David Mullins - Branch Manager - First Reliance Bank

This is Coffee with Cool People. I'm Chip Munn, and today I'm having coffee with David Mullins. David, what's up, man?

Nothing much, how you doing?

Doing good, doing good. Uh, so great getting to spend some time together. Um, I like to kind of start off with the question, who is David Mullins?

Well, I, um, David Mullins, I, you know, been in Florence my whole life. Well, moved over here When I was 15, my dad started pastoring a church over here. So I'm a PK kid. Okay. Yeah, and kind of been over here ever since. Went to school at West Florence High School. Got a job at First Lawrence Bank when I was 21, 21 years old. Been there ever since. Kind of started out as a teller. Now I'm a branch manager. Kind of love my life because I love this community, right? Husband of Andrina Mullins, who actually owns a business here in the community, Lil Jazzy's. Have 3 kids. One of them is away at Clemson at the time. I have 2 other daughters that's at Southside. One is 13 and the other is 14. And I am a family man, just to be honest, a family man. Of course, Christian background. My dad still pastors that church. Sure. So that's kind of rooted and grounded here in South Carolina.

It's awesome. You know, it's interesting because I remember, yeah, we've known each other at least across the desk for a long time. And Yeah, we'll come back to work, but I've always been impressed with your attitude. And I mean, just the way you roll at the bank. I was never surprised to see you kind of climb the ranks. But I got to ask before I forget, pastor's kid. PK kid. They say that you all are the worst kinds. You didn't get in any trouble when you were younger, did you?

No, no.

Well, you know, I got no rebellion.

I got two other brothers and a sister. Um, I was the quiet one, right? My, my brother and my, my older brother and sister, they're kind of outgoing ones. They are out there. They kind of tried my dad. I kind of watched my father and said, wait a minute, this is a disciplinary home. I see what they're getting. I think I better be smarter, make some smarter choices when it comes to Rebellions.

I understand completely. Well, you know, we have— Trish and I have 4 boys, and I have to remind myself that, you know, teenage boys have been teenage boys since Cain and Abel, and one of them killed the other one and lied about it. That's a good one. And so, you know, and my brother— so I have one younger brother, and he talked about how he always just watched me and didn't do what I did. So he could kind of see the good things and stay away from the landmines. And so It sounds like you followed along that path. You're a wise man.

Yeah, yeah, you know, in a super conservative home, so you know, my dad didn't play. Nor my mom, really. I think my mom was the one that we were like, well, you know what, if I do that, my mom might get me, so I better fall back.

No doubt, no doubt. I'm with you on that. So tell me about getting started in the band. So how did you, you know, so was that an after-school thing? Did you, have you always been interested in music?

Banking? To be honest, um, at the time I was looking for work, right? I've— me and my wife have dated since she has been 10 and I've been 11.

Oh wow.

Yeah. And of course I did not go to college. I wanted to get married. I wanted, you know, to be with her, you know. And we've been best friends, like, you know, that whole time. Now we haven't always dated. We've broke up. We've loved and hated one another in that 10 to 20 age when before I got married. I got married at 20, and, um, a year later we had a baby.

So I was like, you know what, it gets real.

Yes, I, I need a job. I need a stable job, and I need something that's going to, um, hopefully I can grow a career in. And, um, my dad was friends with Tom Ewart, okay, who's our market president. Sure. And, um, great relationship at First Alliance Bank. Um, And, uh, my dad spoke with them, said, look, just give my son an opportunity. I promise you'll like his attitude and things like that. So I give my banking career credit to my dad because he kind of like put a good word in for me. And from there I said, you know what, I can't let my dad down, right? Don't want to let my family down. And I got a new kid to raise. And you know what, I've loved it since, you know, since I've started because All in all, I'm a people person. I love talking with people. I love relationships and things like that. So the values of First Reliance Bank, which has been the same values since I've been there that are there now, are, you know, what I was kind of raised on. Trustworthiness and, you know, customers first, things like that, you know, putting people first, treating others like you want to be treated. So it kind of aligned with how I was raised anyway. So it was perfect. Sure.

