1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,760 Welcome to episode number three of Dan Time. I'm your host Dan McCardell. It's good to 2 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:17,960 have you here. Thanks for taking a look around the Daniverse. This is a podcast for people 3 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,800 who just like to hear interesting conversations with different types of people, different 4 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:27,620 backgrounds and I guess for the first few weeks, we'll keep it going as long as there's 5 00:00:27,620 --> 00:00:32,320 still some interest. You're going to hear Dan after Dan after Dan, but not the same 6 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:37,800 Dan. So you'll have a good bit of variety and this week is no different. Let me recap 7 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:43,280 really quickly. I just want to drop a couple quotes from the first two episodes. Jim Powell 8 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:50,400 kicked us off episode one. A great takeaway from that conversation was you got to be happy. 9 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:55,360 You just got to be happy in this world. And I know it's hard and I know it's a daily 10 00:00:55,360 --> 00:01:00,560 effort for a lot of you people. It is for me too, but you got to work at it. Take a 11 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:06,320 look around. What's your workplace like? How are those people? Who are your friends? Who 12 00:01:06,320 --> 00:01:10,800 are your family members? Look around your house. Are people bringing you down? Are they 13 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:17,680 bringing you up? Try to identify people that make you happy, that bring something to the 14 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:24,760 table, something you want to emulate and just a positive attitude and hang on to that. And 15 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:30,440 episode two, Dan Weinrib, a great conversation. I can't wait to bring it back for the playoffs 16 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:37,560 in a couple of months. An awesome quote from Dan was some advice he received from his mom 17 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:44,240 long time ago when he had just won a very close race. And it was keep in mind the people 18 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:49,340 who have always been on board, your longtime friends, people that knew you before you were 19 00:01:49,340 --> 00:01:55,120 a big deal and they're still here. They're still your friends. And then I try to identify 20 00:01:55,120 --> 00:02:02,000 the people who came along right when you were taken off and maybe they're still here too. 21 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:07,760 And then the people who became your friends after you won. You could apply that to your 22 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:15,120 life too. Everyone's maybe been on top for a minute, for a while, for a few months, a 23 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:20,200 couple of years and then things didn't work out so well and you crashed down. You know 24 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:25,000 the people who have been there through all the periods of your life. So I thought that 25 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:30,640 was a great reminder. And we've got some more practical advice from another Dan and that 26 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:39,080 guy is Dan Lindeman. He is my first on premise sit down interview and I was just stoked to 27 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:45,040 speak to this guy. He's been in business longer than the internet has been around continuously 28 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:52,240 A&J mugs downtown Pensacola opened in 1953 and Dan bought the business in the late 80s 29 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:59,400 and just a wonderful conversation. This is one of the few ceramic shops, mug shops that 30 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:04,760 I'm aware of, at least in this region. I don't know how many there are nationally, but great 31 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:11,080 guy, a real colorful guy. He's done a lot for Pensacola. He stuck up for the city and 32 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:15,640 the citizens on a number of issues. I didn't really get into the weeds on that, but Dan 33 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:20,600 is just a wonderful subject and I really enjoyed our conversation. I think you will too. All 34 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:25,160 right, some quick stuff about Dan time. So I appreciate the feedback that I've received 35 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:30,960 so far. You guys are awesome. I appreciate my listeners from around the country and around 36 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,440 the world and we are just getting started here. So if you enjoy it, just park it here 37 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:43,280 at Dan time. It's always going to be entertaining. I aim to keep this show light, but thoughtful 38 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:50,560 if that makes sense. Check us out on the socials. Now I'm on the platform, formerly known as 39 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:54,960 Twitter. I've always just said X. Maybe that confuses some people, but used to be Twitter 40 00:03:54,960 --> 00:04:01,360 at Dan time pod. Then there's Instagram Dan time pod and also Facebook page. Now if you 41 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:05,880 go to each page, you'll notice that they get updated differently, different times, might 42 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:11,040 be a couple things that are different about each one. So find one you like and there's 43 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:16,040 always some interesting content. I have started this segment on Fridays called the Friday 44 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:22,000 challenge. So if you, if you enjoy it, leave a comment. If you've got an idea for a Friday 45 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:28,520 challenge, you can always reach me. My email is Dan time pod at gmail.com. And remember, 46 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:33,360 if you'd like to come on the show, or if you've got a recommendation for a Dan or somebody 47 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:40,640 who's connected to a Dan or has no connection to a Dan, but is just a great interview, send 48 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:46,280 them my way. And I appreciate everyone downloading, subscribing and leaving a star rating. If 49 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:52,240 you like the show, let's get to my interview now with Dan Lindemann from ANJ mugs. He has 50 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:58,680 