00;00;00;00 - 00;00;14;29
Unknown
Where are your hosts, Aaron Backus and Jason Kindler? We like to sit down with our guests to hear their journey, their challenges, and how they impact the local community. So grab a seat. Tune in and let's get inspired by Jacksonville's everyday workforce. Welcome to Hometown Jacks.
00;00;14;29 - 00;00;19;06
Unknown
Hey, welcome to hometown Jax. Jason kindler, and I'm here with Mike. Jay.
00;00;19;06 - 00;00;40;25
Unknown
First thing is you have a measuring tape on your, on you. Absolutely. At all times. All times. So, little background, Mike, you are, a Jacksonville native. I am so, the the point of our, our podcast is to, to highlight people either from Jacksonville live here now, and that make our city awesome.
00;00;40;25 - 00;00;58;11
Unknown
So, we've had some amazing guests, and I know you'll you'll be an amazing guest, too. So we're we're happy to have you. So, Mike, you just, you just kind of return home, right? Yeah. Just made it back. I've been away since 2017. Yeah. And just moved back in May. Right before we open this up. Got it.
00;00;58;11 - 00;01;24;28
Unknown
So, speaking of the shop, so the company name is tweeds? Yes. Right. So tweeds is, they're a little background on the tweeds as a, a custom suit, custom tuxedos, that type of thing. Custom suits. And it's not just suits. Yeah. Sport coats, jeans, business shirts, casual shirts, whatever someone may be looking for, but, we make everything handmade from scratch.
00;01;25;04 - 00;01;47;27
Unknown
Dang. That's sweet. Yeah. So, I know, just just looking on to you. This first location is in, in Jacksonville, but there's several locations throughout Florida, right? Yeah. So, Sarasota is where it all started. Okay. A friend of mine, Donald Carlson, he's the he's the mastermind and and the brains behind all of this. Yeah, we both worked in the dry cleaning industry.
00;01;47;27 - 00;02;09;08
Unknown
Dry cleaning. Okay, so, you know, we became friends back in 2014. And we would just have conversations constantly about what's the next step? What are we going to do? We knew the dry cleaning wasn't the end all for us. So, he decided to leave his dad's company. He sold his car, bought a 16ft box truck and built the AC.
00;02;09;09 - 00;02;25;13
Unknown
Oh, on the back of it. So that's how it all started. He was a one man operation for a long time, and then he just started calling up friends and inviting us along for the journey. Oh. That's cool. Yeah. So we spread out from there. Jacksonville is now our 10th location. That's awesome. Well, congrats on the, congrats on the new shop.
00;02;25;13 - 00;02;43;18
Unknown
So, let's get into let's just talk a little bit about. So you were you were born, born and raised in Jackson. And then where did you own your dry cleaning? Business. So dry cleaning was here in Jacksonville. Oh, it was okay. So. Yeah. Born and raised here. You grew up in Atlantic Beach? Did pick up and delivery dry cleaning for a long time.
00;02;43;18 - 00;02;59;27
Unknown
So what I would do is I would go to clients homes and offices, pick up their, their dry cleaning or their laundry, whatever they may have. And, you know, bring it back, clean it, take it back to them a couple days later and drop it off. So it's really convenient service right to their front door. They didn't have to do anything.
00;02;59;27 - 00;03;18;23
Unknown
They just did it outside and we took care of it from there. It sounds good. It was. It was fun. We did it for a long time and, yeah, I really enjoyed it. So, the path that, you know, how did you get into fashion? Well, Donald, you know, really, I didn't really get into it until.
00;03;18;28 - 00;03;40;14
Unknown
Until, you know, tweeds, but prior to that. Yeah, during my career and dry cleaning, I always made it a point to to dress how my clients dressed. So, you know, I'm visiting, a lot of, you know, some of the wealthier neighborhoods in town. I also ran a route through downtown Jacksonville. So a lot of law offices. Yeah.
00;03;40;15 - 00;04;01;18
Unknown
Courthouse, city hall, all of these places. So it became very important to me to, you know, when I first started doing it, I just have, like, my cargo shorts and t shirt on and a hat, and eventually I changed it to, like, slacks and and like a polo or a button down dress shirt. Yeah. Sometimes I would wear a tie.
00;04;01;21 - 00;04;23;06
Unknown
Just trying to elevate the experience because, I mean, it is a luxury experience. So elevate the experience but also elevate myself and that started my understanding of fabrics and menswear. Also the dry cleaning background helped out with understanding fabrics and different things like that as well. So, that's that's kind of where it all started.
00;04;23;06 - 00;04;44;24
Unknown
And then, you know, meeting Donald, he was a guy that was very much into dressing really, really well. And at the time that we were in the dry cleaning industry, we were both just kind of like the young guys, you know, going after it really hard. And we both had that same principle of dressing like your clients. So it just kind of made sense when, when he called me to join tweeds.