And now you're the branch manager of the branch of of the, the home office branch, if you will?

Yes, well, actually the Florence market, both branches here. Okay. In Florence, I manage the Second Loop branch as well as our main branch, which, you know, it's challenging, but it's a— we have a great team, right? So it's not just one person here, you know, kind of pulling all the strings and things like that. We have a great team that we can kind of help one another and things like that. So it makes it easy, especially when you got great people working with you.

Sure. What's that like? So what's a day in the life of a market president? Or I guess that's technically not your title, but of the branch manager of a couple branches. I mean, what goes into that?

Oof, a lot of conversation. Okay. So, and I say that because it goes back to what I said earlier, it's about relationships, right? So you're constantly on the phone with customers, constantly, you know, people, you know, hey, uh, you know, I got this problem here. Putting out fires. Okay, that's about the best way to put it. We're putting out fires a lot. And of course there's rate changes all the time, which you know about. Sure. And things like that. And people want the best rate. Uh, people want to know if their money's protected. So a lot of my day is conversations with customers, with my team, about, hey, how we treat the customer, our service. So that's kind of the the day in the life of a branch manager.

Sure. Yeah. Well, there's, you know, again, there are always fires to put out, particularly when you have as many folks kind of under your care as you do in terms of just team and, you know, and customers. What's toughest? And I'm sorry, is it dealing with the customers or is it dealing with the dealing with, I don't mean problems, I mean supporting?

Um, you know what? I always, what's the most tough, toughest thing? I would say, you know, it's a general day. You walk in, you know, you don't know what's coming next. I guess that's the toughest part of the job. Okay, What's it going to be today? Sure. Right. You know, because, you know, sometimes the team presents issues, right? Staffing, that's a problem, you know. Okay, you know, we've gone through this COVID right now, and then getting people back to work, finding the best people to work, you know, to meet, you know, our values and things like that, which is extremely tough. And then, you know, sometimes you have difficult customers you have to deal with as well. So I would say it's a day-to-day thing.

Yeah.

Um, Each challenge has its own way, but at the end of the day, it goes back to the golden rule. Am I going to treat you the way I want to be treated? And most of the time, if it's done that way, then it ends well. Yeah.

Well, you can sleep well at night if nothing else. Yes. Exactly. Other folks, neither you nor anybody else might not like the result. There you go. But there are a lot of times we can't control the result. I'm curious. So you've worked at First Alliance now half your life almost.

Almost half my life. 19 years this year.

That's a lot to be said for that. What was it like, how has the process been from, and what would you attribute, again, it says a lot to, you know, 'cause you weren't born on third base thinking you hit a triple. You started at the teller line. What would you attribute the ascension to from one to the other, and what's that been like?

Great mentors, you know, You know, Rick and Paula, they're at the bank about every day, right? Um, Reuben, who's a long-timer, Dwayne, Tom Ewert, my market president, right? But, you know, those guys have been there, you know, before me, um, long time, and, and they're always willing to be helpful. And me, I'm a curious guy, so if I, if I want to know something, you know, hey, how did you do this? Hey, how do you deal with this situation here? And then, um I say one thing that really kind of has always stuck with me is something that John Jabaley, one of our board members, sure, me when I was on the telethon, he says, David, everyone wears a sign that says make me feel important, right? He says, and you, you got to find that way to make people feel important. And so I've kind of, I've always thought about that, and every day I go back to that. Okay, how can I make Chip feel important? Sure, sure. But you know, it's been great mentors and just kind of learning, keeping my mouth shut and learning and not trying to be a know-it-all, right?

It's tough. Yeah, it's tough. Well, and you know, and that's really transitioned over to your family life, um, because I, I, you mentioned your wife and I'd love to hear about little Jazzy's, but I met your daughter. She, she works in the family business. So tell me a little bit about how you guys ended up running a restaurant downtown.

