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The Crude Truth Ep. 125 Blair Bravo and Sam McCathren

Video Transcription edited for grammar. We disavow any errors unless they make us look better or smarter.

Rey Treviño [00:00:00] As we continue into 2025, the real estate market here in Texas is only continuing to just grow and thrive. And with the new administration, there are so many new things that are going on. We talked to an expert in that industry on this episode of The Crude Truth.

Narrator [00:00:17] In 1901, at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont, the future of Texas changed dramatically as, like a fountain of fortune, thousands of barrels of oil burst from the earth towards the sky. Soon Detroit would be cranking out Model Ts by the millions and America was on the move thanks to the black gold being produced in Texas. Now more than a century later, the vehicles are different but nothing else has truly changed. sure there may be many other alternative energy sources like wind and solar and electric. But let’s be honest, America depends on oil and entrepreneurs, and if the USA is truly going to be independent, it has to know The Crude Truth.

Narrator [00:01:00] This episode is brought to you by LFS Chemistry. We are committed to being good stewards of the environment. We are providing the tools so you can be too. Nape Expo, Where deals happen. Air Compressor Solutions. When everything is on the line, Air Compressor Solutions is the dependable choice to keep commercial business powered up. Sandstone Group. Exec Crue, Elevate your network, elevate your knowledge. Texas Star Alliance. Pecos Country Operating, Fueling our future.

Rey Treviño [00:01:35] Well, thank you as always for tuning in for another episode of The Crude Truth. We have just been having a great 2025, and as we are continuing in this year, the economy is really starting to loosen up. It’s starting to thrive a little bit, bounce back not only from COVID, but from the negatives that went on here over the last few years. One thing that is continuing also is Texas real estate. And that is something that has not slowed down. So I invite anybody, like I’ve always said, please. Come, move to Texas, but leave your beliefs and your economy over there and let us have our thriving Texas economy. And let’s just keep it a little bit red in our thoughts on the economy, okay? But that being said, as I joke, I’m recording today from our wonderful, beautiful studios here in Austin, Texas. And today, since I’m in Austin I had to bring on an amazing co-host that knows the lay of the land, Blair Bravo. Blair, how are you? I’m great, how’re you? Oh my gosh, I’m doing excellent and it’s just gorgeous outside. and I can’t believe we’re already in spring.

Blair Bravo [00:02:38] It’s spring as among us. Love it. Spring is sprung. Love it!

Rey Treviño [00:02:41] Well, how’s the new year treating you so far?

Blair Bravo [00:02:44] Pretty good. We were just talking about it. I can’t believe it’s already the end of February and ran a marathon, which is weird. So we’ll hit on that. Expert Sam’s really the expert over here. But yeah, things are going well, job’s going good, and we’re happy. Good. That’s all we can ask for, you know?

Rey Treviño [00:03:02] Well, I’m glad you mentioned Sam because you and I talked a couple of months ago and you’re like, I got somebody that I got to bring on with the real estate market the way it is. He’d be a great place, a great person to talk to not only about Austin real estate, but everything that’s been going on. Because again, like in my teaser, what’s going on with the economy state of real estate, right? What, what is going on? And you were like, Oh, I’ve got the guy what he couldn’t talk to. So if you don’t mind introducing them to everybody out there, The Crude Truth.

Blair Bravo [00:03:28] Yeah, absolutely. Friend, run enthusiast, real estate agent, community builder, and a good friend of mine, Sam McArthurian, welcome to the show.

Sam McCathren [00:03:42] Yeah, thanks for the opportunity. Have a. No. I think I was spot on.

Blair Bravo [00:03:47] The lion up here. Yeah, I mean…

Sam McCathren [00:03:48] Yeah. I feel like you practice that all day.

Blair Bravo [00:03:51] In the mirror.

Sam McCathren [00:03:53] But yeah, I just thank you for the opportunity to speak with you guys today, have that conversation about running, about the real estate market and the place that I love to live, Austin. The things that make Austin so special to me.

