Episode 49: Ryan Prinzing - Butt Napkins USA

Episodes

Mar 29

I found Butt Napkins on Instagram and fell in love with the packaging. The story behind them, from a Kickstarter hydration vest to a supply chain crisis, is even better.

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About this episode

Ryan Prinzing grew up in Oswego, Illinois, played Division I college baseball and wrote a book about being the last kid picked. After baseball he signed up for the Birmingham Marathon with a longest run of 14 or 15 miles, and he has since run around eight marathons, most of them alongside his dad. He lives in Nashville and founded Drankful, a hydration pack company, in September 2019.

We talk about designing a pack with a square bladder that doesn't slosh, raising about $72,000 on Kickstarter, and waiting until July 2022 for inventory to land. Ryan explains how Butt Napkins came to be and why they became their own brand, plus his quad meltdown at the downhill Tucson Marathon, why pickle juice isn't really pickle juice, his tenth try at the New York City Marathon lottery, and becoming a dad any day now.

In this episode, we discuss

My 57th half marathon at the Sam Costa Half and an age group win
Moving to Nashville in 2016 and growing up near Naperville, Illinois
Ryan's book about going from last kid picked to Division I All-American in baseball
"You can't lose if you never quit" in baseball, business and life
Sketching a hydration pack with a square bladder that doesn't bounce or slosh
How Kickstarter works and raising about $72,000 against a $15,000 goal
A year of prototypes from Vietnam during 2020 and inventory delayed until July 2022
Going from D1 athlete to running the Birmingham Marathon with no half marathon first
Running most of his marathons with his dad, from Chicago to Charleston
Quads locking up at mile 15 of the downhill Tucson Marathon
Launching Butt Napkins at The Running Event and spinning it off from Drankful
Pickle juice, maple syrup fuel, Huma gels and other things runners pack
Why expo booths at major marathons rarely make sense for small brands
Choosing races with his dad, Berlin team entries and ten tries at the New York lottery
Becoming a first-time dad and his mantra "find the beauty"

Chapters

Intro
Finding Butt Napkins on Instagram
Nashville and growing up in Illinois
Writing a book about college baseball
Designing the Drankful pack
Kickstarter and the supply chain crisis
From baseball to the marathon
Running marathons with his dad
The Tucson Marathon quad meltdown
How Butt Napkins came to be
Pickle juice and race fuel
Branding and expo booths
Picking races and the majors
Becoming a dad
Mantra and walk-up song

Where to find Ryan

Drankful: drankful.com
Butt Napkins: buttnapkins.com
Instagram: Drankful Packs
Instagram: Butt Napkins USA

Mentioned in this episode

Races: Sam Costa Half Marathon, Carmel Marathon, Tom King Half Marathon, Birmingham Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Tucson Marathon, Miami Marathon, St. Jude Marathon, Austin Marathon, Nashville Marathon, Charleston Marathon, New York City Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Marine Corps Marathon, Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas, Revel Big Cottonwood, CNO Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
Organizations and charities: Drankful, Butt Napkins, Kickstarter, The Running Event, Beyond Monumental, Fleet Feet
Other: Unwanted: An Improbable Journey of How the Last Kid Picked Became a Division One All-American, Pickle Juice, Huma Gel, Honey Stinger waffles, Anderson's Maple Syrup Pure Fuel, "Without Me" by Eminem

Previous guests mentioned

Related episodes

Frequently asked

Who makes Butt Napkins?

Butt Napkins are individually wrapped wipes for runners created by Ryan Prinzing, the Nashville-based founder of the hydration pack company Drankful. They launched at The Running Event and are sold at buttnapkins.com and drankful.com.

What makes the Drankful hydration pack different?

Ryan Prinzing designed the Drankful pack with a square-shaped bladder held in place so it doesn't bounce or slosh while running. He funded the first production run through a Kickstarter that raised about $72,000.

Is pickle juice for runners actually pickle juice?

According to Ryan Prinzing, the Pickle Juice brand sold for cramps is actually vinegar, salt and electrolytes that taste like pickles. He says it takes away a cramp almost immediately.

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Transcript

This transcript was generated automatically, so it may contain errors.

Welcome to Finish Lines and Milestones with Ali Bretnacher. Incredible stories and tales of triumphs with everyday people achieving their goals and fitness. This podcast brought to you by Athlete Bouquets. Celebrate finish lines and milestones of the people that you love by visiting athletebouquets.com. Hello and welcome to episode 49. This is Ali Bretnacher and I just ran last weekend the Sam Costa half Marathon. It was my 57th half marathon and it was my first time running Sam Costa. It's actually in Carmel IN where I live, and it was an amazing race. The weather was cold and windy, but they changed the course this year to be less hilly, so I was warned quite a few times as I was waiting to start that it was pretty.

Hilly. And that made me change my goals. When I got there, I realized I wasn't going to be able to run as fast as maybe I had wanted to, but I ended up finishing in one hour, 47 minutes and 39 seconds, which was good enough to place first in my division. So that was cool, and I joked that it was only because Kate Brochiers, a friend of mine who runs with New Shoe Day and Indie Runners PBT, she didn't race. She was getting. Back on the horse. And I got to share some miles with her and Trina Rata Bush, who's been on this podcast. I got to see a lot of familiar faces.

Rose, Becky, Sarah, Laura, Eric, Katie, Danya, Gordon. So many awesome people at this race. Angelica, I missed you. I saw Tracy. And I am just thinking about now doing that race every year. Next year my name will be on the back of the shirt. That's a really cool tradition that they do is all the winners get their name on the back of the shirt. So now I'm going to have to run again just so I can get the shirt. They are pretty smart, so that was a great race. I felt really good about my effort and tried to finish as hard as I could leading into Carmel, which will be on April 13th.

However, with that race I am working so I have a booth leading up to the event. I am doing the awards and I'm also going to be an MC after I run for the first time ever. So if you're running, please, please say hello. I will be. Shouting at the top of my lungs for all of you, and then getting ready for spring break. So this weekend, Easter weekend, we're going to Washington DC to see my sister and brother-in-law and our nieces and nephew. My in laws are coming as well. And then I am taking the girls by myself to Florida to see my parents on Tuesday through the remainder of the week because they have spring break.

So and then Zach has a work trip. So I'm really excited to get in some real warm weather. It looks like Easter weather will be nice as well. So thankful for that and starting to stock the weather for the eclipse. So Indianapolis where I am is in the path of totality. So hopefully. Fingers crossed there are. No clouds, but we shall see. So anyway, this week's guest I invited onto the podcast after finding one of his products on Instagram called Butt Napkins. And I saw it. I saw the design of the packaging and I just fell in love with it instantly, for obvious reasons. And so I asked if he would send me some.

