Iron Mike

Eric Girouard  0:00  

This is bucket top, a weekly podcast where people who work in the trades and construction that aren't just trying to survive, but have the ambition and desire to thrive. The opportunity to trade and construction is absolutely ridiculous right now. So if you're hungry, it's time to eat. We discuss what it takes to rise from the bottom to the top with people who are well on their way and roll up their sleeves every single day.

Jeremy Perkins  0:29  

All right, today we're here with iron Mike, aka big dad. Mike. I'm fucking pumped to have you on. Well, I'm excited to be here, brother. Seriously? Hell yeah. Hell yeah. So truck driver by trade, right? Yes, sir. Awesome. Awesome.

Iron Mike  0:47  

Honestly, want to get a little bit of your background, how you got to drive and truck, a little bit of your upbringing. I mean, as far as and as in depth as you want to go this kind of meat and potatoes of the podcast, and I really want to hear how you got your start. I started off man, my grandfather, I was born my grandfather owned a construction company. So I was born and raised in a construction industry. My dad was a truck driver. Everybody in the family. We're for the old man. So you know, when we were kids growing up, we always everybody you know what kid wouldn't love heavy equipment? Right? So you know, I automatically attached to that. So well. Yeah, growing up as a him in school during the summers. He would give us a job in the summer good on the pit. If we had a bit we had a 50 acre recycling pit as long as well as the utility side. And he would have us down there. He would recycle and so we would have all the leaves from over local municipalities. Yeah, your own trash bags. I always wondered where they went. Even pay us two hours. Two hours an hour and fucking bags. Oh my god. It was horrible.

Jeremy Perkins  2:01  

So I mean, I'm telling you, I've done it all man. I went from a laborer, you know, then we got to play with the equipment. And it just kept on snowballing. Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. So you're, you're on the East Coast. Mid mid Coast, East Coast. So you get a little bit of cold a little bit of warm.

Iron Mike  2:21  

Yep. That's good. Shit. So how'd you get into like, trailer and big equipment around? I mean, obviously, you know, your dad had the recycling business, obviously had no idea. Yeah, I actually had no idea where we're at leafs went to die. Right? Yeah, just compost. Yep. Right back in New York. Nice. So what they just flip it over with Expo with loaders and shit or Yeah, flip it over for about six months until it gets nice and dirty. And then people come back and buy it. And the landscaper put it in their in their gardens. Nice. So you're just you're just there to flip it. And how's it? That's it? Yeah. Nice. Yeah, it's nice. So how'd you get into the big truck industry? Well, you know, my grandfather sold out when I was right as he died and my parents sold out. Yeah, so we moved on. And I went right into the Union. So I went from operating equipment. I got my CDL I was operating for about six years and I loved operating. But I had an opportunity to get union with a with a CDL. So I took that and I went there. And I was driving dump truck for about two years, man. I really honestly, every morning when I woke up wanted to blow my fucking brains out because I hated it. I hated doing it. I hated dump truck. It's a great it's a brainless fucking job. I hate to say it for any dump truck drivers that are listening. But I'm telling you, man, so I was with the union. And and we were doing when I was with a paving company. And they have 50 Dump trucks and three load bearings. Well, one of the load beds became available. So the number one guy was like, Man, he's like, get this fucking kid in here, man. Get him are you guys I love this guy. He wants to work and that's the whole thing. The whole deal man. I didn't know shit about like moving me equipment. But I was the first one and last one to leave every fucking day and that's what they wanted to see. You know, it sounded they gave me the opportunity and just just showed me and she just kept bullshitting me. I had I had a conversation with a an up and coming trucking outfit you know 10 wheelers and

Jeremy Perkins  4:30  

you know little dump trucks and and what have you and I said, Well, why don't you guys get a little bit and they're like, who? They go not up in the Northeast like that. That's that's like getting into some territory. Essentially, other other companies will be like, No, that's that's my gig. That's my gig and it's really hard to break into it. So I didn't realize it was so tight of a circle and really competitive inside. Everywhere. I've been you

Iron Mike  5:00  

have been jersey for for 40 years. And then I moved to North Carolina. And, you know, it's it's pretty much the same here, you know you had in me, I've been here for seven years and I learned the people here. And it's the same deal you I mean, you have their little niche of people and they don't want outsiders coming in. They don't want to press is getting fucked up and I want you know, it's like a little, like a little mafia Do you know? That's exactly what they said. I was like, it's kind of crazy. So you guys kind of control the market?

