All right, hey, Troy's here, I'm on it and sit down.
Man. It's you've been on the junket, haven't you just running around?
Yeah? Yeah, talking beer, talking beer. Troygman's in the studio with
this to say, just to stay with that, like you for what two
years when you're not focused on doing football and your other entities. This,
you're grinding out to promote this beer more than I don't I think I've seen
any beverage product, food introduction. I don't know if there's a precedent set
where someone's been an owner has been this all in Well, thank you,
Yeah, no, I've I've worked hard. It's been two plus years.
Really going back even before that, it's been four years because it took two
years to come up with the recipe and a lot of work involved in that.
But yeah, you know, it's I'm glad you said that. I'm
proud that you said that, quite honestly, because this beer was really made
for the people who put in the work and then want a pause at the
end of a week and celebrate whatever achievements they had or whatever those moments are
with their family and friends. And but it honors the people who wake up
each morning with a purpose and a passion to be the best they can be
at whatever it is that they choose to be great at. And those are
the people who have always inspired me. So for you to say that about
me is a real compliment. Well, I love marketing, so to get
in there and see so, I don't think I've seen it with anything,
and someone that has accomplished so much doesn't need to do that. There's plus.
I see your your beer get put into the category of celebrity beer.
Yeah, but I don't think that's fair because that's not what this is.
Yes, you are famous, but that's this has been more of a focused
project. I feel like I feel like you've been in our meetings or something
because because because I don't feel like it's a celebrity back beer either, I
just don't, you know, I feel like it's something out of necessity.
I I I you know, I work hard. I'm mindful of what I
put in my body. People who know me they think I'm obsessed with it,
and I probably am. I'm one of those bio hackers you're hearing all
about. Do a lot of stuff each day, but I also enjoy beer,
and I wanted to make a beer that was better for you, and
I didn't feel there was anything on the market that offered that, and that's
how this came about. And so what makes it great is that one it
tastes fantastic. That's first and foremost. If it didn't taste good, nothing
else would matter. But it's ninety calories, two point six carbs, one
hundred percent organic grains, and we don't add any syrup, sugar, sweeteners,
corn rice, which all the other beers do. So it truly is
This isn't a marketing gimmick. It truly is a better for you beer.
It's the cleanest beer available, and eight beers it's available, I mean quick
trip resers, your favorite convenience store, esport in your restaurant and bar.
That's the best way. But people don't know this beer has been a part
of your life, even when you played football. Yeah, it had,
and it was a stacker in high school, you know, kids are I
came around to it late, but I've always enjoyed beer. But when I
was transferring from Oklahoma to Ucla the summer of eighty five or eighty six,
I guess it was I worked at a beer distributorship here in Tulsa, and
that was my first introduction into the beer business. And then over the years
did some national campaigns, became close friends with a family and Dallas that has
a big distributorship and did a lot with them, and and so yeah,
I've always enjoyed it. And you know, I then wanted to make something
that that I could feel good about that was cleaner because everything else that everything
else that I do is really clean that I put in my body? Can
you because I read this online, so you can tell me if this is
true or not? Is eight Beer? Is it made with Jim Kelly's tears?
Is that true? Probably shouldn't use that as a market Yeah, you
know, maybe maybe you know, those were tough, those were tough times.
And not to segue off of it, but I did watch the documentary
on those bills just last week. Yeah, I watched it and it was
fascinating as someone who you know, has a connection to those teams, and
Jim Kelly's a dear friend of mine. But yeah, they went through a
lot and they could have used some eight Beer back in the day when they
were losing some of those games, I mean football and beer. They just
go hand in hand. You also have interest in other things that racing baseball,
that all go with drinking beer. When in the progression of what am
I going to do after football, did you go, I want to make
a beer light go off in your head? You know that happened right around
COVID quite honestly, that people were locked up at their homes. I know
they were doing zoom cocktail parties and things like that. I was not.