Rey Treviño [00:04:06] You know, it is. And as we were coming into town, I’m always like, man, it’s such a, you get a positive vibe when you get into this town, especially when there’s no traffic. Like, right? I mean, rarely, rarely. And but that’s what it was for us this afternoon, which was like, oh my gosh, you know, I was calling our guy going probably gonna be late, here’s what’s going on. And boom, we were able to smooth sailing in. But Austin only continues to grow. And I feel like sometimes as much as this is funny to me. that you can really get a pulse of the real estate market for the state through Austin, because Austin has only been a place for the last 20 years that has done nothing but grow, thrive, and continue to provide a great place for families to grow up along with the young community and the older community as they speak. Sam, so if you don’t mind, just tell people about you and how you got into the real state.

Sam McCathren [00:04:59] Yeah, yeah, well, like they said, my name is Sam. I’m an avid runner here in Austin. Running is one of those things that I’ve found kind of in a darker place in my life and it has really pulled me out and kind of given me the community and everything that I have here in Boston. And so it’s funny that I can take you out of a dark place only to put you into another dark place, for instance, a marathon. Yes. So you go through these highs and lows in those 26 miles and it just kind of creates. a stronger version of yourself and, and really shows you that you have the ability to kind of push through, um, hard things and do hard things. And when you cross that finish line, as you experience, it’s just like, it says special celebration between just you and yourself, um and shows you, that you’re capable of doing amazing things. And so, um being in Austin, you know, Austin’s one of the biggest running cities in my opinion, in the U S I might even push in the world. like The run scene here is insane from, um, you know, new runners getting into it every day to marathon runners that are, you know, when one guy on our team, he just, he just won the Austin half marathon.

Rey Treviño [00:06:08] Wow

Sam McCathren [00:06:09] He’s a fantastic runner and so he’s probably number 50 in the state of Texas, or no, he’s number one in Texas, 50 in U.S. And so just being surrounded by those kind of people, those types of runners really helps you grow in that and just doing the hard stuff with community. It’s a special place.

Rey Treviño [00:06:28] Wow, well, that’s one thing that Blair was talking about was how the running here, like I know that’s something that she’s been heavy into and it’s like, y’all have really built a strong community out of that. And I think that’s some of that’s just been really.

Sam McCathren [00:06:42] Yeah. And that goes hand in hand with real estate, like how I’ve built community. You know, there was one point in my life where I really didn’t have community. It wasn’t like the main focus of my life. And looking back on that time, like it was just kind of, it was kind of lonely. Um, and, and running really helps build that, um, kind of different friendships from people that you wouldn’t necessarily rub shoulders with on a day-to-day basis. It brings like this melting pot of people together, whether they’re in real estate or finance or starting their own business. Um, it’s just kind of like all of that goes to the side. You meet somebody, I guess, for who they are just right then and there. And then over the next, you know, five miles, you get to learn about, you know, what are they doing here in Austin? What are they enjoy? What do they do for work? If they’re starting a business, if they’re looking to buy a house, um, it’s a really good way to kind of get yourself out there in a way that’s not going out and drinking or, you now, staying out late at the bars. It’s kind of this healthy mentality, which I’ve really, really enjoyed.

Rey Treviño [00:07:42] You know, you talk about the healthy mentality. That has been something that I feel like is unofficially, it’s like sweeping the nation. I mean, I read a demographic the other day that said that I think the Gen Z, that’s the youngest one, right? Gen Z? There might be another one.

Blair Bravo [00:07:59] We’re millennials.

Sam McCathren [00:08:02] Proudly.

Blair Bravo [00:08:03] Yeah. Very proudly. I’ll drink my… What? Cheers to that. I didn’t know that. Okay. 30, 31.

Rey Treviño [00:08:10] Yeah,.

Sam McCathren [00:08:10] Right on the edge.

Rey Treviño [00:08:12] Okay, well, I did not know that. I thought y’all were the other ones.