owned ANJ mugs for close to 35 years. The operation actually began by two gentlemen, 51 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:05,820 was opened by two gentlemen in 1953 under the name. So original location was on Navy 52 00:05:05,820 --> 00:05:12,440 Boulevard and they moved it to downtown Pensacola in the mid 80s. And so Dan and his wife have 53 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:18,600 been running the shop for almost four decades here. Now some background on Dan and why I 54 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:23,960 felt like he was such an interesting subject here. Dan is a Marine Corps veteran. He arrived 55 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:31,760 in Pensacola in 1974 at 21 as a flight student. And I think he was really like a lot of people 56 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:37,360 just loved the area and kind of saw a vision for himself and his family and started planting 57 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:42,600 seeds at that time. But in the Marine Corps, Dan flew the H one Cobra, which I guess sometimes 58 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:47,960 called the snake or the Huey Cobra. There's one is actually one like it here. I'm jumping 59 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,440 ahead a little bit, but Veterans Memorial Park. I'm going to mention some landmarks 60 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:56,560 in town for people who have not visited the area. That is a must visit the Veterans Memorial 61 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:03,640 Park, but there's a H one either similar or just like it there. Yep. Same one. I actually 62 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,880 flew that one out in California. I'm going to wrap up with the bio really quick because 63 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:13,640 I could just go on and on about this guy. But so he joined the US Marine Corps at 19 64 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:20,840 11 years was actually as a flight instructor was a customer of A and J in the I guess late 65 00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:25,680 seventies into the early eighties and became interested in ceramics. And I guess it was 66 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:31,840 just a natural move to take over the business. Dan, I'll I'll let you pick up from here. 67 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:38,440 Just let you know, take me back to 1974, you know, or 75 76 when you're getting acclimated 68 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:42,720 with Pensacola and you start having these ideas like, Hey, this might be a good place 69 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:49,720 to settle down. Yeah, I did. I came here in 1974 as a young second lieutenant, just graduated 70 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:56,520 from TBS up in cornico and was coming here for the Naval Aviation Training Command. And 71 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:01,200 I got here and immediately fell in love with Pensacola. And I made a promise to myself 72 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:05,780 that I would come back, buy a home in the historic district is close to the Hopkins 73 00:07:05,780 --> 00:07:12,260 boarding house as I could possibly get. And someday own a business downtown. And I came 74 00:07:12,260 --> 00:07:17,880 back in 1980 as a flight instructor. And I did exactly what I said I was going to do 75 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:24,720 back in 1974. So here I am in this business because it is a niche industry. You don't 76 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:29,920 see these on every street corner. You don't see them in every city. Were there times in 77 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:35,400 the eighties and nineties, early part of the 21st century where times were lean? Was it 78 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:38,960 was there ever a period where you thought, I don't know if this was such a great idea 79 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:44,800 or have you always built a reputation in the community? And is the business and the brand 80 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:49,720 always been strong, I guess? Well, you know, with any small business, it's a struggle. 81 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:57,400 It really is. You've got supply side issues, you've got employee issues. Just being in 82 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:03,840 small business is like being in hell sometimes. But you just have to have a belief, the tenacity 83 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:09,520 to stick with it. And I think the belief, you believe in yourself. And it's kind of 84 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:14,040 funny, you talk about a mug shop, you tell people what do you do for a living? You see, 85 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:18,080 I make coffee cups and beer steins and they just look at you like you're, yeah, right. 86 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:22,160 No, seriously, what do you do? And I say, no, that's exactly what we do. It's a very 87 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:28,160 niche business. And in the military, beer steins go back to the 1700s. I mean, people 88 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:33,360 had a commemorative beer stein for every regimental unit they were in. And it's just a program 89 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:41,840 that we've continued. A lot of pride in ownership of our products. We ship all over the world. 90 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:47,840 And we do all the branches of the military. So we're doing something right. And yeah, 91 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:54,280 but believe in yourself. And I'm very proud to be the owner of a mug shop. I really am. 92 00:08:54,280 --> 00:09:00,040 Is it true that everything that's made here is completely American made? Everything that 93 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:06,040 we do here is American made and our steins, the bulk of our steins are made at one of 94 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:10,720 the oldest potteries in the United States up in East Liverpool, Ohio. Now we have had 95 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:16,840 to do some importing from China and Taiwan simply to meet the demand. The potteries in 96 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:22,040 the United States pretty much fell off the bandwagon back in the 60s. They just fell 97 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:28,280 off and it was all taken over by China. Hence the name China. All your China is made in 98 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:35,400 China. But we have stuck with this little place up in East Liverpool, Ohio since 1953. 