Rob Terkla's Secret Sauce & It Ain't A Fishing Rod. Episode 3

Brad checked in with good friend and member of the MuskOx Herd, Rob Terkla. We couldn't be more proud to call this incredible man a strong ally of the brand. He's a former Army Sniper, great American hero and currently one of the largest Hunting & Fishing stars on YouTube.

Jumping into their conversation, the two discuss taking risks, the realities of returning to civilian life, and what you can be doing to get ahead during these rough times.

Enjoy the Conversation Between Rob and Brad

Brad  

All right, well, Hey, welcome to what's going to be a fun few minute conversation here. The Herd has definitely spoken, we're excited to have a man who is has many talents, which we'll get into briefly but I guess I can call you a YouTuber. But that's not really fair to call you that... you're an Army Sniper. You're a man that has then launched a fishing rod which became the best selling fishing rod in Cabela's. You launched a bait company, which has now become the number one selling bait company in the world. You have a really successful T-Shirt and merchandise line of business. And oh, by the way, you turn over storage units that have been abandoned now, as well. So Rob Terkla, how the hell do you do it all?

 

Rob  

I don't know. But you listed all that... oh, how the hell I've done it? I don't know. Luck. Lots of luck. Lots of luck.

 

Brad  

Yeah, I'm sure luck played a part of it. I mean, you've told me some stories where you frankly, probably made some bad decisions and had things go pretty, pretty well for you, right? 

 

Rob  

Yeah. 

 

Brad  

What do you think is the luckiest moment you had when you look back on your journey, because I know, there's been a lot of them.

 

Rob  

Ah. My investment into UMG for $17,000 that I should never have made. Because I didn't know what I was doing. And I didn't have the money. I had to get a loan for it. So I got an unsecured loan for $17,000 to buy a piece of a company and didn't know what the hell I was doing. So.

 

Brad  

The company needed the money because they were in trouble, right? I mean, this is a distressed company too.

 

Rob  

Yeah, they were. I didn't even understand that. They owed money on a Halo tournament they had done in like 2012 or 2013. They still hadn't paid it out. So I was like, I think they owe $10,000 towards that. So $10,000 of that money actually went towards paying people. So I guess, I only bought 25% of the company for $7,500. 

 

Brad  

Which is crazy. And you just had a good gut feel about it. So for people who don't know, UMG is a gaming tournament. So like an esports/gaming tournament host. 

 

Rob  

Yeah. 

 

Brad  

And this was seven, eight years ago.

 

Rob  

7.. 6-7 years? Yes. Six, seven, almost seven years ago. Yeah.

 

Brad  

That's crazy. So you said yeah, hey, I'm someone who's never never run anything related to gaming. Let me go and take out a loan because I don't have very much money. To save this company, and somehow it turned out.

 

Rob  

Yeah, when you say like that, it sounds stupid. It just sounds stupid. Sounds dumb. Like I'm looking back. I'm like, What was I thinking? Like, I wasn't thinking I was like, I can make a couple hundred dollar payment a month on this thing and be good. Maybe it'll pan out, maybe it won't?

 

Brad  

Well, one of the things that I found and you definitely fit this bill, is that really successful people don't necessarily, you know, play life from the middle of the fairway. It's not let me do the safe, easy thing. It's let me go 110% after something that I really, really believe, right?

 

Rob  

Yeah. I mean, I've had shit not work out, I promise you that the stock market has panned out not very well for me sometimes. So there's some things I just don't do well and that's one.

 

Brad  

Well, one of the things that you clearly did well, when you were in the army, you were a sniper, and you actually led a team of snipers. And so you did that for a long time. And there's great stories there sometime I'd love to dive into those. But what I'm interested in hearing a little bit more and maybe this is we're gonna switch our mood here a little bit, but when when you transition out of the military, and re-entered into civilian life, I mean, that was a really, really tough moment and a really big challenge for you. So I know a lot of people right now are facing huge challenges to different situations, but what are some of the things that you learned going through that really challenging situation as you were trying to re-enter civilian life.

 

Rob  

Alcohol is not the answer. That's probably the number one thing I learned. To be honest. Alcohol is not the answer. And then: work ethic is about, if you have a good work ethic in the civilian world, you'll crush it because a lot of people are lazy.

 

Brad  

Yeah, I want to go into that a little bit. It's funny, I remember before, and I hope you don't mind me sharing this. But you'd said YouTube kind of saved you because you decided you want to make videos, but you didn't want to be drunk on camera.

 

Rob  

That was it. I made it to where I couldn't be drunk on camera anymore. I mean, you couldn't film a YouTube video and be drunk. So I just started making YouTube videos. And it kinda saved me... I mean, who knows where I'd be right now. 

 

Brad  

And fast forward. You know, for those who don't know, this fast forward, Rob has been tremendously successful. I mentioned at the beginning, the man threw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers game last summer and I mean, that was one of your goals.

