finished my

shower he calls me up he goes bring my clothes I'm done cards done well next

thing you know got back to the show for four days for four days that came with

booth was packed with people trust me I got videos that thing was packed nonstop

I never thought building a show car says that the Ram the street ran with

other motorization I never had more people around the vehicle because nobody

thought about taking an old car right and doing all these things but yet it's

still fit the car even though I'm breaking all the rules so at that point

chip fools he's doing so with our cardio okay so this is where chip foods

comes back right remember chip does anybody know who chip is so in that

time so chip foods come back into the and I really made chip like the year

before so he sees my expedition so he knows I'm not just some Latino that

cuts grass okay you know and lays up fire exactly so he knows I'm not like

that Latino I think you know I think he knows I can do a little bit so he

comes by and I started throwing the car unfortunately this stupid camera people

had the camera on him so he couldn't be himself you know he kind of held back

because he was being filmed without permission you know I mean so because I

met him before and I was able to be myself okay so he kind of held back but

he saw the car that many saw the seats he knows oh you got 65 you know Thunderbird

and I look at him as your chip I got video for the stuff so if anybody thinks

I'm lying trust me I got proof okay so you know he sees the car and at first he

couldn't really understand I was trying to do then I explained to him you see

this shape of Bel Air is here is there is there is there the motorization in

the back is the big fan of the Bel Air and then and then once he gets it he's

like oh you see when I say he got to understand what was going through my

mind so in that moment I'm thinking hey think about this yeah you're real

famous you're here and I'm here we all know however everybody likes fish and

chips how about we do a TV show where how about if we do a TV show so I told

how about we do a TV show called fish and chips creation but the funny thing

about the show is this you're mr. chip foods mr. car got a control I'm the

opposite I'm the idiot no cars but that will be you'll be fighting with me

telling me fish I don't want this I don't want that I'm not gonna lie that's a

that's a pretty solid if a TV producer out there and I go and I don't look I

know it sucks that my name's gotta go first however nobody you know chip and

fish doesn't it's gotta be but I don't think about this it's fish in chips

creation so at the end the s makes it you know and he kind of like so first

you gotta look at me like okay this idiot but it's funny this is a funny

story the next thing I'm at the hard rocker thing having a few local SSTs

and get his who shows up chip foods with Kenny Winshipper funny story I got

Kenny Winshipper's car in my shop right now which I'm going to be building

next isn't that funny but I did not know who he was because I'm not white

another white boy okay another one of you crackers okay so I'm like okay Kenny

well it was a skinny white boy I don't know but so Kenny so he comes and I

was the hard rocker thing you know me I'm drinking and I told you what you drink

a little bit so I'm there to come here buddy so I'm telling this stuff and it's

kind of laughing about it so the next year we are a SEMA and he comes by to see

the expedition because he heard that I changed it and it's funny this is a

funny story there was a little detail my expedition that I did and out of

everything that I did and chip promised me he was gonna come and see the car but

he was very busy because I see that he really was he will he's chip foods of

course and I do it if you come by so he was literally the last person that came

to see the car at the end of the show before I close it up in the little

detail that I have a brush in the inside of my pipes you know it had all these

pipes which I buffed the outside but I couldn't watch the inside and I brushed

it he was the only guy that stuck his finger in there he goes so I told him

chip someday and this kid came by he saw him and saw me he wanted to take a

picture with us so chip goes oh fishing chips so he actually you know so maybe

mine you know so you know maybe if you're listening produces out there think

about it because he's in the exterior guy I'm an interior guy I cannot sketch

I'm not a car guy but I think I can do some pretty cool stuff maybe we can do

something that's a wild story how is that for an intro right I mean I mean I

guess everyone buckle up holy crap holy crap hey ladies and gentlemen the

fisherman David Rivera finally on the podcast finally telling his story and

this is gonna fill in a lot of holes for a lot of people yeah I mean I don't I

don't think there's enough hours in the day to have this man on the podcast what

are you pouring there what is this so this was given by a listener of the

podcast what was Ahmed he was in the build-off Canada yeah from Canada he is

definitely by the round rail he is definitely team Maddie yeah well I know

because he brings me a bottle and you know what he brings me jack shit yeah

well I mean if you want to be friends with a fish man the fish addition can

use a Macallan 25 oh here to make daddy because I got a 15 and everybody can

so look buddy if you want some promotions out there so my question is why

isn't the McCallan 15 here right now well because we guess nobody nobody was

smart enough because you know what there's a certain guy here I'm not gonna

mention his name's Gary oh that dude Bill that's been 17 hours a day to give

it them with the three people of a sound quality car my gosh and because of that

madam he was waiting there for five hours in the heat waiting to get a year

and by the time he was done that's why we don't have the Macallan but you know

surprised you two are still standing after fathoming like just just straight

up just in the desert we had to wait for Gary for prop I mean they've closed

down MasterTech Expo audio control Gary's booth is fully being closed and

shut I think I don't even know if there's a booth left and there's still

people waiting for Gary's demo yeah I think that's a good thing it's a great

thing I am super stoked again I brought a fucking Prius to a car show

still cooler than a fucking Prius if you ever seen the bumper sticker it says cool

Prius dash no one ever right like I guess what it probably sounds better they

95% cars in the world yeah it doesn't matter it does okay it does okay we gave

somehow word-of-mouth spread yeah and I don't know I did not get out of that

car you might have to send the wife to go to our car together Macallan 15 you're

saying that you would send her to get the Macallan 15 out of the back of your

fish I thought I thought it was already picked up by transport no the car I have

two bottles I have one explanation I had a backup one oh in case that one got

broken stolen you had a you legit had a backup yeah man with a plan this is not

your 20 second rodeo I'm always have a plan B because I know things somebody

could have stolen that bottle I may have tempted people to steal that bottle let

me give an example I don't know if now I've never met not a copy for to the show

say not a cup was a drink my this is my drinker okay so there's my thought

process okay my sponsor wants me to cry over a $200 bottle yeah why don't you

say no yeah so of course I have to have a backup but since I didn't have to use

that backup it will be my pleasure to take care of my white brothers you people

you people out there other keys in the room maybe you people out there the

Puerto Rican that's supposed to be drinking Bacardi and because now I'm

half Jewish I can afford 150 $160 bottles I'm gonna provide the white

people with some serious serious drinking power you guys want a podcast I've

never understood racism before but I'm starting to understand you want to hear

story let me give it let me give a story before the mechanic is here very simple

okay between the three of us okay right everyone listening and the few

thousands of listeners that every week here this honestly honestly no no joking

between the three of us we leave between the three of us on a podcast you

realize people are gonna hear this besides the three of us check this out

honestly between the three of us right now tonight or tomorrow we give a

message to an unknown company to the marketing department because we would

like to do business with them okay any company out there okay you leave a

message Jerry Bell well you know you California kind of surfing and kind of

back then you got Mr. Max Schaefer here tell me something Schaefer is that beer

like like the beer Schaefer was a different spelling S C A J E F F E R

white names it's so weird it's pretty simple our IV alright it's very simple

white names my wife went from Club Nikin which is Russian hit the

bell and she was so pumped for the new last day we all three of us leave a

message to an unknown company right now okay you leave a message I would like

to get in touch with whoever whoever I would like to talk to you about whatever

this is where the racism come on I'm not even joking about this this is what

I put up with 35 years so you know I get it don't get it no you don't get it

because you don't have to deal with this okay very true yeah okay let's just

say this is 20 years ago when you were just a baby in the industry not a

hundred percent not today's not real life no no he was just a baby in real life

not today that day you Mr. Max Schaefer everybody think oh my god let

you say go back to 20 years ago yeah when you were nothing okay so like you say

you leave a message when I was a student at fish okay let's just go back so here

you leave a message to this one company he leaves a message and I leave a message

okay that we would like to talk to where here with my skills to do what I can do

but you leave a message because you're really anal you like very hi this is

Max Schaefer blah blah blah he's more laid back more California it was some man

this is David I'm the fish man we like to talk to you even though I can't do

things that you can't do who do you think when that person gets that message

gonna go back the white boy of course I know they're gonna look at this idiot

oh Mr. Max Schaefer so the secretary's gonna come hey I got through the message

I got Gary Bell I got Max Schaefer and I got this idiot so I'm lucky to call

fish man who do you think that person's going to go back oh that's the problem

that I've had to deal with for 35 years yeah people don't understand the

struggles that I've had to fight with in this industry for people to give me a

chance do you know I got 20 front covers think about this I got 20 front

covers and each one of those covers I have to get together with the editor

selling the idea selling the everything I'm sure Steve Brown Alpine didn't have

that problem you see what I'm trying to be very honest as funny as you think this

is I'm being very honest you have guests have no idea how tough it was like

phrases today in this world it's a lot easier for Latino to get into any

industry because the way the world has changed of course yeah 30 35 years ago

when my heavy accent very perfect simple when I first saw cold car out in

back then I call him up I wanted to talk to him say hey I got this car it's got a

fish tank and I call it from Boston this guy did not give me the time of day I

asked if I was 91 came and I saw this tall little glinky white boy come in

walking around I recognize his face from the magazine he's looking on the car he

go hey you like this car I go remember that stupid idiot they call you like

three months ago I tell you I was gonna have a front cover of your magazine and

you wouldn't give me the time of day well my goal was to have my car in front

cover car out of magazine because they will not put a car especially demo car

in their magazine it took me four years but I did it with the RAM I was sick to

okay the RAM did the first cover okay so people have no idea the racist racism

that I've had to deal with you know the bigotry jealousy all these people are

supposed to be my friends and all that want to use me all these companies have

used me so many people have made so much money of me and they have no idea the

struggles that I have to fight with even today here after 35 years the

struggle that I have to go to to be here I could have given up so many times you

have no idea in 1984 almost in a high school I just came from Puerto Rico in

1982 1984 there was a front cover of Michael Jordan a new star is born

and I think it is if it's not the first cover of sports illustrating it's one of

his first covers I didn't know who he was I didn't know anything I didn't even

know what they meant then the time down in the article and the cover I can picture