And he did. And then that led to me asking him if he'd come on. And he obliged. And now I have ordered some so that every single bouquet moving forward will include a lovely butt napkin because we all know we need them. So please welcome Ryan Prinsing to the podcast. Ryan is the founder of Drankful, which is a brand that has several products. The flagship being a hydration vest and pack and then butt napkins and other things that you put in the pack are available on their website at drankful.com and also on buttnapkins.com Now. So I just had to hear the story and when I started researching Ryan, I realized there was so much more to the story and it was really fun to get to know him.

I'll be at virtually. So he has actually been to Indianapolis for work and so he's not from here. He lives in Nashville, TN. He grew up in the Midwest. We talked about playing baseball. He is a published author, and baseball is the topic of that book. I kind of embarrassed him, I think, in bringing that up, 'cause he wrote it a long time ago, which is even more impressive, really. And then we talked about the starting of the company, how it was such a roller coaster, and the roadblocks that he hit starting out are pretty intense. And so it's really impressive that he has continued to have success through all of that.

We discuss it how he started running his first marathon, which was in Birmingham, AL, how he runs to enjoy finishing and enjoying the experience, which as a competitive runner, just with myself, I always have a hard time doing. And when I talk to people who enjoy the experience, it helps me do that a lot better than I normally do. So we talk about some other race stories, war stories from the other marathons that he's run with his dad. Primarily we talk about how butt napkins came to be, how pickle juice actually isn't pickle juice, which I did not know if you've seen that brand for fueling.

So we talked about that. It's clearly something I have to try. And we talk about other fuel, talk about Expo race Expos a little bit and then how Ryan and his dad decide what races to do, what races to put on the calendar. And then any day now, Ryan is going to find out if he got into the New York City Marathon lottery for this year. This is his 10th time trying, so surely 10th time is a charm. So as you're listening to this, he should know whether or not he got in. So hopefully he did. And then also any day now, he's going to become a dad for the first time to a baby boy.

So him and his wife are expecting and super excited for him to achieve that really big milestone of becoming a dad and becoming a parent. So I really enjoy getting a chance to get to know Ryan. I certainly know that you will too. Hey, Ryan, How's it going? I'm doing well. How about yourself? Doing well. Thank you. Everybody meet Ryan Prinsing, the inventor of the butt napkin. That's just what I'm going to call you. I've been called worse. You're so much more than that. I found you on Instagram. Rather, I found your product. One of your products, butt napkins. And I instantly fell in love and needed to have some for bouquets.

People are like, I need to have a bouquet with just those in it, just so you know. So now I'm going to be perhaps making some custom butt napkin bouquets. The collab that I never knew was coming, but here. We are. Me either, but I love it so. And you are in Nashville, not Indiana, like a lot of my guests. Correct. Yep. Nashville, TN. I was looking it up because I couldn't remember when it was, but ten years ago I ran the Tom King Half Marathon. Are you familiar with that race? I am not. It's so small. So gosh, I barely remember. So it was for one of my best friend's Bachelorette parties.

We did a half marathon, right? One of my running friends. There were only three of us that did it out of the group. The rest of them were like, what the hell are you doing? But it was, I don't know. I would have to look up the course. I it does still take place. It was actually on March 2nd this year. So you'll have to check it out. But I she did. She did. So it was her idea. So we were like, OK, I guess we're going to run a half marathon at a Bachelorette party. And so we did. That's. That's that's pretty bold for a Bachelorette party.

Yes, yeah. I think it was like the day after we got there. So it wasn't too bad, but still. Anyway, I haven't been to Nashville in a while, but how long have you been there? Jeez, I've probably been here about 7-8 years now. OK. And what brought you to Nashville? That's a good question. I had the opportunity to work from wherever and at the time I was living down in in in South Florida and I had a buddy just kind of just kind of recruit me. And he was and he was like, hey, let's let's move, move to Nashville. I heard it's a, you know, it's a happening spot.

So we were part of that early wave of people who were moving in there and you know just just fell in love with the city. It was a ton of fun and haven't found a reason to leave yet. That's so amazing. Yeah, you were really that first wave, 'cause I feel like a lot of COVID kind of people that were moving anywhere they wanted to go. I bet there was quite an influx of people to Nashville for that, too. Yeah, I think moved here in like 2016. 16, OK. Yeah, on that time. Yeah, it was. It's it's definitely grown like crazy since then, too. Well, and you are originally from the Midwest.

Yeah, but I am originally from a little town called Oswego, IL, which is suburban Chicago. OK, OK. Yeah, actually like it's it's by Naperville, Aurora. People kind of know what where that means, so. Yeah, Naperville, I've, I've heard of, Yeah. So fellow Mid Westerner, I'm in Carmel IN which is a suburb of Indianapolis. Have you ever been to the Indy area? Ever. I have been a few times. Oh, OK for for what work or? Fun work for Have I been there for fun? I can't remember maybe, but I have. I've definitely, I've definitely been there for work a few times. I love that city and he's and he's a fun city.

I love Indy. I love Milwaukee as well. Oh yeah, my sister lives up there. Yeah. So I get to go to Milwaukee occasionally. So yeah, I've got to recruit you to come up for the monumental. You've got to come have a booth or something come in town for a race. It's it's awesome. So you grew up, though not as a runner but as a baseball player? Yeah, back in my glory days. And you wrote a book about it, which is insane. My see, my Google stocking paid off 'cause I was like, holy shit, he wrote a book. That's really cool. So how did that happen?

Yeah, I guess it was more of like a so grew up playing baseball my whole life and you know ended up playing in in college and I guess it was it was more of a like a reflection thing just to felt like I had something to say, you know back then and just wrote a book about my experience essentially mostly about like the college baseball recruiting experience. So that's what the book is pretty much all about. That's really cool. I feel like the look on your face is like, are you embarrassed about it or is it just something you don't talk about ever anymore? Or I mean no.

It was. It was just kind of funny when you said you're going to ask me about the book. And I was like, whoa, I wrote it and then I just, I just kind of forgot about it, I guess. Yeah, well, it's funny, it's unavailable now on Amazon. And I was like, hmm, so, but it's out there, at least for people to see that it was there at one point. Yeah, yeah, I mean, it was, it was a good experience. I never expected to like, hit it big, being an author by any stretch. It was just like a fun, more of like a project for me.

I guess. I would. I would categorize it. Which is still really cool. My mother-in-law just read a children's book and went through the process of getting it on to Amazon, and just that whole process is not for the faint of heart at all. So are you just naturally a writer? Did you just, do you, like, tend to document things, or was it just something? Yeah. I've always liked I've always liked writing. Writing has it's it was the one that came most naturally for me in terms of like any other school subject besides lunch and gym class. But writing. Writing has always it's I've always held that pretty pretty close to my heart and I enjoy it.

