Right About Now with Ryan Alford - James Merrill - Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Opolis Optics

Episode Date: September 21, 2021

Welcome to another episode on The Radcast! In this episode on The Radcast, host Ryan Alford talks with James Merrill, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Opolis Optics.James talks about his experiences and the challenges he faced while working with international NGOs and USAID. He talks about what it means for Opolis to focus on its mission while making sure the brand is keeping up with the trends in fashion. James also shared the objectives and inspiration for creating Opolis as a brand, future plans for Opolis and tips on how to build a successful company, and more…James also has a quick take on RAD or FAD trending topics;Polarize lensesSolar PanelsCanton New YorkInstagram ReelsLearn more about Opolis Optics: https://opolisoptics.com/ Instagram: @opolis_optics Follow James Merrill on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/james-merrill-37a4627; Instagram: @jamesmrrll and Twitter: jcmerr04.If you enjoyed this episode of The Radcast, let us know by visiting our website www.theradcast.com or leave us a review on Apple Podcast. Be sure to keep up with all that’s radical from @ryanalford @radical_results @the.rad.cast If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, join Ryan’s newsletter https://ryanalford.com/newsletter/ to get Ferrari level advice daily for FREE.  Learn how to build a 7 figure business from your personal brand by signing up for a FREE introduction to personal branding https://ryanalford.com/personalbranding.  Learn more by visiting our website at www.ryanisright.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel  www.youtube.com/@RightAboutNowwithRyanAlford. 

When I went to Bangladesh and I went to Pakistan and when I went to all these other crazy places, it was really wonderful to start to identify with helping people and what that help provided me internally and for my mental health. You can wear a really great pair of sunglasses, super stylish, but made with really great material that's good for the planet and for the people that are most impacted by the mess that we've left for them. Where fashion meets the focus of the mission. I love it. You're listening to the Radcast. If it's radical, we cover it. Here's your host, Ryan Alford. We cover it.

Here's your host, Ryan Alford. Hey guys, what's up? Welcome to the latest edition of the Radcast. Hey, it's radical today, folks. We're getting after it. If you can't tell, you should be watching the video. You know, about 75% of our audience is on the audio, but they need to be watching the video so they can see the real James Dean,

also known as Ryan Alford.ord, wearing my Opolis optics. I've got the founder and chief executive officer today, James Merrill. Welcome to the show. What's up, brother? Hey, Ryan. Great to be here. Thanks so much, man. Hey, we've been on the gram.

You know, that's where everybody meets these days, the gram. And James is like, I got some sunglasses. I think you might like them. So he sent me a pair and i'm like damn these things are cool and not only that we're talking about sustainability we all need to do our part for the environment and i really like what james and opelous is doing so i wanted to have you on the show man and talk about how cool these shades are well i'm super stoked for being here man and i have to give credit where credit's due my my social media manager brin she found you and she's like you need to get on this guy's show he's uh no pun intended the you know rat the rad the rad dude so i'm i'm grateful for being here thanks ryan appreciate it no i'm trying hey we try to live up to it if it's radical we cover it

and uh what you're doing is radical man you changed the game uh you're hustling out there trying to get the company really moving. I know it's going to. And you guys got a lot of innovation and a lot of things going for you. Let's just start, James, with your background. And we'll build to Opelous and everything going on with it. But let's just start there, man. Yeah, so my background goes into the Opelous story.

So it's a great place to start. Yeah, so my background goes into the Opelous story, so it's a great place to start. I started, I guess, my professional career as a USAID contractor. So I worked for the State Department for about 10 years overseas. I was a field specialist, which meant I would go into undesirable places and implement projects on behalf of the U.S. government. places and implement projects on behalf of the U.S. government. It really ranged from diversity in the countries I was supporting and the projects I was actually implementing. So started my first project was in Bangladesh, working on agriculture value change, helping farmers getting tomatoes and mangoes, you know, from their local farms to the market. And I was there for about a year and a half.

Then I kind of moved towards Pakistan, Afghanistan, which is a relevant topic right now, Iraq, all over the stands, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan. Found my way into Papua New Guinea, indonesia i mean all over the place and then my last stint was in northern nigeria kenya ethiopia and somalia damn you're a world traveler yeah man it was it was a it was an adrenaline rush it was it was amazing because i got to fulfill this this uh this desire that i have just to help people in really gnarly uh situations and to give whatever i could you know to show that i was trying to support them in any any way i could not and then you know obviously the patriot me trying to support you know what we're trying to do overseas for

for our national security here over you know in the united states which people don't don't really understand they both correlate they both you know they they're working together to support us and, you know, our democracy. So not to get too political, but that's kind of what was going on for the last 10 years of my life, which inspired Opalist Optics, you know, to where we are now and here today. I love it, man. You know, where does that, you know, you seem like such a good-natured dude, and, you know, that desire to serve, like you said, and, like, be out there and travel the world.