00;04;44;24 - 00;05;07;11
Unknown
Yeah. You know, it's one of the things he said was like, hey man, we've always kind of been on the same page mentally and like the way we like to present ourselves. This is what I'm doing. So good. Yeah. And, you know, I didn't know a whole lot about suiting or tailoring or any of that. So independent study and then coming on to the team with tweeds, fortunate relationships that we had down there in Sarasota that helped us along.
00;05;07;12 - 00;05;36;15
Unknown
That's really cool. So one thing that you said, and it's kind of something that that stuck through, you know, kind of girl growing up and, you know, I was told one time to, you know, don't dress like your current position is business dress like the position you want to be in. Absolutely. And, so I think, and just side note on this, I think, you know, a lot of, you know, professions have kind of got away from, you know, dressing, dressing up.
00;05;36;15 - 00;06;08;11
Unknown
Let's just, you know, call it what is so dressing up. And, you know, I think it's important I do I think it's important that, you know, you present yourself. You only got one chance to make a first impression. Absolutely. So, That's good. So, let's talk let's, let's talk specifically about tweets. Right. So, you know, what's the what's the what's the difference between, you know, a custom suit and, you know, and something that you would buy off the rack.
00;06;08;12 - 00;06;36;09
Unknown
Yeah. Good question. Because I think the word custom gets thrown around a lot. There are a lot of companies out there that, you know, claim to do custom say that they have custom, but, you know, true custom is is what we do now. I think there's also a distinction between custom and bespoke. You know, these days a lot of terms are thrown around has really an interchangeable, similar to like, you know, the term sport coat and blazer.
00;06;36;09 - 00;06;51;01
Unknown
People think it's an interchangeable, but they're actually two very distinct things. Okay. I need to learn because I have I know I want to definitely say that same thing. Yeah. Yeah, most people do. Yeah. I always know what people mean when they come in and they're talking like, hey, you know, I want to blazer this. Yeah, I know that.
00;06;51;01 - 00;07;17;16
Unknown
They may mean sport coat. A blazer is a very specific garment. Gotcha. Okay. But the same thing with custom and bespoke. Bespoke is a very specific process where the garment is almost built on the client. Okay. What we do is a little bit different where, we don't require as many fittings as a bespoke garment. We take the initial measurements, and then we make the garment, and then we do a fitting and we make adjustments from there.
00;07;17;19 - 00;07;39;01
Unknown
So. Okay, it is made to everybody's like individual, body type and in their specifications because each client wants their suits to fit differently. A lot of the younger guys want the more tapered, slim fit older guys like a more traditional fit. Some people are looking for very specific styles, like a zoot suit or something like that.
00;07;39;02 - 00;08;08;14
Unknown
You know? So everything is, is different. So what makes us different is that we take all of that into account, and we make it exactly the way someone wants it to be made. And then also the different details that can happen, with the buttons and the liners and custom embroidery and all of those things, like, those are the things that make custom, custom versus some of these places where you go where they say they do custom suits, but really what they do is they take a suit that they already have pre-made and they tailor it down to you.
00;08;08;14 - 00;08;29;14
Unknown
So that's technically a tailored suit. And not a custom. Got it. Yeah. The terminology, it's all over the place, but I want the custom one. Yeah. And you know that's the custom is made for you. It's a beautiful situation to have something made specifically for you. What did, what did you decide or how did you decide? You know, I know you know, Donald.
00;08;29;14 - 00;08;48;29
Unknown
You talked to him. I mean, what what made you, bring tweeds to Jacksonville? Like what? It what what was your thought process with that? Well, we we started expanding. And, you know, when I joined Tweez, we were still mobile companies, still in the box truck. We had three box strokes. One of them was stationary at a mall.
00;08;48;29 - 00;09;05;24
Unknown
That was our storefront. Gotcha. You know, and then the other one was, was not really working anymore. So it was kind of just parked and it acted as a billboard. And then the third one was the mobile box truck that we would take, got appointments, pull up at somebody's office building, things like that, go to special events.
00;09;05;27 - 00;09;25;04
Unknown
So we opened the first store down in Sarasota. And, you know, honestly, once that store opened, we thought, this is awesome. You know, this is it. Yeah. And then, you know, Tampa Open. And then Saint Pete opened and and we we were like, yeah, this is awesome. This is it. Okay. But luckily, you know mindset is always continuing to push forward.
00;09;25;04 - 00;09;43;24
Unknown
We have a mentality internally in the company that we always say we're we're still in the basement. We're trying to we're just trying to climb to the first floor. Yeah. And we still believe that way. Yeah. So when we start spreading out, you know, it's like, okay, what are the next logical steps? And opportunity came up Naples opportunity came up in Orlando.