So that was that was one of the the topics that I felt like needed to be written about And yeah, just so I I committed doing it. It was just a thing I would do like just at night sometimes, and that's really cool, publishing it. And yeah, it was it was fun. Well, I'm going to embarrass you further. And I'm going to read the name of it and the title and I'm going to ask you to maybe just, I don't know, give like an overview of kind of what what that was like and what maybe you take away from that time in your life for today.

But it the title of it is Unwanted and Improbable journey of how the last kid picked became a Division One All American. That's so cool. Yeah, yeah, it was it was cool. It was yeah. It's it was you know it was a an experience throughout like the high school recruiting process that you know it's it's kind of like similar to running where you go through ups and downs and then you just keep plugging away and you eventually make it to to your your end game as long as you as long as you stick with it. And I think there's a lot of similarities in baseball that also with business and with and with life is you can't lose if you never quit.

That was that was kind of the whole overarching thing. Not that not spoil the ending, but that's that's that's kind of where where my head was at back then and still is, just in a different area of my life. Right. Yeah. Well, I feel like that translates really well to having a business and starting a business. Yeah, definitely it's, yeah. Yeah, so I joked earlier that you're the inventor of the butt napkin, but you have a company called Drankful and you started with a hydration pack. So I'm super intrigued by that entire process of how the heck you go from like, hey, I hate all these packs that are out there to like drawing some prototypes to getting it made to launching on Kickstarter.

So I would love for you just to tell that story, kind of how it all came together for you. Yeah, so obviously I live here in in Tennessee where it is pretty hilly and just running with other hydration packs especially doing trailer running it. It just I never liked the way they felt. They're always like bouncy sloshy, annoying and just wonder you know could I make a better pack and just put pencil to paper and started sketching and you know had the had the square shaped bladder and then had it a little ceiling in there where it couldn't bounce up and down. So I ultimately just wanted a a smoother experience running with with with a pack.

And I decided, well, I don't know if I'm the only one out there who who feels this way. So I'll just launch it via Kickstarter. And it turns out there was, you know, a lot of people who who ended up backing it and saw what I was experiencing as well with their own PACs that they had and it was successfully funded, which was awesome and that kind of, you know, no pun intended, that kick started the company with that PACs to what it is today. What was? What were the numbers? I don't remember if I clicked on the Kickstarter or not, but what were the metrics that you saw?

Like how how many? Like how many dollars did I get? Yeah, like what did, what goal did you set and how did you decide? Cause Kickstarter, I've never done one. So do you set like a fundraising goal? And then as many people like do they give just money or do they order someone and then it adds up to whatever funding you end up getting? I don't know how it works at all so. Yeah, it's it's essentially like a pre-order. So you can get the, you can get the funds and get the money. So you don't have to ask investors for that right. So you can maintain control while just filling orders and having that that guaranteed pre-orders really helps and then cause how the factories work is you need to give them money up front which is coming from the Kickstarters for them to make your product.

So then to to have a business humming. So it's kind of weird you have to really play the algorithm game. So I set my goal at 15,000, which I I needed a lot more than that because I am DMOQS. When you order, when you had this stuff made from the factory are very high so you need a lot of cash and hydration packs are are pretty expensive, a lot more expensive than wipes I've found so. So I set the goal at 15,000, which I need a lot more like I said. But how Kickstarter works with the algorithm is that you you really want to kind of lowball that just so like, it shows the numbers of like, oh, you've exceeded 100% of your goal or 200% of your goal just because.

And then it'll bring more organic traffic to your page once once they see that. But it is scary. It's like if I would have had, you know, got my goal, which which makes me, you know, I'm obligated now to fulfill this, but I'd still be in the hole thousands of dollars, you know, if I only had like 17,000. But luckily enough I think I raised 70 something 1000 for that 72 and it was able to to to cover all the expenses and get that first shipment in so we can we can get rolling with the company. Wow, that's And what year is this? Did this take place?

I officially started Drankful LLC September 4th, 2019 and I expected to launch the company in 2020 and then that year happened. Yeah. That was a that was a whole year of just going back and forth with prototypes from Vietnam. And because you couldn't, you couldn't travel there and you, you'd think you're being super clear with the design and stuff and show up on your on your doorstep. And like that's not what I said at all. So it was a very, a very expensive, long process that took, you know, legitimately a year. And then I officially launched the Kickstarter in August of 2021. OK. If you remember that time period, that was right in the middle of the supply chain crisis where nothing was being shipped.

So I didn't get my official inventory like it didn't land here until July of 2022. So it was. 22. Wow. It was a it was a lesson in patience and yeah and crisis control I guess you could say to to start the business. So it's I went through that so I can, I can hopefully it's a you know a little more bluer skies ahead from from that official launching position. But everyone you know during those times, all you can do is really just over communicate with people and tell them hey this is what's going on and just, you know some people were pissed, some people but most, most people understood it like you know hey, this is we know it's not just you.

This is happening worldwide. So yeah. Yeah, I feel like generally speaking runners are fairly nice people. You know, I have had, you know, running a business. You do have the, you know, the people who are not so kind and it surprises me every time I'm like, but you're a runner, like you're supposed to be nice. Runners are nice, but you know people still, you know, there's not everybody's nice. So what was the amount for the pre-order? Like what did somebody pay for a a vest or packs? So we came out with three different packs, it was the vest and then I had one for like had a run, had a running belt and I had a a hip pack.

So I don't know the official, I forget I should know that, but I think it was it was less than 100 bucks and you incentivize them to to pre-order the first day because again for the algorithm and that's when you get the biggest discounts that they pre-order the first day. So I think it was 80 something, maybe 90. OK, for the for the best. I can't remember what the other packs were, but yeah, a lot of people kind of bundle up and saved, so we also offered that. Yeah, yeah, that's really cool. I run with a camelback that is probably 15 years old. I don't know.

It's horrible, horrible. And it is like the just like the epitome of what you've described, like the Super like sloshy sound. I have scars on my back from. Times where I was an idiot and I ran with the sports bra on and my Camelback and it did not go well. So I've started seeing the brand particular like starting to do a really good job of innovating in this space like you were doing because of how much people and not only that like the Camelback is is heavy. It doesn't have like, I don't know, I guess it has stuff on the side, but to reach in and like get what I need.

