Keep Your People Safe and Dry with Antis Roofing Founder & CEO Charles Antis

Speaker A: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another, uh, episode of Authentic Avenue. My name is Adam Conner, and today I've, I think I've got the best interview that I've ever done. Not because of me, in no way because of me. I've done this hundreds of times with fantastic executives, multi billion dollar brands, Fortune 100. And nobody in my eyes has told a story better than Charles Antis. He is founder of Antis Roofing, which is based out in Southern California, and he'll tell you a little bit about that. But our stories today, um, go much beyond that business. And you'll see it. You'll see how he tells stories and his, uh, dedication to serving people and to giving and to lifting everybody that he passes. I really don't need to describe it at all. I'll leave some links so you can check out the sort of stuff that he does. But this is a little longer than our normal show and I just want you to sit back and listen to some of these stories and challenge yourself to think of somebody who speaks as passionately as Charles. I'll let you do it. So, um, this is Charles Antis. Charles, I was looking forward to this. One, and it's because. It's because two things. Number one, I know this is going to be an incredibly high energy conversation, and two, because the first time that we met listeners, we do a little bit of prep, uh, we talked about a hell of a lot of things and I was kind of jazzed that very little of it was like, directly tied to, like the actual business that you're in. But it's the story around it that you tell that I think is incredible. Um, for the listeners, the viewers, anybody consuming this though, can we just level set to start and say, okay, let's talk about the business for like a minute. Like, what do you, what do you do? But then, and we can see it behind you, keeping families safe and dry. Let's talk more about that experience and what it holistically means, because I'm sure it's more than just a roof, but can we start there?

Speaker B: Yes, yes. We can start with what I do. I am the founder and CEO here at ANS Roofing in Irvine, California, and we service exclusively homeowners associations from San Diego up to Malibu along the coast. And we keep them safe and dry. But you see that everywhere. You hear it in our company, in all of our actions and the way we talk. We enthusiastically exist to keep families safe and dry. That's what roofing is about. It's that basic shelter, that basic need, we provide it. And when you start to hold it that way, you see yourselves higher. You see the impact of all of your actions, of every nail that goes in, of potentially having meaning that can last. And I think that's a powerful metaphor that has carried on once we started to pause and realize the truth of our trade.

Speaker A: Yeah, uh, you're exuberant. This energy is palpable. And I know that, uh, you know that well and that you've kind of trained for, but I'll ask about that, uh, in a second because, um, this whole world that you've built, quite literally over people's heads, um, has started with, you've said a couple of things. And so I just want to run through a couple of quotes because I imagine we'll riff quite a bit. The first thing that came to my mind when we had our first discussion was that you talked at length and very colorfully about the power of maybe God. If I could even. I could probably call this whole show what happens when you invest in the power of maybe. Uh, the quote that I remember you saying was that if I say maybe to something, it always happens. What a positive way to look at the world. Can you talk a little bit about where that started? Was it when you thought of this business? Is it something before that? How long has that power of maybe powered you?

Speaker B: Uh, thanks for asking that, Adam. I'll try to go a little deep on that. I mean, what is it? I mean, I grew up in a simple town in Oregon. Myrtle Creek, Oregon, population 3,000. Everybody in that town that I knew, every man that I knew either worked in the forest or in the lumber mills. And. And it was this blue collar but proud environment where everybody's work was at risk of even death. And. And it was a proud place to grow up in. And yet there was something that I saw in someone else. And I'll never forget when I was 6 years old at the Wooden Nickel day parade. It's the biggest deal in town. And I'm down there at the end of the parade after the floats go by, the. The log trucks go by. Then there's this guy, and he's not like every other man that I remember. This man is named. His name was John Shirtcliffe, and he owned the local oil refinery. Looking back, he must have had a little more, uh, capability, uh, to help. But he stood at the end of that parade every year handing out dimes. He didn't just hand out a dime, but I remember he did something that these other busy, hardworking men weren't able to do. He had capacity in him. And he. He paused and he looked at me as if he grabbed me by the shoulders and noticed me. And he handed me a dime, which in 1968 could buy two candy bars. And I think that that was a really powerful thing that I didn't really understand, but I didn't even know what I was thinking. But looking back, I wanted to be John Shirtcliffe. And I think there's something right there. There's. There's wanting, seeing that he was being fulfilled. I mean, I got a good vibration from him. I want to feel like him. I don't want to feel like I'm risking my life all the time, at least for no reason. This guy was doing something and sharing. And I, uh, Looking back now, I wanted to be him. And how that showed up is when I ended up in California, I ended up, uh, not. I ended up looking for work. And I think it's worth it to tell you the reason I ended up looking for work is I was recruited when I was 21 to come to California and knock on doors and sell insulation. And I was doing that in the Valley, in the San Fernando Valley. And I knocked on a door and I. And I met a family. And they were deaf. They couldn't hear. Um, the parents couldn't hear. And I created a bond with that family that day. You know, like you do in sales, you want to love those you sell to. And I love this family. And I sold them. And I made like a thousand dollars on it. The next day, I went to get the deposit check. And as I walked up on the doorste to knock on the door, um, nobody answered. And I thought, well, they didn't hear me. They're deaf. And I knocked again. And this time the father saw me through the window glass, and he still didn't come. And I didn't understand. And suddenly I felt footsteps. And I turned and I saw a woman I didn't recognize. It was the neighbor. And she was pointing at me, yelling at me, asking me to leave. And I said, but why? And she said, because you lied to my neighbors. You promised them savings on their electricity. That is impossible. And you're a crook. Leave. And I was humiliated. And I was initially angry at this woman. And then. And suddenly it hit me. Like, I looked at the contract and I looked at her and what she was saying. I realized that it was true and I was selling something that wasn't genuine. I wasn't going to help this family. I was actually going to hurt that family. And I was so isolated by that instance that that day I paused, I pondered, and I quit my job. And I, uh. There I was, 21 years old, without work, but determined to find work, that I would provide value. And the only thing that I could see myself in at the time was in that labor. And so I looked for a labor job, and the only job that I could see was roofing. I had no experience, but that's how I entered the roofing market. And that's where we start. Um, I forgot your question. Adam. I'm on so deep. No, no, no.