Blair Bravo [00:08:17] We’re, we’re creeping up.

Rey Treviño [00:08:20] But anyway, no, they said that the generation after us, because I’m a millennial, is like one of the lowest purchasers of beer and alcohol there is right now. And I was like, holy.

Blair Bravo [00:08:31] And yeah, that doesn’t shock me though, because, well, I think Austin, we live in just such we live in a bubble. We were talking about this earlier, where everyone is really just focused on self-improvement and health, wellness, everyone’s outside all the time. The weather is great here, but there’s a different there’s a breed of people that Austin draws in. And I think that is also, again… We’re seeing that sweeping the nation, as you mentioned, but I think we it’s almost it’s super saturated with that in Austin in the best way, obviously, you know You know ran the marathon and then next day there are so many wellness and recovery types of pop-up events You know, I don’t think that there’s an equivalent of Austin in The United States We’re just I mean, that’s a very small example, but I think it’s top of mind for everyone people are understanding the effect of consistently working out on a regular basis and how it affects them mentally and how they feel and it builds confidence over time. But, you know, I mean. not to you know kind of put a negative light on like going out or whatever definitely enjoy that from time to time but I don’t know love a routine love going to bed early love making sure we’re getting the workouts in and I know that you are the same way.

Sam McCathren [00:09:56] Yeah, I definitely am. And I think Austin, like the barrier of entry into Austin is so low, meaning it’s a very welcoming city. And you can come here, you know, I knew one person moving to the city. I’ve been in the city for three years. And I feel like my network has just, I mean, it’s blown up because of the fitness side of things. My network of meeting people when I’m going out and drinking and all that is good. It’s fun. I’ve met some really, really cool people out. But when I look at the fitness space and the running space, It’s this herd of driven people waking up at 6 a.m. to get to the run at 6.30 or 7 when it’s 20 degrees out. Like that’s a different mentality of people and it kind of spills over into like the entrepreneurial demographic that we have here. And a little stat on that, Austin’s number six in the nation on venture capital funding. And I think the stats, 45% of VC in Texas is here in Austin. And so you have entrepreneurs that they thrive in this city for that reason. And then it goes into the driven guy waking up at 6 a.m. going to the run club to do hard stuff with their friends.

Rey Treviño [00:11:02] You talk about that routine and that driven, and that is definitely you. You’ve been here for three years and your community and your real estate has only gotten stronger since then. And I’d like to talk about that a little bit about what it is about what you’re doing with real estate and what you’ve seen here in Texas, and most importantly in Austin, because Austin has not slowed down in 20 years.

Sam McCathren [00:11:24] Yeah, Austin, I think it’s important to understand the Austin economy. The Austin economy, the GDP growth is 2.1 on a national level. Austin’s at 2%, which is just in line with that national level, I touched based on the VC funding and why entrepreneurs love to be in this city. But Austin as a whole is the strongest economy in Texas and Texas is probably the best economy in the US. And so when you look at the growth of Austin, we’re looking to be double our population by 2040, right? And we’ve always been a pretty small sleepy town, but then we had the tech boom. We had a lot of influx of people moving to Austin. And with that, you know, it’s always been a seller’s market all the way up until 20, up until 2020 when the pandemic started. It’s always a seller market. There’s always be a fair amount of inventory, but property has moved pretty quickly. Then you hit. the COVID years, and everybody was moving to Texas, and everybody was move in to Austin, job opportunity, tech growth. And from there, we just saw this unsustainable spike. So from there we went down to two weeks of inventory from 2020 to 2022, at the height of the market, two weeks of inventory, homes were going for, you know, six figures cash over ask, right, right. And they were sitting on the market for a day, two days, three days, there would be a outside of these open houses. for people to get in, and by the end of the day, you’ve got 10 offers. At that rate, we were so unsustainable, just this growth, a correction had to happen. And so you make it through the COVID years, the end-of-22, that correction started. And we kind of found the bottom of that correction at the end, of 2023, right? So inventory spiked from what was two weeks on the market. We spiked all the way up to the most inventory that we had seen in 13 years. Now we’re kind of back down to a more sustainable market, just under six months of inventory, which is still, it’s considered a buyer, a seller’s market. Right now in Austin, we’re in a buyer’s market because you can get a property for under ask, you could probably get concessions from that seller to help cover closing costs, to help buy that rate down, depending on what you want to use it for. but… You know, the years before COVID, you weren’t seeing that. You’re probably paying at ask and you’re not gonna get any concessions.