Jeremy Perkins  5:30  

Which is interesting. It's kind of hard to get into it. Right. Almost need to either be born into it or, or fine. Yeah, I feel like I feel like like I was I was actually I feel like I was made to do what I do, man. You know, I mean, and I've never worked for a company like I don't I never I worked for a cat rental for about five years in Jersey. But besides that, I've always worked for

Iron Mike  5:53  

one independent contractor, so I never had to go deal with other customers. I was always moving our equipment. Yeah, like what you're saying we're moving other people's shit. So I never had to deal with any of that. You know, I know that gets to be real messy. So what what brought you from Jersey down to North Carolina? I got no listen, man. I'm a troll. I don't know. I mean, I'm a hardcore troll. Right. So I trolled the fuck. And I ended up losing my job with Caterpillar because of the troll do right. Yeah. So that's a fucking long story. But I got time. All right, I'll tell you why. I was working. I worked for the asphalt company for nine years. Yeah. So I quit there. And I went to Caterpillar or the cat was called gouges and Ransom good. Not even in business anymore. That was local cat dealership. So that then the company loved me so much that they hated that I left like they wouldn't even do business. Like seriously, it was about five miles down the road. And they would go from fucking South Jersey to North Jersey to buy pork because they didn't want to deal with it. Like that's how many there were. Yeah, but I hated them. And everybody in fucking South Jersey hated this fucking company. If anybody's listening from South Jersey if the red trucks

Jeremy Perkins  7:07  

did a little time in South Jersey, that's why Oh, yeah.

Iron Mike  7:12  

So I was sitting there one day. And I was done early, about two o'clock in the afternoon. I go walking into the truck shop and the trucks Foreman says to me, he's like, he's like your big dad. And he goes, I got a truck here. I ain't got nobody with a CDL Would you mind taking it for a test drive? I want to make sure everything's right. What it sounds like, yeah, I don't care has it? Give me the keys. So give me a key and I walk outside and it's one of their trucks. So I'm like, Man, I can't drive that truck. So that's gonna lead to no good. And he's like, No, I got your back man. You go ahead, you take it for a run and let me know what's going on. So what do I do? I get in the truck and I go right by their fucking shop about 70 mile an hour right? And they're all standing outside. Right? And then when I got back, I took a picture and took a selfie of me hanging out the window my middle finger and I wrote drive it like you stole it and posted it but their name on Facebook was somebody sent the post to them. They ended up fucking blues in the shitter they raised so much Silva caterpillar and the union I was with 542 operators. That Caterpillar fire me and 542 We're not even helped me do nothing. No. Bullshit. I mean, honestly, because in the in the five years I was with cat. I was one that was number one on there five fucking branches of people. I mean, seriously. I mean, they love me until I did that one. fuckup

Jeremy Perkins  8:39  

usually, usually they furlough you for a little bit, bring you back after three or four days. And

Iron Mike  8:47  

I can understand if it was a week suspension, Jesus Christ. blackball me from the fucking union for this.

Jeremy Perkins  8:53  

So you have Jersey all together because? Well, I stayed

Iron Mike  8:57  

in Jersey for about six months. And my cousin was running a construction company down here. And they just bought that fucking truck that I'd have now the Peterbilt rider with the cat engine in it Yeah. And you know, this is going back seven years ago to wages here dramatically went up but back then. Owner the company called me up because what would it take? Because I heard your good low boy guy. What would it take for you to come here? So I was like, I gotta get back to you. I talked to my wife. So we high volume I listened because I gave him I just gave him like a stupid number. The fuck you remember. This was a this wasn't a Thursday before Memorial Day weekend. I called him I gave him the number. And not even an hour later my cousin called me back afterwards gonna say the guy said go focus on but he's like, he's like, Ryan wants to know when you can be here. I said, Really? Big again. I said, I'll be there fucking Tuesday. Right after Memorial Day. I just clicked and packed up left that I was going

Jeremy Perkins  9:56  

on on your way down. You're probably like I should have added another zero.