Speaker A: I want to just. It's about the power of maybe. By the way, do you still talk to that. Have you ever, have you ever reconnected with that family?

Speaker B: Well, this is, this is what happened in that capacity. As when, When I. I'm sorry, yes. The family that I donated the first rift to. Is that what you're referring to?

Speaker A: Wow. I'm referring to this deaf family.

Speaker B: I'm sorry, the deaf family. I'm sorry, the deaf family. No, I, I, I, I have never heard from them. But I'm glad you asked that, because for a long time in my heart I was hurt and I was angry at the neighbor. I didn't realize I was until I realized, when I pondered and looking back, that that neighbor was the hero to that family. You know? So in my mind, yes, I want someday to get a call and it be from this older woman who lives in Arleta in the San Fernando Valley. And she's going to say, hey, I remember you. You're the guy that I kicked off the porch. Thank you for listening to me and thank you for building a company that's actually doing a service to people in the community. I think that. No, I've never heard from that family. I wouldn't know where to look. But I would love to hear from today, and I would love to show them how everything matters at Antis today. But in that capacity of getting the power of maybe really happen. And I have to build up to the. You know, I was desperate when I started my company. I knew how to solve leaks, but I didn't really know how to do much. I got a job at a roofing company. Uh, there wasn't enough work after a while, and so I could solve leaks. So I said, give me the leak that no one else could solve and let me fix it for free. And then I got a call one day from a woman, and I was excited because she had leaks in every room. And so I'm driving to this home. The next day, I just started my company. I'm desperate for work and in fact, I'm so desperate that I put weather stripping on the home office, which was a bedroom I converted to an office so no one would hear my daughter. But, um, I get this call from a woman. I'm going out there the next day, but I'm noticing as I'm getting closer to her house that the homes are getting more disheveled. I see graffiti and suddenly I get this feeling in my gut like, oh, no, this is not a good job for me. But I continued until finally I turned on the street where the home would be and I just saw like this dead grass and this, this small, uh, box home setback. And I'm hoping it's not it. As I go up to knock, there was like a one forty and a half. So I'm thinking maybe there's another adjacent property. But I knock on the door and three things happen. This woman answers the door with this tired look. Before I could say anything, I'm hit with the smell of mildew that's so foul it nearly knocks me down. Uh, and now I'm just fight or flight. I need to leave. But as I'm starting to leave, wondering what I'm going to say, I still haven't said anything. I feel a tug at my finger and I look down. And as I look down, there's a little six year old blonde girl with the biggest smile who doesn't. She's not in the same place as her mom and me. She is like, I've got a visitor and she's pulling me in her house. And I had no choice but to follow her through this crowded living room into this, almost an unsafe, uh, undersized, uh, hallway. And then she turns into this room. And I knew it was her room because she looks up and points to my Little Pony poster on the wall. But at that exact moment, I saw at her feet the mattress she slept on with mold and moldy bedding. And then I was stuck. I was really stuck because I had a mortgage payment to make. I needed to get out of there, but I couldn't move because this little girl, she was so nice and smiling, but I couldn't move. And then suddenly, after it felt like five minutes was probably 30 seconds, the mom with that same T walks back in. And something happened. Where out of my voice, out of my m, out of my mouth, the words came. I'm going to take care of your roof. I'm going to keep you safe and dry. And I. I don't ever recall saying that before, but there was that moment. And I want to pause on that moment. There's the. Maybe there was. It was an impossibility, by the way. I didn't have the resources. But who was more prepared than me at that moment, being the very best at solving leaks to help that family? And so I was stuck. When. When the woman walked back in, I just. There was that thing. I couldn't say no. And it was really. I wasn't saying yes, but. But something in the moment said, maybe I can help. And I did. And I remember after I said it, Adam, um, I thought I told a lie because I didn't know if I could. And sure enough, I walked up on that roof and it was shot. There was. There was no way I could just do a leak. It needed a whole new roof. And I had to go out and get volunteers. And. But I did. And that weekend we showed up and six volunteers gave that woman and her six children safe, dry roof. I mean, it wasn't my best roof, looking back, but it was dripping goop on the outside, but it was dry on the inside. And the family stayed in that home. And there's that moment that has repeated itself over and over at Anus Roofing. Every time we meet a family that has a leaky roof and they don't have the money to pay, there's this thing that happens, this capacity that grows if we don't say no. Now, I've said no to things in the past, and that is a final answer. It's always correct. But something magic happens in that doctor on an airplane moment. Let me explain. It's really important that you all hear this because you all have a moment just like this. And that if you're a doctor on an airplane and you hear that pilot over the intercom say, excuse me, there's a medical emergency. You and I know that. That doctor, we know that he or she's going to raise his or her hand and say, yes, I can help in that emergency. And we also believe that that doctor is not going to find out, uh, get a card and send a bill. And I believe the impact of that moment is huge. And I want to freeze on that and say, we all have that maybe moment where we can say yes, like a doctor on the airplane. And that doctor on the airplane impacts that passenger by saving their life. It impacts all the others that see that story. But look at what my moment had 32 years ago inside that woman's house near the LA airport. With her six children. Those kids have told that story over and over again. All the six volunteers. Do you know what happens every time I run into them? And I haven't for 10 years, but I did up until 10 years ago, sometimes the siblings, sometimes the volunteers. It was a high five, a bro hug, a hug for people that don't hug. And that's what culture feels like today at antis roofing, because we get to do that with big capacity in big ways, in big gives locally and across the country. And so it's a, uh, that power of maybe is a, uh, really important pause. And I appreciate that you let us dive into it.