Rey Treviño [00:13:53] I want to say this, and it just kind of highlights what y’all been talking about with fitness real quick before I ask my next question, is that during hard times makes great people. Hard times make hard men, right? That’s always been the same. And you got into the awesome time at that dip. We had a bad economy. Inflation was at the highest it had ever been, at 22%. and your regiment, your routine, the things you were doing were consistent. And which now brings you to this time where it’s technically a seller’s market, but right now for investors, it’s really a buyer’s market. Meaning, and I always tell people the best time to invest is when nobody else is investing. So here you’ve got people that are looking to just, you know, that want to sell and people to buy the homes. But what about all those investors that are like, oh god, now it’s the time to be buying these houses. And that’s what makes it the buyer’s markets that kind of what you see.

Sam McCathren [00:14:49] Yeah, investing’s hard. So Austin is, it’s not investor friendly at the moment. Like leading up to the pre-pandemic years, it was always a strong investment market. Now the issue now is that rents are down 7% year over year and they’re predicting them to go down another 10% over the next two years. So with home prices being higher in Austin as an average home price, it is hard to get cash flow. Now the investment, if it’s a savvy investor who can pay all cash, that’s great. you know, for our network, that’s kind of hard to come by. But if you can find somebody who’s okay with losing, you know two, maybe 500, maybe even a thousand in the red each month, to bank on that appreciation year over year that Austin is known for, this is a very strong appreciation city because the economy is so strong. The exit on the back end, if you could hold on to five to eight years, that’s where the investment is. If you can count on making the 100, 150 K when you go to sell. even though you’re losing a few hundred each month, that’s where the real investment is right now. A lot of investors in Austin are investing along the 35 corridor from San Antonio to Austin. But urban core Austin, it’s a hard place to invest right now just because rent and home prices, they’re not in line.

Rey Treviño [00:16:05] almost sounds like they’re treating it like raw land. I know for us, it’s like, we’re going to buy this raw land and at some point it’s going to do something. And that almost sounds what they’re doing right now as far as, okay, we might take a little bit of a hit right now, but when it comes time, it’s gonna be something that’s even bigger. That’s exactly right. So what are you hearing from people that you’re talking to on the real estate side, your clients and people like What are you hearing from all them right now?

Sam McCathren [00:16:30] Yeah, so, you know, talking with a couple lenders, what we’re seeing on the first time home buyer is the most active buyer right now. Okay. And now that home buyer demographic is, you now, they’ve got a strong credit score, a strong income, and they’re generally putting about 10% down. Now there are stumps still putting that 3.5% down, but for it to be comparable for buyers right now, generally that 10% is the number that it needs to be at just to make. If you’re buying and that mortgage is putting you on the edge of your seat each month, it’s probably not a good time for you to buy. But if you can get that 10% or more down and you can stomach the rate for right now, home prices have come down substantially over the last, we’ll call it 18 months. You can always change that rate down the road, right? But the home price is gonna be the home prize for however long that you own that house. And so if you have a little bit of wiggle room and you could put the 10% down. yeah, it’s a good time for you to buy. But if it’s gonna make you white knuckle month to month, then it’s probably not a good for you buy. So right now those price points that we’re seeing people move on is in between 500 and 800K. And then there’s another price point and this is generally gonna be the person that’s buying their second home. Maybe they’re putting a tenant in that first home. They’ve got a really good interest rate. They’re buying in that $1 million to $2 million range. Those are the two pockets that we are seeing really move right now. And our lenders are seeing like 30% more applications for the year than they were seeing the last six.

