Building Something out of Nothing

Today's guest is Spurs Jesus - Spurs super fan, San Antonio celebrity, and philanthropist. We sit down at the Geekdom Audio Lab and chat about his early days as Spurs Jesus and how it all started, increased media attention and growing the brand, a day in the life as a local celebrity, and how what started as a creative way to get on SportCenter transformed into a celebrated San Antonio public figure and one of the most unique brands in Texas. Enjoy.

https://spursjesus.com/

Building Something out of Nothing is brought to you by Lift Fund. For over 25 years, LiftFund has backed entrepreneurs who build something out of nothing by providing responsive insights and small business capital when others aren’t able to. If you need help launching your passion into a reality visit LiftFund.com today.

Today’s guest is Josh Huskin, an editorial and advertising photographer based in San Antonio. We sit down at the Geekdom Audio lab and chat about growing up in West Texas and how he got into photography, moving to San Antonio and early jobs in the industry, honing his skills and navigating the competitive photography scene, and how he went from playing in punk bands and working at a portrait studio to shooting with some of the biggest names and publications in Texas. Enjoy.

Website: https://www.joshhuskin.com/
Insta:  https://www.instagram.com/joshhuskin/

Today's guest is Taylor O'Neil, CEO of Richard's Rainwater in Dripping Springs. We sit down at the Geekdom Audio Lab and chat about the founding and origins of the company, how Taylor became CEO and what attracted him to the unique brand, what sets Richard's Rainwater apart in a crowded premium water market, and how what started as a hobby to provide all-natural rainwater to Richard and his neighbors grew into the nationally distributed and environmentally conscious brand - with big plans on the horizon. Enjoy.

Website: https://www.richardsrainwater.com/

Today’s guest is Mike McKim, founder and CEO of Cuvée Coffee in Austin, Texas. We sit down at the Geekdom Audio Lab and chat about the origins of the company and his early days as a coffee roaster, the benefits of developing direct trade relationships with coffee farmers, the genesis of Cuvée’s signature Black and Blue Nitro Cold Brew, growing the wholesale operation and gaining national distribution, and how he went from selling La Marzocco espresso machines to running one of the most popular and influential coffee companies in the U.S. Enjoy.    

Today’s guest is Chef Stefan Bowers. We sit down at the Geekdom Audio Lab and chat about his early days in the Navy and life before cooking, relocating to Houston for culinary school and his first jobs in the industry, moving to San Antonio and working at the revered The Lodge restaurant, and how a fortuitous meeting with Andrew Goodman forged a business partnership that would eventually launch some of San Antonio’s most popular and adventurous restaurants, including Feast, Rebelle, Battalion, and Playland. Enjoy.

Today's guest is John Antonelli, co-founder of the super popular Antonelli's Cheese Shop in Austin, Texas. We sit down at their Hyde Park Cheese House and chat about the origins of the company, their instant popularity and initial success, the non-stop grind of running a small-business, and how he and his wife Kendall built a tiny Hyde Park cheese company into what Travel and Leisure named one of the best Cheese Shops in America. Enjoy.  

Today’s guest is Mike Johnson, an Air Force vet and financial adviser who rose to fame as a fan favorite on this past season of ABC’s mega hit The Bachelorette. We sat down at the Geekdom Audio Lab and had a candid conversation about growing up in Texas and his life before the show, his tenure in the Air Force and moving to San Antonio, his random introduction to Bachelor Nation at a friend’s apartment, and how a casual suggestion from a co-worker and a fortuitous day off led Big Mike to being cast as one of the most popular contestants in Bachelorette history. Enjoy. 

Bachelorette Bio: https://abc.com/shows/the-bachelorette/cast/mike-2019

Today's guest is San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. We sat down at Gameday Media Studios and had a candid conversation about his early years in Austin, attending Trinity University and falling in love with San Antonio, graduate school and meeting his wife at the University of Pennsylvania, his tenure as program director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, serving two effective terms in City Council, his two successful runs for Mayor, and his vision for the future of a rapidly growing San Antonio. Enjoy.

Today's guest is Ken Schiller, co-founder of Mighty Fine Burgers Fries and Shakes and licensee for all Austin area Rudy's Country Store & BBQ Restaurants. We sit down at his company's corporate headquarters and talk about how his early days in the insurance business, how he met his business partner and the formation of K&N Management, the decision to open the 2nd ever Rudy's Country Store & BBQ restaurant, parlaying that success into the original concept of Mighty Fine Burgers Fries and Shakes, and how he went from selling his insurance company to running one of the most successful restaurant groups in Texas. Enjoy.    

