Transcript of Unleash Your Power: Integrating Life & Work with Tim Rexius

As many times as I think I sat back in my early journey praying, God, come on, I got the Powerball ticket. I'm telling y'all, we'll use this for good. I wouldn't have developed the skill set I needed had any of that happened anyway. I would have squandered it. I would have screwed it up. I'm thankful for all the prayers that were unanswered, turning me into who I am.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged, and today Today's guest is an unstoppable force in entrepreneurship. He's a visionary leader who's built an empire across nutrition, fitness, and mentorship. He is a force to be reckoned with. He is Omaha, Nebraska's finest. We're talking to my guy, Mr. Tim Rexius. Tim, how you doing today, brother?

Fantastic. Glad to be on the show. Honored to be here.

I'm honored to have you on, man. And you know, I, I'm a huge fan of you. We're gonna talk about the work that you do, the products that you have. Um, but I, I wanna talk about Tim, the human first, man. And I, I always ask my guests this question. What's your because? That thing that's deeper than your why. I call it like your true purpose and it changes, you know, from time to time as we mature and do other things. So if I were to say, Tim, in 2026, What is your because? Why do you keep doing all the amazing things that you do, bro?

I want to be a page in as many people's storybook as I can possibly be. You know, I want to be that for other folks that I didn't have. Yeah. And, um, I mean, the, the struggle of entrepreneurship and the journey is what it is, and it's supposed to be hard for a reason. Um, but I think I spent a lot of time in my beginning being like, man, can somebody just open a door? Just, just, just, just, just a smidge or, Even better, show me which door, you know, I'll open it myself. And I didn't have that. And so if I get to do that for as many people as I meet as possible, that's really my, my why, my because right now, like I, you know, it's, uh, and now that my kids are getting into those ages, you know, I'm like, uh, I hope obviously I'm getting them to the right doors, but I'm hopefully instilling in them, hey, open door for the guy next to you.

Yeah.

Because, um, that's how we succeed as a group, as a society.

I, I love everything about that, brother. When did you realize that that was the core of who you are? When, when you realized that that's a core value of you, uh, was it an early age? Was it as you got older? Has it continued to evolve that that's who you are?

Honestly, it kind of, I think it came more prevalent when I got older, you know, after I had gone through, hadn't had my tail kicked and my, my humility dished up to me in full platefuls, buffet style for years. And right when I brought on my first partner in my first company when I was, uh, 29, um, and gave him an opportunity, and honestly it was outta necessity. Um, at the time I needed help.

Yeah.

And, uh, I said, you know, he wanted to go start another store and I said, well, how much you just take that money, invest with me and let's partner up. I'm gonna bonus you this and that. I'm gonna give you this opportunity. And I really, it was, it was partially was nice for me to do it and partially because it was necessity and bringing Shane, it was his name, on as a partner was the greatest decision I ever made at that, especially at that stage of my life. Because all of a sudden what I saw was, even though I still own the vast majority of that company at the time, I never put titles on anybody. Nobody knew that he didn't own 50/50. I kind of just, you know, it doesn't matter what percentages or what, but I gave him equal say in everything we did. And what I had was somebody else out there sweating and grinding at the same level I was, who cared as much as I did. 'Cause I always say this, owners don't take days off. We, uh, we watch the water bill, we watch the light bill. Uh, you know, we don't let that toilet run all weekend 'cause that bill comes next month and it's like, wow, that's a big bill.

And I needed more of that. And I kind of saw a spark and I saw a spark in him too. You know, him being a few years younger than me and that pride, you know, everybody knows that, that little swagger in your walk when you get to put owner on your business card. Yeah. And I'm like, that feeling for me, God, I was addictive, man. It, it just, yeah. And then that pride in getting to be that page and for him. And I'm like, and as things progressed and we got busier and we realized we can only stretch ourselves so thin. Mm-hmm. I was like, you know, I don't think the answer's having more employees. I think the answer's having more partners.

I love that, man. And that, that kind of segues me to the next part I want to do. And I call this like, The Unplugged Truth.

Yeah.

And, and Tim, you give me a lot of great, uh, I don't even wanna say one-liners or mic drops, but you give me a lot of inspiration because you're right. When you talk about entrepreneurs literally have no days off, and I try to explain this to people, the, the mindset of an entrepreneur is you're not doing it for yourself. You have people that rely on you and the decisions that you make. That determine if they're gonna put food on their table that day. Yeah. It is gonna determine, can they go on a vacation, uh, that dream vacation that they have in life. And so a lot of folks don't understand, I don't even wanna call it stress, but just the mindset that we have as entrepreneurs. I'd love for you to take us through that mindset in the eyes of Tim Rexis.

Well, you know, I mean, entrepreneurs, we, everything makes a difference. Everything matters. The little things to the big things. We don't forget the little things because when we first started, it, Or most of us, it's just us.

Yeah.

We are retail, we are the janitor, uh, we are the accountant, receivables, payable. We do all of it.

And HR. HR. Yeah.

You can be your own HR. Hey, be nicer to yourself. You know, you're gonna get written up. And, uh, and I think it, it, for me, it, it makes the greatest environment for businesses that do, uh, get to levels of mine because I've done every job and I don't ask a staff member to do something that I'm not willing to do or still don't do. And so we had a, we had a, one of the gyms we own, we had a bathroom incident, right? Toilet broke, water's everywhere and all the things that come with that.