Rey Treviño [00:18:03] months. And the market has, that’s a good sign here especially in Austin when you’re saying that hey you’re seeing a growth in the amount of applications right now, is that right?

Sam McCathren [00:18:14] Yeah, that’s absolutely right. And, you know, our team has put, you know, we’re 16 under contract or sold for the year. We’re over just a little bit over 20 million. And so our team even we’re even seeing multiple, I think there’s been four multiple offer scenarios where the last 18 months, we didn’t really have to worry about multiple offers, you know, going to go into war with other buyers, but our team alone, You know, I’ve won one a few weeks ago. but having those multiple offers backs, it’s a good sign. If the property’s priced correctly, it’s in good condition, they’re moving. If it’s overpriced because, you know, a seller had their neighbor sell their home for 100K over asked two years ago, and they’re trying to get that same number, those properties are sitting right now.

Rey Treviño [00:19:03] banned of, that’s a lot.

Blair Bravo [00:19:08] You talk about data and metrics and where you, you know, there’s so much knowledge out there. Talk a little bit more about your team and who your five people or three to five people are. They kind of pull your information from because you’re obviously you’re spitting out statistics left and right. And I’m like, oh my gosh, wait. Oh my gosh. Let me get my notepad out. But speak to that a little more and why and kind of that process with your team.

Sam McCathren [00:19:33] Definitely. I think my biggest mistake when I got into real estate was I was trying to learn and do as much as I could, which it’s not necessarily bad. But when I’m pulling all of my information from a hundred different sources, it can be overwhelming. And so something that’s really helped me over the last year is narrowing that down to, we’ll call it two lenders that I talk to frequently, my two mentors on my team who started the team. And I’ll touch base on that in a minute. And then maybe one or two other and setter. you know, doing a lot of activity in the market. We all kind of talk the same language. And so getting my information from those sources that I know like and trust has helped me kind of dial down. There’s a hundred ways to get to the same point. You know what I mean? And just, it’s personally helped me in my business of learning from those guys that I trust and that know what they’re talking about. Really what I say is I’m not trying to make stuff up just off the rip, you know? I’m trying to… regurgitate what I’m learning from people who’ve been in the industry for 20 plus years. And then to touch base on my team. So you know, Tim and Mike, I’m thankful for the market correction. You really touched base on it. I got in right when I got my license rates went up to I think there were 7.2 percent. Did I know what that meant at the time? No, I was just like, okay, it is what it is. Austin went screeching halt. Like this unsustainable steam train came to a stop. And I’m just this new kid on the block like, let’s go sell some houses. This is going to be fun. Well, I’ll tell you what, it was the hardest thing that I’ve ever gotten myself into. I feel like I was pretty good at the things that I had tried. This was just like, you’re going to have to put in the work. And so with that market correction, everything slowed down and I had the opportunity to talk to two you know, top agents in Austin, we grabbed coffee and they were like, we want to give you the opportunity. And I think if the market was just going as fast as it was, I don’t think they would have had the time to talk to, you know a new guy like myself, you know, come back in a few years when, when you’re ready. But they gave me the opportunity and I’ve been with them for, you now, I just hit my two year mark with those guys and you know, they’re like. They’re like brothers to me. Just mentors that I didn’t know were gonna be in my life when I decided to get into real estate. But it’s just like, God’s got a way of being like, here you go. You know what I mean? I took the right action. Here’s a little life raft for you. You know I mean. For sure.