Iron Mike  10:00  

yeah yeah, he didn't want to think about it or it was too low I'm

Jeremy Perkins  10:07  

not sure so so now you down there now you're driving, driving the truck a Peterbilt obviously a very good machine cat engine Nice. Yeah. So what's what's the day like for you? I mean, I see you on tiktoks Instagram, on load and offload and equipment. But is there a regimen? Or do you do some cool stuff? Like, take me into a little bit of that

Iron Mike  10:36  

every day is different. Every single day is different. Sometimes I'm up two o'clock in the morning heading out the door. By three sometimes I'm like tomorrow morning. I don't have to be in those seven. I can have five booms like I have fucking one move. I can have my date. There's never ever that's why I love what I do as well. Yeah. Because I never know what the fuck is gonna happen?

Jeremy Perkins  10:59  

Yeah, no, that's, that's cool. And you know, moving from Jersey. So I've seen the guys up in Boston. I've seen the guys in New York. That I mean, they're good at moving equipment. Let me tell you, I mean, rubbin light poles and moving cars and shit like that.

Iron Mike  11:15  

Oh, yeah, it's so.

Jeremy Perkins  11:19  

So I had a buddy that that drove a box truck up here. And same deal. Like you go out to the Midwest, and they're like, guys can't even back up straight. Do you see a difference between the guys down in North Carolina that you? Are you like the cream of the crop? In North Carolina? Because you had?

Iron Mike  11:36  

Yeah, I'm not bragging man. But seriously, I'm

Jeremy Perkins  11:41  

laid, honestly.

Iron Mike  11:43  

It's like, sometimes I can see people watching me on the job. They're like, What the fuck? Like they think that first of all, they think I'm mad because when I want my jump out of the truck, I'm right there. I'm fucking throwing binders throwing chains. Yeah. And you're like, what's the foxes problem? Like cuz I'm just trying to get this done, man. Let's go. Yeah, that's, but it has changed. There is a lot more hustle now. But back then when I first got here. They don't come up north. It's all cutthroat, right? If you're not fucking producing your people always talk shit about union people being lazy, cuz I never worked so fucking hard in my life was when I worked for that fucking union. That's true.

Jeremy Perkins  12:19  

No, I mean, because I actually come from a non union background. So it is interesting to hear. I've heard all of it. You know, you knew protects you. You know, you're lazy. All that stuff. You know? And I assume it all depends on the union. You're in the leadership. Yeah, yeah. And same, same in the non union world. I mean, it's comparing apples to oranges, to be honest with you. But um, no, that's, that's cool. And so what's one of the biggest moves or one of the craziest incidents you got into?

Iron Mike  12:54  

Oh, man, I've been in some stupid ones. We were out on the New Jersey on 295 in Jersey. And it wasn't even me it was the other guys who were moving to Chicago is the other guy. Yeah. Me and him. Were the ones we see. We used to. We used to set the jobs up. So we're working on 295 Right. Yeah. They set the cones out, we bring the equipment out, and then we got to sit there all fucking night and take the equipment off the roof. So we were sitting at our staging area, and he had to switch trailers now he had to be heavy haul trailer and they got to kingpins on like King not Kingpin, but they have two locks for the kingpin. He locked the one was locked in the shuttle boat you loaded and it didn't look at the second one. So we got out to the fucking jobsite and when he dropped the trailer to unload it the whole deal came disconnected and the fucking neck of the trailer dropped make their own fucking 295 Yeah, so we're out there now. Oh my God, because we had to use the fucking Hopper for the shuttle buggy to lift the neck back up. We're trying to do this before the fucking boss catches. Always after it was fun. It was bad. We got up

Jeremy Perkins  14:08  

and in in North Carolina, you guys so the guys up north usually operate at night like that's, that's primetime. Do it same same for you. Are you guys operate during the day? Yeah, we're

Iron Mike  14:19  

I'm mostly doing I don't do pavement anymore. I do all masquerading and underground utilities. Nice. We have some light workshop, but 95% of it is all day wear.

Jeremy Perkins  14:33  

Nice. So the company you work at? Do you guys have like labor issues? Or do you guys have, you know, a revolving door of people

Iron Mike  14:42  

that we don't have? Well, we did before but we get now we don't. Now it's a shortage of people that people don't want to work. And, and our company, the company I worked for, I mean, I wish I could say but I can't but why not? I mean, we're because they don't they would prefer me not to sell I agree. So I mean, for obvious reasons why would somebody ship and pull? But I mean when I mean, cuz we are the fucking highest paying company in Charlotte, North Carolina but there's nobody. There's better companies there's bigger companies. There's not higher pain. Yeah. So that's what they're trying to do. They're like, you know, we're opening the door for top pay. We want top fucking people here and it's just like it's hard to get decent people, people to show up every fucking day.