00;09;43;27 - 00;10;06;03
Unknown
Then we pushed for Miami and some other places in the south, east coast of Florida, like West Palm, Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach. And after that, the next logical step is North Florida. Right? So, you know, toyed around with the idea of like, Tallahassee. And then and in Jacksonville going back and forth. Donald had come up here a couple of times.
00;10;06;03 - 00;10;22;18
Unknown
He didn't really know where to go. So, kind of got put on the back burner. And at that time, I wasn't really thinking that I would move back. Gotcha. Well, I, I had gone from Sarasota to Saint Pete to open that store. So I thought, you know, Saint Pete was great. I met my wife. She was living in Tampa at the time.
00;10;22;22 - 00;10;41;28
Unknown
So I'm like, you know, life is good here where I'm at. But we got to thinking about it and we started, you know, my wife and I have family planning and things like that. And she always talked about how fondly I spoke of my childhood growing up here. And, you know, she's like, well, Jacksonville would be a good place to raise a family.
00;10;41;28 - 00;10;59;02
Unknown
And I said, absolutely, Jacksonville would be a wonderful place for family. Right. So, you know, the more we talked about it, we took this trip to Puerto Rico, this past spring break. She's a teacher. She was a teacher. She had some time off. And over that vacation, we had time to think and relax. We got back on the plane, came home that Friday, I called Donald.
00;10;59;02 - 00;11;21;25
Unknown
I was like, hey, man, let's. I know you want to make Jacksonville happen. No, none of the other Tweed's guys at that point were jumping at the opportunity to do so. I said, I'm the guy. Let's let's make it. That's awesome. And he's like, all right, let's let's drive up there Monday. So it's like vacation. But yeah, that Monday we drove up and you know, we left like 5 a.m. that morning because we wanted to get here early.
00;11;21;28 - 00;11;38;12
Unknown
And, you know, our goal was we're going to find a place to day. We didn't care what we had to do. Yeah, we're going to knock on doors. We don't care. And that's actually how it happened was we're looking at places, I'm very fond of Riverside because that was a big part of where I'd picked up and delivered dry cleaning.
00;11;38;17 - 00;11;57;04
Unknown
So, yeah, you know, we're we're there looking at places. No one would answer the phone, all the phone numbers on the door from all the realtors. Nobody was answering the phone. So answer the phone. No one else from the phone. So we're looking in this one spot and somebody is coming down the street and he's like, oh, you guys looking to rent this place?
00;11;57;04 - 00;12;16;14
Unknown
And we're like, yeah, we love to. You know, it looks like it could be pretty cool. We want to just kind of sit inside. It's like, oh well the the owners right around the corner. Like okay, so we go around the corner. He owns a little food or grocery store right there in Five Points. We walked in and was just like, hey, this is the owner here.
00;12;16;16 - 00;12;37;16
Unknown
He comes out, he meets us, takes us around. We look inside the place, got a chance to open the doors and, we instantly knew, like, this is the spot. It's like walking into a it's like, you know, food. Yeah. And so we did go. We looked around Avondale, San Marco. Yeah, we checked out a couple of other areas while we were in town, but we left that evening and we're headed back down to Sarasota.
00;12;37;16 - 00;12;51;05
Unknown
And we were just like, yeah, that's that's the spot. Let's just pull the trigger. He calls the guy up on the phone while we're driving back and he's like, hey, I think, I think we're going to do it. And the guy's like, all right, I'll start drawing up the lease. And you know, you have to do your due diligence and all this stuff.
00;12;51;05 - 00;13;17;22
Unknown
But that's kind of how it happened. It's awesome. Yeah. So how's it, so you've been officially open in that spot? Since when? Since June. So since June. How, How's it been? It's been pretty good. And, you know, it's been it's been a surprise for all of us. And usually, you know, we kind of know the ropes now with opening stores, and it's usually about a 4 to 6 month window before you really start getting into profitability.
00;13;17;24 - 00;13;38;17
Unknown
But Jacksonville, I think, you know, the first month and that was was kind of rough. Yeah. The second month got a little better. And then, August was just a boom. That's awesome. And so, you know, in September has been really good too. So I think we've all been kind of surprised that just it's good how quickly it's taken off.
00;13;38;20 - 00;13;59;02
Unknown
I mean, realistically looking at Jacksonville, it's not it's not the most robust market. Right. Looking at it I mean comparatively to like Miami West Palm or something like that. So it's been a very pleasant surprise. And, you know, for me personally, being from here, I've always had to defend Jacksonville anytime people, you know, when I moved to say, hey, we're up and coming though.