Speaker A: Yeah, it's the most. One of the most colorful stories I've ever heard on this show. I've done it hundreds of times. I've talked to brands that uh, Fortune 100, hundreds of billions of dollars. And that is probably, that's probably. That's probably one of the most powerful stories that, that I have heard. And it's brings up two questions to me. I'll ask the story based one second. You. Obviously it's obvious over index on. On. On investment, however that word is defined in people, whether that be that first family that you gave that roof to, whether it be the people that you employ now, whether it be, um, the ways in which you give back. It sounds like a weird question, but why don't you think others invest in people the way that you so obviously and effusively do? I mean, because this is, uh, it's contagious. Like I'm, uh. I don't know anything about roofing. My uncle in my family, the most successful business person that I have in my family is a roofer himself. Got his own roofing company. But I don't know if he has a story like that. And I'm just curious, like it's so contagious. How, how did you get to this point? Because when I think of roofer in my head stereotypically, I don't have somebody who tells stories like this who is so, um. Like you. How did you. Have you. Have you done that?

Speaker B: Well, first of all, the capacity issue, why others don't do it so much as far as to the level that we do it. And I think that it starts with that power of maybe again, if you. It's the opposite of that. When you feel like there's not enough. And oftentimes when you start a business, when you start realizing there's all these regulations and there's all these additional costs, in fact you. That never ends. It's easy to feel like there's not enough. And so there's a mind shift that has to occur. It's like we all have to awaken a little bit from the way our parents raised us and see the world a little bit differently, especially in the way that people need to be seen today. And for me, uh, it's happened in some beautiful ways in the stories, like I told you. And it happened also sometimes with a gun to my head. Sometimes it felt like we had to do stuff that we didn't necessarily want to do. But it was really in changing the way that we held it that that made all the difference, even in the way that we serve the client. I remember I just started telling. I haven't told the story yet. I told. I tried to tell it yesterday, but my storytelling coach, we'll probably talk about later, was asking me some really great questions and in some whys and how it started. And, you know, not only is there a give in the way that we hold the community and the way that we hold our employees, there's a give to the client. It's a deep intent. And the story that I haven't told is. Is what I used to do. And I didn't tell this because it was too personal. I'm feeling emotional. But when you hear it, I don't know if you're going to get it. Um, you might, but I'm saying I don't know if people get it, but it's like I was so desperate for work. I needed every job. I had very few calls, and my clients were homeowners associations, like condos. And they would often call, and there would be 300 units, and they had 50 leaks, and they had no money, and they had to solve those leaks. And here I was. I may not at that time even been able to sell them a reroof, but I had the ability to solve those leaks. And I. I was desperate to be their hero. And I remember driving out to the community. There was this ritual that I sort of had that I would. I've never talked about, but I would drive to the condo. I would go near the area where the leak was. I would hopefully not be seen. I'd, uh, be by myself. I'd take a ladder, I'd climb up on the roof, and I would go to an area near where the leak was and say, it's leaking around a chimney. And I would lay down, put my back on the roof in a safe area, and then I would lay my head upon the tiles and Then I would with big desire want to solve that leak. I'd want to solve the problem in a way that they could get all the usable life out of the roof. And uh, as I laid down there imagining that most of the roof was in good area, just leaking at the chimneys or vents or whatever, I would imagine, what if I could design the plan that would keep this community safe and they could get all the usable life out of the roof. And then I would go into this thought and this is the part that's I think maybe a little deep, but it really worked. I would imagine I am water. It's really was. I would imagine that I'm a bead of water and I'm entering where it looks to be this hole. And how I would travel down the paper, the flashing drip up on the joists, the. The plates drip upon and find its way down. Because water can travel 50ft and I can't. I never told that because it sounds like I'm divining water. Like I'm a guy that's going to sell you that I can go find