1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,000 All right, welcome back to the podcast, everyone. 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:06,400 This episode we have a very special guest, Tony Klarich. 3 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:11,340 Tony is a legend and pioneer in the water sports community, having invented over 100 4 00:00:11,340 --> 00:00:15,200 water skiing tricks and winning 11 national and world titles. 5 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:19,920 For his 50th birthday, he accomplished the daunting task of water skiing on 50 different 6 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:24,520 objects in one day, including an ice chest and a ladder. 7 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:28,480 In this episode, we're going to hear about that, his Croatian heritage, and a special 8 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:30,880 event he's putting on on the island of Vis. 9 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:33,200 Tony, thanks for coming on the podcast. 10 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:35,960 Oh, it's so amazing to be here. 11 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:36,960 You're real. 12 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:41,480 I love your sweater and super excited for what you're doing and what we're going to 13 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:42,480 talk about today. 14 00:00:42,480 --> 00:00:43,480 I appreciate that, Tony. 15 00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:44,480 I appreciate that. 16 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:47,080 Yeah, I was just telling you off camera about the sweater. 17 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,920 I've gotten quite a few comments on it and it's really cool to wear around here in Zagreb. 18 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaking of Zagreb, speaking of Croatia, that's why we're here today. 19 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,080 Can you tell us a little bit about your Croatian heritage? 20 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,120 Well, it's pretty interesting. 21 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,800 Both of my grandparents on my father's side are from the island of Vis. 22 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:06,920 They came out in the early 1900s. 23 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:10,840 I think there was a wine disease at the time, so a lot of people left. 24 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:16,640 It's kind of cool because in 1976, when my parents took me on a tour of the United States, 25 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:21,680 we actually went to Ellis Island and saw their name in the book, which was pretty cool. 26 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:26,000 And then on my mother's side, my grandmother on my mother's side, who's kind of the water 27 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,080 skiing connection, they were from Ljubljana. 28 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:33,840 So I mean, I guess you'd say I'm three quarters Yugoslavian, but one half Croatian now. 29 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:38,400 So that's just like the basic heritage that you would say. 30 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,500 What was really important and what I love about the Croatian heritage is that it's so 31 00:01:42,500 --> 00:01:45,140 family oriented. 32 00:01:45,140 --> 00:01:51,000 And my entire time growing up, every Sunday without fail, I think from age zero to 15 33 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:56,600 or 16, my dad took me from Orange County to my grandparents' house in San Pedro. 34 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:00,560 As you know, so many of the Slavs went from Croatia to San Pedro. 35 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:02,360 There's a huge community there. 36 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:07,680 And we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house, Nona Hinojna, every Sunday for years and years. 37 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:13,960 So that's where I was really exposed to the importance of family, the heritage. 38 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:18,520 My grandfather, when he first came over, was a cook on a fishing boat and neither of my 39 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:20,320 grandparents spoke English. 40 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:24,740 So I was programmed, whatever you want to call it, with the language. 41 00:02:24,740 --> 00:02:27,580 So I've definitely got an ear for it. 42 00:02:27,580 --> 00:02:32,160 It does require practice though, which looking forward to that as we look to moving to the 43 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:33,160 island. 44 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:38,160 But during that time, we'd have cousins come over and play the mandolin. 45 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:45,080 So I just hear the refrain of, you know, o mariana and all the desserts. 46 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:46,840 And I have to thank you very much. 47 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:51,760 I think Andrea with the cookbook, I purchased that cookbook, you know, so you're having 48 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:53,360 an influence out there. 49 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:58,680 And when I opened this thing up, it was amazing because I saw six or seven things that my 50 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,600 aunties and grandmother would make. 51 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:06,960 And it like brought me back to that time and place with the rum balls, you know, and all 52 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:12,140 the stuff with the walnuts and the little crispy ones with the powdered sugar. 53 00:03:12,140 --> 00:03:17,000 So we've been able to make a few here at our house and get my son in on it now to spread 54 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:18,000 the generation. 55 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:24,060 So just some great Sundays growing up, learning about the heritage, you know, Nona was always 56 00:03:24,060 --> 00:03:27,120 telling me about how I had to marry a good Croatian woman someday. 57 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:30,920 And, you know, all the typical stuff, you know, in her flower printed dress. 58 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:33,520 And so it was a good relationship. 59 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:35,760 And I spent all that time with them. 60 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:42,120 And we just knew that the cousins, the family, the sisters and brothers had property on these. 61 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:48,440 So when it was my time in the 70s, that I would have been, you know, teenager, my dad 62 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:53,440 took me to the island for a couple of, you know, a few weeks during the summer. 63 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:55,400 And one summer, it's just you show up. 64 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:59,800 And at that time, you know, one of the nicknames of these is the Forbidden Isle because of 65 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,000 the military implications. 66 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,680 It was very difficult for outsiders to come and travel on that island. 67 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:09,000 So at that time, it was just frozen in time. 68 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:13,120 It was just as it would have been hundreds of years previous, other than, you know, some 69 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:15,720 of the modern modernizations. 70 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:20,120 But spent time there, you know, in the houses and my grandfather's house and my grandmother's 71 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:26,080 house got to see the island, got to swim in the beautiful blue seas and, you know, the 72 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:30,560 sea urchins and the fish and all that stuff and eat the food. 73 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:32,740 And so I really got connected that way. 74 00:04:32,740 --> 00:04:37,320 When we went back in 79, my dad actually bought a car in Germany of Volkswagen. 75 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:44,520 And we drove it from Hanover all the way through, you know, Lugana, Rijeka, Istria down the 76 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:46,200 coast and all the way. 77 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:51,120 You just drive it right on to the Jadralinje ferry and the car went right on the island. 78 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:56,440 We made all the visitations to my uncle's vineyards and visited and then he shipped 79 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:57,440 the car back. 80 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:04,000 And I always remember the personalized license plate he had on that car for years was a V79. 81 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:05,720 So it was commemorated. 82 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,320 And my father was a longshoreman as I am also. 83 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:13,200 So that was a big deal on the docks because there's lots of lots of longies from not just 84 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:18,400 Croatia but specifically from V. So I probably know 10 to 15 people who have a lineage just 85 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:19,400 from that island. 86 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:20,740 It's kind of crazy. 87 00:05:20,740 --> 00:05:22,700 So that was my heritage. 88 00:05:22,700 --> 00:05:25,240 And that's kind of where it stopped, you know. 89 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,200 My grandparents died probably 20 or 30 years ago. 90 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:32,240 And I was just pretty disconnected living my life as a skier. 91 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:33,620 First marriage. 92 00:05:33,620 --> 00:05:38,560 Little lop at Croatia or Vis wasn't really something I super thought about. 93 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:43,560 And that changed when I got remarried six years ago. 94 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:45,600 Everything just completely changed. 95 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:49,040 How did that happen? 96 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:54,280 Well my current wife loves to travel, loves to adventure. 97 00:05:54,280 --> 00:06:00,040 And when she found out about the family home on Vis, it was, oh, we have to go. 98 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:01,040 We have to go. 99 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:04,840 So we actually got married in Greece. 100 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:06,280 And we were right there. 101 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:07,600 So we flew to the island. 102 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:08,600 We showed up. 103 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:10,480 And this is the crazy thing. 104 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:13,640 I hadn't been there since 1979. 105 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:15,680 I didn't have the keys. 106 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,560 I didn't remember where the house was. 107 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:22,240 We just showed up and it's like, I think it's kind of over here. 108 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:26,540 And because it was, I think October and us not being aware of the fact that there's actually 109 00:06:26,540 --> 00:06:30,420 a tourist season over there, it was the very tail end of the tourist season. 