Yeah.

And one of my managers, uh, Noah Kajinga, great guy. I mean, he's new, um, he's new to the country too. Um, but he, he's like, I'm heading over there. Cool. I'll meet you there in 5. Yeah. And then he's sitting there just looking at me while I got, I'm running my mop bucket. And he goes, I've never seen this. I go, what? He goes, why is the owner here mopping? I'm like, man, we're all on the same level for the same mission.

Mm-hmm.

And as soon as, and the thing is, once they see you do that, you see them step their game up.

Yeah.

Because you have set a level and a precedent. And so for me, it's, you know, that's, that's the thing about entrepreneurship in understanding that, you know, we, we've signed up for something different than others. And now when it comes to. Entrepreneurship and that point where you don't get days off, I found that the solution to that, there is no work-life balance that doesn't exist. It's a myth. Correct. But I've made my life my work and I've brought my kids and my family into every step of the process. And I got this from an old pastor a couple years back, actually. I'm not going to take credit for it. But my wife and I were at service and and he talked about having family meetings. Mm-hmm. And so we, we started doing this and to, to be real with you, about 5, 6 years ago, none of my kids worked in the companies at all. And I told my wife, I'm like, man, I'm building this for them and none of 'em wanna work here. Now I get that. I mean, I'm, I'm a passionate person and I work.

Yeah.

I work hard. And, and after doing that, what happened is we started having a quarterly meeting. My wife's a phenomenal cook, which is why I have to work out so much. Um, you know, she's good. I don't turn down anything. She makes everything. She's good. So we bring them, their significant others, boyfriends, girlfriends, whatever, all the kids, get them, we cook a meal, and then we kind of talk about all the things that we're doing right now, why we're doing them, what the end goal is, what, as a family, what we want to do when we hit a certain levels of wealth. Um, and for us, it's about giving back. You know, I read this thing about a church in Florida. Uh, my wife and I read this press probably 15 years ago.

Wow.

Where they had been raising money for a building fund. And if you haven't been, I mean, every church I've been in has a building fund. So, building.

Absolutely.

Absolutely. And, uh, they, they finally had enough money, so many millions. Um, and they prayed about it as a church and they said that, you know, I think what we want to do to impact our community is bigger than building a building. So they went down to the hospital and they got the 100 most outdated, largest medical bills, paid them all off. Then walked up to every person's door and said, you know, God loves you. Here's your paid bill. And to this day, like right now, it just makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. So I told my kids, that's what we're going to do. If we sell the Omaha Protein Popcorn Company, we get XYZ, we're going to go as a family. And the kids bought into this mission. It's not about materialistic possessions. It's about being able to impact your neighbor and what that does for you. Because all this stuff, we can't take any of this with us. I'm very well aware of my humanity that You know, we're mortal. Okay. We're all leaving. And how do you want to go out? And so ever since then, now all my kids work in the companies and just because of that switch.

And so now work-life balance isn't so much about taking time away from work. It's, you know, like, hey, we all work together already. All right. For the next couple hours, let's not talk about anything business related. Let's just enjoy each other. Let's go do this. And now they get to come with me on the international tours and all that kind of stuff. And they understand what I do to a different level. So, Entrepreneurship, it's, yeah, there's no days off, but at the same point you can make it so that your family enjoys the ride with you.

That's it. You know, and I call it, and I got this from Daymond John, so it's not like I even came up with this term, work-life integration.

Yeah.

Right?

Yeah.

I like that. Like there's no such thing as balance. Like you've gotta be able to integrate. And, and to me, and, and this is where I'm gonna applaud you, right? I love giving Tim his flowers when I can. It's having the right, I don't even wanna call it support system, but the family that understands your vision. It's one thing when your employees, maybe your business partners and your friends, your close circle, they understand your vision. It's another thing when your family gets it.

Yeah.

Right? Because it, it makes it tough. I'm not gonna lie. It makes it tough when you've got a vision, but if you don't have that support, Right? Like you're never gonna be able to fully be yourself and then the businesses you have will never be able to fully be what you wanted them to be either.

Yeah. Well, it was like we, we've done trips and there were business trips where my family got to enjoy about a bit more time off than I did because I have to be on point. And right. One of my daughters had made a comment to my wife that I, I was a little more absent than, than they would've particularly appreciated. And at first it, you know, I'm not gonna lie, kind of pissed me off. So, but then, you know, I sit back, okay. What are they not understanding about the process?

Yeah.

And so that gives you, it's a learning opportunity. Everything's a learning opportunity. And I could, I have done things a little bit different. Sure. Gotta admit my faults. I want my kids to admit theirs. You gotta admit yours too. Um, and I said, I go, do you understand how many people rely on me to do what I do to make sure that they can pay the mortgage, pay the light bill, and put food on the table for their kids? It's a huge responsibility and is a responsibility that I take personally. Because I'm not gonna go explain to to Sean and Alejandro that, you know, they don't get this bonus, they don't get this check because I didn't do what was required for me to do. Because that they didn't sign up for that, neither did their kids. And if you want people to cohabitate around you and buy into the mission and buy into your thing, you have to give them as much respect as you would anyone else, if not more.

Wholeheartedly, brother. Yeah, wholeheartedly. You know, Tim, I also believe in Hot takes, right?

