Speaker 1: Hello everybody, and welcome to Summerhouse with Sam. I'm your host,
Speaker 1: sam I Yella and today, once again, we are coming
Speaker 1: to you from mouse Trap Fitness, the home of CrossFit Mousetrap. Guys,
Speaker 1: if you're not familiar with mouse Trap Fitness, it's located
Speaker 1: in beautiful Lake one of this to Florida. And if
Speaker 1: you're asking yourself, where's link one of this to Florida, Well, guys,
Speaker 1: basically it is the very Disney side of Orlando. We're
Speaker 1: less than a mile away from Disney property. So if
Speaker 1: you are close in the area, you're visiting Disney, you
Speaker 1: want a good workout, guys, drop by Mousetrap Fitness. Say hello,
Speaker 1: come on in, let's get in shape together. All right now,
Speaker 1: I am very excited because today's guest is the one
Speaker 1: and only mister mo Amuzont. Hello, Mo, Hey, Sarah. How
Speaker 1: are you doing, Sara?
Speaker 2: How?
Speaker 1: How are you? Wonderful? Wonderful? And again I want to
Speaker 1: thank you for being here for joining me for the podcast.
Speaker 1: It means the world too.
Speaker 2: Thank you for inviting me.
Speaker 1: Absolutely. Now for those of you listening and watching, guys,
Speaker 1: I have known Mo for about a decade. Okay, now,
Speaker 1: originally here at mouse Trap Fitness adjacent in the same building. Yeah. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: there was a gift shop in supermarket and Supermarket absolutely
Speaker 1: and it was great because after a tough workout, we
Speaker 1: just walk around the corner of the building replenished absolutely
Speaker 1: whatever we needed we went in. I still remember Linda.
Speaker 2: Linda.
Speaker 1: Linda was the person who was behind the counter. We
Speaker 1: would just have like nice little conversations. We'd say hello
Speaker 1: and then we'd be back on our day And Mo,
Speaker 1: how were you were you the owner?
Speaker 2: Yeah, my family had owned it. My dad was in
Speaker 2: the super market business back in the nineties on one
Speaker 2: ninety two, and when he we moved back from Jordan,
Speaker 2: he bought that store so we could teach us business hospital.
Speaker 1: House, so he had that focus in mind when he
Speaker 1: made he purchased that business.
Speaker 2: So we went to UCF, we went to Valencia, but
Speaker 2: during the off times or after school, we will go
Speaker 2: and work.
Speaker 1: So yeah, and you mentioned you had business on one
Speaker 1: ninety two. For those of you not familiar with one
Speaker 1: ninety two, it is the corridor, yes, for Disney Disney
Speaker 1: basically for a lot what we would refer to as
Speaker 1: the tourist area, gift shops, hotels, restaurants. Absolutely, and how
Speaker 1: long did your family have businesses on one two since ninety.
Speaker 2: Four when that moved from Kentucky to.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and yeah, I apologize, No, I'm asking because were
Speaker 1: you alive in nineteen ninety four? Of course I was
Speaker 1: born in eighty nine. Okay, all right, now you'll have
Speaker 1: to forgive me. This guy is a young man. To me,
Speaker 1: he's a young man, and we say that all the time.
Speaker 1: And I would say, you know, good morning when I
Speaker 1: see you, and you'd always call me Samo, which always
Speaker 1: made me smile because I call a lot of people nicknames.
Speaker 1: Nobody ever calls me a nickname because my name is Sam. Sam,
Speaker 1: I am what more do you need? You know, it's
Speaker 1: an easy, quick name, but Samo, and I always appreciated it.
Speaker 2: I'm the only one who calls you Samo. Yeah that's crazy.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Oh, admittedly your wife started calling me Samo and
Speaker 1: it always made me smile. Shout out to Missaliana Abuzant guys.
Speaker 1: Just a quick background. So obviously we know that Moe
Speaker 1: and his family had businesses here in the tourist corridor
Speaker 1: of Orlando, but you are also the founder, owner and
Speaker 1: operator of Abstract to Orlando and that is Florida's premium
Speaker 1: premiere art experience.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Yes, indeed, absolutely, it's.
Speaker 1: It's one of my favorite places in the whole wide world.
Speaker 1: And I will have to just admit to everyone listening
Speaker 1: and watching at home, I worked at Abstract Orlando.
Speaker 2: You were the best.
Speaker 1: Ah, I appreciate it. You guys made it easy. Everybody
Speaker 1: made it easy for me there, and guys, it really
Speaker 1: just allowed me to shine. And I want you to
Speaker 1: know that this podcast is a direct reflection or that
Speaker 1: this happened is because of Abstract or Landdarks. So I'm
Speaker 1: just gonna give a quick let's just do a quick
Speaker 1: bio on Abstract if that's all right, of course.
Speaker 2: So it's funny, continue please.
Speaker 1: No, no, So Abstract Orlando originally opened in.
Speaker 2: What year twenty eighteen.
Speaker 1: It was a different name than Massimo Art Gallery right
Speaker 1: right now? What was? It originally intended to be as an.
Speaker 2: Art gallery to help local artists sell and promote their paintings.
Speaker 2: It's funny because it was a place where like more
Speaker 2: than ten artists would display their art and they would
Speaker 2: have access to the studio. I wanted them to come freely.
Speaker 2: Let you say, you're grabbing a drink with a buyer
Speaker 2: and you want to see your art, and you're like, hey,
Speaker 2: let's go to the gallery. You open up, you show them,
Speaker 2: you sell, and you leave. But a lot of artists,
Speaker 2: they were good at making art, but selling art is
Speaker 2: what's difficult.
Speaker 1: Art. For selling, it's a challenge. Yeah, not all artists
Speaker 1: are good at the other aspect of absolute art world.
Speaker 1: And so that was twenty eighteen. Yes what happened. That's
Speaker 1: the easiest way.
Speaker 2: So I had the gift shop and I had the
Speaker 2: gallery at the same time. And the gift shop, believe
Speaker 2: or not, was funding the gallery, meaning that all the
Speaker 2: of course we weren't selling arts, but we would attempt to.
Speaker 2: We would do exhibitions, we would host free wine and
Speaker 2: free cheese to bring people in. Best selling the art
Speaker 2: was one of the hardest things, Sam, that I've ever
Speaker 2: done in my life. It was hard. But what made
Speaker 2: it difficult, Sam, Like you got there has to be
Speaker 2: like a culture or something in the air to sell art,
Speaker 2: Like you gotta be like in major cities, you gotta
Speaker 2: have like for some reason, the client tele the target
Speaker 2: market that I was attracting maybe weren't into buying arts.
Speaker 1: Okay, so they were coming for the free cheese.
Speaker 2: Was share with them, and of course it's the art itself.
Speaker 2: Maybe it didn't reflect with certain people, certain target and
Speaker 2: it has to do with marketing. It had to do
Speaker 2: with finding your target market. It's just it was one
Speaker 2: of the hardest things Sam, honestly.
Speaker 1: So at what point did you transition from what it
Speaker 1: originally was found as to what it became and what
Speaker 1: it has become now.
Speaker 2: COVID COVID really ignited, so it closed the gift shop.
Speaker 2: Believe or not. It's a funny story. I think I
Speaker 2: mentioned a lot, like maybe a month ago. COVID happened
Speaker 2: and there was no tourists. The van lord here said
Speaker 2: pay or leave, and I had no other choice, so
Speaker 2: I left. Do you know how hard is to liquidate
Speaker 2: a Disney gifts?
Speaker 1: And if you're when I mentioned gift shop, we have
Speaker 1: something in mind here in Orlando specifically. Okay, it's t shirts,
Speaker 1: it's mugs, it's glasses, it's hats.
Speaker 2: He changed everything, all those things.
Speaker 1: Yeah, all the stuff. Three for ten, three for.
Speaker 2: Ten, four for ten.
Speaker 1: Oh, that's a deal.
Speaker 2: That is a deal, trust me, that's a deal.
Speaker 1: I should have taken advantage of seriously, well for ten
Speaker 1: that's great. If nothing else, I could have worked out
Speaker 1: with Mickey Tea right like that. No, that's awesome, it
Speaker 1: is okay, So you had to close that business, yes,
Speaker 1: because it wasn't any decision you had made. The decision
Speaker 1: was made for you. Sure right.
Speaker 2: It was pushing me in the direction that I needed
Speaker 2: to go, even though I was afraid to let go
Speaker 2: of something that I knew was good. It's just it
Speaker 2: was bad timing at the COVID no tourists in town.
Speaker 2: I was like, you know what, once it picks up,
Speaker 2: we'll be back to can fine, okay.
Speaker 1: But but it didn't happen. So how did that help
Speaker 1: you change or transition into what abstract become?