110 00:06:30,420 --> 00:06:32,160 So no taxis. 111 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,360 We found one place that was open, San Giorgio. 112 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:37,000 And they took us in. 113 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:38,680 And now it's time to find the house. 114 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:39,680 How are you going to do this? 115 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,840 So we started with lunch at Poyota, a very famous restaurant there on the island. 116 00:06:43,840 --> 00:06:48,840 And our waiter, Tonko, we just explained to him while we were there. 117 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:52,040 And he goes, oh, Kladic, Kladic. 118 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:53,740 And he stands up. 119 00:06:53,740 --> 00:06:58,920 He takes his apron off right in the middle of lunch. 120 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:02,120 And he takes us to the bakery. 121 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:04,720 And he says, I think I know who has your key. 122 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:09,440 So he takes us to the bakery and we go around the corner and she doesn't speak English. 123 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:11,000 So they're chatting back and forth. 124 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,440 And she's like, oh, yes, I know who has the keys. 125 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:16,040 So she makes a run. 126 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,320 And then we go, we get the keys and now we're there. 127 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:20,320 We're going to get in the house. 128 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:21,320 I see it. 129 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:22,900 It's all coming back. 130 00:07:22,900 --> 00:07:25,960 And the only key she has is the keys for the shared courtyard. 131 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:29,000 Because you know, so many houses have a shared courtyard. 132 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,840 And while I think my family owned the entire property at one time, we were down to one 133 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:34,520 parcel of four in the shared courtyard. 134 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:39,400 So the keys that she had were only to get in the courtyard, which was still very exciting. 135 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:43,600 You found the house, you got in the courtyard, there's nobody there. 136 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:45,400 Now how are we going to get in? 137 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:48,160 So we're kind of walking around, walking around. 138 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,000 And as we're looking over the fence, a gentleman walks up, can I help you? 139 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:56,760 Which is one of the things that's so amazing about the country is that people are so willing 140 00:07:56,760 --> 00:08:00,760 to go out of their way a few kind of words and they just help you with anything. 141 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,520 It's just so unlike what happens generally here. 142 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:11,420 And this gentleman, Miho, he, like so many people, was born on Vis. 143 00:08:11,420 --> 00:08:15,160 He went away and became a captain in ships based out of Monaco. 144 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:19,400 And now he's come back and purchased the house and restored it. 145 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:25,100 And he has the property that's basically like Citrus Grove that's behind our property. 146 00:08:25,100 --> 00:08:32,040 So we tell him the story and he says, oh, I think I know who has the keys to your house. 147 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:33,560 Meet me at five o'clock later. 148 00:08:33,560 --> 00:08:38,960 So we meet him on the stoop where all the gentlemen kind of meet, like it's like the 149 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:40,660 Google of old, right? 150 00:08:40,660 --> 00:08:46,000 All the older statesmen of the island are meeting there and he takes us there and then 151 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:47,320 he walks us up. 152 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:52,040 And it's so funny because it's not like we're so used to just punching on the computer and 153 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:54,360 getting the story instantly. 154 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:56,720 It's like their Google is relational. 155 00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:58,780 You're talking to people and meeting with people. 156 00:08:58,780 --> 00:09:02,780 So we talk to this person and that person and they take us up and he doesn't get on 157 00:09:02,780 --> 00:09:03,780 his phone. 158 00:09:03,780 --> 00:09:08,280 He calls up, hey, you know, so and so you've got the keys and they come down and then everyone 159 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:12,880 comes down and there's a big group of people and there's the keys to the house. 160 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:14,060 So amazing. 161 00:09:14,060 --> 00:09:15,760 Now we have it. 162 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:21,920 And we walk back to the house and we get in to the house for the first time. 163 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:24,400 You understand my last aunt died in 1998. 164 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:25,920 So this and this was five years ago. 165 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:29,920 So this is, you know, pushing 25 years. 166 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:35,560 And it was such so many emotions going into that house after the first time after having 167 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:39,440 spent, you know, part of my youth in the home. 168 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:43,000 And it was just like somebody got up and left. 169 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:49,360 You know, there was literally bowls with spoons inside of them sitting there. 170 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:53,520 And there was clothing laid out on beds and things hanging on doorknobs and pots and pans 171 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:55,180 on the stove. 172 00:09:55,180 --> 00:09:58,480 It was like my aunt's just disappeared. 173 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:03,780 But now here's this house that's in the family and we're excited about it. 174 00:10:03,780 --> 00:10:04,780 But we don't know. 175 00:10:04,780 --> 00:10:08,480 We don't really know what to do other than we've had this amazing experience on this 176 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:10,560 magical island. 177 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:13,800 And when we left, no taxis running. 178 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:19,400 So the the evil and Naveen at San Giorgio were so nice. 179 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:26,440 They literally let let us borrow their truck to drive from the parking lot to the ferry. 180 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:31,240 And when we got there at five in the morning, they had packed us a lunch, you know, a little 181 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:37,320 breakfast to to say thank you and, you know, welcome home and we hope to see you again. 182 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:41,000 So nice, but that's just what we found so many times over and over again. 183 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:46,520 So we're back home after first getting married and all the new stuff about that. 184 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:52,080 But now here's this house in Croatia that's a family house that my wife is just encouraging 185 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,160 me to go down the pathway of finding out about it. 186 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:58,880 You know, my father is since past, my uncle is now the kind of been the caretaker. 187 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:05,000 So we just went on the process of what's next and what a journey that is because it's not 188 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:06,000 the USA. 189 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:07,740 It's not California when you're over there. 190 00:11:07,740 --> 00:11:10,980 And we had a lot to learn, but we were willing and looking forward to to that. 191 00:11:10,980 --> 00:11:13,880 So that's basically that's what got us on the island. 192 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:16,160 And that's that's where we were about six years ago. 193 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:22,720 Now, I have to say that's such a classic sort of small town Croatia type of story, you know, 194 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:26,240 that you just show up on the visa and you don't even know exactly where the house is 195 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:27,600 located and you find it. 196 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:32,120 And then, oh, yeah, I know, Claudette, you know, everyone knows the last names of everyone 197 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:33,120 in the village. 198 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:38,600 I don't know that the story just hit home just like that's a classic Croatian story. 199 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:40,120 I mean, that's part of the appeal. 200 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:44,040 That's a big part of the appeal, I think, to a lot of people and to a lot of us. 201 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:50,440 You know, the hospital is that sort of connection with, you know, with the community over there. 202 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:51,440 It's real. 203 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:56,840 Your name in the community and the not a mock also, which, you know, is the family name, 204 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:57,840 it is important. 205 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:01,920 That's what people want to know so that they can connect you to cousins and and other people 206 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:07,000 and it was crazy to me when we were renting a car and split one time when he saw the last 207 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,560 name, he goes, oh, you're from Bees. 208 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:13,760 I'm like, we're at the airport and split and you know where I'm from or where I'm going 209 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:15,440 to based on my last name. 210 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:16,860 It's just kind of crazy. 211 00:12:16,860 --> 00:12:22,080 But when you think about we found documents in the house from I think who's kind of the 212 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:28,480 original founder and I believe he came from the Venice area because at that time, you 213 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:33,120 know, the Croatian coast was a Venetian holding from like fourteen twenty to eighteen hundred 214 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:34,120 roughly. 