North Carolina: The Building of North Carolina’s First Hydroponic Coffee Farm with Big Guns Coffee Founder & President, T. Shane Johnson

Nick: 00:00:02

There are a million ways to make money in the food service industry. You just have to find one on the Titans of Food Service podcast.

I interview real life movers and shakers in the food game who cut through all the noise to get to the top. My name is Nick Portillo and welcome to the Titans of Food Service podcast. Let's jump right into it.

Welcome back to another episode of Titans of Food Service.

I'm your host, Nick Portillo and this is season three where I'm traveling across the country on my across America and 50 weeks tour where I'm interviewing one titan of food service in every single state. On this week's episode, I'm heading to North Carolina where I'm sitting down with an absolute powerhouse, T.

Shane Johnson, the president and owner of Big Guns Coffee. T Shane's story is nothing short of extraordinary.

He's a Marine Corps veteran, serial entrepreneur, best selling authority, motivational speaker, world record athlete. He actually set the record for most push ups in an hour and most push ups in 12 hours, which is pretty cool.

He's a philanthropist and most importantly, he's a father.

Big Guns Coffee was actually inspired by his seven year old daughter, Charlie, who wanted to create a brand that embodied her dad's fast living, risk taking and never quit attitude. The result, A high powered coffee company with 38 blends sourced from all over the world and the first ever hydroponic coffee farm in North Carolina.

But this isn't just another coffee brand. Big Guns Coffee is all about intensity, motivation, and crushing your goals every single day. Beyond coffee, T.

Shane has overcome incredible adversity.

From surviving deadly motorcycle wrecks to experiencing homelessness, and even walking across America three times to raise funds for homeless veterans. His energy, determination and commitment to building something bigger than himself is truly inspiring. Before I dive into my conversation with T.

Shane, I want to talk about North Carolina's food service scene, which I do on every episode. The Tar Heel State is a hotspot for barbecue, with eastern and western styles dividing loyal fans. But that's just the beginning.

The state boasts over 19,000 eating and drinking establishments employing more than 500,000 people and generating billions in annual sales. It's home to some of the most iconic food service brands, innovative coffee roasters and fast growing restaurant concepts in the country.

Now, without further ado, let's get into it and welcome. All right, T. Shane, welcome to the Titans of Food Service podcast, man. I appreciate you taking time out of your day to come and meet with me.

T: 00:02:30

Yes, sir, it's my pleasure. Thanks for having us of course.

Nick: 00:02:33

So looking at your background there, are you in North Carolina?

T: 00:02:37

I am, yes, sir. Yeah. We're located in Tryon, North Carolina, in the western part, close to Asheville.

Nick: 00:02:43

Okay. So I've never been to North Carolina before. I've been to some southern states. Florida.

I've been to Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, but I've never been to. To North Carolina before.

T: 00:02:54

Yeah. Where are you located?

Nick: 00:02:56

I'm in California.

T: 00:02:57

Oh, yeah? What part?

Nick: 00:02:59

Orange County.

T: 00:03:00

Okay, like where in Orange County? Because that's kind of.

Nick: 00:03:04

I live like in Newport beach, so kind of southern Orange county. And then are you familiar with the area?

T: 00:03:11

I am, yeah. I lived in Laguna for a long time. I've lived in Loya. I was obviously stationed in Oceanside, Pendleton. So I lived in California for quite some time.

Southern California, big difference. But yeah, that's right.

Nick: 00:03:22

You were in the military. So you're stationed at Pendleton.

T: 00:03:25

I was, Yeah. I was 29 palms first, and then after I switched units, I went to Pendleton Station there.

Then I got out, came back and lived in Laguna for quite some time.

They just kind of bounce back and forth between, you know, Huntington, Newport, San Clemente, you know, the whole, whole strip there, all the way down to San Diego.

Nick: 00:03:44

Yes. Navy, Marine Corps. Marine Corps. Nice. All right. Why'd you get into the Marine Corps?

T: 00:03:54

Oh, well, I always wanted to be a Marine and they're the best, so I wanted to be the best at it. So I had the opportunity to be able to earn the titles of Marine. And I grew up in a small town in Florida.

A lot of people don't realize Florida's cattle in Orange Grove. So it's kind of one of the only real options out at that time.