00;13;59;03 - 00;14;15;26
Unknown
Yeah. I mean, but he's like, yeah. I was like, I'm from Jacksonville. They're like, oh, this is hard for you. I'm glad you found better. And I'm like, no, Jacksonville is awesome. You just don't know. Yeah. That's it. Yeah. I always thought it was the pass through to everything else in Florida. That's what everybody says. This is where they pass through on their way to Disney.
00;14;15;26 - 00;14;46;16
Unknown
How's it how's it feel to I mean I think I know the answer, but how does it feel to build something in your hometown? Feels amazing, man. Before leaving Jacksonville, there were always things that I wanted to accomplish here. I never felt before like I had the knowledge or even the platform to do some of the things I wanted to do, just like, again, that the mentality of people who don't live here, it's just a pass through town and this and that.
00;14;46;18 - 00;15;03;13
Unknown
Living here, I knew that there was more to Jacksonville, and it's like, how do I bring that out and bring like make that a thing and like, raise the level of the city so that we can get to that level of like other Florida cities where people recognize this is a beautiful place to be. Yeah. And I never felt like I was able to do that.
00;15;03;13 - 00;15;19;13
Unknown
Now a little bit through dry cleaning. You know, I was introduced to a lot of really, really great people. And that was a the perfect time in my life for opening my mind and expanding the way I thought about things and opportunities. You know, we talked about a lot of those books when I came in instead of around here.
00;15;19;13 - 00;15;49;23
Unknown
Yeah, that's when I was introduced to a lot of that stuff was during that time and just, you know, delivering dry cleaning to attorneys offices downtown. And they would introduce me to different things and in different experiences. So I knew that there was more that I could do. I just didn't know how to do it. And so I think leaving and just kind of going out and experiencing other things and then now coming back with Tweed's after, you know, we've built this country up to a certain level that it has.
00;15;49;28 - 00;16;06;09
Unknown
It carries some the name carries a little bit of weight. Yeah. When whenever I see it. So, I think it gives us the opportunity to now kind of raise the expectations and the level of the city and what's going on here. Yeah. You know, I don't think we've we've ever had anything like this in Jacksonville. So.
00;16;06;09 - 00;16;37;10
Unknown
No, I mean, if you, you know, obviously there's. Yeah, if you, if you just do a little bit of research, you know, you can find but I was, you know, looked on the website and everything like that and I haven't seen anything that's, you know, quite that custom. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, that's the thing. So to circle back, I feel like now I'm in a position with Tweed's backing me to bring the city up and just kind of raise the level of awareness about what we got going on here.
00;16;37;10 - 00;16;54;09
Unknown
And, you know, at the same time, make wearing suits cool again. Well, it's it I was I was about to say maybe, maybe the, spike in in August, people were getting prepared for the for the cooler months for sure. For sure. It's that time of year. Yeah. We're usually, you know, summer. We usually have a dip.
00;16;54;15 - 00;17;19;04
Unknown
Yeah. So that's why I think it was a perfect time to move in and open this store. Yeah, absolutely. So, just in general, how do you how do you think, yeah. How do you think dressing a certain way with, you know, dressing up helps with, you know, style, confidence? Oh, all right. So I don't want to say the specific college.
00;17;19;04 - 00;17;52;26
Unknown
I mean, I could say like, oh, it's Harvard study because everybody says some some university did a study. And, you know, there's a concept called in clothes cognition. Okay. And what that is, is, you know, when you dress up and you know, and it doesn't have to be a suit, but just whenever you put on your best clothing, the thing that feels the best and that you feel like you look the best in it automatically triggers something in your brain, that makes you, you know, stand a bit taller, you speak a little bit more clearly, and just have that confidence in your walk and everything.
00;17;52;26 - 00;18;16;00
Unknown
So I think that's a very, very real thing. Yeah. And, you know, I've seen it firsthand when I've worked with especially younger guys known most older guys in their like 60s, 70s, 80s, they've worn suits, plenty. So they, they already have that. But typically the younger guys like, especially when they're like, you know, 22 between that 22 and 28 never had a suit in their life.
00;18;16;02 - 00;18;32;05
Unknown
And they put their suit on for the first time. I remember this young attorney. He worked for his dad, in Tampa. And you know, he he has suits, but he had never done custom before. But I remember he comes out of the dressing room, he tried on his suit for the first time, and he's like checking himself out in the mirror.
00;18;32;05 - 00;18;44;14
Unknown
And he's he's just feeling it. Yeah. And I remember when he leaves, you know, I asked him, I said, hey, would you like to take it off and I'll bag it in the garment bag for you. You can take it with you. He's like, no, I want to wear this. Oh, that's awesome, because he's headed back to the office.
00;18;44;14 - 00;19;06;29
Unknown
Yeah. And, he hadn't he wasn't. He was starting to take over his dad's firm, so he was starting to be the one going to court now. So that's why he needed the suit before he was just in the office. So he didn't dress up, you know, a whole lot. But when he left that day, the thing he said that, like, really struck me and made me feel really good was, he's like, now my dad's not going to look at me and call me a bum anymore.