water in a desert and sell you a well. But I can tell you that's exactly what occurred. And then what we did is we have so many stories of communities that would do a maintenance for $50,000 instead of spending 3 million on a roof and we would get them 10 more years out of their roof before they needed to reroof. And so there was a deep, deep desire to serve the consumer in every instance. It felt like there wasn't enough, there's not enough money that I can solve all your leaks for $50,000 and we need a $3 million reroof. And yet when you think maybe there's capacity, it shows up. It shows up in performance, it shows up today, it shows up in performance. And where we have an expression in antis that every nail matters. And because there's 200,000 parts on the average roof we install, and if you have purpose in your company, then it shows up in your employees. And there's nothing similar about two roofs side by side installed by two different companies. Nothing similar. Every nail goes in differently. And at Ansys, we believe if we set up purpose right in our company, every nail can go in like it matters. And that's kind of where we've ended up by always looking at things purposely. I don't think I answered your question, Adam.

Speaker A: Um, no, I will. You know what the great part about this is? I was asking about investing in people, which obviously you do. You just told me about how you seek to serve is that I get so taken with these stories that it's magnetic. Like, I sure have some questions, some bullet points of me. I'm sitting here in the interviewer chair being like, wow, how do I help the best answer story get told? And I'm looking at it. I don't need to ask these questions. Not because I haven't done my prep. It's because it jumps off of the page. It flies out of the microphone. Now, I know that you. I know that that's. Nobody comes out of the womb with a natural ability to do that. But you have invested in people and invested in yourself clearly in this way, that desire to serve, even in the ways in which you said, like, the very tactile ways laying on that roof. I didn't know water traveled 50ft, by the way, uh, is listeners, viewers, you know that I pretty much always have something intelligent or eloquent to say, and I'm struggling to do so at the moment. But that's okay, because this is about telling Charles a story here. And I know that people have helped you tell your story, including that coach. And I was about to cut you off there. I want to ask about the coach. It's like I've never heard of. I mean, when I hear a storytelling coach, I hear like media training and all the CMOs that I talk to like, get that a lot. It's a very high, uh, It's a very. It's a very important part of their life. But what were you going to say there? I think I cut you off.

Speaker B: No, I think we're on the same topic as storytelling coach. I mean, I think that first of all, I do invest in my employees, anything they want. That's really how the conversation starts. Uh, uh, but I start selfishly. I invest in myself and I love assessments and take assessments. People, they let you see things differently. That's the only way you can grow and shift mindsets to keep up with the shifting in the world. And so whether it's disc or you emotional intelligence. Well, about six years ago, I really was going for a deep dive and I went to Seattle to the imperative purpose lab. Aaron Hurst, big project. One of the biggest purpose projects is the biggest purpose project in the history of the world. And I spent four days there, and it was. It was painful at time, you know, exposing yourself in front of strangers. And there were some big players there. And there was a particular pod that I was working with, and it was the CEO from Carnival, one of Carnival's Fleet Cruise Lines. Tara and Tara, I don't remember her last name, but Tara, uh, Tara and I had a discovery, uh, and another couple people in there. And she said as I was being hard on myself, that I don't manage people well and that I don't tutor people one on um, one. Well, she really with the re. With this program said Charles, that's not who you are. You are an ambassador. You are, you live to ignite passion in others for social change. You are awakened when you can awaken others to see their superpower. And suddenly I put that on and I realized, oh my God, I've been performing in the wrong areas. Let me do this and attract the talent. And so I started investing in myself. And there's. When I told Tara, Tara, I'm getting a lot of speaking engagements now and I'm not the best speaker. I just run on and on and on. And she said, I said tara, I need a speaking coach. She goes, no Charles, you don't need a speaking coach. You need a storytelling coach. And I'm like you. I didn't, to me, I didn't picture what you picture. I pictured like an old 80 year old mark Twain looking gold miner. I don't know. I did. I just.

