Designing Your Dream Life: Tony Taveras - Linear Roofing Executive and Champion Bodybuilding Pro

In Beyond The Story podcast, host Sebastian Rusk interviews special guests to uncover their stories of success, highs and lows, and lessons learned along their journey. One of those special guests is Tony Taveras. Tony reveals his journey growing up in a small town, getting injured his senior year of high school, and making difficult decisions in pursuit of his dreams. Tony recalls his days dealing with insurance to his journey to the top of the fitness industry. Tony eventually found success owning and scaling a multibillion dollar business with his father. Along the way, he reflects on the power of our words and never taking any situation lightly. Tony intertwines advice from a fellow guest Eric Thomas, AKA, the hip hop preacher. Eric encourages him to win and to surround himself with winners. He also emphasizes that in order for one to reach their goals, hard work is the only shortcut. In conclusion, Sebastian and Tony remind the audience that connecting with individuals like Tony can motivate and help lead us to our ultimate path of success.

Blog Post

Blog Post 1

Tony Taveras’ and Sebastian Rusk’s recent podcast episode is filled with incredible advice to propel individuals to success. During the conversation they link their mutual friend, the one and only Eric Thomas, AKA the “Hip Hop Preacher”, as an inspiration to them both. “If you have that hunger or that fire and that drive and that passion, it doesn't matter what your background is, it doesn't matter your ethnicity and it doesn't matter your gender”, said Tony Tavares.

If you’re looking for tips to boost your career, this is the episode for you. Here are some tips from Tony Taveras to get ahead in your career:

1. Keep learning and constantly be looking for ways to grow.

2. Don’t quit, even if it’s uncomfortable.

3. Foster relationships and network with those in your field or similar fields.

Tony and Sebastien dive deep into developing a passion, the importance of stretching yourself, and the power of connecting with people. This episode is packed with inspirational insight and motivating advice to get you where you want to be. Tune in to this episode and leave invigorated and ready to pursue career success.

Quote: “If you have that hunger or that that fire and that drive and that passion, it doesn't matter what your background is, it doesn't matter your ethnicity and it doesn't matter your gender”

Blog Post 2

Sebastian Rusk and Tony Taveras recently met up for a “Beyond The Story” podcast episode and shared the inspiring story of how Eric Thomas, AKA the “Hip Hop Preacher”, has been an inspiration to them both. As Tony Taveras said: “you don't have to have power. You don't have to have resources, you just have to have belief in yourself,”

If you are looking for a way to get the leg up on the competition and propel yourself to success, this podcast is a must-listen. Here are three valuable tips from Tony Taveras that can help you achieve career success:

1. Stay true to yourself and strive to achieve your goals.

2. Constantly search for ways to grow and develop.

3. Develop good relationships and don't be afraid to reach out.

Tony and Sebastian go beyond the surface level and discuss the need to stretch yourself to gain success. This episode is full of inspiring advice to help you reach your career goals. Don’t miss out on this podcast episode and get the tips you need to succeed.

Quote: “you don't have to have power. You don't have to have resources, you just have to have belief in yourself,”

Best Quotes

[00:00:53] "You got up on that stage and absolutely blew the roof off. This man can speak to paint off the walls."

[00:01:16] "I immediately knew when I had that inkling of, like, hey, man, this guy's got the thunder and he's going places that need to link with this guy."

[00:01:55] "Ever since that video went viral, you know, you got to want it as bad as you want to breathe. That just hit me so hard when I was coming up in the sales arena, I remember watching that video."

[00:03:35] "My parents are amazing human beings. It's very rare when a couple can come together and grow a business together."

All Quotes

[00:00:53] "You got up on that stage and absolutely blew the roof off. This man can speak to paint off the walls."

[00:01:16] "I immediately knew when I had that inkling of, like, hey, man, this guy's got the thunder and he's going places that need to link with this guy."

[00:01:44] "It was it was wild at that that speaking event when you walked up and you said you knew e t and it's like he he he's been such an inspiration to me since I was 20 years old."

[00:02:18] "It just connected with me."

[00:02:48] "God's got a great sense of humor at times when he links us all up and we find out how closely connected we really are or we just start aligning with the people. That we're supposed to be on the path with."

[00:03:35] "My parents are amazing human beings. It's very rare when a couple can come together and grow a business together."

[00:03:58] "We actually moved to Texas. When I was about 7 years old, my parents decided to start a business. And that business was a small business. It was a small retail store."

