Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 A race event is wild, to say the least. I mean, they're, they're an exciting venue to be a part of. I mean, the whole, the whole racing industry as a whole is just, um, it's, it's booming right now, especially, but it's a, it's a fantastic sport to be a part of. And, uh, most people don't realize is that they see, they see the race event on tv and they see some fantastic racing, right? Especially in imsa, um, going on. But what they don't see is the behind the scenes of like, Hey, what, what is this sport really doing for, um, the fans? What is it really doing for its partners, for its drivers? What, what is this? What is all of this entailing, right? And how does, how is it, um, benefiting all those involved? Right.
Speaker 2 00:00:46 As our parents grow older, it can be difficult to guide them through their golden years, while still respecting their autonomy and fitting it into our already complex lives. Welcome to the Parent Projects Podcast, where our guests share practical wisdom to tackle the issues that impact adult children of aging parents. I'm Tony Sievers. Thanks for joining us today.
Speaker 3 00:01:10 You know, it's not every day you get an opportunity to really sit down and have conversations with elite, with elite athletes. And today I am really blessed to have an opportunity to sit down with our pride and our favorite here at Parent Projects Professional race car driver Alexander Kariba, who's, uh, joining us, uh, today from OUTTA State. Welcome. Well, there he comes, <laugh> Alexander, welcome into the show today, and thanks for joining us.
Speaker 0 00:01:36 Thank you so much. I, I like the term elite athlete, especially when I just destroyed a whole box of macaroni and cheese about 30 minutes ago or so, <laugh>. So I, I appreciate that. I really do.
Speaker 3 00:01:49 Well, you know, it might be a little bit easier when you've got that vehicle that's underneath you to come at it, but, right.
Speaker 0 00:01:55 You
Speaker 3 00:01:55 Know, it, it is interesting, and I trust that we will get into this, but I know how seriously you have to take that as a, the per just the mindset of a professional athlete. I know the time that we've spent together talking about these things, the commitments, the things, uh, that, that other people, you know, in your age might be going off to do that you're just choosing not to do at this point in time because of your laser focus on, uh, on a couple of those, those key goals that sit in your life, um, that, that really kind of bind us together. So, I, I look, I guess maybe the way to dig into this is to start to understand a little bit about, uh, you know, Alexander Reba and this particular thing. You are a piece that that attracted me into even opening my eyes and an understanding. So I'm gonna imagine you're gonna attract some others with this. And tell us about Alexander Corba and tell us about how you came into dedicating your life into the sport of racing.
Speaker 0 00:02:51 Yeah, it was a, uh, it's been a long journey to say the least. I mean, I, I started racing, uh, got my first go-kart at five years old because my uncle brought my, uh, my dad over a yard cart. You know, just one of those that you rip around in the yard with your cousins. And, uh, it was really dangerous as well, because you sat on the left side as well as the motor being on the left side. So if you ever turned to the right, it would flip. 'cause all the weight was on that side. So, <laugh>, I, I hurt myself a lot, uh, on that go-kart, but I learned a lot about driving from a very, very early age. And then from that point on, it was just, how do I do this all the time? Right? This is the coolest thing ever.
Speaker 0 00:03:31 And then, you know, as a child with access to the internet back then, right when I was around 12 years old or so, I started googling how to become a race car driver. And I f found out about this driver named Tanner Faust, who, uh, did the, the show top gear. He was, uh, sponsored by rockstar. He was the coolest, like, uh, you know, extreme sports. He did the X Games in rally cars. And I just thought, this is the coolest dude ever, and I want to be him. So everything from then on out was just, how do I become a race car driver and figuring it out, started carting up at, um, the local level, moved up to the regional and national professional level from there, and then 18 years old hopped in a race car for the first time. And it's been a accelerated progression, uh, since the beginning, that's for sure.
Speaker 0 00:04:20 And, and now, happily in IMSA and, uh, you know, figuring it out still day by day, you know, just, uh, it's, it's an extreme sport for sure. Racing is, is not for the faint of heart. Right. It's, um, it takes over every part of you as a driver, right? You have to be committed in every single way. Right. And, um, yeah. I, I like you were saying earlier, you know, it, you dedicating your life, right? Um, I've always said, I even had a conversation with a buddy of mine last night about this on how I am very blessed and cursed at the same time, because I've known since I was five years old, what I wanted to do with my life, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and I knew it was race cars. Now it's extremely difficult career and sport to be a part of, right. But I don't understand from other people's point of view, you know, they, they go to college and they change their major three times because they don't know what they wanna do.
Speaker 0 00:05:13 They thought they wanted to do finance, and now it's this, and now it's that. Right? I've never understood, for me, it's been racing since I was five years old. How do I get to the top level, um, since that point. Right? And like I said, it's a blessing and a curse because it takes over every part of you. Right. And if you can't have it, or if, uh, something's not working out or, you know, you hit a roadblock, it just kills you. Yeah. But, uh, yeah, it's, it's been a long, long journey to say the least, but couldn't be more happy to have, uh, parent projects as a part of it, and a, and a integral part of it now.
Speaker 3 00:05:47 So tell me what, uh, with, with the racing there, what is, what do you love? What do you love? Is there something you love most? Is there something, if you had to pick maybe the top two things, things or, or a couple things you really enjoyed most of it, one might be hard. Yeah. What do you love most
Speaker 0 00:06:01 These days? I would say the best part about racing, um, you know, the, the people are, are awesome around it. Um, there's so many different things. The people, I love the business, I love, you know, just the cars in general and, and the sounds they make and all those types of things, right? But overall, it's a, it's a hard thing for people to understand. But my favorite thing is that moment of, um, being in the zone, right? You're in, you are in a flow state, basically, right? Where when you're in a race car and you're on a fast lap and you're just ripping, and the car's just working, right? It's not pushing too much in the corners. It's not too loose or anything like that. Um, it's just everything starts to flow and you're in this zen moment of nothing else in the world is even occurring, right?
Speaker 0 00:06:49 You even thinking about anything, you are in that flow state of on the perfect lap kind of scenario. And that is by far the best part about all of it. That's the moment that most racers, as far as I know, but I definitely live for, is that moment of where your mind is completely empty and you are just acting completely on instinct. And it's just in the moment, zen. That's, that's the moment that I live for that I, I always say racing is like a drug, and, and the, you can never, ever get enough of it.
Speaker 3 00:07:24 So you, uh, a a zen, um, you, you know, you talk about that, you get, we got an opportunity to, uh, to come out. Uh, when you were up here, you, you, you, in addition to just driving around all the time, there's obviously a lot of practice and you work with one of the local tracks that's out here, uh, in the, in the Phoenix area. I take it that that is let's just a, to keep you in a car, to keep you sharp off of those things. But is that, how, how does that come into your life? How do, how do you do with those things?