215 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:40,120 So it literally was Venice and we found documents sound from paribonio in the early eighteen 216 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:41,680 hundreds in this house. 217 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:46,120 So I know my family has been in this house since the early eighteen hundreds at a minimum 218 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:50,300 and who knows on the other houses because we're just getting into it. 219 00:12:50,300 --> 00:12:55,480 So it's so excited to discover that history that people, you know, be able to help us 220 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:59,240 through the churches and the network of people. 221 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:00,840 So that was the start. 222 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:05,120 Now we had to figure what are we going to do about this house that's basically abandoned 223 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:06,760 as so many houses over there. 224 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,960 You know, it's uninhabitable, but it's in the family. 225 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:18,360 And my uncle said, well, you know, he remembers it in the days past where it was a closed 226 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:22,080 island and everything was so quiet. 227 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:25,100 That's not what that island is anymore. 228 00:13:25,100 --> 00:13:27,720 It's become a huge tourist Mecca. 229 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:31,680 And also because it was kind of frozen in time until after the homeland war. 230 00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:36,820 I mean, I think a lot of people didn't really come until the late 90s and even early 2000s. 231 00:13:36,820 --> 00:13:40,680 So this island, I think more than a lot of the other islands, hasn't been developed with 232 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:45,600 a big tourist infrastructure and a lot of like, you know, giant corporations that you'd 233 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:46,600 recognize. 234 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:47,900 There's really nothing like that on the island. 235 00:13:47,900 --> 00:13:52,240 It's just the stone houses and mom and pop shops all over the place. 236 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:54,680 And he says, well, you'll probably be bored. 237 00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:58,000 You need to go spend a week to make sure that you're going to like it there. 238 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,760 So we came back and it was amazing. 239 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:06,720 The country and why I think it's so popular is it's discoverable. 240 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:11,320 Here in the US, we're so used to dialing up the internet and you can just plan your trip 241 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:16,560 from start to finish and everything is known and there's no surprises. 242 00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:18,160 That country, it's like an onion. 243 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:22,920 Sure, there are some people that do that, but it's so imminently discoverable that you 244 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:28,220 can go to a place and not really like we would try to get go to one of the national parks 245 00:14:28,220 --> 00:14:29,220 that's down. 246 00:14:29,220 --> 00:14:30,220 Is it Kurtka? 247 00:14:30,220 --> 00:14:32,880 The one that's by split? 248 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:33,880 Couldn't find our way in. 249 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:37,840 Like he just just couldn't find our way in, you know, and then finally, by the time we 250 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,280 figured out where we needed to be, it was too late. 251 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:41,920 So we missed the tour. 252 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:43,240 But same thing with Plyvitsa. 253 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:50,520 We went and you just kind of discover as you go and like you see a sign and you stop. 254 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:54,020 So the country is discoverable, which is why I think so many people have been attracted 255 00:14:54,020 --> 00:14:55,440 to going there now. 256 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:59,860 But the island, especially even more so because of that lag of development. 257 00:14:59,860 --> 00:15:05,960 Every time we go back, we discover, oh, there's there was a Royal Air Force airport on this 258 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:07,680 island from World War Two. 259 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:11,680 Oh, there's a cricket field and an active cricket team like the National Cricket Team 260 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:12,680 is practiced there. 261 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:19,040 Oh, there's restaurants in the interior like just Fort George that's doing stuff. 262 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:24,880 You just it's not the mindset of the American and the mindset of the Croatian is so different 263 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:29,080 that in America, everything would be up in big lights and this and that and discount 264 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:30,440 today we're there. 265 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:31,600 It's much more relaxed. 266 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:34,600 You just kind of discover as you go. 267 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:36,760 So that's been that has been very different. 268 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:43,520 So as we have all these adventures of travel and the water and the sea, we're like, yeah, 269 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:45,720 uncle, we want to go down this road. 270 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:47,720 And he's like, OK. 271 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:52,800 So on our next trip, we've probably been back 10, 10 to 15 times in the six years. 272 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:56,600 So three times a year, Covid was a little tough. 273 00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:58,760 So now he goes, OK, here's the properties. 274 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:04,720 Well, I thought it was just grandma's house and a donkey house because my uncle that was 275 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:06,880 there, you know, rode the donkey to the fields. 276 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:13,440 Oh, no, he gave us a list of the cadastral numbers, which was like 20 parcels. 277 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:20,680 We talk about the craziest, most fun scavenger hunt in the history. 278 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:26,120 Not just that you have a home on this magical place, but now you get to go in the interior 279 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:30,600 and find fields and use the Google Maps and the in the cadastral maps to try to figure 280 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:36,400 out where and when and where is this next one going to be such an adventure. 281 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,640 I knew that my uncle planted grapes and pressed grapes. 282 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:45,000 I mean, there was all the equipment in the canova at the house, you know, the big barrels 283 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:46,400 and all that stuff. 284 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:47,600 So we knew he did it. 285 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:50,280 And I had been there in my youth and ridden the donkey and all that stuff. 286 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:51,560 But how are you going to find it? 287 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,160 So it's modern technology, you follow the thing. 288 00:16:54,160 --> 00:17:01,280 And we found over 200 old vines still producing fruit that are on our lands. 289 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:03,760 So then it's like, well, OK, now what do you do? 290 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:06,940 Like we obviously someone's caretaking for these. 291 00:17:06,940 --> 00:17:11,900 So it's your lands, it's your stuff, but someone else is caring for it. 292 00:17:11,900 --> 00:17:15,760 So you have to try to learn how to not be an American and say, oh, that's mine. 293 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:16,760 I'm going to take it. 294 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:21,320 No, you work with the people to try to figure out what's going on and how you partner and 295 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:23,160 what you do. 296 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:29,720 And one of the more exciting fields that we found was literally we run into this kind 297 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:32,880 of sustainable farm called Fields of Grace. 298 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:36,520 And this Fields of Grace, basically, it's the same thing. 299 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:40,800 This gentleman is probably in his 60s named Yaksha Kibola. 300 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,680 And he was born on the island, went away to make his way in the world. 301 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:53,360 He went to the Far East and he became an expert in hoteling and he was a Michelin chain chef. 302 00:17:53,360 --> 00:17:57,320 So when he came back to the island in his 50s or 60s, he decided basically to open the 303 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:01,600 sustainable farm and restaurant that's in the middle of the island. 304 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:07,880 And when we discovered that one of the plots of land was in proximity to this and we discovered 305 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:10,880 Fields of Grace, it's like, OK, we want to talk to this gentleman. 306 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:20,220 Oh, he cooks an amazing seven course meal with wine that's made on the lands right there. 307 00:18:20,220 --> 00:18:24,760 And the whole thing is like 50 bucks for seven course meal. 308 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:30,560 And now we're in talking to this gentleman about, you know, that's my uncle's land. 309 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:32,240 It's going to become mine someday. 310 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:34,480 And let's figure out a way to partner on this. 311 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:41,800 And it's just been so exciting to get those pieces and see how like some of them have 312 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:45,600 not just the parcel of land, but then they'll have a small piece where you can build a building 313 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:47,160 that's in conjunction with that. 314 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:54,080 So as we move towards hopefully spending significant time in retirement there, there's just so 315 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:55,200 many possibilities. 316 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:59,660 So yes, uncle, we can take the it's very exciting. 317 00:18:59,660 --> 00:19:01,800 We want to spend time there. 318 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:05,720 And it just kind of kept going that we're going to rehab the house. 