that my teacher my teacher had to expect to me what does a new star is born

yeah from that day on Michael Jordan touched me to be who I am today in any

job that I've done when I was a postboy when I was a truck driver when I saw

the shoes when I saw ice cream I wanted to be the best at it and at 35 years do

you know why I haven't give up because someday and I'm hoping is someday

somebody out there that's listening to this please you have no idea I have to

thank Michael Jordan because I have to build something for him that goes beyond

his fame and his money you have no idea what I've been deciding in my head for

Michael Jordan for what 40 years now since 1984 no 41 years and I've been

trying for somebody to give me this opportunity because I have a gift for

him I don't care if I have to sell my expedition I don't care what it takes I

just need the opportunity to give him something because he inspired me more

I'm not his big fan see the difference between being the biggest fan in the

world Michael Jordan because I'm not that guy I don't know all his tats and

all the stuff all I know that whenever I was down and I was about to give up he

was the guy that I can't I remember when I lost my job on metro and I was moving

to California not knowing what was gonna happen I was so down because it was

such a tough time in my life I was cross country I have a trailer in the back

with my tools and stuff going to California and I was in the middle of the

country and I have to go to the rest area so tired fell asleep wake up in the

morning like at 6 a.m. and because I'm in a truck session because I got a

trailer in the back you know I wake up and I look to my right and there is an

18-wheeler with an old poster of Jordan Colom whatever it was yeah yeah it is

like old former buyers like really old it was like I think they were like taking

them out after that pain repainted truck all I know that that thing was right

there and I looked at it and I'm going like wow really this is fair you know I

mean like like so to be honest with you was kept me in this industry has been

the reason why I built the MA audio golf cart is because I was hoping to get

to him I went as far as being with Charles Barclay at the Dan Marino golf

tournament with this MA audio golf car of you guys remember the golf card I

worked for MA audio and I took that golf card around the show okay so you know

exactly what I'm talking about I went as far I got videos of Charles Barclay

with this is when Charles Barclay was like best friends with Michael Jordan

right so when I found out the Charles Barclay was gonna be a Dan Marino

tournament in Miami my show was in Miramar I told my dog I go yo you mom

works for the radio station the Latinos radio station in Miami to she has any

contacts you know and you know I go look they just put it in the trailer and

it just go like just go to my no really I love it no just go to Miami do you

got to go after what you want 100% I put the I put the golf cart in an open

trader we took off to Miami select 25 minutes from Miramar and we just got

there all the security think about it this is a celebrity golf tournament 75

athletes can you imagine the security there so we wear some nice shirts and

you know trying to look like a white boy yeah I gotta interrupt this for just a

second the mentality here and the drive yes I've only seen this one other time

and it was this weekend with little Chris don't I'm sorry how does I'm sorry

make it into this I don't know I don't know that's almost blasphemy for that

kid but that's what we met a kid this weekend that is 19 years old the white

kid yes yes he reminds me of this is not white well the one-to-one the word the

kid the one-to-word he no no different different kid another kid 19 years old

the drive you are describing right now is this kid he's just I don't worry for

him and the way that I'll never worry for you that you you have you figure it

out you're gonna figure it out like there's nothing that's gonna stop you're

not gonna let anything get in your way sorry for interrupting so anyways I put

the trailer we go in there you can only imagine the Chris pay you to do that the

security people and stuff like that so we go okay so security comes up and I

get the truth you know the golf cart right there and I'm straight phase what

are you doing here oh there's a special delivery for Dan Marino that's their

first thing because you know mad dog it's like you don't dog what are you

doing I'm like dude I just go my ex-wife you know she said you know so I'm

going like let's just go what's the worst it can happen they say no we come

back it cost me 45 bucks to rent the stupid trailer so we go there and when

they see the golf cart they realize it's gotta be true it's all we go through the

first set of security then the next one's just big old black cop you know

whatever big old you know and mr. Johnson I still remember you know what

are you guys doing here oh special delivery for Dan Marino well what's the

paperwork see dude I don't know and Dan Marino had this Dan Marino's tavern he's

got like four restaurants in my you know Miami area area I don't know if you still

have it or not but that's the first thing they came to my head one of his

guys hired me to build this thing it's a surprise to I don't know I just want to

get paid this is things that just coming to my head and mad dog is sitting there

just like so I get out of the car and I motorized the TV remember then I

motorized the front they had the golf balls and cigars and I look at this guy

said would I be lying to you if you want I can leave oh I never saw you going so

we go into the golf course so step one we in there world's greatest sales okay so

now we get the golf crowd the trailer so now how do we go into the event think

about these things be like televisions stuff like that so funny story does this

golf card coming towards us it's kind of tipped there's like a 350 pound guy

driving the golf car with a skinny kid next to him so the golfers kind of tip so

this golf cart comes towards us sees it and the young kid let's go hey we want

to take this to the Amarino well guess what these two guys work for the Amarino

for his tavern the line that I just told you it's coming true dude and I go can

you guys take this to him yeah so I let him drive it so somebody's gonna get in

trouble it's him so I put mad dog and the young little kid to drive the golf

car and I'm sitting in the back with the fat guy okay so we drive it and

everybody put another ropes keep in mind I've never been in a golf course before

my life next to you know pulling all the ropes all of a sudden I start seeing the

crowd Alice Rodriguez Dan Marino and Charles Barkley are right there keep in

mind this is a golf tournament you white people know how quiet he's supposed to be

and whatever I don't know anything about that I'm there playing Michael Jackson

thriller or whatever in the car and so I'm just so next thing you know they

pause they stop the game to see this golf course and I have this on video so if

anybody but anybody thinks out there I'm blind if you give him in the podcast

trust me I will show you the evidence I got video evidence of this next thing

you know they stop the game they come towards us Dan Marino comes in Charles

Barkley Alex Rodriguez still stay over there this is massive crowd and there's a

big camera so somebody out there had the big camera so somebody out there has

this footage so next thing you know Charles Barkley Dan Marino sit in the

golf cart and I talked to Dan him and I just wanted to bring this thing here so

you can use this this golf cart whatever and so Dan told John John

Brightley go yo what's up I'm taking so Charles Barkley wants to take the golf

cart Dan Marino goes you got this so he's gonna take over the golf cart I sit

next to him we take off so here I am the only reason why I'm there is because I

tried to get to Michael Jordan at the time there were best friends you see

what I'm trying to say so I can't believe I am this close this close it's like you

calling not a guy you see what I say like you know I cannot get a hold of

not a guy but you know I didn't get kind of look good that's my best Charles

Barkley so I'm sitting next to him and stuff like that and I'm nervous not

because it's Charles Barkley it's because I can't believe that I am this

close to my dream yeah explain to him why I'm there and everything worked up

until this point why wouldn't it continue there are a hundred things that

could have got around to that point so we keep driving and Charles Barkley

gives up the concrete and wants to go on the grass keep in mind I got ship the

car to you guys it's so funny that you work for him out of that was lowered

golf cart by the way which later got airbags on if you ever saw it up I had

to ship that car to you guys that Monday this is on a Saturday so Charles

Barkley goals and it takes a step and he rips a part of the front bar

oh so Charles Barkley's manager came flying to say hey you're not insured to

be driving this golf cart something happens to you you have to get out of it

so I see the front of the golf cart there's a piece of wood ripped so I told

y'all dude you know and if you're bad I go do can you like sign this thing you

know later on it's like that he was yeah yeah cool man you know what just see me

when we done so next thing you know the golf course getting so much attention

that the head security guy comes this guy was mad like this guy wanted to like

like kill me like truly kill me because think about it we just not into a

celebrity golf tournament we could have a bomb in this thing and I'm poor weekend

I'm not a terrorist okay so this guy came in he's yelling at me a mad dog

going off on us who gave you the right if this guy and I finally told the guy

to damn Marino and I'm trying to explain to this guy and this guy he is just he

would not let go he's so furious and I'm like dude I swear to you I got in my

knees and I plead with this guy I said to Charles Park is going to sign this

thing my mom so this guy come down he goes look if you guys part under that

tree not corn and I don't hear Pete from you because stay there so me and my

shadow very quietly turn the story off we drive the golf cart we parking right

there keep in mind these people have never seen anything like that so let

go for us getting so much attention well think about this we are by the 18th

home the golf course been sitting there for two and a half hours we haven't

moved me and my doctor sitting there we have not moved so one of your peeps one

of your white boy yes yeah one of your peeps comes in hey man you know there

he's from the one of the marketing guys from the pink pink golf yeah you know

you guys know so you know you see how fast that wasn't this would have been

one I literally got this morning the big the big okay the minute I told Matt he

goes oh of course I know so he comes hey man put the car in our booth and we

want to put a sticker on it something like that and I told him hey man they

told us we cannot move you know and he goes to we the biggest sponsor of this

thing whatever we say it goes so I look at Matt I would have been like oh shit

you know Michael Jordan well no I swear to God you know close word it's from

here to that glass door over there not this one but the second one that's not

close word that guy has not come by for two and a half hours and that's split

second that I move the golf course he comes by he sees me this guy goes you

have 10 seconds to get out of here 9 8 7 at least his count is slow and I know

that we we know at this point there was you're cooked and Charles Barkley and

Dan Marino and Alice Rodriguez or in the 18th hole and either maybe 10 50 more

minutes to accomplish what I went to get there we got out of there as fast as we

could we put the car back in the trailer we went to our Hooters favorite place

that we used to go there all the time for the wings I was drinking beer crying

like a little baby I've seen this golf cart right there and I can't believe I

came that close and there's just tears running down my face and I say I can't

believe I came that close and for all these years I have come pretty close and

not yet and I can't give up and who knows maybe this podcast here's what I'm

saying to that would be a dream I'd love to do that well what about this to the

listeners out there let's just make a deal hold on not to cut you off if that

ever happens I'm also gonna be a part of that bill yeah I think we see we all

need a piece I have like a hundred pair of rooms but I'll show you the Jordan

closet that I built in my house see this is a funny thing about okay what sucks

is I'm being very honest of course everybody wants to be part of it because

who will be for but the key here is if I were to put it out there when I'm

mentioning to people who is going to be for right how many people know this one

piss me off I'm being very honest I'm being very honest you're seeing that

right now great and I will hold you to it okay and you're gonna have to stop

whatever you're doing you're gonna have to fight the California gonna hold you

to it however if I were to put the word out there then I need some help right and