You know, college wasn't an option for me at the time, so decided to join the Marine Corps, earned the title of being a Marine. And, you know, it was an amazing, awesome opportunity. That's something I cherish every day.

Nick: 00:04:26

I become a big fan. Are you familiar with the Sean Ryan podcast?

T: 00:04:29

Yes, sir.

Nick: 00:04:30

I become a big fan of that.

I, I do a lot of, like, cycling, like long distance bike riding, and listen to the different stories of Delta Force operators And the Navy SEALs and, you know, so many different, you know, special Force operators and members. It's just really interesting to hear these stories and, you know, and also the. How tough it is as well to, to, to be part of that and.

But he does a really good job of, you know, it's like a three hour conversation as, you know, of really breaking down how the person got into it. You Know, the training, the experience, you know, kind of some of the stories and then the afterwards of, you know, trying to live a normal life.

T: 00:05:14

Yeah, it's definitely, I mean when you're, when you're kind of that high speed, low drag and you get out to the real world, there is a difference and it is a different kind of high that you chase.

You know, a lot of guys do it either through businesses or, you know, some type of athletic, you know, approach to it where they become, you know, ultra marathon runners or cyclists or something to kind of chase that high.

But it's, you know, I think it, you know, a lot of people look at that a lot of different ways, especially with operators and you know, there's bigger platforms when you come to the SEAL teams and Delta Force and Rangers and so on and so forth, and Marine Recon, significant difference in each team and kind of and operator on how they do things.

But ultimately, at the end of the day, I think the one key component that we don't talk enough about when you hear those platforms is it truly is team effort. I mean, I don't think, I think if you were to put anybody individually in just one pipeline, you know, where they go through, it wouldn't work.

It has to work as a team. And I think that's the one thing people sometimes miss because when they're trying to get that personal connection to it, right.

When you're trying to push yourself to that next limit and you're listening to that operator share about pushing through that toughness, I think the key component that unfortunately most people will never have access to, that we had access to, was that team.

Because when you're going through that tough stuff, it's not your ability to be able to go through it, it's the fact that you have the support of the person to your left and to your right that's guiding you through it. I think that's probably the biggest factor that you know, say someone like yourself misses.

Not that you don't catch it, it's just that you don't have, unless you have like minded people around you that are going through that tough time makes a lot of challenging in the civilian world when you're going through the tough time, everybody goes away, you're all by yourself. Whereas when you're in that, you know, we're all together going through it.

Nick: 00:06:53

Yeah, that totally makes sense. Are you still friends and connected with the, with those that you're in the military with?

T: 00:07:00

Yeah, I think especially again, you know, there's, I, I was having A conversation about this yesterday on a different podcast and Military one and Marines are a different breed unto themselves. So, yeah, know, we kind of stick to each other. Of course, I've always done a lot of work in the military sector, you know, do a lot, get back a lot.

You know, I've ran across America a few different times, did some world record stuff. So every year I try to do something a little different to support causes, you know, for all, all those that have served.

But yeah, I established a pretty good relationship with some rings and, you know, we work together and, and keep that camaraderie. So what keeps us going through the chaos?

Nick: 00:07:36

You know, one, one question I have in watching and learning more about it. You know, I never served in the military. My GR Father did and I think he definitely, he, he served overseas in, in the Korean War.

And you know, I know he brought. I, I never got to meet him, unfortunately. But, you know, I've always wanted to like, give back or be a part of it.

You know, like what you said you did runs across America. What's the best way people can, you know, get involved or support veterans or troops or, you know, things like that?

T: 00:08:10

That's a great question.

I mean, I think there's, you know, anytime you can, I think the best, the best way to answer that without it getting very systematic is just be the American we were willing to die for. That's all. Live your life, you know, don't. You don't have to give money, you don't be a cause. Just, just enjoy the country for what it is.

Enjoy the time with your family, enjoy the time with your friends. Wake up and be grateful.

Because I don't think there's anything worse, especially for guys like that, greatest generation, Korean War, Vietnam War, to go and fight and sacrifice so much and then come back and realize that your country doesn't appreciate their life, not necessarily those that have served. We're well aware of the situation we're in.