[00:04:05] "I had all my friends. I'm just kid, you know, III I'm in elementary, and I'm like, all that all there is in Texas. There's a bunch of cowboys and horses. Like, I don't, I don't want to move there. You could not know any better."

[00:05:00] "My parents were extremely, you know, instilled discipline in me, consistency, and how to grow a business. So definitely, it started with my parents. Amazing."

[00:05:26] "It's a good question because, you know, as they were growing the business, it was like they started to see that success as I was in my high school years."

[00:05:39] "I didn't want to; I didn't want to really at that time. I didn't want to have to deal with insurance. It wasn't something that I was passionate about."

[00:06:18] "My goal was to go to the NFL. That's what I was training for."

[00:06:55] "I was nicknamed the goat at 12 years old. So, I just took the form of that and when my dad told me it meant greatness of all time, I kind of just tried to embody that in anything that I touched."

[00:06:30] "I had a bad injury my senior year. Didn't get the offers that I wanted. I decided I didn't want to go to the ivy league even though they were giving me a partial scholarship. And I ended up walking on."

[00:07:21] "I said, you know what? I know my skill and ability, and I know my work ethic. And if I walk on to AD1 school, I know I'm going to earn a scholarship and I want to play ball about 2 hours from home."

[00:08:29] "My dad always said to me, he said, you know, son, you're going to have to have a backup plan. You know, what if football doesn't work out? What if you do get an injury? You got to have your brain and you got to have a business mind to be able to move forward and do something else because football is not going to last forever."

[00:08:46] "I had to walk into that office with the coach. Our coach at the time was Todd Dodge. Who was, you know, the supreme high school football coach of South Lake Carol who ended up taking over at North Texas. And I remember crying in that room and walking away from the game of football."

[00:09:15] "For 10 years my focus, my dream, everything I was doing was to go to the league and go to the NFL, and that was my story that I was telling myself from 12 years old. And so when that got taken away from me, it was like, you know, I felt like I was lost."

[00:08:26] "I was having a lot of nagging injuries. And my dad always said to me, he said, you know, son, you're going to have to have a backup plan. You know, what if football doesn't work out? What if you do get an injury? You got to have your brain and you gotta have a business mind to be able to move forward and do something else because football is not going to last forever."

[00:09:52] "I didn't raise my son to be this way. That's not how we raised you."

[00:10:03] "No, I cannot disrespect my name. You know, I have to go and become something I have to go fulfill my potential."

[00:10:38] "He hired me. He gave me my first sports club."

[Unknown] "I blew up in the fitness world, became the goat so to speak of selling personal training for about 8 years."

[00:12:19] "What didn't work out for you worked out for you."

[00:12:50] "Sometimes we hold on so tight."

[00:12:51] "I'm sure you probably could've weathered through those injuries. It probably wouldn't have done you any good."

[00:13:22] "You get a little rebellious. You know, the parents are telling you what to do, and then I kind of went through that stage a little bit with my dad."

[00:13:39] "I just want to be my own man. I just want to make my own decisions."

[00:14:26] "I bet on myself, and I said I'm going to resign from school."

[00:14:52] "I don't want to make 250 grand and be a slave to the clock for the rest of my life. I want something that I could have, that whatever I put into it, I can exponentially get a return that I'm worth."

[00:15:29] "My parents actually said 4 years in, son, don't you think you should get something on paper?"

[00:15:55] "You know, 8 years in, we transacted for the largest deal in the insurance restoration space of our kind. And now we're already on the verge 8 months later to transact again within the next 12 months for what could be a billion dollar deal. So you know, it all worked out for me and I trusted my gut, and here we are."

[00:16:42] "There were so many talented guys around me in the fitness business when I was coming up, selling personal training, and I would just see them Wither away. They would self-destruct. They would find a reason to destroy themselves or go jump into something else. And I can see it now. As long as you're willing to stay the course of something and master it, you know, you cannot become the elite, the top 1 percent of something if you don't you don't work on that craft and you don't you're not in it long enough. They talk about the 10000 hour rule."

[00:17:20] "My dad used to give me even before that as a son, you know, most people will be playing early in their life and they will be paying for the rest of their life."

[00:16:37] "And he had always instilled in me the course. You know, and what I found was there were so many talented guys There we go. I think, of course. Yeah. Yeah."

[00:17:43] "You got to pay early and you'll be able to play the rest of your life, and that's what I did."

[00:18:31] "I crushed her project, painted her home, did her garage doors, did her roof, It was so seamless."