not mentioning to who this thing is right who shows up who shows up that's

what piss me off above here's here's the thing the reason I want to be involved

is completely different than anyone would think the same reason where you two

say that you really don't give a shit about cars and you're not into cars and

that's what you do for a living because I don't give a fuck about Michael Jordan

right which makes it funnier to me that I want to be involved because I don't I

don't even care it doesn't mean much to me because I'm not a basketball dude but

you know what now this out there yeah so now this out there look it's a golf

card I want to build Michael Jordan's and it's another no more secrets okay now

this out there let's put it out there it's a stupid golf card that I want to

so to get this straight you want to build a golf cart for Michael Jordan I've

got to say that out of the listeners that we have somebody this is like what

is it somebody has degrees of Kevin Bacon yeah how does that work somebody

whatever we have to have somebody who has a way to get to somebody however

however I will not build this golf car until these are the rules I know exactly

his habits of the golf course in all words I don't want to build this thing

yeah it's got to be useful to him obviously I need to find out this sounds

like the great inaugural episode of Fish and Chip dude yeah so you have chip

chip could control this golf car exactly the way because guess what I

need to find out when it goes to the golf because he owns now golf course in

Florida Michael Jordan okay yeah he does so we can actually deliver this thing

and we're gonna get some sponsor but I would like to find out what are his

habits you know what can I hook or what can I cigar you know because I do not

want to not build this thing and I don't want to make this thing shape like a

tennis shoe also stupid dude I want to build this thing like a Rolls Royce

cause I want to build this thing where one of these billionaires oil guys from

Saudi Arabia who want to pay five billion dollars so you know me I want to

build something that goes beyond the fame and money because Michael Jordan

while we doing this podcast he probably made five million dollars I mean

way more than that money it's not about money let's about guess what because of

him because of him you have 20 front covers yeah because of him I got about

100 magazine articles because of him after 35 years I'm here talking to you

guys so that's why I love the brand I mean I packed seven pairs of Jordans

for this four-day trip you are crazy I only packed two fedoras when I golf

this morning I had Jordan twelves with the Jordan glove and he's a golfer so

yes okay you'll be with the first white boy that I love my world okay he's a

golfer I have a whole level of detail that you wouldn't have on that build I'm

gonna show you my closet that I built after this that you'll definitely

appreciate here's here's what I say we are 55 minutes into a podcast and I

believe that we could go for two or three weeks right straight everyone

probably would have predicted this at this point okay so obviously here's a

great segue Michael Jordan obviously one of your greatest inspirations hands

down right yes we just distinguished that when it comes to the industry car

audio I mean I already know the answer because I heard it this weekend but when

you were little fish before you were fish when you were still a guppy David

when you were a guppy yeah so what even got you into this it's very simple

I was a truck driver in Boston okay and I was and like I say going back to

Jordan I wanted to be the best truck driver in my company okay so I made it

delivering hey if we're gonna do this let's do it we're gonna do it right I

told you what just happened there not on the blue pants what happened did you

know I just pulled it quickly and I spilled oh just so you know great I got

nothing left I'm not pouring that in here so you go I gotta finish this so it's

tough alright so we're back we had to pause for a minute because we just got

some McCallan 15 donated by who you by the Puerto Rican yeah the Puerto Rican

is bringing high-end white boy stuff this is true we brought some Canadian junk

from your room from your refresh bill yeah who would have thought that the

Puerto Rican did not just bring a little $20 bottle of a cardy but he brought

that the big stuff which we'll get what we'll get to your new build at some point

right but we have to figure out okay again the question that we posed Michael

Jordan big inspiration right I feel like he's a big inspiration for me as well

when it comes to car audio how did like that journey start and who is what

even made you get into it well like going back to that I made a delivery going

back to Jordan real quick because I wanted to be the best at everything when

I became a truck driver I wanted to be very good at it so my second my first

year of being a truck driver in Boston I went to Aslan Massachusetts I made a

delivery to go to a shop called creative car stereo and what year is this what

year 1999 and this shop was very high in because it was three cartoons which was

one of the biggest shops in the country everybody knew Richard cartoons and then

this guy used to work for him and Richie being Richie puts them off so he went on

his own so he they created car stereo and I made a delivery because I work for

Jack Young company and we used to deliver stuff for trucks you know you know

and we have to deliver some 3M spray stuff some carpet whatever so I went

there and his car is so Corvette it was in front cover of car stereo review I

have the car the magazine scan and he had a poster made of it so you know when

people came in he gave me a poster so he gave me the poster and I'm like so

excited I came back to the to the shop you know the next day and the truck

section where the truck drivers are I put the poster up and I told everybody

that some days that's gonna be me once again I'm the stupid putter weekend I

be very honest I'm the stupid putter weekend that's never gonna get there I'm

just supposed to be just a truck driver you're not gonna get there the stupid

idiot I still remember Nino one of those Italian guys the driver look at me

blah blah whatever I'm like okay whatever dude so I told him someday

someday that's going to be me what year in 89 how old are you at in 89

I was like 21 okay yeah around 21 22 at the most you know early 20s and give it

my young guys out there there's no internet there's no YouTube there's no

social media nothing out there it was magazines and kid I was broke it's not

like you go buy a magazine you sat and read it in the store so you know so

anyway so now as the truck driver and Jack Young company you get to choose

which route you want and then you as you get all the orders you kind of set it

up and you have to fill up the truck according to your stops and every time

I saw that I will stop for creative cars Terry I want to have that route so

finally I asked the owner hey man what kind of school do you go to learn how to

do this stuff because I just knew inside of me just what I wanted to do man and

he goes well you know I get I teach my own guys whatever so I'm like hey I want

to come on her give it my eyes to live in Revere Beach Ashley must choose it is

about an hour and 40 minutes so it's very far so he goes when did you come on

Saturday so I go there in the very first Saturday and he doesn't work on the

weekends so he's jerk manager that was funny that's good okay so his jerk

manager now it didn't happen the second time so his jerk manager works on the

end Saturdays so of course being Latino they have me cleaning the bathrooms they

have me clean the wood shop they have me doing all the stupid but you know what

cutting the grass

no there was no plastic cut but you know what I mean so they have me doing all the

you know so I'm like okay no problem so so I went there for four Saturdays

straight and it's very far from Revere Beach and in the four Saturdays I went

there I was able to see enough you know so the next time that I delivered to him

I go look I can't afford to come here inside of this because you're manager

whatever but can you you know I would like to have this and then so you give me

some base blockers which you know little resistors to be annoying gave me a few

things and so I started buying product little by little without my wife ex-wife

knowing about it I bought three amplifiers DMTX box with 12 inch in the

middle you know and I bought all this stuff and when I had everything that I

need in the winter of 1990 January 10th to be exact because January 8th is my

birthday so two days after my birthday in Boston which is cold I sent my ex-wife

to Florida to visit her sister and I took a week off from work without her

knowing and I built my first system and no knowledge I didn't know what I was

doing I got a full book with all the car stereo shops in the Boston area so what

I did I had one question for every shop think about it yeah so stupid Latina's

gonna call a shop ask at least they're gonna hang up this is the early fish

that is just like the best storyteller you know what I mean of like getting into

Dan Marino's event yeah I mean problem-solving you know early 20s I have

not tasted yet so no no taste taste that I'm gonna smell it first no that's the

proper thing I don't smell stuff I just do you want to cheers to the McCallan we

do we do this is some serious well this is what I got at the back of my

expedition oh my god dude this is some serious stuff wrong so anyways so I got

the phone book I call different shops I didn't know what the blue wire was out

of the radio I didn't know that was the remote I think about it I am I have

zero knowledge of what I'm doing I didn't know what I was doing it's not

like I had an older brother they used to put stairs in the garage to something

that dude I am completely I have no idea what I was doing all I knew and keep

in mind I'm living on the third floor in Boston in the winter time so I took all

the seats out of the car I put him upstairs in my apartment and I got a

jigsaw the only tool that I have is a jigsaw and a drum a tool and I'm going

back and forth three stories high and are you things in the house are you

using you're using the jigsaw in the house yes yeah I've only heard this one

other time we heard this from Steve Brown same exact same exact story she's in

my first system and I had a blowpunk CD player that you put the case you got the

case goes in a case goes in the real single CD by the way it's not like it's

so so you know actually no that came and I'm wrong that came after the first

writer I was a super tuner pioneer yeah tape player tape player okay so anyways so

I I call a bunch of shop some answer me something I got enough information keep

in mind I have to turn the car on because it was like five degrees in

January so I had the car on and I'm inside I build the system day number five I

want to turn it on turn it on still got you kids want to a the family hard and

rock and roll was the first song that I play in my car it play my first system

with no prior knowledge with no help from nobody when I turn on the key it

play I'm like there's nobody that can give high-five you know I mean no one to

celebrate nobody to celebrate so I go up I'm gonna drive I drove I ran out of gas

because I had the car so I gotta walk like three miles to get gas I put gas in

my car I drove from Boston to New York which is a four-hour drive I went to

White Castle I bought like 30 burgers and I drove back to Boston so the next

day I go to the airport to pick up my wife ex-wife and I go hey I got a little

something for you so I play her favorite song which was it was like God Lisa Lisa

okay Lisa Lisa Nicole down if I wonder if I take you home where you still be

in love with me whatever the you know so anyway and she's like she's thinking

that I'd be some shop you know she couldn't believe that I built I said

and guess what with the little knowledge that I had which was nothing but I did

see all the tire wraps we're like one inch you know with the little knowledge

that I had yeah what what car it was a 89 Corolla the oh the car the car all the

Corolla okay and because separate up front I do the Boston cool six plates

apart and I took cardboard and I cover with carpet do and then the MTX 12 inch

Wolver to the detail of this thing back then with no knowledge so I went to the

car stereo shop son emotion they told me how to put an antenna in a car because

that's so little I know about cars hold on hold on Matt Schaefer have you ever

put and yes I did I've done a ton really yeah what you sort of started doing

this shit 2003 I don't believe you've done this word of God I don't believe we

done a ton of antennas power power antennas yes yeah no this was manual one

so the shop that I put the intent that called to you know son emotion John

Whitney was the owner of the shop great guy he looked like a Michael J Fox so you

know me you don't put a weekend I leave the car you fall store with his key on

blasting up the stereo my woofers are full blast I didn't know what about a

crossover so they're playing like salsa music I'm playing troopers to a 12 inch

woofer okay so I leave the car parking you know in front of the store playing

the music so he comes out and he looks at my my cars hey look at this so who

did you study I go I did I used to work for creative car stereo oh shit think

about this bullshit thing again I like that okay think about it the first words

that come out of my mouth oh I used to work for creative car stereo which think

about this his shop is here creative car stories here and all of that I'm saying

that I work for him but when he looked at the car he goes you know you need a

crossover I didn't know what a crossover is they may think about I don't know

anything right he saw me in ADS ADS young young people out there ADS used to be a