00;19;07;00 - 00;19;34;07
Unknown
And I was like, that. That means a lot, you know, and just given especially the younger guys giving them that confidence. Yeah. But even when it comes to older gentleman, you know, in their 60s or 70s, maybe their suits don't fit the way they want them to because styles have changed, you know, and so when you get them in like a new style and especially seeing the reaction of the wife, you know, who's only seen him in the big baggy 90 suit.
00;19;34;07 - 00;19;44;27
Unknown
Yeah. And then something a little more form fitting and that accentuates the figure a little more. Yeah. And the wife's just like, oh, my God, that's so good. Those are always some of the best. Yeah. So I've seen it firsthand.
00;19;44;27 - 00;19;59;09
Unknown
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00;19;59;09 - 00;20;15;17
Unknown
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00;20;15;17 - 00;20;24;07
Unknown
something you said there was it doesn't matter what business you're in if you're pleasing a client and making them.
00;20;24;13 - 00;20;50;10
Unknown
I mean, there's a reward that comes back to you with that. Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, that's that's awesome. Yeah. And anything that your client facing, you want to present your best. Yeah. At all times 100%. You mentioned the 90 suits. Yeah. The Brooks Brothers sex suits, man. It's there was a, I think it's, I can't remember what year it was, but it's the draft, NBA draft that Carmelo Anthony did.
00;20;50;11 - 00;21;14;25
Unknown
Yeah, yeah. I mean, the suits are so baggy on LeBron. And I think it's, Dwayne Wade and they're all in that in that suit. So what do you, Yeah, this is just a little bit off topic. What do you what do you see. You know, as far as styles now that you think will be. Yeah, that'll be in now and maybe gone later.
00;21;14;28 - 00;21;33;17
Unknown
Well I mean, I don't know about gone later, but, I think things are definitely tending to shift more towards more fitted. Yeah. Garments. And I think a part of that is because, like, health and wellness is so big now. Yeah, a lot of people workout more, lift weights, are part of run clubs, things like that.
00;21;33;17 - 00;21;53;04
Unknown
So when you're getting your body in its best shape, you want to show that off a little bit. And I think that's reflective in how people are dressing these days. And with suits. I think, you know, it's a good point. Yeah. If there's one thing that will go away, I think it's the overly tight, slim fitted or skinny fitted suits.
00;21;53;06 - 00;22;14;17
Unknown
I think that's going to go away. I think that was popularized with some of the younger generation, getting into suits and, you know, the the jackets are cut just super tight or overly short in the short pants and things like that. Now, personally, I, I love a no break pant. And, you know, I like to show off a little bit of sock or like today I don't have any socks on.
00;22;14;17 - 00;22;33;16
Unknown
But yeah. Well, I have my no-show socks. Yeah, but that's because I'm wearing jeans with with sneakers with the jacket. But, you know, and that's another conversation. There's like how people are expressing themselves with different garments and things like that, but. Well, yeah, I mean, I was just, you know, just. Your jacket's amazing. Thanks. Yeah. But it's amazing.
00;22;33;16 - 00;22;54;28
Unknown
But it's it, it dresses up, you know, it dresses up to wear. You know, that's how that's how we dress sometimes. Like, I can go jeans, a polo and a blazer and be good. Yep. And then, you know, and then when you do put a full suit on, it's a game changer. Yeah, yeah.
00;22;55;00 - 00;23;28;25
Unknown
Talk about mentorship, mission, things like that. So I know one of the things that, that I read is you wanted to start a program to help boys. Yeah. So tell me a little bit about that. So, one, there was a quote that I read and it was probably around the age of like 24 or 25, and it said that, you know, the to two of the most important things that a man can have in his life is to be mentored and also to be a mentor.
00;23;28;27 - 00;23;50;29
Unknown
So that was around the age when I began to seek out mentors. And that's where dry cleaning comes in, because two of my biggest mentors in life, where people that I met through the dry cleaning crew. So, now that I've, you know, come around to the age now of I'm where I'm the age that my mentors were when I met them, 12 years ago.
00;23;51;00 - 00;24;09;10
Unknown
Yep. And so I feel it's important now for, for me to also turn around and reach back and, and help young men who may be struggling. I know there was a time in my life where I felt lost. I didn't know what the next step might be. And I didn't, you know, just you don't know how to get there.
00;24;09;10 - 00;24;25;24
Unknown
You know where you want to go. You just don't know how to get there. And I think having a mentor was really the first step into getting over that hurdle for me. Because, you know, again, that's where the books come in. And understanding what to read and how to apply myself properly and what skills do I need to learn.