99 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:40,160 We've been buying from them continuously. In fact, their factory was made pre-Civil 100 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:45,720 War. It's an amazing little place and they're still in operation and hopefully they'll be 101 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:51,500 in operation for years and years to come. So just a very basic overview of how these 102 00:09:51,500 --> 00:09:57,800 mugs and steins are produced. The logos are attached and then they're baked in kilns. 103 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:02,400 How long does that process take? Actually it's called a water slide ceramic decal. We 104 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:07,960 screen print, just like a t-shirt shop, we screen print. Instead of ink, we're screen 105 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:13,440 printing actual ground up rocks and glass. It's called ceramic glaze. It's suspended 106 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:20,920 in a very unique oil and we screen print to a water slide decal paper. If you've, any 107 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:25,160 of you guys out there, anybody to tell you the truth, that's made a model airplane or 108 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:29,440 a model car and you've got a sheet of decals that you soak in the water and you slide them 109 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:35,400 off onto your model, we do the same thing. We print on a decal sheet, soak these things 110 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:40,280 in water, slide them onto the mugs, squeeze them down, dry them, put them in a kiln and 111 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:45,480 they fire up to about 1600 degrees Fahrenheit. So they are there. 112 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:49,920 One thing that I took notice of the first time I met you Dan and walked around the shop 113 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:56,840 is you have some very prominent customers going all the way up to the President, to 114 00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:59,040 Vice Presidents. 115 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:05,720 We yeah, you just, you do things like for example, we've got letters from George Bush 116 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:12,040 and Dick Cheney after 9-11. We're big dog owners here at the shop. We've always got 117 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:17,320 dogs down here and we knew that Cheney and Bush were the same way. So we made them customized 118 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:23,080 dog dishes and sent them up to Camp David because we knew they were going to be up there 119 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:29,160 and we sent those up there with a little note that hey, we hope that after this crisis has 120 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:34,680 been put to bed that you guys can take time and relax a little bit and enjoy your pets 121 00:11:34,680 --> 00:11:41,480 and we sent them these dog dishes and we got some really nice letters back from George 122 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:43,320 Bush and from Dick Cheney both. 123 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:49,720 Wow, so you actually jumped ahead and decided to produce these for them and they hadn't 124 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:51,600 reached out to you but... 125 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:58,640 Yeah we do, we are, the folks at Camp David use us for their coffee cups, beer steins 126 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:03,200 and so we've already got a link to the place and we knew that we could get these things 127 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:07,200 to them. I called the protocol people up there and said this is what we're going to do and 128 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:13,080 they said absolutely send them up and we did and it was, yeah it was pretty neat. 129 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:20,920 Is there a story you'd like to share of over the past 34, 35 years of that door opening 130 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:24,520 and some dignitary or somebody, I mean you probably never know who's going to walk in 131 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:29,720 here but have you had someone walk in and where you thought wow... 132 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:31,640 We haven't had any presidents or anything like that walk in. 133 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:33,120 Are they usually call or... 134 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:39,960 God, there's been a lot to be honest with you. I don't even know where to go with this, 135 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:41,840 it kind of caught me off guard. 136 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:42,840 Oh that's okay. 137 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:49,240 But yeah we've had some very unique folks walk in and sit down and visit and again the 138 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:54,640 shop if you walk by it, there are not a lot of mug shops anywhere and we don't look like 139 00:12:54,640 --> 00:13:01,400 a mug shop, we look like an antique shop or a curiosity shop and I guess the curiosity 140 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:06,400 side is what draws people in and they come like, what's the name of the magician, the 141 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,400 big guy that made the Niagara Falls disappear and everything? 142 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:10,720 Oh Copperfield? 143 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:15,000 David Copperfield came in and spent about two hours in here and he was just mesmerized 144 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:19,280 by the place and he actually sat down over in that chair right over there and just, you 145 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:24,360 don't mind if I just kind of sit down and absorb this place for a while do you? 146 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,900 Dan it really, it has a museum quality to it. 147 00:13:27,900 --> 00:13:32,340 When you walk in, I can promise you guys, if you walk in here you're not going to see 148 00:13:32,340 --> 00:13:35,960 anything like it that day, wherever else you go, you're not going to see anything like 149 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:40,640 it probably that week and if you're traveling from out of town and you go back to Ohio, 150 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:45,440 or you go back to Kentucky or wherever you're visiting, you're going to remember this place. 151 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:49,360 It happens to be a couple doors down from the historic Rex Theater. 