Speaker A: Yeah, okay.

Speaker B: And so uh, instead I meet this silicone valley guy named Jay golden who's just a really deep thinker and he thinks that uh, he tells me things like, um, stop wasting people's time dropping names in with bullshit and with data they can't hear it. Instead he didn't talk like that. I made that crude. Don't waste people's time dropping names. Don't waste people times with antidotes that don't mean anything but give them a real story of change. And he taught me that stories are beautiful living things that if we go back and look at them from different angles, almost like a drone in the room, that we can have self discoveries and company discoveries. And he taught me how to tell a story. And there is a way to tell a story. And I have learned that. My people inside my company, I thought they heard me, but they could only hear one thing, kind of. But now I can move them in the most important area by telling a story. I do it every day inside and outside the company. And there is a formula to the story. And the story is you have to make the listener make their body react. Where there's a little pain, there's peril in the story. So their body has to excrete cortisol that uncomfortable. But you can't leave them there for very long, or they will shut you out, not only today, but forever. It's a survival technique of the subconscious brain of the reptilian brain. But after you give them that cortisol, you give them the antidote to that kryptonite, you give them the oxytocin by telling them that we gave them a roof. When I give you the moldy mattress, scientifically, your brain experiences. Because you've smelt mold before, you are in the room with me. Once I was told this by Jay Golden. The next time I told that same story, there were 600 people in the room, and you could have heard a pen drop. And I looked in the room, and he was right. Everybody smelt the mold. I watched react. So if you want to be heard and you want to move the dial, and when you mix purpose with storytelling, when you really tell the right stories, and there's a lot of great storytellers that tell the wrong stories, the wrong story is. Is like, uh, I did. I'm going to tell you really quick. I had candidates in the room three weeks ago from GAF's roofing academy. These were all men who had had difficult past, and they were suddenly here. And I told them some great stories, but I also, that day, started telling them about some of the R.O. mcDonald house gives across the nation. Uh, and, you know, and not saying it was the wrong story, but it wasn't the story for them right now. The story for them right now is, hey, you're in the trade where you get to provide that basic shelter. Your hands are the hands that are going to keep families safe and dry. You know, it's. It's. My point is, you got to tell the right story to the right crowd at the right time. And I'm, uh. The first thing I asked you, Adam, is who's your audience? I got to know where you're at, and then if I know where you're at and just accept it without judgment, and then I know where I'm at and what's exciting me right now and what's exciting me right now is the power of maybe. And you know that. And so we're moving it. And then. And so if I'm talking about what I'm excited about and I know where you're at, then we can move together. So every time I get into a conversation, I never tell the story the same way. I get excited when someone like you gets excited and asks the question differently. You know, if, uh, uh, and by the way, the power of Maybe might be the name of the book that I'm writing with Jay Golden.

Speaker A: But.

Speaker B: But right now, today, this morning, and the reason I got emotional when I uh, when I was telling the story about me laying on the roof with my head and imagining that I am water right now, the name of that book for me today is I am water. Because I think we're all water. In fact, I want to, I just want to say this, and you tell me if this has any, because you know how we get excited some days.

Speaker A: I. Yeah, I'm seeing it right now.

Speaker B: And, and so you know why I'm water? Because water always finds the weakness. It always finds the vulnerable and the failing parts. And that's where that I love that I am water because that's what I was to solve those leaks. So back long ago, that's what I was to go solve the leak on that family. And that's what we do in community. That's why we've had in this, right here in this, on the other side of that wall, we've had 50 blood drives in the last 18 months. We've taken in almost 4,000 life saving units of blood. Why?

Speaker A: Because we could.

