What’s good out there?

Liquid Trucking.

Welcome to the next episode of the Liquid Trucking podcast.

Episode 19.

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check out our podcast,

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What are we talking about today?

Well,

today is a fun one.

We’re doing a little bit of what we call a vendor episode today.

We’re getting in touch with some of the people that supply liquid with the things that keep the company moving forward,

things like uh Epic view.

Yeah,

you all know what Epic view is.

It’s that sweet satellite TV system that you’ve got hanging out in your cab,

keeping you entertained and connected while you’re OTR we’re gonna talk to VP of sales Kyle Hales from Epic View along with Jason Eisenman here in just a minute.

We’re also gonna hear from Matt Ferris from Nottingham and Butler.

Uh He’s gonna give us a bunch of good insight and I’m gonna get a little peek behind the curtain into how driver Polar Bear,

uh schedules his driving around Chiefs football,

Kansas City Chiefs football,

three time Super Bowl champion,

Kansas City Chiefs football and just wait because I know he’s gonna give me a little poke in the ribs about that Super Bowl that just happened back in February where my 49er fell victim to his Kansas City Chiefs.

So that will be a great conversation as well.

And right at the end of the episode,

since we’re talking a bit about Epic View here,

we’ve got a couple of recommendations for you movie and series wise that I think you might like.

So stay tuned for that all coming up after we talk to the guy from Epic View,

the guy that keeps you entertained.

Kyle Hales right here around the corner.

Welcome to the Gold Standard of podcast for the Gold standard of Drivers.

This is the Liquid Trucking Podcast with your host,

Marcus Bridges.

Well,

you know that since this is our vendor episode here on the Liquid Trucking Podcast,

we’re gonna bring in some vendors and today we are joined by Kyle Hales from Epic View.

Kyle.

Thank you so much for being here,

Marcus Jason.

Thank you for the invitation.

I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Appreciate it.

Of course,

we really appreciate the time and I should have clarified,

we have the VP of sales.

Obviously,

this is somebody that knows a lot about Epic View and uh works every day within the company there.

So I always got to make sure and,

and give you your just do VP of sales.

That’s a pretty big title.

Uh Well,

you know,

among other things,

I uh try to help as best I can in any way that I can.

So,

yeah,

it’s,

uh,

it’s,

it’s been a fun run and,

uh,

look forward to catching up more with you guys about it and talk a little bit more about what Epic View does and how it benefits the driver on the road.

We’re also joined here by,

uh VP of Safety and Hr Jason Eisenman.

Jason always good to have you back.

My friend.

Agree.

And this is a fun topic,

right?

Like,

you know,

epic view is kind of a hidden name.

You know,

it doesn’t scream what it is when Kyle gets into what it is and what our drivers use it for.

It’ll,

it’ll probably make sense to listeners that aren’t driving for us,

but it’s a pretty cool feature in the back of that truck.

It absolutely is.

And,

and Kyle,

I’ll just go ahead and,

and default to you on that talk to me a little bit about the products and services that epic view has to offer.

Yeah.

So epic view is,

it’s a sexy product.

You know,

it’s a fun product when we started this business a little over 10 years ago.

Partners and I,

we kind of,

we work with direct TV.

And in other applications,

we were providing services to,

you know,

stadiums and arenas and large hotel chains and Vegas casinos and,

and anything you could think of that needed or wanted television service in for its patrons.

And and we kind of stumbled across the guy who got us introduced into the trucking industry and said,

there’s really nothing like what you offer that.

I think it could be uh a huge boon for you and,

and for the industry.

And so we worked a deal out with direct TV,

uh to be the sole provider of in C A satellite TV service.

And what that,

what that is or what it does is we work with fleets like liquid trucking who have been a customer of Epic U now for about half of the time that we’ve been in business,

they’ve been absolute,

I think when Jason heard about it and when the idea was pitched to him,

it was a no brainer and they thought this is a great recruiting tool.

It’s a great retention tool.

And we absolutely want to provide a service like that for our drivers who spend many days,

weeks,

months out on the road.

Um and give them that kind of creature comfort with that home away from home field because we all know we’re passionate Marcus,

you and I were talking about sports just a second ago and this is a big week.

Uh They just announced the,

the bracket for the March Madness tournament and I know that there’s guys out there that are passionate about college basketball and this gives them that ability to stay connected to their favorite team or,

you know,

if they’re,

they’re ribbon with their buddies and they’re in a,

a bracket tournament and they wanna watch college basketball when they can.

Essentially,

it’s,

it’s a satellite TV package that fleets offer to their drivers that gives them the,

the,

the service,

like,

you know,

HBO Showtime,

the NFL Sunday tickets part of the deal as well.

Um,

100 plus channels of direct TV.

So really whether you’re into sports,

whether you’re in the news,

uh,

whether you’re into Yellowstone or,

or series like that,

that uh you wanna stay connected with this gives them that ability in their downtime to stay connected to uh what’s going on from an entertainment perspective.

Yeah,

it’s kind of uh everything all in one place it seems like and,

and uh I,

I love that about it and you mentioned a couple of really big words there uh that start with R Kyle and that is recruiting and retention.

And I want to turn this over to Jason here and talk a little bit about how epic view helps you with uh recruiting and retention.

Jason.

I know uh being able to say,

hey,

not only are we gonna pay you fair,

take care of you and treat you like a person?

We’ve got some of the best in cab entertainment that comes right along with the truck.

How do the drivers respond to that?

It’s a,

it’s definitely something that they enjoy,

but like everything everybody has their,

you can’t make everybody happy.

So we find that the majority of the fleet love it.

And then,

you know,

we have our,

our book readers and guys that do other things as well and that’s ok too.

They find themselves,

uh,

hooking up their xbox to this TV that’s in there and,

and,

and then,

uh,

or picking up the,

the football game,

you know,

so what they have found is they use it one way or another and some guys just use it like all the time.

It’s,

uh,

it’s pretty wild.

I get phone calls when it doesn’t work and you think that the earth stops spinning.

Um The,

there’s a couple different types you can get too and,

and I’ll have to defer on this because I’m not super technical,

but ours is an in motion.

So I think they can record going down the road or talk a little bit about uh the in motion versus not in motion.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So the product itself,

there’s,

there’s two types of satellite domes that we can put on the truck.

One is a stationary dome which will only operate when the truck is stopped on the other.

That liquid has are in motion satellite systems.

So whether you’re wanting to record a show while you’re driving and you know,

it’s gonna be playing during that period of time when,

when you’re on the road,

you can Precor your show ahead of time or we’ve heard from guys.

I mean,

there’s,

there’s stories that the tug of your heart screens.

Guys whose wife has passed away and they became,

uh,

a parent,

you know,

single parent,

they’ve got to take their kids on the road and they’re doing homework,

they’re doing school,

they’re doing a slew of other things.

It gives the person in the back the ability to,

to view the service while it’s going down the road too.

And so liquid knew that that was a big value add to,

to be able to have whether they wanted to record it or whether it’s the spouse,

kid,

friend in the back that they just,

if they wanted to keep their dog,

you know,

entertained and,

and have,

uh,

some pet friendly show on they,

they,

they can have that going for them in the back.