[00:18:50] "I was the second star on the show. It was a show called no demo, Reno."

[00:19:15] "You get a type of opportunity, but you just never know when those opportunities are gonna happen."

[00:19:21] "Showing up those opportunities is what provides them."

[00:19:38] "But I became an entrepreneur shortly thereafter because I remember going into a sales job and then having to go get her from day care and I'm saying, you know, we all have kids. You need to figure it out. You can't leave. And I'm like, well, I'm not coming back here ever again or to any other job and become an entrepreneur."

[00:20:01] "I'm 44 years old. Free as you could possibly ever be liberated as a human being and an individual not married, no ties, no anything I get a call hop on a plane in 2 hours if I absolutely needed to."

[00:20:46] "But that program but again, III doesn't predict the future. I never know when it's sore. But right now, I'm having a great time because I was able to pay early on. Yep. So that I can now enjoy a little bit of this this wild ride we get to experience the world of."

[00:21:55] "And I remember at the end of that book, man, when it when it showed that that that depiction of him on that that edge of the edge of the cliff and he started talking to the wind and he started talking to the sun and then he turns and then he talks to the creator. And then he realized at that point that he actually had the creator inside him the whole time and that we are magical beings and we have the creator inside us and we can create anything that we want."

[00:22:30] "And at that point, my whole reality shifted. And I was like, man, I can manifest anything I want because I have the creator. I have this power within me and I need to spread this light."

[00:22:44] "And so it definitely shifted the way the world of possibilities and my ability to dream and create."

[00:22:52] "And as well, it just got me to understand that everyone has this personal legend. And if you're not on the path of this of your personal legend, and you don't see these omens hitting you because as it talks about in the story, he's seeing these omens too to let him know that he's on the right path."

[00:23:17] "Your soul is a part of the creator. So, you just got to be able to follow your gut and your instincts."

[00:23:40] "I don't take any situation lightly because that situation may impact that person's life forever."

[00:23:53] "Our words have power. They most definitely do."

[00:24:27] "It's so important to be aware of how we're showing up. You definitely know how to show up because that's why we're having a conversation right now and we're buddies now, man."

[00:25:04] "Some people say they want shit, but they don't really want it. And that's why they don't get it."

[00:25:46] "You got to really ask yourself whatever you're wanting in this life, whatever your goals are, your targets, like, do you really want it? Does it burn to the point where you get so emotional because if you do, if you put that feeling into it and you get behind it with actions daily and consistency, the universe is going to help you get it. It's just a matter of time."

[00:26:23] "I find myself emotional in those states. I find myself going back to live in Miami here. So we had beautiful landscapes all over the place to catch a sunrise and walk."

[00:26:40] "But sometimes I've been emotional on that walk because I I have worked through some shit on that bridge. I've worked through some shit on that beach and being able to to see how far I've been able to to come from where it used to be and be."

[00:26:57] "Don't ever forget where you came from. That's not just a neighborhood. That's not just a city. That's like where were you emotionally when you got on this on this adventure to become the best version of yourself."

[00:27:36] "My boy Gary Vee has said that for the past decade. Everybody wants it. Nobody wants to work for it."

[00:27:44] "You can't fake pushups. It's another famous, you know, the famous quote from."

[00:28:23] "We got into a space where others, when we started in the space, you know, they were like, are you crazy? You're coming into the roofing space in the hottest area in the country, and you think you're gonna be able to compete with all these other national roofing companies and we're like, hold my beer. Right?"

[00:28:42] "We came from building a multibillion dollar business already. That's what people don't realize."

[00:29:34] "We help homeowners do the insurance claims process, and we're able to put their home back to pre storm conditions, and we don't just do roofs."

[00:29:48] "We wanted to get into the arena where, you know, when a hailstorm comes through or or a hurricane comes through, we can restore the entire property."

[00:30:01] "We would meet adjusters on-site, make sure, you know, at these million dollar properties, that everything that a homeowner had on this property was getting accounted for by the insurance company."

[00:30:41] "If we knew we could come in with that type of business acumen, we didn't know roofing, but we knew how to take care of customers. We knew how to sell. We knew how to build value. We knew how to deliver excellent customer service. And if we just did what we said we were going to do, we were already going to separate ourselves."

[00:31:08] "We use social media to our advantage. And what happened is we would bring people in, we would get them winning at such a high level to where we took guys from the fitness industry that were making a hundred k a year all of a sudden, they're making 4 or 500 k a year."