I think the hardest part is coming back, especially being a motivational speaker for 20 years and going around and talking to people and trying to inspire people.

It's frustrating to say there's so many young people dying, willing to die for that cause, and you're getting up each day questioning, you know, your life and what you're doing, and that just. I think the best way is just be a great American. Just get up and enjoy the freedom that you have.

Enjoy these first world country problems that you have, you know, you know, drink your coffee, take it slow, eat your food, chew it Slow. Hug your wife, hug your husband, play with your kids. I mean, that's what it's all about.

I mean, that's truly the epitome of what we fight for, is to be able to have that time and have better time than most. You know, it's.

There's so many different organizations and things you can go through, and again, depending on the context of our topic, you know, But I think. I think really the big thing is just. Just get up and be grateful for what you have, because there's a lot of people that missed out on that.

You know, there's that kid that was 18 years old that didn't even get to see the world, that didn't make it. I mean, Korean War. Oh, my gosh, man. If you ever get the chance, go visit the Marine Corps Museum in Virginia.

And they have Disney animators and engineers basically built that whole platform inside. And they go through. And you basically walk through this one section, and it's a simulation.

The temperature, everything of the Korean War, what it's like.

And the guys that give, they may not be there now because obviously that generation's a lot older, but at the time when I went a few years ago, guys that were actually served in the Korean War, that were in that scene were there. Walking you through the tour was just amazing. Really cool experience.

If you kind of want to try to find a way to connect with your grandfather a little bit, it's pretty cool.

Nick: 00:10:28

Yeah, I love that. Thank you for that recommendation. I definitely think that would be something to cool to check out for sure. So you mentioned, drink your coffee.

How'd you get into the coffee business?

T: 00:10:39

It wasn't by design, you know, so people always say, you know, I do some of these interviews and, you know, I work for my daughter. I don't necessarily work with her.

Nick: 00:10:48

She.

T: 00:10:49

She's. She's 10 years old. At 6 years old, she decided she wanted to build her own business. And it kind of really came to a culmination of a few things.

She had been a part of a lot of my stuff. You know, my Runs Across America and being a part of the community and giving back. And, you know, I had a.

My speaking, executive coaching and leadership business. And she'd just been evolved ever since she was a baby. We were always together, always doing it.

And, you know, I think it's like any other parent, when their kid comes to them and says, you know, I want to play baseball, I want to play football, I want to play basketball. And I think just due to the lifestyle that I'D lived. You know, my daughter decided she wanted to be a business owner.

And I'd written a book called done by 2:30. And it was just kind of the rough manuscript at the time.

And the idea was in my culmination of all these different things, you know, working with the homeless and the military sector and all the things that happened, I realized that the foundation of the problems that we're seeing at the end that we're trying to fix, which is, you know, like a 1% success rate. It was frustrating because I was like, well, how do we take a step back? How do we find a way to fix that? And it really.

As I started to kind of look at the data, pulling everything back, I realized it all started at the dinner table. And it started with those conversations between, you know, and again, remember my brand and our model is father, daughter.

So when I say that, I don't say it that I'm leaving anyone out. It's just I can't speak on behalf of that other relationship.

But as fathers, when I would go and talk to a lot of the homeless or abuse shelters or, you know, drug addiction, I mean, the number one thing that I would find when I'm asking. Interviewing is that they were absentee fathers. And it was just crazy frustrating to me.

So, you know, I went back and wrote this book and I started to talk about kind of how like corporations, executive sales platforms have, you know, millions of dollars to build, you know, platforms to get a complete stranger to trust you. Right?

We go over psychological profiles and sales objections and all these different things to kind of create this model to where we could take a perfect stranger and get them to give over one of the most close things to them, right? For monetary exchange, their money. And yet the. The corporation preaches culture and family and work life balance and.

But there, but there isn't any model for that.

And as you grow up, unless you have that family foundation, you don't really have anything that teaches you how to establish a constant contact and relationship with your family members. We just assume it. We just assume that we're just masters of communication and that we're able to do that.

So I started working on this model where I was like, look, if we could accomplish all of our goals before 2:30, which is about the time your kids get out of school and we were to knock out all of our work and we found a way to maximize our time after that time period.

