Bellied Up - How to Ruin a Marriage in 60 Days #162

Episode Date: July 31, 2025

Our first caller is going through a tough divorce—and also just fell off a roof (seriously, ouch). Then we talk to a bladesmith who runs his own knife-making business. He’s struggling to get things off the ground, so we offer some business advice to get his business growing.

All right, folks, welcome back to another episode of the bellied up podcast. I'm here with my good buddy, Charlie. It's a pleasure, Miles. It's an honor and it's a pleasure to be standing with you here today. The morning after our first. Bellied up live. There we go. Yes.

You were a little slow on the uptake there. I thought we were going to talk about the bar first. Oh, yeah. I was looking around at the bar. Now, let's talk about the bar. Folks, we are in Chicago, Will's Northwoods. It's a beautiful bar. There are three, four Packers owner slips hanging on the, hanging on the wall over there.

Five. And Miles was just tearing into it, which is unfortunate, Miles. Why do you have to yuck someone else's yum? I was shocked to see that someone bought five shares. One of the certificates says they bought five shares. And so that was just five times the amount of wasted money. That is actually, I'll give it to you. That's an interesting move right there.

It's a flex. It's a flex. And Charlie said, you know, Miles, what's the difference between Packer stock and just owning art? You know, you put it on the wall. It's the same thing. And I said, Charlie, you can resell art. Not all art. And hold its value.

Not all art. It's true. I mean, some art you buy and turns out the art sucks and you can't resell it. Now, I bet you. And then you find that's the same thing with Packer's stock. I bet you that there is a pretty solid resale market for Packer's stock. I bet you people are looking to buy some stock on the, on the, you know, second market. Yeah, but you can't sell your stock, I don't think, can you?

Well, you can sell anything you want, Miles. People sell cocaine. You could sell the piece of paper, but I don't think you technically can transfer the ownership, right? Well, you can never cash in the ownership. It's worthless. I know, that's what I'm saying, dude. Well, no, I know. don't think we're saying this i mean i think we're saying the same thing but we're not meaning the

same thing okay it's worthless on the north well anyway this bar's got a lot of other cool stuff it's a it's a wisconsin bar here in chicago right yeah behind enemy lines yep badger bar packer bar i mean you look around here oh they got some perch up there miles have you ever caught perch that big no that's a vintage one i mean but back in the day they used to make the perch bigger they did I mean, good Lord, look at those fillets. Holy smokes. God, them are good eaters. Or they could be Lake Michigan Perch.

I mean, Lake Michigan Perch today are that size. Do you like catching perch, Miles? Are you more of a walleye guy? I try to catch walleye. I do not catch walleye, though. Oh, I'll take you out. We'll get some of a lot. You got to take me out.

Yeah. Take you out. So, yeah, we're at Will's Northwoods here in Chicago. It's a great spot. really is man you you you know to be this bold with the the the wisconsinness to be this bold in chicago with the wisconsin this is something um some inspiring you know it says say it loud say it proud and that's what i like about will's north woods they're saying it very very loud bin scumbardi just you know on the sports illustrated cover right there uh the super champion

miles super champion so uh boy that guy's got his hand right in the guy's crotch right there good for him good for him yeah well charlie how do you think the show went last night we uh last night did the first bellied up live yeah i mean well people can probably tell there's a little bit of a slowness on the giddy up here because we were we were pouring it all out on the stage last night. And I think it went fantastic. I think it was fun. We had some laughs. We had some laughs. We had some awkward moments. Some awkward moments, which were really good. There was someone who potentially found love at her show. Yes. A couple people actually. Yeah. A couple people. Yeah, we might have just made a baby last night. Not you and me together. Well, the one couple was like, the one gal was like 50 something,

so I don't think they made a baby. You never know, Miles. You never know. Don't question God. you're right yeah um with modern medicine you just never know you never know oh that's nice wall eye on the wall um ADD listen miles it was fun I think that um really the people showed up and that's what makes bellied up live great you know it's when when you guys come out and you just you bear it you let us know what's on your mind you just you're willing to come up on stage and just let let loose just be you and what happens then is just magic and miles and i are just facilitating your magic right miles yeah i mean it was cool to see all the people you know you put out a podcast on the internet you don't get to see the like face-to-face stuff so it's nice to do belly it up

live and talk to people who listen to the podcast and see them in person it's really cool yeah i mean you You're kind of like, you know, yeah, you know, and you hear their voices when they call in, but it's something different when you hear a voice. We actually did have a caller who had called in, show up to the show, came on stage last night, too. Yeah, she gave me a, she gave me a little bit of hell. Yeah. But that's okay. That's okay. People can do that.

I'm glad that people feel comfortable giving me hell, but no one ever gives you hell miles. Yeah, like what other, like, comedy show did people come up on stage and just start laying into the people that are acting? I like to feel like we have a nice there's no hierarchy here you know it's for sure if anything I get you know it's like we kind of you kind of got a talking to like you're in the principal's office I know that gal on stage I know and that's that's just what you're going to get yeah I mean that could have been an awkward moment but you know what I rolled with it um so it went great I had a lot of fun. Did you have a lot of fun? Oh, man. I really did. I was really in it on stage. But Charlie, it wasn't we did. It wouldn't be a bellied up show without a little, a few, uh, mishaps. We had some hiccups. We made some wrong moves. I made a few, uh, errors in judgments. I think the funniest one. And it wasn't, I don't blame you for this. But we, the first show was going went great, you know. And then Charlie's like, like, all right, this is the last, you know, person.

We do it. And I look up at the clock and we're supposed to go for at least another like 25, 20, 25 minutes. Yeah, yeah, it's our show. Have a good one. Everyone. And I'm just thinking, okay. Man, all right. So we go offstage and the staff is like, uh, what?

Um, no one has their checks. So they're just going to be sitting here for like 20 minutes while everyone closes out. Miles, I knew that. I knew that. Don't you ever go to a rock star show, you know, and then they finish their set and they're like, that's it, good night. We love you. And then what happens after?