But yeah,

it’s,

uh,

it’s not much more money.

I mean,

there’s a little bit of an added cost to it,

but there’s,

there’s definitely value in having,

uh,

that in motion system that,

uh,

Liquid Trucking does for their drivers that,

uh,

that they get great benefit from.

It’s amazing technology.

I mean,

I,

I,

you know,

I’ve been around satellite TV,

my entire life.

I grew up in a very small mountain town and if the wind was blowing 20 miles an hour in the wrong direction,

sometimes we weren’t able to get satellite reception.

So knowing that you guys have a technology that can link up with the dome on top of the truck and follow it along as it rolls down the road.

Uh from point to point in the US is,

it’s pretty amazing,

Kyle.

I gotta say,

um that I’m not much of a technology guy either.

Uh I love to utilize it but I couldn’t tell you the INS and outs about what’s going on,

but I’m impressed.

Uh You know,

I’ve been kinda poking around on your website here as well and you can find that if you’re interested,

head over to Epic view.com and that’s view Vue once again,

Epic view.com.

Uh The website’s great.

I see here.

Entertain,

educate and engage.

And I wanted to talk a little bit about the educate and engage side of things.

Um What does Epic View offer there uh in those realms and,

and how do you guys get that to the drivers?

Yeah,

great question.

And thanks for asking that.

I didn’t know if we’re gonna get to that or not today.

But so Iu Plus is a new service that we’re rolling out and,

you know,

to the extent that that liquid would pivot from satellite based technology that they have today to this Epic V Plus.

This is so new that we haven’t.

I,

I don’t think Jason,

we’ve talked with you guys yet about this,

but make your pitch.

All right,

let’s go drivers.

Hopefully you can back me up on this out there.

But no,

it’s,

you know,

when,

when,

when the business started 10 years ago.

We,

we know what we were,

we were an entertainment company that was adding in c services that,

that many fleets today didn’t think that they needed to offer to their,

their driver base because they were their t to pay for it.

Forgive me for using that word.

But they just didn’t see the value.

They,

they would say all the time,

why would I need to,

to invest in something like that for my driver?

If they wanted it,

they can go,

go and get it on their own.

And fortunately,

there’s great fleets out there like liquid,

who,

you know,

who can see past all of that and realize that this is an amenity that we need to make available to the drivers because they do get value from it.

So Epic View plus is kind of 100 and 80 degree pivot from what satellite is,

it’s IP TV or streaming.

And what that new service does is allow for the fleet still to have all the same great entertainment options that Epic View offers.

But then we’ve incorporated a couple of other things like education and engagement into the mix where we can take safety and compliance training and push it to uh the drivers.

We can,

we can take it and make a channel dedicated specifically for a fleet like liquid who can post original content to this Engage app that just rests on the on the box that drivers can select and think of it like you would,

a social media channel,

it’s not intended to replace,

you know,

youtube or a Facebook page,

but it’s,

it’s meant to allow for drivers to toggle back and forth between entertainment,

between their safety and compliance training and stay connected with the fleet all in one spot.

Um And so the fleet is gonna really like it from the standpoint of being able to do,

um,

you know,

like something like this.

If they wanted to take an repost his podcast out on their,

their fleet channel,

they could to engage or whether it’s the safety compliance that they’re pushing through partners that they use.

You know,

it may include want to name drop if they’re not customers of,

of liquid,

but we can take,

you know,

uh companies like Carrier edge or Infinity or 10 Street or folks like that,

put their app on this platform and then allow the driver to log into and,

and complete that,

that those training courses that,

that they’ve got.

So as as time goes,

we tend to stay on the the bleeding edge of new technologies.

And,

and this is that in addition to the entertainment that we offer,

we,

we’ve got a nice data package that we can include in this new Epic V Plus service as well.

That will truly bring the connected truck,

you know,

to drivers like you’d mentioned connecting um their Xboxes or their,

their PS five or whatever it is.

So during that downtime they can stay connected or if you know,

they’re influencers,

we’ve,

we talked to a lot of influencers who,

who drives,

who document what they’re doing on the road and then upload their content for people to view it through different avenues or different channels.

And so we can,

we can take a,

a truck and,

and make it connected through this new epic view plus service that is ready new and,

and,

and ready to be sold and be it by by many.

So I hope that answers your question about the engage and educate.

That’s great.

That’s great.

And,

and I mean,

it’s all about staying connected.

You mentioned that multiple times they’re staying connected,

that’s what everybody wants to do.

And that is uh a unique challenge with truck drivers,

I think because it’s trying to stay connected with them in motion.

The rest of us,

a lot of times we have a PC or something like that we can see at or a phone that we can have and we can always be looking at uh drivers aren’t that way.

They’ve got to keep their eyes on the road.

They’ve got a hard job to do and uh a lot of variables that come in each day.

So I,

I just,

I love that you guys are out there offering a way to stay connected,

stay entertained.

Uh The companies get to stay connected with their drivers.

I just think this is Awesome,

Jason.

I wanna have you speak real quick.

Uh Kyle mentioned that you’ve been connected with epic View at Liquid Trucking for quite some time.

Now,

can you talk to me a little bit about the relationship that the two companies have forged over the times you’ve been working together and,

and how it’s benefited Liquid Trucking.

Uh Yeah,

you bet.

So,

the TC,

a convention in Florida in 2018 is when we first happened upon their booth.

And so that’s definitely,

well,

just over five years ago and like anything,

you know,

it started slow.

We trialed it with drivers and then,

and then it grew in popularity and started to implement it in,

into the fleet through buying cycles,

you know,

and the new trucks each year and some of our new equipment and now we’re well into the fleet after this five years,

we have around 100 and 65 I think,

units in service.

So,

not quite all of the fleet yet.

100 and 73 actually,

Jason.

So 100 and 73 and that’s pretty,

that’s pretty darn close.

You know,

when,

when we get our new trucks this year,

they’ll all come with it and,

and that’ll be pretty much fleet wide at that point because that’s right at our,

our,

our current fleet count.

So,

you know,

we didn’t rush out and do anything quick.

We,

we talked with a lot of drivers and listened and like they’re listening today.

I think that kind of like live sales pitch about this new product that epic view has.

I would challenge all the drivers listening to shoot us an email at podcast at Liquid trucking.com and let us know what you thought about these new things that they’re bringing on.

You know,

would you wanna mix safety with your,

you know,

kind of your downtime thing and then also the data package,

I know there’s gonna be some interest there.

So I was gonna ask live on the radio just a little bit more about the data package as we get that request a lot from drivers.

Like how can I get more internet on the road?

Yeah.

And we’ve partnered like we do in our business.

We’ve got some great partners out there from a hardware perspective and then also from a data perspective,

w what I can tell you and anybody who tells you they’re selling on unlimited packages,

you know,

sadly,

mistake.

And there’s unlimited is a,

is a common term that is used in the cellular world,

but everybody knows you’re gonna be throttled at some point and we make no qualms about like it’s a 300 gig package that isn’t throttled that you have access to on the Verizon network.