Rey Treviño [00:22:10] that. I like that. It’s like, Hey, I took the right action, but here’s the life raft to keep you going in that direction. I like that and mentors are so important. I know you talk about like, like I mentioned, you know, recognizing that you got in at a tough time, it never helps in anything new, right? Because boom, hits you like, wait a minute. And that was like, for me, in oil and gas in 2011, it wasn’t quite the hype. All of a sudden, we had this amazing growth spurt by 2015 and four years and boom, it crashed on us again. And for me, I had a couple of mentors like, man, this ain’t the first crash. This isn’t going to be the, this isn’t gonna be the last. Get ready because we’re about to build back up again. And when you have people like that in your corner that you can get information from and help you out, it’s always very important. You know, I’ll do a little radio interviews or TV interviews every now and then, and I’ll be like, I call a couple people and be like Hey, I’m going to talk about, you know, why the oil market’s doing this today. Here’s, here’s what I, here what I’ve read. This is what I’m thinking. What do you think? They’re like, okay, yeah, that sounds good, but maybe add this or we’ll take this out because based off the actual statistic and know your math is wrong, right? But to have those people that you can talk to in any industry really allow you to grow, especially when you take that info, Sam, like you’ve done, just taking that knowledge.

Sam McCathren [00:23:28] Yeah, and I think it’s important like boots on the ground in whatever market doesn’t even have to be Austin. If you’re looking to invest in a different city, like you need to have boots on the ground, in that city and not read the national headlines because really when Austin was at the top man, people were just frothing at the mouth for us to crumble and fall. Austin’s in a bubble. The housing market is going to crash. We’ve come down to a nice soft landing here and we’re still seeing a ton of transactions each month. Boots on the ground in Austin is far different than what you would probably read on the Washington Post about the Austin housing market. We still have a ton of growth that we’re looking forward to. Major, major companies moving to Austin. They wouldn’t be moving to Boston if it wasn’t for good reason.

Blair Bravo [00:24:11] Exactly. I like that. No, I love that. I love that. And I think also just going back to what you said earlier, timing, timing for you. You felt like, oh my gosh, is this going to crash or did I just do, but that that had to have happened because it allowed you to connect with your two mentors and they had the time. And then, you know, having to go through like a winter or a dark season or whatever it may be to then arrive on the other side and now. look at you now, like you are living, breathing with so much confidence within that industry, which is so awesome to see. So it’s like, you kind of just have to go through the whole process of like, that’s when you know you’re in the right room. When it’s when you have that pit in your stomach where it’s, like, I don’t know if I should be doing this. I don’ feel qualified. That’s when need to step in and that’s exactly what you did, which is so cool.

Sam McCathren [00:25:03] Yeah, I think, you know, Mike Frost said it best. He’s, he’s one of the guys. So it’s Tim Landy and Mike Frost.

Rey Treviño [00:25:08] That was the name of the company? The Landy Frost Group. Landy frost group.

Sam McCathren [00:25:11] Yeah. So there, you know, we’re a top, we are a top 25 team here in Austin. We’ve won it for the third year in a row. You know, they’re both top 500 out of, you know, probably pushing 17,000 agents in Austin and so, you know, Mike Frost looked at me and he’s like, never too high, never too low. Because you know those first either deals that blow up, listings that you’ve lost, clients that you’ve lost or cut you out of a deal, you’re… all that work that you just put in, you kind of like crumble, am I cut out for this? Can I do this? And they’re like, put your chin up, get that dust off your shoulders and let’s ride. And it’s never too high, never too low. And so trying to keep that close to heart is important because it’s not been an easy market here in Austin.