Oh, That's a good one. So my wife is always, you know, she started out at Target when we got married. She was at Target in Gastonia, North Carolina, so she's not even from this area. Okay. We're both PK kids. Gotcha. So we've known one another our whole lives. Actually, before we even started sending one another letters, we've known one another. Our dads are friends.

So that's not intimidating at all.

I know, right? But, um, even when she came, when we got married, she's always been thinking about business and, and how she can actually grow her own business. And, um, so it kind of came about that we, we started looking at the, you know, the food industry and things like that. Um, it started out with vending machines, believe it or not. Okay, right. Um, she started setting up a few vending machines in gyms and things like that, medical facilities. And she went to the airport and, um, tried to get the, uh, the contract for the vending machine at the airport, and that did not work out for her. But they gave her another opportunity to actually establish a cafe in the airport, and then COVID struck, right? So I'm kind of speeding it up. COVID struck, and of course, you know how the airlines did, they kind of just went flat. Sure. And from there, um, she got an opportunity to come downtown. And it's been a blessing to say the least, right? The people we've met, the people we've come in contact with, um, it's, it's, it's been a blessing and you know, it, it's continuing to grow and I'm thankful for that.

Yeah. What's been the biggest surprise?

Biggest surprise. Um, there's challenges, but I, I think the community support, right? You, you think, oh, it's gonna be a struggle. How we gonna get our name out there? But I mean, in talking to people, I'm at the bank, I'm telling people, hey, have you had breakfast at Lil Jazzy G's? Right. So I'm kind of promoting, um, and people will support you if, and if you treat them right and you, you provide a great service and provide a great product, they'll come back. And that's what we try to do. Um, and you know, believe it or not, I take a lot of the little things I learned from the bank and what I've learned from, you know, Rick and Paul and them and try to implement it over there at the restaurant. Hey, everything speaks. We gotta make sure everything looks right. The atmosphere's gotta be right. The customer service has gotta be on point. And you know, I think people love that and it kind of is growing. Yeah.

Well, good. Yeah. And I have had breakfast at Little Jazzy's and I would definitely recommend it. It is a, it's one of those things that you, at least I had to hear about it from somebody, you know, so word of mouth and referrals, if you will. And, you know, the first time I went, was blown away in terms of the food quality. And again, I actually think the first time I went was for lunch. And it must have been the summertime because one of your daughters was our server. And again, just the, again, your wife behind the counter. And your daughter, they just made you feel good. I mean, it was, you felt like, you know, so many places anymore, I feel like customer service is dying in a lot of places, whether it's a robot answering the phone or you, you having to punch your order in somewhere. And I just remember, again, both of those ladies being incredibly gracious and, and personable. I mean, I think that goes a long way.

Yeah, I think Drina has the— my wife, I'm sorry, Drina has the gift of gab, right? She can talk to a hole in the wall, I think, and get a conversation out of it. And my daughter, great kid. As you said, she's away at Clemson right now. Miss her. She has a birthday coming up Friday, so I hope she comes home for that. I don't like going up to Clemson if I don't have to.

I understand. It's a ride.

Yes, but both of them. Great. And I think, you know, their personality is actually kind of— is kind of amplified in that restaurant. It kind of shows, right? The atmosphere that we have. And Drena being able to talk to almost anybody and make them feel good, it really, really helps.

Sure. Do you attribute that to being a pastor's kid? Because you both have it. You have it, she has it. I mean, is that—

you know what, I think, you know, I always tell people, you know, if I get to talking, I can go all day. I think that is, you know, that's probably because I am a PK kid, or pastor's kid, you know, starting out early in church, you have to get up and read scriptures, you have to, you know, get up and I play the organ at my church. Okay. Believe it or not, and I sing, which I'm not a singer, but you know, as a pastor's kid, they put you out there sometimes, do it. Absolutely. So, of course, playing the organ and being in front of people, I'm not too shy, I'm not, you know, I can talk with people, it's not a problem. Problem. So, and, and her the same way. She's actually— Dreena's actually traveled all types of places, so she's been around. And, you know, I give it all credit to her dad, right? They don't meet strangers. And I think that probably attributed that.