152 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:55,120 Dan, I'm really curious to know about the Rex and the different periods that you've 153 00:13:55,120 --> 00:14:00,160 seen, the dormant period where nothing was going on and then the restoration and... 154 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:05,840 When I first got here in the 70s, the Rex Theater was a triple X movie theater in a 155 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:07,480 basically abandoned downtown. 156 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:09,760 There was nothing down here. 157 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:17,360 Then it sat empty for a long, long time and then it was utilized as a rental place. 158 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:22,360 There was a dinosaur exhibit that came in and did a few things. 159 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:23,520 It's a cool old building. 160 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:24,520 It's gutted now. 161 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:28,720 It's not anywhere near what it used to be, but the church folks in there have really 162 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:29,840 done a good job with it. 163 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:34,960 In one time, did they try to revive it with a cinema and draft house is what I was reading? 164 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:35,960 Yeah, it did. 165 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:36,960 Yeah, that... 166 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:37,960 Late 80s? 167 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,680 Late 80s was when you'd go in and watch a movie and have pizza and drink a beer. 168 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:44,600 I think that went for maybe two years maybe. 169 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:46,840 It just didn't make it. 170 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:48,520 Nobody back then was coming downtown. 171 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:50,720 I mean nobody. 172 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:52,400 That's why I'm downtown. 173 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:57,320 The cheapest buildings that I could buy in Escambia County were downtown Pensacola. 174 00:14:57,320 --> 00:14:59,360 They were the cheapest buildings. 175 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:00,360 That's not a joke. 176 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:01,360 That's the truth. 177 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,440 They were the cheapest buildings I could buy. 178 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:09,480 Yeah, folks, Dan has been here since people left downtown at five o'clock and just got 179 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:14,520 out of here to now when people either get off work and stay down here or they get off 180 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:17,800 work across town and come downtown. 181 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:19,280 How cool is that to see? 182 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:21,920 I know it's not perfect all the way around, but just... 183 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:27,760 I mean tonight is gallery night and all the events and the Palifox Market. 184 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,880 How pleased are you to at least see some of that stuff? 185 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:31,880 I love it. 186 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:36,760 When I came here, like I said, 1974, I swore that I would buy a home downtown. 187 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:39,720 I bought up in the North Hill Historic District. 188 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:40,720 Everybody thought I was crazy. 189 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:47,560 Then when I bought the buildings downtown, everybody thought I was crazy. 190 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:51,400 It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that someday this place was going to just 191 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:58,120 pop and explode for the same reason that I believed in it, a lot of other folks did. 192 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:01,000 It's now becoming a very unique place. 193 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,200 I hope it maintains its quaint charm and doesn't get too big. 194 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,240 We don't need another Bourbon Street or a Beale Street. 195 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:12,520 I want Pensacola to stay the way it was about 15 years ago. 196 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:17,480 Well speaking of that, now I found a quote from 2007, I mean not that long ago, but this 197 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:21,960 is pretty cool because this is before downtown really became the hot spot that it is, kind 198 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:23,400 of right on the cusp of it. 199 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,780 You said people need to know that this is their downtown and they need to utilize it 200 00:16:27,780 --> 00:16:29,240 as often as they can. 201 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:30,840 Yeah, that's the neat part. 202 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:34,440 That was the key word that the people that live here, this is your town. 203 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:39,080 I don't want to see outside investors coming in and driving the little guy out. 204 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:45,680 I want to see that, like I said, the quaint charm of downtown maintain itself in that 205 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:50,960 unique quality of the locals, I think is what made this place. 206 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:57,040 From restaurants to galleries to small business, it was just, it was local and I hope it stays 207 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:58,040 that way. 208 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaking of local businesses, restaurants, A&J, I guess you've had a long relationship 209 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:04,000 with Maguires. 210 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:05,000 Yeah, yeah. 211 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:09,600 Tell me a little bit about that relationship and how long it goes back. 212 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:16,480 Well, it was going when I got here back in 1987 and it's just, it's an example of how 213 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:22,540 a business saw an opportunity to give their patrons a sense of ownership by selling them 214 00:17:22,540 --> 00:17:26,680 a beer stein that was personalized and hung in the bar. 215 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:35,240 So they were part of it and that attraction has, I know we're approaching 300,000 beer 216 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:37,120 steins with Maguires. 