We could spend the rest of the time being CEOs of our house and coming up with drip campaigns and different ways to be able to establish relationships with our spouse or partner, our children, so on and so forth. So I was kind of in the middle of all that. I came downstairs and my daughter's like, dad, I want to build a business.

And it was like that defining moment where I could have, you know, she was five, six years old, drawing all over the place, and I could have just kind of pushed it off to the side like most of us do. Like, oh, okay, that sounds cute, honey, we'll kind of get to it. And I don't know, it's just like a serendipitous moment for me.

After I'd kind of finished up that book and I said, you know what? I was like, if you can come up with the name and the logo, I was like, we'll do it. And I gave her a responsibility.

It's like 20 minutes later, she came back with this little coffee cup and had like a little muscle arm on it. And I asked her, I was like, why are you calling it big guns coffee?

And she's like, well, dad, I just finished breaking the world record for the most push ups in one hour. And I did the most push ups in 12 hours, raising some money for a cause. And she's like, you know, not everybody can be strong like you.

She's like, but if they drink a cup of coffee, they can at least feel that way. And I was like, wow, that's pretty. That's actually pretty good. You know, I was really caught off guard.

So I think it was just that moment I stopped everything I was doing, pretty much got out of everything I was doing. We just jumped into coffee. I wasn't a big coffee drinker. You know, I have coffee. Go grab some every once in a while.

But I wasn't as obviously into it as I am now, but. And that's kind of how it started. And then I just got behind her.

And then I think again, being a marine, as you, sure, you know, you've heard a lot of those guys talk about trying to find something to latch onto emissions, a purpose. And what better purpose than getting behind her? And, you know, next thing you know, we have a coffee trailer.

And then we're, you know, we're opening up a retail spot and then we're getting in big box retail. And then, you know, she's giving pitches to executives and we're traveling and flying around.

And then we're growing coffee, you know, indoors and all these different things. And that's pretty much how we got into it.

Nick: 00:15:24

You know, it's interesting when I talk to people about their entrepreneurial journeys. There's a lot of people that they create a business plan, right?

And they think they have this great idea of this company that they want or business they want to start. And it's, they lay it all out, but it's, they, they, they don't end up taking that risk and jumping into it.

You know, when I think of when I, I'm also in a family owned business, my dad now, we started our company 10 years ago and when we jumped in it was kind of like, let's just do this, like just kind of take a risk. You're kind of, you're not, maybe you're naive to a lot of speaking from my experience, you're kind of naive to a lot of different things.

You don't realize the risks that you take when you do that, where a lot of people, they don't necessarily start.

And I, I like your, your, the way you're kind of saying, you know, your story with your daughters, you had this idea of serendipitous and like, let's just jump in and do it right. And I love that. And look at you now. I think you said she was five or six when you started. Now she's tense.

What, four or five years in business and, and you're still going strong. I mean, I think that's a testament to, to what you both have been able to build.

T: 00:16:29

Oh man. I, you know, it's funny you bring that up because she says that to me all the time.

She's like, dad, be careful when you get an idea because tomorrow we'll be doing it. And yeah, I'm like, you know, I, I just, I, you know, I was injured severely. I died when I was in, after I come back.

And you know, I had a lot of, you know, I have a competitive advantage over most because I've, I've, I've been somewhat to the other side and I know that this world, once we finish, everything will be all right, you know, afterwards. So there's a little bit more of a risk taking to me.

I don't see things in the tangible aspect of, you know, money or, or all of the stuff that we have. I look at it like experiences. I mean, it's really selfish.

Like when people interview me and they talk about what I'm doing, my daughter and oh, you're a great dad. And I don't really look at it like that. I look at it like I'm very selfish person.

I'm selfish because I want to Be able to capture as much time as possible, because I've heard too many people say I missed out on that time or I wasn't there or I didn't get to do that. And I know how valuable life is and how fast it can end. So I never want to be.

And I have never have been in that situation where I've missed something of hers or we've done something. So some people may say, well, you guys do all this together. Is she being a kid? And, you know. Yeah, there she's been.

She's learning a lot of things that, you know, I know that as a father, because my job is to not be her friend. My job is to be her dad. And I know that I'm here to teach her things so that if I'm never here, she can function through life.