319 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:10,160 And as so many people have done, do short term rentals at the house to make it worth 320 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:11,720 their while. 321 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:16,340 But Croatia has a lot of surprises for you. 322 00:19:16,340 --> 00:19:18,320 It's not always what you think you're going to do. 323 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:23,260 You know, Croatia is its own beautiful, lovely, different thing that you need to learn to 324 00:19:23,260 --> 00:19:25,140 adapt to. 325 00:19:25,140 --> 00:19:28,400 And you don't just go in there and rehab the house. 326 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:31,000 It doesn't work like that. 327 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:36,720 You know, first, there's I don't know, 15 to 20 names on the property still, since my 328 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:42,280 uncle had been trying to get the thing, you know, and narrowed down to the current people. 329 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:48,840 And you know, that's been an 18 year journey. 330 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:50,680 So finally, that's been taken care of. 331 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,920 But just to go through that has been exasperating. 332 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:57,560 And you don't understand that Croatia is its own thing. 333 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:03,080 You have to just somebody one of the guys that talks about this is don't try to change 334 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:05,960 Croatia, let Croatia change you. 335 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,520 And I think about that a lot. 336 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:13,120 I think that's real important as we come back, you know, at the diaspora, we're coming back 337 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:14,420 to the country. 338 00:20:14,420 --> 00:20:17,760 We have ideas, and it's good to have ideas. 339 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:23,480 But you can't think that you're going to impose your feelings, thoughts, energies, biases 340 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:30,000 on a country that's been surviving, you know, for a long time. 341 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,960 You know, I have to say, I think you're going into this with the right attitude. 342 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:37,520 I know a lot of people in the diaspora can probably, you know, agree and relate to, you 343 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:41,720 know, especially property issues and, you know, trying to figure out who's who's and 344 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,320 what's what and where is everything and all that stuff. 345 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:46,680 It's never going to be simple. 346 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:51,280 There's always going to be, you're always going to run into problems be that with, I 347 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:55,640 mean, you know, bureaucracy paperwork, not everything is, you know, like you mentioned 348 00:20:55,640 --> 00:21:00,960 earlier on a computer, there's going to be so many things and so many twists and turns, 349 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,840 you know, on that journey that you're going through right now. 350 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,600 So many pieces of the puzzle to fit together, which is also for you, I'm sure, you know, 351 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:09,600 very exciting. 352 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:11,400 You know, I think you said that before. 353 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:17,160 I want to get back to Vis here at the end, but I do want to ask you quickly, but not 354 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:22,640 too quickly about, you know, sort of water sports before we get too far into, because 355 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:24,600 I do want to talk a little bit more about Vis. 356 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:29,520 I know you've got a wine tasting and art show that I want to hear about, but, you know, 357 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:34,360 quickly, how did you sort of get into sort of water sports and is it water skiing, water 358 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:38,600 boarding, not obviously not waterboarding, but yeah, boarding? 359 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:40,920 Well, it's been called waterboarding too. 360 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:45,320 It's been called a lot of names because the boring name that fits the whole thing is Toad 361 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:47,280 water sports. 362 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:51,520 And I mean, but even that doesn't fit now because we're branching into people wake foiling 363 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:52,960 where you're not being towed anymore. 364 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:58,440 So using the boat to surf behind the wave either on a surfboard or on a surfboard that's 365 00:21:58,440 --> 00:21:59,760 got a hydrofoil underneath. 366 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,620 So Toad water sports isn't even the thing. 367 00:22:02,620 --> 00:22:05,840 So I think generally like the organizations will call it water skiing and wakeboarding 368 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:11,580 kind of the catchall that everybody understands, but just the family thing. 369 00:22:11,580 --> 00:22:18,320 And that's on the Murphy side, that's my grandmother who's got the heritage from Slovenia now. 370 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:21,440 So that family just grew up water skiing. 371 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:26,880 So like I went with my dad to my other grandparents house, I would go water skiing with my other 372 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:28,600 grandparents growing up. 373 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:35,720 I mean, since I can remember, we would just take trips to go skiing and it just became 374 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:40,200 a family obsession and my uncles were really good at it. 375 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:46,160 So my uncle basically became an instructor and then he became a show skier at a very 376 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:48,640 famous place called Tommy Bartlett's. 377 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:52,560 Tommy Bartlett was a TV personality in the fifties radio and TV personality here in the 378 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:53,560 United States. 379 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:57,280 And he ended up opening a theme park that then had a water ski show. 380 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:02,840 So my uncle Mike went to work for him and uncle Mike is a unique individual. 381 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:08,740 He is not only became one of the best show skiers, but a brilliant inventor's mind. 382 00:23:08,740 --> 00:23:12,560 So along the way, he started inventing maneuvers. 383 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:16,640 He kind of became the father of what they would call hot dog water skiing. 384 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:21,320 So have you ever seen like the snow skiers, what they would call hot dogs, snow skiing 385 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:25,360 that was kind of popular, like in the seventies and eighties, you know, guys jumping and they 386 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:30,340 do back scratchers and it's just kind of like a showy kind of skiing they made movies on 387 00:23:30,340 --> 00:23:31,340 it and stuff. 388 00:23:31,340 --> 00:23:35,960 Well, he kind of became that person in water skiing in the seventies, eighties. 389 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,320 Now I grew up thinking this was normal. 390 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,760 I just thought, oh, that's just the way you ski because I saw him doing it. 391 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:47,680 And also I will have to admit that because I also saw that as a young impressionable 392 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:52,020 youth, I saw that the ladies were also very interested in the fact that Mike did really 393 00:23:52,020 --> 00:23:53,720 cool water skiing trick. 394 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:58,800 And he always had very, let's say hot girlfriends around. 395 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,240 And I was like, yep, that's what I want to do. 396 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:07,040 So I followed in the family footsteps and more than anything, Mike just kind of kept 397 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,440 doing things and inventing things. 398 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:10,860 And then I would step into that role. 399 00:24:10,860 --> 00:24:14,040 So he was a, he was, you know, a great show skier. 400 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:17,360 I went and became a show skier at Magic Mountain in California. 401 00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:18,440 I know you're from LA. 402 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:24,300 So Magic Mountain used to have a show ski site for about six years in the eighties. 403 00:24:24,300 --> 00:24:25,300 I worked there. 404 00:24:25,300 --> 00:24:29,200 Mike invented the knee board, you know, that you've seen that device that you kneel down 405 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:30,200 on. 406 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:32,200 I learned that in 1972. 407 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:36,080 Well then I learned all the, all his tricks. 408 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:39,960 And then I started getting better than him, which he got a little mad about, but you know, 409 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,360 you got to let your baby go sometime. 410 00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:46,360 So then I became, you know, national champion in wakeboarding. 411 00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:52,760 And then he invented the sit down hydrofoil, commonly called like an air chair or sky ski. 412 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,880 You sit down on this device, it's got a hydrofoil underneath. 413 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:58,700 So you don't write on the board, you write on the foil. 414 00:24:58,700 --> 00:25:04,760 And this thing had a huge run in the nineties, extremely popular, you know, he was all over 415 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,440 the place on, you know, TV news, travel the world. 416 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:13,160 I mean, he was in Playboy magazine on this thing, you know, discovery channel commercials, 417 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:14,160 everything. 418 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:18,920 I, once he started doing the flips on that, which is the first person to do a flip in 419 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:20,800 like 1991 on that. 420 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:21,800 Okay. 421 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:22,800 That's the thing. 422 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:25,480 So just kept following in his footsteps all the way. 423 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:27,240 That's just what kept happening. 