Speaker B: Because there was a blood shortage. Why? Because I am water. Why do we deliver boxes of food with second harvest as part of the second harvest truck brigade? Because they couldn't fill every Tuesday at UH2 last year. So we sent a fleet every Tuesday at uh, 2 so we could deliver boxes. And I got to tell you, when I went to deliver food, I just got to tell you a quick story. This is why we do this. We get to have these experiences. I didn't want to deliver food, but when after the pandemic last year, a lot of our giving, which is how we're defined our habitat, we've given every habitat roof and locally for the last 11 years, we do meals of love and provide the roofing at Ronald McDonald House. But when everything shut down, we didn't. We lost part of our identity. And then Susan Degrassi, one of my VPs, said, Charles, we have food insecurity. Now. I always heard about food insecurity, but I didn't feel it. And now all of a sudden I pause and go, oh my God, there's seniors, there's children in our community that don't have enough food. And so I went to deliver my first box of food even though I wasn't comfortable. And I delivered a box of food to the second story of a condo. And I knocked on the door and a woman answered and she asked me to bring it in. And we weren't supposed to come in at that time, but I knew I needed to. And as I walked in, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a woman in an old, old, thin nightgown who was coming toward me. And it kind of intimidated me. And she was saying something as she got closer. She was saying, bless you, bless you, bless you. And honestly, it was feeling so uncomfortable, and I was. I was putting the box of food down to leave as quickly as I could. But as I put the box of food down and I paused and turned, all of a sudden I just felt, whoa, like, awakened in the moment. Like, instead of it being, like, hit with a dart, I was hit with this blessing. Like she was blessed. She was saying, bless you, bless you, bless you. And I felt blessed. I didn't know what blessed was until that moment. And I felt so good. And I remembered what we're supposed to do, how we're supposed to help. And then that woman said, wait a minute, and took off down the hall. And I thought she was retrieving a gift for me or something. And I'm imagining what I'm going to say. And instead she comes back around the corner again with her head sunken, holding a completely squeezed flat tube of tooth, cold gate toothpaste, asking for more. And. And so in that moment, you know, there was a beautiful time where I got to have that, oh, my God, this is what we're supposed to do. It doesn't matter if it fits. This is what's needed today. And then yet also, see, there's so much more we can do. And when you lead like that today, that is authentic leadership. And the other thing that, you know, you're all about authenticity. I got a riff on vulnerability because I'm really discovering something where there's never been more, uh, inauthenticity in the world that I've lived in than I see today self prescribed. And I'm not saying that angry. I'm just saying that as an observer and a little uncomfortable with it. And it. So it matters so much more today how you show up. It matters so much more today. I was going to riff way down further in that, and maybe we can later.

Speaker A: Maybe. Um, you know, I, uh, you know, I'm sure you got a ton of stories about all sorts of different situations like this. Um, you know, whether it be somebody who you're delivering food to and maybe you felt uncomfortable laying on the root, all the way back to that first story that you told me. What is Clear through all of them is not only this desire to serve, as you told me before, but also almost a duty, it feels to make more than just safe and dry, to make people's lives better. The reason why I say it like that is because I can't tell you how many times I hear that. And it'll be like a, um, yeah, uh, let's say somebody who heads the marketing for, like, a tech company and it's like, make people's lives better. Well, I, I get it. You know, I know why. You know, I know why the thing that you're doing is making people's lives more efficient or more productive. But at the end of the day, I just. I don't feel it. It's not pebble. It doesn't. It comes from their head. It doesn't very much come from their heart. Another quote that you had told me that I want to hear your thoughts on, and maybe we can get into vulnerability a little bit about it. You just, you told me that. A good mantra to live by, or maybe it was more micro than that, but I thought of it as macro, is to lift everyone you pass. Do you have. I mean, like, who have you looked up to? Who helped. Who lifted you? I'm so curious because obviously you've gotten the people to help you tell these stories well, and you have the stories, thankfully, that you can tell. Um, just as you lift everyone that you passed, do you have a few examples of those who we can either look up to or who you've looked up to, who have lifted you, who have passed you and lifted you.

Speaker B: Uh, I mean, there's. I got to go back to the simple stories because they define us once we pause and look back in our lives. And I told you about John Shirtcliffe, and you know, I, I recently read he's passed on, but he lived that kind of life. And there was another guy, uh, that I remember when. This is just Halloween time when I was 6 or 7. And, you know, I lived in a. In a relatively poor area. And you know, it was. It was middle class, but people. You get a Tootsie Roll or a, uh, wax, you know, wax lips when you trick or treat at a house. There was this one house, it was the Hannah house. They owned the Coca Cola bottling company. And we knew when we went there that they were going to have a witch's cauldron full of root beer that they somehow brewed. And I get this big mug of root beer and I was also going to get like, like a two dollar candy bar that was going to be the biggest candy bar. And, and so there was, had capacity. It was, it was whether, you know, it felt, it always felt like, you uh, know there's something always good about people that shared what they had. And I just think that I've always noticed that in companies and I live in Orange county where some companies do a good job of telling that story, whether it's Edwards Life Sciences, Pimco, Taco Bell. There's so many companies, Wahoo's Fish Tacos and you know, and they, they live in such a way where their employees get to see it and feel it, you know, and, and also I got to say, you know, it's all about real stories, how your real stories show up. We give out giving cards in our company, which are 513c gift cards. They can only be cashed at a nonprofit where people get to tell who they gave it to and why. And there's the magic, you know, and like everyone that knows me, I'm going to try to pull this up. You can see my socks. I have these striped socks.