super high-end quality equipment 35 40 years ago ADS I'm still putting them in

in the late 90s so he tells me need a crossover so he sells me a used over

price acoustic no no he sells me an ADS oh okay okay which he wasn't even a

dealer he wasn't a dealer for anything okay but he asked me to have an old one

he says to me I put an in and explained to me what it was so I told him I need a

job he goes well I don't have an open but if you want you can come on Saturdays

I'm like he goes I'll give you 40 bucks okay when you want me or you can come

next Saturday so I'm like Friday night comes I'm so excited to show up first

day there this is cocky little skinny white boy sorry but it's the truth he

looks like a what's the guy that white actor the red-headed guy from I don't

know it's he's gonna come want to CSI CSI Miami something like that was that's

the red-headed guy I think I know who you're talking about you know he looks

just like him so anyways you know and I'm so stupid Puerto Rican guy whatever you

know so anyway so he's there I didn't know how to take a speaker like a like a

battery and find the speakers in the car when he did that oh my god I can hear

the popping and I thought I was like the greatest thing in the world you know so

dude next thing you know within just a few weeks I'm just picking up things you

know I mean like I just just and this guy of course getting all jealous and

stuff like that and I don't know what I'm doing you know so I want a full-time

job he wouldn't give it to me because this other guy says full-time job like

dude you they give me a full-time job I'm gonna have to go back I'm gonna have to

go back to creative car stereo he's to those and all the story I never worked

for them but I told him hey if you don't give me job I'm gonna have to go back

to so he goes so one Saturday and this shop was so small think about this oh

you're gonna like this oh my god you're gonna like this first of all the shop

was so small we didn't have a table saw we don't have an air compressor we don't

have any of that stuff all I have for tools is a hand grinder a drum a tool a

drill that's it and a jigsaw that's all you know the boss jigsaw doesn't have a

handle do you grab the body yep that's all I have so I started building these

the worst and stuff like that and I started grinding these door panels out

of my hogany wood so I got sawdust all over the shop well I'm poor weekend I

never heard of the term sawdust think about this I don't have a table saw so

why would you call this sawdust when I've descended it for me cookie crumbs

wood crumbs you get it think about it I can say it mm-hmm so so I built my

first doors like grinding grinding Monday comes I buy my boss his coffee

hey John whatever don't come to the shop go why you know I got a lot of

wood crumbs all over the shop we don't even have an air compressor to blow the

stuff off really that's how small the shop was he goes wow wow he looked like

Michael J. Fox so he comes to the back he looks around all sawdust and no no

John will crumbs with crumbs he looking at me what are you talking about think

about this he's looking at me like and I go look cookie crumbs I get it makes

crumbs so that's how little the shop was to build anything and somehow I got a

full-time job with him because I thought I was gonna go to the old place and he

goes you know why I'll take a chance with you this is funny remember ADS used

to make a seven inch like woofer yeah he had a cheap Cherokee okay so I go I

didn't even know how to say John I say John think about it I'm Puerto Rican I

didn't know that you know you say John say John so John John John I think my

jigsaw I cut it next thing you know I cut it and I see light you know how the

license plate thing in the Cherokee limit at the back those five glasses this

is my job interview pretty much for him to get a job like a full-time job I kid

you not next thing you know I'm cutting there cutting and you know the dip or

the license plate goals I'm cutting through it and I see life and in my

head I'm seeing there's no way this just happened this happened fish with the

first free air woofer install so I put the toe gate down and you can see the

line so I'm gonna go that's it for me keep it my if I quit my job I jack

young company to work for this guy so I short one you looked at me he didn't

want to say he started off and he goes what do I do I go John just okay fire me

because you know what no fix it he goes no more no more that's it I never

screw up again if it wasn't for John Whitney I probably wouldn't be here he

gave me a chance and it's funny because I just went up to Boston and three months

ago to do a how about my buddy Vito which is the one that helped me with a

belayer and when I begged and Derek Kenny from son of motion that he bought it

from him I got together with the old gang and I got to see John Wendy and I

reminded I reminded him that he goes he goes he doesn't even call me fish ready

close me David because he only knows me by David you know and you know what I

don't forget you know what it was so good to hug him and you know why he had

this point right now doing the best and I go dude does my number if there's

anything I can do for you I'm here today I've tried to help out so many people

throughout the years and you just don't get it is that not insane though that like

at that moment if he decided if he decided to fire you you might just went

back to doing yeah trucking and then that whole trajectory the butterfly effect of

that never would have been here the butterfly effect of that one moment to

like take a chance on someone and I feel like that's kind of true in all

industries right because like sometimes the right person needs to be humbled

where they have the right motivation behind them to become something

completely special if it wasn't for him giving me that chance because if you

would have you know if it would have fired me I'll probably would have gone

back to being a truck driver because I was so bright they love me over there

that would have taken me in heartbeat so so what you're talking is 88 89 this

place is like 98 okay so what was the first big build so once I started working

for him once I passed that that he's not going to fire me they gave me the one

chance yeah I started you know car out of magazines you know every car out of

car store review every month it's funny because I never subscribe to any of the

magazines I had to go and buy it it was something about me that have to go and

buy the magazine I never believe in and you know so I'm just so after like a few

months working there this this guy called Harry's kitchens this guy was so

ahead of his time when it comes to sound just like for cool that was so ahead

of the fabrication part of it Harry's kitchens his dad used to work for like a

pro company so this guy had like a million pro speakers in his house like raw

speakers you know I mean all kinds from Focal the original Kevlar seven inch

everything this guy had everything so he came into the shop it was a pretty cool

guy so he had a Nissan SX or I don't know okay so one of the Nissan's yeah 200

seconds yeah 200 seconds whatever this guy remember the bliss safe that had the

motorized oh gosh oh yeah see today yes that has no clue what we're talking about

yeah bliss safe is different today back then the bliss safe was a motorized unit

that had a hit unit the motorized all that was so ahead of his time this guy

had a Nissan 200 sx now I remember yep with the motorized with the factory

face in front of it motorized all by unit this guy have four ADS tents in the

back for base ten inch mid base in the doors back in 1989 guys 1989 and this guy

had mid-range and tweeters remember the high-flying shoes yes the big black boys

when they're actually good and the one song they got me in the car stereo was

money for nothing when he played that song in that car and and when the base

kicked I never heard bass in the car before he had four ADS tents to my whole

body shook think about it you go from zero to a hundred it's not you went from

zero to ten or twenty you went from zero to a hundred when I heard that base

kicked in I look at this guy and I say oh my god are you serious and from that

moment on every time that I finish a system I play from money for nothing

when I hear that mid-bass in that bass kick in I know I got it and you know what

when I went to Boston in the winter time it was great to see him he was so

ahead of his time I go Harry I never forget because guess what the one thing

guys I never forget they good or the bad that people have done me I never

forget just like Keith layman has helped me out in tough times with nothing to

gain that's all the guys out there they have done me for every wrong you know

who you are you're probably listening right now yes you probably took the

Fishman logo out of my Fishman grills and you're gonna justify it saying oh we

had to take it out because it was blocking the brand of the woofer no you

did not you did it because you know why okay just piss me off that I have helped

out so many guys in the industry so many guys and guess what a lot of guys I

build up a big name today they have stolen so many things from me guess what

I did not have to steal somebody else a show car to like to people say oh look

at me I built this car no to you I gave so much credit to so many people that

helped me out these projects which they did so little and I gave them so much

more credit why right now I'll help you out but you know what when I needed you

you were not there you know who you are you're probably gonna be listening right

now you took my logo out of that grill out of my grill and you know who you are

you are top guys why oh I don't want to see the name Fishman in these grills well

guess what if you were creative enough why don't you design your own stupid

grill but you can't because you're not creative you have to live in somebody

else's stuff and today your big time and people think that your big thing you

know what at least I can sit here today in front of everyone and say I did not

steal from anybody I did not screw anybody over I'm here and my own

marriage that's the right word yeah fair enough fair enough you know what

what about the people that helped you along the way like you've had some you

you've obviously had a ton of influence on people who are have come a long way in

this industry like but you were talking about Manny earlier like you know what

mad dog came to my shop and hit him one time mad dog came to my shop and his

parents was gonna send us to college so he came to work for me and like dude I

got no money to pay you he goes I don't care dog did you know him before no I

just showed up you know you know even though Puerto Rican the humans are

probably the closest of the Latinos because think about this let me get

something straight all you white boys that know me through all these years

every time you have met me through CESC you know Cima all fish man we saw this

Mexican restaurant they got great food and I was like good you guys go for

there because I do not eat that we are not the same at all the closest thing

you can get to a Puerto Rican is Cubans and Dominicans are third okay so when

Manny came to my shop and we started talking stuff like that I go dude I got

no money to pay you he goes to so good we started working and he helped me out

so much dude if it wasn't for him fish man audio would never happen I told him

dude I got no money but the day that I got I'm going to take care of you and I

did so do you still talk to him you know what last time I saw my dog it was

about 70 years I was in Miami so he's doing a home audio okay and you know I

love him we went out a few times I tried to hire him at Alpine when we had a

position open okay ended up with Brent Davidson I offer I'm like Manny come on

do it come on you know he was a great guy but the problem is this okay you

either have it or you don't and matter was good more like an office guy like

you know he was he was good as controlling me and he helped me out so

much and you know fortunately I have to get rid of him but it was not an easy

decision I swear to you I cry the day I got rid of him I went home and I cry it

was not an easy decision but he was hurting my business I have to make a

decision you know and you know years after we you know we reconnected and I

explained to him and he realized you know and you know why I haven't seen for

years I love him if I see him tomorrow let's go out to dinner yep you know

whatever and you know as the industry goes on years go by you know but you

know he helped me out a lot so out of people that you've worked with in the

past like I mean you spent a few years with Mr. Carlson yes like who else have

you worked side-by-side with that we might not know I met dog Jeremy guys that

you might know remember that one time you guys built a car for Tony Stewart yeah

that was unique you would go into that sure why not I got stuck at home I got

left behind by the way you all I got stuck in the bay at Alpine building

something else what you guys got to go off and play I do the story oh now I'm

gonna have to like sit back because

Metra the honeymoon on Metra was kind of over what else we still love each other

but that the honeymoon was over so it just worked so one of the sales manager

because I wanted to have a TV show so badly you keep in mind that I was wanted

to you know what before they even get to the stuff I've done a lot of mistakes I

don't want stupid stuff and some of the things and they're all maybe some of the

companies out there didn't want to do anything with me because whatever

however when I gave my word to a company when I gave my word to somebody

there's nothing that will break that so when I went to work for Metra we're

going back to Jeremy Jeremy talked to Bill Jones the owner of Metra to talk

to me I was already teaching fish cap with Jason Anderson how we how we you

know how we used to run the school I okay before your time so you know so I

used to run the school and I started teaching fish camp and I came to Metra

and you know Jeremy told Bill Jones to shoot me with me and whatever so he

just did that part I took it from there I made with them and I said hey I can do

some big stuff for you guys that's one build the Montero you know yeah that's

one build the Montero you know and I threw some big numbers at them but you

know they were hungry they needed somebody they have the tsunami line they

had the tsunami amplifiers whatever you know hold on how did you get to a

Mitsubishi Montero like did they already have the car no it was my own oh it was

my own car okay it seems odd like it's not like it was my own car okay you know

I saw myself to them and I say you know whatever and next thing you know the

owner of me we clicked we saw each other he just sold out dollar size okay I can

see they were hungry they were not a Rockford they were not a Sony they were

just Metra you know I'm gonna change that I threw numbers at them see a foe

like yeah sure and you know why I gave them everything I could okay I took

Metra from where they were to here at the same time Steve Brown without buying

was doing the same thing but think about it Metra and Alpine it's not a

Rockford Alpine think about this okay you're talking about an accessory

company yep going against Metra that is that is a fair think about that is a

fair statement I understand what you're saying okay you know I mean it's not

necessarily like an audio company exactly and this is the time again this is

a wild time this is leading in as as I'm trying to gain skills to do I install and