And so when I saw what you had created, I was like, yes, this makes a ton of sense. Are you the only one that has the square bladder? To my knowledge. Yeah, that's really interesting. It really helps, you know, the way it's, the way it's designed and the way it's structured really helps it. You know not not 'cause that that bouncing, which would then 'cause that that chafing on your back. Yeah, how cool. Gosh, I can't like what you've gone through in the last handful of years. And then you also have just a regular job as well that you can do from anywhere, right? Yeah, So I have something that, you know, pays, pays the bills.

Yeah. Pays the bills. That's, that's good. Because that would be even more stressful had you gone through this whole experience with this being your primary source of income. I can't imagine the stress that that would cause. On top of that, what kind of running did you do that caused you to to start the company? You mentioned running on trails, and so where did your running journey start? Yeah, the running journey, I guess I could say started right after, right after college or after baseball. OK, it's it's weird because for like the previous eight years, I got through high school and and in college, like you're told exactly what to do.

You know, like you need to show up at this time, you need to do this do this workout and then for conditioning days like you need to line up on this line and you need to run this distance this many times. And then once all that's over you just kind of like I'm on my own which is cool. But you know you you can fall into the into the trap of you know, just getting lazy. And I I wanted to continue to I guess have fitness goals and you know, why not make them, make them bigger rather than smaller. So you know put a put a marathon on the calendar and just that's kind of where it started from there was just you know let's increase the mileage slowly over time.

And yeah, it was it. It was a lot of fun and that's that's kind of where it started is right after college really. And then once I once I started getting into it, like so many runners you just get get the bug and and you just want to keep going more and more. Yeah. The bug I love that you're just like, I mean, I guess as AD one athlete you were probably, you know, very in shape, but just throwing a marathon on the calendar, like, not like, hey, let's start with like 1/2, even like 1/2 marathon or had you done any other running races like that up until that point?

Or was that that truly was the first time, first race you signed up for? I think I did a a few 5 KS when I was younger. OK. Yeah. But I've I've never done a 1/2 marathon. Oh, even till this point? Yeah. Well, my research only found the foals that you've done. And the first one was the first one, the Charleston in South Carolina. Was that the first one you did? The. First one was Birmingham, Birmingham. Living in Birmingham? Yeah, right at your. College, OK. Birmingham, AL, right. That's in Alabama. Yeah. I was like, wait a minute, is that on the Gulf or is it inland?

I don't know. Anything that's bad. It's. It's inland, it's far away from Carmel IN. Yeah, yeah. OK, Birmingham. What was the landscape like in Birmingham? It was very well Birmingham's like the Deep South. It was very urban and it was, it was you know through the through the city and it it was actually really hilly and pretty challenging, actually very challenging. It was the first marathon I ever did and it was during the training. I think I had like IT band issues and the longest I I ran was either 14 or 15 miles and I was like OK, so I'm really, I'm really venturing into the unknown here for for 26.

So it was it was difficult. You know, I I struggled a lot through the mile 18 plus, but got it done and it was it was one of those. I was like, I don't know if I'll ever run another marathon again and then next thing you know I'm putting another one on the calendar. Right, right. Yeah, that's just how it goes. You're like, I hate this, This is dumb to like, oh, when's the next one? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, that was so stupid. Let's let's do it again. Yeah, absolutely. Did you train with anyone else or have any friends that you roped into her? Or you just do it all solo.

I ran with my dad. Oh, that's really cool. Yeah, my dad, he's, he's ran a bunch of marathons and you know he was training in Illinois while I was training in Alabama. So and then we came together and and ran together in in in Alabama, in Birmingham. He's cursing you. He's like, man, we could have done like Chicago. That was really nice and flat. We we did do Chicago together as well. So he's been you know we've done most of the marathons together. It's kind of been oh. That's really cool. Yeah, I I've done a few with my dad as well. I always give my mom the credit for starting the running in my family because she doesn't get as much credit, 'cause she doesn't run anymore.

But she was the first one. And then my dad got into it, and my dad and I have run Chicago a couple of times and the Marine Corps Marathon and DC together, and it's so great. I highly recommend it. And then we've also do, we started doing a tradition in Vegas for the rock'n'roll in February every year. And so I've done it twice. He does it every year. It's such a blast. They only have a half marathon. There's there used to be a marathon, but now it's just the half. So it's really a fun race. I would recommend that too. But so you've done all these with your dad then?

So you've done Chicago, Miami, St. Jude, Tucson, Austin. What else am I missing? So then Nashville twice. Chicago, Miami, Charleston, Birmingham. I can't remember. I think like 7:00 or 8:00 I am signed up for. I am signed up for Chicago this year, so I got in. So I'm doing it again. Yeah, I love Chicago. I haven't done it since for a while. I did my first marathon with Chicago 10/10/10. That's how I remember when I started doing marathons. But it's such a wonderful race. That's so cool. Yeah. So I'm excited to go back, Yeah. And it's like obviously being, you know, I'm close to there from where I grew up, So I see a lot of friends and stuff and it'd be a good time.

And then I also applied to New York City for like the 100th time in a row, which we'll see if like. But I'm I'm like, oh for 10 right now. My my application. So I'm not holding my breath. Yeah, I ended up just biting the bullet and running for charity and I just, I wrote a check for a good cause and was like my friend was doing it that year and I just said, you know what, I'm just going to do it. I want to, and I'm glad I did. But you think you know, 10 * 10 times got to be the charm. I wonder if anyone else out there listening has done it more like applied for the lottery more times than that.

It's a lot. Someone said like once you apply for it five times you automatically get in. I was like that is not the case. Yeah, you're like bull crap. That's not happening. Well, I'll send good vibes for that out of all the marathons that you've run, because we certainly can't talk about every single one. But what are some of the highlights and stories from some of those those races? I I just run. Not to break any Olympic records or anything. I just. Don't need them either. I just enjoy finishing setting a setting a goal and then, you know, going through it, but I can tell you more of the.

Got any good butt wishing you had butt the butt napkin stories? Like where you wish you had a fun napkin. You don't have to go there, it's fine. But yeah, war stories are good. War stories, probably the the one that surprised me the most was Tucson. So I got, I definitely got seduced by by the course elevation map where if you look at it about 18 miles of the 26 were downhill. And then the you you take a bus up to the top of the mountain and then you just run down a mountain. And I I was thinking, this is going to be the easiest race I've ever done because everybody's run down a hill.

It's like gravity takes you. You do no work. So I was I started the race and I was flying through the 1st 13 and then I got to mile 15 and then something in my quads and both of them simultaneously just locked up and just put me at a complete standstill. I was like that's not good. So I like try to knead out the the cramps in my quads and then essentially from mile 15 through 26 was just I'd run as far as I could and then my quads would lock up and I had to walk it off and then I'd run and then they'd lock up and then it was it was miserable.