217 00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:43,000 They're one of our oldest, longest non-military customers and they've just been absolutely 218 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:49,680 excellent and we've enjoyed being a part of their tradition and their customer loyalty. 219 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:52,160 It's just been an honor to do that. 220 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:56,520 Dan, real quick here, because I know an operation like this, it takes a group effort. 221 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:58,120 I just want to throw out some names here. 222 00:17:58,120 --> 00:17:59,480 Caroline, your GM. 223 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:00,480 My daughter, yeah. 224 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:01,480 She runs the place. 225 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:03,280 Jules, your office manager. 226 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:04,280 Julie. 227 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:06,320 Jeff, who I met, art director. 228 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:08,120 Callie and Remy, the two pups. 229 00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:09,120 The dogs, yeah. 230 00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:10,120 Have there been variations? 231 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:11,960 Have you had some other dogs long ago? 232 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:17,480 Oh my God, from, well, the day I walked in here, we've had dogs, yeah, I've got pictures 233 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:19,160 of them all too. 234 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:23,840 There's always been a dog in the shop since I've been here, just always, and they've been 235 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:25,000 a big part of the shop. 236 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:29,280 In fact, there are almost more, we have people coming by just to see the dogs. 237 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:33,760 At one time we had five, five dogs in here. 238 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,320 Megatron was one of my employee's dogs. 239 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:43,120 He was a severely abused, very big pit bull that just looked meaner and snot. 240 00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:47,760 I mean, he was huge, but he was the biggest love bug you've ever seen in your life. 241 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:54,080 We'd actually have people come in to see Megatron because he literally, a young guy named Brian 242 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:57,640 King got this dog. 243 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:00,920 Megatron was on death's doorstep, and we nursed him all back. 244 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:08,480 Everybody pitched in, he nursed back, and he became a really neat part of the shop. 245 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:12,560 Megatron's counterpart was Moon Pie, another rescue dog. 246 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:14,680 In fact, all the dogs are rescue dogs. 247 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,680 Every one of them, we've never bought a dog. 248 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:20,680 They've all just kind of found their way to us. 249 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:22,480 Yeah, the dogs are cool. 250 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:28,040 Once you come in and you see the dogs here, it's hard to imagine not having a dog here. 251 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:33,040 They do kind of fit with everything, and they seem quite comfortable as well. 252 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:36,720 Yeah, they own the place. 253 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:38,960 I want to go way back to Abbott and Jones. 254 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:44,520 I found an old advertisement, I guess, of two mugs that they were promoting back then. 255 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,600 I don't know if this was the 50s, 60s. 256 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:54,840 The AJ Victor mug at that time was the most popular, and then the AJ Swank mug, an 8-ounce. 257 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:57,320 Are these still in the product line? 258 00:19:57,320 --> 00:19:59,560 The Victor mug is kind of a unique story. 259 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:03,840 It was made by the Victor Insulating Company, and they started making mugs during World 260 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:11,560 War II because their initial business were making insulators for electrical wires and 261 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:12,560 telephone poles. 262 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:15,320 When the war broke out, they weren't stringing any wires. 263 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:17,720 They were using all the copper for bullets. 264 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:22,040 This company said, well, we've got to do something, and they started making these mugs, and they 265 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:26,480 called them Victory Mugs from Victor, New York. 266 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:28,480 They were sold to the Department of Defense. 267 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,560 Actually, it was done through the quartermaster, quarter business, back in those days. 268 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:34,200 The mug became very popular. 269 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:40,920 When the war was over, everybody in the military drank out of a Victor mug, and all the diners 270 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:46,240 and all the restaurants continued to buy this thing, and it just became a staple in coffee 271 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:47,760 shops and everywhere else. 272 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:52,440 To this day, Victor is no longer making coffee mugs. 273 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:58,160 They're all made in China, but it's the same style, same everything. 274 00:20:58,160 --> 00:20:59,520 That's the story behind the Victor mug. 275 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:03,720 Yeah, it was Victor, New York, and in World War II, that's referred to it as the Victory 276 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:07,440 mug, and that's how it got its name, the Victory mug. 277 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:12,760 Real quick, I think I mentioned at the top that you earn your wings of gold as an AH-1J 278 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:13,760 Cobra pilot. 