424 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:31,840 And boy, he didn't like it better than though it was always like, even though he's an uncle, 425 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:32,840 it was like sibling rivalry. 426 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:36,680 You know, he had to, he'd have to every once in a while, smack me down and show them all 427 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:38,560 the old dogs got tricks still. 428 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:42,920 But when I think of him being old, he was like 40 something, which doesn't seem so old 429 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:46,120 right now because I'm 58. 430 00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:49,440 But we've, we've had a great time, a great run. 431 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:51,160 He's still, he's still doing it. 432 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:52,880 In fact, I'm going to meet uncle Mike. 433 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:53,880 He's 74. 434 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:59,520 He's still selling hydrofoils and on the road as a hydrofoil guy, not because he has to 435 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:00,920 because he loves to. 436 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:03,360 I'm meeting him at our house in Florida this next week. 437 00:26:03,360 --> 00:26:05,480 We're going to do some filming on the history of hydrofoiling. 438 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:09,000 So it's been huge. 439 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:12,800 And then it was, you know, I did all this stuff. 440 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:15,320 I had designed a knee board like he designed. 441 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:17,720 It's the number one all selling compression knee board. 442 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:20,520 It's called the Joker by HO. 443 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:25,920 I was a professional, you know, on the road and traveling for 20 years. 444 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,400 Did shows everywhere in the world. 445 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:29,400 You know, had access. 446 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:31,760 I mean, you don't make a ton of money as a skier. 447 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:36,120 I mean, you know, it was, it was decent for sure, but just to be able to travel and to 448 00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:44,880 perform for, you know, Prince Albert of Monaco to perform for, you know, I mean, lots of 449 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:49,760 people, you know, presidents, vice presidents of countries, you know, prime ministers did 450 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:55,480 it all through the years and got to see everything and became, I followed in his footsteps of 451 00:26:55,480 --> 00:27:00,760 hot dog water skiing was the first person to do a front flip on a slalom ski, which 452 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:02,960 in 1986, that was a big deal. 453 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:08,520 I mean, any more sports have gotten so extreme. 454 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:09,520 It's not like that. 455 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:14,040 But at that time, just to do a flip on anything was a huge, huge deal because there are so 456 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:16,280 few people doing it. 457 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,800 Did great at knee boarding, did great at sit down hydrofoiling. 458 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:26,120 And then as far as the skiing and kind of what it led to was my grandmother, who we 459 00:27:26,120 --> 00:27:31,640 talked about her thing was always endurance skiing. 460 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:36,240 We would go to Catalina, the family would go to Catalina for lunch or brunch. 461 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:39,760 She'd ride her ski for hydrofoil to Catalina just to get there. 462 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:41,040 26 miles open ocean. 463 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,760 We're talking about in her sixties and seventies. 464 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:50,040 So like most people, when it was time for Grandma Murphy to have a ride, it's like everybody 465 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,840 would hide because you know, it was going to be a minimum of one hour in the boat. 466 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:56,640 I mean, she was endurance rider. 467 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:01,160 And when Mike invented this sit down hydrofoil, he taught her how to ride it. 468 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:02,160 She loved it. 469 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:03,720 And it's a lot less pull. 470 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,880 So she decided that she was going to start riding to Catalina on her birthdays at age 471 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:09,780 79. 472 00:28:09,780 --> 00:28:21,000 So every year from age 79 to 88, she rode the sit down to Catalina Island and back for 473 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:22,000 her birthday celebration. 474 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:23,000 Yeah. 475 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:24,000 Crazy. 476 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:25,560 So her maiden name was Mikulich. 477 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:29,240 So that's the name going back over there. 478 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:30,400 But it became quite a thing. 479 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:35,820 Like you know, Ripley's Believe It or Not did stories on her and she had Guinness involved 480 00:28:35,820 --> 00:28:40,280 and like new stations would film and they had the body glove boat out there. 481 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:42,120 It became a big deal. 482 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:46,800 So I'm like when I was about to turn 40, what am I going to do? 483 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:48,800 Grandma does this cool thing. 484 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:52,880 And it just, you know, having a couple of beers with buddies, it's kind of like, okay, 485 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:55,240 I'm going to ski 40 miles, you know. 486 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:58,620 Oh, I could do that in 40 things. 487 00:28:58,620 --> 00:29:00,240 Are there 40 things? 488 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:03,140 No, there's not 40 things. 489 00:29:03,140 --> 00:29:07,200 So hanging out with Uncle Mike, we always try different stuff. 490 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:11,120 In fact, you think we invented stuff. 491 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:17,400 The first list had 27 items, you know, slalom ski, kneeboard, trick skis, double skis, jump 492 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:20,280 skis, you know, sit down hydrofoil, like 29 items. 493 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:24,280 Oh my gosh, I'm like, you know, how many short? 494 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:29,240 Then I had to start getting creative and start asking people about old devices, new things, 495 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:30,240 crazy things. 496 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:32,640 And that's kind of where it started. 497 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:39,860 So I just became obsessed with pushing myself, but also again, doing something different. 498 00:29:39,860 --> 00:29:48,380 I just kind of got bored with a barefooter, one of the world's best barefooters and often 499 00:29:48,380 --> 00:29:50,560 consider the world's best all around skier of all time. 500 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:52,560 Brett Wing once told me, I go, Brett, why did you retire? 501 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:54,000 Why did you retire from barefooting? 502 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:55,000 He was the best. 503 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:56,000 Nobody could beat him. 504 00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:00,720 He said, well, mate, I can't put any more water in my glass. 505 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:03,640 Like his glass was full and that's, I just thought about that. 506 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:07,840 Like after you went so many titles and championships, what's one more? 507 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:08,840 You already know what's there. 508 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:09,840 It's not anything different. 509 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:12,360 You're sure it feels good, but it's not the same. 510 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:17,880 So I just kind of kept jumping to sports to break new ground. 511 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:21,540 And then it became, how many things can you ski on? 512 00:30:21,540 --> 00:30:24,160 So that first 40 for 40 was tricky. 513 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:27,860 I started going to garage sales and thrift stores and asking people and digging up the 514 00:30:27,860 --> 00:30:32,440 history on the sport and getting things that were written 50 years ago, 60 years ago and 515 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:38,480 making things and just a cool journey that just kind of captured the imagination of a 516 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:39,480 lot of skiers. 517 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:43,320 And it kind of kept me relevant because let's face it, you know, sports in general or young 518 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:47,540 man's sport, how do you stay relevant if you're getting past 40 or 50? 519 00:30:47,540 --> 00:30:53,920 I became the historian of the sport and just started riding crazy stuff and showing the 520 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:58,000 youngsters, okay, this is what it's done. 521 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:02,280 Are you looking for a country with a stable economy, low unemployment and a high standard 522 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:03,280 of living? 523 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:06,480 Then it's time to consider becoming a citizen of Croatia. 524 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:10,240 According to recent data, Croatia has one of the fastest growing economies in Europe 525 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:14,720 with a low unemployment rate at 6.5% and a high quality of life. 526 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:18,800 As a Croatian citizen, you'll have access to all of these benefits as well as a stable 527 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:21,520 and secure country that's a member of the European Union. 528 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:26,160 But the process of becoming a citizen can be slow, confusing and overwhelming. 529 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:30,080 That's why CitizenHR, the Croatian citizenship app, is here to help. 530 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:34,520 Our experts can tell you what paths the citizenship or visas are available for you and connect 531 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:36,760 you with an expert in under 10 minutes. 