Speaker 2: So my attention back then was half in the gift shop,
Speaker 2: half in the in the gallery. So with the gift
Speaker 2: shop being one, I had full focus on making the
Speaker 2: gallery what it is today. And I took some fixtures
Speaker 2: from the gallery from the gift shop, I put it
Speaker 2: into the thing. It's just it really pushed me to
Speaker 2: jump with both feet versus dipping on both sides.
Speaker 1: You can't have jump into the pool right now, you cannot, okay,
Speaker 1: And so it's a blessing. It had you focus and
Speaker 1: hyper focus on abstract and when you transitioned from a
Speaker 1: gallery for the sale of local artists pieces, how did
Speaker 1: you decide, Hey, we need to do something else and
Speaker 1: you landed on instructing guests on how to paint. Is
Speaker 1: that right?
Speaker 2: Yes, So we offered many different courses. We offered fluid art,
Speaker 2: which is the one we offered now, which we grew
Speaker 2: in it three sixty. And I'll share with you more
Speaker 2: and I'll bring Walt Disney into it.
Speaker 1: Okay, Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 2: We tried soap making, candle making, any kind of art
Speaker 2: experience you could think of, but fluid art is the
Speaker 2: one that stood out and we were able to grow
Speaker 2: three sixty. I think there's a story for Walt Disney
Speaker 2: where I think he went to Louisiana or just other
Speaker 2: states on a pier and he's like, yeah, let's open
Speaker 2: Walt Disney World on a Pier's like, I don't like
Speaker 2: it because the ocean is there. You could only grow
Speaker 2: one eighty.
Speaker 1: Oh, you can't go all the way around.
Speaker 2: Okay, So that's why he opened Rolina so he could
Speaker 2: do three sixty. So with fluid arts, it opened up
Speaker 2: to sculptures table, decore so many different things we could
Speaker 2: paint on resin that just blew up and explo exploded.
Speaker 1: That's amazing. And when you started, do you remember what
Speaker 1: your options were as a client, as a guest to
Speaker 1: your establishment, what were their options to paint.
Speaker 2: A basic canvas, only one sized canvas, one cheeseboard. I
Speaker 2: used to go to Low's and get it cut in
Speaker 2: the cutting department.
Speaker 1: That's awesome. It's so great.
Speaker 2: So one does and yeah, that's it. Four pieces.
Speaker 1: That's crazy. And let's say you started offering that. I'm
Speaker 1: just let's say you started on a Monday. Yes, how
Speaker 1: long was it before you realized we can do this? This?
Speaker 1: This has a market.
Speaker 2: The minute, the minute, right away, there was no Yeah,
Speaker 2: it's just we knew that one percent better. If we're
Speaker 2: doing this today, yeah, I'm We're in it.
Speaker 1: I don't give up. Absolutely. If you're watching, guys, we're
Speaker 1: looking at our wristbands. He says one percent better. And
Speaker 1: I want you to know he believes that. And it's
Speaker 1: not just something that he says one percent better. You
Speaker 1: walk into abstract, you're gonna see it. You walked by
Speaker 1: the the employees, the resin room. It's on the wall,
Speaker 1: like guys, it's it's something he believes in. And we
Speaker 1: want to talk about a little bit later how you
Speaker 1: convey your beliefs to your team. But as a member
Speaker 1: of your team, I am so grateful. Guys. We'll see
Speaker 1: if we can get into that story about how I
Speaker 1: joined MO Aleana and their team. It changed my life.
Speaker 1: And I know that sounds funny and people use that
Speaker 1: term a lot, but no, it absolutely did. It helped
Speaker 1: me open up my eyes and realize what I am
Speaker 1: capable of, you know. And so we'll talk a little
Speaker 1: bit more about that here in just a minute. But
Speaker 1: I do want to get back to your partner, right,
Speaker 1: because a lot of times we mentioned owner operator right
Speaker 1: mo Abusan, but a lot of times, unfortunately the spouse,
Speaker 1: your partner, gets overlooked, and I want to make sure
Speaker 1: that we know that she is integral to the success
Speaker 1: of Abstract Orlando.
Speaker 2: So we have a nickname for each other. It's called
Speaker 2: Bendido bandits uh huh, so like Bonnie and Clyde's.
Speaker 1: I love that.
Speaker 2: So my phone her name is Bendida.
Speaker 1: Oh that's awesome.
Speaker 2: I like that.
Speaker 1: Bonnie and Clyde. Now let's not talk about what happened
Speaker 1: to Bonnie and Clyde at the end. Yeah, all right,
Speaker 1: but we all do. Yeah, absolutely, we're all headed to
Speaker 1: the same place. No, but Aliana, big shout out. Hello,
Speaker 1: if you're listening, Aliana, you are probably the heart this
Speaker 1: worker I've ever I've ever met, and I know a
Speaker 1: lot guys. If you're listening to this and you just
Speaker 1: got offended because we know each other, don't be offended.
Speaker 1: This woman is no joke. First of all, alarm goes
Speaker 1: off and she works out every morning.
Speaker 2: Every morning at five. I didn't go today, she went.
Speaker 1: That's awesome. So every morning at five she's working out,
Speaker 1: and then after that it's to the studio or how
Speaker 1: do we do it? Home, breakfast, shower, to the studio.
Speaker 1: That's that's yeah, it's amazing and it's so impressive. And guys,
Speaker 1: there are no days off for these two. Okay, if
Speaker 1: you have a business, if you believe in your business,
Speaker 1: there aren't any days off. And We've had many conversations
Speaker 1: one on one, and I'm always so impressed with young people.
Speaker 1: You guys are young to me, right, and not just
Speaker 1: the vision that you guys have, but the drive I
Speaker 1: think you can have a vision and not the drive
Speaker 1: and nothing's gonna happen.
Speaker 2: Right, dedication, Sam, We know that relies on us whether
Speaker 2: we eat today or don't. Literally literally, And it's just
Speaker 2: sometimes it gets a false notion that pictures and videos
Speaker 2: people see like smiles and they think that we're rolling
Speaker 2: in it. But it's day by day. It's earned, it's
Speaker 2: never given. So tomorrow's a new day, another opportunity to
Speaker 2: get it right.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely. So you guys were originally located Abstract Orlando,
Speaker 1: I mean over on International Drive. It was a very
Speaker 1: small space.
Speaker 2: Thousand square feet by SeaWorld. Wow.
Speaker 1: Really, I didn't realize. I never knew the square footage
Speaker 1: a thousand.
Speaker 2: Square feet third of what we are in today.
Speaker 1: That's so impressive, And the reason I think it's impressive
Speaker 1: is because you were able to accomplish so much in
Speaker 1: that tiny rectangle. I used to call it, or refer
Speaker 1: to it as the shoe box because yeah, it was
Speaker 1: red title. Yeah, you open up the door and you're
Speaker 1: writing the experience. Yeah, absolutely, you walk in. You would
Speaker 1: have artwork on the sides to display, and then you
Speaker 1: would have tables. How many tables did you have? Six? Six? Tables,
Speaker 1: so three and three right, and then.
Speaker 2: All down the corridor just boom.
Speaker 1: Yeah. And then did you have a paint bar?
Speaker 2: Yes?
Speaker 1: Course, Okay, So the paint bar is what basically what
Speaker 1: I'm referring to you, guys, is a setup where you
Speaker 1: can mix the paints. The instructor could prep everything and
Speaker 1: then bring it to the tables for the guests that
Speaker 1: were in the class. And then in the back area little.
Speaker 2: Back room, yeah, took the paintings to dry.
Speaker 1: Yeah. And you also had a restroom. We had one
Speaker 1: restroom and it was an outstanding by the way, thank you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1: I know that sounds funny, but guys, they went next
Speaker 1: level with the restroom that they had in that location.
Speaker 2: Every bathroom in a business speaks about the owner and
Speaker 2: management is just how organized and clean they are. And
Speaker 2: you know a Leana OCD.
Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely definitely. And I learned so much about taking
Speaker 1: that extra step, not just doing the minimum, but one
Speaker 1: extra step. Yeah. Absolutely. So at one point, were you
Speaker 1: able to transition from the original location a thousand square
Speaker 1: feet to the location you are currently at?
Speaker 2: So do you mind before we get into that police,
Speaker 2: I got that location because the landlord was a friend
Speaker 2: of my brothers. They're Lebanese, very nice family. To rent
Speaker 2: a space, you got to show financials. Of course I
Speaker 2: didn't have strong financials.
Speaker 1: They wanted numbers.
Speaker 2: I wanted to know that you get a four to
Speaker 2: sign a five year lease. I'm not lying to you.
Speaker 2: I went it out office and I said, okay. He's like,
Speaker 2: what do you want to use it for? I said,
Speaker 2: I want to I want to open our gallery in
Speaker 2: the man he's like in the seventies. He looked at me,
Speaker 2: He's like, are you sure. Yeah, no financials, threw me
Speaker 2: the keys, like sign right here, and I signed a
Speaker 2: five year lease right then and there.