Speaker 0 00:07:55 Yeah. Um, for any driver, you know, it, it's, it's difficult, especially these days in Motorsports because of the, you know, the cost and all those kinds of things to just always be in a race car, right? You don't get those chances all the time. So any chance I get to race anything, right? I might be racing prototypes in imsa, but even if I have the chance to hop on a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, and run laps at, uh, the, the school in Phoenix, then I'm gonna take that opportunity to do so, right? And to be able to just work on my craft, right? Because whether you're in that challenger or you're in a prototype or a Formula One car, whatever it might be, right? It's, you're always working on that craft, and you're able to get into that flow state, right? And feel the tire underneath.
Speaker 0 00:08:39 You work on all those, you know, even your reaction skills and, and, uh, reaction times. And, um, you know, that's what the simulator is also about, right? I spend, I'd say I, I'm not proud of it, but maybe two hours a day on a simulator just to be able to practice and to hone my skills and always be at the top of my game, right? Yeah. As well with that and, and, and being a part of the track out in Phoenix, you know, um, just to be able to, uh, coach and work with other people and be, um, sharing my craft is also a big part of it, right? And being able to teach other people why I enjoy this sport, why I love this sport, and hopefully getting other people passionate about the these, uh, this craft. Like, I'm,
Speaker 3 00:09:27 So when, when you, you, you and I <laugh>, I guess you asked earlier, it's gonna come up how we met. Maybe we'll talk a little bit of how <laugh>, how we met, right? Yeah. A hot tub. Hot tub time machine. My, uh, my wife before, before we were married, she lived in an apartment complex and and you, you
Speaker 0 00:09:45 Guys were even dating. You guys weren't even, we were, you were dating Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:09:49 Dating, yeah. I think dating we weren't
Speaker 0 00:09:51 Even was, or five years ago.
Speaker 3 00:09:52 Yeah. Yeah. And, and, uh, and she is from wi the Wichita, Kansas area. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and you and Steve were, were visiting and were, uh, from, he was wearing, I think a Wichita shocker. So somebody you were with was wearing a shirt. Yep. He was
Speaker 0 00:10:05 Wearing, wearing a Wichita. Yeah. Wearing a Wichita hoodie as we're walking over to Hot Tub. You know, it's one of those moments where it's like, okay, do you talk to the people in the hot tub at the apartment complex
Speaker 3 00:10:16 <laugh>,
Speaker 0 00:10:16 Or do you not make eye contact,
Speaker 3 00:10:19 But you know, to
Speaker 0 00:10:19 Your own thing,
Speaker 3 00:10:20 To the same degree? What got over that, that conversation and started it, it was sports. Yes. There's a sports connection, right? He is wearing that hoodie from that, from that team. And my wife's like, oh, that's where I went to school too. That's where I did nursing school. Like, right. That was awesome. And it engaged and, and one thing led to another, and, and it didn't come out right away. You were very, very humble. Uh, he was happy to lift you up and then threw you at where
Speaker 0 00:10:44 Uhhuh, yeah. Yeah. So you
Speaker 3 00:10:46 Got good wing, man. It's
Speaker 0 00:10:47 Always, it's always weird when, you know, like if I'm on a flight or something, I'll never tell anybody that I'm a race car driver right off the bat, because number one, you'll, you'll get that guy that'll just chalk your ear off the whole time and you were trying to sleep or watch a movie or something, right? It's, it's 5:00 AM I don't feel like talking about racing right now, <laugh>, you know what I mean? Uh, so it's always, you know, there's a, uh, there's several different conversations that I have, so I always, I don't lead with it by any means, but if it comes up, I'll, you know, you, you have to talk about it, right?
Speaker 3 00:11:19 I always would, uh, do people, if they'd ask if I do, I, and, and I just was in that zone off of that I'd, I'd ask, have you ever ever heard of Pampered Chef? And, and nothing against Pampered Chef, but man, nothing will shut down a conversation faster because people don't want to be sold to. They'll be like, ah, <laugh>. And I get, I get me time <laugh>.
Speaker 0 00:11:38 Yeah. I work with Amway.
Speaker 3 00:11:41 So one, you're right, right. That would be the same thing. Um, you know, you, you had two goals that I remember stood out in our conversation against in that, and that's, this is years ago. The first was you wanted to win everything on wheels. And, uh, and the second was, um, uh, that you wanted to be a Tim Tebow of racing and mm-hmm. And doing that, and those two things just like that, it still sticks with me because they're not, they're not things you, I think about doing that. I see. I think you see a driver and that driver just rocks at they're, you know, they're an NASCAR driver, or they're a Formula One driver, something off of that side. And, uh, and you were talking to me, I, I wanna say AJ Foyt, um, is a, is a driver, and you were like, yeah, this is, this is a thing. Like there are guys that just, they can win on everything and whatever they put through. And it's been a while since somebody's done that kind of a focus. How, how did you come into, is that just that love of driving and, uh, and the feeling back behind being in the zone? Is that where that comes through? Or was there a specific thing maybe with AJ or something else that, that set you in?
Speaker 0 00:12:44 Yeah, listen, if I could race 52 weeks a year, I 100% would. Right? And that's where that comes from. It doesn't matter what it is. Like I started, yeah, when I started racing carts, it was on dirt, right? And just because that was the thing nearby town, right? We'd go, my dad and I would drive an hour down south to Arkansas and run go-karts down there on a dirt track, right? Just because that was cool and it was near us, so let's do it. Right? And even though my focus then was, you know, to be racing on road courses like an indie car or an IMSA or in Formula One, you know, as a kid, you just, you just think anything would be cool, right? So, you know, even though that was the focus, it was just the thought of, okay, racing anything is better than nothing.
Speaker 0 00:13:28 Right? And so, hey, why not go race, uh, on dirt, you know, why not go race the Chili Bowl? Why not go race, uh, Lama or, or any of these types of races, right? Where like Mario Andretti and AJ Foyt and all those guys from back in the day where they drove everything there was to race, right? They were, I think the story is like Mario Andretti in the late sixties, early seventies, he was racing in Monza, Italy for Scooter of Ferrari back when old man Enzo was still running the team right? For Enzo Ferrari. And he ran with them. He won the race, or he, uh, podium, or he did very well. And then he didn't stay, um, after the podium celebration to like hang out with the team or celebrate or anything. He hopped on a plane, immediately flew to God knows where in the Midwest to go win a outlaw sprint car race, and then went and won that because it was like a $50,000 payout back in the, you know, sixties.