I had decided during that stretch that I knew people were going to go one
of two ways, and I decided that I was already in shape, always
worked out, but I decided that I was just going to you know,
you can always do a little better. So I decided I'm gonna ratchet it
up and just be as intense about this as I can be and come out
of this and the best shape my life. And during that process just began
thinking that, you know, with everyone drinking more than they ever have,
I just felt like it was imperative to be able to come up with a
product like eight that was better for you. And that's really was the impetus
behind it. And it's been in Texas for two years. It's done really
well. We've got great momentum and Oklahoma's been fantastic. I mean, it's
a natural for it to be in Oklahoma because one geographically, but then also
just with my ties here to the state, and this state means so much
to me because when I moved here at the age of twelve, I went
from being a city kid outside working on a working farm and learned a lot,
learned the value of hard work. It shaped who I am, It
shaped my beliefs, and you get out of something to put into it.
And so I wanted to honor those people with this beer because those are the
ones who have always inspired me. And it's fitting that it's here in Oklahoma
now because this state, in my opinion, is made up of a lot
of hard working people that put in an honest day's work and for those that
enjoy beer and enjoy it. Whenever you enjoy your beer and feel good about
it. The other thing I like about the Ape Beer is that what you
guys are doing from a brand perspective, is you said two years ago you
didn't rush it, a money grab would have been put it in Oklahoma right
away, and you know, put it in southern California right away. And
all those put it in any of the cities that in a major league team
sporting team is but you didn't. You were like, listen, no,
no, no, we want to do this the right way. We care
about our intent and we care about from even the how you research to make
the beer. This isn't hey I make beer. This is you went to
the people that know how to make beer. You went with a scientific approach
to find the best health conscious beer available. Well, we had a vision
on what it was we were looking for, and you're right. We worked
with the experts at Oregon State and they've got a terrific beer department in their
food and science program. Spent several days with them and then we would get
on zooms. They'd send the beer, we would taste it. Our partners
were in different areas of the country, and we would label them what we
liked, what we didn't like. Go back, all right, well,
how can we make this cleaner? How can we make it taste better?
And that was a two year process, so there was a lot of work
involved in that. And you know, this is a marathon, it's not
a sprint, certainly, and we're in a really competitive space. I mean,
the beer business is competitive, and we knew that eyes wide open going
in, and the light beer category is as competitive as any of them.
So we're going up against the big boys, and we're the new kids on
the block, and we've got a long way to go. So rather than
just rush out and try to get all this national bosure and get into all
the states, we wanted to build this thing out the right way and feel
that we've done that. Yeah, and not to get too far into the
weeds, but just introducing a beverage in the alcohol category and a health conscious
one and all the other things that go along with it is not for the
weak stomached. So when you got those first beers to taste, how you've
been on the big stage, you know, under center lights, in a
broadcast booth, writing a check for a wrecked car, like the How nervous
were you to go? Oh? Man, this first taste is going to
be a determining factor on how I feel about this going forward. Yeah,
you know, I felt good when we were launching after having been through all
of the taste tests and oh gosh, we we went through three batches of
you know, probably about eight different beers in each one and then and then
once we got through that, we finally kind of got a locked down.
And you know, and and the whole profile of the flavors is what I
like. I like a fast finish. I don't like a hoppy finish,
and that's what is and and so but it's I liken it too. When
you throw a party, you know, you throw a party, you think
you've got everything covered, and you got the band and and the decorations and
the food, and you say, this is going to be fantastic. And
then six o'clock rolls around and and no one's there yet, and you're like,
oh, no, is anyone going to come? And and and so
when you do a beer like this, you you feel good about it,
but you're just hopeful that people will will try it and like it as much
as what you do and the effort that you put into it. And and
fortunately for us, you know that has happened when when we launched, you
know, we were the fastest growing independent beer launch in the history of the
state of Texas. So that in and of itself tells you, you know,
it was it was highly successful, and it's really resonated because I do
think more people are looking for something that's better for them if given if given
two options and one's better for you than the other and they taste the same,
or if the healthier one's better, it's an no brainer. And that's
where I think we are with this. With eight. I had to give
up beer. I wanted to lose weight, and I had to stop drinking
beer. And this allows me to come back to beer, come back to
beer. Yes, it's delicious, Yeah, it is delicious. Yeah it's
uh and and to me, uh, you know, you get into the
war of calories and carbs. You know that's a slippery slope because you can
do a lot of things to manipulate those numbers, and it doesn't make the
beer better for you. So we were able to accomplish a better for you
beer and yet still reach the measurables that are important. You know, we're
ninety calories two point six carbs for comparisons purposes, Ultra michelob ultra is ninety
six calories, So there's six calories more and two point six carbs. But
you know, unlike their beer, our tastes like beer. So uh,
if you're going to drink beer, you want beer, right absolutely, and
you want to taste good. Yeah, the number of things you read about
the tasting comparisons. I mean, you guys, it's not even a competition.