Speaker 1: That's amazing. That's such a blessing because you did that.
Speaker 1: You still had the gift shop, yes, and the supermarket
Speaker 1: at the time.
Speaker 2: Just the gift shop.
Speaker 1: Okay, just the gift shop. But at least you had
Speaker 1: a source of revenue, right of course. And so worst
Speaker 1: case scenario, and I'm assuming you tell me, is that, well,
Speaker 1: if this doesn't work out, I can always just have
Speaker 1: the gift shop. Right But at what point, how far
Speaker 1: along when you were doing both did the gift shop close?
Speaker 1: So you started twenty eighteen COVID twenty years.
Speaker 2: Okay, testing, failing big time and learning, offering some experiences
Speaker 2: here and there. Until COVID happened. We went full full.
Speaker 1: All in. Yeah, all in artwork. Okay, So you close
Speaker 1: up the gift shop, you start abstract, you start fine tuning.
Speaker 1: Of course I was mentioning before we started recording that.
Speaker 1: My last guest, Alan Thompson. He's really big into systems,
Speaker 1: and I know you and I have definitely talked about
Speaker 1: systems before. And you guys continue to fine tune and
Speaker 1: improve your systems, right, That's.
Speaker 2: How you buy your time back, Sam, I don't want
Speaker 2: to be attached like this is something that Agana's really
Speaker 2: doing a good job and making me realize. Abstract or
Speaker 2: Lendo is not Mo, and Mo is not abstractor Lendo,
Speaker 2: two different identities.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: I'm a funny guy. I like to go to the movies.
Speaker 2: I'm chill, you know. I mean, yeah, I don't want
Speaker 2: to be only known for a business that I opened
Speaker 2: and I love it. I love after Lando, but I'm
Speaker 2: trying to disconnect my identity from it so I could
Speaker 2: do other things. Maybe, or it doesn't make sense so
Speaker 2: you need systems for something to continue.
Speaker 1: No, man, that makes me so happy and smile, because
Speaker 1: again it's important to have a good partner, right, and
Speaker 1: someone who sees things maybe from a different perspective than
Speaker 1: our own. And then to hear that. I think for
Speaker 1: many entrepreneurs you get caught up not just in the
Speaker 1: day to day, but the minute to minute. You know,
Speaker 1: tell me onlining, please tell me or not? And so
Speaker 1: we get caught up. And so when people think abstract,
Speaker 1: they think mo or they think mo oh abstract, you know,
Speaker 1: but I think it's essential for people to have I'm
Speaker 1: using air quotes if you're not watching a life outside
Speaker 1: of the business that they have. So that's amazing. So
Speaker 1: twenty twenty, do you remember the month that you started
Speaker 1: transitioning into the instruction that kind of thing. We were
Speaker 1: doing it before COVID, just testing the water right seeing
Speaker 1: it definitely worked. Yeah, but then COVID happened your life.
Speaker 1: That's it, Okay, we need to do that because think
Speaker 1: about it.
Speaker 2: We we took the fixtures from the gift shop to
Speaker 2: the gallopy, so there was no like it. So we
Speaker 2: back before COVID, we used to use a gallery for
Speaker 2: venue spots. We used to do like bridal showers, and
Speaker 2: all these things, and now after COVID they're hitting us
Speaker 2: all like, hey, can we still do it? Like unfortunately
Speaker 2: you can't. Right, there's fixtures now and now we're doing
Speaker 2: class are fully booked. So it was hard. Yeah, it
Speaker 2: was yeah.
Speaker 1: And let's see, so that was twenty twenty and I
Speaker 1: know November of twenty twenty four you moved to your
Speaker 1: current location. Is that right?
Speaker 2: Absolutely?
Speaker 1: Where is Abstract Orlando currently located?
Speaker 2: Right by the Violent outlets, across from the helicopter, right
Speaker 2: by cheese cake factory?
Speaker 1: Yeah? Absolutely, cheesecake factory, the Violent outlets. That's really all
Speaker 1: you have to say, right, And so guys, it is
Speaker 1: in the tourist area of like Buennibista slash Disney side
Speaker 1: of Orlando. Google right now, Abstract Orlando. How many five
Speaker 1: star reviews do you have?
Speaker 2: I just checked it this one. I checked it twenty six, nine,
Speaker 2: six and.
Speaker 1: Nine, so almost three thousand and five star reviews. And
Speaker 1: do you know how if you're thing, you know how
Speaker 1: difficult it is to get a review first of all,
Speaker 1: just in general, you know, but a five star review now,
Speaker 1: I like to say five star reviews. People want to
Speaker 1: let other people know, of course, right, if it's such
Speaker 1: an amazing experience. And this leads me to the word
Speaker 1: that reminds me of mo you ready for it, guys,
Speaker 1: it's hospitality. Okay, so art I believe it's I think
Speaker 1: you've said gets you through the door. Yeah, yeah, right
Speaker 1: a right, So let me just give a quick synopsis
Speaker 1: of what the process is like. You have a booking,
Speaker 1: You book your reservation for the class. You can try
Speaker 1: walking in, but a lot of times the classes are
Speaker 1: fully booked, so always recommend a book, right, So you
Speaker 1: make the reservation, you come in, you're gonna get to
Speaker 1: look around the gallery. There are so many different options
Speaker 1: to paint. You have canvas, you have sculptures, table decor
Speaker 1: there's just so many different things. You do custom cut out.
Speaker 1: I know you've done names of absolutely and so once
Speaker 1: you pick the item or the project, then you also
Speaker 1: have to select a color palette. Ye all right, I
Speaker 1: know for a fact that you have ten color palettes
Speaker 1: to choose from, or you can create your own color
Speaker 1: palette indeed out to five colors or you're choosing right,
Speaker 1: it's all coming back to me now, and guys, that
Speaker 1: gets you through the door. But the hospitality is what
Speaker 1: has you coming back. Very true, and it also is
Speaker 1: what creates the clients hell because one person will tell
Speaker 1: another and they have to come in, or one person
Speaker 1: experiences it and then they'll tell their family or their
Speaker 1: work group and then people come in. Let's talk about hospitality.
Speaker 1: Why is it so important to you?
Speaker 2: Because I'm a consumer. I go out to places and
Speaker 2: I spend my money on services and experiences and products,
Speaker 2: and I question myself and say, how do I feel?
Speaker 2: Do I like this feeling? And if I like it,
Speaker 2: I want to do more of it. If I don't
Speaker 2: like it, then I'm never going to come back.
Speaker 1: I'm putting myself in the guests's experience shoes by saying.
Speaker 2: How do they feel when we say this? How do
Speaker 2: we feel when we do this? How's this policy and
Speaker 2: landing for them? And if there's things that's a negative,
Speaker 2: then we remove it. So it's how they feel. And
Speaker 2: if you keep putting their perspective in mind, then it's endless.
Speaker 1: And how do you convey your level of hospitality to
Speaker 1: your team?
Speaker 2: It's tough. It's tough because it's like a muscle. Someone
Speaker 2: could snatch two twenty five to day, but some other
Speaker 2: people cannot. So it's being able to do it in
Speaker 2: bite size and Trainingum, it's every day coaching one percent better.
Speaker 2: We have pre shifts that last forty five minutes. I
Speaker 2: love pre shift. Do you talk about systems. I'm finding
Speaker 2: ways to systemize the opening procedures, the cleaning, the setup.
Speaker 2: And I want to talk more. I want to talk
Speaker 2: about the bookings, who's coming in, How we're gonna punch
Speaker 2: them in the face. Punching the face is something that
Speaker 2: we've been saying an abstract. It's a different way of
Speaker 2: saying blow your mind. We're gonna blow their minds, but
Speaker 2: we're gonna punch them in the face. So like, how
Speaker 2: we're gonna punch this guests in the face. And it
Speaker 2: might sound aggressive at first, but they're like, yo, didn't
Speaker 2: you have like new timbers, Like hey, I got the
Speaker 2: best way? We're going to punch in the facing? Like nice?
Speaker 1: Nice? Yeah, again, it's just punching the face. I understand
Speaker 1: what It might sound a little aggressive, but really that's
Speaker 1: how you want to be with your hospitality. You want
Speaker 1: to catch them off guard, you want to stun them. No,
Speaker 1: and guys, I cannot tell you how accurate hospitality the
Speaker 1: term is at abstract Orlando, and so just a little background.
Speaker 1: I had a job. Actually it was an amazing job,
Speaker 1: something I dreamed about really my whole life, and I
Speaker 1: had an opportunity to do it. This is for folks
Speaker 1: listening or watching at home. Well, I got into the job.
Speaker 1: And one of the best and worst things that can
Speaker 1: happen to you is you get your dream job, because
Speaker 1: then you're in it, but so many things happened that
Speaker 1: you didn't realize came along with it. You're just thinking, oh,
Speaker 1: I got the job, that's the finish line. But once
Speaker 1: you get it, that's the starting line, because now you
Speaker 1: actually have to do the work. Well, I was doing
Speaker 1: the work, and I realized rather quickly, I don't enjoy this.