Jeremy Perkins  15:33  

Yeah, do you guys do you guys look at pulling young people in and growing? Um, are you guys looking for that? You know, a driver?

Iron Mike  15:41  

No, I mean, we will train, you know, we will train but there's only two drivers. I mean, I work for a company, we have 300 pieces of equipment. I'm the only little bit and we have one landour so everything else is all labor and Foreman's, and it's pretty good. It's pretty good deal for me anyway. I mean, I'm the only one that moves the fucking.

Jeremy Perkins  16:06  

So what do you think about all the regulations nowadays with the CDL? I mean, back in the day, it was, it was. If you knew the state, you could get a CDL and now now it's if you drive a stick versus the automatic, you got to get your Med card. You got to get your physical drug test all that stuff. What's your opinion on all that?

Iron Mike  16:27  

Yeah, I mean, from what I understand, like some of the some of the non CDL drivers that drive company trucks for our company have to get the medical records, man

Jeremy Perkins  16:35  

anything over what 10,001

Iron Mike  16:38  

I believe everybody at some stupid Yeah.

Jeremy Perkins  16:41  

1001 commercial plates. I believe that's what the Yep.

Iron Mike  16:44  

I don't know. As far as the drug testing goes. I don't care. I mean, I say drug test to fucking driver first thing in the morning, noon and night. Fuck it. Who cares? I shouldn't be doing drugs. Right?

Jeremy Perkins  16:56  

I agree with you on that.

Iron Mike  16:57  

I mean, I don't have no no sympathy at all for that. And you know, the stick. I mean, now I hear it. You gotta you gotta have a certain amount of hours into a school before you can even take your fucking test is like,

Jeremy Perkins  17:10  

Yeah, what a kid. I knew just when he got his a and I think it was at least three weeks worth of classroom time before and it was full time classroom time paying for it. Yeah. And he's paying for luckily, his company. You know, they're hurting for a driver. So they're like, I'll pay you. So they paid his school. And that's that's another thing for a lot of guys out there. Like if you're paying for for your CDL you're at the wrong company. Because there's a lot of people out there that are looking to pay for you to go to drive truck.

Iron Mike  17:46  

Well, like you said they want to people want to group they were everywhere I've been they'd rather get somebody that don't know shit and teach them the way of dirt company. So that way they're you're not trying to break somebody's bad habits. You know what I mean?

Jeremy Perkins  18:01  

Yeah, how many bad habits they have to break from from us, right? Any good? Awesome. So what what? What is one of the biggest challenges you face? Daily? Is it D O T? Is it loads? Is it just, you know, being at top pay and trying to grab more like what? What are you? What's what's going on with you?

Iron Mike  18:24  

I'll tell you, I'll be honest with you. The only I don't have a problem with anything really I do to fuck with me at all? Because if even if they do get me I'm always 100% legal. There you go. So I mean, I drive them fucking beautiful trucks. So you know, when you have newer good looking equipment, they usually typically ain't gonna fuck with you. Yeah, I'll be honest with you. I get plenty I get more I get the max hours that they want every week. Because they only want us working 60 hours a week. That's all no allowance. I mean, I'm willing to work, whatever, but that's what they want us to do. They don't want us to do over 60 so they don't have to they get all of it. You know what I mean? Yeah, if I bank some hours, you know that.

Jeremy Perkins  19:06  

We'll talk we won't talk about it.

Iron Mike  19:08  

But I mean, I'll be honest with you. Our biggest problem with communication everybody's got to fucking to fucking 1200 hour phone, but nobody knows how to use it. Right? Yeah. So I mean, someone's shit gets fucked up because the non communication is like in a communication fucking day and age. It's ridiculous that actually

Jeremy Perkins  19:29  

that actually brings brings up the point of the you know, you use a lot of call signs and stuff of the past like smoking the bandit and for people that you know, have kind of gotten like a brief glimpse into the trucking world but I mean, the CB has become a thing of the past and people not use it anymore. Is it? Was that a good tool for everybody to use that that's now bullshit because of the cell phone.