532 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:41,560 One reviewer on the Google Play Store, Billy M, said, easy to use, quantity and quality 533 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:45,300 of experts available, great options for getting married overseas. 534 00:31:45,300 --> 00:31:49,300 So if you're ready to take advantage of the many benefits of Croatian citizenship and 535 00:31:49,300 --> 00:31:54,040 live in a country with a stable economy, low unemployment and a high standard of living, 536 00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:56,240 download CitizenHR today. 537 00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:00,920 Because at CitizenHR, we believe in the power of data and technology to make the process 538 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:04,600 of becoming a citizen as smooth and successful as possible. 539 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:05,800 So what are you waiting for? 540 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:10,240 Head over to www.citizenhr.app today. 541 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:17,480 Use the code ALLTHINGSCHROISIA for 50% off any biography translations you order. 542 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:22,560 So there's been something of a movement of a few guys now, which you see these guys writing 543 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:25,600 things, you know, a snowboard or a table upside down. 544 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:26,920 That's another thing I've written. 545 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,680 You'll see guys writing this stuff now or just trying things that aren't normally written 546 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:30,680 on. 547 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:32,680 So that's the journey. 548 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:36,440 I mean, after the, you were talking about the 40 for 40, when you turned 50, you did 549 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:41,880 50 things and I hear you're turning 60 in two years and you're going to do 60 different 550 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:43,800 things in one day. 551 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:50,000 Do you have any new leak, maybe one or two new items that you plan to do? 552 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:51,240 Well there's no leak. 553 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:55,280 I mean, it's just whatever is new and whatever I can think of. 554 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:59,920 So you know, the latest development and we're right in the thick of it because of the family 555 00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:03,240 connection to hydrofoiling is these wake foils. 556 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:04,780 I don't know if you've seen them or not. 557 00:33:04,780 --> 00:33:06,640 You kind of mostly see them in surfing right now. 558 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:10,800 It's basically a surfboard or a wakeboard that's got a hydrofoil underneath it that 559 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:12,700 you use to surf on the waves. 560 00:33:12,700 --> 00:33:16,840 So for us as boaters, you surf on the wave that's made by the boat. 561 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:23,040 Well they started in skiing, they went to surfing, they went to windsurfing, then they 562 00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:25,760 went to surfing and now they came back to the boat. 563 00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:30,560 So that'll be a new item that I'm writing on. 564 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:34,420 There's just other devices that I have been seeing made. 565 00:33:34,420 --> 00:33:39,800 There's this device that was made for barefooting back in the 80s that people know that I'm 566 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:40,800 looking for stuff. 567 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:43,960 They reach out and say, hey, I'm going to get you this device. 568 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:46,520 Where do you want me to ship it? 569 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:49,880 And boy, all these devices that are supposed to make it easier, they don't always make 570 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:52,760 it easier. 571 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:55,720 So that's been one new one. 572 00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:57,000 But just the standard stuff. 573 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:03,140 I'm working on writing the guitar and the table and the pieces of wood and just kind 574 00:34:03,140 --> 00:34:07,320 of whatever is big enough to get your foot on is big enough. 575 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:11,080 I have been trying to get a Guinness record for this situation and they've just turned 576 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:14,200 me down because they say it's too specific. 577 00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:18,920 So in protest, one of the items that I always write is literally the Guinness Book of World 578 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:21,680 Records. 579 00:34:21,680 --> 00:34:24,520 Just to stick it in their face a little bit or what? 580 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:26,600 Well, it's not in your face. 581 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:27,600 I'm not like that. 582 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:31,720 Just to kind of fun, like, okay, well, if you're not going to get me the record, here you go. 583 00:34:31,720 --> 00:34:35,520 Yours is going to be one of the items. 584 00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:40,880 So basically on any situation like that, what I do is I'll get up on a ski with my opposite 585 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:41,880 foot forward. 586 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:44,360 So normally I ride my stronger foot forward is right. 587 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:47,000 I'll get up on a ski with my left foot forward. 588 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:48,720 I'll have the book in my hand. 589 00:34:48,720 --> 00:34:53,140 And then once I'm skiing, I kind of have to perform a little bit of gymnastics maneuvers 590 00:34:53,140 --> 00:34:57,520 to get the item, in this case, the book on my foot. 591 00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:01,960 So now basically I'm skiing with a ski on one foot and the book on the other. 592 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:03,960 And then you kind of get the speed set just right. 593 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:08,640 And then you kick the ski off and now, hey, I'm writing the book. 594 00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:09,920 How long can you stay like that? 595 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:11,240 More than a few seconds or? 596 00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:12,240 Oh, that one? 597 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:13,240 Oh yeah. 598 00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:14,240 As long as I want to. 599 00:35:14,240 --> 00:35:18,520 I mean, depending on the item, I could ski a mile on that, you know, if the conditions 600 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:19,520 were proper. 601 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:20,520 That's nuts. 602 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:21,520 Yeah. 603 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:22,520 Yeah. 604 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:24,120 But I mean, that technique has helped. 605 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:29,560 There's a lot of guys doing stuff on, you know, paddles, oars, books, computer, keyboards, 606 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:31,480 just like people just find random stuff and do it. 607 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:35,120 So I'm glad they've started a little something, I guess. 608 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:36,680 Yeah, that's definitely cool. 609 00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:42,280 I was watching, I believe it was your 50 for 50 video that you sent me and that I'll include, 610 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:46,160 you know, links down below for everyone to click on and watch if they want. 611 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,520 Definitely looking forward for the 60 for 60. 612 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:52,360 And you know, I want to go back to Vese a little bit here at the end as we're down to 613 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:55,360 the last couple of minutes or so. 614 00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:59,640 Well, first of all, before, you know, we sort of talked about the wine tasting in our show. 615 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:03,800 Have you been water skiing on Vese or do you plan on doing anything there? 616 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:05,220 Yes, I have twice. 617 00:36:05,220 --> 00:36:08,280 So in my youth, in the 70s, I did. 618 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:14,800 And from what I understand, it was a big hit for a long time because I barefooted, I didn't 619 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:18,680 have any ski equipment and someone rounded up like just some random piece of rope that 620 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:19,680 they use. 621 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:23,160 And I was, you know, probably a hundred and some odd pounds. 622 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:24,880 So the fishing boat went just fast enough. 623 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:30,500 So I literally they had they lined up all the people on the Revo down there and I barefooted 624 00:36:30,500 --> 00:36:34,080 along the shore right there in the 1970s as a youth. 625 00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:38,800 And my aunts just they talked about that forever and ever, you know, but then they would get 626 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:43,680 stuff because my my uncle and father supported them for the years financially and in letters. 627 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:47,840 So they would be sending them the covers of the magazines and the posters and stuff like 628 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:48,840 that. 629 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:53,680 So when I got in the house, it was a trip because I just didn't think about I found 630 00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:58,000 pictures of myself as a kid all the way growing up and then stuff from my water skiing. 631 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:02,840 So they were definitely proud, definitely proud. 632 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:09,440 But the art show and the second time I skied was we just took a tour with some guy, Davor. 633 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:13,840 He's like this this adventure is on Milna on the other side of the island. 634 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:17,320 And he's got a little like a boat that's fast enough. 635 00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:22,080 And he had a wakeboard, which was a little too small for my style. 636 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:23,600 I wrote it, but it was just wasn't me. 637 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:26,520 But he literally had a wood pile out there. 