Speaker 1: I don't like it. Nothing wrong with the job itself,
Speaker 1: and the people were amazing, it just wasn't right for me.
Speaker 1: So one day I'm standing there at work and I'm
Speaker 1: looking around at all the amazing stuff going on around me,
Speaker 1: and it was one of those where you see yourself
Speaker 1: outside your body, You're just looking from above, and I'm like,
Speaker 1: how long. I guess I'm going to do this for
Speaker 1: the rest of my life, and I'm not going to
Speaker 1: enjoy what I do. I had very limited options at
Speaker 1: that point. Guys, and for most people who know me,
Speaker 1: they know, oh, Sam, he's so happy's such a positive guy.
Speaker 1: You know, that's not always the case. And so I
Speaker 1: reached out to you because I couldn't think of anyone else.
Speaker 1: And we had had conversations in the past, yes, because
Speaker 1: you were a member of Mousetrap Fitness, and so that's
Speaker 1: how we really got to know one another. And at
Speaker 1: the time I was like, well, no, I appreciate that,
Speaker 1: but it's not really right for me. But I reached
Speaker 1: out and I said, hey, are you looking for anyone?
Speaker 1: And you got a hold of me right back, right back,
Speaker 1: which I appreciated, and you're like, is this for you?
Speaker 1: And I said, yeah, you come in and see me.
Speaker 1: And I came in. I've had my resume, put it
Speaker 1: off to the side. We just had a quick conversation
Speaker 1: and next thing you know, I'm part of the team.
Speaker 1: And first of all, thank you of course, and Alanna,
Speaker 1: if you're listening, thank you as well, because that not
Speaker 1: only changed my life, it saved me. It really really did.
Speaker 1: So anybody who knows me literally today, on this day
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty six. If you see me happy, if
Speaker 1: you see me smiling, if you see me encouraging or
Speaker 1: jumping up and down and high fiving, fist pumping, it's
Speaker 1: one hundred percent because Mo Aliana and the team at
Speaker 1: Abstract and for Abstract itself.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 1: So no, that's not even that's not even hyperbole or
Speaker 1: a lie. That's one hundred percent true. And the things
Speaker 1: that I learned there and the permission that you guys
Speaker 1: gave me to be myself, which I think a lot
Speaker 1: of people need, They need that permission to just be you,
Speaker 1: you know, and you guys allowed me to do that
Speaker 1: and I just ran with it and it has made
Speaker 1: such an impact on my life. Now I have the
Speaker 1: opportunity to ONNDO a podcast, but also to coach full time.
Speaker 1: And you know, when I had that conversation with you
Speaker 1: and Aliana, there was no oh no, there was no
Speaker 1: oh don't do that? How could you do it? You
Speaker 1: were like, do it? Yeah, yeah, congratulations with what you
Speaker 1: were saying. And I will be honest, it was a
Speaker 1: difficult conversation for me getting in the car, going to
Speaker 1: the studio, going inside, sitting down having a conversation with you.
Speaker 1: But you guys almost made it too easy for me,
Speaker 1: but it is. I just want you guys to know
Speaker 1: I appreciate it so so much. And Guys, from the moment,
Speaker 1: as a guest, you walk through that door, you are
Speaker 1: going to be punched in the face with hospitality, I
Speaker 1: can assure you. And if you don't believe me, put
Speaker 1: it to the test. Walk in. That's all you got
Speaker 1: to do. Just walk in and just look around the
Speaker 1: gallery and see what it's all about. And I assure
Speaker 1: you you're going to be impressed. Now you point, though,
Speaker 1: what point did hospitality take such a big important role
Speaker 1: in your business life? Or is it more than just business.
Speaker 2: It's more than just business. It's a relationship, Sam. The
Speaker 2: clients that we meet and we offer our genuine hospitality,
Speaker 2: they're not just clients anymore. It's family, it's friends, it's
Speaker 2: people who go above and beyond for you and Sam.
Speaker 2: It's just a changed my life and my dad taught
Speaker 2: it me. Yet I've experienced it from you. When you
Speaker 2: text me, Sam, i'm looking for a job. I hired
Speaker 2: you on the spot. I didn't to look at a
Speaker 2: restume because I know your level of hospitality and that's
Speaker 2: all I needed to know. I could train you on
Speaker 2: the art, I could train it on the toast, I
Speaker 2: could train on the systems, but I can't train someone
Speaker 2: on hospitality. Either you care for people or you don't
Speaker 2: care for people. And I saw it in my experience.
Speaker 2: This is my first time CrossFit gym. You're my first coach,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. You and Doug, So, I
Speaker 2: remember how you made me feel as a first time
Speaker 2: I remember how you made me feel as a as
Speaker 2: an athlete. And then we go out and I saw
Speaker 2: your level just your hospitality is up there, Sam, just
Speaker 2: I want you to understand.
Speaker 1: That I appreciate that. Thank you. I'm sure there are.
Speaker 2: Hundreds of people that you see through Mause Chop stores
Speaker 2: that appreciate you and your existence and your energy and
Speaker 2: it plays a big role on how they perform, how
Speaker 2: they show up, and that energy they bring to the
Speaker 2: to the gym. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1: So give yourself credit now. I appreciate that. You know.
Speaker 1: I've always had difficulty accepting like compliments and things like that.
Speaker 1: It's it's one of the weird little quirks that I have.
Speaker 1: But no like again allowing me to just run, to
Speaker 1: just go. I guys, if you don't have that opportunity,
Speaker 1: I look for it, okay, because I think many of
Speaker 1: us are searching for that. We just want the opportunity
Speaker 1: to be ourselves and to do that to the end degree.
Speaker 1: I always wonder and maybe you too, because you are
Speaker 1: very hospitable, you're very positive, you believe what you say,
Speaker 1: you walk the walk? Has it been difficult sometimes because
Speaker 1: people think that it's maybe what's the word I'm looking for?
Speaker 1: It's like a quick pro quote, give and get kind
Speaker 1: of thing to do, expecting something in return.
Speaker 2: Right, yeah, sure, if you're doing it, then you're.
Speaker 1: Full of shiite.
Speaker 2: Do something. So what do you do? So what I
Speaker 2: like to do is just to prove it to myself
Speaker 2: sometimes is I do something for someone I don't want
Speaker 2: anything from. So I'll do people outside of work. Hospitality
Speaker 2: doesn't end or begin at work. They can begin anywhere.
Speaker 2: At the gas station, someone you can't help. And from
Speaker 2: the movie The Odyssey, Yeah yeah, I love it, love it,
Speaker 2: love it. He's like I'm coming back, He's like as
Speaker 2: as a beggar. The clearest view of a man is
Speaker 2: from below below.
Speaker 1: Yeah that was a great line. That was a great line.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So do things outside of work that you don't
Speaker 2: need anything from. I think gas station pump, smile at someone,
Speaker 2: open the door for someone, offer something. The other day,
Speaker 2: I was walking. I'm not trying to boaster. I don't
Speaker 2: like talking about the positive things. My sister dropped off
Speaker 2: some food, right, some like little like bite sized things,
Speaker 2: And I'm walking to see the guy cutting the grass, like, hey,
Speaker 2: are you hungry? He might be hungry, Like he's yeah,
Speaker 2: he was a worker's landscape. He's sweating, and I'm sure
Speaker 2: he's like, yeah, I love one and he ate one.
Speaker 2: And like, I'm sure he's one of Like what the fuck?
Speaker 2: Like this guy just gave me fucking that was random, right,
Speaker 2: I speak to anybody. Yeah, this guy time exposed to me,
Speaker 2: but he fucking gave me food, Like come on, man.
Speaker 1: Uh And again, a lot of times when you do
Speaker 1: that outside of the studio or outside of business environment,
Speaker 1: does it catch people off guard?
Speaker 2: It does.
Speaker 1: They're not used to it, right, and that's that's unfortunate.
Speaker 2: So that's my that's my research. So I go there,
Speaker 2: like I just said hi to this person. This guy
Speaker 2: just almost did a backflip. Why don't we do it
Speaker 2: to our guests? I mean, how can we do it
Speaker 2: to our guests. Anything expected is not appreciate it. Everything
Speaker 2: appreciated is unexpected.
Speaker 1: Not love it.
Speaker 2: And I like to sometimes we keep things under our
Speaker 2: sleeves like a magic trick.
Speaker 1: Right, if you expose.
Speaker 2: Everything, yeah, then it's not even then its expected. It's
Speaker 2: not appreciated, yea. But when you don't and you punch
Speaker 2: them in the face, their minds exploded.
Speaker 1: Right, keep something in that back pocket and damn there
Speaker 1: it is. Right, So let me ask you that, yes,
Speaker 1: I love it. So what is your definition of success?