But it was a it was a hard lesson learned. And you know, you really need to strengthen your quads to be doing any kind of any kind of hill. And maybe I shouldn't. I shouldn't skip leg day as much as I probably did back then. Yeah, I wonder too if it's elevation oriented, like dehydration, some of that 'cause I feel like, yeah, I don't know. I did a race in Salt Lake City, Big Cottonwood, which is a revel race. I did the half, some of my girlfriends did the full. But it is, it is downhill like the whole entire way. And we were really worried about what that would do to muscles that you're like, I don't know what's muscles I'm going to be using differently doing this.

And there's not really a good way in Indiana in particular to like run downhill or upgrading money for that matter. So I'd I bought like this. What was it called? It was like, I forget it was funny funny name, but it was like something you could mix in water for elevation to like avoid elevation sickness. So I don't know if it was placebo or what, but that was my half PR up until last year. I finally, finally was able to to PR again. But it was so nice because yeah, I just let gravity do its thing. Yep, Yep. So it's it's definitely working muscles that you're not used to working.

So you have to. You have to, you have to strengthen them beforehand, for sure. It was a It was a lesson I learned from there. Yeah. Did your dad run that one with you? Was he there? He did. There was somebody else. There was somebody else running with us and they were have. It was their first marathon and he was kind of back with with with her and she had a tough time and had to to not finish. So he kind of hung back and it was, it was one of those things where it just cut me loose and so there was like an ambulance involved.

So it was it got kind of scary. Yeah, that is scary. Yeah, but he held back. So yeah, we did. The first, yeah. We did. We did the first few miles together. Yeah, I was gonna ask you if you. Yeah, if you did stay together for every race. I feel like that's so hard. To do I mean I I have so far besides that one where the yeah she had asthma and was having an asthma attack so. Oh, geez, Yeah, That is, that is rough. Well, I was think I was picturing him being with you for those last miles where you're like, you know, he's like, OK, oh, we got to stop.

Oh, you know, and like going, I I pictured him staying with you. I've had situations where my dad now he can't kick my ass anymore because I've been working on my my speed. But he, you know, I think my first marathon we started together and then at the half I was like, you go I'm like going to die. So, but it's but the Marine Corps, we did the whole way together. There's been other Chicagos where we started together but didn't stay together. And so yeah, it's kind of a mix, but that's really fun that that's your thing. So Chicago this year, is he in the New York Lottery as well with you?

I don't think so, but he's he didn't get into Chicago this year, so. Oh, so he's not running? Not, not this year. We did it together, I think in like 2018. But I do have a friend who's a lot faster than me who's which isn't saying much but he's running in Chicago and I'm I'm telling him to to to just go and but he's like no let's run it together and like let's try to get all these PRS and like I don't know if I can man you're a lot quicker than me but it it'll be fun running running with him and seeing how far I can I can tag along until I just become the boat anchor where it's holding them back.

I'm just like go. I'll meet you there. She's like, please leave me. Yeah, yeah. I'll see you at the end. Save me a 312. Do they still have 312 at the finish? I'm sure they do. Yeah. That's. Yeah, that's fun. I was also curious about how you train. So you mentioned too, like as an athlete in college, your coach just says, like, here's what you do. So I have a running coach now that does that. She's like, here's what you do and I just do it and that helps. So what is your strategy for training? Do you just use Google and like have a plan or what do you do?

Yeah, just, yeah, pretty much Google Marathon training plan and then just follow the mileage for that. Yep, there you go. Are you going to Are you still sticking with your Hey, I'm out there to have fun and finish, are you? Yeah, pretty much. I mean, I'll, I'll definitely set some, set some goals, but they're not like super audacious. I'm not trying to break 4 hours or anything. Probably I'll try to, you know, maybe just do shave a few minutes off here and there. But yeah, the main thing is just have fun for me. What a nice way to run. It's like no pressure, you just go have fun.

It's hard for me. I I have tried with, you know, I kind of pick and choose which races that I'm trying to actually, you know, race go fast. I'm racing myself. I'm not winning by any means, although I have won some age group awards as I've been getting a little older, which is nice. But there you go, there you go. Thanks, But yeah, it's it's great to go out and just have fun in a race. It takes a lot of the pressure off, which all the pressure is just pressure I put on myself anyway, so. Yeah, I have pressure, you know, in other areas of my life.

So running is like my outlet of. Getting rid of that, yes. Yeah, I like. I like that. Well, I'll be cheering for you in Chicago. Are you doing anything for Drinkful for the business at Chicago? That's a good question. I did speak to their Expo people and I was, and I talked to them about potentially having a booth and he said just to get in touch later on. So I may have an Expo like a booth there. There's something that that makes a lot of sense about that, but there's also something of being on your feet the entire two days before the marathon and then running 26.2 miles might be might deter me, but I don't know.

It's it's a maybe it's a maybe for me right now. OK, well, I'll keep people posted because certainly I have a lot of people going up to Chicago. I'm thinking about potentially volunteering. I met a guy in North Dakota who's been on this podcast and he is the head volunteer for the first aid station in Chicago. And so he like, organizes all the volunteers at the aid station and he's like, you should come up and volunteer if you're not going to run. I'm like that could be fun, so TBD, but if if I'm there I'll let you know for sure. And hook you up with some wipes to hand out.

Oh my gosh, yeah. Just throw them at people. Those are so great. Did you do all the branding yourself for that? Like all the like the wording and. You did. I do have a designer who like you know puts it all together, but like in terms of like the the wording and what I wanted my vision it was that was came from here. I'm. Obsessed. That goes back to my passion for. Writing, of course. OK, there you go. That makes we're just tying it all together. It's hilarious. I when I got them and the packaging is just beautiful too. Your designer is very talented and I was just reading it like, I love this so much, so I'll probably read them in the I'll read it in the intro to this.

But yeah, I think, I think the based on the feedback I've gotten, it's going to be something I have to include moving forward. Because I've had people ask for like baby wipes before, like as an idea for something to put in there. And I hadn't really done any research on products out there. And then when I saw yours, I was like, yes, this is perfect. So funny. Yeah, it's. It's. So good. Every runner's best friend. Yeah, OK. Tell tell people more about it. How did you think of the idea? Well, I'm a runner, but before that. So obviously you know started the company drank full with hydration packs, right.

And that was going pretty good. And we're just trying to expand the, expand the product offering and expand the line because we just had like 1 hydration pack. So we did this thing on our website. What do you pack in your pack? So started bringing on other items. Like. Like like pickle juice. Like energy gels, anti chafing, ointment. And one of the areas I noticed that everybody packs in their pack, that nobody was really speaking that, you know, fun and authentic too were wipes. Like, like you said, most people put baby wipes in like a Ziploc bag and put it in there. Or they have like 1/2 A roll of toilet paper that gets all sweaty and you know, breaks down on you.