Yeah.

Um, and so this is gonna be a hot take from me.

Mm-hmm.

Not from Tim. I'm just gonna say it. I don't know 5 people that are better at building and expanding than Tim Rexius. I, I don't know 5 that are better than you. I'd love for you to take us in that mind of your business strategy, um, that visionary, just leadership that you have. Like, walk us through that, man, because you have, you have this thing that, that most people don't, which is why you are who you are, right? But walk us through that, brother, because I sit, I take notes, I study how you do growth and expansion, and, and I'm enamored by it, man.

Well, you know, I, I've, I focused on businesses that primarily allow me to use my skillset. Of creating relationships and making friends no matter what, that if I don't have the money for a huge marketing boost, if I don't have, you know, the, you know, you start me back 20 years ago, it was radio and TV, right? I mean, that's, yeah, I knew what I was doing back then. Um, and, and now it's into social media, but you know, even if you're not doing paid ads, I can still utilize that tool to project my, my brand, my personality, my ability to cultivate relationships and make friends. And if, if push comes to shove and the budget's tight, if I, I stick to businesses where it's relational building, whatever it might be, product, membership, service, retail, whatever, I can win.

Yeah.

Because I understand that key skillset that I have, that I have developed and harnessed over time, that without a budget I can still make it successful.

Mm-hmm.

And sometimes, you know, budget's tight. You know, we got through COVID and we're like, man, costs went up. Okay. Mm-hmm. And, but I can still do this. I can still go out and do the basics. I can do the guerrilla marketing if it's necessary. I can utilize social media as a tool. Um, to, to project that personality. I mean, it's, um, Gary Vee says, calls it putting in your 2 cents. Right. Okay. So put in a buck 80 a day, find, you know, 10 different hashtags, 9 different people, go into 9 different posts and put 2 cents of comments. That's, that's, that's 90 touches in a day. It takes 10, 15 minutes on your phone. It's just work. It's not hard. You just have to do it. And I think honestly, for me, it's just the discipline to do the things that I necessarily don't want to do, but I know are necessary to be successful. And it's just what you have to do. It's, there's no outthinking or outsmarting hard work. And the sooner people figure that out, the sooner you can get past it and just find a way to enjoy it or find a way to get it done efficiently.

And I think the vast majority of entrepreneurs who struggle and get stuck at that plateau level, it's because they're spending all their time trying to outthink hard work and realizing that there is, it's not possible. I don't know anybody who's super successful who doesn't really, you know, work hard and they put dedication to it. And yeah, do I want to pay taxes? No. But do I also not want to go to prison?

That's it.

So, I mean, pick and choose your evil, you know, pick and choose the lesser. And so I think for me, um, and then, you know, part of it is too, is as I've had success, as I haven't got addicted to the materialistic possessions, I just, I just didn't, uh, I saw too many times, um, and it's happened to me when I was younger. You buy that car, all right? And then the market turns and you have a choice. Suck up your pride and take the car back or make the car payment, let the business suffer. And most people choose the latter, unfortunately, because they're so busy with putting up a certain portrayal to society around them of success that may not, may or may not be at that moment in time, I didn't. And I actually prided myself for quite a long time on driving the oldest vehicle in the fleet. My wife made comments. She's like, you drive the oldest ride. We have 100 and some odd employees all between the ages of 16 and 25, and your car's at least 10 years older than all theirs. I'm like, yeah. You know, she goes, you can't keep putting logos in your car to cover up rust spots.

I'm like, yes, I can. She goes, you look like a NASCAR. I'm like, okay, that's fair. And so as you know, for me it was, uh, I just, I was able to give up a lot of the ego-driven things in my 20s and 30s, the nice vacations, the nicer house.

Yeah.

Those things that a lot of my friends were enjoying. Um, so that now I can do things that none of them could possibly dream up because I was willing to make that sacrifice. Um, and I think that's allowed me to keep the businesses fluid. So when I see an opportunity, because I'm not, chained to a certain debt load that a lot of them are, I'm able to make a quick lateral move and seize an opportunity that a lot of people couldn't. And I think it's because I've kept myself fiscally cheap.

Hey, but that's, that's the, the way that every successful wealthy person I knows, that's their mindset, right? Like that's, that's what it is. One of the things, this other hot take, that I have for Tim, and, and I'm gonna give you this acronym, Tim, um, cuz I put it together for you just based on who you are. So, so you can have it. This is my, I can't give you a lot, Tim, but this is the one thing I am gonna give you.

All right.

When I think of Tim, I think of dad, but I don't mean father. Tim's a great father, but you talk all the time about discipline, action, dedication. And what's crazy is you've said those things, you've said those words almost in every question I've asked you, those words have come up. And, and that's why I created that because when I, when I watch you on social, when I see your previous interviews, when I follow you, I look at your websites, that's who you are. Like I would say that is your brand, right? Like it's the discipline, it's the action behind it, and it's the dedication. And again, me giving you your flowers about what separates you from others are those 3 things, bro. Talk to the, to the entrepreneur that's watching or listening right now about why dad is so important.