279 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:19,480 Now, in order to earn your wings of gold, if I'm correct, you've got to go through API, 280 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:25,860 primary flight training, intermediate, advanced turboprop, and then advanced helicopter training. 281 00:21:25,860 --> 00:21:30,280 Back then, is that something that you kind of rolled into, or was that a goal that you 282 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:31,280 had in mind? 283 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:34,040 I've always been fascinated with aircraft. 284 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:40,520 When I was a kid, my dad was in the Navy, and we were stationed at Bethesda, Maryland. 285 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:44,960 The H-34s would come roaring over our house on the way to the helipad at the hospital 286 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:48,840 at Bethesda, and I became fascinated with aircraft. 287 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:50,320 I just continued to pursue it. 288 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:51,600 I would draw aircraft. 289 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:54,480 I would make model airplanes. 290 00:21:54,480 --> 00:22:01,960 When I was in college at Ball State University, Vietnam was just ending, and there was an 291 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:08,040 opportunity to join the military without a college degree under this thing called the 292 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:10,040 Aviation Officer Scholarship Program. 293 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:12,080 I thought, well, that's kind of cool. 294 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:17,680 I was bored with college and not really doing anything great. 295 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,760 I signed up at the age of 19. 296 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:26,040 Yeah, got commissioned when I just turned 20. 297 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,000 Finished up all the stuff the Marine Corps makes you do, and then came down here for 298 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:30,000 flight school. 299 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:31,640 Best time of my life. 300 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:35,200 I enjoyed flight school more than anything I'd ever done to that point in my life. 301 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:39,800 Not that I'd done a lot by then, but as a 20-year-old, it was fun. 302 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:41,760 It was a damn blast. 303 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:44,920 I couldn't believe I was getting paid to do that. 304 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:46,920 I can't believe I got paid to fly, period. 305 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:49,240 It was that much fun. 306 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:54,560 You also turned around as an instructor and trained not just Marine Corps flight students, 307 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:58,520 but Navy, Coast Guard, and Allied nations. 308 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:00,520 Some Saudis, some Iranians. 309 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:01,520 Yeah, no fun. 310 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,040 Being a flight instructor was a blast, too. 311 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,120 That was kind of fun. 312 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:10,280 Real quick, Dan, I've got some kind of lightning-round questions, just some silly season questions 313 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:12,320 I like to ask all my guests. 314 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:16,520 I tell everybody, if I hit on one and you're like, I'm going to take a pass, you can always 315 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,000 use a pass. 316 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:19,000 Okay. 317 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:24,000 Favorite Pensacola restaurant, if you and your wife go out to eat, or if you've had 318 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,440 a long-time favorite or a current favorite? 319 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:27,620 That's funny. 320 00:23:27,620 --> 00:23:30,760 My wife is the best cook in the world. 321 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:35,640 My favorite place to eat is a meal that's been prepared by my wife. 322 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:38,760 Yeah, no, I really don't have a favorite restaurant in Pensacola. 323 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:39,760 I don't. 324 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:45,680 My favorite place to get stuff is at Joe Patty's Seafood and cook it ourselves. 325 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:50,680 That is a destination, again, for people that are thinking about visiting Pensacola, you 326 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:52,320 have to go by Joe Patty's. 327 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:56,520 Almost everyone here will tell you that. 328 00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:00,920 Speaking of your wife, can you remember your very first date with your wife? 329 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:01,920 Yeah. 330 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:05,520 Again, I might be putting you on the spot because if you said, oh shoot, I don't remember. 331 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,520 Well, yeah, I do. 332 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:15,400 We met at a dance in a dome-off. 333 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:16,400 How beautiful is that? 334 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:17,400 That is just... 335 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:18,400 We've been together since 1980. 336 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:22,080 We got married in 1980. 337 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,080 As a young boy, let's go back to six, seven, eight years old. 338 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:26,560 What was your favorite hobby? 339 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:30,000 What was something that you liked to do back then just as a little kid? 340 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,640 Tear engines apart, figure out how things worked. 341 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:37,160 My grandfather was a mechanic up in northern Minnesota. 342 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,280 He had me welding when I was eight years old. 343 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:45,160 The first truck I ever rebuilt was a Dodge Power Wagon, straight six. 344 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:48,120 I completely rebuilt that engine. 