Iron Mike  19:57  

I'll tell you right now when I when I worked for the asphalt Club. because we had 50 Some trucks, and we were always on the same job sites, we wouldn't run on the highway highway channels. My team we used to always run on channel 40. And we kept our own little group, and we were all kept in communication that way. That was great. That was great. Until one night I turned. I was going down the turnpike and I had an on chat on my team. And fucking guy with Louisiana accent and a guy with a fucking Boston accent. We're arguing fussing for over a half hour and neither one of them will pull over to fight right. So I'm going to pull this my pull the fucking out now, sir, man, I pulled the fucking radio off the fuck it added the fucking thing and threw it out in the passenger side window. I have not had a fucking CB radio. I swear to God, we'll have more Mr. Trump.

Jeremy Perkins  20:45  

Well, I mean, it's like entertainment for the night.

Iron Mike  20:48  

It is but I mean, if he here I mean, it's gotten then I got no panties on.

Jeremy Perkins  20:58  

I spent some time in the, in the military and I was on the ocean. And same deal. It was, you know, we had the radio and we monitored 16 And that was the life saving channel and we used to get fishermen on their drone could do that. Get off the channel. This is for people that are dying. But you know, it's the same deal. You get you get fisherman on on others. We used to scan channels, and it'd be hilarious to guys just yelling at each other for fishing each other's areas and what have you.

Iron Mike  21:31  

Yeah, I'm sure you heard a lot of voices.

Jeremy Perkins  21:35  

Yeah, but I mean, I don't know. Like, I I remember growing up as a kid we used to fuck around with a CB in the car. And, and I mean, I think that's where I heard my first swear words and, and what have you. And I don't know, it's kind of a thing that I hate to see. go by the wayside. You know what I mean?

Iron Mike  21:53  

Yeah, I mean, it is a good tool. But like I said, Not only that, not only that one particular incident, but there was so much misinformation on there. People just telling you bullshit, you got to closure up here. Get off. Get off. Take a detour now. Why you got a chance. And I mean, your ex back before fucking cell phones. And you had Google when you could see there was no red line, you know?

Jeremy Perkins  22:15  

Yeah. Now are you in? Are you in a day and age now where you guys are getting tracked by speed by you know, GPS coordinates, all that stuff? Is it just becoming a nightmare?

Iron Mike  22:27  

Not me. The truck that I have had. I can't remember what it's called. It's called some kind of cat access. So the engine itself is has the all that shit on? Yeah, so our company gets a caterpillar gets it so that whenever there's ever a problem with the engine, that's I have never I've been driving truck for over 25 years, and I've never filled out a loan. I don't even have a clue on. I wouldn't even know how to start doing it. Now. Yeah. And I've never been an I have uncovered Sprockets trip to triple digit Trump. Whenever I drive. I've never heard any, you know, nobody ever says anything about you know, why would you go with this? You know,

Jeremy Perkins  23:13  

no, that's good. I mean, it's interesting, because like, some of these long haul truckers and everything. They're, they're just, they're just like pulling their head out. Or pulling their hair out. Because I know it's just like, How the fuck do I make a living? You know what I mean? It's, I'm just overregulated.

Iron Mike  23:29  

Yeah, and you're putting a nationwide fucking speed limit, like 55 or 60 miles an hour for everything else. Like, you're going back? We're going backwards now but that's it. You know, that's what it used to be used before we five mile an hour back when my dad was driving, you know,

Jeremy Perkins  23:44  

really? I never even heard of that. No shit. When was that?

Iron Mike  23:49  

Shit? That's 3040 years ago. No, she was in Jersey. I'm pretty sure. I don't know if it was nationwide. I know. It was in Jersey. I'm pretty sure it was everywhere. No, it was 45 or 50 miles an hour. And that was all they can go. Well, that's all

Jeremy Perkins  24:05  

I don't keep it under 80. I'll tell you that. When I'm on the highway. We're just

Iron Mike  24:10  

not on cruising at all.