Sure, anytime you have to stand at the back of the church and shake hands with Dad as everybody's leaving, and everybody wants to talk to the pastor on the way out, just make sure he knows that they were there, you know. Um, Yeah, I can see how that would really play into the— again, and you never know who's coming through and who's gonna talk to you. And I think that's a lot to— again, it certainly can't hurt. What's been the biggest challenge running it? So you've seen business owners, right, from the, you know, the side of the desk of the banker who folks are coming in. What's the difference when you are the business owner? What's been the biggest—

my— so I think more so it's the time that you have to put in it, right? When at First Alliance Bank, which of course I give it a tremendous amount of time, there is a point where I can kind of, you know, put it to the side. I don't know if we can necessarily put— what's— when I say put it to the side, I don't necessarily have to concentrate on it. Sure, right? You always have to concentrate on little jazzies from that standpoint, right? You know, whether it be you out shopping for the gym, or David, we got to get this done, or David, we need to go back this because this is happening. So that's been the challenge right there, the amount of time that you have to kind of put into running your own business, or helping my wife run her business.

Sure, sure. Well, and one of the interesting things for me is, you know, I had a friend who would always say there's a big difference between signing the front of a check and signing the back of a paycheck. And, you know, if, if your day job goes bad, you might lose your paycheck, but if running your own business goes bad, you might lose your house. Yes. And there's a whole different, you know, it's a, it can easily be a different level of pressure, but it's also, it can be really rewarding. And so what do you feel like has been the biggest kind of positive or reward for you and your family?

Oh, Just the— I guess, yeah, I wouldn't— I shouldn't say freedom, but then I can. You can use it with the two-edged sword, right? Because the freedom is provided by my wife, right? She can actually do it the way that she wants it done, right? She's a particular person. Um, I know that, trust me, living with her. Sure. She's a very particular person, and she's a— I would call her a perfectionist, right?

Okay.

She wants things done the right way. She wants the plate, when it comes out, to look a certain way, right? So It gives her the freedom to kind of have control over that, right? And, um, I'm, I'm along for the ride on that, right? I want to support her in every way I can, for sure, and make sure that I, you know, give her good sound advice. And I'm like, I'm always learning. I'm sitting there listening to, you know, Rick and Paul and them, and even other business owners that sit down with me, listen to them, how they might do things. Hey, hey, Drina, have you tried maybe doing it like this? This might work here, you know, if you give this a shot. And of course, we talk about it, and if it's something that we can implement, then we'll certainly try to do that. If not, if it's not a good fit for us, then we'll, you know what, let's fall back on it and wait. Maybe down the road it might be better.

Sure. What, um, does she ever tell you to mind your own business? She doesn't need you to bring your advice from the bank back home?

You know what, I think she might think it a lot, right? You know, she give me that look. See, the look tells me to mind my business.

I got you.

Right, so I know that, okay, let me Shut up.

She's kind enough not to always say it.

She's kindhearted. She's the soft one of the group, so she might not say it, but when I get that look, I know, okay, you know what, maybe I'm talking too much on this. Maybe I will, maybe I'll present this a little later.

Right. Now you're also really active in the community because you and I have seen each other at school foundation, the, the, their, I forget the, um, it's not the Fellows Program, but the program you and I are in, um, in going through the The school district has been really awesome, and I know you're involved in a lot of other things.

Rotary, the chamber, yes.

Is that something that the bank requires, or you just—

They don't require it, right? But it's good for the bank, right?

Sure.