And so similarly to,

to what we do today,

Jason,

you know,

where you guys don’t pay anything upfront and we just amortize the cost of everything over a period of time we can do that.

So you can literally get started with a couple of different hardware options.

There’s,

there’s a Lexus type modem and then there’s a Toyota type modem that,

that you can select or choose from.

Say oddly enough,

I think both of those are made by the same folks.

They are,

they are.

But it,

it,

it’s just a matter of price point,

you know what you want.

But,

but we can offer you a data package like I mentioned the 300 gigs on the Verizon Network,

uh hardware included with the Epic View Plus.

So you can get it as a stand alone,

which you’re gonna pay a little bit more for if you don’t take the epic view plus.

But if you take Epic View plus,

you’re looking at just under 100 bucks a month for data and Epic view.

If you’ve got your own data,

the good news is Epic view is a lot less expensive than what you’re paying for right now.

It’s only $29 a month,

but it does require that data or Wi Fi to,

to run the box.

And the other cool thing about it is there’s no exterior equipment,

there’s no dish that goes on the truck.

So we’ve eliminated that and just gone to a single set top box that goes inside the truck that connects to everything on the back end.

So there’s a driver you interface that uh they select,

it’s all app based.

Uh you might consider it similar to a Roku Stick or a fire stick where it plugs in and up pops,

you know,

apps that,

that you’d have.

But on that,

you’ve got the dedicated Epic V channel guide.

There’s the Epic View gauge platform,

you get access to Showtime and Paramount Plus.

Uh another cool feature that,

that isn’t on the satellites today,

that that would be on the Epic V Plus is the video on demand.

So there’s a huge library of direct TV content if you miss something and you did record it,

likelihood or the chances of you finding it on direct TV,

SVOD or video on demand library is,

is pretty high.

So there’s,

there’s a lot of cool features and benefits and Jason,

we can,

you know,

talk obviously if,

if demand is such that your drivers are like,

hey,

this looks really cool.

You guys wanted to test it out like you did uh the Epic B Satellites.

We could get a handful of units out there for you to try.

But uh there’s something for everybody and,

and uh I,

I think it’s something that the drivers will come around to and,

and eventually really enjoy and subscribe to.

So yeah,

I’m excited to learn more,

you know,

off the air.

But while we’re on the air again,

I can’t,

I can’t push hard enough.

We love feedback from the drivers listening.

So hit us at the email address.

Podcast at L trucking.com.

I know that Marcus is probably gonna do a follow up with one of our drivers that loves it the most Polar Bear.

So,

if at all possible,

we need Polar Bear to listen to this before.

Uh he talks because these guys,

you know,

uh out there on the road is who we’re trying to listen to and,

and then,

and then go back to these vendors uh like epic view and,

and buy what they say is,

you know,

interesting to them or useful to them on the road.

Uh So there’s a lot that we’ve covered today and,

and probably the funnest episode yet getting a live pitch on something new on air that was not expected.

II I appreciate the chance of being put on the spot to,

to talk about that.

But it,

and the reason for it is,

you know,

like I said,

it,

it’s just such a,

a new product that we’d be happy to give Polar Bear a unit to try.

We’ve,

we’ve tried it out a couple of other drivers cabs,

not with liquid,

but,

but some others that uh we’ve got nothing but really positive feedback.

So yeah,

we’re definitely open to that and helping you guys see the,

the opportunity there for sure.

I’m excited and VP of sales is a well earned title because you got put on the spot there completely unprepared and,

and I’m sold,

uh you know,

if you’ve got one that fits into a Chevy Silverado.

Uh send it on out,

man.

I’ll give it a try,

give you all the feedback you want.

But uh this is great.

I,

I will make sure that we talk to Polar Bear about this uh later on in the episode because,

um,

you know,

Jason,

you even told me he will plan his routes around football games so that he can watch because he knows he’s got that NFL Sunday ticket.

So might as well be stopped when his Chiefs are playing.

Right?

Not a bad team to root for when three time,

three time Super Bowl champs.

Yeah,

he’s,

he’s definitely saddled his wagon to the right pony.

Don’t,

don’t remind me about that.

Two of those Super Bowl titles are at the behest of my 49er.

So,

uh,

if we could talk about anything else right now,

that wound is still just really fresh.

Uh,

well,

uh,

Anna Fry does that name ring a bell,

you know.

Oh,

come on.

She’s the one who,

uh,

Brock Purdy was getting so much crap about her.

You gotta Google it,

Anna Fry.

Brock Purdy.

It’s a girl who goes to my,

uh,

kid’s high school here where I live and,

uh,

she blew up,

uh,

just with the publicity for looking like Brock Purdy.

So do,

do,

do some research on that and you’ll see what,

uh,

what I mean.

But that,

that was kind of a fun story.

I’m a,

I’m a 49er fan myself and uh it,

it is a little heartbreaking to see them.

Yeah.

Well,

we’re kindred spirits in that right.

Kyle.

I,

I want to thank you so much for taking some time to come on here and talk about Epic View with us again.

If you’re interested in checking out what Epic View has to offer.

Head on over to Epic view.com.

That’s Vue Epic view.com.

Uh and,

and Kyle will certainly bring you back around uh sometime in the future.

Talk about other products that maybe Liquid has uh jumped on since this conversation.

So again,

thank you so much for your time today.

Well,

I just want to say thank you to you both Marcus and Jason and,

and definitely give a shout out to the drivers.

I,

we,

I don’t always get the opportunity and chance to express my gratitude,

our gratitude for you guys.

Uh So it means a lot that you guys do what you do every day.

You’re definitely working with a great company in Liquid and so cool,

you know that uh we’re able to work at the level that we do with you guys.

And uh if there’s ever anything that we can do to make the experience that the drivers out there having with Epic View,

let us know how we can improve.

We’re not a perfect company,

but we,

we are always striving to uh to be better and uh you know,

the fleets,

our customer but,

but the drivers are the users of the product of the service and uh we know it works because of them.

So thanks to Liquid,

thanks to you guys and,

and especially thanks to the drivers out there.

Let make what we do.

That’s great.

Thanks for that,

Kyle and uh Jason Eisenman also joining us.

We always appreciate the time and uh we’ll definitely have you back on here.

You can’t get away from me at this point,

my friend.

No,

this was a fun one.

We’ll definitely have to talk some more after we flush out some of the feedback,

talk off here and see if there’s something there that we could bring to the guys out there.

So I’ll let everyone go for now and we’ll be picking this up soon.

That’s Jason Eisenman from Liquid Trucking and Kyle Hall from Epic View.

Thank you,

gentlemen.

We’ll be right back.

See you guys joining me next here on the Liquid Trucking Podcast.

We’ve got Polar Bear back on the line.

Polar Bear.

Thanks for being here as always.

Thank you.

It always gives me something else to do than drive.

You know,

all I do is drive.

I hear you.

Well,

we always appreciate the time Polar Bear and uh this one’s gonna be a fun one because we’re talking about some of the vendors that help uh liquid out and,

and being such a great company to work for.

And uh actually Jason Eisenman and I just got off the line with Kyle Hales from Epic View and Jason told me he said,

hey,

you should give Polar Bear a call because he plans his schedule around football games and he uses Epic View.