Um, it's important because money comes and goes. I mean, if you're basing all your business and your, and your struggle just based on monetary acquisition or lack thereof, you're already defeated. It's gonna happen. I went from being the most easily loanable guy on the planet to, you know, post-COVID, like, oh, his credit score sucks. So, you know, because I'm cosigned to everything. And so when those things happen, it— and it's, it's nice when you have access to those funds. And I know I hear the entrepreneurs like, if I just had— could get this loan, if I could just get this. And, and I, and I get that, you know, we've been there. But there's a will, there's a way, there's a way around everything. You know, if, if Colonel Sanders can start Kentucky Fried Chicken and all he had was a recipe in his pocket, and walked around to 1,009 doors and got told no until he got his first yes, then all we're giving ourselves is excuses. As soon as you put those down and be like, okay, well, this would be a lot easier if I had this, this, and this, but I ain't got that.

So let's go over here. And you know, it only ends when you, when you finally give up. And if you're not willing to give up, you'll find a way. I mean, all the greatest heroes in society that I look up to are people who You know, a lot of them didn't start until their 40s and 50s, you know, like, and it's, and so I always say this because my kids call me old and I get, I'm old to my kids and I got a lot of gray hair and I'm a grandpa now. So like, you know, I'm totally rocking the grandpa vibes. Yeah. Um, but I'm in my prime. I'm in my prime. I mean, I'm, I'm starting 20 years before Colonel Sanders did. So like, you know, like I got 20 years on that guy. I mean, we're not, we're not even close to that. And so I think a lot of the, And the entrepreneurs who are maybe even their mid-40s to late 40s being like, you know, I, I think I want to give this a go. Cool. Do it.

Yeah.

Do it. If you have the drive and the discipline, you can do anything. And I, I'll, I'll give it to my mom. I, my, my mother, um, I mean, she said a lot of things. She's like, if you ever use your mouth for sales instead of getting in trouble, you'll be really wealthy. I was like, all right.

Okay.

Thank you, mama. And you know, if you believe in yourself enough, you can accomplish anything. Said it to me repetitively.

Yeah.

It's those cute things we say to our kids, but it's actually true. Yeah. And you just gotta believe it and you gotta believe it to the point that sometimes you're gonna get told no and you're eating crow for weeks on end. But the people who are dedicated and disciplined enough to go through that action all the way to the end are the winners. They always are. And I think if, you know, and it's, you know, for me it's, uh, I, I've had those times in my life where, okay, I felt bad for myself, feel a little sorry for myself, and then It doesn't do, it doesn't lead to anything positive. You know, the only person ever feels bad for you is your mama. Yeah. Ain't nobody else does. I just tell my 13-year-old this, he's playing baseball, right? And I'm granted he's way better than I ever was. I ain't gonna tell him that yet. But, um, you know, he strikes out shaking his head. I'm like, and listen, the only person who feels bad for you is your mom. The other team don't feel bad for you. They're not gonna throw you lighter pitches.

They're not gonna, you know, not throw you out at first base if you have a short hit.

No.

What's it for? Are you getting any enjoyment out of that? He's like, well, no. I'm like, cool. Well, nobody feels bad for you. And especially as men, you know, in the world, ain't nobody feeling bad for you. You look like, you know, like an easy target when you do that. Yeah. You gotta prop yourself up, you know, walk with pride and, and do the dance until you get there. And that's, uh, for me, it's, it's as many times as I think I sat back in my early journey praying, God, come on. Give me that power. Like, I got, I got the Powerball ticket. I'm telling y'all, we use this for good. I wouldn't have developed the skillset I needed had any of that happened anyways. And I don't, I would've squandered it. I would've screwed it up. I mean, honestly. So I'm thankful for all the prayers that were unanswered because it turned me into who I am. Nah.

And bro, I'm thankful for who you are, Brandon. I want you to know that from the bottom of my soul. And, and that's why I wanted to spend a lot of the podcast talking about Tim the human. Um, Tim the leader, because again, I don't think publicly you get enough credit for just all the great things that you do because we know about the brands, we know about the products, and that's where I wanna shift to. Um, I, I, I wanna give you the floor. Let, let's talk about the brands that, that Tim owns overseas, has owned, man, because like, I, I'm gonna give you kudos after you talk about 'em. Okay. But, but there's a, there's a couple of products that I can't live without and, and you are the owner of those products, brother.

Well, we started out with the Rexy's Nutrition stores. That was my first, I'm leaving corporate America. This is what I'm going to do. And that was the truest of all entrepreneurship hustles because I had no money. I mean, I, every dime I had left was on the walls of that shop. And so I've always explained to my staff, even to this day, 18 years later, I'm like, imagine every dime you had in your bank account. I want you all to write it down. I do this with my high schoolers. I do this with my college kids. I write it all down on that piece of paper. I said, okay, cool. I don't care if it was $1,000. I don't care if it was $10,000. I don't care if it was $500. Imagine that was gone and that was now represented by the products on the walls of this store. Now, how has that changed your approach to every person you meet, every person that walks in this store or walks by the front doors that doesn't come in? You know, change your approach to how you deal with people. And that's how serious it was.

And, you know, for me it's like, okay, well, nobody's gonna let me come meet, you know, do a sampling table or I don't have any free marketing. So, but I can go to 3 gyms a day every day for 3 years. And I did. I met every person who worked out at any gym anywhere. Um, and just knew that, hey, this ability to make friends and shake hands and be authentic and organic and mean what I say and it'll work. And it did. It worked very well. And then, you know, um, fast forward into 2014, uh, this very good looking blonde girl shows up at my store, AKA my now wife. Um, and in one year we went from one state to five states operation.