Encore. Encore. And I didn't want to leave it to chance. So I knew they didn't have their checks. So they had to bring me back on stage. I went back on stage. Yeah. I did some time.

Got me some more stand up. I'm fine with that. What is funny is I don't think they were cheering for an encore. what were they cheering for what we gave them an encore i don't even think they were cheering to be honest i think they were just like can i leave now they're like no you don't have your check jet so then i went up there did some crowd work did some stand-up it was fun it turned out good turned out good that gel that's when that uh gal threw the guy her number oh yeah yeah on a napkin yeah rob i think was his name i think rob and lindsay i don't remember christin christin i was yeah i was

We got to check the tape on that one. But I think that I feel like that was a good match. I mean, I feel like I could sense some chemistry going on there. You know, there was a love just emanating. You could see it like sparks flying between the two of them. Like when you accidentally put the thing on the wrong deal when you're trying to jump your car, oh, you know, you can feel it. Jumper cable sparks.

By the way, always make sure red cross, red is positive. okay there you go um yeah so it's good you know i'll take that as a mishap we'll take the w miles we'll take the w so we'll watch the game take so do you think we're going to do another one charlie absolutely but i feel like you guys got let us know what city should we come to next what city we're just in chicago what city should we come to next let us know i think miles we're still going to do we're still figuring out the kinks iron ironing out the uh the curtains here and so do we iron curtains I've never ironed a curtain in my life steam curtains how the hell do you know Jared

have you ever steamed a curtain in your life I don't even own a steamer I don't even own an iron anyway we're gonna do it just gotta get the downy wrinkle spray yeah you got that yeah yeah I don't have that either you need to get that no I didn't not like when was I don't mean like you I just mean like everyone needs to get the downy wrinkle spray dude I don't understand like it's one you know how i'm always like we put a man on the moon and we can't figure out this we put a man on the moon and it's like comparable technology is the wrinkle spray they're the same type of what do you ever wear once a year i go to a wedding and the my shirt is wrinkly as

hell but i got a suit over it and i just wait for myself to sweat enough to get it's not for that it's for all the other clothes that you know you put it in the dryer and then you and you forget about it for three days. You open the dryer and everything's wrinkly. You just pop it out. You spray it down with that. You go, and there's no wrinkles.

Are you getting sponsorship money from them that I'm not? No, but I would love it. I would love it. It's insane. I don't understand how it works. Well, product that good doesn't need you to plug it.

I know, I know. But you need to try it out. I'll steal some of yours. Your team has definitely got wrinkle spray. No, I've never unwrinkled this shirt. my life. I mean, I've done that. I've done it a few times. I'll be, but I, in, it's way faster than in your hotel room, just hanging the shirt up in the bathroom and turn it on the shower at full

blast heat. I, yeah. Well, you and me and wrinkles, we have different opinions. I think wrinkles are part of life. I'm proud of my wrinkles. You know, I've earned my wrinkles, Miles. You're acting like I'm like I got Botox, you know? Did you? It's why. It's why. sometimes Botox, you know, like I feel like no matter what age you get Botox, kind of look like 35 always, you know? I think that's the goal. But I mean, even sometimes younger people get it and they look 35, you know, 35's a good age. I'm 38.

I'm younger than you. I know. All right. Well, guys, we also. So people get Botox in their butt. Really? I heard it. Buttox.

Buttox. Buttox. It's fun. So at some point we will release as a podcast, the live show. I know, Miles. You got a kid, all right? Relax. Wait, what?

I don't know. I don't get that one. It doesn't really make sense. See, guys, sometimes the jokes work. Sometimes they don't. Look at that walleye. Holy hell. Yes.

At some point. At some point, usually because scheduling-wise with Charlie and I, sometimes there's a weak gap in between when we're able to record again. But we also need an episode. I like to call this strong gap. In the past, we've done best ofs. And so we might save the live show for a week where Charlie and I, you know, miss each other. And we'll throw it in there. All right.

So we'll be looking out for that. You also will get a taste of what the Bellied Up Live show is all about and hopefully see you at another one. Yeah. Thank you guys for coming out again. That was pretty slick of you. It was real nice. You guys were part of history.

Yeah. You were part of our story. Anyway. So we take some colors? Let's do it. Well, we're bellied up to the bar. Just wanted to chit chat with our buddy Cody because we heard you. It was a stupid question.

No, it wasn't stupid, Cody. Come on now. What's going on? We heard you got divorced and fell off a roof. Well, like that, it sounds real bad, huh? Yeah, it kind of does. No, see, I fell off. Well, no, hold on.

I got divorced first, and then I fell off the roof. Oh, talk about it. Insult to injury. Yeah. I mean, had you falling off that roof first, you probably could, did you want to get divorced? Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. Never mind them.

Okay, well, let's dive into the divorce. Yeah, what happened, Cody? Get right into it. So December of 2023, I totaled a truck because my brakes went out on the interstate, you know? Your brakes went out on the interstate. You got some bad luck. We should just put you in a bubble. Yeah, man.

Honestly, at this point, I'm kind of looking into it. Was your brake light on? No. What the hell? It's a 2015, too. It's not like it was a piece of junk, you know? Did she snip them? Ah, see, that could be.

We haven't looked into that yet. Wow. All right. Well, tell us a story, Cody. So then a few days after that, okay, she went and slept with somebody she works with. So I didn't find out about that until like three months after that. And then I just kicked her out after that. Oh.

Why did it take you three months to figure it out? Well, I kind of knew something was going on, you know. And then I just got tired of it one day and confronted her. about it. How'd you know something was going on? It's just not ever home, trying to go out after work all the time, you know? Oh, so this was like an

ongoing relationship else, right? Yeah. Yeah. Bummer, dude. Sorry. That sucks. But that's why I agree with Charlie on telling, you know, the people under his view on people under like 25 getting married, you know?