this is and and I'm watching what I'm a teenager watching all this happen yeah

and I'm watching Rockford and I'm watching what Alpine is doing and I'm

watching everything that you do I swear to you like this is part you know I

don't know that you fully understand but like the first time I picked up car

stereo review I think I told you this this weekend and you're on the cover with

the Jaguar right the fucking Jaguar like this I don't even know about this car

but it is a work of art like I remember six JL AW sixes or whatever whatever

eight inch it was three down each side like I'd never seen anything like this

before right it it fucking we just as a tier white boy by the way the funny

story about that car was that car audio magazine will do the front cover of the

Jimmy but that would not do the front cover Jaguar makes no sense but that's

when the rivalry between Castle review and car audio okay so maybe the

salesman that I am one for each yeah okay so they were gonna do the front

cover the Jimmy but not the front cover of the Jaguar I go okay I'll give the

front cover to car audio they had a meeting they lasted 37 minutes they call

me back they say we're gonna do the year unprecedented back-to-back front

covers I got the covers in front of me we will do the Jaguar with you wearing a

wetsuit and swim fins yeah and the Jimmy you were a tuxedo yep yep I saw all

that to these guys yeah and if you don't under I don't know how much you get

how much of an inspiration you were to like again you're you're you were a

couple years ahead so you're doing that stuff I graduated in 92 so I'm watching

that stuff I'm just getting into it I'm seeing it I'm like my mind is blown like

between the stuff you did the stuff like you talked this weekend when we went

over your latest build and you gave some major props to Mr. Fakuda who showed up

like three minutes too late right here at all it's crazy you know what dude it's

funny I was talking there for a minute he got his wife because he's not a

Facebook he got his wife to become a friend on Facebook just so he can see

that clip of the video on me talking about him for me that's priceless yeah

it's awesome I mean you guys were such an inspiration for I feel like you were

first generation of like the thinking outside the box going crazy I feel like

my generation was second right like I came up a little behind right like I'm

like I'm behind Yato and like Brownie was always there like Brownie Brownie kind

of started about the same time got that stuff there was the Yato generation and

then Mike Boo and Brownie and then I finally got in right like it took me a

while to get my skills together and and step up to the plate but it was you it

was Fakuda like those builds like holy shit like that's the stuff that inspired

our generation and then we get to hand that off to Matt's generation because

Matt's the youngin yeah and and now Chris is gonna rule the world after you

guys Chris is getting too much wrong oh this 19-year-old kid we keep joking

about the one that worked that no he didn't win the award but but this kid

just comes up and sits on the table he just walked right into the locker room

this weekend and he owned it and the kids gonna do great it's gonna be awesome

but I want to make sure that you understand the impact you had on many

careers you're talking about and whole like and generations right yeah you're

just one generation and then it's like my generation and that's why I'm so glad

that you've come back right because we had this conversation earlier that like

when Fakuda came back the younger generation gets to understand the

history of car audio and gets to see his work like his original work and the

same thing with you like there's so many people that they don't even understand

like obviously there's somebody that inspired you you inspired me and they

see your inspiration within the work that I do right because like for the

people that know like what I do I do a shit ton of fucking layers and what's

stuck with me at fish camp when I was there is just how you layer everything

together that inspiration chain runs all the way down so it's important for the

younger people who know who I am who have no idea who you are to fucking

understand where that fucking comes from right so I'm so glad you're back here

I'm so glad you made it to the expo the one responsible for all the stuff well

I'm happy to listen to this out there this idiot here okay let me just be real

okay I'm cruising with my wife we are in the middle of them I don't know

whatever ocean we're taking a 16-day cruise and we finally got signal she

got a message from some mass shaper she has no idea what this idiot is okay and

she goes to me hey baby this is this guy mass shaper he wants to know what's

going on with you I'm like okay whatever I might have heard that before but I

say no rejected and I'm gonna be very honest look how honest I'm going to be

right now okay what pissed me ever about this industry I'm seeing all these

guys because they're gonna go back to this I'm seeing all these guys that want

to be friends with me in Facebook oh I want to be friends with Facebook you

know a fish man oh and I started posting stuff all fish man bababao and then as

the time goes on and they start getting bigger and bigger and bigger next thing

you know and never hear from these guys why because they're blocking my stuff

in their posts because they don't want the people there are following them see

what I'm doing I'm like why would you do that and I'm being very honest so many

guys in the industry big guys they were supposed to be my friends of Facebook as

they got a bigger they blacked my post so my stuff doesn't show up under her

because the one thing I was not teaching the fish camp was that and I

still seen that on so many guys in the industry that the minute they started

climbing the ladder think about this okay I got 20 front covers of magazines

maybe 80 or 100 magazine articles I don't know how many people can touch

that in this industry I don't think any not even Steve Brown okay and yet I had

the time to talk and help anybody in the industry but I always joke because you've

spent a little time with Chris Yaddo right Chris Yaddo's really so Yaddo is

humble motherfucker I've ever met a little time that I've seen him I know

this little Chinese guy or whatever Japanese some Asian guy right he is the

baddest dude out there I love him I spend very little time with so I do not

know anything about him I always joke because he is the most humble human

being he is so talented he is so detail oriented and he is just so humble and I

always joke and I say you know what like when I see somebody being boastful or

like overly like hey I'm the greatest whatever I was turned over I say you

know Chris Yaddo's never told me how great he is right because he doesn't have

to because it's that way so you know why it had to be dishonest because so

many guys don't want to be friends with me at Facebook they start as oh I want

to be friends with you okay cool what are you in I got so many mutual friends

whatever next thing you know if I post something oh Facebook go whatever and as

time goes by I can see the transition how people change and that's why five

years ago when the when the whole pandemic started I just wanted to be away

from everything because I didn't care about car audio I was taking care of my

mom she's got dementia okay my mother-in-law came to live with me so the

only thing that mattered to me in this world was my wife my mom my mother-in-law

and me and my dogs that's it nothing else matter so when I started building the

explanation of my garage it was for me I didn't care about the industry I swear

to you I could have been okay without me even being here but so stupid white boy

I have to start bugging my wife I'm just saying so white boys started bugging my

wife who are you doing I'm my shaver where's fish man

but I guess what buddy because of you because of you I'm here today is that

a compliment because of you you know what I couldn't get to Nalaka with our car

whatever okay whatever they call it but because I couldn't get in touch with

them I know and guess what guys sometimes you have to step back do you

think it was easy for me to tell this little white boy here my student to call

Nalaka it might be half when fish man used to be able to get product from

anybody in the industry that was not easy however that's what I had to do to be

able to be here and guess what I'm very grateful because guess what the minute

told him he made the phone call and because that phone call Nalaka had to

call me and guess what he says me the product and guess what I deliver see

what I mean it's a chain reaction he took care of me now Nalaka will give me

$8,000 headphones and to maybe the white boy here no white boy I cannot give it

to you because they give it to the fish man because now I gotta kiss his ass

because now he's the man you see how this thing works oh my gosh I feel used oh my

goodness you were not used you were just an instrument how can you be used I think

he called you a tool I'm not sure I'm not going to get us to give them back of

my expedition so you can be one of my tools in there but you know why man I'm

so proud of you dude it's like you have built such a big name out of all my fish

campers should we call it fish campers sure you are the most successful one

that did your thing you did your brand you know how to do it bro I've always

I've to be clear I've always attributed my success to that camp that was my first

like Chris this is his first introduction to the industry right so that was my first

introduction to the industry is that call number three for for little Chris what do we call it

I don't even know but that was my first introduction to the industry and regardless of what you think

or what you have thought or the game that has to be played to create a name for yourself

you've been there you've done it obviously you've told 40 fucking stories about you trying to

be successful or create a name or create a brand at some point you have to you got to post stuff

you got to create stuff and that's like the installer of the year trajectory like you have to

create content and put stuff out right and it's a new world it's different like in our in your

my era like it was all about the magazine content right and it was everything you could do

yeah yeah and that industry just young people are our magazines are like post like that's

posting because there's really no print anymore right yeah and honestly I'm very proud of what

you've done because you're such a big name in the industry he's all right no no honestly he's

a very big name in the industry you have a lot of respect think about this you were able to reach

a guy that I couldn't that's something to do what to reach a guy reach a guy that couldn't oh you

know I'm trying to say he's like there was a time that I could call anybody and it would give me

whatever the you know what I wanted and after being away for so long I couldn't do it so you

have to use you and but guess what not even use you here we just my tool but guess what my job is

to make sure that not only did I get what I needed I think I think this is a good point for a segue

of what you've been up to lately right like so there was the early fish years of

the street wires ram right the jaguar the the sound advice cars that we saw like there's the

metro kind of era and like what what is the last 10 or 15 years been like for you where were you

been what you gonna do cars that nobody have seen right yes you know I built a 72 colors

to I gotta take a piss all right we take a break yeah let's take a break I can pause right down

there I gotta take a piss okay I might be be just say hey yeah it's time

there's a pause I'm not sure how I'm gonna edit that out but I think I had a good $20 worth of alcohol

it was something in unison across three urinals here at the convention center

master tech expo 2025 so just to elaborate and get back on to like who inspired you

in car like what's the first thing that you saw in a car audio build that you're just like

fuck me this is crazy I mean for kota when you guys interviewed me on Thursday you know for kota

was so ahead of his time I mean this guy was doing stuff that you know and of course I never got

invited to what the top gun whatever with our mark mark well which I never did anything with him

but he was him and for kota these guys were so so ahead of their time they were doing stuff that

today's still you know so that's it for me you know nobody else mattered I mean when I saw for kota's

work I was like wow that yellow place is still for me like I told you guys on Thursday best show car

of all times man I think was me being back in the 90s right okay this thing had a 20

motorized stuff with the quantum with all these come on you know you can't beat that back then

okay yeah it's wild I mean you know what I thought that all these years that motorization

would have caught up I remember talking to the president of ayaska like a million years ago

and I told dude why don't you make motorization a part of your your uh what's the core score sheet

right right I say how about if you had 30 points and for every motorization you had one point

for every combination you had three points they look at me like I'm like an idiot I'm an idiot