Jeremy Perkins  24:16  

Shit. Alright, so maybe you can answer this. Maybe I have to get another truck drive around, but I feel like I will have the answer. What the fuck is up with the Swift joke? You got to tell me about some swift

Iron Mike  24:29  

that it took just listen man. We have a gas station right here. They're behind. We're on them. Fucking swift pulls in and they back up. And they smash for fucking pumps, right? There's fuel everywhere. I don't even hit the tank because they have an aboveground tank. They hit the fucking tank. They go inside the store, get a cup of coffee, talk to the owner of the store. Go back out. Leave. And two days later, the guy had finally found it on his take Who the fuck did it like They're just the higher the bottom of the barrel people. And they're self insured. Right? So that's crazy. But you gotta be making money, right?

Jeremy Perkins  25:14  

They have to, I saw that I saw that Tiktok video and the that that trailer that got hung up on that. That yellow concrete post, you know what I mean? Rip the whole back axle off. It's still kept going. Yeah, both both rear axles off the trailer and go

Iron Mike  25:37  

go dig up dirt, like the dirt a horse with the blinders on? That's always seen as boring.

Jeremy Perkins  25:45  

And so, I mean, is that in all seriousness, is that bringing you all down? Is that Is that something that like, you're mad at dispatches you mad at companies for, for not having to train and not having? Like, I mean, because Because ultimately, like when people start seeing that right there on tick tock, you know, being from the trades is funny, it is what it is. But at the end of the day, like people like you know, truck drivers are no good. bottom of the barrel people and now you're lumped into them now, as a mechanic, I'm lumped into it. I'm like, fuck, those guys are just morons. What's your feeling on that? And, and you're gonna

Iron Mike  26:23  

you're gonna have every trade and every fucking every industry has got. So people like that, right? Yeah, so but 90% of people are sitting in an office like this. So when they fuck up, and they fuck up major, and they fuck up, majorly? Nobody can see it but maybe three or four people. Now when you're driving around with a 53 Fucking billboard 53 foot fucking billboard. You know what I mean? And you got 9 million fucking people with phones. It's 10 times worse because every every people can't wait to see a fucking accident, man. Can't wait then. So everybody wants to get that viral video. So naturally, when you're on the road, you're going to what are you gonna take a video of two quarters of smashed together are fucking a tractor trailer and fucking real real fucking two cars. You know? I

Jeremy Perkins  27:12  

mean, be honest with you. I got the old lady driving and I'm sleeping. You know, so that I mean, it's just it's just funny because I always ask you know, a lot of times, you know what brings down the trade and what you know as you go into, you know, the rest stop or

Iron Mike  27:36  

lazy. It's lazy people mostly. I mean, you're lazy. They can't get off the field. They can't fucking they can't open the door and put it in the can crash they have to I mean, listen, I do a lot of videos and shit. I know I piss lot of people off but I'm not really telling them shut up the fuck yeah, I mean, I just did it on Facebook and broke so many people saw it that I threw a bag of trash got fucker went. And you

Jeremy Perkins  28:01  

went back and picked it up. Lose all property. Yeah. You ain't dead though. Shit. No, I mean, and that's what's crazy is, you know, obviously, one of the goals for this podcast is to bring light to the trades and, and you know how we can raise it up. And, you know, we're still some tough badass people out there. But at the end of the day, we actually care about what we do. Oh, yeah. And you know, there's a lot of Joker's out there that I could see go you know see it later

Iron Mike  28:37  

that's why I do that's why I run my paid for where I do right? Because you have so many fucking talking heads out there that wanted to give you Google answers and they want to give you a bullshit fucking get the kids want to hear right? I don't want that. I want people to see my page. And I want them to fucking see that. You can do this shit. You can you can be safe. And you can have fun you can live if I didn't have fun like I do every fucking day. I probably still wouldn't be doing this. Yeah, yeah. I have fun every fucking day. And that's on us.

Jeremy Perkins  29:10  

Well, so since you have fun every day outside of what you do what is one of the what is one of the things that Mike unwinds on like you go fishing you go shooting fuck you sit in a hammock? I don't know run around the yard naked. What do you do?

Iron Mike  29:25  

Well, I do I used to do a lot of shooting not as much anymore but that's my own. That's my prime as my phone just because I don't go out as much but I got a fishing hole right across from here are my two big things my kid would college and shit so I try to spend whatever time with him. Mama she's stuck here because I'm out fucking whenever I have a chance. We're always going out to dinner or fucking, you know, doing lunch or something like that. You know? A lot of drinking.