How old are you? 25. yeah brain's not fully form my brother not I know I figured that out yeah yeah um what are the warning signs people should look out for if you think you know your your spouse might be cheating on you oh she was just like not ever wanting to be alone with me you know or like trying to try to be busy constantly like we couldn't just you know sit around the house and do nothing it was it was always going out with her co-workers or going out with her friends doing something else and i was like well i'm just gonna stay home because i'm tired of

it is so yeah and you confronted her how'd that conversation go uh not very good well what how did she did she deny it at first or was she kind of yeah you got me oh no denied it all the way and so like like denied it three or four times when i was like look you can't tell me something's not going on what's happening and what'd she say yeah she just admitted to it after after i kind of was like you know cut the shit she was like okay is she still with this guy so i don't keep tabs on her anymore good my little brother follows her on a few social media accounts i believe and i think this is this is all hearsay she is part of a thruple now oh oh okay okay a thruple a real are you guys in

Utah Idaho no no Kentucky Kentucky that sounds pretty sounds about right and two girls one guy two guys one gal I think I think it's two gals one guy two guys one guy two gals one guy so she's swinging both ways you know it is kind Kind of hot. Yeah. Sorry, sorry, but kind of hot. Yeah. Are you, are you, uh, now let's say you guys were together, though.

Would you be, would you have been open to another gal in the relationship? No, probably not. Okay. Okay. All right. And how that was into 23, you said. So you're, you've been divorced for a couple years now. No, no, no, no.

So here's what's worse is she's drugged this out so long that I'm still not divorced. Oh, dude. Well, it's all right. Charlie isn't an annulment. So, and it's been how many years? Yeah. I am, uh, I'm actually meeting with my attorney tomorrow. Okay.

To get ready for the mediation that is happening next Wednesday. Okay. All right. Well, you need to, we got to prep him for that. Yeah. Listen, first of all, you're meeting with an attorney to get ready for the mediation. Get rid of the mediator. You got an attorney, quit wasting more money.

Great advice. Yeah. Did she have an attorney too? Good advice. Yeah, she's got one. Who's the breadwinner? Who's making more money? You or her?

It was me because I was blue collar and, you know, made all the money at a high school enough to build our, build a house at 20. Oh, damn, dude, good for you. While she was going to college. So, you know, I was kind of paying the bills while she was going to college. And then we. Sounds like you're going to. She needs to pay the bills.

She sleeps with someone else and she wants half. She, yeah. Well, what are the divorce laws in Kentucky? Is it a 50-50 state? See, I don't know that much. God damn it. Well, good. He's got an attorney.

Yeah, that's good. Start looking into it, you know? Okay, well. Just kind of letting him handle it. Yeah, in the mediation, is that where you discuss who gets what? Or is that in a different phase, Charlie? Yeah, Charlie's got experience in this. Yeah, you get a mediating.

if it's, you know, a cordial thing, you know, and so that was the road that I went down. When did you start discussing who gets what, Charlie? I, in this, have you guys started that conversation yet, Cody? You should have probably started it. Yeah, kind of. Well, really the only thing we have to like necessarily fight over is the house. Well, that's what you think until she says, hey, I want, you know, your truck. you know i yeah you're not taking the big beer sign in the garage you know it's well yeah you basically

list off all your assets and if it's a 50 50 split how long were you guys married uh well we got married in october and i totaled the truck in december so two months you were only married two months yes this is after dating for nine years dude okay first of all jeez louise uh i think I think if it's less than a year, I don't even think it counts sometimes in the eyes of the law sometimes. No pre-nup, I'm guessing. No. No, my Lord. You didn't know anything was going on before you guys said I do.

No red flags in those nine years. You would start dating in high school? Yeah, in high school. Sophomore year of high school. Yeah. Well, anything that you didn't get in the divorce, Charlie, that you wish you would have fought harder for? No, I didn't care. It was all.

Just trying to give him some advice, you know? No, I mean, look, at the end of the day, I feel like your situation is significantly different than mine. So it's not worth comparing apples to oranges here. But I do think you did the right thing to get a lawyer because I can't tell you. I don't know the law in Kentucky. and uh but you know you you just go with what you think is fair in this situation but you can end up just paying lawyers any money so you know at some point you're just going to want to cut your losses and um what does she do now does she have a good job uh from what my brother said she well actually

she works at a liquor store down here now oh fuck and uh i think she was uh a bartending also Okay. All right. So she's hiding all that cash from you most likely. So that's bad news. Yeah, I would just start getting paid in cash from now on. You know, Miles brought up the whole truck thing, but I just, you know, put zero down and finance the crap out of it. So if she wants it, she can get half the debt. And there you go. Yeah, all right. Nice. Good move to hear that. Good move. Yeah. Love to hear that. Good move. Yeah. going into debt um so have you gotten back on the dating wagon or are you just uh waiting for the divorce to go through what's your situation on the dating game you know here and there here in there okay no throuples for you though no throuples for me well right now you're i think you're in a quadruple since you're technically still married yeah oh man i didn't think about it like that

yeah you're fun you're you're the quadruple you're you're the quadruplet funding the thruple think about that you know i see yeah there are a lot of miles to feed in in that new relationship on the other side of the fence so best move is to just get out of it as quick as possible and move on that's it um but you fell off a roof then oh yeah yeah you don't get back to that well unless there's anything else you think we should know about this relationship Oh, okay. Yeah, what's going on with the roof? Well, so I am an estimator for a roofing company down here, you know? Okay.

So that involves me getting on four or five roofs a day, something like that. Mm-hmm. I get a call. The house I'm going to is about an hour away from the shop, and I get a call from the homeowner, and she says, make sure you bring a tall ladder. Uh-oh. And I said, okay, great. I got a 24-foot ladder on the truck.

So no problem. I get down there and I set the 24 foot ladder up against the house and the top rung of that 24 foot ladder is even with the gutter. Oh, no, dude. So you just go straight up that thing? Like it's a fireman ladder. I was like, well, I'm not going to drive an hour back to the shop, you know, to get a bigger ladder. She says, well, the last guy just put a ladder on the porch roof and went up from there. I said, well, I've got two ladders so perfect.