[00:31:35] "We actually have this thing trademarked. It's bought. By our platform. I mean, it's bought. Right? So we take pride in that because in the roofing space, when a storm comes through, homeowners get knocked on their door by all these different types of roofing companies and they're pitching all these different things. You know, what is truly making you different. You gotta have certain separators."

[00:31:56] "Being able to teach our guys what makes us not the same. The fact that we are a plus rated. The fact that we were voted the elite contractor of the year. The fact that we're now on the cover of the biggest roofing magazine actually this month. Roofing contractor magazine. We're on the cover. Right. We're on an HGTV show. Like, there's not many."

[00:32:20] "If I was getting my open heart surgery and I was getting cut open on the table and I know I just have to pay a deductible and a surgeon's gonna perform on me. Am I gonna go to the surgeon who just got out of college who basically doesn't have many surgeries performed? Or I'm not gonna go with the guy with all the credentials with 20 years of experience and has all the accolades. I'm gonna go with that guy because my life's on the line."

[00:29:57] "We got very good at getting all the credentials we needed, separating ourselves, recruiting high level talent, and then we blew this thing up."

[00:33:34] "When you think about companies like Brink's ADT, you know, Apple, you know, big companies in their industry. You know, a lot of them didn't get there by just hiring people internally. They get there a lot of times by acquiring other businesses, bringing them in and making them a part of theirs. That's how you grow very fast. So that's what we're doing now."

[00:33:55] "There's not a lot of platforms backed by private equity that are purchasing and acquiring companies to scale at that level because ultimately what's gonna happen is insurance carriers are gonna wanna work directly with these type platforms. Because now we can help."

[00:34:45] "You wanna win. You gotta get around winners. You gotta make sure you're in the right room with people winning and also make sure you're not the richest and smartest guy in the room. And when I get in the linear room, I'm definitely not here, which In which I'm real grateful for."

[00:34:57] "Tony Man has been so great to hang out with you for a few minutes here, man, and get to know you. I appreciate you carving some time. Out of your day to to to have a conversation with me and I just wish you guys nothing but the best."

[00:34:15] "Most roofing companies are just local. They're just in 1 little city, so they can't tie in to an insurance carrier like a chubb. So this thing is about to get way bigger than we could have even imagined. I love it. I absolutely love it. I'm so encouraged by you guys' story and I, you know, being associated with you guys. I mean, I just, you know, I know who Kurt is. We haven't had a chance yet to get him on the show, we're gonna make that happen, of course."

[00:35:25] "You know, not only have we now grown this business, but I also, you know, was able to take off in bodybuilding. In the last couple of years. You know, I won the overall. So as we were growing this business, as I was able to go on HGTV, I was able to win the overall universe turn pro, you know, people don't actually know this story. I know that this podcast is about storytelling, so I'll be quick about this 1."

[00:35:54] "I had a hole in my stomach. Most people don't know that."

[00:36:10] "After that, I became an Olympian. I was invited to the Arnold by Arnold Swartz and Nager, so I competed in the 2 largest shows on Earth, and won the Dallas Europa."

[00:36:26] "My goal is to have 1 of the largest shows in the world to get back to athletes because I know that it takes extreme discipline and consistency and the traits that you have in bodybuilding, if you can put those into your business, which that's what I've done."

[00:36:41] "Put some of that discipline and consistency and what I've learned in bodybuilding into business, you can be ultimately very successful."

Topics

The Inspirational Influence of Eric Thomas (the hip hop preacher)

Success in Business: The Story of Tony Newton and Insurance Restoration

Overcoming Adversity: The Story of the "Goat"

The Negative Impact of Having a Single-Minded Focus on Life Goals

following your passion: the story of a college dropout's journey to the top of the fitness industry

from his brother.

The Value of "Staying the Course" and "Trust the Process"

The Impact of Appearing on a National Television Show

The Power of Positive Words and How They Impact People

Are you willing to do everything you can to get it?

The Importance of Investing Hard Work to Achieve Success

"Scaling a Multibillion Dollar Business in Homeowner Insurance Claims"

The Benefits of Using Social Media to Grow a Business

Friendship and Winning

The Inspirational Journey of Tony X: How He Helped People Find Purpose

Episode Links

Connect with Sebastian Rusk:

Connect with Tony Taveras

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Designing Your Dream Life: Tony Taveras - Linear Roofing Executive and Champion Bodybuilding Pro

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