Uh,

more than a lot of the drivers do.

So I just wanted to call you and get your thoughts on it and,

uh,

hear about how you schedule around your football games when they’re,

uh,

when they’re in season,

when they’re in season.

Yeah.

So the Dispatchers know that I’ll run Monday through Saturday and I’ll run all day long,

but there’s only been twice,

once last year and once the year before where I had to run on a Sunday.

And of course,

uh,

you know,

I don’t know if I should say it on this line,

but go Chiefs,

you know,

I’ll record my *** and then,

you know,

watch it later even on Sunday when I’m down,

you can record one and watch the other.

So I’ll record my Chiefs whatever morning after,

you know,

early,

late game and then,

um,

I’ll watch the rest of them.

So I,

I kind of go and order,

what do I wanna watch the most?

And then I go,

you know,

as it’s getting close to half time,

I’ll,

I’ll watch this and then when it’s half time,

normally,

you know,

one of the earlier games is already through app so I can go and watch that one until it’s finished until,

you know,

the second games come up and then I’ll usually record one of them.

So,

because I don’t really over the air program a whole bunch.

So,

you know,

I don’t get to watch Sunday night football that way.

It’s Sunday night while I’m eating whatever I cooked,

I can watch the two games.

Perfect.

Well,

it sounds like you’ve got it figured out.

I’ve never heard you,

uh,

get angry at all.

But I assume that uh,

if all of a sudden you had to drive all day on Sunday during the fall,

you probably wouldn’t be a very happy camper.

Well,

no,

and my dispatcher,

Brandon is a Chiefs fan too and I’m like,

you know,

I’m only gonna do this because I like you Brandon,

you know,

so,

and I can record as long as,

you know,

you’re not in a building or nothing’s above you,

you know.

So,

and,

and you can record in motion.

Correct?

Yes.

Yes.

Like I,

I haven’t counted how many,

I bet I’m over 100 movies I’ve recorded because I tell a lot of drivers.

Here’s the thing.

You get into a snowstorm,

you get into a hail or rainstorm,

your dish isn’t gonna work.

Now all of a sudden you’re watching scramble.

Here’s a,

here’s an example and I never thought of it.

I took a load of wine out to New York.

They backed me in a building and they were bottling while they were unloading me,

it took me 10 hours to unload.

I forgot all about my DVR.

So I’m just kind of playing Solitaire on my phone.

I’m,

you know,

back then I was on Facebook.

I was,

you know,

I was doing whatever I could to stay busy.

And then about the end,

I’m like,

why didn’t I think about that?

So then about the last hour I watched the movie.

So that’s why I tell all the newer ones that are just getting into a truck with it,

record a couple of movies and let’s say you,

like,

uh,

there’s about,

I don’t know,

I bet there’s probably two dozen shows.

Like,

um,

what is it?

You know,

like mountain men and detectors.

There’s a few of them that I record,

well,

just as long as you’re receiving on it,

don’t matter if you’re there or not,

it’ll record,

it’ll record the series and I don’t like commercials.

So I record them that way.

I can fast forward through the commercials.

That’s what I love about the DVR too.

Perfect.

I mean,

it sounds like it works out great for you as long as you’ve prepared for it and you know what’s coming and I can’t imagine,

uh,

living without that on a 10 hour unload.

I mean,

solitaire is good for like,

40 minutes Polar Bear and then,

especially when you can’t win it.

Yeah,

exactly.

Exactly.

Well,

uh,

something pretty cool and I wanted to just kind of get a live reaction from you here.

We were talking to Kyle from Epic View uh about some new products that they’re offering and he has uh something that’s so new that he hadn’t even had a chance to pitch it to liquid yet.

And uh it sounds like they are uh kind of hooking up with the ability to bring you guys a data package uh so that you could connect your devices and have Wi Fi and everything like that in the truck.

And uh I will tell you this,

it sounds like if you play your cards,

right?

Which probably won’t be that hard.

Uh You might get to test one of these things out and see if it’s gonna work for liquid.

How does that make you feel?

That would be?

I would Yeah.

Yeah,

I would test it.

Here’s the thing,

I don’t revolve around internet,

you know,

what,

what’s on,

what’s on the epic view is good enough for me,

you know,

and that’s one thing I’m so glad about epic view when they sold the,

when direct TV,

lost the Sunday NFL ticket.

I thought we lost it completely and then come to find out.

I kept hearing,

you know,

go to this channel and you can get the Sunday NFL ticket because that’s why I stay out strictly for that.

My wife is not a football fan and she is definitely not a Kansas City fan.

So that’s why it works out great for me to stay out because I don’t got somebody saying really another one,

you know,

so,

well,

it sounds like your wife and I have the not a Kansas City fan thing in common.

I tell you.

And that’s why I was kind of nice about it.

You know,

I haven’t said it yet to you.

I’ve been being nice to you.

I know you have and I appreciate it.

Uh,

you know,

I’ve been,

uh,

licking the wounds ever since,

uh,

mid February.

I will tell you this.

Uh,

our buddy Kyle from Epic View is also a 49er fan like myself.

So he and I were able to,

uh,

you know,

ruminate a little bit and maybe feel better.

Yeah,

exactly.

I do,

I do want to say I do appreciate that that day.

You know,

the right before the Super Bowl when we both texted each other,

our,

our deer,

you know,

that was,

I enjoyed that.

So,

thank you for,

you know,

returning before you knew the outcome.

I was pretty sure of the outcome,

but,

well,

so was I,

and how’d that go for me?

Yeah,

it’s always fun,

man.

You know,

uh,

a lot of people get so into it that they won’t talk to the other team or they won’t,

they won’t Josh around a little bit.

I always,

I like it,

man.

That’s part of the fun.

It’s like I,

I’m a grown man that wears another man’s name.

On my back for three hours every week.

I’m more than happy if you give me a little bit of flack about it,

you know.

Well,

look at Christmas Day when we lost to the Raiders,

the Raiders of all people,

you know,

that was a tough loss.

But then I’m,

I’m like,

ok,

I don’t own the company.

I didn’t lose any money.

I’m gonna go to sleep.

You know,

I,

you know,

it,

you don’t like to see that loss category keep going up.

But it’s,

and like I said,

it looks better when you are the underdog through.

You know,

that’s what I said,

ok,

we’ve lost these games.

We’re not catching,

you know,

I’m,

I’m sorry,

we’re getting up on football which,

you know,

I can just easily.

It’s,

it’s a squirrel to me,

you know,

we’re talking about a topic and then the squirrel ran by and I started talking about football,

but that’s why I’m,

I’m just so happy that epic view was that considered a company and not residential.

That’s how we was able to keep it because as Jason,

that the very first Sunday that it was supposed to be on,

I’m going to the 705 where it started.

I’m like,

it’s not on Jason.

I wanna watch it and I’m,

you know,

I haven’t bitten a finger off yet from punch the buttons.

But,

and then he Jason,

it was nice enough to contact whoever and he contacted me back and,

uh,

99554.

I don’t really ever remember numbers,

but I can remember them that one.