So I set the 24 foot ladder up onto the first level roof and then a 16 foot ladder on the porch roof to go to the second story. And the business, we call that a double pull. Double pull like that. I got to the very top of that 16 foot ladder on the top wrong, about to step on to the second level roof, and then the bottom of that ladder kicked out. Come on.

No one was putting your ladder? no i'm out by myself you know yeah i guess you said that so you then fell hit the first roof and went all the way to the ground yeah yeah that's pretty much how it and you know is it kind of one of those things like when you're in public and you kind of like trip and then you try and like play it off like you didn't just trip did you like pop up and like pretend to like look at a tree and be like yeah that thing's not going anywhere okay so you know i'm looking for my tape measure did I leave it down here or the second I hit the ground, the door flew open and the homeowner came out and he was like, dude, are you okay? And then I shot straight up. And I was like,

yeah, I think I'm fine. And then I sat right back down and I was like, wait a minute, maybe I need to run a systems check or something because I'm in a lot of pain right now. Oh, no. So what did you hurt? What was the damage? No, no real damage. Didn't break anything. Just, just bruised the heck out of my right side. Oh, dude. you got lucky man good for you don't don't adjusters and estimators just use drones now sometimes they do but what i figured out is like if the insurance company actually send someone from like you know their own in-house employee absolutely not they're not doing that but a third party sometimes they'll invest in the drones because they just leave it up to the

third party on whether or not they want to walk it or use a drone or whatever so sometimes they'll buy the drone and then that's that's ones i like okay i'm surprised you're talking about like in third parties given the situation with your ex-wife ah you know the irony well we're glad you're okay man um yeah uh listen um so uh what what what'd you learn you learn you know it's like it's fine to do something dumb once what'd you learn about this situation not a lot okay well um we're don't double pull unless somebody else is there you know putting weight on the ladder right i guess that's a good one got to have someone there to foot your ladder that's important although 16 foot not that high uh you know uh when you're putting 16 on top of a

and already 16 oh yeah yeah yeah sorry i forgot about to do wait i'll oh oh okay so i misunderstood You put one ladder up to the roof. I thought then you sat the next ladder on top of the roof. Yeah. Yeah. He's just saying he's like 30-some feet in the air. Yeah, right, right. Yeah, of course.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. But you had a good angle on that ladder. You had plenty of clearance. Yeah. Okay.

So did you go back up there and get the job done, though? Oh, no, not at all. Actually? yeah actually what's worse is like i didn't even send her a bid i was too embarrassed i was like we're not going to do this work her i thought he came out well it's her and her husband i talked to her on the phone but her husband opened the door you know and checked on me see if i was okay wow that could have been a guy foot in your ladder you say i mean you could have been you you yeah you know you were already injured so if you would have fallen again what you know you

already had the bruises. So why not get your money's worth while you're there and get back on the roof and get the job done, you know? You know, it was a little repair. Hang on a second. Hold on. When did this happen? When did the, when did I fall off the roof?

Yeah. I don't know. A month or two ago. Okay. Okay. And you got injured, right? Yeah. Slightly.

Did you call 1-855 Nicolet? No, I did not. I don't know who that guy is, to be honest. now you do he's a if you get injured do you own the company no i don't dude get some money brother i mean wait for my company well wait i know but wait for it's worker men's comp they have it they're not paying it they're insurance i don't care how much you love the company you are going to have a divorce to pay for yeah so wait to get the divorce settled and then get a lawyer to figure out the workman's comp for you falling off the ladder yeah did you go to a hospital after it

Get checked out. No, I didn't go to a hospital. Obviously, obviously. Why don't I go to a hospital when everything moves? Just fine, you know? I mean, because you want to get that workman's comp, buddy, you know? Not. I'm okay without it.

All right, fine. Whatever. He's a company guy. He's a company guy. I respect it. I respect it. I'm just trying to help you out here. Fine.

Oh, I got you. You know. Well, good. Well, it sounds like everything's going pretty good. considering you know if you were to say hey you're going to get divorced and fall off a roof that'd be a oof but you think you'd be in a worse spot yeah you're coming out on top of these two tragedies right now although bad things happen in groups of three oh you already had breaks cut yeah yeah yeah breaks caught wife divorce fall off roof you're good yeah you're good like seven years of good i'm good i'm in a good

i'm in a good situation now you know yeah you are man you are adopted a blind dog did you God, you're a good stand-up guy, man. You deserve better than that cheating gal. Oh, I've got better now. Good. You know what? Tell us what else is going on in your life. You adopted a blind dog.

What else? I don't really have a lot right now. You know, nothing recent. That is, keep saying that to the lawyer when you do the meeting. Yeah, I don't have a lot right now. Oh, yeah. No, there we go. Keep talking like that.

That's good. No, he's a pretty nice little dog. He's like 110 pounds, 3-year-old Great Pyrenees, completely blind. Born without eyes. Wow. Born without eyes. Yeah. So is it just like skin?

Is it just fur over where the eyes would be? How does that look? He's got one that kind of looks like it was sewn shut, you know, almost. But it wasn't. And then the other one is just kind of, it's kind of gross. gross, but it's kind of open with just like a little bit of flash or something in there. You know, I just don't, I try not to look at that one. All right.

Fair enough. But it was funny. We took him to the vet for the first time and, uh, me and my girlfriend. Well, did you? I told you, I'm in a better situation now. Yeah. I said, how's the dating game going and you're like, it's all right. Yeah.

What the? Oh, no. It's great. Okay. situation is, I think the correct response is, I have a girlfriend now. Yeah. Oh, well, that's my response then. Let me, let me go back and fix that. Oh, Louise. You made it sound like, yeah, you know, I went to try and meet some people and I just couldn't do it. You know, that's what is that not how you, that's how I heard it. Okay. So you got a girlfriend that, what does she think

of your divorce so far? Well, so she was friends with both of us before it. A little payback. Oh, yeah. Well, I don't know about that. There you go. So, all right, you can, she was friends with it. While you were married, did you have this as your backup plan? Not at all. Okay.