Oh, so. Gross. Yeah. Yeah. But it's it's a very real thing that people do. So I had this idea. I was like, well, I want to come out with, you know, individually wrapped wipes. I want to make them, you know, target runners because that's my community. Those are my people. And, you know, package them in a in a very fun, authentic way that is connects with the customer and like, what do I call it? And I was just talking with my wife one day and like it was like the only name that we both said that we couldn't stop laughing at because it was like it's like a such a funny name to say like butt napkins.

Yeah, we got to call butt napkins. And yeah, just spent, I spent probably majority of last year really fine tuning it, you know, find the right partners to to partner with and manufacture it. And with the whole design thing went through a ton of designs and then it was going to be like Drankful's new product, right? It was we have X, we have other things. And that was like, you know, butt napkins by Drankful. And then we launched it at, you know what Tre is the, the running event. Yes. OK, so we were at Tre and we showed, you know, butt napkins there for the first time.

That was our, our grand reveal of of the wipes. And like, immediately knew we were on something special because that's just the vibe, the energy, the people that were coming up to us because we were at Tre the year before. And there's, I mean, it was a hydration pack. There's a million hydration packs, you know, at at Tre. So like people were like, oh, cool, what makes yours unique? And they'd like, walk away. But then we were the only ones selling like, butt wipes. We're calling them butt napkins. And like, it was just getting a lot of, getting a lot of attention and then like and like writing up a lot of orders and like, you like, this is genius.

This is amazing. Like why didn't I think of this? And like it was getting a lot of, like positive feedback and then but there was a. Like a marketing discrepancy when people would see the brand drank full and then butt napkins. Like, I'm confused, do I drink it? I was like you make a joke like that we don't recommend it. You not have to use And then and then so we knew we had to like kind of separate the two so create our own separate brand called Butt napkins. But we still have drank full and it's still under the drank full umbrella and you can still order button napkins through drankful.com but now we have we also have button napkins.com and we're going to we're going to have a lot of fun fun with that side of the business.

We have a lot of ideas for new product lines and it's we we just see a lot of a lot of people really connecting with that on the on the just a more a more passionate level and it's it's it's been a lot of fun so that's that was kind of the inception of of butt napkins and and drankful and how they they intertwine but they're also now kind of separate. Yeah. Oh my gosh, my sister and I. So my poor dad, we just we'll just leave it there. I don't he listens to this sometimes. My mom definitely listens. And we'll be like, yeah, my dad needs a lot of butt napkins.

But my sister was was talking about making like underwear for him called poopaflage, so that it would be like underwear that had like like extra, you know, absorption in it and then would like be brown or something where you like couldn't tell that he had pooped his pants, poop a flash. So I sent her, I sent her the butt napkins website. She's like, Oh my gosh, this is the perfect, yeah. So there you go, free business idea. Poop a flash. Need to do a collapse. Oh my God, yeah, yeah, well, it's hard I'm sure with your dad, like when, you know, getting older, I mean runners have poop stories and I feel like just as your body ages too, like it becomes harder.

And so my poor dad, but he'll yeah, he needs he needs some butt napkins cause Lord knows what he uses. It happens, yeah. And you sometimes get to put a potty and they're not well stocked and they're all out and you're out of that. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. And so hydration packs butt napkins. What are the other products under the Drankful umbrella? We have other stuff that you pack in your pack like anti chafing ointment, pickle juice. We carry pickle juice and we have some energy yellows and and those Honey Stinger waffles. OK. So you're you're reselling those, OK. These are your brands, right? OK, that's cool.

I like that idea. The. Only one that's that's our brand is the butt napkins. We saw an opportunity there and then so we decided to make it ours. But I'm a I'm a huge believer in in in pickle juice. So I was like if I would have had pickle juice at at the Tucson marathon I would have been all right. But that stuff, I don't know if you if you ever had it it works like a charm. So that's why I was like I need to sell this stuff, what you pack in your pack. So the goal with Drankful was to have a hydration pack company and then also be like kind of a one stop shopper you can just add to your add to your card of of stuff that you would pack your pack with.

Yeah, that's super interesting. I have not tried the pickle juice. Not because I'm like, EW, why would I do that? Just because I I don't know. I just really haven't, I don't know, done salt stick stuff before like the like the capsules. Are you prone to cramping or no? Not usually. However, Vegas this year I did have a cramp and I was like, what is this? This is not supposed to happen. So I think the dryness of the desert really got to me out there because I felt like I couldn't hydrate enough. Like I was drinking water all day long, like Gatorade water all day and still felt like I was dehydrated.

So the pickle juice is mainly like the salt is what is key there. Is that right? Yeah, it's it's weird. It's like, it's not actually any pickle juice. It's like vinegar and salt and electrolytes, but it tastes like pickle. Yeah, but interesting. It takes away a cramp immediately. It's wild. OK, so I clearly need to get on that train. This would not go well with pickle juice, however. I've been on a Maple syrup kick. OK. Yeah. So I, yeah, actually, I've been using, I found this brand in North Dakota called Anderson's Maple Syrup and they have, it's called pure fuel. And so I have a bunch of that that I've been using and it's just, that's all it is, is Maple syrup.

And it's like they have these charts to show like carbs, sugar, etcetera compared to goo, you know, your typical goo energy gels and it's pretty interesting. So it tastes good. Some people are like, what the hell? I would never do that, but it's like I like syrup, so why not? Yeah, I know some people that that swear by mustard. Just having mustard with them and just like taking a shot of mustard. OK, apparently that that helps. Them. Yeah. I couldn't, I couldn't do that. No, that's a that's a hard pass the ketchup thing either that was I think, shown to be a myth was yeah, that's gross.

What do you use when you when you run besides the pickle juice? I like the Huma Joes. OK. They're also a a Nashville brand, so oh. They are OK. What's your local energy gel dealer, right? Mm hmm. So yeah, just Huma gels and pickle juice and butt napkin. That's all you need, right? All you need. Do you always race with your pack? I have, yes. Yeah. Well, it's like you have to kind of, I mean it's like free marketing. First of all, do you put like branding or anything on it when you run? So that's that's funny you mention that because I was under the assumption that people didn't like the giant branding on a pack.

Like people there's, you know, there's a ton of people who don't like the giant brand name on the back of a pack. But then recently I've had people like, you know, where'd you get that pack? I love it. How come there's no branding on it? Because how it is now, it really blends in. So you can't, you have to really look at it. And it's black on black, which I thought was was sleek and and cool. But I've noticed that some runners, they want that giant branding and they want to feel like they're part of a brand. I I was wrong. I guess I thought it was more of like a moving billboard, which I didn't like.