Wow.

And it just shows you how powerful and important it can be, the partner you choose. Mm-hmm. And when somebody else says behind you, you're not crazy, you can do this, you actually need to go harder. And that had never been told to me in my life. Everybody else said I was crazy. You're nuts. Have a backup plan. Where's that safety net? Don't do this, don't do that. That's what I heard from everyone, including my parents. Mm-hmm. And God love 'em, you know, my brothers. And you know, when Brittany came in, she was like, oh no, you can do way more than this. I'm like, yeah. You know, I was kind of feeling pretty proud of myself at that point. Yeah. Little bit, you know, cause I'd come through and, um, moved outta the hood and into at least a more decent neighborhood. And, uh, and, uh, she's like, no, you can go way harder. And I needed that, you know? And then my wife's an accountant by trade, so, which means now when I have a crazy idea, I actually have to bring the numbers to prove my idea.

Right.

Not just the crazy thing I thought of. So it's a great dynamic. And, and, uh, it's great. You know, then we got into the gyms. I was bodybuilding and I got kicked out of the local health club system here for intimidating other guests, which is absolute BS. I talk more than I lift. I'm a salesman. But it was more or less, I sell supplements. The gym chain wanted to sell supplements. They wanted me out of the way. Um, and so 2 weeks later we, uh, signed a lease on an 8,000 square foot bay and started our first Iron Heaven gym. And now we have 3 of 'em and they're massive. And I love it. It's so much fun. And now that I'm more in the retired space of the bodybuilding, I'm not doing it hard like I was before. Being that big in my 40s is not exactly the healthiest thing on the planet for a guy's heart. When I was in my 30s and I was indestructible walking around 320 offseason is one thing, but in my 40s, I'm like, "No, I'm just trying to keep heart healthy. I want to be that obnoxious embarrassing grandpa for a very long time." So—

There it is.

And at the same point, we started a nutraceutical brand just because, you know, as a CEO, I started identifying different health concerns that just happen when you get into your late 30s, you get into your 40s, and the CEOs and entrepreneurs, the lack of sleep, because we stress, we all do it. We can't, we try to turn it off, but man, it's hard, you know, and if you're worried about stuff and getting that good sleep and reducing that cortisol, and then most of the nutrition industry is focusing on copying each other's stuff and just giving it a new fancy label and a new name and charging you more for it. That's kind of the song and dance. And I'm like, let's focus on sleep. Let's focus on stress. Let's focus on health concerns specifically. And I've always had an adage, this, I'm not trying to be everybody's everything. I'm trying to be somebody's something. Don't try to fix the whole world's problem. Fix, you know, be like, hey, here's who I am. There's got to be people like me who look like me, who think like me, who maybe have the same struggle as me.

Let's fix that problem. Let's just do it. Do it. Stick to our niche and what we're good at. And there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, yeah, I mean, we, yeah, we'd be all trillionaires if we could fix everyone's problems. And trust me, if I had a solution for that, I probably would've tried it already. But I'm doing that. And then the popcorn, Omaha Protein popcorn, that's the one that, you know, outta nowhere, I mean, outta nowhere, I mean, had doing some diet plans from some pro athletes at the same time trying to convince us, well, he's now 7, but at that time, trying to convince my little ones to eat protein that didn't come in the form of a chicken nugget or chocolate milk's like negotiating with Al-Qaeda. So, um, yeah, it was like, okay, let's start goofing around. The one, you know, around our house, the one thing that they'll all uniformly eat is popcorn.

Right.

I can't, I mean, I get the bars for free, brother. They won't touch 'em. Um, you know, and cuz they open it up, looks like a chocolate cake on the outside of the package, looks like a brick on the inside of the package. They go, yeah, you know, but when you're in bodybuilding, That's a treat, but for the average person, it's not. Right. And, uh, you know, 600 batches. People realize the first batch of the caramel corn from Omaha Protein Popcorn took 600 batches until we figured it out. It's a year. I made 3 batches a night. My wife and I goofing around, just trying to figure out a way to, and some really bad ones. Like my wife says I'm dramatic when I say this, but I bled for this company. She forgot to take the seeds out of one batch and I cracked a tooth.

Oh wow.

So, um, but I mean, most of them were really bad. We finally hit a eureka moment and we're like, we're not going to do lower quality. I mean, that's the thing that's dominated in the, especially here is everyone uses the lowest quality ingredients because it maximizes profit. And I said, let's make this for like, we're going to give this to our kids and my parents. Let's make it as high quality as we can. And that's really the secret to our sauce. It's sort of like, it doesn't taste like protein. It doesn't, you can't tell. And it doesn't hurt my stomach. It's like, cause I use the highest grade in the world. I mean, the average protein snack can take 2 hours to digest this popcorn, 6 minutes. So, um, and my grandparents could eat it, you know. And so then we launched Optimal Performance Popcorn in 2018, and we had some pro sports teams buying it for pre and post-workout nutrition for athletes. And, um, and, you know, always some gyms and some stores started picking it up. I had some international contacts just 'cause I keep up with everybody and got it in Australia and New Zealand, and that's kind of where it went, you know.

