How To Become The Dominate Your Industry - Justin Schoener: Outlaw Off-Road of Texas

SPEAKER_00 0:04

This is the Beyond the Story Podcast, a show that goes way beyond the story. And now, Sebastian Frust. Justin Shaner, what's up, dude? What is going on, my brother? You are, man. You are. So glad we connected here. Another uh, another mastermind connection. It's amazing what these mastermind groups do, huh?

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Indeed, man. Apex has taken me to a whole nother level, brother.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Yeah, Apex is a great, great uh group to be part of. I'm stoked to uh, well, we wouldn't be on this podcast episode if it wasn't for the great connections we make in there. So shout out to uh to the great family of Apex. So we got introduced to another fellow Apexer, Thomas. Big shout out to Thomas for making that introduction. Yep. And uh he said, hey Smash, you need to get this guy on the podcast, talk about what he's up to. I just had him on my show, and I think it'd be a great conversation uh for your uh for your show. So here we are. So this podcast is all about telling people's stories. So I like to back up really to the beginning of the story, uh, usually where we didn't really know what was going on as far as how the story would actually unfold. Sometimes that happens like right around like after high school, sometimes. It's like, oh, I went to college, didn't go to college, I did this, I did that. So let's back up to the beginning of the story uh and give and give our listeners um some context on on how it all began. Uh and then tell us a little bit about you.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Yeah, no problem at all, man. Uh, thanks for having me on. So I own Outlaw off Road of Texas. We do truck accessories uh in South Texas, lift kits, tires, wheels. And it all started, man, when I was 15 years old, brother. Uh parents did not provide me a vehicle, but they provided me work. So my mom would drop me off at a construction site and work through the summer. And uh, man, I saved up about 1,500 bucks and bought my first truck, a 1980 Chevrolet longbed, four-wheel drive. And uh it already had about a four-inch lift on it and some 35-inch tires. Dad brought it into the shop, wanted me to him and I to go over it. He's a general hobby mechanic, and uh we went over it and just go oil changes, make sure this truck was solid for a first-time driver, 16-year-old. And, anyways, I asked him, I said, what gear ratio are on the axles of this truck? And so we had to dig through the stack of magazines. This is back in the early 90s, man. No internet, no nothing going on. So we learned how to figure out the gear ratios. Well, lo and behold, the gears did not match. It had 373 gears in the rear and 308s in the front. And that individual sold me a piece of shit truck that uh did not um, if I had put it in full wheel drive going down the road, I would have exploded the front and rear axles and the transmission and transfer case. Wow. So we had to tear it all apart, had to find some used axles and put it all back together. And that is where uh my passion and pursuit of the of outfitting truck custom trucks started, brother. Um, and and it grew from there. Uh, you know, I was able to drive it when I was 16. My parents, we were going to private school, so we uh they paid for our gas bill, and my mom got that gas bill back, um, the credit card bill back, it was 300 bucks back in the early 90s, and she's like, dude, we're not doing this. This thing is getting like 10 miles to the gallon. Now, mind you, it might have been because it had a Corvette 350 in it, you know, it was a pretty damn hot little truck. But uh, so I had to sell it and I made money on the truck, sold it for about five grand. And uh, that's where my passion of trucks and being able to flip vehicles and since then, man, I've owned over 150 vehicles. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 3:36

So, how's that work? You I did you just identify deals that you know you can take to the shop and turn into something cool and make a profit?

SPEAKER_01 3:43

You know, 100%. So, you know, but I would take, you know, we had all started off my parents' garage. Thank God for my parents allowed me to work on trucks for the first three years of the business um in their garage. And man, I would just take a stock truck or it needed some repair, add a little bit of lift, add a little bit of tire and wheel, used or new, and man, flip it, make some money off that thing. And um, and that's what it all started of learning what to put on a vehicle to customize it, to make it look good. It means curb appeal.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Absolutely. So, what's your primary focus right now with uh with Outlaw Off-Road? Is it just trucks you work on?