 

Rob  

Yeah, cuz, of YouTube. I's kind of wild once you say it. I guess I've done a lot of stuff. I don't even realize I've done. Once you laid it out there, I guess. Damn. It's been a crazy last four years.

 

Brad  

Yeah, for sure. And I know you've got one thing that still on your list, which is you want to go fishing with George W. Bush. 

 

Rob  

Yeah, I do.

 

Brad  

If anyone sees this and has a connection, let us know... Rob would love to go fishing with him.

 

Rob  

Yeah, damn, that'd be a tough one, though.

 

Brad  

Yeah, I think that would be a little bit a little bit tricky, for sure. But so let's go back to hard work. So you do have a just a ton going on. And one of the things I really respect about you, and I think it's important for all men who are really successful out there, is just getting after it and really working hard. So how does it that you prioritize things? Oh, by the way, you know, you're a father as well and have plenty of responsibilities at at home. So how do you manage all the responsibilities?

 

Rob  

That's a good question. I don't really know. I just kind of roll with things. I'm really good at just rolling with it. I don't really have an idea. Damn. I don't know. I just do it. I'm on the phone a lot, though. We'll say that. Yeah. I'm on the phone calls quite a bit.

 

Brad  

I mean, I can answer part of that. You don't want supporters? Right.

 

Rob  

I watch. I watch football. And that's, you know, that's one day a week. But I don't watch anything but the Cowboys. 

 

Brad  

Yeah. 

 

Rob  

That's pretty much it.

 

Brad  

This isn't a MuskOx advertisement, but I must say you wore that MuskOx flannel while watching your Cowboys in that picture.

 

Rob  

I did. The flannels are the best. It's coming into summertime. So it's not really flannel season anymore. Actually, for you it's flannel 24/7. 

 

Brad  

Yeah, that's true. I'm in Michigan, you're in Texas. That's different. That's the difference.

 

Rob  

It was 91 here today.

 

Brad  

So what? Well, here's a question for you. So I know so many people out there want to start their own business they want to get after it. They want to start something new. But in my opinion, there's a lot of what I call "wantentrepreneurs". And I don't say that to be a jerk. Because that's the first step is really like understanding what you want. And man. When you find out why you're born into the earth, and what is it you want to do, that's a big moment. And if you really have that, that's where it starts. But a lot of people get stuck sort of as a "wantentrepreneur", as opposed to really getting out and getting something going where they can work for themselves. Why do you think that is? Why do you think that's the case?

 

Rob  

I think that's it. That's it. I've never heard the word "wantentrepreneur". That's such a good take. That's a good terminology. Oh, one other thing, I think people are scared to take the chance and get out of the little bubble they're living and they know they can live their nine to five, they can make their money and pay the bills. But they're scared to take the chance and risk it for about a month or two. Because I mean, even when I started my YouTube channel, Sarah had to quit her job and we didn't have an income for like six months. I didn't get paid from YouTube. No, four months, four months. She quit in February. I didn't get my first paycheck till June or July. Yeah, on YouTube. And I was like, you know what, screw it. I'll try it. I had like 1000 to 2000 subs or so. I'm like, I think I can do this. I just got to do daily videos. I think most people just kind of scared to take the the initial leap to do it. But once you do it and it's successful the first time then you're like, oh, man, I might be able to do this again. And again, again, and again. And again. It's just kind of becomes like a drug. Seeing the numbers and everything increases is literally like a drug. And that's pretty much all it is. 

 

Brad  

Yeah. 

 

Rob  

Okay, go back. Go back to your question. I'm sorry. Yes, people are scared to take the initial leap. I made that way too long. 

 

Brad  

You know what, there's a lot of people right now that have no idea, but they've got a blessing right in front of them right now. Because they don't have as much to lose because they've lost their job. Or, you know, like, there's a huge moment and a huge opportunity. And I can't tell you how many, you know, startups that were founded in the downtimes of the past.

 

Rob  

Any startup that happens right now, that person is going to be successful because they're able to make something during this time... they're really good and they to continue.

 

Brad  

Well, listen, I appreciate your time. I got one more question, because we didn't talk about football. I know you're more of an NFL guy. So yes, we will keep this focused on the NFL. Here's the question. Will there be an NFL and NFL season this year?

 

Rob  

Yeah, of course. Yeah, of course. Yeah 100%. I mean, I literally went to pick up dinner down in Frisco. And they're opening up all the shops on the first. From the 1st to the 15th, they're gonna have to have masks on and gloves for servers. And then after that, it's optional... like Texas is wide open. So we will have something. 

 

Brad  

All right. I love it. I love the optimism. And I appreciate you spending some time with us today. Rob. Thanks so much, man. 

 

Rob  

Yes, sir. 

 

Brad  

All right. Take care.