And, and, uh, in about 2022. And I had probably lost a significant level of money into this particular venture. And I'm like, I don't get it. Like, it tastes great. Everybody who likes it, who buys it, likes it. But I just, this is where one of those times where I got to eat humility, like platefuls of it. Um, I became the president of the Chamber of Commerce. I got voluntold into that one. I'll never do that. Uh, and, uh, Uh, you know, that's my taste of politics. They can keep it. Um, and, uh, Hy-Vee Foods grocery chain here in the Midwest is in my chamber and one of the locations my mom shops at actually was like, hey, let us sell that popcorn. And I literally, my friend, I go, it's not going to work. I've tried that route and I tried to talk him out of it. And so we made a deal for consignment. I said, don't even pay me because that way I don't have to give you money back. And that's how much my belief in that particular general public had dropped. Yeah. They outsold my own retail stores 50 to 1 in a month.

And so I sent my daughter down there, my oldest daughter. Now oldest daughters have a special place for a dad. Um, they turn you gray faster. Okay. They challenge you in ways that your rest of your kids just won't.

Yep.

And so I sent her down and I said, go spy for me. 'Cause I, at this point I'm still bodybuilding. I stick out like a sore thumb. Right. She goes, little old ladies and little kids are buying your popcorn like it's their job. So I go down there, talk to the dietitian and they're like, yeah, it's the only snack we can get our elderly patients and our youth patients to actually eat. So I went into 10 Hy-Vees, same thing. And this is where the big dose of humility comes. Um, the Hy-Vee, the corporate headquarters over in Iowa was like, you should go to Sweets and Snacks Conference. And I'm like, they have snacks conferences? That's a thing? Brother, if we haven't been to a snacks conference, we have missed out on life because I went in Chicago in May of '22. Hershey's got like a 6,000-gallon chocolate fountain. I'm like, I told my wife, I think I'd rather be fat and just jump in there. Um, cause that just, cause it looked delicious. Right. And so we have a new banner backdrop and the whole works. Optimal Performance Popcorn was what it was called at the time.

And I'm like, here we go. And not a single person stops by my booth the first day. I'm out like $10,000 and I'm like, I'm upset, you know, and my wife, she's like, what do you want to do? I'm like, I kind of want to go to the bar. Kind of what I want to do. Um, and forget this day ever happened. And then this is where eureka and humility hit you at the same time. She goes, do you think it hurts us that it doesn't say protein or healthy anywhere on our label? Now, mind you, this is after 4 years and probably half a million dollars. I go, oh my God. Because everything I do in gyms and nutrition stores is all this related. I was so in my own field. I never thought. About asking, you know, outside the box. And so here we are at midnight at a Staples in Chicago, getting a 10-foot banner that says Protein Popcorn on it. The next day we safety pinned it on top of my brand new backdrop. We had a line of 400 people for 2 days. And it was on the flight home, my wife was like, you do realize you haven't gone grocery shopping in 10 years.

I'm like, yes, I have. She goes, no, you haven't. We don't let you go. Last time I sent you out for a box of rice, you went to Sam's Club, bought the 50-pound bag for $20, and it's been sitting in our pantry collecting dust. I'm like, all right. Cause I'm still operating on broke entrepreneur dad mode, right?

Right.

You know? And so I realized at that point I have 3 daughters and a wife, and my daughters seem to think a credit card limit is a challenge. Um, the amount of TikTok shop, Amazon, Facebook, Meta packages that show up at my house, I still don't know what it is. And I don't know why that guy's at my house 6 times a day dropping off a 7 packages, but these girls are my key demographic. So they designed the package, the Omaha Protein popcorn, stick with the same acronyms, the mascot, the popcorn flexing kernel, or as my daughter call it, aesthetically pleasing packaging. And launched in '23, and we're up 25,000%, currently selling in 16 countries, and we're opening them up as fast as we possibly can. And, you know, it was, a great dose of humility that led to, um, you know, to massive success. And it goes back to our former point when I talked to doing family meetings. It's around that time that we started doing that. Um, and realizing that your kids and your family, they may not be your exact skillset. They may not be exact clones of your work ethic, but understand that every one of them represents a customer base.

That their uniqueness to them. I mean, I made fun of TikTok, brother, for years. I'm like, that's kids' stuff, you know, Snapchat. I ain't doing none of that garbage. And then I started looking at my kids as a test plot. I started asking questions instead of ridiculing because I didn't get it. I'm like, why do you watch that? What is it about YouTube Shorts? Like, why are you doing that? Why'd you buy that? What about that ad? I just started looking at my 6 kids who span 20 years apart in age. As the ultimate test plot. I don't have to pay for market research. It's right in my house. It's right in my neighborhood. It's my neighbors. It's my parents. And looking at every one of my family and circumference in my circle as information that I should be a student to learn from versus sitting around boasting my ego about the 3 other companies I built. And I got back to that eager student mindset and asking my daughters no longer like, hey, quit buying that stuff on my credit card, which I still say that because I'm still on debt.

Of course.

I'm like, why'd you buy that? Why that ad? What about that got you to buy this? And all of a sudden it's critiqued this company into something that's growing at leaps and bounds because I became a student again, back to like I was when I started the first company. And that's been really fun. And, you know, I still don't understand TikTok, but I'm selling there. Um, and, you know, I'm learning.