SPEAKER_01 4:16

So we work on trucks, jeeps, SUVs. Um, we do specialize in lift kits um and tire and wheel packages. So I want a truck, our mission is to make a truck lifted vehicle ride or drive better than stock, which is kind of hard to believe because the big the big misconception is that just because it's lifted uh doesn't mean that everyone thinks it rides like shit. Well, it doesn't have to if you use the right parts. And I'm all about educating the customer on what the best quality part is and what the best quality lift kit tire and wheel to use on a particular vehicle application is.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Well, I've never driven a oh, I have driven a truck. I had I had an F-150, uh, had a topper. Remember Toppers? Uh yeah. And it had it had like a bench seating in the back. And I think I've slept in that. I slept in it a couple times, but um, that's the extent of my truck knowledge. So when we talk about lift kits, what's a lift kit?

SPEAKER_01 5:08

So a lift kit is uh is either a leveling or lift kit. Um it is used to clear a larger tire, it is to bring the suspension up. Um and it is used to clear a larger tire, a 33-inch tall tire, a 35-inch tall tire. Um, believe it or not, um, a lot of dealerships we use, we work with a lot of uh new car dealerships and outfit their trucks for them, brand new vehicles. Wow. So that customers can drive off the lot, don't have to come to us, they finance it all in one package. And you know, it starts off around you know, three to five thousand dollars for a package, you know, a lift leveling kit, and then you know, tires and wheels.

SPEAKER_00 5:43

That's great. So you get aligned yourself with the dealerships to be able to get that business when people want it upgraded right out of the gate.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

100%. And you know, with our quality of work in South Texas, the name has gotten around. And I've been with doing dealership vehicles now for a solid 20 years, man. I mean, pretty much out of the gate. And do you have one location there in Texas? I just have one location, yes, sir. Cool. Um, we built a brand new facility about five years ago on an acre and a half. I got about an 8,000 square foot shop with one hell of a showroom, man. It's like a candy store. I've got about 30 wheels hanging on the wall. Wow. Um, all black. I got epoxy marbleized floors. I mean, it looks like you're walking into a showroom, like a high-end candy store.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Well, it's an experience when people are going to you're, you know, you're going to get your truck souped up. Uh, you don't want to walk in some you know, grease ball spot, not really no, no, like there's a truck that's been sitting there for God knows when.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

And uh in our industry, man, I'll be I'll be honest with you, about 80% of the shops look like that. Um, it's kind of sad, you know, especially when someone's gonna come in and dump five or invest five to ten thousand dollars in a vehicle. You're like, my truck is sitting in there, right? So yeah, I've elevated the experience. Um, and I've had uh dealerships, when I say dealerships, uh branding of of uh lift kits and tires and wheels come into showroom guys, come into my showroom and they're blown away. And they say I have the best showroom in the United States. That's amazing. Um and they travel United States going to all these different dealers, you know, these authorized dealers.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

And so do you have a team of people that that assist you too there?

SPEAKER_01 7:13

Shop? I do, man. Um, I do. Uh we're up to about nine people now. Um, and I've got a great group of guys and females too. I've got a female sales girl, her name is Casey, and man, she's absolutely slaying it. Uh, she's learned the knowledge and uh love empowering. And when it it kind of blows guys back away when she can talk the talk, you know? Yeah. And uh we're all about customer service, man. Um, I want that truck done right the first time and uh no comebacks.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

Right, you know, right, exactly. Or will you said exactly?

SPEAKER_01 7:44

So what's next? Sometimes what so that's some so sometimes that causes uh I've got to eat some money sometimes, man. If it was our fault, you know, I'm gonna eat it. I don't care if I've got to lose money in business, whatever it takes to get that customer's job done correctly. Sure, you know. Um, and man, we're just rocking and rolling. And over the course of 22 years, there's been a lot of mistakes learned, and um, we've definitely uh broadened our horizons on what I'm capable of as an individual.