Speaker 2: It's when you ask me that it's it differed from
Speaker 2: time to time. Twenty years ago would be money or
Speaker 2: it's been a fame, but today it's health and a
Speaker 2: peace of mind. Really, I think that's my scholar my
Speaker 2: old self coming out. Yeah. Man, as you get older,
Speaker 2: you just want to peace of mind. You want to
Speaker 2: just chill and just enjoy your time with the people.
Speaker 1: That you love absolutely, And I know we had many
Speaker 1: conversations about that too. I know you're younger than I am,
Speaker 1: and you know the importance of my relationship and like
Speaker 1: spending time and it doesn't have to be over the
Speaker 1: top or grand. It doesn't have to be sight. Life
Speaker 1: isn't a roller coaster every day, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: You know they're boring days, of course, but you have
Speaker 1: to find the joy and the shine in those boring days. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you this, how do you gather feedback
Speaker 1: all your performance, hospitality, positivity, success? How do you gather
Speaker 1: feedback for abstract specifically guest reviews.
Speaker 2: Guests will say to us, Oh, I love this little
Speaker 2: touch right here they're writing the reviews, Oh, they exceed
Speaker 2: our expectation with this thing. And you know when you're
Speaker 2: gonna make an impact, but you from the face. So
Speaker 2: sometimes when we're singing Happy Birthday, we see the kid
Speaker 2: just go light up and we see that feeling. The
Speaker 2: team sees that feeling says we need to do more
Speaker 2: of this, and then they start thinking themselves of ways
Speaker 2: to pointing people in the face and man, like you said,
Speaker 2: you let them be who they are so they could
Speaker 2: be the best versus I'm training them. You can't script this.
Speaker 2: People feel it, People feel the the fakeness in it.
Speaker 2: So the uniqueness of it is being authentic and genuine,
Speaker 2: Like this person is really pulling out his phone and
Speaker 2: show me pictures of his personal life, like you can't
Speaker 2: script that.
Speaker 1: You know. Can you tell us about tell me the ice?
Speaker 2: The ice?
Speaker 1: Do you remember going to get ice? I was not
Speaker 1: working that day, but I receive a video from MO
Speaker 1: and can you describe what was on that video?
Speaker 2: So we don't have ice. That's something that you need,
Speaker 2: an ice machine or not a restaurant. So a client's like, oh,
Speaker 2: I'll take a dice coke, but do you have ice
Speaker 2: with it? I'm like, damn, we don't it, So like shit,
Speaker 2: So okay, So bro ran random McDonald's ran too, the
Speaker 2: not even side to the pickup window, like what the hell?
Speaker 2: Did you have a couple of ices? Like yeah, I'm
Speaker 2: running back like man, here you go, coume vice and
Speaker 2: she was like blown away. But another story that really
Speaker 2: makes U, if you don't mind me saying please please,
Speaker 2: it's a coffee story. That's something that I'll never forget.
Speaker 2: We got this brand new coffee machine. We were paying
Speaker 2: like four hundred dollars a month for the same coffee
Speaker 2: machines that you find in like apartment complexes that makes
Speaker 2: lattes and all this.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I know what's exactly what you're talking about.
Speaker 1: So we got it. We're excited.
Speaker 2: I can't wait to use it. Some clients like I'll
Speaker 2: take a couple of coffee. I'm like, shit, I got
Speaker 2: you give me a second. I go there and I
Speaker 2: hit the coffee one and it's like not working, like show, no, no,
Speaker 2: this is the perfect time for it.
Speaker 1: So I go back to the lady.
Speaker 2: Like, man, I'm so sorry, I'm just doing some malfunctions.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna get it for you. Just give a second.
Speaker 2: She say no, don't worry about it. I go back here.
Speaker 2: I'm fixing. I can get it. I go back to
Speaker 2: her again. I'm like, man, two more minutes, I couldn't
Speaker 2: fix it. So I'm like, you know what, fuck it
Speaker 2: got in the truck, went to went to Starbucks, got
Speaker 2: her coffee, came back.
Speaker 1: She saw me.
Speaker 2: The conflicts like did you not? Did you go to Starbucks?
Speaker 2: Like I did? I wasn't coming back saying no to
Speaker 2: you right, And that could have been the highlight of
Speaker 2: that trip. Jacob did one you saw Jacob the one
Speaker 2: of the Disney one. Then when the.
Speaker 1: Clients like out, yes, yes, okay. So guys at Abstract Orlando,
Speaker 1: if you get an opportunity to go in, make sure
Speaker 1: you say hi to Jacob, Bradgehew, everybody on the team,
Speaker 1: but Jacob. I got to witness this because Jacob came
Speaker 1: in after I'd already been there for about a year,
Speaker 1: and he's the concierge there. Great guy. Sometimes you can
Speaker 1: see him a little quiet initially, but once you get
Speaker 1: to know him and once he's interacting with the guests,
Speaker 1: he is on fire, right absolutely, So one day, you know,
Speaker 1: Mos always encouraging take that extra step, punch him in
Speaker 1: the face with hospitality. And one day we had these
Speaker 1: guests check in and it was a family and one
Speaker 1: of them has a disability and they were in a
Speaker 1: motorized scooter and the resort they were staying at didn't
Speaker 1: have an elevator to allow for the second floor. Am
Speaker 1: I following the store things? Oh yeah, yeah, And so
Speaker 1: I'm over at the concierge desk. He's over off to
Speaker 1: the side of the gallery and I can see him
Speaker 1: having the conversation with the family. And then the family
Speaker 1: was very concerned because again no elevator, which means they
Speaker 1: needed a first floor room in order to access in
Speaker 1: and out without any difficulty because they're not able to
Speaker 1: transition out of the motorized scooter.
Speaker 2: So the customers share that with Jacob, not knowing that
Speaker 2: Jacob had friends at that resort.
Speaker 1: Exactly exactly, and so here's what he did. He didn't
Speaker 1: say anything to the guests. He had their name because
Speaker 1: we had checked them in. He goes off to the side,
Speaker 1: he contacts his friend who works concierge at that resort
Speaker 1: and explain the situation. The friends like, no problem, taking
Speaker 1: care of it. He comes back, lets the guests know. Boom, punch,
Speaker 1: punch left, right, both sides of the face. It was
Speaker 1: so impressive because he could have just been like, oh,
Speaker 1: that's a bummer, let's hope everything works out. Yeah, exactly,
Speaker 1: if you're ready to paint, we can go in there. No,
Speaker 1: he took that extra step because you guys allow for that,
Speaker 1: and then he was able to just let them know. Man,
Speaker 1: seeing that, witnessing it, and I like to think my
Speaker 1: hospitality is is pretty high. The level is pretty high.
Speaker 1: That was just so impressive, and it just leaves you
Speaker 1: kind of looking off and like smiling a little bit,
Speaker 1: nod in your head, yes, because that that's what we're
Speaker 1: talking about. He didn't have to do that at all,
Speaker 1: but he did.
Speaker 2: But understand that that client was in his mind and
Speaker 2: feelings about that certain issue, not knowing that someone at
Speaker 2: Abstract could solve that for him.
Speaker 1: They were just having a conversation as far as they
Speaker 1: were concerned.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like, Wow, if I didn't say that to him,
Speaker 2: if I didn't share my concerns with them, that problem
Speaker 2: will still be my you.
Speaker 1: Know, And a lot of that comes from the conversation
Speaker 1: and you and Aleana Bot says Abstract is always allowed
Speaker 1: for it just hey, they're checked in, you go over
Speaker 1: their options for the art. But then don't just leave
Speaker 1: it at that and walk away. Ask questions, Yeah, curious,
Speaker 1: how long are you in town for? What are you
Speaker 1: going to be doing? How do you find Abstract did
Speaker 1: all of it? And then that leads to an opportunity. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: and yeah he just hit a home run with that.
Speaker 1: Amazing he hit a home run with that one. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: so big shout out. Now, let me ask you this,
Speaker 1: being a business owner and having such familiarity with different
Speaker 1: types of businesses, what is the biggest lesson that you
Speaker 1: feel you've learned as a business owner?
Speaker 2: Culture?
Speaker 1: Culture?
Speaker 2: How so you want to hire the right people who
Speaker 2: adds to the culture adds to the team in terms
Speaker 2: of energy, mood, versus just finding that one person who's
Speaker 2: an a player but doesn't know how to deal with
Speaker 2: who doesn't know how to engage with his team members.
Speaker 2: This makes sense. Everyone has gifts, everyone has talents, but
Speaker 2: the biggest one is how can you make everyone around
Speaker 2: you comfortable enough to let them to bring out their
Speaker 2: their strengths. That's something I'm dealing with myself because sometimes
Speaker 2: I'm like, fuck it, I'll do it myself right.
Speaker 1: I don't do yourself, but you'll know you can do
Speaker 1: it right. And it's the one time I have to train.