To be a part of events and things like that. It's nothing that, you know, I've been twisted my arm and says, hey, right, you got to be part of the community. I mean, I love this community. I love getting to know the people in the community. And it doesn't matter to me if it's a business owner or if it's just, you know, someone that I see in the park, right? You know, hey, where are you from? How did you get to Florence? I mean, what brings you to Florence? I personally, and my friends always pick at me because I say, man, Florence is the best place in the world. I mean, we're an hour from a beach, you know, 2 hours, we got Charlotte right there that we can shop and go to games and things like that. We got, you know, Gamecock football an hour down the road. I would, I can't think of a better, and then come back. In that same day and sleep in your own bed, right? So I love Florence, and so I like hearing other people's story of what brought them to Florence. And some, some of those stories are pretty amazing, you know, especially sitting there actually even in the bank, just having those conversations, um, how people get to Florence, you know, the new customers that's moved down to the area, maybe whether it's, you know, retiring or looking for better weather or, you know, looking for quiet place, you know, and it's, it's good.

Yeah, it's interesting. Um, you know, everybody has a, everybody has a story. Yes. And I think that, you know, one of the things I didn't know, uh, about you until we sat down was that you didn't go to college. No. Um, you know, there's a lot of talk these days, David, about, you know, as a 4-year. And first off, to make sure that my brother and my sister-in-law are both professors at Francis Marion, so I am pro-4-year education. And your daughter's at Clemson. Absolutely. But there's also, there's a lot of talk about education and the importance of it. But yeah, here you are, branch manager, 2 branches, didn't go to college. Again, what do you attribute? Because what I guess what I see from it is you can be really successful in life and in And in particular in business, because I think a lot of folks would say, well gosh, and I know financial advisors who didn't go to college who would say, gosh, in order to do that I have to go to college. What would you attribute kind of that to, and what are your thoughts on that?

Well, you know, like I said earlier though, I still, even though I didn't go to college, I still love to learn. So, you know, I do read, um, And I, I spent a lot of time listening to people, you know, and trying to understand, you know, the industries that, that, you know, that I'm a part of. You know, I, I went to banker school. I'm in currently in school to learn more about banking. But, um, you know, I just still, even though I didn't go to school, I still want to listen and learn and understand. And I don't know if that always comes from a book work, I think, you know, which, like I said, I'm pro-college as well. My— all three of my kids better go, right? Um, well, at least I want them to. Sure, I'm not going to twist their arm or anything like that, but want them to go to school and get, you know, better education. But, and the opportunity presented itself for me, but I felt like it was a better opportunity, especially when I was raising my, my daughter, my first daughter, is just to get the work. And then of Of course, as time went on and I began to grow in the bank, which I'm not saying it's not important, but you know, the things I've learned in banking has helped me, but it's all because I've listened and learned and took advice. And if I see that it's smart advice, I kind of heed to it.

For sure, for sure. Wise counsel.

Yes, sir.

You know, and I'm in a similar situation in terms of, say, I went to school for elementary education, so I was a 6th grade teacher. Right out of college. And when I decided— I didn't know what I was going to do, but I knew what I wasn't going to do. After about half of a school year, I knew what I wasn't going to do anymore, and that was teach school. And ended up, um, you know, in financial services and thought I wanted to get an MBA to try to, to get— and very quickly what I realized was studying for my exams, but then also trying to make a living and figure out business was— and my oldest, so I started in financial services, I was 23, and by the time I was probably early 20s, by the time I was 24, my oldest was born. And so again, before long, for me, the notion of going back to school for business and finishing, because I took one or two MBA classes And I was kind of like, nope, I'll figure this out as I go. Because you learn how important, number one, on-the-job training is and being able to get deep in the specific things that you need. But also, again, I think one of the things I heard you say that I find very valuable for anybody who's listening is continuing to be curious. Yes. I think that that's— it sounds like served you really well.