But I understand why brands do it. So it's very identifiable when you're out there, like, oh, you have to ask me. They don't have to ask somebody who's wearing like a pack that has branding all across the back. Right, right. Yeah. Well, there you go. So I guess you're going to have to do that at some point. Guess so. Yeah, well, and at least you have a name that doesn't look like a name, 'cause I feel like the packs. It does it like, it's like, hey, good job. I feel like people probably don't understand that that's, you know, So that's that's funny. Well, you'll definitely have to do something for Chicago.

Yeah. And I. I got some ideas. I back to like working in Expo and then running, so I'm on the board for Beyond Monumental. So our marathon that takes place in November and I volunteer at the Expo now every year and the first year I did, I I was running the half the next day and my back like it was, I was like I should not have done that. That was dumb. So it's hard because it'd be such a good at business opportunity obviously for you, but it's hard doing back-to-back man. I'm getting ready to do it for a local race here soon, and I'm doing my first Expo ever, So as athletes, OK, so I'm going to have to pick your brain.

It's it's weird. We've been, we've been partnering with people who do Expos more so recently as opposed to if you're going to have a spot at an Expo like for Chicago. And don't quote me on this, but I think it was around 4500 bucks like for like the worst spot in the in the place. Yeah. Yeah. You're going to sell a lot of product just to break even and if you partner with like a fleet feed or something and they're already going to be there, you can just supply them, they sell it and it's that's that's a more for a small business that that kind of makes a little more sense.

Yeah, yeah. Unless you're doing like really small races like mine, it's not really small. It's like 6000 runners, but it's like a lot more reasonable to have a booth there. It's like 500 bucks compared to, you know, thousands of dollars, which to me like, yeah, it does not make any sense at all, so. Yeah, Especially if you're selling just wipes, right. It's. I mean, that's that's a lot of wipes. Oh yeah, that. Has a lot of in there, yeah. But hydration packs make a little more sense because they're a high higher dollar amount. Right. So I don't know. We'll find. That's why I'm on the fence right now.

We'll see. And so you've got Chicago. You're in the lottery for New York. What else? What other races do you want to do and how do you and your dad decide which races to do? I think all the majors, obviously I'll never get into Boston but all the majors are definitely appealing. We just, I don't know, we just decide of what where's the city that we want to have a weekend at and have like a next headway and you know the father, son, bounding time. It's, it's it was like our, you know, our thing there for, for a while. There's no really rhyme or reason I would say, but just, you know, if one of us says, hey, I heard this one's cool, then do you want to commit yes to you?

Yes. And then that's that's kind of how it goes. Yeah, I like that idea. I forget who it was recently who I had on this show. That was like, Oh yeah, we just wherever we want to go on a trip, we just find what race there is and that's where we go. And you're like, that's a good way to do it. I have done that a little bit with the girls. When we went to Salt Lake City, we were like, oh, this would be a cool place to, you know, go and have a girls weekend. And it's funny. I think about, you know, as a mom, two young kids getting a girls weekend and then going and running a race versus like going and just like hanging out is so funny.

But it tends to be what I do. It's I don't go and like sit and relax. I get a bunch of girls and we go run a race, so. Yeah. For example, he's always been talking about doing Berlin, and I think a big selling point for that is that not only is it, you know, across the pond, but it's also around the same time as Oktoberfest over there. So you can just like, you know, run a run, run the Berlin Marathon, which I heard is really cool, and also experience Oktoberfest. So that would be a fun vacation. Yeah, that's a huge thing. And I I went to Oktoberfest in college and it's incredible.

But I heard stories from runners who went and like did the race and then did Oktoberfest and how, What better way to to do that, like to wrap up a marathon. It's a good thing it's after, that's for sure. Yeah, carb loaded beforehand. Right, that's true. Actually. You could eat those pretzels and those just giant beers. Oh my gosh, the best carb loading ever. Yeah, I I think you can actually and I might be mistaken. So somebody will probably correct me if I'm wrong, but you can put in as a team to Berlin and it can be as few as just two people in the lottery.

And I think that then you're like guaranteed to get in or your. Chances are a lot higher. I don't know something along those lines, so. I think we've applied as a team and we didn't get in, but oh, you did OK, but yes, applying as. It so I'm wrong. Applying as as a team is a thing. Berlin would be awesome. I need to get in the lottery for some of the majors. I don't necessarily know that I need to do them all. I have so many other places I want to go. Kind of like you said, how you and your dad think about it. Like, man, I really want to go to Sydney.

I'm glad. That might be a major 'cause I would love to go there. The the Paris Marathon sounds fun. There's just a lot that I want to do and see. So we'll just we'll see. And the majors are just so hard to get into these days. So I mean, if you're not in a rush, it's not a big deal. So maybe I'll just slow roll it over time. You know, no rush. Just enjoy the journey. Exactly. Exactly. I know I need to just tell myself that more often. That's good advice. I want to ask you about becoming a dad soon. So how long have you and your wife been married?

We got married in June of 2022, so a little shy. I'm shy of two years with a year and a. Half and do you know what you're having obviously you know when hopefully. Yeah, so she's 38 weeks now, almost 39. So I I have my phone right here in case I get a call. I might jump off the podcast, but that. 'D be so cool. I'd be like, sorry Ryan had to go have a baby. Yeah. So, yeah, it's it's really exciting. It's it's a boy, so we know that. Yeah. So super stoked. Yeah. Literally any day now, so. Literally any day. Wow. That's so exciting.

How are you feeling? You know, I'm, I'm feeling good anxious, right? You know, not sure if if they come with a training manual or not when they come out, but just you know, I think, I think it'll be it's going to be life changing and it's going to be for the better and it's going to have a lot of fun with it. You being a parent, you know, if you have any advice for for first time parents, you know I'm all yours. I I think just knowing that nobody knows what they're doing is a good thing to say to people who are going to go through it.

And you'll also realize very quickly that people, you're like, why the hell didn't people tell me this? It's like why didn't somebody warn me about this? Like, well, my hair like started falling out. So if your if your wife loses a bunch of hair after she has a baby, that's super normal. My husband thought I was dying and so did I I was like, what is happening? So I don't know what are some other examples? I don't know off the top of my head, but just, you know, there's things you'll just get in and you'll be like, wow, OK, so this is, this is how this, this goes.

