Obstacle Racing Media Matt B. Davis on Episode #0051

Intro [0:00]

EA Interviews Episode 51. Inspiration, transformation, success stories, and the Imperfect Action Round seven days a week. Join Mario Fachini for today’s Expert Authority Effect Interview. 

Mario Fachini [0:13]

Welcome, Expert Authority World. I’m excited to have Matt B. Davis on today’s episode. He is the host of The Atlanta Podcast where he interviews the famous, the Atlanta famous, infamous and others he finds interesting. He is also founder and CEO of Obstacle Racing Media, the source on obstacle racing, mud runs, and adventure racing. I’m going to bring him up right after we thank our sponsor. 

SPONSOR Acorns [0:38]

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Mario Fachini [0:55]

Here he is ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Matt B. Davis. Matt, how are you today? 

Matt Davis [1:00]

I am fabulous. 

Mario Fachini [1:03]

So I want to ask you, how did you get into your business? What made you want to start it? 

Matt Davis [1:08]

Accident? Is that acceptable? Yes. So back in 2011, a friend of mine said, “I want to try this tough mudder thing.” And I had seen the videos shared on Facebook and wherever else we shared things in 2011. And I was terrified. And it was 10 to 12 miles, which may as well been 100 back for me then. Because I hadn’t run a mile since middle school, probably. There were these crazy obstacles, there was mud, there was electricity. And this friend of mine said, “I’m going to do one in 2012.” And I was like, well, he is fatter than me and he wants to do it. And he is in just in worse overall health shape than me and he’s going to do it. So if he can do it, I can do it. And it turns out there was one in February of 2012. And I did that race it. It changed something in me that got me very excited. And I started doing more and more of these obstacle races. And I couldn’t say the rest is history. There’s a lot of other details in there. So I would say maybe you can shoot me another specific question along the way. 

Mario Fachini [2:21]

Okay. Well, what if I asked you this, what made you want to go into the obstacle racing? I mean, there’s a lot of things you can build the business around, but why did you choose this? What was the precipice for you to saying, “You know what, I want to go into this.” And not only get into it, but also build a business around it. 

Matt Davis [2:42]

Well, I think, you know, if people watching and listening are entrepreneurs or business owners or content creators or anything like that, I think it all kind of comes together for me in this way that, as I said, it was an accident. It wasn’t planned. I had started my first business about eight years previous. I had a staffing company. We staffed trade shows, conventions, and promotional – experiential marketing events. And much like many entrepreneurs, I had done that thing where I built myself a cage. I had to get up every day and go to work. And much like anybody hates their [9:00] to [5:00], I hated what I was doing, but there was no way out because I built this business. And I kind of didn’t have a lot of other marketable skills, at least, that I knew of at the time. So along with that, you know, my physical health had started to go down. I think the easiest way for me to phrase it is I was the average 40 year old softball playing dad. So I wasn’t – you know, no one would see me and say, “Wow. That person is grossly obese.” But, you know, I wasn’t taking care of myself in any particular way. And I started – in the training part for this, I started running and it turns out I really liked running. Like, I know a lot of people, “Oh, I hate running. I hate running.” They like lifting weights or going to the gym or doing CrossFit. And I don’t know that I liked any of it. But I started running and really, really liked it. And you know, this race, if we’re going to get into the detail, the specific thing that happened that is my life altering moment is in many of these races, you do things that are very uncomfortable. So jumping off very high things, going through small tubes, you know, all your fears, heights, cold water, heat. And I went into this ice bath that they have. It’s basically a giant dumpster filled with ice. Now, on any day that’s under, say, like 60 degrees, it’s not very fun. And on this particular day, it was 28 degrees when we started and it was, maybe, 30 by the time we had gotten to this obstacle. And when I say to people is that if you go in a bucket – in a life size thing of ice water and submerge and you come out the other side, your DNA has changed. It was definitely I came out and it was, like, it was a rocky like, holy – I just did that. Like, “Wow.” And I think that’s what a lot of people get out of these races. And doing two or three more of them, I was like, “Well, this is really fun. I don’t know what’s going on here. But this is really fun. And I want to do more.” And I, honestly, couldn’t tell you specifically what made me want to do a podcast in 2012. But something in me just said, “Nobody is doing that and you’re you like these things called podcasts. Why don’t you start one?” And because I was good at it and because the landscape was pretty empty in terms of content, I got to be the industry expert, as they say. And again, I know that’s what every, like, coach will tell you. Like, pick a niche, be an expert in it, et cetera, et cetera, and write books on it, and do whatever on it. But that all stuff came to me because I like this thing that I was doing. 