I'm like dude I don't care how cool your car sounds a camera cannot capture that you see what I'm

trying to say I talked to these people a million years ago I say look what you guys are doing yeah

you're focusing so much on the sound part of it which is great but guess what if you want to be a

national tv this is not going to do it and 35 five years after I'm still here and guess what

a camera crew a tv show is not gonna go in you know then you can have the stupid tv shows like

now paint my eyes and this and the other one building stupid stuff but guess what as cheesy

at those shows were at least people can see what's capable it was capable so as bad as those shows

were it showed possibilities people can see and that's what I'm trying to explain to the

ministry 30 years ago people cannot see the sound quality stuff yes it's great to make a car sound

really good what should be part of it but let's get creative and believe me want to tell you man

I try so much you know what I'm so happy that I came to not you know to the show here and

what Brian has done with this industry it's amazing first of all he's surrounding his people

with the you know he's surrounding us with the right people and I've seen his shop his company

called you know little by little right going his little booth at CES and then his wife gets bigger

and bigger little little by little and then he's surrounding us up with the right people and he's

done it right because it's about us the industry has focused so much about selling selling product

selling product what about the installers the reason why they fish cam is because I remember

working for working for a company and when I got introduced they go oh he's an installer

the minute they say that sounds dismissive exactly they look at me like but he's got the company

credit card because he's an original manager whatever they look at us like oh he's an installer

well guess what what about me you got nothing Brian he was smart enough to cap on that

but you know what dude this show right now I'm blown away I'm completely blown away like what

what a show he's been able to do right he has helped so many people yeah and it's going to continue

and you know what to be honest with you just so many hours I'm being here I didn't think he wanted

me around when was the last time you went to CES it's been a long time ago yeah it's changed like

it's really oh no no I was always trying every TV show I see the talk about CES back then 20 years

it was the biggest show talking about CES now you see TV shows talking about CES

but from an industry standpoint like it was the pinnacle like it was such it it was just the

freaking Grammys it was like it was the biggest event and SEMA like was the second thing yeah SEMA

was second there was CES and guess what so important I'm glad to say that our rock CES

when it was at the top I'm sad that I missed all that because me and Gary went to many CES's

and every year that I experienced it was just decline such a decline when I took the RAM I never

this is when CES had hundreds of thousands of people this was CES when the 12-volt industry

owned the North Hall right remember yep we had the whole entire hall and guess what in the midst of

all that I was able to build the stuff do we own that floor and then the industry completely

changed you you just sparked a memory of mine did you build for ARC did you build a toilet

no what was this that was a tribute to me oh okay actually uh I forgot this guy's name Chris

I don't know one of you white boys name so Merrill Chris Merrill something like that people

will know who he is and at Demetrius when they did the toilet they used one of my fishman grills

the ones that the other it is will take the centerpiece okay so that will take the fishman

so that will show like look I built this thing you know anyways so they actually built a toilet

thing in my honor what what else so so we heard about the golf cart somebody built a toilet in

your honor I remember a jet ski yes for for mbcourt mbcourt other jet ski the funny story

going back to Keith layman yeah okay he was the president of mbcourt I told Keith you have probably

the best marine speakers better than Jensen better than pioneer how do you promote it I say

I want to build your jet ski he looked at me like I'm an idiot like most white boys look at me like

I'm a stupid idiot it took me one year one whole year from one CES to another on me bugging him

give me a jet ski give me jet ski give me jet ski finally he got me jet ski

I built the jet ski but guess what when I send him some pictures and this is before

I phones and something that you can just send him I have to print the pictures and send it to him

when he saw it he went as far as getting a company to put a swimming pool you guys never saw that

he put a swimming pool at the spring break nationals

what year is it jet ski uh this is like either late 90s or early 2000s yeah that's before I was

I was going to spring break so when he saw what I was going think about this okay it took me a year

to convince him to let me build a jet ski because the boat would have been too big okay you can't

put marine speakers in a car I say dude let me build you a jet ski okay when he saw what I was

going to win he spent like 10 grand to have a company put a swimming pool at the spring break

nationals to put the jet ski and it's funny because I shipped the jet ski from my shop

I go like a week after I go to Daytona beach in the spring break national and I'm walking around

and I see this pool I haven't seen the jet ski yet it wasn't a little pool it was like like a

real big pool next thing you know there's this big giant pool at the spring break show

where the jet ski I got pictures of me with mad dog and that jet ski and that pool and keep

blaming look at me hey where you gonna do it and that jet ski that booth was packed the whole

entire time but guess what I have to say to him think about this I couldn't stop at any given time

I kept bugging him and bugging him going back to everything that I've gotten done in the

semi-stream I have to earn every front cover every article I have to sell it even today coming

to this show master tag I went to see my I talked to Brian and I say I want to come to your show

Brian didn't do rich out to me like you did to a lot of you guys and you know what I love Brian

we go back a long time and for the longest time I didn't think he liked me and I've been very honest

because guess what he invited all these guys to do all these classes and stuff like that

he never reached out to me and I'm going why you know all these guys are all friends all you guys

and you know what I'm not part of it like why why did I do to you guys and I've been very hurt

because I've seen all these guys together and stuff and all these guys and nobody wants nothing to

do with me I from the other side of the table I would say that like we felt like you disappeared

and we didn't see it before that we would like remember my memory right is that we would see

you every year at SEMA or CS and then all of a sudden one day we showed up and you weren't there

anymore that's kind of how it felt but we're back we're back you know I wanted to Brian pretty much

I got on his face I said dude I want to help you because guess what you're doing the right and if

you're doing the right because the other guys the other show the knowledge should I finish the sentence

fast the will you finish it I try because I got an award by them what 2016

and I begged this guy hey can I help you you know what to certain Latino guy called fishman

they can speak bad English and bad Spanish that's the sad thing about it because I can speak bad

both of them but guess what I can help you in both areas but guess what they never got back to me

so why would you give me an award you give me an award and I'm offering you to help you

but yet so finally I talked to Brian I want to see my as a dude I want to be part of your show

Matt told me all about it not like I told me all about it and Brian goes you know

let's do a short video next thing you know a few months go by I'm all over his website

we're going to do this thing with fishman he's in the program I'm going to I didn't want that

I mean really I thought Brian do I didn't I didn't want that I just wanted to just

do I was so afraid to come to the show you have no idea because you know these guys

new technology and all this stuff I had no idea that I can still you know

I think I think I'm sorry to hear that right it makes me a little sad

you are so responsible for opening the door for the rest of us to walk through

and no matter what else I'll still admit to that I'll always admit to that I'll always give you

the credit as I always have every step of the way no matter what I've given you credit every step

of the way for for my story so even if even if you feel slighted at all by all these other people

it's just fucking noise right you're there's a reason why you had as many magazine covers as you

did there's a reason why people see your stuff as different you can walk in here today what you did

or a couple days ago with your new iteration of your build with all the auto technology

all the computer technology right and it's still completely different and unique and what you said

dating back to the early part of this podcast where people like chip foos run their finger

through the fucking hole and see the brush part you don't think that like the fecuitas and the

bells walking through looking at your car aren't doing the same thing right with with no technology

because again most of us have at least gravitated towards some sort of technology where you're

still doing everything analog so what I would challenge you in the future is to be purely

confident in what you just and your wife's nodding right now purely confident in who the fuck you are

what you've done I mean you have all the trophies and by trophies I mean the magazine covers all

the different builds and again everyone here ultimately respects you whether you think that

or not thank you yeah and and we wouldn't be here like when the industry would not progress right

like of all things like think about before there was a fucking airplane right like how hard is it

to fathom what an airplane is and now we send people into space right it has to go in steps

and you are such a fundamental part of those steps and I appreciate that you know and it's like

it's hard for me because I grew up in Puerto Rico as a very shy kid very insecure I was

not good in sports I used to get beat up in school you know and and there's a lot of things that

happened to me as a child that affected me as I grew up and maybe some of the crazy things that

happened in the industry as the years went on was part of that but today when you find a person

like my wife right now that she was like she hates she hates she hates fishman persona

she hates that guy oh my god she hates it but she's the fish whisperer no no but she's she like

she likes a little bit of fish and she loves digging yeah I can see that but she hates the

fishman and I go like and because of her I've changed my life if you guys don't realize that

this is the fishman 2.0 just like a PG PG 11 I feel like we took it from X down to R but I mean

yeah so I get it if you guys don't get that this is like a PG version of you guys on the podcast

versus say 10 years ago what you would have been like you know what because of my wife you know what

she changed my life everything that matters to me is my wife my life with her is everything