So,

yeah,

that one will be seared into your brain forever.

And,

uh,

huge shout out to Jason,

man,

what a guy,

he’s a guy that understands the football allegiances,

you know,

on a Sunday,

he didn’t have to.

But he,

uh,

and I was one of the very first ones that tested this out.

I knew and I wanted to get out of my last truck because it was a single axle.

I got stuck everywhere I went.

And then Jay and prior to that my whole career,

I’ve either over the air program or there’s another one of our drivers.

I paid $800 a year to have to share his dish.

Jason knew that I’ve always had some form of TV out here because I’ve always been sure,

sure,

you know,

helps with the sanity a little bit.

Yeah.

I mean,

it,

it takes your mind off of things,

you know,

I had a rough day yesterday and I sat down and watched a couple of reruns of the office and within 40 minutes I was not thinking about what was bugging me anymore.

And,

you know,

whether or not it’s a productive use of your time,

I feel like it definitely,

uh,

it eases the tension a little bit,

man.

And that’s all we’re looking for out here.

We need you guys to be relaxed,

cool,

calm and collect.

And if that means you need to watch a little Law and Order SVU on your downtime queue it up and it’s,

you know,

I used to watch her and once again,

thank you to Jason.

I got,

I did a 34 in a motel just because I didn’t really want to stay in here and I got to watch,

um,

um,

Yellowstone.

I watched the first two seasons and then I immediately come out to the truck and try to find Paramount and I’m like,

wait a minute,

we don’t have it.

So I called Jason and once again,

shout out to Jason.

He got Paramount put on for us because it was pennies.

It was pennies to add it to it.

And now look at where Yellowstone is,

you know,

they’re still waiting to,

they’re still waiting to do that last half a season for the last season.

That’s great.

That last episode.

Yeah,

it’s amazing to hear that,

uh,

you know,

sometimes you’re solves to your problems are just a phone call away.

And that’s one of the reasons we love Jason,

man,

that guy,

uh,

this podcast would not anything close to what it is right now if it wasn’t for Jason’s involvement.

So,

uh,

you know,

hats off to Jason over and over and over again,

taking care of the drivers helping me out on the podcast.

Hey,

you got a great dude there to rely on.

I think I gotta,

I gotta make a comment to you too.

A good one.

Every once in a while I go back and listen to,

you know,

the previous ones and I really like that one driver and dispatch one.

That was a good one and I really like Josh and,

and Tanner together.

That was really good.

It was fun,

man.

They are,

uh two keys in a pod,

those guys and we’ll definitely do another episode like that because,

uh,

you guys,

the drivers and dispatchers form a very unique and very special relationship.

Um You guys have to deal with one another at the best of times and at the worst of times and you never really know when that phone rings what it’s gonna be.

So,

uh,

it’s really cool to get a peek behind the curtain on the way that stuff works and we’re gonna bring that episode back again,

uh,

here in the future and,

uh,

maybe we’ll get you on with your dispatcher and,

uh,

see what we can find out about the two of you.

I would,

I would do it with,

with,

you know,

I would do the episode with Brandon,

but,

you know,

I mean,

I don’t know how he feels about it because I got a good,

I’ve always had good dispatchers.

I got no complaints,

you know,

they know they know how I like to run and,

and that’s leave me alone,

you know,

if I got a problem if I got a problem,

like I’ll text him and say,

hey,

will you,

were you aware of them that I’m gonna be there at,

um,

one o’clock tomorrow?

You know,

if I can’t get a hold of the customer or,

you know,

or like I told him when I first got him as my dispatcher,

I don’t need your help.

I’ll run if I need your help,

I’ll call you and I,

and I appreciate the same thing with me.

You know,

if you need me,

call me,

if you don’t text me or hit me up some other way,

I’m out here doing my job.

I can be a testament to that.

All I did was text you yesterday and here we are talking on the phone today.

So uh I’d say you follow through man.

Well,

a bunch of technology but the phone,

the email,

the texting,

I mean that,

you know,

just it’s a finger,

you know,

it’s a fingerprint away and,

and all of a sudden now we’re talking.

Yeah,

like you said,

it’s amazing.

Clear across the country.

Seconds later they got it.

Oh,

wait a minute.

Yep.

Here it is.

You know,

and I guess all we can say is at least we’re not Raider fans,

right?

That’s 100%.

Yes.

Yes,

I would have to give up football if that was it.

Alright.

Polar Bear.

Well,

hey,

as always,

thank you for your time.

We love having you here.

On the podcast and,

uh,

I’m really looking forward to what you have to say about,

uh,

the new Epic View technology.

Um,

we’ll stay on top of that.

See if we can’t get one of those things in your cab to try out because I assume if it works for you,

it’ll probably go into practice for everyone else as well.

So I know there’s a lot that will,

well,

you spend enough time on epic view.

Oh,

yeah.

Oh yeah,

we did for sure said I could talk about anything and I get distracted pretty easy a lot.

That’s why I love having you man.

If we had only one thing to talk about for this entire interview,

I would not be uh nearly as excited about it as I am.

You know,

I know that you and I can get down a rabbit hole and to be honest with you,

that’s where I have the most fun doing my job.

So uh II I appreciate the time.

I appreciate the willingness uh please stay safe out there.

Keep the shiny side up and we’ll be back in touch with you soon.

Ok.

Alrighty,

thanks again,

Marcus.

I always enjoy being on here.

Thanks.

We enjoy having you Polar Bear.

That’s Polar Bear from liquid trucking.

The name Cottingham and Butler is synonymous with trucking.

And we are very fortunate today to have the Vice President of the Transportation Group from Cottingham and Butler,

Matt Ferris on the line with us,

Matt.

We really appreciate the time.

Thanks so much for being here morning Marcus.

Absolutely.

Always love talking trucking insurance.

I love the,

the Schmidt Liquid Trucking family and I’m glad you uh glad you invited me.

Well,

you know,

family is such an important part of the way that Liquid does business and the way that they treat their employees.

And uh my,

my uh very,

very thin connection with you.

I come from an insurance family myself.

My dad was an insurance agent for my entire upbringing and my sister has,

my,

my sister has since bought his insurance practice and is now feeling exactly uh what you were just talking about there.

So,

um I,

you know,

you might think insurance isn’t an exciting topic,

but I’ve grown up around it and I’m very excited to talk to you today.

So maybe we start out here.

Just tell me a little bit about uh what Cottingham and Butler offers the transportation industry because I know you guys have been in business for a very long time and you have a ton of clients.

So let me know what you offer.

Yeah,

C NBI mean our business has been around since 1887 which is a long time,

but we really got into the,

the trucking space back in uh in the eighties.

At some point,

we insured Raleigh International which was the fleet for the Dubuque packing house,

the packing house in Dubuque was actually the 15th largest private employer at one time in the country.

So we got into trucking through Raleigh International and then somehow we got hooked into the Fry Miller Group down in Oklahoma.

And,

um,

since then it’s taken off,

we now have about 1500 employees.

Um,

we have about,

uh,

we insure about 3000 trucking companies.

So,

you know,

most of those are your,

your 5 to 50 I think that’s where the bulk of fleets are at.