Yes, I'm a nosy guy, I guess it's the best way, you know, and not nosy in the sense of trying to find out what other, what other people are doing, but you know, curiosity kills the cat, as they say. But I like to jump in there and find out what I don't know, and if it can help me and benefit not just myself but my family, then I certainly want to know, hey, How did you do that? What did you do to get where you at? And how can I do it? You know, um, and I'm not trying to fast-track anything because this has been a long process for, for us, right? Um, I've been at First Alliance 19 years. I spent the first 10 or 12 years on that teller line, right? Um, so it wasn't like overnight I'm at the next step, right? Um, I worked the 11 to 8 shift at night, you know, trying to get my kids to a point where they can go to, you know, so I didn't have to pay daycare costs, right? So I spent a good portion of that time at working at night, getting home at 8:30 to see my kids and spend a little bit of time with them before we have to put them to bed. So it hadn't been like a just an overnight snap your finger type of thing. It's been a process, and I appreciate it, right? Looking back on it now, every bit of it has made made me, I think, a better person and a better man. And, you know, I, I try to tell my children the same thing. Don't look for just instant gratification because that's just— it's fleeting, right?

How do you, uh, how'd you do that? Because I think there are a lot of people— 12 years in the teller line. Yeah. Um, yeah, I could see a lot of people quitting before the, before the harvest, if you will.

Exactly. Um, I got a great foundation, right? Um, my mom, my dad, you know, they always says, David, be patient, stick with it. Um, and other— that's how to say, people have come to me with job offers. I'm sure. David, look, you know, you shouldn't be on this teleline. Come work with me. I promise you we can get you here. Um, I've had that. Throughout my career, right? Um, but, um, the foundation that was set and, and listening and understanding that what was being built at First Alliance Bank, which when I got there they were only 5 years in, right? So, um, I guess I could say I almost saw the vision like, you know, like they did. Like, man, let me grow with this company. This is someplace that I can grow. And I believe, right? I believed in what, what they they were selling, and it was great. It is great.

What's that been like? Because you have, I mean, from, you know, I think you guys were out of the mobile home branch by the time you started, but not far. What's that been like watching the bank grow in the community and then beyond?

Oh man, that's, it's good. It's nice because you see the arcs on customer cars now, right? Right. It's not just like First Alliance is— who is First Alliance? No, in, in Florence community, we people know First Alliance.

No question, right?

And just to be a part of that, right, to be part of that growth in this area, and people can look at you and kind of say, ah yeah, you with my bank, right? That's just amazing. And you know, helping people, to me is one of the most, most blessed feelings you can feel, right? And I believe First Reliance Bank helps people in this community. You see all of us. You don't just see me out in the community. You see maybe Rick, you see Paul, you see Ruben and Dwayne. They're all out in the community. And just, we started out in the community building a bank, and I believe that that's been a great thing for us. And I say us because I believe I'm part of that, right?

Right.

I'm part of that growth.

Well, and I think that speaks a lot for the bank that you do feel that way, because I think there are plenty of places that people work, they just showing up, and you know, it's not us, it's me getting my check and them. And I do, I think that says a lot. And what would you attribute the bank's success getting out of Florence. So, you know, how has that carried over in terms of— because it's one thing to grow in your hometown. It's a big difference to go and be in Columbia and Greenville and places where you aren't from. And you've had an inside seat in some of that.

I believe it's the vision. You know, the vision of growth and, and, you know, which I can't speak to all the details, sure, but just from, you know, kind of looking in and kind of watching, watching Rick's drive, man, I tell you, he inspires me. Yeah. And I'm not saying that lightly, right? So he really inspires me. Um, every time I get the opportunity to sit down with him, I learn so much. Um, even, you know, I hope I'm not putting— he's a workout guy. I don't know if you know or not.

Sure, sure. Yes.