I used to drink like crazy and she doesn't like to drink so guess what I don't drink

two weeks months go by I don't touch a beer now I'm drinking because you guys I opened a stupid

bottle because if you stupid guys right here make me do it the dumb white boy okay I didn't even say

that but I knew you were thinking it okay but you know what I mean so I weeks months go by I don't

touch a beer I don't care for it because guess what my happiness is my life with my beautiful wife

that has held me and loved me and car audio became secondary before car audio was like

so dominated in my life that that was everything today not just my job and you know what I still

love it and I'm surprised I'm blown away that after 35 years I can come to the show and people

still like my work because I thought that like I was scared to come out of here I'm like going like

wow with all this technology you know this thing however however I'm still not impressed

and I'm not saying this in a bad way no no I'm not saying this in a bad way because if I knew

how to use that tool that you have

I'd be doing stuff that you can't even well there's no doubt about that you know what I mean

it unlocks a whole new level of creative you know I mean I'm not saying this in a bad way no I can

understand what you're saying to say I'm an idiot when it comes to computers I don't know the first

thing I program anything but yet when I see these things and as nice as they are

nothing has said to me oh my god look at that door panel oh look you know what I mean yeah I mean

the the stuff like let's take what I think are the top kind of builds and and that stuff the

between the stuff that Rockford was doing Alpine was doing you were doing like those builds like

the era of that just like we're just we're literally going to try to do everything we can to be the

craziest shit we can that style and that that era is gone it sucks that what is it that the 300 sx

yeah yeah yeah 350 let's go back to this let me tell you a little something okay think about

this how bad things have been for me in the industry people have no idea okay first of all

when I was doing writing for carsaw magazine which was the new magazine coming in because

it was car audio it was carsaw review that was out of sudden security they carsaw came into the

picture okay they wanted me to write a little article how to so they had this little Jewish guy

in New York they used to call me up I wish I know his name he used to call me up I sent a picture

by the mail but there was no iPhone to send yep I just take pictures of what I did I sent it by

the mail he will call me up he interviewed me for you know 10 15 minutes he wrote an article

I started writing for you know carsaw okay next thing you know carsaw is selling ads

because they got me writing for them I had no idea they gave me like a hundred fifty

bucks two hundred bucks and I had no idea you know yeah so next thing you know out of

sudden security the the the guy behind the the publisher Joe Rafael which is one of my friends

on Facebook he goes hey how about if you write for us I go oh I don't know what they I'm a very

loyal guy believe it or not trust me so they are for me like a thousand dollars per article think

about it I'm making like a hundred fifty bucks per article these people are offering me like a

thousand dollars so sure why not then I thought about it say hey how about instead of a thousand

dollars you guys give me a front page you know like a whole full page ad that's even cheaper for

them because it doesn't cost them anything right man they go sure so I left but before I left them

because of Brian Smith when he built the Rockford truck which still for me was the coolest

those conga woofers in the back and everything I told car sound say dude nobody cares about these

dollars we have to give in a war for you know I gave the first best of show a CES to Brian

mm-hmm think about these are the things that nobody knows okay

I gave him the very first best of show a CES from Carson that was before I went to

out of son security okay I created the whole thing just based on the Rockford truck so guess

what happened I leave Carson I went to write for out of son security

so the last person in the world that's going to get to that word it's going to be me

so now they started giving it to Steve Brown with Alpine

you got it yeah but again it gets even worse now I leave that I started writing for out of

son security so now they want to give me front page for free so I started promoting

Fishman out of products then I came up with the idea of the solar challenge

you guys out there find please somebody out there find the article of out of son security

that has the very first ad for the installer challenge it was not select product installer

challenge it was Fishman out of products select products install challenge because it was my

idea okay so that product used to be next to me in my shop right okay Paul Papadages

he was the king at the time he can afford to charge whatever he wanted for the space and

owner we decided to do this I got all the manufacturers to give me thirty five hundred

dollars in product for two cars because I had all the connections and guess what happened

we went to they told him it was a success and guess what select decided to trademark

as they own that idea so that if you don't believe me you go back to the magazine somebody

out there has the article and don't refer to which used to be the publisher of the magazine

and he's on my facebook he would be my witness that he stole my idea and the next year we'll get

what happened oh select products install a challenge and they threw me all to the ground

and guess what happened you guys know it was like six seven years this thing went on yep and guess

what of course they turned it into an iask event which it was never supposed to be an iask event

it was about the fabrication part of it I didn't care if the story even turned on really it was

about strollers for 48 hours building the best that they can do yeah and you know what I'm so glad

that Brian was able to take all that and look what we are right now tough people have no idea

people have no idea of all the crap that I have to go through to still be here

I could have quit a million years ago

somehow I'm still here we are glad you are out of all the crazy stuff that you built

what is your favorite thing you ever built that does ram for three wires because my father dying

I had to take a $20,000 pay cut to come from Foscar audio and Washington to go to Tacoma

Washington Tacoma no Tacoma to go to Georgia and in the middle of nowhere to go and work for street

wires and were you a street wires employee no or you just they hired you to build this funny story

I went up to the owner of street wires he had a race car and his booth

and me just be me I talked to him and say Jerry every was the owner of street wires I go okay so

with this race car what is he doing for your company he had no street wires in the car

there was just a race car that says street wires long story short I saw myself as a third person

you need a person that can do this do that

next thing you know he's flying me to Winder Georgia Winder to that's in the middle of

nowhere okay and so they flew me over there I looked at the company I saw myself

and next thing you know I'm working for a story about it

the first three months I'm in the office comparing product you know feelings go

monster cable you know all the stuff I finally said dude I didn't come here for that I need a car

so he goes what do you want I want a black Dutch friend that's when the first year with the dodge

came with the scythe and there's you know yeah in 1990 something 90 94 that's the first time

that the dog trying came with a fight the dog trying truck would look like nothing else up there

you know so he went to a dealership he came in the truck and I started building this truck

I had no idea what I was doing what pushed you to the motorization like what what drove you to that

because it was freaking wild like you know what growing up watching all the James Bond movies

with all the cool gadgets and the Star Wars movies two original ones not the new ones okay

I've always liked things that moves so when I started working for street wires and we got the truck

remember guys there was no internet there was no facebook there was nothing I talked to the buyer

and I go look I need some actuators remember the big catalogs how do you know what an actuator

was I don't remember the big catalogs with oh she had like 16 catalogs of different companies

yeah the whatever guide of American manufacturers yeah I know exactly what you're talking about

all these catalogs yep so picture the internet and book for yes youngster okay so next thing you

know I told him what she needed UPS used to come with all these pallets full of 12 12 all actuators

and I'm like next thing you know I have to tell it to stop do I was getting so many actuators

and keep in mind this is back when the industry has stupid money yeah there was a lot of $10,000

$20,000 was nothing for these companies back then company to spend money on show cards whatever

it was nothing so for them to spend $15,000 in actuators was like this having a little drink

no big deal next thing you know I got all these actuators so now I have to deliver

I don't know what I'm doing I've only been in the industry like for three years but I have these

these crazy ideas and I just started building and cutting to the struck this is Winder Georgia

sorry I was gonna interrupt for a second and I screwed it up I was I was searching for the

name of that that book that it's driving me wild I so remember this book said of all the

manufacturers sorry it was like in the second period yeah off points that people will have

different companies I'll Thomas register of American manufacturing yes okay so she ordered me

all these actuators and do I don't like 50 actuators every size from Wharton to this I mean all these

I'm like oh okay okay so I have to gonna have to like use this stuff

I started cutting things in the strong keep in mind this is street wires when people still

put things by hand so the production line in the back of street wires it's like 20 old ladies from

the south and this is Puerto Rican playing salsa in Winder Georgia in the mid 90s and these ladies

like looking at each other like who is this guy so finally what finally one of the leaders

of the group she approached me what are you doing I'm like I'm gonna be you guys the best show car

you have to listen these ladies assemble all these things they have no idea what they put

them together right they have no idea where they have no idea what it does yeah long story short

remember I don't know you're old enough to remember not you remember that esoteric audio the rca's

they had the coolest they should dip the thing on solder it's not soldering by hand they had

this these ovens oh like the little hot pot dude they had this hot pot with solder they used to dip

the rca's dude you could pull a truck with these rca cables and with that break it wasn't like

soldering the thing they actually dipped it okay so as I'm building the system in this thing

I got a thousand rca cables because back then we didn't buy pre cut you know pre done rca's

you have to get the rcs and cut them next you know I got all these old ladies

dipping and putting these rca's together so one I worked with three my father died

before I was ever to finish his vehicle my father was so mad because I gave a $20,000

a year to go and work for them he was so mad at me and I was there to prove him that I needed

so many to give me a chance my dad lived in San Diego went to Puerto Rico for vacation his first

vacation ever the second day he dies so that was so hard for me to finish that vehicle before

the ayasca finals I went to Puerto Rico we bury him I came back

and I couldn't work in the car I couldn't work and the owner Jerry he was like you know what

I understand the next day somehow I go you know what I'm gonna build this for him

I finished the car we went to ayasca finals and isn't that just building a car it's about

setting the car I'm not gonna brag about it but trust me I knew how to sell my work

you're gonna have this car with a loose motorization and maybe a few people went out there I went out to

every president of every single company at ayasca finals and dollars

and I dragged them to that car to that truck and I started motorizing myself and that moment

changed my career and I started motorizing stuff think about this this is back in 1995

we are what 2025 30 years ago and I the first stage I had 20 motorizations

the next stage I had 22 motorizations the fourth stage I had 24 and then I think that was 26

this is 30 years ago dude the amount of people that came around this vehicle

car audio still would not give me the front cover with this truck think about this guys

car audio magazine would not put a demo vehicle or any car in the front cover that will put an

amplifier or speaker Doug Newcombe was the editor of the magazine okay I sold it to Doug

it took me a long time he was finally in line the publisher she hated me this big old tall white

girl from who knows where in california she hated me she did not like me there's no way she was

going to give me a front cover well guess what my father died before this vehicle was seen and I

was dying I don't get it all of a sudden security will give me a front cover tomorrow

won't pay me if I wanted to car service you will give me a cover no problem but I know

I want car audio to give me the front cover I spent one year one whole year fighting with them

to give me the cover one whole year my boss was so mad at me because he got all the magazines

calling hey we want to do you and I'm gonna know I want car audio is going to have to give me that

cover finally I go to the show and the publisher they hated me see I designed a whole back of the

ram standing on the bench so the front cover had to be shot from above get it yeah it can be from

the floor the front cover had to be shot from the front you know so the publisher was coming

there's a whole crowd and this one I was pretty strong I could lift people up I can't do it now

I grabbed her I let her off she wanted to kill me I put it on my shoulder

I made her had the vision of what I was going to do and I had the whole crowd I say hey guys

if this car was in front cover of car audio magazine will you guys buy it or not buy it

after all that she finally gave in so now she doesn't want to just give me a cover

she wants to go all out so that magazine has three articles which I got them

two months before the cover came out there was step one of the ram step two of the ram

then the front cover with 10 pages 10 pages of the article guys top that off

okay hard harder was but guess what it was dedicated to my dad so sack abbas which worked

with jeremy I think it still works with him okay which Puerto Rican didn't know how to say with z

even though his name is sack I still in sack okay so sack if you're listening you know I love you

so we used to work together street wires so dog duke him send me his first cover his his own cover

after he read it so we got a phoenix package and I used to work downstairs so sack comes

buying with a phoenix package he knew wasn't there when I opened that package there's the cover