Speaker 0 00:14:32 Wow. So, yeah, it, it, those guys back in the day are my heroes because they're just, they, they drove everything and they won everything. That's the other thing. They were just amazing in every car they hopped in, right? I think, um, AJ Foyt is the only driver in history to win the Indy 500, the Daytona 500 and the 24 hours of Lama in a single year. And that is just an unbelievable feat. I can't imagine somebody pulling that off these days. Um, yeah. Because that, that's just unheard of now, right? And that's a, a major goal of mine, right? And obviously being in sports, car racing now, and in developing my career there, um, but by all means, if I get the call to go run an Indy 500, I'm doing it. If I got the call to, uh, run the Chili Bowl or run the Daytona 500 or any of those kinds of things, right? Uh, I would 100% go and do it. And that's what it comes down to. Going back to what we were talking about, about like, the Hellcat is, it's just racing. It's just getting to drive something, then drive the wheels off a car or race car or something on a racetrack. Like, that's just incredible to me. And, and it's that, it's that passion is always being fulfilled in that way. It doesn't matter what kind of car, as long as you're getting out and doing it, and you're ripping on a, on a race car.
Speaker 3 00:15:51 So, you know, that is a, and I, I can't, the closest I felt to that was in, in, in law enforcement, you're driving a car at that just, it is absolute adrenaline. You're, you're literally having to pick up coping mechanisms physically, like turning your head to keep tunnel vision from closing in against things as you're, as you're moving really quickly. I was always astounded by how the senses come alive when, when something like that happens and you're, you're at that, I, I can just imagine what that's like constantly in a car. And then you look at what happens that, particularly in this league, um, when you're out and you're racing, the, there is, there's a lot, there's a lot, there's a lot of complication driving a car in the first place, right? You're manipulating pedals and a steering wheel and your, your spatial recognition left and right and forward and backwards of what's behind you.
Speaker 3 00:16:39 And, and converting that down into some action that happens. It's already a, a pretty, pretty interesting thing. But now you're doing that, an environment in which people are, you have rubber that's being thrown up all over the place. You've got as perfect as you think of surfaces. It changes instantly, and you're ripping around that place in like 90 seconds Yeah. An entire lap around a course like that is, and you gotta not get tired of doing that, or you're running a Lamont or a petite Lamont, right? That is literally hour upon hour of, uh, you know, of, of driving and not of at that level of paying attention to that heightened sense of awareness. It's a very, it's a, it's an awesome thing, you know, I wanna Yeah. And,
Speaker 0 00:17:22 And it's, and it's, it's so much more sensory overload than most people will ever understand. That's why I love bringing people on like a ride along with me like you've done, because people don't understand that everybody drives a car, right? Everybody drives a car on the highway and they go to work in the morning and or whatever, right? I like to say that racing is nearly an entirely different activity altogether. I mean, mean the, the only similarities though, that you're holding a steering wheel and pushing some pedals, because other than that, it is so different and the sensory overload that, that it causes on your brain, right? And that's why we train the way we, that we do, we do the simulator and we do those kinds of things, right? To be able to, that when those moments come up, you're prepared for it. You've seen this a thousand times before, right? Not only, you know, the track conditions are changing on the racetrack, but the team is radioing you to Ellen, you, Hey, you gotta save fuel, or Hey, take care of these tires and keep the guy behind you who's on brand new set of tires and good on fuel. Keep him behind you while cutting through traffic. And it's just absolute sensory overload the whole time. So yeah, you're, you're definitely spot on there.
Speaker 3 00:18:34 Yeah. Yeah. There are, you know, now I start thinking about those things that did attract me into this. Some of our early conversations and earlier projects, other projects that we had worked through before parent projects came through, really came around, Hey, you had that passion. You wanted to drive anything on wheels that would, that matches up with a lot of other things that we were looking for, but, um, you had your faith, your heart's in a good spot for what you want to do. That second goal of yours, that's a pretty intense being. Tibo. And in what you do, you're, you're not a non-public. I mean, you're a public person, people see you a lot, and, um, and you're, your, your social media, you're obviously, you're followed well from that. And I only see that continuing to pick up good luck being able to, to sneak by on, on an airplane as time gets going. But, um, but you know, those things. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:19:25 Go ahead. Yeah, to touch on your second point there, Tony, of like, um, being the Tim Tebow racing style of, uh, thinking, right? You know, I grew up with parents in the, in the gospel music industry, right? And so I grew up in a Christian household, obviously, and, um, was raised by people who, you know, practice what they preach, right? And they, they were able to, you know, uh, uh, be examples of, of what the living word of God is, is putting out there for people, right? And I always saw it in a way as well, where they're not, you know, um, pushing their agenda and, and by any means, right? But if somebody asks, or, uh, you know, my mother's career in gospel music was definitely a successful one. Multiple world tours, 11, number one hits, and all of those kinds of things. But, um, to be around that as well, and see what her career did and how she handled it, and to be around that and seeing, okay, you can be a, a light to those around you, um, without pushing too hard for it, right?
Speaker 0 00:20:31 Most people, uh, and you're well aware of this as well from your time and, and the service and, and in law enforcement of that, you know, when there's something different about you of being a Christian, you don't have to push your agenda by any means, right? You people around, you just know there's, uh, people just know there's a difference with people, right? And they can see that people's hearts are in a different way when, when you just, when you just behave in a different way and you, and you, you know, love the, uh, one another around you. So that's really been my heart, right? And it is to be the Tim Tebow. But, um, to, to not push a crazy agenda, uh, right. I have a cross on the top of my helmet if somebody wants to ask me about it. And yeah, by all means, I'm gonna, I'm gonna talk to them about it, and I'm gonna tell 'em my testimony and, and you know, what God has done in my life, because I can't take a lot of the, uh, <laugh> the, um, work that I've put in without the Lord helping in a lot of the steps of the way I look at so many different things, even, you know, how we met or how, um, you know, last season came together for me, or this season or, or this race deal or something, right?
Speaker 0 00:21:41 Where it's like, I didn't do that on my own. Like that was 100% God helping me along the way, right? I just had to, you know, faith, how works is dead. And so I just had to put in that little bit of effort, but it was God putting the pieces together, but then seeing the dots connect afterwards and seeing, oh, he put that person in place, and this and that and the other, right? And to, to see that all come to fruition is, is huge. And yeah, I have nobody else to thank for it than than him. So, uh, yeah, that's, that's kind of what my, um, mission looks like as a, as a, you know, a Christian race car driver.
Speaker 3 00:22:21 Yeah. Whi, which I think is beautiful. It, it reminded me as you were talking through that, I wanna say it's Thomas Aquinas, and it said, you know, evangelize always use words necessary. And that is, there's a lot of how you see when you're, when you're on stage and you're performing, you're, you're doing thing, and that's what you are, everything you get on, you know. So that's, uh, I wanna hit some pragmatic side of, of kind of how this developed for us. We get asked a lot, how did you come, so how did that happen? The short answer is the hot tub involved <laugh>, that awkward story. But the other side are, is we got into conversations and, and over, over a, a course of a year or two, but pretty, pretty darn early of stuff, um, in our conversations, we started talking about, um, of just the use of racing. I, as I looked more and more and I saw people getting into the digital world, or starting to kind of disconnect, I always favor seeing family activities that are kinetic. Hmm. Uh, that, you know, they put their hands on and they can touch, and they're real, and they, they can feel those things. And, uh, and you, uh, you, you represent that you've got a sport that's got a high level of that. Talk to us about what a race event looks like today.