Rey Treviño [00:25:56] No, it’s not. I want to jump into your community again in a second, but I want to highlight and kind of compare, if that’s all right, your marathons and things like that. You’ve done a couple of them. Blair, I know you’ve done one. I did one years ago. I did one of those. I was more into, believe it or not, a long time ago. I really enjoyed doing the triathlons because I did one marathon and the running never stopped. But you got to mile two and you’re like, Okay, then. You get to five, you’re like, let me just do one more mile, right? Let me get to six, or, hey, you got 17. Okay, you know, I got one more in me. And so I can say I did the Cow Town many years ago and that was great, but it was always about that next mile. And that’s what I always liked about the Triathlon also was, I remember my first one, it was like, I can’t believe I’m doing this. You know what, let me get done with the swim and I’m done, I’ll be happy. Let me just, then it’s like, wait a minute, I just got done doing that. Let me go do this ride. And I’m going to do, okay, you know, and then all of a sudden, okay, I’ve already done two, might as well do the third one. And the same thing, like I said, when it comes to the marathon, it’s like, I did this, let me go ahead and see it out. And I don’t care if you’re in first place or last place, if you completed something like that, that really has shows your mentality as a person. And being in the real estate game, you’re an entrepreneur and your community, and you’re doing so many great things that you know that it’s, I got to do this, I have to complete to eat in a way. At least that’s always been my mentality. It’s like I’m going to succeed or else I don’t eat. And so with that being said, you’ve got this great community and you’ve really been able to make that grow and you’re also giving back to that same community at the same time. And I wanted to kind of talk about that for a minute about how you’re giving back.

Sam McCathren [00:27:37] Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think as my platform grows, I’ve noticed what good is it unless I’m giving back. Like it’s such an easy, once you do one event, you’re like, that was extremely easy. We had how much money raised? All it took was my time and effort. It has cost me out of four fundraising events that I’ve done, it has cost me $100 across the board for all four and the hundred bucks was for the last one that I threw. Um, and so it’s really cost me $0. And I’ve, I think I’ve raised over 25 grand across the board in the last two years. Um, you know, one of them was focused on running. All I did was run a marathon around the trail. Each mile was a dollar amount that somebody could sponsor. And we raised $11,000 for the wildfires in Lahaina. Wow. The most recent one we put together in one week’s time. we had a silent auction or a raffle table where people could buy $5 raffle tickets and we raised seven grand for the LA fires. And these are just easy things that we had to run club to start. So I love a good run club. We had a DJ at a coffee shop. It was so simple. People enjoyed it. It was great. Yeah, and it took us a week to put together. Wow. It took us four hours to throw the event and we raise 7,300 bucks for charity. And so. My vision on that is to just keep, I don’t wanna say double, but keep doubling it every year. My biggest event, last year was the first one, was a Pickleball fundraiser for Explore Austin. Yeah, Pickle Ball has taken over the world and Austin is also the. Center of the universe for pickleball for all things pickleball. So they have like a professional team now or something. They do. Yeah. I’ve actually got two clients that are both professional. Okay. Yeah, they donate some paddles last year.

Blair Bravo [00:29:35] I love it. My mom beats me every time she plays with me and I actually don’t play school

Sam McCathren [00:29:42] It’s sweeping the nation. It is. It’s so fun. The barrier of entry is very low.

Blair Bravo [00:29:46] Yes, anyone can play, literally, pick up the paddle.

Sam McCathren [00:29:50] The first fundraiser, it was a fundraising event, me and my buddy, or- That was so-

Blair Bravo [00:29:54] That was so fun.

Sam McCathren [00:29:55] Me and Mike Frost, this is a different one, me and Mike frost were, we were cruising our way through the tournament halfway through, we got smoked by two older ladies. They were phenomenal, phenomenal. It was insane.

Rey Treviño [00:30:10] I got smoked. I like it. I did that. Yeah, we did one with a wonderful group called the AAPL back in October. Me and my partner, an older couple, way older. I was like, but hey, had a great time. We raised money for charity and that’s what I keep telling myself. That’s what it’s about. Yeah. That’s what it is about. But no, for real.

Blair Bravo [00:30:35] So deceiving though, because you go out there and you’re like, oh yeah, like I’m gonna, I’m confident about those guys. And then like the little peewees out there are kicking everybody’s butt. Kicking everybody’s butt.

Rey Treviño [00:30:43] And they don’t even move. That’s the other part. Yeah, that’s the thing. It’s not like, you know, it’s not tennis where you got to go.

Blair Bravo [00:30:48] Yeah, yeah.