Speaker 2: I have to simplify. I have to subtract. Subtracting is
Speaker 2: what we're doing right now to abstract. How can we
Speaker 2: simplify the procedures so not anyone could do it? Is
Speaker 2: that anyone could pick it up and move on with it,
Speaker 2: versus only this person can do it, only this level
Speaker 2: of training can do it. So subtracting at subtracting is
Speaker 2: how's that saying?
Speaker 1: Is it? Addition by subtraction?
Speaker 2: That's one of them. But shit, I forgot I can't.
Speaker 1: Yeah, trust me, man, you're good. So subtracting, simplifying the procedures.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and just there's a lot. There's a lot of
Speaker 2: lessons that business teaches you. But one of them is
Speaker 2: that it's finding the right peam that just facilitates what
Speaker 2: you're doing in that vision you're trying to do. So
Speaker 2: it's hospitality. So it's a hospitality is a.
Speaker 1: Two edged sword.
Speaker 2: I'm telling you, like, it's easy to say it, but
Speaker 2: it's so hard to fucking implement it. Well, I'm good
Speaker 2: at hospitality and you're like, where the where is that?
Speaker 1: Where is it? Yeah, because it showed me.
Speaker 2: It's such an abstract word. It's such a vague word.
Speaker 2: But hospitality is going above and beyond. It's exteed. That
Speaker 2: expectation is really finding ways to punch that guest in
Speaker 2: the face. And to be honest, you Bert, you mentioned Jacob.
Speaker 1: Jacob is not like me and you. We're loud, HOPI
Speaker 1: we are talks in that door.
Speaker 2: We're like, hey, guys, how's it going? And we noticed
Speaker 2: the other day I swear were there. It was me, Sarah, Jacob, Rachel.
Speaker 2: This clients walks in, We're like hey, and everyone's like hey,
Speaker 2: and I see the class.
Speaker 1: Like whoa yeah, yeah, again, it's not expected because you
Speaker 1: don't see it often enough. Unfortunately, Jacob is quite hospitality.
Speaker 2: But it's amazing because he will engage with you the
Speaker 2: way you want to be engaged and he will adjust
Speaker 2: however he wants. But he's he's soft, but doesn't mean
Speaker 2: that's bad Hospitality's just he's a different level hospital and
Speaker 2: customers are engaging with it, they're loving it.
Speaker 1: He has a gentle hospitality. No, it's really impressive. Again,
Speaker 1: like I am always willing to be a little louder,
Speaker 1: be silly, stupid, ridiculous. You know, I'm not afraid to
Speaker 1: embarrass myself for the sake of the guest. Absolutely, Yeah,
Speaker 1: think about it.
Speaker 2: Go to the risk to go to four seasons. There's
Speaker 2: a few in the cons and hey, they're greet you
Speaker 2: like with the soft right.
Speaker 1: Yes, they're very reserved, that's what Yeah, but professional, very professional. Yeah, no,
Speaker 1: that's that's outstanding. And you know it leads me to
Speaker 1: my next question. You mentioned you said four seasons, four season,
Speaker 1: four seasons. Can you give me an example of a
Speaker 1: business that really impressed you.
Speaker 2: It would have to be Revello, it's our favorite restaurant. Really,
Speaker 2: Okay seasons have you been to?
Speaker 1: I don't think so. Well, that's interesting because I've been
Speaker 1: to the Four Seasons.
Speaker 2: You've been to Kapa.
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, funny shout out to chef Ryan.
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, yee Joe.
Speaker 1: Tell me again again the name of the restaurant.
Speaker 2: It's on the bottom floor of the Four seasonside. Everyone
Speaker 2: praises Kappa, which is amazing, but believe it or not,
Speaker 2: the steak at Ravello has a different kind of seasoning
Speaker 2: to it that people praise it for it. So you
Speaker 2: got to try it.
Speaker 1: I'm writing it down right now. Absolutely absolutely. We're always
Speaker 1: looking for new good places and.
Speaker 2: The people are there so nice. So you talk about curiosity.
Speaker 2: So here I am working and after watching The Bear
Speaker 2: your we love the Bear.
Speaker 1: Oh you watched the Bear? Yeah a little bit, guys.
Speaker 1: That's just an inside joke because you see the latest episode.
Speaker 1: You see it and we would catch up and we
Speaker 1: talk back and forth about what is pressure.
Speaker 2: Absolutely so infatuated with Michelin Star restaurants, and we like
Speaker 2: to go to restaurants. Alana, you're closer to where to
Speaker 2: the kitchen. We want to see the heat, the work,
Speaker 2: the hustle, the sweat, the communication. So we're noticing the
Speaker 2: chef had a tattoo on his hand, on his arm,
Speaker 2: and it was the tattoo of Oogie Boogie from a.
Speaker 1: Night member before Christ. Yes.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So we walked up to him like, hey, I
Speaker 2: just don't want to bother you, but we saw the tattoo.
Speaker 2: We offer in our experience, we will love to cater
Speaker 2: and he came. We gave him a private experience. He
Speaker 2: gave him on a day that were closed. He made
Speaker 2: it and now we're like closest friends.
Speaker 1: Oh that's amazing.
Speaker 2: And when we go there, we know all the servers.
Speaker 2: One of the servers even lives in our apartment complex.
Speaker 2: So like, you build a relationship with people that you
Speaker 2: love and they're just top notch. So it's just we
Speaker 2: last time we went there, they just really showed us.
Speaker 2: We didn't expect it and they took care of us.
Speaker 1: And well, what's the outstanding is I have seen this
Speaker 1: in person where let's say we're out and about and
Speaker 1: you run into someone and you tell them come by
Speaker 1: the studio. And first of all, Moe is one of
Speaker 1: these people who knows everybody. And you, guys, if you're
Speaker 1: listening watching, you probably know people like this. You're you're walking,
Speaker 1: you know, You're just going from point A to point B,
Speaker 1: and then somebody will yell out, whoa, hey, what's up man?
Speaker 1: And there's I mean, that happens so often. I'm like, okay,
Speaker 1: after the third time, can we just get to where
Speaker 1: we're going? And I love interacting with people, but I'm like,
Speaker 1: come on, man, we're on a time crunch Disney.
Speaker 2: When we saw you in line, yeah.
Speaker 1: So and this was early on. This was right before
Speaker 1: you started coming to the gym at CrossFit.
Speaker 2: Was sixteen.
Speaker 1: So my wife and I pass holders. This is going
Speaker 1: way back and we're atcot one evening. We're just having
Speaker 1: a great time enjoying ourselves, you know, having a few
Speaker 1: drinks walking around the different countries we're in. Morocco. Morocco
Speaker 1: has a queue setup for their bar. Specifically, you can
Speaker 1: either go to the restaurant part or you can go
Speaker 1: up to the bar, order a drink, and then you
Speaker 1: make your way out, so they do not encourage people
Speaker 1: to hang out at the bar itself. You just get
Speaker 1: your drink and you walk out. So we're in the queue.
Speaker 1: It wasn't very long, but there are a few people
Speaker 1: in it. And as we make our way up to
Speaker 1: the front, of the line. I look over and who
Speaker 1: would I see where the bar in the wall meet.
Speaker 1: It's Mo and he's just chilling there like he owns
Speaker 1: the place, which is amazing. I love that vibe. But
Speaker 1: You're like, hey, what's going on? And I'm like, wait
Speaker 1: a second, do you work here? What's going on? But
Speaker 1: you came over, You're like, hey, come on, what do
Speaker 1: you want? What do you have? And what do you get?
Speaker 1: And I really really thought that you knew everybody there
Speaker 1: on the staff, but that's not necessarily the case, right, Okay, okay,
Speaker 1: all right, because the way you were just like, hey,
Speaker 1: get this guy, whatever you want, all this stuff. And
Speaker 1: then I'm like, okay, and I'm just waiting for the tab.
Speaker 1: I got you, I got you, And I'm like, what
Speaker 1: it was Tay with you? Shout out to Santavias, what's up, Sarah?
Speaker 1: What's up? An amazing photographer. Guys. If you need a photographer,
Speaker 1: Santavius is the way to go, absolutely, and you can
Speaker 1: contact him through Abstract Orlando now. Also, it was just
Speaker 1: so funny, unexpected and key point on our way out,
Speaker 1: you specifically said, I'm coming into try out CrossFit, I'm
Speaker 1: coming in to try out your class, and I was like, oh, yeah, sure,
Speaker 1: sure guys. This was late in the evening, it was Epcot.
Speaker 1: Everybody was enjoying themselves, having a few cocktails. Absolutely, and
Speaker 1: then the next week who walks out there he was.
Speaker 1: I was like, oh my gosh, it's amazing, and that's funny,
Speaker 1: that's funny. But I just think it's so funny that
Speaker 1: that one just chance run in, which I don't believe
Speaker 1: in chance, you know, but that one run in led
Speaker 1: to here we are now, like literally right here doing
Speaker 1: this podcast, and it was just so amazing, and I'm grateful.