638 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:30,000 I go, well, I'll just write on this piece of wood over here. 639 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:34,180 So I pulled a piece of wood that was like about four inches wide by six feet long out 640 00:37:34,180 --> 00:37:36,960 of the pile and took a ride on the piece of wood. 641 00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:38,760 That was about two years ago. 642 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:39,760 Wow. 643 00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:42,680 So you're already a local legend over there. 644 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:47,760 Well, I don't know about a legend, but you know, my attorney said when we finally get 645 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:51,240 back there, you know, in full force that he'll talk to the harbor master and we're going 646 00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:55,360 to try to organize some sort of show in the harbor like, you know, Native Son comes home 647 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:56,800 and do a show and all that business. 648 00:37:56,800 --> 00:37:57,800 So oh, wow. 649 00:37:57,800 --> 00:37:58,800 That'd be awesome. 650 00:37:58,800 --> 00:37:59,800 Yeah. 651 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:01,400 So our Croatian adventure took a big turn here. 652 00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:04,000 We thought we were going to rehab the family house. 653 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:11,320 And all of a sudden we ended up to great surprise to everybody purchasing a house over there. 654 00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:15,480 It was such difficulties in rehabbing with the architects and the permissions and what 655 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:16,560 we could and couldn't do. 656 00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:18,320 It's just been a process. 657 00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:24,280 And we have a girlfriend, Kathy, a friend who's a girl who she wants to join us in the 658 00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:25,400 adventure and help us. 659 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:27,760 And she's wanted to help at the house and stuff like that. 660 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:32,120 So she so much so that she's even dreaming of purchasing a home there. 661 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:37,640 So on one of our trips that she's been with us, we went to look at properties and she 662 00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:40,960 loves Mama Mia, like love, love mom. 663 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:41,960 Yeah. 664 00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:44,720 And I don't know if you know or not, but Mama Mia too was shot on the island. 665 00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:48,960 So that connection is like very strong with her and we stayed at the house that Terse 666 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:50,120 Brosnan stayed at. 667 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:53,560 And so there's all these amazing connections. 668 00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:57,400 So she's going to be at the house, help us with our endeavors. 669 00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:02,480 And she's going to be like the girl in Mama Mia who's on a house in a foreign country. 670 00:39:02,480 --> 00:39:04,360 It's so exciting. 671 00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:09,080 And we're looking for her, but the real estate guy goes, I got this waterfront one. 672 00:39:09,080 --> 00:39:10,080 I think you guys should see. 673 00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:11,920 And I'm like, no, we got appointments. 674 00:39:11,920 --> 00:39:12,920 Let's not. 675 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:14,240 We walk into this place. 676 00:39:14,240 --> 00:39:18,680 And as you know, it's difficult to find one-to-one properties and it's difficult to find properties 677 00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:20,320 that are done and ready to go. 678 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:24,840 And with all of our difficulties, it's like, here's this house and it was listed in January. 679 00:39:24,840 --> 00:39:25,960 So nobody knew about it. 680 00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:28,720 And we were there at the right time in January. 681 00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:34,040 So we make a run at this house and it's on the, it's literally on the Reva on the water 682 00:39:34,040 --> 00:39:35,800 and coop right there. 683 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:40,440 And we just don't think it's going to happen, but we just keep going down the pathway and 684 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:41,680 about halfway through. 685 00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:47,400 Oh, by the way, nobody knew that this is a national historic monument. 686 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:53,160 Like you have to get permission from the city of Vise, split the county and the country 687 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:54,160 to buy it. 688 00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:55,960 So like, oh, here's another obstacle. 689 00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:57,280 Then Ukraine war happens. 690 00:39:57,280 --> 00:39:59,120 And you think like, oh, that seems awfully close. 691 00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:03,400 It's just so many obstacles, but it ended up taking nine months. 692 00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:09,160 We took control of this property in September, the Villa Machiavelli. 693 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:11,320 It's on the Reva in Coote. 694 00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:15,360 And this is where the art show story comes in. 695 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:19,840 So we have met a couple from Zagreb. 696 00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:22,400 They're right there in their hometown. 697 00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:27,620 And we met them touring in Amsterdam, I think. 698 00:40:27,620 --> 00:40:30,720 And I just, I recognized a few words and I recognized the voices. 699 00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:35,320 So I go over and chat them up and we have a drink and then we meet up and we've since 700 00:40:35,320 --> 00:40:38,800 met in various places all over the world with them. 701 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:43,240 And she's an art lover. 702 00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:48,480 Her family's home in Zagreb was the center. 703 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:53,160 They were the salon for decades and decades. 704 00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:54,720 So all the top artists came. 705 00:40:54,720 --> 00:40:57,280 She grew up with the top artists coming to her house. 706 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:01,200 There's paintings from these artists in the house. 707 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:03,280 And it's just, it's special. 708 00:41:03,280 --> 00:41:05,160 She knows a lot about it. 709 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:10,200 And as I was telling her about this house when I was driving back to the Split Airport, 710 00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:16,080 the thought came to me, if we get this house, we're doing an art show at the house. 711 00:41:16,080 --> 00:41:19,840 I've done lots of shows for skiing, but the fact that this was going to happen just came 712 00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:21,520 to me like just a vision. 713 00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:24,440 I get these pictures in my head. 714 00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:29,920 And when we got the house, I was just joking with her, are you ready for that art show? 715 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:32,600 And we just kind of laughed about it like you're crazy. 716 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:39,600 Well, our first day in the Villa Machiavelli, I literally, an elderly English gentleman 717 00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:41,880 comes kind of wandering in. 718 00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:43,360 Where's the owner? 719 00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:45,240 We want to invite him for drinks. 720 00:41:45,240 --> 00:41:47,840 We have the house on the other end of the Riva. 721 00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:50,500 So we're like bookends, come over for drinks. 722 00:41:50,500 --> 00:42:00,300 So we come over and it ends up that his wife is Ivana, Ivana Mestrovich, the granddaughter 723 00:42:00,300 --> 00:42:03,240 of the famous artist, right? 724 00:42:03,240 --> 00:42:04,240 Crazy. 725 00:42:04,240 --> 00:42:10,160 And I guess we passed the test because after hanging out and drinks and they had some friends 726 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:13,020 over, she goes, oh, let's go to the gallery. 727 00:42:13,020 --> 00:42:15,640 So literally it's like Yaksha Palace is the place where they live. 728 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:20,400 It's many rooms and the gallery, it's a private gallery. 729 00:42:20,400 --> 00:42:27,080 And the works that are in there are the works that Yvonne used to make the famous works. 730 00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:30,120 So it's like, I don't know what you call them, the practice works or whatever. 731 00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:34,240 So he has one very famous one in Chicago, I think it's called the Archer. 732 00:42:34,240 --> 00:42:39,120 It's a big, it's like an Indian or someone with a bow and arrow. 733 00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:41,360 And this thing in real life is gigantic. 734 00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:47,060 Well the one in the gallery is only like three feet tall and Jobe and like all these famous 735 00:42:47,060 --> 00:42:49,260 works that you know are there in the gallery. 736 00:42:49,260 --> 00:42:53,000 And she's kind of talking through each one. 737 00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:56,240 And at some point, I had only talked to her for five minutes the whole night. 738 00:42:56,240 --> 00:42:58,640 She's just being the perfect hostess. 739 00:42:58,640 --> 00:43:03,120 And she's speaking over Jobe, which is one of his very famous works. 740 00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:05,320 And I go, wow, Yvonne, that must be so hard for you. 741 00:43:05,320 --> 00:43:07,680 You're the caretaker of all of this. 742 00:43:07,680 --> 00:43:09,500 You're carrying on the legacy. 743 00:43:09,500 --> 00:43:15,120 And this work is so rooted in suffering, which it really is when you see it and you feel 744 00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:19,800 that struggle of the Croatian people that comes through this art. 745 00:43:19,800 --> 00:43:25,400 And she says, it's a burden that I gladly bear. 746 00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:26,400 And I'm like, wow. 747 00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:31,880 And I go, Yvonne, this is the craziest thing, but I dreamed that I would be having an art 748 00:43:31,880 --> 00:43:34,160 show on the island. 749 00:43:34,160 --> 00:43:41,720 And she turns without hesitation and she said, you can have it here anytime you want. 750 00:43:41,720 --> 00:43:43,120 Wow. 751 00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:45,800 And we locked eyes and we like stared at each other. 752 00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:49,720 And this has never happened to me with another human being in my life. 753 00:43:49,720 --> 00:43:51,920 This was inexplainable. 