Rey Treviño [00:30:49] It’s like, oh, no, I don’t need to move at all. I’m just going to hit the ball here. Yeah. I’m going to make you go here. Yeah. Um, it’s a lot more like ping pong than it is. It really is. Yeah. That’s what’s so frustrating.

Sam McCathren [00:30:58] I’m terrible at either. I just like bringing the people together.

Blair Bravo [00:31:03] Yes. And you’re so good at that. And I think also going back to the Rockman DJ LA Fires event that you did, I mean, people just showed out number one because of who you are just wanting to help support you. And that’s just something to be said about what you’re doing in the community here. But then also just people just wanting donate and give their services by the connections that you’ve made with local businesses and just connections in Austin where It’s just, you could throw something together in like a week’s notice and have such a large impact. It’s so cool and it’s really cool to see. Something specific to how you operate, because we were talking about this earlier, where I think there’s like a learning curve when you kind of moved to Austin. Your first year, you’re trying to get your feet wet, you’re gonna figure out what is this city all about? You’re trying… experience all the great things. Saying yes to everything. Saying literally yes to every thing. You’re a yes woman, yes man. But then you hit your two year mark into three years and it’s like okay, I have a great understanding and pulse of what’s going on here. I have my people that I know, like and trust within whatever industry that is and that is why your events are so successful.

Sam McCathren [00:32:20] Yeah, I appreciate that and I honestly think it’s so easy to do in a city like Austin. Like the amount of people that just show up and they just say yes. What is this for? Donation? What is it for? Sam doing something. Charity? Let’s do it. So the city makes it really easy and then it’s just time and energy that I like to put towards it.

Blair Bravo [00:32:42] Yeah, it’s great. Man, whoa.

Rey Treviño [00:32:44] Sam, I cannot thank you enough for your time today and sharing so much because like I said, it takes a community. And if you are involved in that right, what you put into it, you truly get out. You know, and, you know, you talked about it. I love how you talked about how you’re giving back. And I was like, Hey, it just took my effort. Yeah, look what I was able to do. And it didn’t help me out, but it helped out all these other people that really were needing it. And it just took a little bit of your effort. And that is something that I really wanna just highlight here is how awesome that is and how everybody, I know I could do a lot more about that. And that’s just so important Sam that you’re doing that. And because of that, your real estate is just growing, especially during a time that it is a little bit different here in Austin. Still one of the best marketers there is in the United States, but we are seeing some different things right now and you’re only thriving during that. So I just cannot thank you for your time. for people out there that are looking to talk to, whether it’s about real estate or getting connected here in Austin, how can they get in contact?

Sam McCathren [00:33:46] You can find me at Sam McCathren on Instagram or LinkedIn, or head over to the LandyFrostGroup.com website.

Rey Treviño [00:33:53] Oh, that’s great. You know, I can’t thank you enough. Blair, thank you so much for the, well, one, for coming on and co-hosting, because you know this time more than I do, and for meeting Sam here. How can people get ahold of you? I mean, to talk about anything still, cybersecurity, you’re still there. You’re still there?

Blair Bravo [00:34:09] Yes, I’m still there. We could have talked about all the great things you’ve been up to. Well, we could do a different episode on that. Yes, we can definitely do that. We’ll touch base on that

Rey Treviño [00:34:14] But just in case people do got anything on cybersecurity or want to know what’s going on, how can they get in contact with you?

Blair Bravo [00:34:20] Blair Bravo on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Rey Treviño [00:34:23] There you go. And again, to all our listeners out there, I wanna thank you again for another episode. If you got any questions for any of these guys, definitely also reach out to me. We can get them to them. And things are going great here in Texas. God bless Texas, God bless America, of course. But thank you all as always, and we’ll see you again on another episode of The Crude Truth.

Narrator [00:34:46] Again, The Crude Truth would like to thank today’s sponsors. LFS Chemistry, Nape Expo, Air Compressor Solutions, Sandstone Group, Exec Crue, Texas Star Alliance, Pecos Country Operating and Real News Communication Network

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