Because the reality of life is you won't be a kid forever, and you're going to have responsibilities and you're going to have these things. And so I teach her, if you believe in something, which I believe in her, why not take the risk and jump? It was an easy gamble for me.

Nick: 00:18:01

Yeah, totally. You know, when I'm not a dad myself, my.

My wife is pregnant, so at some point here in the future, but, you know, growing up with my dad being, you know, really well, both my parents being involved in my life, you know, I think you look back as a kid, and I think of, like, those times on the baseball field or those times I needed help with whatever, and like, having my dad there, my mom there, like, those experiences as a kid are invaluable. And, and the lessons that you're teaching her now, it will. It will translate throughout her life. There's no doubt about that. I mean, I.

I definitely look at my own experience of running a business and things like that, and, and, you know, it was kind of, you know, my dad really helped me become who I am today, but also put me out there in order to. To fail and, and to take on the.

The, you know, life is not easy and taking on those types of things and learning the ropes and sure, he's there to help, but it's been really instrumental in my growth as an entrepreneur, just as a human being in general. So you. You have this idea, right, for Big Guns Coffee. How did you start sourcing coffee? Like, what. How did. How did that happen?

T: 00:19:10

So while we failed a whole bunch, so that was really kind of the key to anything that we do that comes successful. I mean, our first. Our first thing was really kind of understanding teaching Charlie and understanding the business side of it.

You know, we didn't get delve into the product specifically yet because I being a speaker and doing the things I've done, I understand marketing and branding really well. So I had a pretty strong brand as a speaker. And this was more about a coaching element before it was product focus.

So our idea was, is we knew that product is, you know, coffee is nothing, isn't anything new, right? It's been around for a long time and most of the coffee that you drink probably all comes from one of the few farmers that are out there anyways.

So it's not like I'm grabbing something at the time now, it's different for us now. But at the time I'm grabbing some coffee from Colombia to roast that coffee. It's probably no different than the giant companies that are buying it.

They're just buying it bigger orders. So we're just throwing the label on it, you know, and service space and saying, here's our story, here's our gimmick, here's our thing.

And that's just the reality of basically most products are out there, right? Like you eat the food, it's probably Cisco Progressive or MDI or Key or something.

It's not, it's not like it's this massive significant thing where people are. Because you just can't, you can't deliver mass consumptions of food at that level, you know, when you're doing that.

So we really wanted to formulate the story because what we understood is coffee was just, just happened to be, I always joke like thank God it wasn't unicorns, you know, like at 6, you know, and it just happened to be coffee.

And coffee taught me a lot, not necessarily about the drinking of the product, but understand the barter exchange of what it does, the relationship of how you can build businesses, you can start personal relationships, you can build friends and how coffee has this conduit. And it's the one luxury that everybody can enjoy all the way from the person who barely has any money to somebody has a lot of money.

And it's also one of the very few products that people actually use for self care. When you think about that mindfulness. When you wake up in the morning and you have a decent cup of coffee, right?

And you're able to appreciate it and you slow down for a second because you can't drink hot coffee fast, right? So you have to take the time to really engage and connect. And then when we got into kind of opening up our coffee trailer, it was just amazing.

To see how people were so connected through coffee. How, you know, if you.

If you go into a restaurant and you're eating breakfast and you walk into the restaurant and there's, let's say, 20 tables there, and all the tables are filled up and I want to walk in, it is weird if I go and sit down at your table and you're eating food, and I just sit there and I grab my food and eat it, right? Like, you're like, hey, this is my table.

But when you walk into a coffee shop, four different people can sit at the same table, all from different backgrounds, doing all different things, from corporate work to college work to, you know, graphic design is a small business. Somebody just playing around on the Internet and complete strangers can congregate around one section and drink a cup of coffee.

And it's just powerful. It's powerful to see.

So once I kind of got my head wrapped around that and realizing that people wanted to support this young woman and entrepreneurship, you know, the coffee part of it kind of started to form later when I realized that, you know, we wanted to grow coffee and we wanted to make. We wanted to be different as an organization on how we did things.

But it was really just kind of perfecting the brand and the concept and the story behind it first. And then from there, we started to dial it down into more of, you know, what the consumer wanted as far as coffee's concerned.