Speaker 1: It's funny when you can pin down actual moments when
Speaker 1: things worked out.
Speaker 2: My memory sucks sim so to remember these kind of
Speaker 2: moments just because it stands out.
Speaker 1: It's just so funny because I was just laughing, like
Speaker 1: what the hell is going on here? And again, they
Speaker 1: don't at this specific bar, and a lot of bars
Speaker 1: at the Disney on Disney property, they don't want you
Speaker 1: to hang out right there because they have such an
Speaker 1: influx of people coming through. I was a big drinker,
Speaker 1: I was at the time. I was definitely encouraging myself,
Speaker 1: you know, not like stopping. But no at the time
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2: Twenty sixteen, yeah, ten years ago.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's crazy, that's crazy to think about. And then no,
Speaker 1: it was just so funny. You see somebody just unexpected
Speaker 1: in your day and at that moment. And then we
Speaker 1: got to know each other through the gym and then
Speaker 1: obviously working in close proximity. But you mentioned about the
Speaker 1: Michelin Star restaurants. Let me ask you a question. Would
Speaker 1: you rather visit every great art museum in Europe or
Speaker 1: eat at every Michelin Star restaurant in the country.
Speaker 2: That's a great question. Have you ever been to a
Speaker 2: museum and looked at art? It could be overpowering, it
Speaker 2: could be exhausting.
Speaker 1: It's a lot.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you could sit in front of one painting and
Speaker 2: just and it's exhausting terms of like you're walking around
Speaker 2: and you're getting hungry. I would definitely do the Michelin.
Speaker 1: Star right, Yeah, for sure. How come why is that?
Speaker 2: Because there's an art in food?
Speaker 1: It's definitely servicesly.
Speaker 2: So Michelins are known for food and for what for service,
Speaker 2: so to be see and see how everything works and
Speaker 2: how they're just always because think about it, a mission
Speaker 2: Star restaurant is known for their greatness. Right, So imagine
Speaker 2: you go to a live in medisine park. You're knowing
Speaker 2: how they're known for punching people in the face, so
Speaker 2: you're now you're wondering, how they're gonna punch me in
Speaker 2: the face. Am I going to see a punch? Am
Speaker 2: I going to see something? So how they're gonna see
Speaker 2: a sixptation is what you're excited about.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: So a museum, it's beautiful arts and it's amazing, don't
Speaker 2: get me wrong. But a mission star restaurant at a
Speaker 2: high level one with great customer service and great products,
Speaker 2: great food will blow your mind.
Speaker 1: Now that's that's outstanding. And again, guys, we're I'm trying
Speaker 1: to limit our Bear talk because we get to sit
Speaker 1: here and talk about every episode every season. But if
Speaker 1: you haven't watched it, I encourage you to do so.
Speaker 1: And if you're like saying, I don't, I don't have
Speaker 1: time for that, watch the Forks episode on YouTube. Ye
Speaker 1: watching it? Yeah, you can go, yeah, search the Bear
Speaker 1: Forks and it'll come up. And that episode is so
Speaker 1: impactful because and again this is why I want you
Speaker 1: to watch the entire show, because there is a character
Speaker 1: Richie Richie, and he starts in one place, and his
Speaker 1: journey is just so amazing, and like all heroes journeys,
Speaker 1: you return to where you started, but you're different. Of course,
Speaker 1: you are not the same, and that's because of the journey,
Speaker 1: and his is so amazing and that episode is so
Speaker 1: impactful because he learned a lot about himself. And I
Speaker 1: think a lot of times we need to step away
Speaker 1: from an environment where people think they know you but
Speaker 1: don't allow you to grow. Of course, and so again
Speaker 1: going back to having the opportunity to just run and
Speaker 1: be myself. That is really really important to a lot
Speaker 1: of people, and especially right now in life the way
Speaker 1: things are.
Speaker 2: It can be tough, but if I could be honest,
Speaker 2: it's not for everyone. Some people like structure, some people
Speaker 2: like to be told what to do. Some people like
Speaker 2: to follow into a system. That creativity that it's putting
Speaker 2: that person on the spot saying do I have what
Speaker 2: it takes to improvise and shows someone a great experience
Speaker 2: from what I know and what i'm cable like. It's
Speaker 2: it's tricky, Sam, I know what you're trying to say,
Speaker 2: and I'm happy that you found that you were great
Speaker 2: in it. Everyone's doing great it's just I'm noticing that
Speaker 2: everyone has that and it's something. It's a skill. And
Speaker 2: I told you, Sam, what you have is amazing. Like Sam,
Speaker 2: you have an ability to make people feel I'm sorry, yeah, no,
Speaker 2: I appreciate that. Again, you know, if you don't believe me,
Speaker 2: I asked the people in the gym a viewers. Let
Speaker 2: people comment, have you ever saw Sam ever been in
Speaker 2: his radius and not felt something? Happiness? Joy? I'm being serious.
Speaker 2: I appreciate that.
Speaker 1: I know you don't like to praise yeah, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: and I like hyping other people up, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. But it's a skill.
Speaker 2: It's a skill. You have something in you, it's a
Speaker 2: muscle and you need to just know that you have it.
Speaker 1: Well. I appreciate that, man, And I think, what was
Speaker 1: it one time we talked about it at the studio. Oh man,
Speaker 1: I just lost it. It was. It was so impactful though,
Speaker 1: because it was basically you telling me. And I believe
Speaker 1: the team too too, like be who you are, you
Speaker 1: know and how important that is. And again when people
Speaker 1: are like, oh Sam, you know you talk to everybody
Speaker 1: or you you know, you encourage everybody, you promote to me,
Speaker 1: it's not difficult. It doesn't mean we can't improve on it,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. But I think, and I
Speaker 1: like to think, you do this too. You see the
Speaker 1: potential on someone, of course, and you know when you
Speaker 1: see it, I'm like, oh, let's unlock it.
Speaker 2: Let's get there, let's fan that flame.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's encourage it because a lot of times, guys,
Speaker 1: I think we are told, hey, when we're young, oh,
Speaker 1: you're so smart, you're so great, you can be anything,
Speaker 1: you can do anything. But then as we get older,
Speaker 1: I'm just going to say, life happens. Right, you don't
Speaker 1: hear it anymore.
Speaker 2: Can you hear your own voice? You can do this?
Speaker 2: Or you're not You're not good enough, and.
Speaker 1: That is the worst. You know, a lot of times
Speaker 1: we're our own worst critic, or we doubt ourselves more
Speaker 1: than we should believe in yourself. All right, I'm off
Speaker 1: my soap right now. All right, but it's one that's true. Now,
Speaker 1: let me ask you this, what do you think you
Speaker 1: would be doing if you didn't own a business.
Speaker 2: I think I'll be traveling. Yeah, I don't have children.
Speaker 2: Me and my wife would grab a backpack and just
Speaker 2: one way tickets everywhere. That's awesome.
Speaker 1: That's awesome.
Speaker 2: That hospitality feed us. I'm being serious with pick up
Speaker 2: jobs here and there, will smile at some I don't know.
Speaker 2: I just I don't. I just you know when you
Speaker 2: have that, I have a feeling. I have the feeling
Speaker 2: that I'm good at connecting. I canna smile at you
Speaker 2: and just build that connection. It's like a friendly face
Speaker 2: versus someone put like a stranger working walk today and
Speaker 2: ask someone for something, go to the gas station, just
Speaker 2: some of the ha excuse me, Like, no one's gonna
Speaker 2: stop and help you because they're afraid to help someone
Speaker 2: because I don't know what I'm gonna get with you.
Speaker 2: No one asks for help. That's genuine, right, Like it's
Speaker 2: cry wolf like shit. What if I do have a
Speaker 2: flat tire and I'm asking someone for genuine help, no
Speaker 2: one's gonna stop. It happened to me the other day.
Speaker 2: My car broke down the middle of the road. I
Speaker 2: thought I needed to jump, So I'm walking to people
Speaker 2: in parking lots in their car. I'm like, excuse me,
Speaker 2: my car is right there. You see, I'm in the
Speaker 2: middle of the road. You might help me jump me. No, No,
Speaker 2: I gotta wait for.
Speaker 1: My daughter, like your car is. Literally it's not like
Speaker 1: I'm not it's right there, like you're not trying to
Speaker 1: scam somebody or kidnap somebody.
Speaker 2: Some people don't want to help, and there's some people
Speaker 2: who stopped by themselves on me asking. So it's just
Speaker 2: that we live in a world right now where it's
Speaker 2: they don't want to We need more kindness. And I'm
Speaker 2: telling you that the Odyssey, that the whole more of
Speaker 2: the damn story. Zeus's law is treat people like how
Speaker 2: you like to be treated. So if someone's come to help,
Speaker 2: fucking try your best or at least make them I
Speaker 2: don't know, you know it.