It's it's hard to describe until you're really in it. And I think that's part of it. You can get all the advice and then it just kind of once you bring that baby into your house, it kind of all goes to hell. And you're in survival mode just trying to keep yourself, your wife and your baby alive. Yeah. That's the goal. Yeah. Everyone always like I've asked some other people this and they're they always said like to enjoy the the newborn phase because it goes by so quick even when it's like super, you know, crying all the time not getting to sleep. It's just a very short season of your life and there's a lot of, you know, joy that can be found in that not to get like, you know, just why hasn't why hasn't he stopped crying.

Yeah. So that's what I was going to say actually is the newborn phase seems like the most daunting and terrifying because it's all new. But it's also kind of easy. When you look back, which is like you think it's going to be, there's an adjustment. But then you look back and you're like, wow, yeah, all my newborn did was sleep. So now my toddler will won't do that. So it's like. I'm sure the teenager will have their own set of Oh my God. I'm terrified, Yeah. I have two girls. So yeah, I'm terrified of them becoming teenagers and being an asshole like I was. That's going to be scary.

But yeah, it's so much fun. You're it'll be completely fine. And are her parents in Nashville or you have any family close by or? Hers are in Kentucky, which is a few hours north. OK, so. Not too bad. Not too bad, because they don't have to get on a plane. Correct. Yeah. It's like less than less than three hours drive. That's so that's so awesome. Well, I hope that you end up getting to run with your son, too, to kind of like, pass it down. My dad always talks about that with my oldest, who's 6 1/2. She's in kindergarten and he's like, hmm, I wonder if I'll ever get to run a marathon with Sydney.

And I'm like, I don't, I don't know, Dad, It's gonna be cutting it close. So it's kind of a, you know, sad thing to talk about, but also like, huh. Yeah, I wonder. And I hope, 'cause it'd be really fun to kind of tie it all together. Yeah. Are you Have you ever been a baseball coach? Did you have you coached baseball yet? I We did like we volunteered when we were in college. OK. Certain certain, like camps, but that was about the extent of it. But I think that that's going to be a very, a very fun thing for me. I'm excited about that.

Yeah. Did your dad coach you growing up? He did. So I I had three older brothers too. So I'm the youngest of four boys, yeah. And so he was like he would split time, like he would coach. They were more close in age, like he would coach their team one year and then like mine the next. So I'm kind of stagger. But yeah, he was. He loved coaching Little League games. Yeah, that's that's really cool. Yeah, I definitely. That'll be fun. And hopefully then you'll give him your book and be like, see, that's right. Don't get discouraged, man. Dad wrote this just for you. Yes, you can sign it for him.

Yeah, you. Yeah, absolutely. As you as you should. I try not to be one of those parents you see on the Internet who flip out at, you know, 7 year old baseball games. Yeah right. Right. Yeah. Good luck with that. I there's it's wild kids sports especially in central IN are are quite intense it's it's interesting so we've we've been in that world a little bit My husband has coached and you'd be surprised how parents care when their kids are like 4. Yeah, it's yeah, it might be like a Midwest thing too where it's, you know, I I can, I definitely remember that Parents getting into fights with, you know with other parents with, you know young at the umpire and and the kids are just, the kids are just kids.

They don't know what's going on. Yeah. All right. Well, Ryan, I'm going to ask you the end of the podcast questions now, especially since the Internet hates me. So I'm just worried that it's going to. I'm about to text my husband. He's probably on a zoom call. That's probably why we have no Internet. So the first question I have is what is your favorite running mantra or song? My songs change weekly, so my mantra would be I have to remind myself to find the beauty. I'm not sure if you've heard that one before or not. It's it's typically when you feel like hell and you feel like you're in hell and it's at at the longer the later miles and everything sucks and it's easy to get into that mental vortex where it's like I hate everything.

Why am I doing this? So I have to remind myself to find the beauty and that could just be something trivial or small like just looking at a a tree that has nice leaves and like OK that's I like I like those leaves and then like search for something else that you'd see. Maybe if you're running a marathon you see someone with a a funny sign just to really focus on that, like that was that was fun. That was that was cool. And just get your mind off of the the suffering that you're putting yourself through it. It helps helps you you kind of get out of that that mental rut that's easy to get into.

Yeah, that's really good. I like that a lot. I will be stealing that. That's I love asking this question, 'cause I just write them down. I'm like, OK, now I have this list of just amazing mantras that I probably should compile somewhere for others to use. What is your song this week? Or just give me an example of one that gets you fired up. I I typically don't do like the fire up songs. I just like songs that I can vibe to when I'm when I'm. Yeah, OK, give me changes. One example. One example. Come on. Put me on the spot. In college does or is it?

Do you always have a walk out song for baseball? Is that just is that a thing I do? Yeah. I know nothing about baseball. It is. OK. What was your walk out song? Well, it was without me by Eminem. There you go, I like. That song, that song slapped and the first time my senior year when I had that, that you have to, you know, for an Eminem song, right? There's a lot of profanity in in his lyrics. So you really have to be crystal clear on like when to start the song and when to end it, right. So it doesn't go playing through the speakers where you know, people's grandmothers are are watching their you know grandchildren play.

So the my first at bat of my senior year, they played it from the very beginning which it was like 2 trailer park girls go around the outside and it's like Oh my God, that's not that's not where I told you to to start the song. I'm trying to, like, play the lyrics in my head to be like when it starts getting real, real rough, you're like, Oh my God. So it was, it was the IT was the part where I was like, no, this looks like a good job for me. So that was, that was the song back in my back in my my, my college days, you know?

Yeah, but that. Didn't make it way to your running playlist. No, not as the 32 year old I am now. So, you know, more like classic rock stuff, I think. More more chiller. All right, I'll take it. And then we already know your next finish line and milestone because your next finish line is Chicago and then you're going to become a dad, which is one of the biggest milestones that you can achieve in life. So, so. Cool. Definitely a milestone. All right, well, now, if people want to find you, connect with you and the brand, buy stuff, tell us where to do all of that.

Go to drankful.com where that's that's the flagship brand and also butt napkins.com where you can have have all the have all the fun and authentic gear for you know for those those times when you when you really need it. That's so perfect. I bet if people weren't listening to this on a run, they already went to buttnapkins.com when you first mentioned it. I would hope yes. And then? And then you're on Instagram, right? The brand. Yes, So Drinkful Packs is our Instagram And then Butt Napkins USA is is our is our Butt Napkins 1. Butt napkins USAI feel like that might be what I titled this podcast episode.

It's the it's the the global headquarters USA. It's so great. I really appreciate you doing this with me, Ryan. Most of my interviews are in person and it's so much harder to do it on the Internet, especially when your Internet doesn't like you. So thanks for your patience and it was so nice to meet you finally. Thanks for having me, I really enjoyed it and if you need anything else just let me know all. Right, Will do. Well, thanks everybody for listening and happy running. See you guys.

Ally Brettnacher