I didn't care about the cover I just went through the pages and I was dedicated to my dad

after that then I went back and I started seeing you know I'm wrong that right there best cover

you know I bet yeah you know best cover and for me that was everything and I wish you could

have been alive to see it but you know what I'm giving up so much I suck a right so much

and the people that know me that really really know me not think they know me the people that

really know me know that I will do anything I haven't given so much to this industry

you know what 30 years ago I told why I I ask to we have to do a motorization category

are you stupid no why because if people can see moving parts it's going to attract them

sound quality you can't show one video I don't care how good you are 100% I don't care how good

your car sound your car may sound like a million dollars but guess what a camera crew cannot come

and record it yeah so therefore the reason why the 12-volt industry didn't take off

like say the mx games whatever because this you know yeah but you know what when Steve Brown

started trying to compete against me and started to motorize stuff at least there were two of us

motorizing stuff imagine there would have been 20 30 guys trying to do the same thing how can

not that not be appealing for a video but guess what we cannot listen to the stupid Latino because

he's an idiot he doesn't really he doesn't know what he's talking about and guess what here we are

so I feel like whenever you talk okay there's there's so many segments in what you're saying

is such reality so with the motorizations and what you're saying there's so much of that

which appealed me to strictly car audio right and I say car audio is that call it sound quality

whatever car audio it's because it's the visuals the moving parts and there's a lot of that that's

non-existent which is why we're not seeing the same appeal of people coming yes into the industry

for car audio right so I can totally understand the the message that you're trying to convey with

what you're saying in that aspect you know I talk I talk I ask God so look let's make it 30 points

30 points into the thing okay whatever score sheet okay let's make it 30 points guess what

you do one motivation you go one point you do multiple things one actually get three points

so on so on so on imagine if you were to have 30 guys competing today they're kids in school

teaching robotics imagine the stuff that we're going to have today just like SPL grew so big

but guess what because they could not think about making money

oh how many actually the companies are going to be here some of that they will not listen to me

okay so you know what I try and try and try and that's what one day I say you know what dude

I'm done why should I keep trying when as much as I try you know what what Brian's doing today

I tried to do 20 years ago and guess what I only went so far and I'm glad that Brian took it from

there and look where he's at right now and dude I love him and you know what I'm glad that

he doesn't not like me like I thought I'm being very honest you know when he started inviting

all you guys the top guys to do the center consoles he invited you and Jeremy

cast and Jeremy Carson and all these guys and started building these consoles and everything

and I never got the phone call and I go like probably thought he couldn't afford you problem

I would have been no no I ain't no one doing I would have been very you know I would have

been very you know but for the reason I'm like money was never but the fact that I never got the

call I was like so well like I'm not a competition I'm not I'm not teaching class anymore why can I

be part of that group and when you guys started you know forming a group where all these guys for

you know Hugh and Jeremy cast and Jeremy Carson and this other guy this other guy you guys got

I'm like what did I do I mean so I'll cut you off there so I see different generations of

car audio I see like you the fecuda the Gary Biggs right and then I see like the Steve

Steve Browns the Yados and like it just keeps trickling down the Carlson then the cats then

the Tom Miller and then then it's like the me right so it's like we're all different

generate you're like the OG fab generation right so I would never get discouraged in

thinking why you didn't get a phone call because there wasn't other people it's not like the

fecudas were coming out it's not like the bigs were coming out then I then I would take it personally

right but you can't take that shit personally when it's none of your generation who's being

a part of that event right so that's how I would look at it because again even

like throwing me and the Carlson I'm not his generation I'm not cats his generation I'm not

Tom's generation I'm the the inclining of generation below them you're just like Chris's

grandpa's generation a little bit right and it's weird because I see I see other guys that

that I've seen come into the industry that are younger than me like the Dalton's right and

the fucking Isaacs and the Chris's like all these younger guys I feel like I'm in a weird

spot because I feel like there's not a lot of people that are close to my age I feel like

Phil is kind Phil can't use kind of my age but yeah there's not a lot of people how old is kush

he's over 40 how old are you I'm 37 he's so young were you that's not a lot when you went to

fish camp I was born in 87 my I graduated in 85 so my bulls were already graduating think about that

and and that's the message that I'm trying to convey here I understand by just saying that you

know for a while I just be really honest okay I was kind of you know like heard like wow you know

what like you know like what did I do wrong like like why did you guys want to be poor when all I

wanted to do is help you know all I wanted to do all these years for 35 years all I wanted to do in

the industry was to try to make it better all I wanted to do was to make it fun not making

boring you go to a car and everybody's like sitting there like don't do the reason why I put a fish

tank in my car because from day one I know I wanted to make this thing fun because guess what what we

do is a luxury it's not an accessory nobody needs a big high-end story in the car what we do is fun

stuff so therefore when the economy goes down nobody's going to spend a hundred fifty thousand

dollars to get into it on the car okay so from day one what I wanted to do is just have fun

and push the envelope and try to do you know but like I say man you know what bro the best thing

that happened to me is finding my beautiful wife they have supported me she even has the hat that

says what is this fish whisper fish whisper she tamed the fish man she changed my life that crazy

fish man you guys know this is the new 2.0 actually this was a drink in like in a long time so I'm

even doing this because I home to weeks go by months go by I don't even have a drink because

guess what the life that I'm having with my wife is so much greater than this industry

and guess what I'll come back and I feel like a dinosaur because when I see all this new technology

don't say dinosaurs say fucking legend no no but no I'll be honest like I see like oh my god I can't

do any of this stuff but you know what at least I still don't suck I mean really at least I feel

beyond happy things that don't need to be said number 247 I mean at least I still feel good that

you guys would still be there to appreciate my work but when I see all this new technology

which I don't even think if I'm even gonna come close to like touching and maybe I don't even

happen I don't feel like fish is that in honor 2d cat class this week well you never invited me

because you never want to be part of fish man you never say fish man we come to my class

I feel like I just had an epiphany so like this whole podcast started out

where he said his biggest inspirations Michael Jordan right okay one of my advice is to you

but I feel like it's also negative advice because it goes against the Michael Jordan

mentality like I would tell you from talking to you today and talking to you in the past

is be confident with who the fuck you are and know that like you're the Michael Jordan right

you've done this shit and I feel like Michael Jordan needs the same conversation

how much credibility like he already he's built a dynasty and it's not enough right but like he's

also won all all the championships the three Pete's two times he's had a career in which you just

can't top he's paved the way for so many people and inspired so many people but Michael Jordan

has the same personality that you have we're like even people along the way like Scotty Pippin

they butt heads there right and Michael Jordan still has the same mentality where it's not enough

and I feel like there's a lot of the stories like when you hear Michael Jordan's story there's a lot

of the ideas of the past that just still drive them to be better yeah but I don't know what else

Michael Jordan has to prove yeah you know what I'm saying yeah I feel like there's a lot of

similarities there which makes sense because you said that that's like your driving factor

you're a lot like him as a personality type which has made you the person that you are because

again well it's funny because back back in the and uh there was this guy uh Jamie Perkins

that bit a he built an SPO vehicle for a shaker I don't know if you ever heard this guy shaker

and back in the ice confinals I don't know what year was probably mid 90s or late 90s

uh I wanted to talk to the people to try to you know encourage them whatever

and I remember they were so afraid of putting me in the microphone because I was gonna say

oh guys the crisis stuff and they were so afraid you have no idea how many meetings these people

took took three days of meetings I'm not lying they're like oh my god finally when I opened my

mouth they realized what I was trying to do I was trying to help the industry I was like giving the

speech shaker which his real name is Arthur he's in my facebook I'm like Targan whatever yeah I'm

like dude you're not such a you're so you're not an Arthur okay that's such a white name and you're

this crazy white boy and his name is real name is Arthur but it's real you know shaker anyways

I was like giving my speech which everybody was so worried I was gonna screw up

he screams in the middle of the crowd fish man you the Michael Jordan out the industry

and I will never forget that and literally he knows that that's my inspiration

you know what it may happen it may not happen who knows maybe who knows maybe there's the

podcast to make it happen and if that happens I'm gonna have a bunch of white boys working for free

because that's it I'm not paying the penny but you know what I don't want to just build this thing

I want to build this thing where it's like cater to him like a glove like you know what I mean like

I want this thing when he sees it he's speechless like like like all the money and all the fame

and everything don't matter and if I cannot do it that way I don't want to do it if I could meet

Michael Jordan tomorrow I don't want to meet him I'm being honest that's not what I want I want to

be able to thank him these 20 front covers it's because of you these 35 years of what's the word

anguish anguish of all the heart everything I've endured because someday you have to know who

fishman is that's it man so I feel like that podcast came full circle with that yeah and I

I think this is about where we call this yeah I think that's that's the ender to the full circle

because that's how it started we we do have to ask if there is anyone out there that has a way

six degrees of eight degrees of Kevin Bacon whatever it is a way to get us to Michael Jordan

let us know I would love to see this through you know why guys I want to thank you for this

opportunity this is great my prediction is this my man here he just started how long do you

start at work most finger or what a little over a year okay so I'm gonna make this guy look like a

million dollars okay my prediction I'm gonna take this 15-inch screen TV what is it called what's

the horizon horizon the horizon 15 is great so white anyways I'm gonna make the screen TV do

something that in the wildest dream this whole entire billion dollar company not billion let

you say 50 we do all right 50 million dollar company okay 30 million whatever okay okay let's

just say a hundred million dollar company okay so let's just say I'm going to do I'm predicting

right now I'm going to do something with the screen that nobody in the industry with all the

technology and the 3d printing and the CNC machine and the 3d scanners can even imagine mark my words

and I might even throw a little fish food because this idiot here right here this other white boy

okay it is talking crap about me that feeding my fishes I might even add that into the whole thing

so with that I conclude this podcast I love it thank you Dave for all the music

Episode 47 - Fishman

About this episode

Chevrolet Bel Air

building a car

Kenwood

bucket seats

Thunderbird

rechrome

fiberglass

Ford Thunderbird

Toyota Prius

Cupra Born

Ford Expedition I

Chevrolet Corvette

Toyota Corolla

MTX 12 inch subwoofer

crossover

ADS

Jeep Cherokee

motorized

Nissan 200

bass

Mitsubishi Montero

Rockford

JL Audio

Nissan 300ZX

Dodge Ram

motorization

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