So,

you know,

unfortunately,

the,

the fleets like Schmidt and Liquid trucking are getting less because they’re merger and acquisitions.

But um one thing I’ll tell you about CNB is we’ve really,

we’ve catered our business to have a suite of services that support trucking companies.

That’s it.

I mean,

75% of our revenue comes from trucking companies.

So whether it’s claims safety brokerage,

claims advocacy on the fully insured side,

we can do health insurance,

we can do uh hr and compliance reviews dot Audits.

There isn’t anything that we can’t do that.

A trucking company needs to assist with the insurance program.

How’s that?

So?

Oh,

it’s great.

Uh It’s such a,

a comprehensive view from the top of uh of what Cottingham and Butler offers and still headquartered there in Dubuque,

Iowa.

I understand.

It’s kind of crazy,

you know,

but uh we sure half the town works there,

I guess.

But uh,

but we like that.

I mean,

it’s,

I haven’t worked anywhere else,

to be honest with you Marcus.

But I can tell you it’s,

you know,

the big brokerage firms,

I think the clients get lost in it.

You know,

we really try to,

our clients have so many touches with Cottingham and Butler in the insurance program.

You know,

they talk to me,

they talk to my account manager,

they talk to their auto and work comp adjusters,

they talk to their safety consultant.

Um They might talk with our hr and compliance folks.

There’s just if they have their health insurance with us,

we handle the claims on the health insurance side and do brokerage on that side.

So if you’re with us,

you get touched by Kham Butler a lot.

Kind of sounding weird but,

you know,

but absolutely,

it’s a good touch.

It’s one that you’re excited about.

I,

I I’m hoping anyway,

so,

well,

uh talk to me a little bit Matt,

if you will about the uh the services that Liquid utilizes from,

from C and B.

Because uh Jason,

when,

when we were talking about putting this episode together,

you were one of the first names that came up from Jason.

He said I got to get in touch with Matt and see if we can get Matt on and I can tell that’s because the uh the relationship between Liquid and Cottingham and Butler is a very important one in Jason’s day to day.

Uh He was supposed to join us today,

but feeling a little bit under the weather.

So I think he would have some better questions for you,

but I’ll just ask you about that.

What does uh what does liquid utilize from the Cottingham and Butler Suite?

So liquid trucking is actually one of our group captive programs.

We get kind of labeled as the captive broker in the trucking industry.

And we do write,

I think we have seven or eight trucking captives,

which is a captive is really just an insurance company that trucking companies buy into.

They own a share of stock in it and it operates just like an insurance company.

Schmidt’s actually been in a captive since I think 2001.

And what that provides,

Schmidt is an alternative to going out and buying your off the shelf insurance product.

You know,

whether it’s Liberty or Northland or pick one.

It gives them the opportunity to have their claims managed by a third party and not the insurance company.

Because if you think about it,

when the insurance company manages the claims,

they’re in business to make money,

they’re gonna do that,

they’re gonna manage that claim for their result,

not for the customer’s result.

And that’s really why we got into the claims business and started these captives.

Um It gives us a hell of a lot more leeway,

especially on the auto liability side in,

in managing these claims.

And we’re not afraid to go to court but for the drivers of Schmidt Liquid Trucking,

understand that they’re taking risk.

You know,

they’re not just buying insurance and having the insurance company pay the claims.

They’re actually in a mechanism.

The captive is a mechanism where they’re funding about,

you know,

60% of their claims dollar into their own kitty to pay for their claims.

So,

if they,

if the fleet does,

well,

they actually get some money back out of their insurance program.

And I know liquid trucking,

I’ve known them for a long time.

They,

you know,

it’s a nice little neat little family run,

uh in a small town.

Everybody knows each other.

Right.

So it,

it really does become a t effort.

And,

um,

and they’ve been extremely successful.

I mean,

I’ve seen Roger grow from 50 trucks to almost 200 trucks in,

in that 20 year span organically.

So we think the captive program really works well for Schmidt and,

uh,

they utilize the heck out of us.

You know,

they are calling our safety consultants.

Jason,

I’m sure works day to day with the insurance adjusters.

And ultimately I get to give checks back,

which in this business,

Marcus doesn’t happen very often.

So,

you’re right there.

You’re right,

man.

I,

I’ve,

uh,

you know,

with my slim experience in insurance,

uh I think that the only check I ever saw go out,

uh,

was actually from my dad’s personal account because he was,

uh,

he was upset somebody was upset with him.

He was upset,

he pulled out the checkbook and wrote a check and said this is the end of our business together.

And,

uh,

yeah,

and I understand sometimes it’s a little bit contentious but it sounds like to me what Cottingham and Butler does is really try to protect the,

the,

the trucking company from a lot of these,

uh,

predatory practices out there.

You know,

I,

I’ve seen so much about,

you know,

drivers getting pinched by predatory towing practices and everything like that.

I know that there are some schemes that have gone down.

In fact,

one down in New Orleans just last year,

maybe the year before where,

uh,

they were boxing trucks in,

on the freeway and causing accidents and then trying to soothe these big trucking outfits for every dollar that they had left over.

Um,

is that something that you guys ever deal with any type of,

uh,

you know,

you said you’re not afraid to go to court,

um,

when you’re defending these claims,

what type of Tom foolery do you see out there with,

uh,

people trying to get one over on the trucking companies?

Yeah,

I mean,

the Tom ferry,

believe it or not is very geographic.

You know,

like you mentioned New Orleans,

Louisiana is just about the toughest state.

If you’re gonna take someone to trial there,

you gotta be aware of what your jury is gonna look like.

You know,

and there’s,

there’s just,

there’s several of those states in the country yet.

You’ve got,

you know,

Georgia,

New York,

California.

You know,

New Jersey.

There’s,

there’s about five or six states left out there that have what’s called a pure comparative negligence rule which is awful for the trucking company.

They’re 1% at fault.

The other party can collect damages.

Wow.

You know.

Yeah.

So Florida just got rid of the pure Comparative and is now a modified,

which is great if you’re 50% at fault or 51% at fault,

you know,

which is fair.

The 1% was completely as you can imagine.

So there is,

there is talk about tort reform in the industry.

I mean,

Florida did,

you know Rhoda Santa signed off on it and it’s been in place almost for a year now.

So I know I was doing some things.

But yeah,

I mean,

we really try to figure out the best way to protect the assets of liquid trucking.

And there are some,

we call judicial hellholes that I try to get my customers not to go to,

but that’s not always how it works,

right?

But I can’t tell you,

Marcus,

how many claims I’ve got on my books where it’s like a three mile an hour rolled back on a,

in an intersection or something and then they’ve got $400,000 in medical bills.

Ok.

What,

what the world doesn’t know what’s going on right now is the private equity money is about $10 billion in our industry.

They,

they fund lawsuits.

So they found this person that got hit by a three mile an hour truck,

send him to the doctor as many times as they can to build up the claim,

the medical claims amount so that the claim gets three or four times what it really should be.

So we’re seeing that a lot in our industry,

I can’t stress enough to the drivers of liquid trucking.

Like you,

you could be on the stand someday.