Even from that standpoint, he just kind of inspires me in his daily life. And so I believe that it's his vision and the vision that he's kind of put into First Reliance that's allowed it to expand, as you would, and looking for people to share in that vision. I believe it's all about the people that he's kind of found to help him bring that vision to life.

Yeah, you certainly can't do it all yourself. That's for sure. Well, David, I'm curious, kind of normally the last question I like to ask, 'cause I think it says a lot about a person he is, just to get to know a little bit more what David thinks about himself. If you could pick a fictional character that you feel like represents you, be somebody from a movie, comic book, you know, work of fiction, What, uh, who would that be and why?

Oh, you know, my favorite fictional character, and I think everybody— I think this sounds probably everyone that says my favorite fictional character is Superman, but I don't see myself, okay, as a Superman, right? Um, I don't know, that's a good one. Um, fictional character— Rocky, maybe.

Okay.

Yeah, because I say more Well, he's a fighter, right? Okay. Um, and he— and, and he's a— people say either I'm a lover or I'm a fighter, but Rocky was also a lover. He loved his family for sure. You know, what drove him was his love for Adrian and his family, and then that, that will to fight and make sure that he took care of them. And I think that, that kind of— if I can kind of see myself in anyone, it'd probably be, you know, the fight that is, you know, and he always didn't have a grade. Sure. So the, the drive that he had to be better for his family kind of, you know, would resonate most with me, right?

Gotcha. Now, are we talking about Rocky Rocky, or like Rocky 1 Rocky? Are we talking about Tommy Gunn Rocky? Are we talking about Creed Rocky? Okay, so, so before Tommy Gunn Rocky? Yes, Rocky before. Coming up? Yes, the coming up Rocky.

Yes. The decisions he made at the end, just—

questionable. One of the things that I found interesting is, if you look, 'cause I just saw Creed III last week with my youngest. It is good. And one of the things, and so before that, of course, I had already seen the first two several times, and I went back not long ago and watched the first, through Tommy Gunn, Rocky. So I think that's four.

Is that 4 or 5? That's 5. That's right.

It's 5. Yeah. So I watched the first 5. Again, I at least, I fast-forwarded through some of the love parts.

Yeah.

And mostly watched the fights. And one of the things I found interesting, David, if you're obviously a Rocky fan, is there's a pretty common theme, which is, guy doesn't have a whole lot, he works hard.

Yeah.

He gets to somewhere, he gets something, right? The championship. And then he gets soft. Or something happens. Next thing you know, he's the one training in the really nice gym while Drago is kind of digging, right? And then Drago beats him, and now Drago's in this really nice place, and he's out in the mountains. And Creed follows a similar kind of story arc. And I think that's, it's amazing to me that that's kind of how things are if we aren't careful.

Yeah, yeah, you kind of lose focus a bit and then something always comes along to kind of knock you back into focus. And you know, look, I'm by no means a boxer or anything like that. I'm a little guy. I'd probably run from like a fist fight, but just from a metaphorical standpoint, I just I just think that that's kind of been, you know, hey, work, work, work, work, you know, okay, I achieved something, I'm here, okay, now on to the next thing, let's get better, let's get better, let's get better.

Well, and it says a lot to me that a lot of people pick the running up the steps Rocky. It's easy to miss the yo, Adrian.

Yes.

Rocky, and that the first person when he's successful or unsuccessful, frankly, as I recall, he's always going back home, you know, right there from even from the ring. And I think that's, again, says a lot.

Exactly. You know, a lot of people look at the fighting aspect of it, but me, I also like to look at that relationship that he developed with his wife. Yeah. And even in the Creed movies, you know, they got him sitting at the gravesite, you know, he just You know, look, I mean, I— Drena's been with me from the beginning. I don't ever want to get to the— you know, I guess it's better than alternative, you know, living a long time with her. But I mean, I just couldn't see myself doing this with anyone else. And then of course the kids and things like that. For sure. It's been great.

That's awesome. Well, David, I really appreciate you spending time with me. It's been great.

Thanks.