SPEAKER_00 8:10

Absolutely. Well, and then you know, you end up joining Apex and everything, then the game totally ends up changing. We were chatting here before the interview, and you said, you know, I'm finding that what I didn't realize before is that there is a market within this market of people being able to duplicate what I've done over the past 20 plus years. Um and people, you know, and people learning. There's you know, there's um, you know, people being able to learn and understand what's possible. It's funny how you've been in the in the like an automated automotive upgrade space, if you will, for the past 20 years. Now, technology affords us the opportunity for you to take all of that expertise and actually go and empower and educate other people that don't know what's possible with all that. And I don't know that had technology not come along, that would really be, I mean, maybe there would be consultants in the space and things of that nature, but with how we're so hyper-connected now with content, um, you're you're really able to serve those people to the best of your ability, um, like like like never before.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

100%. So, man, huge shout out to Thomas Keenan, um, the CEO, COO of Apex. He enlightened me, um, kind of a chapter two for me. That, you know, he comes from a cardio background of 20 plus years. I'm coming from an automotive aftermarket automotive side for 22 years of empowering and educating other shop owners of what is possible and the mistakes that we've made. So other people don't make mistakes that we've made, man. I I enjoy helping people out. And it's truly helped me find my passion and giving so much value to what um giving value to other shop owners because you know these guys are five years in, six years in, and they're struggling, man. I struggled for 15 years until I figured all this out, and I don't have it all figured out, but I definitely want to help other people.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Yeah, well, that's we when we lead with service, typically everything we want falls into place. It's funny how that works, huh?

SPEAKER_01 10:01

It is crazy, man. And I did not realize that until joining Apex, um, when other people were willing to serve for me. Sure. Um, it it it turned me into a true servant and opened my heart up. Yeah. Um, within the past year. So stuff's on fire, man. We're rocking and rolling, and uh, you know, I can't wait for what the future holds for me.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Yeah, speaking of the future, we were chatting about a few things. You got a couple other you got a couple irons in the fire, some ideas you got going on. We're talking, speaking of podcasts, got a little pot, got some podcast uh plans in the works here. So I'm looking forward to seeing that all unfold too. What else you got going on?

SPEAKER_01 10:32

So um, I do have some big goals set for 2022, man. I'm gonna write my first book. Um, I want to get a podcast launched, and then I'm gonna go even a step further. And uh I want to buy a sprinter van, an uh off-road full-wheel drive sprinter van that has a little bit of lift on it, and traveling the United States on that, man. And podcast out of that thing, traveling to other shops and uh and educating these other custom other shop owners, what's uh what's available all in between owning several Airbnb short-term rentals all across the United States. I'm heavily in the short-term rental game. And uh I've got one currently, and man, I'm just looking for for to broaden it all out. And I want to own about 10 in the next uh two years.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

I love it. So diversification, that's always key too. Yeah, you're you're like the bar rescue guy of the of the of the of the truck upgrade world audio. I can totally see you just kicking the door open of that RV and kicking the door open in the business and be like, all right, you fuckers are doing it wrong. I'm gonna show you how it's done right. I can totally see it right now. Watch out.

SPEAKER_01 11:29

Discovering we do have that Jim Tafford look, man. Don't I have that shaved head and that mean looking barley man? Right. So yeah, I'm I enjoy watching Bar Rescue, and yeah, I do foresee that happening.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Yeah, that's that's a reality these days. I mean, you literally need uh a camera guy to follow you on around in a YouTube channel and you make your own damn TV show these days, you know? Right. Robert Irvine too does a good job of that. And uh I haven't seen it on for a while, but uh uh Chef Ramsey had a good one too, um, where they go in and turn these restaurants around, and there's just such a great, uh, just such a euphoric feeling to see somebody go from failing to succeeding because they had the right tools, resources. And most important, they had people to show up for them to say, hey, here's how you're doing it wrong. Here's the blind spots, and here's how it's actually done.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Well, and one of the biggest things I've noticed, man, over my years, you know, work, you know, we quit that as an entrepreneur, we quit that eight to five job, but it turns out that we're working 16 hours a day. So, like what we've traded this off from an eight to five comfortable job to now working 16 hours a day because we own our own business. Well, there's no reason for you to have to work 16 hours a day if you're gonna put the sales orders in all the processes and procedures in place. Yep. And and that's what I want to educate these owners because you know, I slowly got burnt out, man. Um, I'm not gonna lie, you know, up until about three years ago, um, I was getting burnt out. And I had to refine that fire, reignite that fire, and uh finding Amy for Silla, finding, you know, doing 75 Hard uh really encouraged me. And I just want to be a beacon of light, quote unquote, to these other shop owners.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