345 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:55,040 Rebuilt a Buick Roadmaster straight eight out of a flexible bus when I was 10. 346 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:57,960 I didn't do it all, but my grandfather just here. 347 00:24:57,960 --> 00:24:59,640 Do you know how to read? 348 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:00,640 I said, sure. 349 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:04,680 He said, well then go get the Chilton's book and look up that model engine in the year 350 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,640 and tear it apart and rebuild it. 351 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:11,960 When you have a problem, call me and I'll come give you a hand. 352 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,760 I was taught at an early age that there's basically not a thing you can't do if you 353 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:17,080 don't try. 354 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:18,080 Great advice. 355 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:19,080 Great advice. 356 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:23,840 I was going to ask, do you have a favorite piece of lawn equipment or small engine equipment 357 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:25,200 that you like to get your hands on? 358 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:28,840 I've got an old 1924 Hit and Miss engine that I just love. 359 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:30,400 I like to fire it up every once in a while. 360 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:31,400 I like gears. 361 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:37,640 Anything that burns gas, diesel, and has oil in it and makes noise. 362 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:39,880 I pretty much like to mess with it. 363 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:43,800 Dan, are you a cereal or oatmeal guy or neither? 364 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:47,280 I am a Cheerios Almond Crunch guy. 365 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:52,200 I've noticed over the past few years, the Cheerios section would have regular honey nut. 366 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:57,920 I think that was it for a long time and now it's like a big wave of six or seven different 367 00:25:57,920 --> 00:25:58,920 things. 368 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:05,160 I look for the Bogos at Publix and when the Bogos hit, I load up on the almond Cheerios. 369 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:07,720 I don't put milk on them. 370 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:09,520 I eat them raw out of the box. 371 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:11,000 It's like a snack food. 372 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,600 Every morning I have my Cheerios. 373 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:21,520 What would you recommend to someone that maybe is 21, 22, or maybe 31 or 32 and they're thinking 374 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:25,600 about starting a business, they've got a passion, what's some advice you would give so they 375 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,960 don't jump in too fast and fail? 376 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:33,960 I guess that could happen with any idea, but do you have any advice where they can go in 377 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:36,920 and execute it the right way? 378 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:39,160 Everybody says passion, passion, passion. 379 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:44,440 I said passion is great, but if a lot of other folks don't have that same passion, your business 380 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:47,120 isn't going to go very far. 381 00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:52,840 I laugh because mugs, how in the hell do you have a passion for mugs? 382 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:57,840 And seriously, being in the military, one of the very first things I ever did, the first 383 00:26:57,840 --> 00:26:59,840 mug I ever got is up on that shelf. 384 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:03,960 It was from HMA 269. 385 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:04,960 That was a big deal. 386 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:07,040 You ordered your mug. 387 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:10,800 You got your mug, it's got your name on it with a call sign and it's got your squadron 388 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:14,060 patch on it and you've become part of the group. 389 00:27:14,060 --> 00:27:20,600 So I knew how important the mugs are and the steins are and how everybody that I ever saw 390 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:21,600 had one. 391 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:25,520 I thought if everybody's got one, that must be kind of a pretty cool business. 392 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:28,560 I mean, it's recession proof. 393 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:33,180 The eagle farts twice a month regardless of what anybody else is doing. 394 00:27:33,180 --> 00:27:37,960 So there's always going to be a discretionary income with the active duty military. 395 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:44,560 And man, making mugs and beer steins just made sense to me. 396 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:45,560 Let's give it a shot. 397 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:52,960 And plus, the graphics to it, the actual screen printing, it's challenging as hell. 398 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:53,960 It's a craft. 399 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:58,960 It's a highly skilled craft and I still enjoy it to this day. 400 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:02,960 So I would say find something that you absolutely love to do. 401 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:05,200 You think about it all the time. 402 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:08,360 You wake up in the morning and you're excited about going to work. 403 00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:13,960 You're not going to be excited every day, but that to me is the key thing. 404 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,120 Do you love this? 405 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:18,800 Do you get satisfaction from it? 406 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:25,200 And then going back to the passion side, make damn sure that there's a market for your passion 407 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,720 and if there isn't, keep it as a hobby. 408 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:32,500 Have a passion as a hobby and you might want to find something else to open a business 409 00:28:32,500 --> 00:28:33,500 with. 410 00:28:33,500 --> 00:28:39,800 But yeah, do some homework and like I see you mentioned the word niche at the very beginning. 