So you’re a professional truck driver,

make sure that you’re got your eyes crossing your Ts.

Absolutely.

And is there,

is there anything behind that thought process or the,

uh,

these,

this private equity money that you’re talking about that funds?

These,

uh,

these people that were in accidents with trucking companies?

Are they just looking to make as much money as they can for their client and for themselves?

I mean,

it doesn’t seem like that’s anything other than a racket just hearing it on the surface.

Uh,

is there business sense behind this or is this just a money making ploy?

Oh,

it’s just,

yeah,

it’s completely just money making,

you know,

so what they do with the injured party,

the attorney will come in and say,

hey,

you know,

Mr Ferris,

sit down,

relax,

you’re hurt,

you got injured in the claim.

Here’s a half million dollars so you can live on.

We’re gonna go jack your medicals up to 500,000 cause usually you get paid about 3.5 to 4 times meds.

So if they can get that claim up to a half million in meds,

they’re gonna get a claim,

you know,

at about $2 million.

Now,

the person realistically probably doesn’t have any meds but you know how it goes,

Marcus,

the older you get,

everybody has a little degeneration in their back shoulders,

whatever.

And you’re in a,

you’re in a situation where the judicial hellholes or the jury that you’re gonna get is probably gonna award money to the injured party.

And,

and we try to avoid that as much as possible,

but it’s completely just a money maker that,

you know,

funding lawsuits should be illegal,

in my opinion,

you know,

but it’s out there and it’s real,

you know,

it’s,

you hope that legislation leaks in,

uh to,

to help curb this type of action,

but at the same time,

it’s legislation moves at such a glacial pace for things like this.

And I’m really glad to hear that Florida is,

is turning around and,

um,

I would hope that some of these other states that you talk about being judicial hellholes will start to see that if they don’t protect their transportation industry,

friends,

uh,

in their own state,

it’s not gonna be long before,

uh,

the trucking companies just in their own interest are gonna stay away from those states as much as they possibly can,

which is going to affect the state’s economy as a whole.

And,

uh,

I,

sometimes I wonder if the people that are running things,

understand exactly how much of their day depends on what arrived on a truck that morning or in any day past.

And,

uh,

I,

it just,

sometimes I don’t think they do.

I’ve grown,

you know,

I’ve grown such a great respect for the trucking industry through doing this podcast and through talking to all the people,

it’s,

it’s nothing but great people that are out there trying to earn a paycheck and do a good job and not only that but keep everybody on the road around them,

including themselves safe to know that there are people out there in the world that are just trying to target these types of people.

It really gets under my skin Matt.

It’s hard for me not to unleash a,

uh,

you know,

just,

uh,

a profanity laced rant on this right now.

I’m,

I’m really biting my cheek but,

uh,

I’m,

I’m happy to hear that there’s some protection out there in the form of a,

a company that’s been around as long as Cottingham and Butler has.

Yeah,

I mean,

we do our best to protect our,

our client’s assets and the risks that they take.

I mean,

trucking is a different animal.

Right?

There’s all kinds of things that can happen.

Work,

comp,

auto cargo.

There’s just a lot of risk demand.

Jason does a great job at Schmidt.

I mean,

he really digs in on claims and make sure that they’re not paying anything that they’re not supposed to.

Which if Schmidt’s running a better insurance program,

hopefully that leaks down into the driver’s pockets.

Right.

If there’s more money at the end of the day,

they should,

you know,

their wages should be fine.

So I know they’re paying them by the hour now.

And,

you know,

I travel around the country and talk to trucking fleets and Roger and his team are by far in the top 5% of the fleets that I talked to with regards to the relationship with their employees and their drivers and their,

and the results.

That awesome.

No,

it doesn’t surprise me at all.

I can’t tell you.

I mean,

I got drivers texting me from Liquid almost,

uh,

five days a week.

Monday through Friday.

They talk to me about the podcast.

They want to come on the podcast.

They love this company and that,

that is because they are well taken care of.

They’re listened to,

they don’t feel like a number.

They feel like a name with a family and,

uh,

and,

and,

you know,

uh,

a life and a load to protect out there.

So it’s really cool to see how well,

uh,

liquid treats their employees and I’m sure that some of that money coming back in from CNB is a,

is a big part of that,

like you’re saying,

Matt,

um,

talk to me a little bit about the relationship that,

that liquid and,

and CNB have built over the years.

I know you guys have been doing business for a while.

Uh You said that,

you know,

they’re one of your,

your captive accounts there.

Um What else is the relationship kind of brought to both of the companies from your perspective over the years?

Matt?

Well,

number one for me would be friendship and Roger and I are really good friends and obviously I don’t talk to Gabe as much as Josh.

But,

you know,

Josh came in,

his daughter goes to school here in Chicago and they came over for dinner and I’ve been out to Josh’s wedding and really feel like I’m a part of their company more than just their insurance broker.

They don’t treat me like a vendor,

you know,

which is nice.

It’s really everything that this is the reason why I do.

What I do is the relationship side.

I hate insurance,

to be honest with you.

Effing,

hated,

ok,

I hate dealing with insurance companies.

And I mean,

it’s,

it’s about as effed up as an industry as you can imagine.

We try to make it,

we try to smooth out the waves as best we can,

but you need in our business.

You need someone with,

with the ability to reason on the other side.

And Roger and Josh have always been,

you know,

very good to work with,

with regards to how things are unfolding and what’s happening and why and,

you know,

I,

I couldn’t thank them enough for that.

You know,

because this is a tough business on our end.

You know,

we,

we don’t write,

if you go into 100 trucking companies,

you might write five of them.

That’s about the,

the success rate on this stuff.

So,

um,

and,

and you can tell I’ve had the Schmidt Schmidt family since 2001.

You know,

they haven’t left and uh um you know,

their program ebbs and flows but for the most part,

um they’ve been extremely successful with us and it’s 80% of them,

20% us,

something like that.

They have to put their,

they have to put their elbow grease and it’s just not gonna happen with us.

But yeah,

if they,

if you’re in it to win it in this trucking industry,

we are the partner to be with.

That’s because with,

with your cap,

with regards to the captives and things like that,

you can get up to 60% of your money back,

which,

I mean,

these trucking fleets aren’t paying seven figure premiums.

So there’s some real money there.

Yeah,

and,

and no offense to uh to Geico and progressive out there,

but they’re not offering me 60% of my money back at the end of the month.

So,

uh it sounds like a one heck of a program and when you talk about the friendship man,

what I have to ask you is,

can you get me out to one of these famous lake parties?

Because I hear out there in Plattsmouth,

Nebraska they have some fun once the weather turns up a little bit.

Oh,

my.

Yeah,

I’ve been around for the start of that deal too.

It’s like I’m gonna put some camping sites out here.

Next thing you know,

there’s a couple of 100 right?

And it’s like,

I don’t know if I’d make it to work on Monday.

Yeah,

especially not me with the flight back to,

uh,

to Oregon where I’m from.

That would be uh,

11 nasty flight.

But I still like,

I,

I’ll take that one on the chin if it means I get to attend one of these famous lake parties.

So I’ve got my fingers crossed.

I think you’d have a hard time not having fun.