Mario Fachini [6:06]

So with the success you’ve had and following your passion, would you say the passion is the secret to the success? Or do you need a strategy? 

Matt Davis [6:14]

You know, prior to this call, you asked me what might be up for Q2. And I was like, “Oh, wow. Like, if only I plan that far ahead.” And I think that a passion without a strategy is definitely not a long term success. And I’ve pushed that probably as far as I can. Meaning, I do have no strategy and then something happens and I go, “Okay. Well, maybe I should have a strategy around this.” And then I get refocused or whatever it is, for an extended period of time. You know, talking to a guy like you or other people that I’ve talked to that are better at that and that can help guide me. You know, early on, I established relationships with a lot of people because just being passionate. Like, “Clearly this guy loves it and let’s have him around. And he seems to, like, he’s giving us some coverage, some media coverage.” But there was another piece that happened that I don’t know that applies to every business or every vertical. But I started to also call people out, for lack of a better word. Everyone in the industry is trying to curry favor or just “yay, let’s all hold hands” kind of thing. And I was one of the first to say like, “Well, that guy looks shady to me.” And people really valued that, you know. And again, I don’t know if that’s applicable everywhere but I think that’s been a pretty – you know, when people talk about what they like about what I do, like, “Hey, you really give us the goods and you don’t really care about whether it could hurt you in your wallet.” I think not enough can be said about that. But, again, I’m not sure that’s applicable for everybody though. 

Mario Fachini [8:07]

Well, I got to say that’s one of the things I like about you is that you are a heart centric. And you’re not completely focused on your wallet and not having partnerships and keeping it all to yourself and everything. But you do have that success track record and you have that contribution mindset, where, you know, you do want to create an environment that’s conducive to everyone. You do want to profit from it and have that success, but that’s not all you’re about. So thank you for sharing the behind the scenes with that. How have you find is the best way to keep putting that good content out there so you can continue to grow your company, but not make it cumbersome for everything? 

Matt Davis [8:49]

Right. The consumers, the people who are interested in this world, have come to rely on me to be informative, entertaining, behind the scenes. And it turns out this is my skill set it took me a long time to find. Mario, I got to tell you that I wasn’t – I don’t think I trusted this part about me. A little backstory – I think I might have told you – that I did do stand up for ten years. And when I did that, it was a lot about sort of immediate gratification. Like, “Well, how can I get people to like me as much as possible and how can I get these laughs.” But I couldn’t make that shift coming from this, like, really good place of I want to provide value. That phrase that honestly gets used a lot. But with this stuff, this silly little world of obstacle racing, I just become – it took me to listen to other people’s content, honestly, to really get it. There’s a guy I started listening to – and this is doing it – you know, this is my seventh year, I guess. And about a year ago, I started watching this guy who does what I do in the CrossFit space. And I wanted to learn a little bit because there was all these changes going on in CrossFit. And I was listening to him while I was running. And I was like, “Wow. This guy is really informing me.” Like, where I’d be without this guy? And I was like, “Oh, that’s what I am to people in my world.” Like, they’re not on the phone with with the CEOs of these companies. They don’t have 100 offline conversations with athletes behind the scenes and then bring it all together and say, “Oh, this is what’s happening.” But because I’m doing it – do you understand what I’m saying? Like, I can’t see what’s right in front of me. And so that’s how I provide value. Now, I provide value to the people that I charge money to by giving them that audience. And then they can advertise on the podcast, in the various platforms. So I give them a healthy legit audience. Not a clickbait crappy audience. I don’t know if you allow to curse in your show or not. So I just hesitated to curse. 

Mario Fachini [11:01]

I appreciate that.