No, no, no. No. That's what we both talk about all the time is like, if you had told us that we were going to, at some point date in the future, we would have told whoever was saying that to get lost. Why? Why? I don't know.

It just wasn't there. How did you, like, find out. you how do you go how do you go from not wanting to date to dating what what was the turning point like did she touch your leg and then you're like holy shit or what no i don't know just just talking over you know mainly talking through the whole you know oh an emotional change wow emotional connection is this gal uh over 25 yes all right nice um yeah yeah And, but you just weren't attracted to her before. Yeah.

Well, I feel like it's a good way. I mean, we were always friends, you know? I didn't want to do anything to script friendship. Especially if you were married. Yeah. Okay. And who made the first move? See, I don't know if there was necessarily a first move, you know?

No, I don't know. Someone had to do something that turned this from a friendship to a relationship to a relationship to a relationship. So the biggest kind of turning point I remember is she invited me to go to dinner with her parents one night. And then after that, we were just kind of like, yeah. Is that when you kissed her for the first time after you met her parents? No, it's not.

When did you kiss her for the first time? I don't know, probably a few weeks after that. A few weeks. Wow, you guys really played it at Sklo, huh? Well, yeah, I'm not even divorced yet, Charlie. I guess that's true. Well, your wife's doing threesome. So, you know, you're in the, you're, you're, you're all right in my mind.

That's great. So you think you could go the distance with this gal? Or are you not even thinking marriage? Oh, yeah, never mind. All right. All right. Um, yeah. What do you like about her?

Oh, she's great. She's real, she's super funny. Okay, that's the biggest thing. Let's be honest. Yeah, because at some point, you know, everyone's just going to, you know, You know, the looks fade with time. And then you're just left with the personality. So, smart.

Animal lover, you know? Animal lover. Obviously, you guys have a blind dog with one weird looking eye. Yeah. Good, man. Well, we're happy for you. She's gorgeous. Oh, nice.

She's gorgeous, too. Okay, so you think she's gorgeous and you never were like, wow. Yeah, something isn't at it. But actually, you just weren't attracted to her at all when you guys weren't together? No, I mean, it was like, I always thought she was like, you know, good looking, but we were friends and, you know, I was married, so. Yeah. Yeah, right. I'm not going to do anything.

No, you're right. That's right. We're not going to do anything. We're always friends. We're fishing for something that's not there, Charlie. Yeah. You know, we're looking for some juicy details that just don't exist. Trying to squeeze out the tea.

But, no, well, we're happy for you, Cody. And we're glad that you're feeling good. And congratulations, man. Life seems to be on a good track. I got a buy-sell trade. Great. Wedding race? Yeah, a three-bed, two-bath, 1,200 square-foot house built brand new in 2020.

Really? Really? Okay. Okay. Nice. What's the, where is it at? What city? What talent? Well, it's technically considered Louisville, but if you want to get kind of closer pinpointed, it's Heritage Creek. Heritage Creek, all right? And what price are you asking right now? I don't know. I think that's something we'll wait a little bit and see, just kind of giving the people a preview, you know? Okay.

Oh, a little teaser. Yeah, yeah. Is the house listed at all? No, no. Okay, yeah, yeah. Because you probably, you're going on to sell. the house right and then divide whatever money is the house paid off did he say it's paid off no it's not paid off all right he didn't even pay off his truck i don't think he paid off the house yeah that's true

that's true got yeah um well good okay well we got it listed and then um you know just some to wet the whistle of potential home buyers in the greater louville area yes exactly all right well good deal cody man thank you for calling in and feel free in the open house to put up a sign that says like uh this house was featured on bellied up podcast oh we'll give you permission to do that yeah that's that's the best marketing strategy i've ever heard and that extra hit and revenue that goes to your share not your x-y oh okay thank you you you bet thank you you bet all right brother man well we appreciate you calling in we can put out a sign out for right says watch out for this house oh yeah with an arrow pointing me and you are pointing to the house there you go let's just start our own realty company

We should do that. We don't even need to. The house comes with some of Charlie's, you know, brandy. There we go. I'll put a little brandy in the top. Yeah, a little bear in some fashion brandy. You know, I like it. We'll make it happen.

Our own realty company, Miles. Starting here with Cody. Well, Cody, tell your wife that, you know, thanks for what she did because otherwise we wouldn't have met you. All right. You know, I will. Lifehorse. I'll let her know right, right dead in the middle of the mediation.

Yeah. Oh, by the way. talk to Charlie Miles they said thanks yeah yeah do that for sure all right Cody you be good my guy all right we'll see you all later see you soon bye bye something's not adding up with I was waiting for you to be like you know I also fell off a roof once just a complete misdirect well no I feel like you have fallen off a roof at some point I've fallen off of roof yeah and how'd that turn out fine landed on my feet on the tall roof

dude roofs are tough man like I've cleaned a lot of gutters in my life and I've done a lot of gutter repair if you will I used to have a landscaping little business and I would do some stupid things and you have some those roofs

are steep you know you really got to be smart with it and I was never using the harness you can plug right like you put a little you nail in a little block put a little little carabiner on it and it keeps you safe. You know what I'm talking about? Never did that.

Never even knew that was a thing as a kid, you know. Anyways. Well, should we take another caller? Let's do it. Guys, it's grilling season. We're grilling. We're filling. We're drinking.

We're chilling. Buy a grill, which is hot. And we got a poker. And let's say you get a little too close to the fire. Burn, baby, burn. Now you're injured. And what are your options? Well, you could put some ice on it.

But after that, elevate it, maybe. I'm not a doctor. Compression, sure. Possibly an ER run. Or just rest it. But once you know you're at a safe shore, you call 1-855-Nicolet. If you got injured, he's the guy to figure out how to make sure you're not paying those ER bills. Give him a call, ladies and gents, Nicolay Law.

Wes, welcome to the Bellied Up podcast. You got Miles and Charlie here. I heard you're, how are you guys doing? We're doing good. I heard you're somewhat of a blade smith. Is that correct? That's all I do. Are you happy being a blade guy?