How did 75 Hard encourage you? Those are the those are the last words I'd be thinking of when I think uh 75 hard.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Well, just uh dedicating time um and knowing that the job needs to be done no matter what, um, and finding out processes of what we do in the 75 Hard program that you have to complete, you know, these six, seven tasks no matter what is going on. It has uh I'm really mentally tough, man. Um, I've never given up over 22 years. I've never shut my front doors of the business, and I've been through some hella hella stories on it, man. Hella comebacks. But uh the uh the tenacity and the and the drivenness to never give up. Yeah um it took it took me nine times the first round of 75 hard, man. I mean, it was I failed on day 65 because I forgot to take a picture. And uh the stupid picture, man. I woke up on day 66 and I was looking back. This is before the app was out, and I looked back and I was like, oh shit, man, I forgot to take a picture. Well, I failed, I started over, and uh it's the small details that matter. Um, I didn't have a problem with the food, the alcohol, the water, none of that, you know. And so um, I'm actually on my second round of setting five hard and I want to do the live hard year-long program now. Um it's on my goal for 22. So I'm on I'm on day 43 today of setting five hard. You're my fucking hero.

SPEAKER_00 14:21

Yeah. I I'm I'm thinking I'm considering a January 1st start. I uh I'm considering I'm considering it on here. So I got uh what's stopping you? Yeah, well, that's a here, you're looking at them. Uh I'm uh I got two weeks to figure that out and uh and and and see uh and see what's possible. I like to get to the gym consistently um first and then uh which I've been I've been doing for the most part here. Haven't been in a week, but uh another story for another podcast on here.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

But uh I'd like to interrupt you on that, man. So I would do the gym and then I would do the evening walk, you know, as my second workout, my outdoor and man, mental clarity on that evening walk from the day's work. I discovered my short-term rental passion. I had the bright idea of that. Um, I was like, dude, I have a river house. Why not put it? Let's make some money off this thing. I've discovered many other processes and things I'm missing in advertising inside Outlaw. Um, man, just so much mental clarity and uh uh the entrepreneurship side of things, man. It just allows you some free time to really focus, listen to some great podcasts, of course, when you're walking. Um, and then also just having that quiet time to yourself, man.

SPEAKER_00 15:28

Yeah, I enjoy walks, so um, I haven't already considered that. I'm like, well, two workouts a day, one has to be outside, that's easy. Gym in the morning, walk in the afternoon. So yeah, I've I've played several different Scooby-Doo endings in my head uh about how this all could play out. So we're getting closer and closer. I'm confident.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Yes, sir. And and like we've learned from Apex, man, I got a huge tattoo of it over here, but it says FYE. That's right. You can't really see it, but uh fuck your excuses, man.

SPEAKER_00 15:54

Yeah, exactly. We you also you you talk about gaining clarity, you probably have to create a bunch of hacks on a daily basis to get those seven um tasks completed. So when we create when we create those hacks in our brain for the stuff that we know we're up against to get done for the day, typically our brain starts to create other hacks for our business too. And that life's all about life hacks. Wherever you can find a life hack, grab it and run with it. You know, it's kind of like momentum. Whenever it's there, don't let it go stale, you know?