Matt Davis [11:05]

Dude, I got to be honest with you. I feel like I am from another planet sometimes because – and it’s not just millennials, so don’t go there. But I’ve been listening to the pitch on Gimlet. And they also have that podcast called StartUp. And now, I just sort of see it everywhere. I got an email yesterday from a guy who said like, “Oh, yeah. You know, we’re working on this $1.5 million. We’ll probably get it for so and so.” And first of all, “No, you’re not.” But second of all, this entire idea of that’s the work for them. The work for them is to get the investment. And it just seems to be this weird – like, I’ve just always gone on the bootstrap way other than I have a line of credit with that staffing company. And I’m not saying I’ll never get a loan from anyone or never pitch someone in order to get some cash. But the entire just sort of, let’s call it, Silicon Valley concept of, “Well, we just started this thing. I have this half of an idea. And now let’s go raise money.” And that’s, “Well, we didn’t raise it. I guess we can’t do anything.” Dude, it’s foreign to me. 

Mario Fachini [12:14]

Well, I would agree too. If you’ve ever wanted money, the thing I love about business is you can get out there, serve someone, make an offer. And that’s it. You serve someone, they reward you, you have unlimited income, nonstop 24/7 as far as I’m concerned. And that’s what I tell my clients. 

Matt Davis [12:34]

Right. Except that you and I had some discussions which we won’t get into here. You know, what do I charge for this? I think that’s, like, 12 episodes of your show is to find that answer. 

Mario Fachini [12:44]

Well, packaging and pricing is always a thing that people should consider, but it shouldn’t stop them. If you want to go help someone, if you want to go serve them, make an offer, and you can adjust from there. It should never stop you. But it is something to consider. I think too many people stay reserved and they don’t put themselfes out there and they think everything has to be perfect. And you don’t need all this fancy stuff to have a business. You need – 

Matt Davis [13:11]

I do tell people all the time, because the two businesses that I’ve started that have made money, I tell people cold calling works. You know, my first staffing company, I’m pretty sure I had a Yahoo email address and I started emailing people. And, eventually, somebody wrote me back. And, eventually, I had a friend make me a website. And then I had not at BMT Promotions. It’s funny, I’m, like, inspiring myself. Like, “Damn, I should make some more cold calls.” But, again, to me, God bless you if you went out and raised millions of dollars. But to me, I think of it in like just the old school store or restaurant model. And it’s like, if you waited to have all that money, no one would ever have opened a restaurant. Where would you ever eat? “Well, we got this idea for food and here’s how we’re going to do it. Here’s how we’re going to get customers.” And it’s just like, “Fucking open the door and let’s go.” 

Mario Fachini [14:11]

I agree 100 percent take that fast imperfect action. That’s why I made the round in the second half of the show the Imperfect Action Round. That’s what you got to do on a daily basis. 

Matt Davis [14:22]

You know, I have two sets of customers, the consumer and the people who spend money to buy things to advertise to our audience. And I think, I could provide value every day. I learned recently through Patreon, which we can talk about some if you’d like. People told me, “You know, Matt, people really value what you do. You just have to ask them.” Just like you’re talking about. And I wasn’t asking. And I started asking and what do you know? I was curious about – and again, this is a whole another can of worms. I go, how do I do the levels? And what do I do? And once I started them, people were like, “We just want to support you, dude. We kind of don’t care if you give us a free fucking sticker.” You know what I mean? Oops, I cursed. So if you find something that you like doing and other people enjoy it, they will support you. And I think, again, for me, it just comes supernaturally. And yes, it is work. But it’s not. Like, I’m spending time working, but I like doing it. If I’m at a race and I’m sitting here with microphones talking to people, and then I come home and I edit those episodes, I guess that’s work. But it doesn’t feel like work. So I think that’s really where it’s at, is that if there’s something that you really enjoy doing, people value it more than you think, I guess. Again, dude, it feels weird for me to talk about it like it’s a thing because, again, I just come by it naturally. I haven’t figured anything out. 

Mario Fachini [16:01]

But you’re doing the most important part, you took the action, you got started, and you stayed with it. You’re not over complicating it. 