Speaker 1: And referring to the Odyssey, I believe it was Zeus's
Speaker 1: law that they were following, right. It's it's basically do
Speaker 1: unto others as you would have them do unto you, right,
Speaker 1: because they may be gods in disguise. And I know
Speaker 1: a lot of times right over the front door of
Speaker 1: Abstract Orlando, can you let our listeners know what it's
Speaker 1: be hospitable to strangers they might be angels.
Speaker 2: In this guy.
Speaker 1: Absolutely absolutely, And it made me smile when I heard
Speaker 1: in the movie what they were referring to because I
Speaker 1: knew it was just a variation of that quote. Now
Speaker 1: it just made me smile, And it's one hundred percent true. Now, guys,
Speaker 1: whether you believe in angels or gods or whatever the
Speaker 1: case we be, it doesn't mean you can't be genuinely
Speaker 1: nice kind because you never know where that small little
Speaker 1: bit of kindness is going to take you. And here
Speaker 1: we are, right all right, So traveling one way tickets.
Speaker 1: I love that. I love that, all right. So I'm
Speaker 1: just gonna take a quick pause here, and I want
Speaker 1: to thank Moe for joining us here today summer House
Speaker 1: with Sam. It makes such a big impact on me.
Speaker 1: I can't even tell you, listeners how this is special
Speaker 1: to me, you know, because I feel that we were
Speaker 1: on a journey together. We're still yeah, absolutely, you know,
Speaker 1: I know, I know, but we're going to see where
Speaker 1: the next chapter is. I don't.
Speaker 2: That's what makes us, That's what makes us mortals. You
Speaker 2: God's envious.
Speaker 1: I do know that. Plans yeah, exactly, No, I love that.
Speaker 1: I plan on coaching tomorrow Mousetrap Fitness, the home across
Speaker 1: from Mousetrap first Class six am. Just throwing that out there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1: We never know today, you don't know what can happen.
Speaker 2: So one of the things that we should say is like,
Speaker 2: don't burn bridges. You know, if you're going to Orlando's
Speaker 2: small you said, I know everyone dall.
Speaker 1: Right, No, that's that's out standing. So I do again,
Speaker 1: thank you very much for joining me here today. I
Speaker 1: do have a quick game this or that game. Okay,
Speaker 1: So basically, there's no wrong answer, no wrong answer. I
Speaker 1: just love people's feedback. Earlier today at the gym, I
Speaker 1: played a one question version of this. It was Elvis
Speaker 1: or the Beatles.
Speaker 2: Am I answering this one?
Speaker 1: Yeah, go for it. I think Elvis Elvis guy. Yeah. Again,
Speaker 1: there's no right or wrong answer, it's just different whatever
Speaker 1: your preference is, all right, So I do have ten
Speaker 1: questions for you. All right, are you ready?
Speaker 2: I'm ready?
Speaker 1: All right? If I remember, I'm going to add a
Speaker 1: clicking top excuse me, a clicking ticking clock sound right here?
Speaker 1: All right? Here we go, Netflix or Hulu, Netflix, Nice
Speaker 1: Marvel or DC Marvel, ted Lasso or the Bear, the Bear,
Speaker 1: Lego sets or Ikea furniture.
Speaker 2: Aikia sets, fixtures.
Speaker 1: I know you had for those, all right, Gordon Ramsey
Speaker 1: or Steve Jobs. Shit, it's a tough one, right job
Speaker 1: at Steve Jobs. Oh it wasn't tough at all. No, No, oh,
Speaker 1: I love it.
Speaker 2: I love it?
Speaker 1: Okay. How about this one for real? Or the weekend?
Speaker 2: The weekend?
Speaker 1: I knew that one wouldn't be difficult for photo or video?
Speaker 1: A photo, a thousand words, John Wick or Deadpool Deadpool?
Speaker 1: Donuts or bagels.
Speaker 2: Damn, they're both good getting donuts.
Speaker 1: And finally, Disney or Universe Disney excellent, d Sam if
Speaker 1: you're smart, you're adding a ding ding ding right now?
Speaker 2: Okay?
Speaker 1: Excellent? All right, So bonus question. What song should everyone
Speaker 1: be listening to right now? Can be an old song,
Speaker 1: new song, does not matter. There's one I think of
Speaker 1: when I think mo albuzon.
Speaker 2: Oh go in through changes. That's a good one, a
Speaker 2: great song. Sing that song before you hit out.
Speaker 1: Oh it's you know, it's all good. I might have
Speaker 1: been singing it in my hamsure sing no. So for
Speaker 1: those of you who are unaware, at the end of
Speaker 1: the night, once the final session is done, we all
Speaker 1: start our closing procedures. It's great. It's actually kind of
Speaker 1: a community building because everyone's doing their thing, everybody's kind
Speaker 1: of discussing the day, and just randomly, Moe would play
Speaker 1: this song and I'm sure I heard it before, and
Speaker 1: I think originally it's but do you know the performer
Speaker 1: that that does the version that you young Blood? Yes? Yes, yes, yes,
Speaker 1: And again I've heard the song, but I didn't know
Speaker 1: who did.
Speaker 2: That version, even know who he was until I heard
Speaker 2: that version of it.
Speaker 1: And it's a live version. Version changes, is that what
Speaker 1: it's changes? Young Blood? Live? Guys, If you get an opportunity,
Speaker 1: it hits a lot more than I thought it would.
Speaker 1: Because one night we're closing. This is early on when
Speaker 1: I was working at Abstract, and all of a sudden
Speaker 1: music comes on from upstairs and you just hear this
Speaker 1: this singing, this wailing singing with the motion. It was
Speaker 1: so good. And then shout out again to Santavius because
Speaker 1: there was a day that both of you are doing yeah,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, what the our phones are? No, it
Speaker 1: was so good. But here's what happened. They played that
Speaker 1: song often over time, and so eventually you're taking out
Speaker 1: the trash and you're singing, going, it's such great, great track.
Speaker 1: If you get an opportunity, Guys, you should absolutely listen
Speaker 1: to it. Well again, most thank you so much for
Speaker 1: joining us here in Summer House with Sam. It means
Speaker 1: the world to me. We're gonna have to do this again. Guys,
Speaker 1: if you get a opportunity, let's make sure we visit
Speaker 1: Abstract Orlando, Florida. And I'm just gonna say it the
Speaker 1: country's premium art experience if you're visiting Orlando. Yes, we
Speaker 1: have the theme parks, we have such great restaurants and resorts.
Speaker 1: But guys, if you need to step away, if you
Speaker 1: want to do something unique, Abstract Orlando, it's where you
Speaker 1: want to go. Absolutely go in for the art. You're
Speaker 1: gonna return for the hospitality. I guarantee it. Ask for Mo,
Speaker 1: but more importantly, ask for Teddy.
Speaker 2: Teddy.
Speaker 1: Can you tell the guests who Teddy is?
Speaker 2: Heedy's a little golden doodle. He comes with us to work,
Speaker 2: so we're always at works him.
Speaker 1: He's there, He's always there.
Speaker 2: If we're unable to take him with us, he'll be
Speaker 2: at home for twelve hours, so we take him with us.
Speaker 1: He's upstairs. But he's so good and he's so trained
Speaker 1: that if someone.
Speaker 2: Requests to see him, he'll go grab a toy, go downstairs,
Speaker 2: ask for some belly rubs. Say hi, no jumping, no barking,
Speaker 2: no being obnoxious and backup series.
Speaker 1: Now all of that you describe, that's what I would do. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I would be obnoxious, bark and you're like, no Teddy. Guys,
Speaker 1: go in, just ask for Teddy. He'll come down, He'll
Speaker 1: say hello. He is the sweetest dog. My wife and
Speaker 1: I don't have a dog. We talked about getting one
Speaker 1: for years. The only way we would get one is
Speaker 1: if we could guarantee he's like Teddy. But I know
Speaker 1: us he would be whatever. The antithesis is the complete
Speaker 1: opposite of Teddy, and so it leaves us a little gunshy.
Speaker 1: But again, Abstract Orlando. How can people find out more
Speaker 1: about Abstract Orlando or you and general.
Speaker 2: Visit our website abstract London dot com or follow us
Speaker 2: on Instagram. You see a lot of our videos there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's the best way. Yeah, absolutely, again, Abstract Orlando.
Speaker 1: Find them on Instagram, Guys, they are posting constantly. You
Speaker 1: get to see so much of the artwork or what
Speaker 1: the experience is like. Please check it out. And if
Speaker 1: you get an opportunity and you're visiting Orlando, Please make
Speaker 1: sure you stop by and say hello guys. For everyone
Speaker 1: here at Summerhouse with Sam, thank you Moe for joining us. Guys,
Speaker 1: have an amazing rest of your day. Thank you and
Speaker 1: we'll see you next time.
Speaker 2: Joe spo