SPEAKER_01 16:25

Right, man. I I've I'm actually have fallen in love with the processes of 75 Hard, man. I'll be honest with you. Wow. Um, it's pretty, pretty crazy. And then I did the Apex Evolution uh challenge back in October, and we got our asses handed to us by Green Berets and Navy SEALs, man, for uh 32 hours. We were up all night in the middle of South Tech or middle of central Texas. And man, you talk about having the I had no idea. We completed about 300 push-ups um in about the 12 hours of the overnight portion, and I ran about 17 miles. Now I'm a big boy, but this was not all at once, granted. I mean, this was like every hour, but man, we were it was so cold, we would rather move and exercise than sit down. Oh, because your body starts to yeah, but at 7 a.m., you know, Zach Hughes, shout out to him. Then he goes, All right, give me 20, drop down, give me 20, dude. We all busted them out in uniform succession and all counted them correctly. We were just a badass team at that point, and I realized that I was leaving so much more on the table of mental aptitude that I like it. I need to be 75 hard again, man. Um, even though it'd only been you know six, seven months since I finished it last. Wow. Um, I felt myself slacking and and it's just been on fire since, brother.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

Um well, it shows and it's also contagious. So keep talking about it. Tell every fucking person you talk to about it. So I do, man. I bet I bet, I bet. You got a truck, and if you do have you tried 75 hard. Yes, sir. Well, dude, man, I am so inspired by your story and what you got going on in the in the future and what you're you know, what what's on what's on the docker for 2022 and what you're doing for yourself individually. That's that's the most important task that we have every single day. Is how are we showing up for the world? Because how we show up for the world does matter because when we're showing up in a positive light and we're making positive decisions to move ourselves forward, it empowers people and motivates them to follow suit and do something, do the same or do whatever, do whatever that thing is that they actually need to do. So I just wanted to encourage you to continue, you know, continue the great work. You know you're doing a great job, I can tell just by talking to you, but it's always good to hear it too. Um so glad that uh Thomas connected us here, was able to get you on the show. I'm fired up to see what's gonna happen with uh the Airbnbs, with the uh with the with the Sprinter Van and with the podcast. So um I'm I'm excited once again. Podcasting creates yet another opportunity to build a new relationship for for for years to come. And it all starts with one 15-minute conversation. It's funny how that works out, huh?

SPEAKER_01 19:00

It is crazy, man. And I just want to show everyone that, you know, I come from a middle cast family, I come from basically nothing, and that I can um achieve these goals throughout and have the positivity, man. You know, and have a comfortable living and doing what I enjoy the most. I love it.

SPEAKER_00 19:13

You know, I absolutely love it. Well, we'll have to get you back on the show when you're out in that RV, or maybe you'll make it to Miami for a short-term rental in South Florida somewhere, and uh we'll get a little, we'll get a little podcast recording action going on in that RV. But keep up the great work. Great to meet you. Thanks for your time. Thanks for being on the show, man.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

Yes, sir. Uh, you want to shout, I want to give a shout-out to where I can connect with me if anyone wants to reach out.

SPEAKER_00 19:34

Yeah, I'll have all that info in um in the show notes. Uh just in case somebody's listening, they can't write it down on there. If you want, yeah, I failed to mention that. Look at look at you're helping me do my do my job on here. You're exact exactly right. You want to connect with Justin uh further, you want to learn what he's got going on with uh with Outlaw, with his short-term rentals, with his future podcasts, and everything he's got going on with his brand. The links to connect with him will be in the show notes. That's the description of this podcast episode that you're listening to right now. Feel free to connect with me and I will make an introduction uh if you're looking to connect further with him, too.

SPEAKER_01 20:07

Sebastian, thank you so much for having me out, man. It has been a blast, and I can't wait to see what your future is and mine as well.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

I appreciate you, brother. All right, thank you, brother. Thanks, man. Yep. Until next time, friends. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of the Beyond the Story podcast. Be sure to appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Be sure to appreciate it. Signing off from the podcast, launchlab.com studios. We'll talk to you next time.