Speaker 0 00:23:38 Yeah. Um, a race event is wild, to say the least. I mean, they're, they're an exciting venue to be a part of. I mean, the whole, whole racing industry as a whole is just, um, it's, it's booming right now, especially, but it's a, it's a fantastic sport to be a part of. And, uh, most people don't realize is that they see, they see the race event on tv and they see some fantastic racing, right. Especially in imsa, um, going on. But what they don't see is the behind the scenes of like, Hey, what, what is the sport really doing for, um, the fans? What is it really doing for its partners, for its drivers? What, what is this, what is all of this entailing? Right? And how does, how is it, um, benefiting all those involved? Right. And it's, it's a, it's an exciting sport to be a part of because it's ever changing.
Speaker 0 00:24:26 It's constantly moving. And more so than I would say, even stick and ball sports, because stick and ball sports, they've been, you know, say basketball, they've been using the same form of ball for the past however long. Right. Well, embracing every single year, the technology is changing, right? Whether it's as simple as the fuel is changing, or it's, um, the, the, the entire cars are moving towards a different, a different type of, uh, vehicle altogether, right? And so it's just the, the, the, the events themselves, uh, and being a part of them, you know, from, from being a, a spectator, but also being a key member of a, you know, as a partner of a race team, um, you know what that's like. So I'm curious to hear what you think as well, like what, what inspired you about racing and what did you take away from your first petite Lama being there? Uh, uh, what was that, eight or nine months ago?
Speaker 3 00:25:23 Yeah. You know, it was, it was a different type of experience. And obviously, you know, we have going on here what, what indie looks like, you know? Yeah. For, for what we're, we're headed into here real shortly, uh, a little bit later this month. But the, um, you know, the petite Lamont in, in, in Atlanta, what I, what I thought was gonna happen, I think in there was really, I was prepared for the race and, and what would happen in the race itself, the additional events that come up, I wasn't as prepared for, uh, in IMSA in particular, the multiple classes of cars at the same time in that complication, the, the families that were camping, um, I, I got people coming and seeing, 'cause you, you, you don't see that on television until you get out there and you understand, oh, man, like this is, this is a whole family event thing, right?
Speaker 3 00:26:13 Like, these are, these are entire families that come up. They'll, they'll camp out there. They'll, you know, maybe some will stay in the hotels and come in and out from that, the access, uh, the time that, you know, those drivers spend back and forth actually with crowds, like in it, it reminds me a lot of what we have out here during, um, during the like spring training events where the kids, you know, the kids actually get access to be able to see. But these, these places are massive and they've just got huge, like, multiple things that are kind of happening up there. And so I'm like, oh, yeah, family's gonna spend an entire week here. I can understand now how a family spends an entire week doing something like this. Right. Um, that was, that was not, that wasn't something I was prepared for. You know, I think one of the, the big, and the first things we talked about was my acclimation to racing originally came by seeing what Target had done years ago when I worked out at Target, um, with their, with their particular race program.
Speaker 3 00:27:19 And, um, and when we were out there, in fact, when we were in, um, Atlanta, um, you gave me that opportunity to be able to see kind of that, but you were walking me through this deal and what this meant for, for business. I noticed a lot of the companies that were out there, you know, generally across all the cars were automobile type, you know, oil and wheel tires and, and wheels and, and other forms of racing and their sponsorship that kind of sat around there. But one thing that I saw very different, um, with Target was they, they utilized, originally, they utilized a car to explain an ecosystem of what the shopping experience was gonna look like for Target, instead of just slapping up what came at that. And they used that at a critical time, and you were explaining just some of the particulars to me about what that deal looked like in racing, which, you know, was beyond my privy at the time.
Speaker 3 00:28:16 But, um, but I saw the success of that. I saw that groups could rally behind it, businesses could rally behind it. They could be excited about it with something that connected people. Uh, and, and I saw that and recognized that in, uh, as an opportunity for us. When we talk about people about building this, you know, we an age friendly verified business network and, and the VB or the vbn, what is the vbn? What kind of businesses are in there? What is it that families, what types of businesses do families get involved with when they are going through a parent project? Yeah. And it is the immediately, I, I thought of that car and I was like, oh my gosh. Like, you, you, there's an opportunity here to put what those major brains are. So people go, oh, yeah, man, you've got real estate and you've got, you know, senior living communities, and you've got mobile dentistry and you've got mobile pet grooming. Like you've got, like, there's literally just this whole ecosystem of life that you're helping your parents get through. And that is
Speaker 0 00:29:17 Right. And for Go ahead. I just,
Speaker 3 00:29:20 That, that, that, it's a lot to break down for somebody, but pictorially a car could do it really, really quickly
Speaker 0 00:29:26 For sure. And for those of, uh, us who don't know, I mean, the target sponsorship, uh, back from, I think it was 26 years total, um, started in the nineties, ended in the late 2010s, and it's, it's referred to as one of the greatest and most successful partnerships ever in Motorsports. Um, and the reason for that is just because, like you just touched on the integration of, of their partners and their brands within a race program, right? And how they implemented that. And it's something that, you know, I think, um, most race programs would, would, you know, kill to have that kind of a, a, um, integration within their program for a successful company like that, and for all of their partners to become a part of it as well, right? That Target car is the perfect example, utilizing their network and, and leveraging their, their, uh, you know, their vendors and their distributors to make a successful program, right?
Speaker 0 00:30:27 Yeah. And how we can implement that. I mean, the, the, what we're trying to do here with parent projects is the 21st century version of it, right? Where parent projects, like you've mentioned before, is not a brick and mortar store, right? And, um, it's ai, right? But how do you, how do you show AI in person, right? How do you, how do you, well, if you have a race car and a racetrack that's showing off your distributors and the vendors that, and the, the full V B N network of what parent projects is, and a way for your, the partners to tap into the brand as a whole, right? And what you're doing in the marketing and the business to business of Motorsports, um, I think it's a fantastic program that we've created, and it'll only, um, get better as we keep going.
Speaker 3 00:31:12 Yeah. I, I, I absolutely think you're right. You know, we're gonna, we're gonna take our quick commercial break here. Um, and, and when we come back, I think we're gonna move. I don't think we're going to move into that next level. Uh, when we come back, we're going to talk with Alexander Corba about fighting that fast track to family connections using racing. And we're gonna talk specifically about where, what we're going to do as a sponsor with parent projects in bringing that ecosystem alive with our verified business network at AK Racing. Stay tuned for the Parent Projects podcast. We'll be back right after this.
Speaker 5 00:31:49 Hey, everyone, racing driver, Alexander kba here.
Speaker 3 00:31:52 Impressive
Speaker 6 00:31:53 Performance by Ariba. You doing exactly what he needs to do as he, has this guy been, been top car racing for years? No, he hasn't. It's his first ever professional race.