Speaker A: Oh, those are some sweet looking socks I've been wearing.

Speaker B: I have 40 pair in my drawer. They're a little bit worn because I've been wearing them for four years on two campaigns. These campaigns have got every roof adopted on every Ronald McDonald House by all my family companies across the country. We've also just raised $13.7 million. Katie Rucker uh, my co campaign share to double the size of the house. But it happens because it's my real story and I'm going to tell it to you quick. I have seven year old twins. They're 100% healthy today. But they entered the world in chalk Children's Hospital, Orange county nicu because they were six weeks premature and they weren't talking, they weren't breathing, they had tubes stuck in them. Um, I go in there every day. My wife's Dawn's beautiful pregnancy went to us nervously driving to the hospital. We went to the hospital twice a day for two hours a day because the chalk nurses told us that if we took off our shirts and we laid our naked babies on our naked chest, that, that skin on skin treatment for four hours every day would give them the best chance to heal. So you knew we were there. And one day I was going in and by the way, every day going in there, the Ronald McDonald House station was right next to. They had two beds, you could spend the night. They had computers, they had coffee, they had snacks, they had a nice attendant named Susan, who was always saying, oh, come here. And I ignored her. I was. In fact, I feel bad today, but I was rude to Susan because I was so against being part of the families that had sick kids. I was in denial. And I was in my lane, and one day I went in and I was behind, I was late. And I was gonna have Charlie on my chest. And I was panicking because I had chronic heartburn that day. And I knew I wasn't gonna be able to do it. I didn't know what I was gonna do. And I'm on my way in, and no attendant was at the Ronald McDonald House station. And I looked down and I saw a little green Nature Valley granola bar. And I took it. I took it because I had no intention of owing anybody anything. But I don't remember anything, Adam, uh, uh, except for about an hour and a half later, I remember being in that NICU and laying back on that gurney, and I had Charlie asleep on my chest. He was sleeping. I had no pain. And I started to get that metaphor of, oh, uh, what Ronald McDonald House does, they keep families close so they can heal, so the kids can heal. And I lived it. So even though it was a simple 20 cent granola bar, it's had a huge impact in my life and the life of my stakeholders all around. And I think that's what, you know, if you want this to work, your real stories show up. You know, um, your real stories show up in what you do. Your people's real stories show up. And then if you want to have movement both personal to your brand, to your company's brand, to your personal brand, then you need to volunteer and you need to show. Show your stories, you need to live it and show that authenticity, because that's how people will know you, how you, who you stand next to. And it's really powerful when you carry the brand of good. People see me as a, uh, Ronald McDonald House representative. Let me tell you what that feels like to their reptilian brain. To the reptilian brain, the same brain that would have been nomadically traveling across the plains 10,000 years ago. It means I'm safe to travel with. That means for their children, I'm safe to travel with. Because I think it is unimaginable to ignore sick children. That's not words. But when you see someone who represents a Nonprofit like Ronald McDonald House, the reaction is there's a good vibe. And that vibe translates to safe families. The same thing. You know, we've donated all the rest for habitat we're gonna, in two weeks, we're gonna, we're gonna show up on a build site in Orange county and we're gonna drive the 500,000th nail into the 137,000 tile that we've donated roofing, providing free roofing for the last 86 families over the last 11 years. And we're going to have KTLA there to tell that story because it's a big story when you live this impact, because it makes us feel so good. Because we know that those families that go into those homes that we've helped provide, they are three times more likely to go on to further their education after high school. In fact, that is exactly what's happened. And on these 86 homes where we've donated the roofing, those families have gone on 76% of the time to further their education after high school. And that's a huge difference. And when you live that, it's powerful. When you live your real stories and people know where you came from, they can trust you. And the last thing I'll tell you as advice to my friends out there is volunteer, join the committee for the cause that's near and dear to your heart and do this, scrutinize who the leader is, make sure they're a good business leader, not just a passion person for their cause. And look at who's on the board and join the cause that has board members who have something you want. This is a really noble cause that you're doing. If you can assume those traits, then you can do more, be more, see yourself higher and do more with your company. And I think when you see it that way, it's really powerful. So that's the type of, of leadership that I recommend. If you're in businesses to make money over the next 10 years, you're good luck. You need to have a story, and your story needs to have a purpose and it needs to ring with authenticity. So when people hear it, they go, ah, they get you. And by the way, the vulnerability I spoke to earlier, it's really important. Like if, if I walk into a room and I'm dressed really good and I, and I trip and fall, uh, the vulnerability is this. Am I on my way down? Am I worried what people are going to say? And I'm. Is that look at my face or am I guffawing at myself? And, you know, there's a moment where you just let yourself go if you're too rehearsed. So I don't, uh, when I prepare for a talk like this, I can't prepare the words. If I have to read a teleprompter, I get it. I'll have to do it. But I want to tell it as fresh and real as possible. I want to make a mistake when I tell it so you can tell it's real. I want you to ask me a sideways question. I want you to qualify it so you can tell that it's real. And I think when you. When you start to see it, like you have to tell it like that, then people start to believe it and it matters more than ever. Five years ago, Adam, um, people said, don't be so vulnerable. Nobody tells me that today the world is craving authenticity. And it shows up by your. In unrehearsed. It shows up by the way you react when you're real in the moment. It shows up by you telling your real stories of how you believe you can share what you have your doctor on an airplane thing that makes the world a better place.