754 00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:55,960 We were like looking into each other's soul for like 30 seconds. 755 00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:57,960 Everything else went away and we both got kind of emotional. 756 00:43:57,960 --> 00:44:00,040 Like we weren't speaking. 757 00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:03,720 And when we came out of it, my wife goes like, whoa, what was that? 758 00:44:03,720 --> 00:44:06,680 And I go, I don't know. 759 00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:11,200 And I go, Yvonne, did you, we didn't, because she came to our like open house party and 760 00:44:11,200 --> 00:44:12,480 I go, did you feel that Yvonne? 761 00:44:12,480 --> 00:44:13,480 She goes, yeah. 762 00:44:13,480 --> 00:44:14,480 I go, what was that? 763 00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:15,480 She goes, I don't know. 764 00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:17,760 And I go, I think that means we're supposed to be doing stuff together. 765 00:44:17,760 --> 00:44:19,360 She goes, yeah, we are. 766 00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:24,080 So to literally on the first day that you're like have a resonance in the country that 767 00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:28,360 you can, we are always airbnbs, the first day that you have a resonance in the country, 768 00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:32,040 you meet the granddaughter of the artist when you're claiming you want to do something around 769 00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:33,040 art. 770 00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:34,040 Yeah. 771 00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:35,040 Yeah. 772 00:44:35,040 --> 00:44:40,240 So that, and then because of the legacy with wine, I just think we want to try to set something 773 00:44:40,240 --> 00:44:44,200 up with, with wine and wine tasting. 774 00:44:44,200 --> 00:44:48,440 Because when people come to the island, oftentimes it's on the boats or you can't really get 775 00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:49,760 to the interior. 776 00:44:49,760 --> 00:44:50,960 So you're kind of just stuck. 777 00:44:50,960 --> 00:44:53,600 You don't really get to see what's happening. 778 00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:59,200 And there's not really places there that cater to supporting all the different wineries. 779 00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:05,760 There's lots of great wineries, but it's like so many things in Croatia, there's not ours. 780 00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:06,880 You got to know somebody. 781 00:45:06,880 --> 00:45:09,740 You can't just get in your car and drive there necessarily. 782 00:45:09,740 --> 00:45:11,820 So we want to kind of try to bring that to the people. 783 00:45:11,820 --> 00:45:20,320 So when we come to Zagreb and the island in May, we're going to be meeting with Yvonne 784 00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:23,160 on the island and trying to plan this for September. 785 00:45:23,160 --> 00:45:27,840 So we don't really know exactly what it's going to be, but we have an offer of a place 786 00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:28,840 to hold it. 787 00:45:28,840 --> 00:45:31,200 We have a person who's an expert in art. 788 00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:33,720 We have a history in wines. 789 00:45:33,720 --> 00:45:39,720 We don't know what, but we just keep following this pathway and we know we get support. 790 00:45:39,720 --> 00:45:44,360 I ran into a cousin that's producing wine out there and he's just so excited about it. 791 00:45:44,360 --> 00:45:50,580 So we think there's something there and we're going to do it all within hopefully doing 792 00:45:50,580 --> 00:45:54,800 it right because my legacy is the island. 793 00:45:54,800 --> 00:45:58,400 There's a lot of people moving in there and it's kind of sad that the country and the 794 00:45:58,400 --> 00:45:59,960 islands are getting gentrified. 795 00:45:59,960 --> 00:46:00,960 Like it's true. 796 00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:02,480 It's really happening. 797 00:46:02,480 --> 00:46:09,760 And yeah, I'm there too, but I probably have deeper connection because I am from the island. 798 00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:13,000 My heritage is from that island, 50%. 799 00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:14,000 It's different for me. 800 00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:16,680 I'm not just there to make a buck. 801 00:46:16,680 --> 00:46:22,640 I want to share your home with people, but not at the expense of just making money. 802 00:46:22,640 --> 00:46:25,040 You want to do it in a responsible way. 803 00:46:25,040 --> 00:46:27,520 So we're just looking forward to it. 804 00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:31,180 I'm so hopeful and I'm so thankful for you and what you're doing. 805 00:46:31,180 --> 00:46:36,720 So I reach out to any one of the people that are here listening that are in a position 806 00:46:36,720 --> 00:46:40,440 to help or get involved with this journey that we're on, or maybe we can cross promote 807 00:46:40,440 --> 00:46:43,360 with something that you're doing. 808 00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:46,000 My wife and I are here. 809 00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:50,840 We're applying for citizenship and thanks again for what you're doing with the app that's 810 00:46:50,840 --> 00:46:52,640 going out. 811 00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:57,840 We had to do ours with the lawyer and with Adriatic travel helped tremendously, by the 812 00:46:57,840 --> 00:47:01,960 way, that's another sponsor of yours, but they helped with our translations and they 813 00:47:01,960 --> 00:47:05,880 were very helpful, but that's another whole story of the citizenship. 814 00:47:05,880 --> 00:47:10,840 But we hope to partner with people that are doing this stuff so we can do it responsibly 815 00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:13,880 and get with people that maybe have a little bit more of our mindset and to figure out 816 00:47:13,880 --> 00:47:20,840 how to approach this in a way that's beneficial, but it doesn't just put the dollar like Americans 817 00:47:20,840 --> 00:47:24,600 do that the dollar is the almighty, be all and end all. 818 00:47:24,600 --> 00:47:26,880 That's not what this country is all about. 819 00:47:26,880 --> 00:47:28,680 It's much deeper than that. 820 00:47:28,680 --> 00:47:29,680 Yeah. 821 00:47:29,680 --> 00:47:30,680 Yeah. 822 00:47:30,680 --> 00:47:34,440 And I mean, that's a big, you have a big responsibility with a gallery like Meschovitch's. 823 00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:35,440 Yeah, no kidding. 824 00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:40,040 I didn't know that they, I guess that makes sense that sculptors have this sort of first 825 00:47:40,040 --> 00:47:44,520 edition or first sort of attempt at something before they make the big one. 826 00:47:44,520 --> 00:47:48,880 I guess I never really thought about that, but yeah, that's a huge, I mean, that's super 827 00:47:48,880 --> 00:47:49,880 exciting. 828 00:47:49,880 --> 00:47:52,000 I'm really excited to hear more about that. 829 00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:55,280 I want to thank you for taking the time, Tony, to come on the podcast. 830 00:47:55,280 --> 00:47:59,640 I'm really happy to hear that the podcast has connected you with so many different people, 831 00:47:59,640 --> 00:48:02,960 the recipe books with the sponsors that have been on the podcast. 832 00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:08,800 That's really for me awesome to hear that it's doing something, it's connecting people, 833 00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:10,280 connecting the community. 834 00:48:10,280 --> 00:48:16,240 I'll post all the links that you'd like, your email or whatever, so people can get in contact 835 00:48:16,240 --> 00:48:21,840 with you if they want to help out, if they want to hear more about what you're doing. 836 00:48:21,840 --> 00:48:25,640 Even as far as the wakeboarding and water skiing, if they want to check out some of 837 00:48:25,640 --> 00:48:29,400 the videos, they want to follow you for when you're going to do that 60 for 60, which I'm 838 00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:30,400 also excited for. 839 00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:34,640 Although I know you've got a couple of years left, but overall, Tony, I just want to thank 840 00:48:34,640 --> 00:48:38,400 you again so much for coming here on the All Things Croatia podcast. 841 00:48:38,400 --> 00:48:39,400 It's been amazing. 842 00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:42,160 Do you mind if I ask you just a couple of quick questions? 843 00:48:42,160 --> 00:48:45,560 Is that allowed? 844 00:48:45,560 --> 00:48:51,560 I wondered how do you see the podcast and what you're doing having an effect on the 845 00:48:51,560 --> 00:48:53,960 diaspora? 846 00:48:53,960 --> 00:48:54,960 You've got to see something. 847 00:48:54,960 --> 00:48:56,200 How are you seeing that happen? 848 00:48:56,200 --> 00:48:57,800 Because you're obviously finding success. 849 00:48:57,800 --> 00:48:58,800 Yeah. 850 00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:04,240 I see it in cases, much like yourself, how you mentioned, oh, I bought the book of Andrea 851 00:49:04,240 --> 00:49:05,240 Pisatz. 852 00:49:05,240 --> 00:49:09,280 But yeah, that was one of my first, maybe first five episodes. 853 00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:12,840 That was a long time ago that that one went out. 854 00:49:12,840 --> 00:49:13,840 Things like that. 855 00:49:13,840 --> 00:49:17,800 People will message me, oh, I just listened to this episode with whoever. 856 00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:18,800 That was so amazing. 857 00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:24,280 I didn't know about this or I'd never heard about this before. 858 00:49:24,280 --> 00:49:29,040 That's always really cool to hear that people have had a couple of people meet up, two different 859 00:49:29,040 --> 00:49:33,840 people in Australia that I had at separate times on the podcast, ended up connecting 860 00:49:33,840 --> 00:49:36,640 with each other and meeting. 861 00:49:36,640 --> 00:49:37,840 That's always really cool. 862 00:49:37,840 --> 00:49:38,840 Just things like that. 863 00:49:38,840 --> 00:49:42,960 Just things where I'm seeing the episodes have an impact or at least they've enjoyed 864 00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:47,260 the content behind it or they've made a new connection or discovered something new about 865 00:49:47,260 --> 00:49:50,320 Croatia or their Croatian heritage. 866 00:49:50,320 --> 00:49:55,680 For me, that's the goal of the podcast and that's the whole point of why I'm doing this. 867 00:49:55,680 --> 00:49:58,840 Well, that answered my second question because I wondered what your goal was because it's 868 00:49:58,840 --> 00:50:05,200 not often that a young guy with you with a lot of energy does this. 869 00:50:05,200 --> 00:50:08,560 This is a huge labor of love and I'm so appreciative. 870 00:50:08,560 --> 00:50:09,560 Thank you so much. 871 00:50:09,560 --> 00:50:10,560 Thank you for the opportunity. 872 00:50:10,560 --> 00:50:11,560 Thank you for the time. 873 00:50:11,560 --> 00:50:15,160 I hope to see you in Zagreb soon and I invite you to our villa. 874 00:50:15,160 --> 00:50:20,160 I invite you to Vis and anyone who's listening, I invite you to connect with us and let's 875 00:50:20,160 --> 00:50:23,000 do exciting things that are important. 876 00:50:23,000 --> 00:50:25,000 That's my goal. 877 00:50:25,000 --> 00:50:30,920 Tony, thank you so much for the kind words and for interviewing me a little bit for once. 878 00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:31,920 Thanks again, Tony. 879 00:50:31,920 --> 00:50:32,920 I really appreciate it. 880 00:50:32,920 --> 00:50:33,920 It's my pleasure. 881 00:50:33,920 --> 00:50:55,280 Take care.