Nick: 00:22:37

Yeah, no, the way you just described drinking coffee was like, it's spot on. You know, you're right. It is. It does bring a community together or friends or people together, professionals, whoever it may be together.

And it is a drink that everybody can. Can enjoy. And there's so many.

You know, when you think of it like your routine of the day, I wake up and I shower and I get a cup of coffee, and like, how it makes you feel like that's really, you know, you're selling happiness in so many words. So did you end up. Have you been to South America, you know, and. Or where are you buying your.

I know you mentioned maybe Colombia, but have you gone to these places to see where the coffee is made?

T: 00:23:19

Yeah, we did. We did a little research prior to. To kind of get. Get an idea of sourcing of what we wanted as far as our coffee was concerned. It was kind of a weird.

Again, we're. We're super unique in the sense that we're the only indoor hydroponic coffee farmers in the United States.

And it was kind of weird because as I went through, I again grew up Growing oranges and raising cattle in Florida.

And so I had somewhat of a farming background, kind of understanding the dynamics of it and, and growing, you know, fruit, which coffee is which most people don't know. And so when I got into it, you know, I guess it was just kind of like a comment I made earlier.

I was like, man, nobody's really doing anything different with coffee, but everybody's like throwing an American flag on it then. And you know, that's American roasted. And it's just like all these like buzzwords on the bags. And I'm like, why can't we just grow it here?

Again, it's like that being naive like you mentioned, you know, I didn't, I didn't think like someone who had a coffee farm or someone that had the experience. And I just was like, I don't understand why.

And I went through a program for disabled veterans at Appalachian State University called Frontline the Farm. And it was teaching them about farming. I met a guy, he did a hydroponic lettuce.

And I was just so intrigued by hydroponics, just the system and the way that it is the future of farming and how land prices are, you know, so high and how farmers are just going to get pushed out because of the increase of property taxes and land taxes. And I was like, man, we got to start thinking about this here. And I don't know, I just become super obsessed.

And when I do that with something, I just kind of go down this rabbit hole, started learning everything about hydroponics. And then I started just Google hydroponic coffee. And there was nothing, I mean, eight pages of zero nothing. No one ever done it. No data, no research.

Maybe like one little article where someone had done it one time or a couple people had talked about it.

So I went in and just like we talked about earlier, I took every bit of savings I had and I dumped it into coming up with a strategy to build into grow coffee hydroponically. And it was, it was by zero design, was by accident, and we started growing it.

Nick: 00:25:23

Wow. What is a hydroponic coffee?

T: 00:25:26

Right.

Nick: 00:25:27

For those listening, what is hydroponic coffee?

T: 00:25:31

Yeah. So in traditional growing and coffee, you put it in the ground, right. And allow the soil and it grows hydroponics.

Now, there's multiple different systems when it comes to hydroponics. The gist of it is, is that is a water based system that basically the trees are not set in soil, they're put in a bucket that generates water.

And in our case, what we call an ebb and flow system A gravity system where water flushes in and flushes out on the roots all the time. So they sit in kind of a medium just to hold them up. A medium being kind of like a fake soil that doesn't absorb or have anything.

And then we just push water through the, through the roots of the plant, in and out and flush them with nutrients in order for them to grow. So it's a. Hydroponics been around since the time of Babylon and something that's been around for a very, very long time.

And then of course we just kind of, we control the environment with being indoor, you know, climate, all of that fun stuff.

Nick: 00:26:24

Interesting.

So when, when someone drinks your coffee, what is the, what is the experience that they will get that's different from other methods of coffee growth?

T: 00:26:35

Yeah. So think about all of the, well, set aside the business side of it, just from the product side.

Think about all of the things that potentially threaten your coffee. Right? Mold, pest, climate, the trees.

Like anytime you go and grab a piece of fruit, that fruit is going to taste based on the environment that it was in. Right. So if you're in oranges, right. California's oranges, Florida's got oranges.

If you have a frost or something that comes in and pops those oranges, that orange is going to have a sour taste to it. If you go and buy produce from the grocery store and it just doesn't seem like it's right.

More than likely that's due to the climate, essentially pesticides, all of the factors that were put on in order to keep it going so the farmer doesn't lose their money and they can continue selling the product. In our system, we eliminate all that. And again, coffee is an experience, it's a luxury product. So the best factor.