But you say that.

Well,

Matt,

I really appreciate the time today.

This has been a very insightful conversation and a,

a peek behind the curtain into Liquid Trucking’s relationship with Cottingham and Butler is exactly what we were looking for here today.

And,

uh,

you did a fantastic job walking us through it.

Uh I hope that uh in the future you guys can,

uh have to fight a few or a little bit less of this tom foolery that goes on in these judicial hellholes.

But I think right now,

you’re,

uh,

you’re fighting the good fight.

You’re standing up for the guy that’s being,

uh,

preyed upon and for nothing else other than a payday.

So,

uh,

thank you hats off to you guys for everything that you do.

We stick up for the truckers,

man.

That’s,

that’s our number one gig.

So,

well,

we really appreciate the time,

Matt and,

uh,

if I have any control over it,

which I do have a fair share,

we’ll get you back on here in the future.

Ok.

Yeah,

man.

Next time I’ll bring some jokes.

I got some,

I got some good jokes.

Marcus,

I didn’t unfold here.

So add me back on.

They’re clean for the most part.

Well,

I mean,

hey,

we gotta have some fun.

I want,

next time I want a lake party joke and I want a clean joke from you.

So we get you prepared way in advance.

All you can’t prepare for that lake party.

Trust me,

Matt Ferris,

Vice President of the Transportation Group from Cottingham and Butler.

Take care of yourself.

We’ll talk soon.

Ok.

Thanks Marcus.

You too.

Be good.

Huge.

Thanks to Matt Ferris from Cottingham and Butler coming on and chatting with me and Jason a little bit.

Also huge thanks to Kyle Hales VP of sales from Epic View and a big thanks to Polar Bear.

Shout out to you,

man.

Uh You’re the one testing some of this equipment for the guys and uh it’s all worked out really well.

Glad to see that you never missed a Chiefs game,

even though there’s one that I kind of wanted you to miss and it was that big win right at the end of the year.

But I know you wouldn’t miss it.

So,

uh,

you know what Polar Bear always so gracious with his time and I can tell he enjoys being on the podcast because he’s told me such,

we’re gonna keep bringing him on and again,

just to remind you of what I said in the open.

If you’re a driver out there listening to Polar Bear thinking,

hey,

that sounds pretty fun.

And you haven’t been on the podcast yet,

shoot an email over to podcast at Liquid trucking.com or if you’ve got my number or can get it from any of the drivers that have been on this podcast before.

Feel free and reach out to me.

I would love to talk to you about it.

Now,

I told you that because we were talking a little bit about your entertainment package in the truck today that I would bring you a few recommendations.

I don’t know if you’re gonna like them.

This is up my alley and,

uh,

hopefully some of you will get something out of it,

but no promises.

Ok,

I’ve got,

uh,

a couple of movies here that I’ve really enjoyed recently and I’ve actually watched them on cross country flights.

One of them I watched uh on my way over for the Liquid Podcast launch.

And uh that was the covenant.

Now,

the covenant is a uh a war movie and it follows a soldier that is injured behind enemy lines and his trek back through the Hindu Kush mountains uh trying to basically save what’s left of his unit.

Uh He struggles with some addiction.

This is uh Jake Gyllenhaal in this movie and he does a phenomenal job.

It’s a very well told story.

Um It’s probably not one that you wanna watch with your kids.

Actually,

either one of these movies are not ones that you wanna watch with your kids while you’re at home time.

So check that one out in the cab for sure.

Once again,

that one’s called The Covenant and then uh another one,

it’s actually been out for quite a while.

It’s not what I would call a new movie.

I think it released in 2019 or maybe 2020.

But that is Guy Ritchie’s the Gentleman,

uh starring Matthew McConaughey,

Hugh Grant,

Charlie,

Hunnam,

Colin Farrell and Moore.

There’s a ton of big names in this movie.

And if you are a fan of a movie like Snatch with Brad Pitt,

that guy Ritchie put out all those years ago,

you are going to love the story of Matthew McConaughey.

He’s an American expat who has gotten into the business in the UK.

And it’s important to remember that that is not legal in many States like it is here in the United States.

Uh It’s all about Matthew McConaughey and his exploits,

dealing with other crime families and navigating the waters of the England Underground Fantastic movie.

And it parlays right into my first series suggestion for you.

They made a series called The Gentleman.

It’s just released on Netflix within the last month or so.

Uh It is produced by Guy Ritchie and directed some by Guy Ritchie.

Um None of those same big names.

Of course,

this is a Netflix series,

so it’s not going to be a huge Blockbuster movie,

uh quality cast,

but it is really well cast so far and I’ve only watched the first couple of episodes.

So what I’ll say is if you enjoyed the movie,

The Gentleman,

absolutely check out the series,

The Gentleman.

It’s phenomenal so far and uh look,

if you’re a Guy Ritchie fan like I am,

it’s pretty easy to get on board with this stuff.

Uh Guy Ritchie has this special way where none of his movies are what I would call comedies,

but the comedy is just peppered throughout.

I laughed out loud on an airplane,

watching the Gentleman,

the movie a couple of different times.

So definitely check that one out.

And uh the last series that I have here is actually,

um it’s a little bit of a departure from those kind of more serious.

A little bit of action oriented,

uh you know,

twists and turns,

types movies.

Uh,

this one is called Louder Milk.

It’s been out,

I think there’s three seasons of it out now on Netflix.

Uh,

it stars Ron Livingston who you might know from Friday Night Lights.

Uh Office Space,

many other movies and TV shows as well.

Uh,

Ron Livingston plays Sam Loudermilk who is a,

a recovering alcoholic that runs,

uh,

a,

a meetings and sober friends meetings and it’s,

the series is just about the struggles of being an addict and uh getting through it,

helping other addicts along the way.

All of the hijinks they get into are,

are phenomenal.

Um You know,

you recognize uh uh Ron Livingston from a Mike Judge movie which is Office Space and while the series Louder Milk is not written by Mike Judge,

he doesn’t have anything to do with it.

There’s some real Mike Judge style comedy that comes into it.

It can be dark.

Uh But it is a fantastically written series.

I’m in midway through season two at this point,

highly recommended for me.

So let’s recap real quick movies.

Check them out the Covenant starring Jake Gyllenhaal and The Gentleman starring Matthew mcconaughey.

And then for the series hop on over and continue your gentlemen watching uh with the series The Gentleman on Netflix and also check out Louder Milk on Netflix.

And for those of you that are wondering like does this guy ever enunciate?

Yes,

I am saying louder Milk.

All one word like you like this milk is loud but the chocolate milk is louder.

That’s louder milk.

That’s how you spell it.

That’s how it sounds.

That’s what it looks like.

Go check it out on Netflix.

Um And no,

this is not an advertisement for Netflix unless they would like to send me money.

In which case Netflix that wraps up episode 19 of the Liquid Trucking Podcast.

Thank you so much for being here.

Stay safe drivers and keep the shiny side up.

We’ll see you next week.

Thanks for tuning in and being the gold standard of drivers on the road.

Be sure to like and subscribe to the channel and tune in next week for another episode of the Liquid Trucking podcast.