I was for the first five years. I got to say, now it's becoming a job. Yeah, I get it. First, you love it and then you like it and then it's a job. But I do have to say Blade Smith is like a better name than John Wick, you know? What's your name?

My name's Blade Smith, you know? Right. That's pretty good. I feel like you got two big, like knives, like, like those machete type things. And you're just hacking people. We should write that movie, Miles. Blade Smith. There it is.

Yeah. Sounds like a great only fan's name, too. You know? so um that's not bad so what got you into the blade game man did you just like pocket knives growing up well no no i ever since i was about jeez five maybe i've always loved sharp pointy things and i you know and i should say sharp sparkly or shiny pointy things and um i would tear everything apart. I mean, I'd take handles off of the rakes. I'd

cut up metal out of my dad's bin or whatever, and I'd turn, I make num trucks with knives on the end. You know, I was always creating something, you know, and my dad hated it because I was

just wrecking everything that he would work hard to buy. And at about 16, he finally put his foot down. He's like, that's it. No more. You do that. I'm kicking you all, you know. It was a pretty bad obsession for a while there.

And after he, yeah. He goes to mow the lawn. He's like, where the hell are the lawnmower blades? And you're just out there with no chugs, you know. That actually did happen. Yeah. Really?

You took your dad's glove. Oh, my God. Did you put a handle on the lawnmower blades? Make a double machete? I made, I made throwing knives out of it, actually. Yeah. I put, I put, I, I put, um, bicycle handlebar grips on them. You well, I would, I would file them down.

No, no, I would, I would, I would file them down and I would use the grinder and the handheld grinder and cut the, cut the, the tane in the shape, and I put some wood on them and, you know, for, for the, for the, uh, scales. And then I, I, I wasn't smart enough. I didn't know there was actually things out there to, buy to put on the handle so I made my own I used bicycle hand grips and they were really effective

they were really effective until my dad discovered that all the blades on lawners were gone and you know if I took the blade off the lawnmower I don't think my dad would kick me out was there something else gone where you like you know were you inside

practicing and you just kept putting holes in the wall or like what what was that doesn't seem like enough no that that did happen as well you know I'm mad I mean I was pretty pretty efficient to throw in knives and I could stick a knife

at 20 feet and he was I think he was intimidated by it or scared like maybe I might turn it on him and being a teenager yeah what he did was lost the household Charlie he's like I'm no longer the alpha dog here and I got to do something about this Yep, it's not a physical thing anymore. It's a skills level thing.

You got too skilled for your pops. Right. And then I got skill, and then after he made me quit, you know, they grew up and got a job and became a fabricator and doing that for a long time. I gained more skills as a welder and all of that and say, okay. And then I got hurt. And then my dad died. And I'm like, well, dad, you're dead. So I'm going to go and make knives now.

Okay. I'm just curious as to what he would think now. He's probably proud that you turn this obsession. I mean, look, your dad is seeing him turn these Gwanmore blades into knives. He thought you were going to be a serial killer. So the fact that you turned, you became Blade Smith, he's pretty proud of that, you know? Blade Smith. Yeah.

You know? I know my brother was, too. my, yeah, my brother was, he was real hesitant down until I made him a centennial knife because he was in the Coast Guard. And I made him a beautiful knife that celebrated his years in the Coast Guard and his birthday and having, you know, just, you know, being brotherly in that. And after he got that, and then I made him a sword and then he got really excited. And then he started supporting me more and more.

So it was pretty cool. That's cool. so is this now your full-time gig is smithing blades it was i mean it is i should say but sales have been this awful i don't know i was making five dollars in a month for a long time there and then all of a sudden i'm lucky if i make 500 when did that i think the magic wore off when did it turn well i i want to say last year i ruptured uh two years ago and i ruptured uh two years ago and i ruptured my Achilles tendon, and I had to have surgery that put me down for nine months, and I couldn't walk.

I was in a wheelchair. I'd get a bunch of screws put in my foot and all that. And so it's like the magic wore off after I kind of faded out. And then I came back, and everybody's like, yeah, so, you know. And so I, and then Facebook really squashes my posts because I make weapons. You know, they don't like knives. You got to get on X. So I'm doing what I chat.

They don't let anything go through. Yeah. Yeah, but how do you gain a following? Well, you start responding to people in the blade smithing community. You just get in there. You start creating conversation. Okay. Did you rupture your Achilles with a num chuck, by the way?

Actually, you want to hear a funny story? Yeah. Yes, that's what we're here for. Okay, so I gained that idea, right? Yeah, I love you guys' podcast, by the way. I really do. I mean, I'm working in the shop all day, listening to Joe Rogan,

listening to Shackwatch Chronicles, and listening to you guys. Nice. So, it's pretty cool. Sasquash Chronicle. I saw this video. Yeah, it's interesting. It's something to show the time.

But, yeah, I grew up playing this video game. I think it was like sole provider, soul something where this ninja was, you know, dueling, dual numtucks with blades on the end. And I was like, well, shit, I can make that, you know. So I did. And I took butter knives out of the kitchen drawer.

And I put some nunchucks together with, you know, with chine and wooden dowels and drove some holes in the bottom of the numchucks. and apoxied these three-inch long daggers on each end. And I was really proficient with it. Like, I didn't hurt myself at all for the first two weeks. And then I went to slash at a seat, and it caught the edge of the num chuck and sent it into my knee. And it went in about an inch and a half in my knee. And when I pulled it out, blood followed.

I mean, it was just like a freaking blood phone, you know, and yeah, so after that, I never made them again. So that was supposed to be your funny story? Yeah, that sounds painful. Also, if you get a blade inside you, I don't think you're supposed to just pull it out. You leave it in there. No, you're not. No, I found that out after I went to the doctor. I was like, what was I supposed to walk in the ER with a nun chuck hanging out of my knee?