So just imagine anything that would threaten coffee climate, we control that. Pets none. We control that. Right. The, the nutrients that go into the soil, the water. So think coffee has got a, almost a 30 year lifespan.

So that soil every year, boom, just getting turned, it's turned. It's not like they can change the soil and replace it. Right. It's just the same soil losing all of the things and the factors in it.

When you take all those factors out, anything you grow is going to have a problem and not be at its best.

We're maximizing every single thing in the factor of that coffee to make sure it is the best premium coffee that you can potentially have at fair market price. That's kind of our goal.

And then as we expand, we want farms throughout the United States through rural areas for other farmers to kind of grow coffee.

As we kind of build that up and we don't have to worry about supply chain issues, we don't have to worry about tariffs, we don't have to worry about, you know, import, export costs. And we can now take and farm to cup. Like we have a facility now where you can literally go in, you can pick coffee from the trees. Right.

Where else you're going to do that?

Unless you travel to a different country, you can harvest the coffee, we can roast the coffee and we can serve and drink the coffee when the harvest comes around and you can literally have that cup. And again, we'll never compete. And we're not the same as the coffee industry when it comes to farming. We're a whole other thing unto itself.

We're our own model in that sense.

But our goal is to hopefully produce multiple farms throughout the United States so that people can truly have that real farm to cup experience when it comes to coffee. Yeah.

Nick: 00:28:51

I was going to ask, you know, what's your goals? You know, if you're looking long down the line. Right. What is your company goals of where you want to take this company?

T: 00:29:00

Well, I'll answer kind of more what Charlie says because it's her company when that sense.

So she got asked this question in a documentary probably about a month ago, and the way she responded was, my goal is to help build my dad build this until about six years. Then I'm going to go to college and then I'm going to come back, my dad's going to exit out and I'm going to continue growing.

The company is as big as I possibly can to help as many people as possible. So in her words, as her company, that's how she explained the goal. So that's. And my plan is her plan. So that's her plan. And that's what we're doing.

Nick: 00:29:32

Amazing. I think that's so cool. And to be able to work side by side with one another.

So essentially, I guess to, you know, in her vision, you know, supporting the growth, it would be, would you own these farms or you would have other farmers kind of set up your, your hydroponic system?

T: 00:29:53

Yeah. So we're looking at co op programs. So the idea in essence is kind of think of it like a, like a franchise or Chick Fil A.

So if you say I want to build a farm.

And remember the great thing about this is this could be done in urban communities, opportunity zones, you know, real estate that's pennies on the dollars because the warehouse Space is empty and you know, if it's within the specs, you can build your own on your property.

But our goal is really just because the idea behind it is, is we wanted to develop something that allowed rural America to be able to have a high level of cash, cash crop that wasn't affected by the weather and the terrain and all the issues. If I go out and build tomatoes and also I have a flood, I've lost my whole crop.

But if I'm able to put these farms in, they can exponentially grow because it's a 12 to 1 ratio. So that means for every 1 acre of hydroponics is the equivalent to 12 acres of land. Well, that means I don't have to farm all of my property.

If I can go in and build a farm and one acre, you know, 55,000 square feet, you know, again, and they can be smaller, but just as an example and I can put that in, I can bring in cash flow year round without harvest and indoor hydroponics versus having to wait seasonal on my crops and manage my money accordingly.

And then all of a sudden I get to the end of my crop and then something happens in the climate and hurricane comes through and, and now I've lost all of my money and I may potentially have to sell my land. And we want to bring that to rural America.

So we don't have to take rural America and turn it into big cities because we've got to basically increase property taxes and do more sub developments in order to have tax revenue to sustain the ecosystem of the small towns. And then they end up moving because they're not making enough money.

So our real goal is to build these so that people can come in from agritourism, you know, from a big city to come visit the small towns, have an experience where they pick coffee, drink coffee, be a part of it, have these large, big box retailers where they're connected with this farm. So let's say a Walmart down the road is going to purchase coffee.

You know, they're going to white label or their, their retailers or you're just direct to consumer.