411 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,120 This is about as niche as you can possibly get. 412 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:48,800 I don't know of any other mug shops that are, I've never been to another mug shop before. 413 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:50,320 I haven't either, yeah. 414 00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:54,440 Yeah, there's a lot of people that do ceramic decorating and there's a lot of people that 415 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:58,840 make restaurant ware and there's a lot of hobby shops that do this stuff, but there's 416 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:02,480 only a handful that do stuff on this level for the military. 417 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:07,280 Well, real quickly, I'm going to read, this is straight off the website that you guys 418 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:08,280 can find. 419 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:12,600 If you go to ajmugs.com, you can read all about it and you can see some examples of 420 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:19,520 their products, but Dan and Diane still practice the time honored art of hand screen printed 421 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:21,720 water slide ceramic decals. 422 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:26,120 It says we use the finest ceramic inks and precious metals available in creating our 423 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:27,120 decals. 424 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:32,300 All of our ceramics are hand decorated, which allows our customers the ability to create 425 00:29:32,300 --> 00:29:36,620 like you said, one of a kind pieces that you're not going to find anywhere else and the flexibility 426 00:29:36,620 --> 00:29:38,680 to order as many pieces as needed. 427 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:41,320 Dan, I really appreciate your time with me today. 428 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:42,640 It's been educational for me. 429 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:46,880 I think for my listeners, you guys hopefully got a lot out of it. 430 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:50,800 You can order online or if you're in town, please stop by. 431 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:51,800 You'll be glad you did. 432 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:53,640 Dan, I got one final question. 433 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:59,240 This is out of left field here, but I always like to get into silly season. 434 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:04,720 Have you ever, now this might be a Valentine's day or Mother's day or anniversary situation, 435 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:08,520 but are you ever standing there in the hallmark aisle? 436 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:12,860 Have you ever been brought to tears while trying to pick out a card for your wife? 437 00:30:12,860 --> 00:30:14,500 Just thinking, Oh wow, that's it. 438 00:30:14,500 --> 00:30:15,500 That hit me. 439 00:30:15,500 --> 00:30:16,500 She's going to love it. 440 00:30:16,500 --> 00:30:17,500 No, I have not. 441 00:30:17,500 --> 00:30:21,180 You got to be honest. 442 00:30:21,180 --> 00:30:22,180 Is there a movie? 443 00:30:22,180 --> 00:30:25,400 I asked another guy, is there a movie that makes you well up? 444 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:29,680 Is there something that's one of your favorite films of all time that just hits you right 445 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:32,680 where it had to be Patton? 446 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:33,680 Blood and Guts Patton. 447 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:35,160 I just love that movie. 448 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:37,560 No, I got there's so many in there. 449 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:43,440 There's such a wide range of emotions that you can put a movie into a category for that. 450 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:44,520 Yeah. 451 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:49,480 There's a ton of movies that if I'm channel surfing and it pops up on, I'll jump right 452 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:50,480 in and watch it. 453 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:51,480 I don't care if I've seen it 20 times. 454 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:52,480 I'll watch it. 455 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:55,880 Do you have a favorite actor? 456 00:30:55,880 --> 00:31:00,240 Robin Williams was probably one that I just absolutely respected. 457 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:01,240 I loved him. 458 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:02,920 What a unique talent there. 459 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:03,920 His talent was just unbelievable. 460 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:08,720 I still to this day, I laugh every time I hear his rendition of his, he's going to invent 461 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:11,160 a game called golf. 462 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:12,160 It's one of my favorites. 463 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:18,000 I love golf too, but he was a talent and he was a phenomenal actor. 464 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:23,320 Also Dead Poets Society pops up as a movie that to me was very meaningful and had a strong 465 00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:24,320 message. 466 00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:28,360 Yeah, he made some good stuff. 467 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:34,960 If I had to say my favorite actor at this moment from you asking, I'd say Williams. 468 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:36,400 You can't go wrong there. 469 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:39,200 Dan, this has been just spectacular. 470 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:44,040 I can't thank you enough for spending some time with me today and to everybody out there. 471 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:47,640 I hope you got a lot out of it as well. 472 00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:52,840 Remember, next time you're planning a vacation, come to Pensacola if you've never been here 473 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:55,520 and you need to visit Dan at ANJ Mugs. 474 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:57,520 All right, that's it for Dan time. 475 00:31:57,520 --> 00:31:58,920 You guys have a great week. 476 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,360 Go out there and make a difference in somebody's life. 477 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:18,160 We'll see you next week.