Yes, I got a great team, and we just hired a guy
that left Yingling. He launched Yingling in the state of Texas and in this
region, and he came over to eight about four months ago. He's been
you know, it's like having a number one draft pick and then and then
hitting on it. You know, It's like drafting Michael Parsons, you know,
and and all of a sudden, the guy's just off and running.
So we're really excited about our future. So I want to ask you some
football questions, but I'm going to blend it in with severe questions, and
your answer you can go off on as much as you want, but you
only have to answer probable or not probable. Okay, okay. So the
first one, as a selfish question, is the Chiefs will three pete probable
not probable. I'd say probable. Okay. I like that answer because I
know, because of what you do, it's kind of hard to have found.
I'm a pretty big chief Yeah. Yeah, I mean I say probable
because they've got Patrick Mahomes and they do it the right way, and so
is it likely? No, it's not. It's hard to do incredibly hard,
right, Yeah. So it's hard to win too, I mean I
want to And people ask, you know, why it's so hard to win
too, and the and the answer to that is because it's hard to win
one. You know, you have to win one before you win two,
and just doing that is hard. So to do it three times that'd be
a hell of accomplishment for them. They've they've accomplished so much already. But
with Patrick Mahomes and the way they evaluate talent, yeah, I would lean
over fifty percent. So that's why I'd say probable. And fans typically undermine
how hard it is to win a game in the NFL. When you got
a franchise that doesn't do well, people go, well, they need to
do x ys. It's really hard to win. It's hard to win and
I and I always feel what makes the game great is that there is these
fan bases, you know, and they love football and they love their teams
and they you know, they live and die with their teams, and you
know, they're fanatical. That's why they're called fans. And it really is
what drives our sport. But with that said, there's no one who wants
to win more than the organizations themselves, the coaches, the players, and
the ones who are putting the time in. So I know that people get
frustrated, Why why aren't they doing this? They need to do that,
And I can assure you that there's a lot of really smart people in these
buildings that are coming up with every way possible to try to win a football
game. Okay, eight beer probable or not probable. It tastes better when
watching Chiefs football. That's that's one hundred percent probable. It's better watching any
football for that matter. Yeah, I wouldn't isolate you are Chiefs. Lindsay's
Lindsay is a Bear Bear, so I have to ask this question justin.
It's good watching Bears games too. It helps, right, justin Fields will
have success with another team probable, not probable. I think I think probable
because I I suspect he won't be with the Bears. Okay, that's I
think that's a fair and eight beer available. Probable are not probable? You
can find it in quick trip. One hundred percent probable, Yeah, uh,
probable, not probable. Bill Belichick will head coach again. Oh wow,
because some say because he didn't get a job, there's no way he's
going to take a coordinator position. Yeah, I don't see that. I
I'm surprised he didn't get a job, you know, I really am.
And I know that. Here's the way I think is important to Bill Bill.
Bill wants. Bill wants to break the record, and he wants to
prove that he can win a Super Bowl without Tom Brady, and so I
have to believe that the next cycle somebody, somebody's going to hire him.
I mean, he's the greatest football coach in the history, regardless of what
anyone thinks and how it's ended last couple of years. So I'd say probable,
yes, that he'll coach again. Eight Beer Probable or not probable.