Speaker 5 00:32:02 Something a lot of people don't realize is just how much data is used in motorsports to give us the best possible chance at being successful? Much like how parent projects audience uses the AI platform. Uh, Alex
Speaker 6 00:32:15 Krieger, what a, an impressive young man just 24 years of age from, uh, Branson, Zu Arena Arena, four or five years ago, probably when he was just starting out, trying to make a, his way into the sport and asking all sorts of questions, the right questions. And here he is a few years later, all of a sudden driving this car and doing a, just a fantastic job. I'm really impressed. So happy for him. I know a lot of the fans are too. Know a lot of the fans and family members for Alex Reba will be happy. This team has been exemplary all weekend long, looking for the flag. Young Alex kba looking for the flag, his first professional race win, and they do, they win at MidOhio. Memo Gidley. Alex Kba, J D C Motorsport, what a drive this weekend
Speaker 5 00:33:02 From my small business to yours. Thanks for joining the movement to bring relief in right sizing all around the country.
Speaker 3 00:33:13 Hey, welcome back. And this week we are breaking down, finding that fast track to family connections, utilizing racing with Alexander kva, our AK Racing and parent project, sponsored driver Alexander, welcome in again, back to the studio. Thank you. Uh, just had a great op I, I saw wasn't lost on you. A couple of the little surprises snuck in against that particular ad in there to get a peek ahead. No, I, I thought it was great. What we wanna do, huh? Okay. Yes.
Speaker 6 00:33:42 I thought it was awesome.
Speaker 3 00:33:44 So, so we, we look ahead in this, we, we talked in the, in the last segment about obviously your passion to drive where all those things come about. We've talked a bit about B two B racing really has focused a lot the business of racing centers around businesses, working with businesses, and doing so in an environment that is on display to consumers, seeing those businesses do those jobs. It's a very unique, um, ecosystem of a, of a marketplace. And, and truth be told, it, it really rhymes well with the digital marketplace in which we see ourselves creating, right? Parent parent projects is a, it has a, an application that's AI focused application that assists these families working through their, their parent projects, through their, um, their family caretaking of a family member, their aging in place, their senior relocation, their end of life, uh, being able to pull all that stuff together.
Speaker 3 00:34:40 It is very much focused on them, what their needs are, what they want. It will continue to develop in that level. We found a group of businesses, it dozens and dozens of them, over 70 different service categories of businesses across 10 industries from mobile pet grooming, again, odd to, to doctor's offices and, and real estate agents. Uh, insurance and Medicare and Medicare, uh, Medicaid help. Um, those, those organizations are looking for a way to engage family members in a more authentic and a more kinetic way, rather than just constantly bombarding them with advertisement after advertisement that takes people out of the moment. And, and, um, and we saw, we really see a lot in this opportunity, uh, particularly this year, to, to do that with a branded car. What, what, you know, obviously a big piece of this for us as a brand is the person who's in there, uh, a we wanna win, right?
Speaker 3 00:35:43 We're competitive, we wanna hold a race line in time. We wanna, we, you and I have talked, we wanna see our AI logic be able to extend itself into racing and what that does as well, right? How can it help you understand what's going on and make those recommendations, but the, so you've got the natural's ability, the natural ability of the driver there to, to help succeed there on the other side, just the person you are and representing all of those brands in that ecosystem. How do you, how do you look at that? How do you break that down as a driver that's a kind of a billboard and constantly really on display with that responsibility?
Speaker 0 00:36:20 Yeah, it's a great question. I'll tell you one, it's very easy, um, to be a representative of parent projects. And the reason I say that is just because it's, it's easy to be, uh, supportive of a company that you 100% believe in, uh, but also a company that is, um, built to help people and built to be a, a, um, a major piece of people's lives, right? And how it can help all those individuals, right? And so that's very easy to be a part of and to represent in that way. And because, you know, and, and like I said, this affects lives. And, and it's, it's not an energy drink company, not, not not talking down to any energy drink companies, right? But I'm just saying this, this is a, this is a company that, um, I firmly believe in. I am 100% behind. And, you know, I, I believe in the mission of what you guys are doing.
Speaker 0 00:37:16 So to represent you guys is, is never an issue. And, and to be a part of it, uh, and be a part of this journey since the beginning, I've told so many people, Tony, that I remember when parent projects was maybe four years ago now, it was post-it notes on your wall in your living room, and it was just, the entire wall was filled with your ideas and, and how this, uh, chained into this and how this will work. And I remember that. So to be there from that point to what we are now, and yeah, it, it's, it's no issue to be behind something like that and to represent something like that when you've been around it from the beginning and you know, the individuals within it, right? I have a relationship with everybody who's in parent projects and a part of it, right? So it's a pleasure to be able to be a part of something like that, right? And to, and to support something like that and to represent it
Speaker 3 00:38:14 Well, it, it is, we, we love having you along again, your great, your great brand from that, uh, there's a generational aspect, and that's a big part of what we're talking about today, is the engaging of different generations. One thing that has really drawn me to this particular series that, that you really wanted to, to work through first, if you're gonna win everything on Wheels, is this, this Lamont prototype, uh, kind of series within IMSA in, in the work. And last year you had great success, great success. Li I like, I I, I hate to bring up that it's only second that it was second.
Speaker 0 00:38:50 Oh, I know, I know. We were, we were,
Speaker 3 00:38:52 I don't wanna that in, I know how close it was in that last race, but it was exciting to see those things happen. But man, a alive, you know, you listen to, uh, to the TV announcers within, you know, the commercials and everything else, you're a darling. You're a darling in, uh, in motor sports and that breath of fresh air, because you bring a very authentic approach. You're clearly very talented. You're a passionately driven person in what you do. Um, I also see you work very often heart first instead of headfirst when you're tackling these challenges. And that's a, that's a, that's a pretty incredible thing to do. All of them are things that family members are constantly having to do in order to work their way through a parent project. So, you know, if, if it's not enough to talk race line, and the analogy that sports analogies of that, of finding that one line, like in a project where doing certain things in a certain order and hitting something a certain way just does things fall together easier and you're going to win easier. That is, uh, right. And the,
Speaker 0 00:39:57 And the integration as well of, of what parent projects is. Um, like you've, you've touched on a little bit already as far as you know, in racing and, and you speak about the race line in racing, um, data is everything, right? Data is, um, our, our cars have over 200 sensors on them today, right? To monitor everything from, uh, shock pressure to, uh, throttle trace, to brake pressures, to, I mean, everything though, the, the wheel weight, everything is tracked these days. And all of that is in an effort to give us the best possible chance at winning a race, right? Yeah. And not only, not only, um, you know, to win the race, but to, to keep pushing that data forward. How does this data of what we learned here at this racetrack, how can we implement that at, that's at this other racetrack, right?