They'd have a contract with that farmer and then that farmer basically working in co op with us, they would grow it, we would pick it up, roast it, package it if need be, and then we would put it in the big box, retail. And that will allow them a steady stream of revenue and it'll allow the businesses a steady supply chain of coffee. And we control the market.

It's not based off the commodities market like coffee. Is doing right now. We literally control the price and the market and it puts us in a strong position and allows these farmers to make great money.

Now they can spend their days enjoying time with their family and their kids and doing the things that they really want to do. I don't know, try to preserve a little bit. That's kind of the, the 100,000 foot view.

Nick: 00:32:25

Yeah. As a selling point too. It's. You're wherever you set up these, these farms.

T: 00:32:31

Right.

Nick: 00:32:31

It's.

You're hyper local to that local Walmart or to whoever the, the, the, the consumer is or whether it's just a family going to that farm or whether it's your Walmart or whoever restaurants. It's, you know, that is a great selling point to say, hey, like we're, we're buying coffee here locally.

We're supporting the local economy and the local families that run these also too.

From a buying perspective, being able to control supply and price and not have to be, you know, tied to commodities and things like that, that for the health of your business, that's also positive.

T: 00:33:00

Yeah. And it allows us to diversify product. If we want to grow separate trees, you know, Kona is one of the big ones we're trying to grow right now.

You know, Kona, obviously usually if you buy Kona coffee, you're really probably only getting 10% Kona because they just can't meet up with the demand based on the coffee that they have.

So the idea here is, is that we might be able to create an additional stream to allow their farmers or their retailers to maybe now make it 20 or 30% because we can build and develop that again.

There's still a lot of things we're learning and things we're putting together, but the idea is just to really take a market that we've depended on so many other countries for so long, put it right here, utilizing traditional farming and innovation and technology of America and you know, who we are and what we do and put it right here in the ground. And again, not replacing an industry that's been around.

We're not replacing, we'll never be able to do that, but we will definitely be able to provide, you know, that, that added product and that added service that will create an additional streamlined business and support for the farmers and hopefully for the retailers and the consumer.

Nick: 00:34:01

Yeah, that's fantastic. I love what you guys are building.

For those listening, what's the best way for them to connect with you and Charlie or to find your company or to buy your products?

T: 00:34:10

Yeah. So all of our social media handles at Big Guns Coffee and of course at our website, big guns coffee.com.

Nick: 00:34:17

Fantastic. And I have to ask one final question. How many push ups did you do in an hour?

T: 00:34:23

3,050.

Nick: 00:34:25

What, what does your chest feel like at the end of that?

T: 00:34:30

Yeah, that was brutal, man. Well, you know what's funny is I did one hour and the 12 hour simultaneous.

So I did the one hour, I did: 3050

That one was not bad. It was the 11 hours where you did 27 push ups every 60 seconds for, you know, 12 hours or 11 hours. That's a long day. But it took a, it took a lot.

I didn't have feeling in my hands for probably three months. I think I lost like £15 in that day. Because you can't eat anything. There's just not enough time, you know, to get stop and eat something within that.

So. But we raised a lot of money for the National Purple Heart Honor mission, which was the goal. And then, and then we'll be doing it again this year.

I, this may be my last year. I'm going to run across America and, and then do the push up world record at the end of that to raise money for a cause this year.

But after this, we're, I'm done. We're out.

Nick: 00:35:31

Good for you. That's so cool. I mean, that amount of push ups. Uh, I, I, I, how many did, did you do in 12 hours?

T: 00:35:38

Uh, I think it was 19,825.

Nick: 00:35:41

19,825 pushups. That is a lot of. I, I don't, Wow.

T: 00:35:47

I, I think strong, strong coffee, man. Strong coffee. Don't, that's right. Don't get them, don't get the medium rest. You'll be in trouble.

Nick: 00:35:53

Exactly. Well, T. Shay, thank you so much for, for coming on here and sharing you and Charlie's story. And I'm really excited for you both.

You know, you're building, building something special and the sky is definitely the limit. So thank you.

T: 00:36:07

Yes, sir. Well, it's our pleasure. And thank you for people like yourself allowing us to be on your platform to share our message and our story a lot.

Deeply, greatly appreciated.

Nick: 00:36:17

Of course. Anytime.