You can find it in your favorite restaurant in Oklahoma. Hopefully probable, and
if it's not, then please tell him you want it in there and they'll
get it in there, or reach out to the eight team and we'll make
sure it's there. Probable, not probable. Jim Harborough will join Barry Switzer,
Jimmy Johnson, Pete Carrom, Paul Brown in College College Championship super Bowl
Championship probable. Yeah, I'm a big fan of Jim's. He's not easy
to do, though, right to not easy to do, not easy to
do. He's he's won everywhere he's been. I mean, it's it's remarkable
what he's done. And even going back to when he was at the University
of San Diego when it started, and then he goes to Stanford. Stanford
hadn't won anything, and he put them on the map, and then they
were a contender each and every year. San Francisco when he went there,
they hadn't done anything. He takes them to the championship game. Then in
the Super Bowl, came up short against his brother, goes to Michigan,
was on the verge of maybe losing his job made them relevant. Wins the
National Championship. No doubt in my mind that he'll win a super Bowl in
the NFL. I think the other thing he gets underminded for is his ability
to convince people to be patient with him because it took time to rebuild Michigan.
It didn't happen over No, that's true. That's true. And it
was a little bit of a ugly He couldn't get past Ohio State you know
in some of these rivalry games early on, I'm I'm a big fan,
so I was pulling for him and we competed against each other back in back
in the NFL. Uh. He he's got a way about him that that
that brings out the best in people, and that's what that's what great coaches
do. Probable or not probable. Eight beer goes well with steak while grilling
on the back Patty. Yes, I did it just the other night.
My my daughters were in from college and they wanted to cook at home one
night, so I cooked up some steaks, grass fed steaks, I might
add them. I'm particular about that. Uh, and then had the eight
beer going, So it was good. Last two questions for Troykman eight beer,
look for it, quick trip research your favorite package store. Uh,
this is going to be a last football question. Uh. Probable not probable.
Bryce Young will be a successful quarterback probable. Yeah. I wanted to
bring that up because of all the accolades you've accomplished, people you had your
first year was not easy. Yeah, he's on a poor team that doesn't
have a lot around him, and you know the window of when these guys
evaluate players and decide whether they can play. It happens or it happens two
or three games into their career. People are deciding whether or not they're a
bust. And you know, he he struggled. There are more quarterbacks that
come into the league and have more success earlier than what they once did.
When I came in, Dan Marino was the only guy who had had any
level of success as a rookie, and since then we've seen a lot of
guys Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, shoot, even this year, c J.
Stroud. You know, he's been a lot of those guys. And
so when you see a player drafted as high as he was, it struggles.
You just think, oh, well, he's you know, let's look
for the next quarterback. You know, he's small, that was a concern,
but he's always been small and yet he's played at a high level.
So I believe in him. I root for these guys. I know the
game is the game is the best game in the world when you're playing well
at quarterback. When you're not and you're losing, it's miserable and the money
doesn't make up for any of it. So I like him. I don't
know him that well, I hear so much about him. Great kid,
but I think, yeah, I think he's going to have a great career.
And then finally with eight Beer, probable or not probable, Oklahoma is
going to love this beer because of Troygman's love of Oklahoma and what eight Beer
represents. Well, Oklahoma is going to love this beer, hopefully because of
Troy, but more because of what it stands for, and as you mentioned,
what it represents, and that is a low calorie, low carb that's
better for you, the cleanest beer available. I think everybody would welcome that,
and for those that drink like beer, give it a try, and
I think you'll be a fan. Well, listen, I appreciate you taking
the time. I think we ate more than we could in terms of time
with you. But I enjoyed talking with you as a fan who even though
a Chiefs fan, growing up watching the Cowboys play and watching you entertain us
has been amazing. Obviously, commentation that you do on football is always exciting
part of the game and just enjoyable as someone who's entertained me for years.
Thank you so much. Thank you, Yeah, and I'll add to that
for you that you know I've been bouncing around different stations throughout the morning,
and I walk in, I see your shirt and kmo D and you know,
it's been around a long time and listen to it. When I was
a kid growing up, my sister was I'm more into country music. My
sister was really into classic rock and rock and KMO D was was was was
her thing. So great to be here on your show, Thanks so much.
Congratulations on the beer too, What an amazing accomplishment.