00;24;25;27 - 00;24;50;00
Unknown
And I know that there are a lot of men. Yeah. And there's a lot of young men out there now that, and I would assume is probably, you know, harder nowadays with, you know, the climate of like, social media and how everything is just so force fed to you. And, and for a young man in today's world, they may feel like they have to live up to a certain image or a certain financial standing.
00;24;50;00 - 00;25;08;18
Unknown
And the pressure of that without knowing how to get there can be, you know, a stroke. Everything's good on, on Instagram. Exactly, exactly. So, yeah, I want to help some young men who, you know, maybe are in that area of life where they know they're meant for something more and they know they have something to offer the world.
00;25;08;18 - 00;25;44;10
Unknown
They just don't know how to present it or how to package it, or how to get to the next level of growth and knowledge. And I want to help them get there. Man, that says something about you, because that's, that's awesome. I think a lot of us have had some turning points where where you meet somebody and they, you know, I have a couple guys I can go back and go, okay, that person shaped shaped my my path, which was not, you know, what was not exactly what I was doing at the time, but showed me you know, showed me a different way and, still keep in touch with those people.
00;25;44;12 - 00;26;04;13
Unknown
And it's like, yeah, same thing. There's, there's, there's definitely joy in reaching back. So that's that's cool. And I think it's an ongoing thing. Like I don't think mentorship stops. No. At any age. I think that at all ages you're going to still be reaching up to say, hey, how did you do this at this age? You know, there's right now I'm, you know, approaching my 40s.
00;26;04;13 - 00;26;18;12
Unknown
And, you know, I'm looking at what gentleman in their 50s and 60s and they're doing great things like, okay, how do I how do I get from here to there, like, help me with that? And at the same time, we want to reach back and help somebody else get from where they are to where I am. Yeah, that's very cool.
00;26;18;12 - 00;26;34;14
Unknown
in regards to Jacksonville, Jacksonville. You know, I moved here about 14 years ago. And like, like, we talked about it, like it was the pass through city, like, I have no idea what's going on. And I think we've I think we've gone over it, you know, gotten over that hurdle.
00;26;34;14 - 00;26;56;04
Unknown
But there's a lot of amazing things that are going on in this city. Why do you think that, you know, you grew up here, so why why do you think over the last I think really the last 5 to 10 years, what do you think? You know, that shifts happen to where there's a lot more business coming to Jacksonville and things like that.
00;26;56;06 - 00;27;21;15
Unknown
I think there's a few different factors that are going to add to that. First, a lot of the other cities and I mean, Florida is a very desirable place to be for, you know, tax purposes and all this other stuff. Sunshine. Miami is crowded and overrun. Tampa is getting to that level to Orlando is seen as is, you know, more of a tourist destination.
00;27;21;18 - 00;27;49;21
Unknown
So Jacksonville is right at the perfect point now that, the level of desirability is low and especially for of, you know, talk to a lot of people who moved down to Sarasota in Saint Pete, that lived in the Midwest or the northwest. And I think the migration from for them to here, in Jacksonville, they still get a little bit of the, seasonal changes.
00;27;49;21 - 00;28;10;12
Unknown
Yep. Because it gets a little cooler here, a little faster down in Miami. And like, South Florida is just hot, you know what I mean? And they might not want that. So I think that's the appeal there. Again the family factor in Jacksonville. There's a lot of fun family activities to do. So raising kids here is is a great, great thing to do.
00;28;10;14 - 00;28;38;24
Unknown
But also, you know, Jacksonville just like everything is coming up. The the big thing I think is people like myself that grew up here and left are now coming back. Yeah. I saw someone meet someone recently mentioned the term boomerangs. So, like, you know, we've been thrown out there and now we're, we're coming back home. And I think what we're seeing now is a lot of us left.
00;28;38;24 - 00;28;58;19
Unknown
Jacksonville got a different perspective from some other places because I moved around before tweets. I lived in Kansas City for a couple years. I lived in Saint Louis for a couple of years. I, traveled. So after, after dry cleaning, after picking up a delivery, dry cleaning, I became a consultant. Okay, so national consultant in the dry cleaning industry.
00;28;58;19 - 00;29;16;08
Unknown
And I would travel the country and help people build their pickup and delivery service. Oh. That's cool. And so I got a chance to see a lot of different cities and just the way the different people live and some of the different methods and things. And so I'm bringing that back with me now. And I think you have a lot of, a lot of military.
00;29;16;11 - 00;29;33;05
Unknown
I got a lot of friends that I went to school with that joined the military, and they're now coming back. A lot of people who left for work in different other jobs and industries in places like New York and L.A., and now they're coming back and everybody's bringing those experiences back to Jacksonville. Yeah. And I think that's what's helping raise the level.