Speaker 0 00:40:49 At this track that doesn't have a lot of similarities, but we learned something at Ohio that we can now take to, um, Virginia right. And work on, right? And, and what that looks like as a whole is, and, and I think that, um, correlates a lot to what parent projects it does, right? And how you guys implement the data into not building a faster race car, but how do you build a more efficient platform for your users? How do you build a more efficient u um, platform for the V B N and how they can help people and how they can help the clients more. And I think that the, the, the synergy there is, is just, it just keeps going and going because, um, the, the racing and the race line like you speak on is everything to us. Just like the data for what you guys are doing is, is, you know, correct me if I'm wrong, the most important thing you guys do.
Speaker 3 00:41:46 Yeah, yeah. Well, it is. Well, and it's the mission, the most important thing we do is for that families making that connection work through. Yeah. Then the other side that I like about racing and, and it's, it's so, so we, we have a, we have a product and the, the product and the way ahead of it, of what parent projects connect, the app itself can do is much like racing, but the business of racing isn't just driving a race cart. It is honestly the B two B that sits around it. And how that pulls in and makes use of the race car, the race car itself. I mean, it, it's a wonderful thing, but if there weren't people sitting around there and there wasn't that engagement and there weren't businesses that were involved to make those things happen, it wouldn't work. And there's a lot to that.
Speaker 3 00:42:29 We look at parent projects and parent projects is it's, it's a, it's a fantastic, we're just blessed to have been able to pull together those sticky notes into a functionable and really high quality application. But you layer, you take that application and it can do something on its own. It can do amazing things for families. But when I give that to a series of businesses, now it's got value. And I say, Hey, businesses, you get to give this away for free to help those people that you see are most challenged out there. If you're willing to come into this and you're willing to get verified and you're really committed to being the vendor that they want, you're committed to being the company and the business and the ideals, and you're, you're committed to being age-friendly because this is what the families are asking for. The reward off of that is we give you this platform and we let you give that out to those families that we know are looking for it.
Speaker 3 00:43:20 And we're able to do that in a way where now we get to approach very similar to racing, using attraction over promotion. You don't have to push off of that. It just naturally is an attractive thing. This is something that can solve problems and work through problems, and it's gonna reconnect us. You know, it'll reconnect those businesses at the right time. Again, you've got, you've got a product that's high functioning, constantly evolving to what the needs are and the requirements are for the families, very dynamic off of that. But it's the businesses that really bring it to market. And those businesses have real needs. They've, they have, they have real business, they have real business requirements. They need to be able to make money, they need to be able to approach people, and they know that they wanna approach this growing group of people. This starts to become, uh, that, again, that attraction over promotion for them.
Speaker 3 00:44:12 I like, I like that a lot from business suites to how business networking works in the racing environment to, for us, how businesses work with other businesses to teach each other, how to do better at introducing the world to the concept of using assistive AI to help themselves. Um, it, it, I just, I love that correlation. I love that correlation. And that's, that's what I felt like I standing in Atlanta and I confident, we'll, we'll experience the same thing again here in Indiana, um, at the Indiana at the Motor Speedway next month just, or in September, just like, like, like it was like kinetic. It was the kinetic version of what we do. Right. Hundred percent.
Speaker 0 00:44:57 And it's so interesting also to see the, uh, businesses that, you know, are part of the V B N who see the connection now, because most people look at racing and they think, why in the heck is M and MSM on the side of that race car? I, I guess people see it and then they buy m and ms because they saw the race car. No, that's not the case. I mean, that does happen, but that's not the real value of the motorsports, right? And it's exactly what you just talked about in that how do we integrate all of these brands into this race program and how does it make sense for everybody, right? What are they looking for? What are their goals in this race program? Like, how can we make all of this make sense for them? So let me ask you this now.
Speaker 0 00:45:35 Yeah. All of what you just touched on then. Um, you know, there's a lot of racing series in this. There's IndyCar, there's F one, there's, uh, nascar, there's GT world cha, I mean, there, there's, if you can think of it, they're racing it, right? Right. So lemme ask you this, what drew you to m sss a as a whole? Because it's, it's a, it's very, um, it's very individual, right? It's, it's very unique in what it is. The sports car racing route is very different to, you know, NASCAR or something like that, right? It's not even the traditional sport that, um, you know, when people think racing in America, they think NASCAR or something like that. So lemme ask you why, what was the attraction of them? So what do you see them doing? What are we doing in the sport already and what are we moving forward on that you believe is the most beneficial for parent projects as a whole?
Speaker 3 00:46:31 So, great question. Great question here. Um, one would be, you've taken the hospitality, um, that exists, like the kind of the best out of other leagues that exists in here too, right? So they didn't go to recreate the wheel. There, there is a, there's like this, there's a, there's a, a battle rhythm to how things work that are awesome. Um, I gotta tell you, if I wasn't sold before, which I was watching multiple classes of car compete at the exact same time, blew my mind. I hadn't seen anything like that ever before. And it was absolutely like working a project concurrent, like trying to man, our, our target audience is not managed in Motorsport, and MSM particular tends to be 60 40 men to women, right? The, the, uh, really the majority of our, of, of our audience that's gonna find us first and the project leads are going to be, um, 50 to 65 year old working moms, uh, that are, that are, you know, just spending that time kind of starting to either their, their kids have left the left the coop and, and they're just looking for that next thing from that.
Speaker 3 00:47:45 But they're balancing that taking care of a kiddo. They've got mom and dad to take care of. They're balancing their household. They have work. Like, there's a lot of stuff going on at once and multiple, and it looks like multiple vehicles on there in their own darn race. They've got home and life, um, that they're trying to figure out how all those things happen. And oftentimes they, they compete and they gotta signal to each other and they gotta talk to each other as one comes through. And there's priorities for all of that. And everybody, at least everybody on the track all understands that. And there's, there's like, everybody gets it. It's kind of hard and, and you, you have an etiquette to it and how those things come, those things work well. Um, you guys in particular, I'm, and I'm looking big picture, right? We look in the United States to respond to those families of the 90 million retirees that we'll have in the system and the, and the, uh, social security, Medicaid, Medicare systems.
Speaker 3 00:48:38 Um, by 20 30, 20 32, these, um, you know, today there's about 48 million there. So it's gonna be a doubling of people that won't all be sick, may are gonna be healthy, but it's doubling of people on, on those systems, those entitlement systems they call 'em. I see them having a lot of hard times, uh, being able to put that out. And I think families are going to have to step up. That's a reason that we came to market when we came to market and how we came to market, was to be there as a solution for families. Um, IM ss a is looking out ahead the same way they've got, they've got their eyes out and they're not looking out 20 years in the future. They're responsibly looking out three to five years, uh, the collection of a single set of rules. It's a prototype. Uh, one of the first things I remember somebody telling me is, Hey, this is Ford versus Ferrari.