Matt Davis [16:12]

I do. But before I say something, I do want to back up and say that I got asked to write an article for this company. They do their own content all the time. That’s what a lot of companies, I think, brands suffer from is, they want to constantly put out their own. And we try to explain to them that third party is probably going to be better for you. And so, you know, I sent it back to the team that asked me to do it. And one of the guys said, “Thank you. This is exactly what we’ve needed for the last four years.” And it’s like, “Hey, I’ve been here the whole time.” But it just felt good to get that reassurance. But I think what you’re getting at is, I think, it’s safe to say that almost anybody I talked to who makes any podcasts, or content, or any kind of business owner consumes somewhere between five and 100 percent of Gary V’s content. And I was someone who consumed a large amount of it on a daily basis, weekly basis, whatever. And then kind of cut back. I was like, “Well, I kind of heard this guy. He’s saying a lot of the same things. I’m not sure.” And then this really, really cool thing happened where the Super Bowl came to Atlanta. And I have another show called The Atlanta Podcast, where I interview local people, local business owners, or anybody that comes to Atlanta. So if there’s a big conference or, certainly, an event like the Super Bowl, I’m going to go. And I got my media pass, not for the game by the way. That’s a lot harder to get. But for these media days that they’re called. And there’s football players and other random people that come through depending on what’s going on. NSYNC was there doing something for Fox, so they walked by it one point. But at one point, there’s Gary V. And because it wasn’t a tech or startup conference, he wasn’t mobbed. It was just like a couple people talking to him. You know, a lot of those old – no offense – old radio guys have no idea who he is. Because that’s who’s mostly in that room, a lot of old radio guys. And so, I’m like, “Well, I got to walk up to him and do, like, an Instagram story.” And so I just walked up to him and I asked him to do a thing and he did it. And then I turned to him and he shook my hand. And I’ve heard the phrase, when this person spoke to me, the rest of the world disappeared, but I’d never experienced. And I’m telling you, that is the connection he made with me. And as I walked away, I was like, “Well, this is why he’s who he is. This is what he does for all of his clients. This is what he does for everybody he meets on the street 1,000 times a day.” Meanwhile, by the way, I had shaking hands or met with X amount of pro-football players who would not give that level of detail to every person they met. I go to these obstacle races, I get recognized by a few people and I don’t give that much like, let me really thank you, look you in the eye. And not in this like bullshit politician way either. Because we know when that’s happening when someone just like holds you by the arm. And he’s was just real. So then I’m like, “Wait a minute, he’s still here. I guess I could try to interview him.” And so I got him over to interview. And then two other things happen. And by the way, this is all available if you go to Gary V.’s four hours at the Super Bowl, I’m in it. You just got to scroll through. But at one point I get him over to thing and I don’t have a camera, so I just pull up my my cell phone. And I set my cell phone up and Gary sits down and the first thing he does is he fixes my cell phone and he points it towards himself a little more to make the angle better. Because he’s just so aware in the moment. And then when it ended – when the interview ended five, seven minutes later, whatever it was, he stood up. And again, it’s all on the camera because I didn’t remember. He was like, “Oh, do you want to hit stop on this.” That’s when I went like, “Okay. I’m team Gary V. all the way. “He’s not just some guy that says the same stuff all the time. Now, I still don’t consume hours and hours a day. But I’m telling you, there’s a reason that guy is who he is because that’s a gift, dude. I don’t know how you do – again, I know it’s not because it’s me. I know he makes that connection with everyone he deals with. And I don’t know what else to say about that but I was just – 

Mario Fachini [20:44]

Well, I appreciate you for sharing that success story with us. Because when you were telling me before we started, I was excited for you. But to have that actually happen is huge. 

Matt Davis [21:00]

I think he always talks about empathy. And I think someone might be born with, like, the fast twitch gene. Like you’re a better athlete. You still got to do the work, but you’re born – I’m telling you, I think you’ve got to be born with it. If I ever get to interview him again, that’s what I’ll ask him or if he taught himself to be that empathetic. Because, again, I know it’s a word he uses all the time. For me, because I’m trying to like say like, “Okay. What are the lessons here?” I think the huge lesson for me that jumps out and maybe there’ll be more that come is the 10,000 Hours. If you watch this interview I do with Gary V., I am not nervous. We have some nice back and forth. It just happened. You know what I mean? And I think, I don’t know if that’s possible two years ago. Certainly, not seven. When I started seven years ago, it would have been like, “Ahhh.” You know what I mean? And who knows what would have happened. But I was able to go sort of toe to toe with this guy because I’ve done what I’m doing with you for probably 10,000 hours, right? Getting interviewed, doing the interviews. And I think that’s that’s like go out there and get your reps, man. Because you don’t know when your time is going to come. I think that’s the other one. We don’t know when that’s – he just fucking walked by. I keep cursing. I’m really sorry. He just walked by. I had no idea he was going to be there. 