00;29;33;05 - 00;29;51;08
Unknown
And then, you know, the people here in Jacksonville, I think, have done a really good job of trying to push forward. Yeah. You know, being away for as long as I was I would always read like Jacksonville Business Journal and all this stuff and follow things on LinkedIn and Facebook where I could. And I always saw constant progress.
00;29;51;08 - 00;30;18;14
Unknown
Yeah. So, I think it's a combination of all those things that's now making Jacksonville the perfect destination. I think it's it's great points, but I think that, you know, there's everyone it has a forward thinking here. You know, there's very rarely do you run into somebody that oh it's too much. Stop stop stop this I mean for the most part, it's, you know, a lot of, a lot of people want, you know, the growth.
00;30;18;17 - 00;30;35;06
Unknown
I mean, the new Jags Stadium. Yeah, I mean that that's a big deal. It is a big deal. I mean, everything that's going on around there is is huge. Yeah. And the museum over there, the the Four Seasons that's coming in and then all the other development going on around downtown, I think it's, it's a long time.
00;30;35;06 - 00;30;57;16
Unknown
I mean, we're, you're, we're, we're, we're the shop that, you know, where you're, I mean, you know, Riverside Avondale, everything is, has, you know, they've done an amazing job with all that stuff. So now the final piece is the downtown. Yeah, that's the final, final piece. And I think, you know, a lot of, a lot of people want to keep a lot of the historic aspects of Jacksonville intact.
00;30;57;16 - 00;31;13;17
Unknown
And I think that's where a lot of the pushback has come from over the years. I like that now. It seems like we're finding we're finding good match points. Yeah. So I think so of of keeping it historic because Jacksonville's got a ton of history and you don't want to destroy any of that, but you also want to be progressive and move forward.
00;31;13;17 - 00;31;39;18
Unknown
And I think we're finding a good, good mix of that. Now, I'm sure with your travels, you've seen, you know, different cities with, you know, I just think about sports stadiums and stuff like that. It's like, you know, when the, the atmosphere, when you go to a sports stadium, you're able to stay close to, to the stadium if you're out of town or, you know, even spending a night, you've got bars, restaurants and things like that that are all there.
00;31;39;25 - 00;31;57;16
Unknown
I mean, it just makes the experience, you know, that that much better. You get people to hang around indoors. I think that's been a part of the problem too, is, you know, when someone comes to the city of Jacksonville, it's great for people that live here, but it's not always the best for people that don't live here. Yeah.
00;31;57;18 - 00;32;17;02
Unknown
So having things like that around downtown and around the stadium, I think will do wonders for, you know, let's just say somebody comes for a football game and while they're here, we do have like nice hotels and restaurants there and right there around the stadium. And they get to experience that. That's going to draw them back in for another visit.
00;32;17;02 - 00;32;42;26
Unknown
Maybe that's not football related here, you know. So I think it's important. Yeah. So, let's have some fun. Yeah. Let's do it. All right. So what's your favorite suit color combo right now? Oh, man. Like with mine personally, just whenever because I have I have some very strong opinions on it. On some things I'll navy suit, hands down.
00;32;42;27 - 00;32;59;24
Unknown
I strongly believe every man needs a navy. Really? Every every single man on the face of this planet needs a navy suit. Got it. Yeah, but my my personal favorite now is like a I have a dark green. Yeah. That I really, really like to wear. And I've never been super drawn to green. I'm a, I'm a blue kind of guy.
00;32;59;24 - 00;33;24;03
Unknown
Right. But, And I'm loving it. Okay. Yeah. Most underrated piece in a man's wardrobe. Back to Navy. The Navy. Navy sport coat or blazer? Versatility. That's that's why that one is. You know, if you got a navy sport coat, you can put it on with, you know, an odd pair of slacks, so, like a gray or a khaki, and they're going to go.
00;33;24;05 - 00;33;39;12
Unknown
You can throw it on with a pair of jeans. You can wear a dress shirt or a polo. It's just a good, solid colored staple piece. That would never it never gets old. Yeah. And it goes with a bunch of stuff. Okay. Navy sport coat. Navy. Got it. I know where is that Navy theme going on here?
00;33;39;12 - 00;34;04;13
Unknown
And I'm saying here. Yeah, I got Navy. Oh, yeah. Okay. Favorite local car? Coffee spot if you're a coffee drinker, a loaded question, man. I've got to give props to brew for five points just because I know they're my neighbors. Yeah. In, in five points. Big, big fans of them. But, I mean, some of these other companies that are around here, southern grounds.
00;34;04;13 - 00;34;35;22
Unknown
Yeah. Like, we talk about esthetics. Yeah. The outside just looks awesome. And then Bobby. Yeah, yeah. Got to go for them to go. What's a fashion trend that you secretly love? Secretly love? I don't know that I have any secrets about it. Are you transparently love? Yeah. Yeah. Gosh, I mean, right now, and I think it's, a result of, like, Covid and and things going on more casual, like jeans and a jacket.