Speaker 3 00:49:26 This is kind of the modern, like this is what it grew up to become when it, when it got a little bigger, by the way. Awesome way to just get your bearings around what that looks like. But you're talking about a, a prototype series, so you're look and a successful one, they went to hybrid, not just electric, uh, which is, I mean, one of the first things you talk about loving is the sound and the feeling and all those things. Oh yeah. I think that that's gonna change a lot in an electric series. Um, but, but that aside, the, um, the fact that you guys set and said, okay, well, to, to run a prototype globally, you know, and we hope to help globally, 340 million people are in the same situation as our 90 million here in the states. When you look at India or you look at other, other countries that are already overwhelmed like Japan and, and Germany heading in that direction too.
Speaker 3 00:50:19 Those we know we can help others. IMSA looked ahead at that. IMSA said, okay, well we're gonna have a uniform set. I mean, we should be able to race the same, same crew and the same car everywhere against it and see where it all comes out, especially if we're gonna prototype different materials and hybrid cars and where all that comes. That makes sense. I think it's a reason that that SSA's having the success that it's having right now and why I believe it's gonna continue growing and will continue to advance into that international footprint. It also, yeah, we're
Speaker 0 00:50:47 Definitely, we're in a golden era of sports car racing right now where with, where Im SSA is at, um, in the development as well with the, the manufacturers, right? And how this isn't just a random racing class. I mean, the racing is fantastic. The, the battles on track are unbelievable, right? But more so than that is the behind the scenes again of what the manufacturers are doing, right? They see the writing on the wall of where is, where is the internal combustion engine going? What technology needs to be improved these days, right? And with that new G T P class and coming back to G T P, um, with these new hybrids being at, at as at the forefront as they are, I mean, they're changing, they're, they're changing the mold on, on what the car industry may look like in, in five or to 10 years, right? Well,
Speaker 3 00:51:41 Or what it's gonna look like. They're gonna, they're going to set that base off of some of these and more than just what it's gonna be. They're gonna walk the, they're developing the bridge from point A to point B. Maybe you go all electric, you're not gonna get there without a strong hybrid option. It doesn't seem to be, and I'm not a car expert, but that seems to be a really important thing as we're developing infrastructure and we're trying to come up to speed and how all those things work. And, and that is, again, it, it draws a great parallel for us with as much technology and as fast as it's changing to be surrounded in an environment of people who are looking ahead and then trying to map how to go from A to B instead of just saying, well, we're gonna start, we're gonna start a B. And what we end up with, we, we kind of end up with that. That leaves a lot of people behind and, and that kind of planning gets a lot of people into trouble. Uh, so yeah. I, I, I think I see a lot of that. Where, where, do you see what, I mean, what do you see the best parts of where SSA is hitting into this golden era? What do you think are the, the top assets for that?
Speaker 0 00:52:41 I mean, I think the, the, like I just touched on a little bit. The, the innovation that's gonna take place with, you know, if anything is done at the absolute breaking point of technology, like racing is at the absolute limit. It is pushing the envelope at all times, right? Whether it's been Ford versus Ferrari back in the sixties all the way to today, right? It's how do we push the envelope as hard as we possibly can? Yeah. Well, when you're pushing that hard and you're developing technology that hard because you wanna beat that guy next to you that bad, and those manufacturers are, are just as the individuals, right? And the within the cars, right? Innovation, taking the trickling down of technology that will come from the, these new gtps and, and hybrids will come down to our road cars, right? And we will see the innovation starting to take place, and all of a sudden batteries aren't gonna be crazy expensive.
Speaker 0 00:53:39 All of a sudden, these batteries are much easier to change because they figure out how to change them during an IMSA race in 12 minutes, right? And all of a sudden, the whole industry is starting to change as a whole because of the innovation that was developed at the absolute peak of what is needed to win on the racetrack. Right. And I'm really excited to see what that innovation looks like and what's gonna take place, you know, moving forward. Because more and more classes, or more and more manufacturers are joining the class, right? Um, in the first year of G T P, um, alone this year there was four manufacturers. Well, next year I believe they're looking at eight, and then they're gonna have a total of something like 15 or 16 eventually at Lamont. Right? And those aren't small brands. I mean, we're talking about Acura, Porsche, um, Cadillac, um, Lamborghini, Ferrari. I mean, it is these massive companies that are all becoming a part of this and want to beat each other on the racetrack. And the innovation that will take place after that is, is gonna be incredible.
Speaker 3 00:54:43 Well, you know, okay. One of the other things that, that I don't wanna miss to, to forget here or to mention is that brand. So we, the, the spread of different brands and the interest against those things. Uh, in the m SSA series, you've got all these different car manufacturers that sit within and they all evoke different emotion and different, different groups of people that follow those. One thing that we really knew we needed to create in our technologies, and as we continued fine tuning our technologies and parent projects, was making sure that we were approachable by all segments of the population by everybody out there. And so finding a sport, uh, in particular, 'cause we wanted something kinetic to connect people. And so, you know, Motorsports is where we went down to that M ss a capability to have accurate at Lamborghini or Ferrari.
Speaker 3 00:55:35 I mean, you just, you get a mix of people that are, that are, are a true cross section too. And when you see that, you see this when you're at the race, it's a complete cross section. It's not, everybody's not the, the same color and, and class and, and it, like, you've really got a big mix of stuff that everybody kind of sets that aside and they go, they just, they exist together. <laugh>, it's, it's a really awesome, awesome environment. It seems a really unique American kind of melting pot environment. But, uh, my, my hope is that it's the best of America that we do take into other countries around the world in a healthy way. Uh, and, and I see that on display there, it makes it, it makes sure that they're innovating in a, um, they're innovating in an accessible way and in a way that's taking into account the needs of, of the whole country, uh, instead of just maybe one segment of the population. And that I, I see that being unique to em SSA right now in the United States. I'm sure we'll see others that can do that too, but, um, and, but it, it just really, it's highlighted I think really well, and that, that fits brand for us. That's something we're interested in
Speaker 0 00:56:41 For sure. And it's, it, and like you already touched on, it's a full melting pot of the United States and, and sometimes not the United States, right? I mean, it's, it, it's becoming international now, right? And so, you know, as a, as a series, um, you know, to have 18, I believe 18 manufacturers currently across all classes of imsa, you get a lot of different fans of each brand, right? The Ferrari fans are much different than the Mercedes fans or the Corvette fans, right? Or completely different breed, right? And then you get, uh, I don't know if you're even aware of this, but last year at Rhode Atlanta, t-Pain was there. So you get some celebrities walking around, right? But then you have the campers that are there, you know, the camping at an IMSA weekend is unbelievable. I, I don't know the numbers exactly, but I feel like it's more than any other race series, because if you're at a 24 hour long race, you'd better bring your camper, right? So that's, that's just the, the, the melting pot that is created from just the, the, the, how the series is even built, right? And, and the theme of the series, if you'll, it's, it just, it's inviting to everyone.
Speaker 3 00:57:50 So let's, let's bring this home here, um, on, on that experience for businesses, uh, that, that we get asked a lot, what's this look like? How does that experience look for us? How does a business make use of, of racing in the parent projects environment, um, with, with what we have here?