Mario Fachini [22:18]

Well, I appreciate you for sharing that with Expert Authority World. Because I know when we were talking before we started this episode, you were telling me some of the things you were excited about. And I remember seeing that on Facebook [unintelligible] [00:22:28]. Again, what would you say is one of the biggest lessons you learned from it? 

Matt Davis [22:35]

And I do want to back up and say one thing to prove and to everyone who’s super impressed by the Gary V. story. And I’m not saying you should be. But if you are, I was nervous. It’s not like I wasn’t. Once I agreed – and by the way, his whole team was that way. The guy, Tyler, like everybody I dealt with, his brother, are just like, “Great. What can we do for you?” Awesome. But when I was waiting my turn, like they’re, “Okay. We’re going to go here, and then here, and then you’ll be third.” In that time I was texting everybody I knew. “Oh, my god. I talked to Gary. Oh, my god. I talked to Gary.” Trust me, I was fanboying all over. But then when it was time to sit down, I could take a breath and deliver. But I don’t want to make it seem like I’m above being – 

Mario Fachini [23:17]

Well, I appreciate you giving us some behind the scenes, Matt. We’re going to jump to the Imperfect Action Round right after we thank our sponsor. 

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Mario Fachini [24:37]

And we’re back with the Imperfect Action Round. Matt, are you ready to take imperfect action? 

Matt Davis [24:42]

Dude, totally. Always. 

Mario Fachini [24:44]

All right. First question I got for you is, what is the fastest path to the cash? 

Matt Davis [24:48]

To the cash? Ask for the money. 

Mario Fachini [24:54]

All right. I love the answer. Clear and concise. All right. Second one, what is the biggest problem you see your prospects making and what’s the fastest way they can fix it? 

Matt Davis [25:04]

Whoo. Whoo. They can be – for sales prospects, they can be very extremely short sighted. And I attempt to explain to them the value in being patient. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. 

Mario Fachini [25:23]

All right. Question three, how do you maximize customer lifetime value? 

Matt Davis [25:30]

Oh, these are great questions. Again, I think it’s upfront saying if we’re going to go on this ride together, like, let’s really go there. Let’s not look for some 30 or 60 days solution. How can we, like, true partnership which everyone says they want and then may or may not want to do it with you. So they want to do it, but their hands are tied. And sometimes they just can’t quite see the opportunity. But dude, I think patience is everything, which is again another Gary V. thing. But I think patience is everything. 

Mario Fachini [26:02]

I like that. Patience is a virtue. Let me ask you about books, what is one book you would recommend to Expert Authority World? 

Matt Davis [26:12]

I think when you start a business, they should hand you the E-Myth, which people told me to read when I first started. I didn’t read it until the fourth or fifth year and then got to read every single mistake I made. “Oh, I did that. I did that.” Some of those you might make anyway. Whenever people ask me that question, I always say that that’s, like, number one. 

Mario Fachini [26:36]

The E-Myth is a good one. I appreciate the recommendation. So can you tell us more where we can find you? 

Matt Davis [26:42]

Absolutely. If you like to learn more about obstacle racing, everything is at ObstacleRacingMedia.com. I do a new show every Tuesday. I do this show I do every Thursday with my buddy, Josh, called Obstacle Discourse with Davis and Chace. Doubling down on my strengths, another Gary V. thing, doing more on what I’m good at And then I am Matt B. Davis on all platforms. And I find that’s the easiest way to get ahold of me. If you have a question, if this if this touched you at all, and you want to tell me, “Hey, let’s do it. Matt, you were great,” or whatever, or you didn’t, @mattbdavis on any of the platforms.

Mario Fachini [27:21]

Well, I appreciate you for sharing all of those with us. I’ll make sure they are in your show notes for all the correct links. It has been an absolute pleasure. I hope you have a good rest of your day need. And Expert Authority World, we got another great episode. Join us for tomorrow’s. We’ll see you. Have a great day and God bless. 

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www.EAInterviews.com [28:32]

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