Yeah, you would have gotten seen quicker. I mean Right Yeah I know you should My mom even I even call my mom I'm like mom

I'm seriously hurt myself And you know I told her what happened She's like that's not my problem Talk to your father That's a good That's good Yeah

That sounds like a mom I think they say in that moment So how You think it'll be the dad thing All right So he needs some help Promoting his blade business Charlie

All right You called into the right What's your Instagram Hi Falls Forge What is it called? High Falls Forge I'm up by I was It is established by crivets up there

Oh nice, crivets, that's cool High Falls Forge Yep I have no service High Falls for oh here we go I can't see your screen because you got Charlie thinks he's like in the CIA Oh he needs a screen protector on his phone

That you can't see if you're to the side Oh, shut up. What are you doing on your phone, you know? People when I... Do you have the nuclear codes on your phone that you just can't have anyone see your phone? No, but if I'm in an airplane and people, this people will look at what I'm texting. It's weird. These are some pretty sweet knives, dude.

Yeah, that one's sick. God, dang. Thank you. You got to start getting into the hunting market. You got to get into the hunting market. Oh, I've tried. Yeah. And how to go?

Yeah, I was in a lot. a couple of gun gun shops and um i just made a spear you guys would see that i made a video out of that one um i mean you could literally use it for killing pigs but yeah you know so okay so who when you were rocking and rolling you know you're at your peak who was buying these is like renaissance fairs guys or what no um mainly it was just people around crivots a lot of them They were real supportive up there. We moved from there to Jillet. But when we were up there, I was doing really well for a while there.

I know, but who was buying them? Like, what were their hobbies? You need to know who. Knife collectors, hunters. I, you know, I sold to a couple of boat captains. You know, I sold to a bunch of Russians. They were buying like crazy. The Russians?

You know. Yeah. I sold, I sold, like, 40 or 50 knives to this Russian family. And I put a couple of swords to a, yeah. So you're doing illegal weapons trade with a foreign adversary. That's good. That's a good market to tap into. That might have gotten around.

They were buying them off at sea. Yeah, well, you know. Well, then as he's been infiltrated. Oh, man. So. Do you do the leather work, too? I do all of it. Everything's in-house.

These are beautiful. I think what you should start doing is DIY videos. Like how to make it. You got to show the process. Yeah. Yeah, get a GoPro out there. And then you just got to look for night videos that you think are cool and start making them that way. Yeah, because I'm not going to, I don't really care about as much about the end product of

knife as I do I want to see how it's made yeah start focusing on that and and look for at the ways they edit it um and start trying to copy that you you edit your own videos like this spear is sick as well yeah yeah i want to know how you made the spear man i need the process that's what i'm buying into i want to buy it on a video right now on that one okay well you start getting that game going that's good and then you know what uh you know how long does how much does a custom miles what do you want you want a spear you want a knife what do you want um i mean i would love a spear but i don't know what i'm going to do with it uh pig hunt he said that yeah they're fun to just throw at a tree man okay uh can you make us a bellied up spear yeah sure yeah if you want one yeah we want one we should buy it though

We'll buy, no, we're buying it. That's what I'm saying. I'm supporting them. And then when you send it to us, we'll do a post with our spear and we'll tag you. That can help. That would be awesome. I could make you guys a badass spear. Well, don't spend too much time on your spear, you know?

Right. I want it to look good, though. I know. But we need to get you, we need to get you making videos and selling it, you know? Look at the high false sport shirt. are you making t-shirts too brother yeah yeah i went too for the metallica ask shirt we'll take two t-shirts too style yeah yeah that you need the thing is that i know you think that uh skeleton holding the sword looks like he's playing a guitar but it just it looks like it looks like he's playing

with his skeleton pecker you're gonna say it aren't you i just said it i mean because that's exactly what it looks like. Well, clear the designs with your mom before you print them on a bunch of t-shirts, for God's sake. I think it was, well, that was what AI made. Oh, for God's sake. I'm blaming Chad GPT on that. Yeah, stop using that fucking thing, you know?

God, they're going to take over. So I think also you should get into the, like, if there's a famous knife or dagger of some sort in pop culture or movies or shows you should try and replicate it as a series right like the i remember what the dagger's called in game of thrones that they end up killing the knight king with spoil right yeah just remake that dagger yeah and then people will buy that shit yeah that's smart that or thor's hammer you know make some of thor's hammers yes squid game Yeah, I know what you're saying. Make some squid games.

Did you can't see them knives on Twig game? Huh? Yeah, those are, yeah. Did you see them new knives? Yeah, those were looked sick, dude. They didn't look like toy knives at all. No. But you should make one.

Yeah. You should make a Squid Games knife that was in the show. I would start. I know, but that's what the people would try. Yeah. Yeah, we'll try. And the other thing is simple video. like how to sharpen a knife i can't tell you how many people don't know how to sharpen a knife so

just do simple like here's how you sharpen a knife do think give people skills that's that's a big thing so yeah make right right yeah yeah yeah and i've tried to show that i think i make it i think from my from my viewpoint making a knife sharp is so second nature to me that i don't even think about it. Like I can literally shave the arm off your hair or the hair off your arm. Arm off your hair. You know, without even second-guessing

it, but I think I'm going to have dumb it down some. Yeah. To, uh, yeah, I hear you. You're too much in the art. You got to get more in the commerce side of it. And really think about who you're trying to sell it to and, uh, what they want instead of what

you want to make. You can still make the stuff you want to make. But if you want to actually make money you got to make stuff that people want to buy so yeah and that's been my biggest um hurdle is not doing what i want and doing what everybody else wants yeah there you go we got to i've i've tried i've tried doing what you've mentioned and i don't understand it but nothing is selling nothing i literally just like put a big old sob story out there on my Facebook page just because I thought people would give a shit and they

don't. It turns out that people don't give a shit about anyone but themselves. Yeah. Make fillet knives. Make those Morrell mushroom knives that those little hipsters get, you know? I mean, whatever people are buying, make that, add that into your thing and then

do the things you want to do. It's like two for them, one for you, you know? So, yeah. The final thing I'll say is you really should think about the process videos because that's what if you just go hey look at this knife I made you should buy it no one's going to

fucking buy it but if they watch a three video series of you sculpting and forging this knife they're going to be invested in it's they're going to be like wow this guy knows what he's doing it's got to be a great knife this and that they're going to

be more inclined you're also going to get more views and the more views you get the better chance you have of someone buying the knife. Yeah. So look at all the DIY videos that are doing well and borrow their format and put your own creative spin up. Stop thinking of yourself as a

blade smith and start viewing yourself as a content creator and you'll sell more knives. Okay. I will take that route. You know, I mean, that's my biggest thing is like dividing my time between getting the right angle.

and getting the right devil, you know, like working the camera. I need a cameraman is what I need. No, you just need to refocus. Just set it up yourself. It's a whole new thing of figuring out how to film the work you're doing. It's a big pain in the pecker. I'll tell you that much. Don't say that.