00;34;35;24 - 00;34;52;19
Unknown
I think it's awesome. Whether you wear it with, like, sneakers or dress shoes or cowboy boots. I think the jeans and jacket look is something I don't think is going anywhere. Okay, good. I think everybody can pull it off. Yeah. Yeah, because I, I love coming to work. Just. Yeah. Like, okay, I can, I can, I can feel the jeans.
00;34;52;20 - 00;35;11;16
Unknown
Yeah. Tennis shoes. But right now. No not at all. Ripped jeans though, I know, no recordings can do that, but, you know, nice classic jeans. Yeah. The, the younger guys, they'll they'll roll the. Yeah. Ripped jeans. Yeah. They got to that. I was going to say it might be a style. It's the it's not around for much longer.
00;35;11;16 - 00;35;38;02
Unknown
You're hopefully not okay. So here's here's the big question. In Jacksonville who is your who's your dream celebrity client. Any one of the Jacksonville Jaguars players. Okay. You know obviously Trevor Lawrence would be awesome. You know I like I like style athletes because they're tall and they they all have like really well built out shoulders.
00;35;38;02 - 00;35;58;16
Unknown
So they're going to look amazing in a suit. Yeah. But also they all struggle with finding really, really good fits because, you know, a lot of times they're the shoulders in a chest. They're big and they taper off. They're not getting on the rack. Yeah. And then the the big quads and everything. So they struggle a lot. And so you know, if when you make something that fits them really, really well it looks amazing.
00;35;58;16 - 00;36;24;03
Unknown
Yeah. Outside of that, you know, somebody that I grew up watching on the news all the times, Ken Amaro, you know, that would be really, really cool. Oh, that's cool, to style him out. Plus, he always he always dressed. Yeah, really well, too. So, that would be a cool one. Yeah. So, so what we hope is that one of the Jags players Trevor Travis somebody save is definitely Travis Travis got some style.
00;36;24;03 - 00;36;55;06
Unknown
Yeah he does. So what we hope is that you're able to to fit one of them. And then on ESPN they're always got to they're always doing the fit before walking into the stadium. So we hope you're that guy. Yeah man. And these guys I mean I will say now what I see from them, you know Trevor and Josh Hines Allen Trayvon Walker, a lot of these guys, when I see the Instagram of the pregame and everything like Jags, Jags over the last few years have had some style.
00;36;55;09 - 00;37;15;23
Unknown
Yeah, these guys really, really do it. Well, Logan Kirk is another guy that just does it really, really well. So you know they all got style. I would just love to be the one style. That's awesome. Well, I hope it. I hope it happens for you. So, let's talk about the the store. So watch tell us where the, the store is located.
00;37;15;23 - 00;37;33;03
Unknown
What's your address? So we're at 1049 Park Street, okay. Right in the heart of Five Points in Riverside. Nice. You know, historic community. Beautiful. Love it over there. And again, I it's nostalgia for me. I used to spend a lot of time over there eating at hawkers and and Havana and all these different places. So we love being over there.
00;37;33;04 - 00;38;00;04
Unknown
Go, anything else you want to say to, to our public? I guess, you know, one thing I will say is, I hear the term a lot from a lot of guys that I'm not a suit guy or I don't wear suits often, and that's okay. There's nothing wrong with that. But like I said about the Navy suit, I think every man needs at least one well-made suit in the closet for when something happens.
00;38;00;04 - 00;38;16;24
Unknown
There's always going to be a wedding or somebody's going to be graduating, or something is going to come up, and you don't want to wait until the last minute to scramble and get something. So having something in the closet that's already ready to go and that, you know is going to look good, I think is super important. That's awesome.
00;38;16;24 - 00;38;40;24
Unknown
Yeah. So I appreciate you being here. Yes. We hopefully, hopefully we'll get the name out that you're in town. Obviously your suit is your your your coat looks amazing today. So, anything else you want to want to want to chat about? No. I mean, I think we covered everything. I think we're good.
00;38;40;26 - 00;39;02;27
Unknown
Yeah. So now to Atlantic Beach. You guys got to rub it. Yeah. All right, man. Well, it was a pleasure. Definitely. If you're in the market or if you don't even know you're in the markets, go see Mike, down at tweeds and, And have him. You have to show you what you can put on and make you feel better.
00;39;02;27 - 00;39;06;06
Unknown
Absolutely. Appreciate you being here. Thank you. Yeah.
00;39;06;06 - 00;39;20;12
Unknown
The Hometown Jack's podcast is recorded and produced by First Coast Mortgage Funding. Located in the heart of Jacksonville. Do you want to be our next guest? Visit our website at Hometown Jack's podcast.com. We can't wait to hear your story.