Speaker 0 00:58:09 I lost you there, Tony. Sorry.
Speaker 3 00:58:11 Oh, sorry. Uh, okay. So what, what, what I wanna say in bringing, let's bring this home and in, in bringing this home, let's talk specifically to the question of what, what, what does racing look like for A V B N that wants to get involved and be a part of something like this? I think we've got, you know, some role, I, I could run some B roll for us here that that shows a bit of what, um, what, uh, what it looks like when they're maybe at the track and seeing some of these other things. Um, uh, is that back far enough Yeah. To understand catering or those types of, of, uh, opportunities where you're sitting in the ability to mix it up. What else, what else does that look like from, from a racing standpoint? What do you guys see?
Speaker 0 00:58:54 Yeah, for sure. Uh, I'm, I'm very excited about what the V B N is going to bring to the table because of, uh, through what parent projects is doing and what we're doing as a whole, you know, at indie being our, our first example of this, right? And our first, our, our jump into the, the big time of showing what parent projects is and how we integrate brands into, uh, the race program, right? Well, it's, it's as, uh, simple as, you know, we're here to, through parent projects in our race program, we're here to accomplish the business goals of who is within the V B N, right? If they're looking for client entertainment and they're looking for that race experience at Indianapolis Motor speed, where at Daytona or any one of these fantastic races, right? You get to be a part of that. You get to be a part of the race weekend and a part of the team, right?
Speaker 0 00:59:43 You get to hang out in the hospitality suite and, you know, meet the drivers and all those kinds of things and, and just have a, a, a fantastic time, right? A one in a lifetime experience. I always say that racing is the one steak dinner that you'll never forget. I mean, how many steak dinners have you been to for business reasons? And you forgot every single one of them, right? Yeah. And racing, everybody I talk to that I tell 'em I'm a race car driver, they tell me about, oh, I was at the 2002 12 hours of seabring, right? And everybody remembers their experience at the racetrack, and that's what we're looking to bring to brands. But not only that, right? But the brand awareness that comes from it as well, right? The logo on the race car, right? And how powerful that can be as a means of driving, um, viewership to the brand, right?
Speaker 0 01:00:31 All the way down to the, what we're gonna be doing on social media, right? Integrating the brands into, you know, what goes on throughout a race weekend, what a driver goes through, and all those kinds of things down to, you know, back to the experience is the, the sitting on the box, right? Sitting on the pit box, getting to watch the race and see the pit stop happen right in front of you. That's something you'll never forget. But along with that, now everybody that's a part of that V B N network, whether, you know it's locally or we have 200 people out of the race sometime, right? They get to now all interact. When's another time that, uh, a group of people that are a part of parent projects, right? Like we've touched on it's software, it's an AI company, right? How do you get everybody involved in one place at one time, right?
Speaker 0 01:01:17 Well, that's through, excuse me, through our motor sports program, right? And then everybody gets to coordinate and, hey, this guy does this, maybe we could do this with them. And then, and then the B two B that then takes place because of just being at the racetrack together and now sharing that experience together. And, you know, the follow up email Monday, oh my gosh, that was insane. I, I, you know, the best time ever. I can't believe I got to keep a racing tire afterwards, right? I'm so excited, you know, can't wait to see what else we get to do with parent projects. And, you know, there, there's too much to cover that goes on during a race weekend and all the benefits that I believe come from that and that, that are created because of just being a part of the race program. You've been a part of it and you've experienced it, but I'm excited to see more of the V B N out at the races and, um, getting, getting to be a part of it and seeing it up close and personal.
Speaker 3 01:02:14 Yeah. So, uh, why don't you talk with us about where we're gonna find the, uh, the next race. Next in, in is just coming up here in a couple of weeks. Talk to us about, uh, Indiana.
Speaker 0 01:02:23 Yeah. September 15th through the 17th, we'll be at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the parent projects l m P three car. Uh, you can watch it on N B C or Peacock. Um, it's goes live, I think it's green flag at 1:00 PM and then a two hours and 40 minute race. I mean, it's, it's, it's, you know, our first, um, experience, uh, as you know, you guys being a, a primary sponsor and you guys being a primary partner of a race weekend, right? So I, we've, we've talked about this before. You guys have been on my helmet for the past two years, I believe now, but this isn't a new partnership. We're just expanding on what we're doing. We're just, we're letting this snowball and what we're gonna do to, um, capitalize on it. And going into 2024, I think it's only gonna get better and better.
Speaker 3 01:03:20 I, I, I, I would agree. I think this is really an exciting opportunity for us also to, we'll, we'll, we'll have, uh, some of our v VPNs will be joining us down there to get an understanding of that, uh, get our feet in a good, under, A big part of this is understanding too, how we make the most of it. How do we engage with the crowd? We're the best places to engage with the crowd, uh, to get feedback to, to be able to put maybe the product out there and to understand when, when you got moms floating around there for, for the court, better part of a couple of days, and still looking for something to do. Uh, those are, again, a great cross section. It's, it's rare that you get those great opportunities, and we've got multiple races within a season we look forward to in 2024 to be able to take advantage of that, uh, as we start rolling out through the rest of the country and spreading our wings outside of the Phoenix marketplace.
Speaker 3 01:04:07 So, hey, look, Alexander, it, it is just, it's always a joy to be with you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you as a person, as a friend, uh, and as a professional in what you do. You are clearly the top of what you're at. I think someday people will look back and, and, and will want to be an Alexander Riva type driver, um, and mean that within what they sport. And I, and I, and I genuinely mean that you're a special person. Thanks for being a part of it. Thanks for sharing your time and talents and treasures with us here at Parent Projects.
Speaker 0 01:04:37 Well, thank you so much that that means a lot. And, and thank you for letting me be a part of parent Projects and represent the brand. And, you know, uh, let's, let's go into Indy and, uh, let's have a great weekend and celebrate with some champagne.
Speaker 3 01:04:50 I think that sounds like a great idea. We'll see you then, <laugh>.
Speaker 0 01:04:53 Alright,
Speaker 2 01:04:58 Well that's it for the team this week, and thanks for joining us. If you've enjoyed the content, remember to subscribe and to share this episode on the app that you're using right now. Your reviews and your comments, they really help us expand our reach as well as our perspective. So if you have time, also drop us a note. Let us know how we're doing for tips and tools to clarify your parent project, simplify communication with your stakeholders and verify the professionals that you choose. You can find us on YouTube, follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Thanks again for trusting us. Until our next episode, behold and be held.
Speaker 8 01:05:30 Thank you for listening to this Parent Projects podcast production. To access our show notes, resources, or forums, join us on your favorite social media platform or go to parent projects.com. This show is for informational and educational purposes only. Before making any decisions, consult a professional credential in your local area. This show is copyrighted by Family Media and Technology Group, incorporated and parent projects l l c. Written permissions must be granted before syndication or rebroadcast.