Jeremy Perkins  29:59  

Cheers, brother. All right, so, end of the podcast. I have one question and then I want you to plug whatever our mic you want to. But I need to ask, go fuck your mom. Where did that come from?

Iron Mike  30:16  

Being honest with you, because first time I heard it was Joe Pesci in Goodfellas in 1991, and I think I was like, I was this. God. Last week, I was home from school suspended because a fight. And that movie came on and I fucking was glued to it. I'm sitting there watching. And then in that whole scene, I don't know if you remember it or not. But what he told

Jeremy Perkins  30:41  

I was at 91, I was six years old. Okay. All right. Well,

Iron Mike  30:45  

Joe pass, he's telling the story. He's with his buddies on with the bar. And he's telling the story and he said, how the cop came up to him and a cop fuck him up a couple of power Pang booming. And he said, he woke up. And he said, he looked at him and he saw the big picture from you. What are you doing here being What are you doing here? I thought I'd take a fucking moment. And I was like, Damn, dude. So break down on the spot. I started up in the Northeast back then everybody. Ah,

Jeremy Perkins  31:15  

yeah, ne ain't nice.

Iron Mike  31:16  

And like I say, Man, when I first started Tiktok I never wanted any kind of fanfare. I wanted to be the fucking asshole, motherfucker. So that was my tagline. Every time I would end a video I say go fuck your mom. And who the fuck would think that anybody would ever get on board with something like that? Right?

Jeremy Perkins  31:33  

You gotta own clothing line.

Iron Mike  31:36  

Yeah, so it's out of control. Wait, wait. I mean, I never expected to be cocky. Especially talking to anybody, especially Trump, do you? I mean, talking to real people will say it's like, the fucking the athletes that I've gotten from this shit is it's unbelievable. Hey,

Jeremy Perkins  31:55  

we're, we're, we're a family. I mean, when it comes to trades, I come from the trades. We're different. We're different trades. But the more people I meet, the more people I do a podcast with same. Same way you the more people you you empower or, or hell fucking argue with. I mean, because at the end of the day, we're not all going to agree on everything. Right? It'll, it'll bring us all up. And like I said, we got a labor shortage. And it's hard finding those guys and girls that want to wake up every morning. And fucking, you know, be early, stay late. You don't have to be smart. You don't have to be knowledgeable. You just got to want to work. And exactly. That's it effort. So, you know, that's, that's what this is all about. I mean, from the Tick Tock pages to Instagram to, you know, talks and classrooms to podcasts. It don't fucking matter. We're all on the same team to be honest with you.

Iron Mike  32:52  

100% man, and you know, my brother, I'm I'm, I do what I do. My brother's a fucking media partner. My other brother is a forklift girl. My other brothers in prison. Oh,

Jeremy Perkins  33:02  

man. He's in a big money. He's a forklift operator. Right, sir. Sir, the

Iron Mike  33:14  

deck over there

Jeremy Perkins  33:25  

but, anyway, um, no, that's awesome. I mean, yeah, exactly. The blue collar runs deep. It does. So, you know, awesome. Awesome to hear your story. But if anybody truly genuinely wants to get into the field, wants to know more about Mike, where can they hit you up?

Iron Mike  33:45  

Listen, I'm on every social media app. If you come if you have if you want to talk to me about some, and it's not, you know, something stupid, just fucking bullshit. If you guys suddenly want to ask me if I can help you out in some way. I usually I try to answer every message. Like I say, Man, I ain't nobody. I'm a fucking worker. And I hit it off a little bit. But if I could share a little bit, and I tried to share my knowledge through the videos, I know I do a lot of stupid shit. But I think people are smart enough to know that there's no magnets on the fucking trailer. But they hit me up anywhere because I'm Facebook. If you send me a message is eight times out of 10 I'm gonna get to it and I'm going to answer it.

Jeremy Perkins  34:38  

So you're saying there's a chance there's a chance? Well, thanks for being on the podcast and

Iron Mike  34:48  

shout out to rock for him. That's my sponsor, and boom. I appreciate you guys. Seriously.

Jeremy Perkins  34:54  

Yeah, brother. And as a special thanks to our loyal listeners. We're giving $10 off your next purchase of $60 or more at brunch workwear.com Use Discount Code bucket talk and that's bucket talk 10