Today's guest is Kevin Brand, founder of the venerable (512) Brewing Company in Austin, Texas. We sit down at the brewery and chat about how he founded the company, the early days in the Texas brewing scene, developing recipes and creating 512's signature offerings, and how he took his passion for craft beer in an emerging Austin beer scene and created (512) Brewing Company, one of the most revered craft breweries in all of Texas. Enjoy. 

Today’s guests are Ginger and Mario Diaz, founders of Feliz Modern in San Antonio. We sit down at their new location at The Historic Pearl and chat about their lives before the business, how it all started, their unique concept and eclectic offerings, the power of great customer service, and how what started as a venue for bringing local art to a wider audience quickly blossomed into a top San Antonio destination for gifts, party supplies and home decor. Enjoy.

Today's guest is Tony Perez, founder of Ramona Press in Austin, Texas. We sit down at the Geekdom Audio Lab in San Antonio and chat about his art education and move to Texas, the origins of the company and working out of his garage, his self-imposed philosophy to work hard and be nice, and how he went from working a monotonous job in 2012 to creating one of the premier design studios in Austin. Enjoy.  

Today’s guest is Kelly O’Connor - Head of Collections and Communications at Ruby City. We sit down at the internationally anticipated museum and chat about Linda Pace’s impact on San Antonio’s art community, her dream and vision for Ruby City, partnering with her friend and now world renowned architect David Adjaye, the years of preparation that go into such an expansive project, and how a vivid dream and simple bedside drawing over a decade ago spawned the highly anticipated Ruby City, a contemporary art center which officially opens to the public Sunday, October 13th in San Antonio. Enjoy. 

Website: https://www.rubycity.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rubycity/

Today's guest is Benjamin Krick, manager and partner at downtown's Jetsetter and the brand new Pastiche in Dignowity Hills. We sit down at Pastiche and chat about Ben's evolution in the cocktail scene, his tenure at Juniper Tar, the unexpected opportunity to open Jetsetter downtown, construction challenges and roadblocks with his latest project Pastiche, and how he's combined his passions for fine ingredients, unparalleled service, and old world character and taken San Antonio's cocktail scene by storm. Enjoy.

Today's guest is Tyler Norwood - co-founder of the popular Pinthouse Pizza & Brewpub in Austin, Texas. We sit down at Kunstler Brewing in San Antonio and chat about the origins of Pinthouse, their popular menu of hand-crafted pizza and award winning beer, the goal of making each location feel fresh and unique, and how six friends with a passion for craft beer and good food created the Austin restaurant and brewery with three locations and counting. Enjoy.

Today’s guests are Bill Blackmon and Chris Brundrett, founders of William Chris Vineyards out in Hye, Texas. We sit down at their new tasting room at the vineyard and chat about the early days of Texas wine, the origins of William Chris Vineyards, their growing wholesale footprint and foray into retailers like HEB and Whole Foods, and how they took a burgeoning friendship and shared passion for winemaking and turned William Chris into one of the most sought after and highly regarded wineries in Texas. Enjoy.

Today’s guest is Jeff Chandler, CEO of the wildly popular Hopdoddy Burger Bar. We sit down at the company’s slick Austin offices and talk about Jeff’s background in the food industry, the origins of Hopdoddy, how and why he became CEO in 2016, what sets Hopdoddy apart in a crowded burger market, and how he took the founder’s entrepreneurial spirit, his knowledge for building teams and systems, and a shared passion for investing in people, and scaled Hopdoddy from 6 locations to 33 and counting. Enjoy.

Today’s guest is Daniel Barnes, founder and CEO of Treaty Oak Distilling in Dripping Springs. We sit down at the distillery’s 28 acre ranch and chat about the founding of the company, the early days of Texas distilling, their dedication to quality ingredients, process, and continuous curiosity, and how he took the 4th distillery in Texas and turned it into the only combination distillery, brewery, and winery in the state, with a distribution network spanning 8 states, and counting. Enjoy. 

Today's guest is Chef Steve McHugh, the James Beard nominated chef and owner of the widely acclaimed Cured restaurant in San Antonio. We sit down at his restaurant in the Historic Pearl and talk about his early days in the industry, cutting his teeth in New Orleans, working tirelessly through disasters like Hurricane Katrina, and how he battled and overcame an unexpected diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and opened Cured, his first solo project and one of San Antonio's most celebrated restaurants. Enjoy.

Today’s guest is Vera Deckard - owner and head brewer at Künstler Brewing in San Antonio. We talk about her foray into home brewing, the decision to take the leap and open a brewery, finding the unique neighborhood location, and how she took her German heritage and passion for craft beer and created the popular neighborhood brewery and eatery in Southtown. Enjoy. 

https://www.kuenstlerbrewing.com/
http://instagram.com/kuenstlerbrew