You have to, bro. And, and that's the crazy thing. And, you know, I talk about this, I was on stage a week ago talking about buying and buying signals and buying habits and, and how we just buy differently now, right? Like, I'm sure your kids are like mine.

Yeah.

They don't watch TV, bro. They don't listen to the radio, but they still buy things, right? Right. Traditionally, you and I growing up, it was, If it's in a magazine, a newspaper, TV, radio, that's how we heard about something, right? Fast forward to the early 2000s. If it's not on the internet, right? You don't buy it. People buy so differently and you can't be stubborn. So if you're a business owner, if you're an entrepreneur right now, and Tim is exactly right, you can't be stubborn and you can't think from your lens, right? Like Les Brown told me. You can't read the ingredients when you're inside the box, right? Like, you've gotta be able to, to get other perspective and be willing to be uncomfortable because just like you, like, I, I'm still not really on TikTok, but like my executive assistant runs that page for me and I'm like, Chris, I don't understand it. I'm not trying to understand it, but we gotta be there.

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Well, and that, and that's, and that's a lot of what it is. And like I, I said back in '04, '05, you try and talk to me about a radio ad campaign, you wanna start They're talking about print. Um, I'm your guy, like a TV, you know, I was like, oh, you know, now you've elevated TV. And, and then as I've progressed into this and we're doing now, we're, we run ads pretty heavy for popcorn for a year across, I mean, like in 6 different languages. And, and so it's this whole, whole monstrosity. And I, I started looking at data and I, and so thank God my marketing company, they're fantastic. I'll ask questions. I go, talk to me like you're talking to a 4th grader. And just bring it down to my level. Just, just, and I started adding, cool if I ask, because I really want to understand it. Not because I'm trying to replace you, just because I want to make better decisions. And I said, why is it like this on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, whereas Google and YouTube, it's different? And they said, well, people who search on Google and YouTube, they're searching for it.

That's an active, interested person. Because when you're on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok with an ad, you're interrupting them.

Yep.

I said, okay. And so I took that as I, cuz my kids, my wife will laugh if I, if I got a sport, sporting event on TV and they start asking me stuff, I do this angry pause. What? Because like I'm into the game. Like I'm there.

Right.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm in the stadium. I'm such a sports fanatic.

Right. You paid to be there. Yeah.

Yeah. So at that point they're gonna interrupt me. I'm like, you better be bringing me some money. Or it better be funny.

Right.

And so that kind of changed our tune with what we're doing on social media. I'm like, guys, if we're going to interrupt people, we better be showing how to save a bunch of money, make a bunch of money, or entertain them.

Yeah.

Not just put an ad for our benefit. What are we doing for their benefit? So it kind of changes your mindset because I start to understand things and it took one of their people to explain that to me. I was like, okay, cool. And I think just taking this different approach of I'm a student again.

Mm-hmm.

In a space that I'm not terribly comfortable with, but is necessary. And realizing that the 18-year-old who spent way more time on this and grew up with this than you and I did, they're going to have significant more insight that's completely valuable to us because they're a buying demographic. I want them to buy it. I want them to like it. And then I start asking my mom, you know, they're in their 70s. She could kill me when she hears I said that out loud, but You know, um, yeah, I'll take it. And I'm like, okay, what are you watching? What are you doing? Like, what are you listening to? Like, you know, and she's like, I'm on podcast. I'm like, really? Fantastic. Okay. What are you listening to? Like, what brought you to that? And just start asking questions inquisitively. Um, and it's fun being the student again, man. Like it's, and every time I feel like I learned something new, I'm like, I got another inch, another link in the armor that we can go battle with. And I think that You know, that dose of humility is the best thing that's happened to me in the last decade.

Absolutely, brother. Absolutely. You've been really gracious with your time, man. I, I have one question before I get you my rapid fire hot fire, right?

Yeah.

And, and I call this, this question, the room. Like every great leader, every great entrepreneur that I know, there was a room, a meeting, a dinner. An introduction that changed their life. Was there a room, a meeting, or anything that changed the trajectory of your life, your business, career, anything?

Uh, yeah. I mean, it was back when I wasn't, and I took the break from entrepreneurism, um, and was working in corporate America and, uh, I won the Rookie of the Year and I won the sales awards and I got brought in the room by the CEO along with these guys who've been in sales for 30, 40, 50 years. Not realizing that I just broke most of their records. Um, and I was just excited and like, and, and they spoke some life into me. They're like, you're not going to be here long. And at first I was like, what do you mean by that? They go, if you did this at this age, if you're still here in 20 years and I'm still alive, I'm going to kill you. That's what one guy told me. He goes, you need to go out and you need, you, you need to be at the helm. You need to have boundless opportunity. And the only way you can do that is to run your own ship.

There it is.

And that was from the CEO himself. I'm like, you're, so I just made you a bunch of money and you told me if I'm still here, you're gonna kick my butt basically.

There it is.

And it's what an honor to be spoken, to be, to have that kind of truth spoken into you at such a young age.

Yep.

Um, and you know, unfortunately he, he passed away about 5 years after that, very stroke, very suddenly at 59, which taught me 2 things. One, None of us, no matter how much money you got, we don't know when that day's coming. So we need to appreciate every day. And two, that's the big guy upstairs telling me, he's like, all right, time to fly. And you know, so that, that was a room that I was in that I, you know, and, and thank God I was present for that moment. You know, I was present and I learned and I listened and, and they, what they said shocked me so incredibly much. And I don't, I don't know if I'd be sitting here without those words being spoken into me. So I always make sure that I invite people into the room myself, the rooms that we're in, and I try to speak something into 'em that makes them believe more in themselves than probably they ever have.