Speaker A: Yeah, I don't even know how to follow that up or close it. It I'm gonna. But I don't think I could do it justice because you told me story after story after story. To me, I think about this word, so shows con. Authentic. Avenue. I focus on that word a lot. Authenticity. I'm about to ask you a question to define that word, and I don't even know if I can because I feel like I've spent the last 40 minutes doing it. And I personally see the word as a lens. I don't see it as a thing. It is a lens through which people act and give and invest and behave. I want to figure out how to make it tactile. So I, in closing, would like to ask you this. You have all of these phrases and sayings and stories. If there were a Charles Antis dictionary and the word authenticity happened to be in there, and you flip to that page, what might that definition read? I want to know how you think about that word, how you define it. Um, and I know it's through the stories. I'm just curious if there's a prevailing sentiment through it all that you think encapsulates it. Well.

Speaker B: Well, I think authenticity for me is believing you can and living your life in such a way that you could tell anybody anything, 100% truthful. Imagine if you could live your life in such a way where no longer were there secret shading, no longer where. Imagine if you never resented, where you saw everything as a blessing, where you could pause in the moment and not know. You know, I think uh, authenticity is not knowing. Because in not knowing, we can hear and we can discover the most beautiful new things in a world that is changing faster than it's ever changed in any of our lifetimes.

Speaker A: Those are fantastic words to close with. I am thrilled that I was able to bring your perspective and story here because, um, I said it at the top. I don't think I've had a conversation quite like it, at least not here. So I am highly grateful for what you do, the stories that you tell, and the way that you are. Well, thank you for it. And, um, on behalf of the viewers and listeners, everybody who ever consumes this now till Eternity, appreciate you walking down authentic Avenue with me.

Speaker B: Thank you. And thanks, Brian, for the extra sound work.

Speaker A: It's a message that is so clear, and you saw it emblazoned behind him this entire time behind Charles. Keep families safe and dry, to help people out, to serve them broadly. Uh, the way in which he invests in people and himself, the way he tells stories, the power of maybe is like none other in his eyes. And now, hopefully, for the last 40 minutes in yours and mine, I encourage you to check out what Charles is doing, to hear more of his stories. He will have a book that's out at some point with changing title every day. And I hope that, if anything else, you take away today the ability to tell your own story and to be wonderfully colorful with the way that you do it, but behind it all, to have it be real. It's very difficult for me to define authenticity more than as a lens that you act through, but to be real.

Speaker B: What does that mean?

Speaker A: You could see it on his face. You could hear it in the way that he talks, the way that he got emotional over, uh, laying on a roof.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker A: It's not an inherently emotional experience, but it's something that he gets a lot of validation, fulfillment from. Find that for yourself. I hope that you do. Until the next time that we talk, I don't know if I'm gonna get something as good as Charles, but I'll try. Uh, in the meantime, here is where I am. LinkedIn. I'm right here. You might be listening to a podcast of me. You might be seeing this on YouTube. You might be watching a clip of this on LinkedIn. I encourage you to stay tuned because I'm going to try and tell more stories or let stories be told rather like this. As I said, this wasn't good today because of me. I had a couple questions that I wanted to ask, and we didn't even get to all of them. That's okay because I wanted him to come through. You, uh, could also write me an email. Adamauthave.com a u t h a v e.com let me know what you thought of Charles story. Write Charles. Go find him. Follow him, please. Please follow him. Follow his business. He's doing great stuff. When that ktla, I think I got that right. Story comes out. Watch that. Tell me what you think of this show. If you like it, if you want me to do something different, hate it. Uh, I will take any feedback that you have. Be real with me, okay? And until, uh, the next time, I will sign off as I have before with until the next time that I get real again with you. I don't know about as much as this, but hopefully, uh, thanks very much for taking a walk with me today down Authentic Avenue, and we'll see you later.