It really is. Well, it's true. It is. But if you want to sell stuff. I will do it. If you want to sell stuff, that's what you got to do. Also think about what are people using knives. for every single day.

Babies are born every day. People are still getting circumcisions. Make circumcision knives. That's not right, man. Well, I know. Some people don't believe in circumcisions, but for the ones who do, they need a knife. So, oh, yeah, so what?

Oh, you're in the knife business. Who's your target market? Children's penises, actually, is the target market. Oh, my God. You said or not me. Yeah, Charlie said it, actually. Palais knives, mushroom knives, little mushroom knives. Filet knives are a bitch.

I'm telling you right now, I gave up. I made about 40 or 50 filet knives, and I never was more stressed in my life because they were so thin. Yeah. And you want to get a good looking bevel, and it is nearly impossible unless you've got a stamping factory where you stamp out the blade. and shit. You know, it's really, really a hard one. But it's something worth doing because the ones that I did make, they sold, like, before they were even done. Well, then there's your deal, dude. So figure it out. Nothing is working. Except for the clay knives. Yeah, those were working pretty good, but I stopped just because, you know,

the more of them you do, the more you'll want to make them. There's a fine line and stress that I can handle. All right. Well, what's more stress? us while having zero money and we're making a fillet knife. You tell me. Oh, boy. Yeah, I'd rather be broke. All right. Well, you made your choice. Circumcision knives, it is. All right. I have an idea. I do have an idea for a filet knife, but it won't be as thin and as flexible as the ones you would buy. You know, it's going to be handmade, so it's going to be thicker. But I do have a plan all right all right well miles are we sure that we want a spear do we want an axe you're thinking more practical i'm thinking like yeah well what i mean i don't know what i'm

going to use a spear for i'm probably not going to kill a pig anytime soon i kind of would like a machete you want machete yeah all right i don't know well we're going to share it so we got you know we're going to have joint custody of the of the blade yeah absolutely you want machete you can bushwhack with a machete that's what I'm saying how much does a machete cost oh it depends on the blade length I usually charge about 350 for a machete all right let me check with my finance here see if I can you finance it I'm just kidding I'm teasing I'm teasing I'm teasing no that's not a bad that's a good price for a handmade machete you know what John let's just do a surprise us

Yeah. You want to do a surprise? Yeah. You make what you think me and Charlie would want. Surprise us. You guys want one or two? Just one's fine. We love joint custody.

Joint custody. Yeah, I mean, I think a machete would work for you guys. All right. Miles. Machetes are fucking easy and do that one. Miles will take a machete. I'll take an ax.

for real yeah we'll do two how much is an axe 200 all right so i think i can get an axe i've got two available right now actually at the at the store for like 200 bucks then you got to up your prices way less than that way less these i they were originally 350 but people have been not buying so i lured my prices to gain buyers but that didn't help either but they're still at 200 so i'm not going to bullshit you guys and I'll charge you what I charge everybody else can you can you put bellied up on the axe yes yes I can I actually have two axes available right now sold all right miles still wants a machete I'll take one of the axes if you can just put bellied up on it somewhere and we'll pay the extra premium you just do you have a machete for sale I have one

started. I haven't finished it. I've been working on Ulu's right now. We've got nine Uluos I'm working on. I don't know what the hell that is. You know what an Oulu is? No. Oulus? All right. You ever watch like

Life Below Zero? Yeah. Yeah, and they got the Inuit, the lady, what's her name? There's they skin seals with them. That's two. No. the chip and his wife.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's always using an Oulu, the Inuit lady. Yeah. Well, I think you need, so I'll leave you with this. I think you should stop making new product and just sell the stuff that you got. So spend all your time selling the stuff you got and then to make more stuff later. You're exactly in the right frame of mind as I am. And, but I just keep second guessing that people weren't.

going to buy it. So I'm like, I better make more. I better make more. You know what I mean? Yeah, you got it. I guess it's a panic build. Just start putting out content. Yeah, anything you build, film it. Focus on filming the stuff you build. You'll make the videos. It'll be great. We're rooting for you here.

We're rooting for it. We appreciate you calling in today and the folks will go look you up on High Falls Forge. Maybe you got something that you want that they want on your site. So appreciate you calling in today, man. Yeah, I mean, you guys are great. I appreciate you calling me.

And, yeah, contact me about buying the stuff. We'll work that out. We will. You betcha. Thank you again and watch for deer out there. Tell you, my son, hi. All right. We'll do.

Bye, bye now. It's a tough thing, Miles. It's a tough thing. You got to craft that you're good at, and then you got to... It just, it really does suck in today's world. that it's not enough to just be really great at your craft. You also have to figure out how to make content. Yeah.

It does. It's a bummer. Because you get these artists, you know, they're good at what they do. And we should have told them to go to farmers market. It's like if you had to tell people starting a business in 2025, it's like, oh, yeah. If I just get really good at what I do, the product will sell itself. And you're like, actually, you just got to get really good at creating content. Yeah.

The product can be subpar. it's unfortunate but it's it's the case true sucks yeah but good luck out there keep doing what you love and just there's the work of it and then the marketing marketing blows all right well that's it for today charlie another great episode miles fun talking to you fun talking to you folks out there make sure you tip your bartender and we'll see the next one's one okay hope you guys have a good one Goodbye now. Oudaloo.