There it is. I love it, man. I love it. Tim, again, you're gracious of your time. I know how busy you are.

Thanks.

I call this the Unplugged Five. Rapid fire. I don't know if you're ready.

I'm ready. Let's do it.

Deserted island. You can only bring one snack with you. What snack are you bringing?

Oatmeal cream pies.

Okay. Didn't see that one coming. I thought I was gonna get a popcorn. So that's gonna lead me to my next one.

What's your favorite? I have an oatmeal cream pie obsession since I was like this big. That's my jam. So yeah, it's my dirty jam.

Same. Me too. That and some peanuts. That's the breakfast of champions for me.

Yeah.

Your favorite popcorn?

I'm a Nacho Cheddar Omaha Protein popcorn. I eat a bag of that stuff every other day. Every other day.

That is my favorite. Yeah. So when I said there's something I can't live without, the Nacho Cheddar, bro.

Yeah. The Nacho Cheddar is fire. It's fire, dude.

Absolutely fire. Every night. Like, literally every night. That's what I have. What's one tip of advice? Or piece of information that, that you want to give on supplements and nutrition, uh, for let's just say men over 40?

Ah, start taking creatine now. Take it every day. Never stop taking it. It's cheap. Really? The commodity has lowered in price so dramatically. Um, and you know, I spent 35 years ago explaining to people that no, this is not ruining your kidneys. 'Cause that was the thing that happened in the '90s. 'Cause all the moms against creatine. Now, they're finding that doses of 15 to 20 grams a day literally stops Alzheimer's and dementia in their tracks. And if you take that, you're going to see a 70% reduction of Alzheimer's and dementia across this country. The health benefits are astronomical. No nasty side effects, just the cheap, unflavored stuff. Add it to whatever drink you want, take 15 to 20 grams a day. Your brain, your mind, you'll stay just as sharp at 75 as you were at 35.

Can I order some from you now?

Oh yeah, I got you. It's cheap. Yeah. You know, it's, it's, it's, it's a great product and you can get it everywhere now. And it's, that's why I'm so happy because 30 years ago it was premium priced, but now you can, you can get it in bulk and it's great.

Okay. What's one book you're reading right now?

Actually, this is not a, a soapbox thing. I, I have a, uh, Moments for Men. It's a, it's a daily devotional, literally for men in business that I picked up. And, um, I've just been reading it, just trying to, trying to get myself back into the word more because I find myself using a lot of excuses about the busyness of my schedule, my travel schedule, not to be doing things for my faith and also focusing specifically from a man's standpoint. Um, and so it's a book I picked up that right now I'm going through. Um, and then Eric Obermeyer has a book I've been, I've been starting to pan through that. A little bit more right to the throat for entrepreneurs that I, that I've just picked up.

So I dig it. I dig it. And then the last one, 'cause I gifted you Dad, so you can't say Dad. Mm-hmm. When the story of Tim is being written, what's one or two words that you wanna make sure are in there that define you?

Ah, gratitude. Extreme levels of gratitude. He was very, very, had a lot of gratitude for the blessings in his life. Um, that to me would mean everything. And I hope that someday if my kids are told you're just like your dad, that makes them smile. That, you know, that, uh, that they have that heart on their sleeve like I do. And yeah, some people might call me a sucker and that's fine. I'm good with that. But I like the guy that gave a thousand chances. I'm fine with that. Title.

I love it. I love it. Well, if you are watching this, if you're listening to this, do me a favor. Follow Tim on social. Uh, go check out his many websites. If you're watching this, there's a QR code right behind his head. Go ahead and flash your phone on that QR code. See what pops up. But I can promise you this, I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm not gonna dissuade you. The popcorn is probably the best thing you're ever gonna have in your life. I promise you. And when you come out with papaya flavored popcorn, you gotta let me know. I think that should be the next one.

I got, I got you, brother.

Tim, I appreciate it, man. Where do you want people to find and follow you personally?

Uh, if you go to timrexius.com, that's T-I-M-R-E-X-I-U-S.com. That leads to all the socials. It leads to all the brands, all the businesses. I'm mostly active, like personally active on Instagram, and it's just Timothy D. Rexius on Instagram. Because I understand it. Eventually, I mean, we're posting on TikTok, but I'm gonna be real, that's my daughter. I don't, yeah, it's the team. But I'm very active on Instagram myself personally. But if you go to the website, at least all the businesses and the emails in there go to Alejandra, who's one of my assistants, and she's notorious for making sure I do not forget. And yeah, we get a lot of messages, but trust me, we will get to it because I'm honored and graciously honored that if people think I can help them, then I, I, it's my honor and duty to do so.

There you go. And I'm also gonna throw this out there, shameless plug for Tim. If you are the leader of a conference, of an event, of a mastermind, this is a guy you need to come speak. I can promise you he will move mountains and he will fill the room. So Tim, brother, I appreciate you more than you know, man. Thank you for being here.

Thank you, Ryan. I appreciate it. Incredibly honored.

You got it. And for all the viewers and listeners, remember, your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.