I mean, what's that foundation from? I don't know, man. I was a big competitor in all my life. I was trying to make it into the pro soccer circuit for a long time. I ended up getting hurt, so my career ended. And my identity was so affiliated with soccer and competitive sports that after that ended, I had almost like an identity crisis. And that happened around when the 2009-2010 economic crash in the United States. So it was really hard to find a job then. And so,

you know, trying to figure out what I was going to do and who I was going to be, I moved to Washington, D.C., trying to see if there was opportunity for me. And then that's kind of how I found international development. And that's essentially how I became a contractor for the government. And so when I went to Bangladesh and I went to Pakistan and when I went to all these other crazy places, it was really wonderful to start to identify with helping people and what that help provided me internally and for my mental health. And so that natural high that I usually got from being on the field or competing,

I was starting to get that natural high. Being in environments like that that was pushing the adrenaline, but helping people was a call of action and a call of well-being for me, which was amazing. That's great. At its core, it's funny how well we serve ourselves when we serve others. Firm principle of my own. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Talk to me about, as we build to more of the Pacific Chronopolis,

what's that entrepreneurial journey been like, man? I know you did a few stints after the government contract worked, things like that. But talk to me about that entrepreneurial journey for you. Yeah, it's interesting. And especially doing this during the COVID, the pandemic, I guess almost coming up two years now. It's been told people what I was doing overseas was very at times stressful and nerve wracking. But I think this has been probably the scariest, most exciting thing I've ever done. I decided to create Opalus right before COVID broke out.

And a lot of my supply chain requires a lot of interaction. And I thought I was going to be able to handle that interaction physically. I was trying to go back to Kenya. I was trying to go back to the Philippines. I was trying to go back to Indo. But because of COVID, it really made things very complicated for me because my focus is so purely on the supply chain and helping the communities that are dealing with plastic on a day-to-day basis it really tested resolve it tested my resources financially and in capacity it's been a really interesting time and you know what it's it's been you know like we've talked about a test of resolve but i've learned a lot from it. And I feel like the lessons learned um and where we could go now that we've been through this is just is is limitless i'm i'm hope you know fingers

crossed what was the inspiration i mean obviously sunglasses but um you know ferropolis and you know as i look at the shades they come in a wonderful package, by the way, everyone. We've got, I don't know if it's faux leather. It feels like real leather. It's whatever it is. It feels really nice because seeing is believing. Like, what was the brand inspiration and why sunglasses? Yeah, that's, you know, I've always loved sunglasses. I've always thought that sunglasses were a great compliment to someone's face.

You know, that's, you know, what they bring out into the world all the time so they identify with what sunglasses could make them look like or what to make them feel um but to be honest when i was over overseas um and dealing with a lot of what i was dealing with and what i didn't touch upon is my career actually morphed into projects that essentially were helping counter-violence extremism. So what that meant was we were identifying communities most at risk for radicalization. So me and my team would go into these places, we'd look at community members, communities as a whole, and figure out ways to create programs that promoted counter-violence. So to keep people from recruiting for Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, ISIS, you know, really, really, really intense stuff, right? And the communities that I

was working with intimately were marginalized groups that were either living in landfill communities or cities or communities that were living just in trash on coastal coastal highways and so they were the low-hanging fruit for for radicalization you know they didn't have the resources they didn't have the confidence to basically choose peace over violence. And so I told myself, if I ever got out of this situation, I would try not only to help them clean up the environment, help with their water and sanitation, their financial, but the, you know, the confidence that they could bring to their communities and families. And so that's why I really started to focus in on what was going in and out of the landfill. Right. And then I started

narrowing in on the plastic bottle and I was like, okay, there is just so much of this plastic, you know, and it's produced from the West. These people are dealing with it on a day-to-day basis. Is there a way for us to create this trash into a commodity for these people right and so two years now into it you know you look to see what people are doing with the plastic bottles and and it's amazing because there's brands out there creating plastic or creating product out of um our pet which is recycled pet um fabric so they're making like hats they're making t-shirts they're making backpacks all out of recycled water bottles now that's great but the thing what i'm trying to do is i'm trying to recreate or use that bottle that we're finding

those landfills or communities and create a durable good which is very hard to do, which I found. It's taken me two years. It's taking that plastic bottle, heating it, beating it up, and then repurposing it into another durable good. And so that's what I've been trying to do and prove with the sunglasses. The sunglasses itself is just a concept. It's a way to show people the market and the industry that there's there's great ways to make durable plastic goods there's other materials that we should be using that can be reused recycled and redistributed

right and so that's why we've kind of focused on that so I you know we work with foundations in Indonesia the Philippines and Kenya and we work with those communities we pay those communities. We educate those communities on what this means for them. That makes a lot of – I mean, I'm glad you clarified that because I didn't even realize the depth of where you'd kind of come up with all of that. That's awesome. Sure.

So, like, the ones that are bio-based. So, like, define for me, you know, the difference between – and I know you've got a new product coming out, which we'll talk about, but these sunglasses that are in my hands, how are they made? What are we talking about? What's the material? So yeah, this is bioacetate. It's essentially some material that we get and purchase at a premium price out of Italy. And it's cool because most bioacetate or acetate itself is created out of oil.

And these are being plant-based, so cotton seeds, hemp, and recycled wood chips is created out of a powder. So instead of oils and all the CO2 that's needed to create those type of sunglasses, we're using powder-based materials so that it actually makes it decomposable. So if we lose our sunglasses in the environment, or especially if they go to the landfill, they'll decompose in 115 days. If they're found in the environment, it's probably over 200. But the thing is, the end of life is it goes back into the environment and back into a process that actually created the product itself. And what's cool about us too, Ryan, is those in particular is that the hinges and the metal core that you see in the frames, that's recycled metal that our program in Kenya provides. So we have guys and women that go through the landfills, pick scrap metal, and we repurpose

it for the frames themselves. So we're trying to create an entirely upcycled product that's benefiting communities that are most impacted by this stuff that's around them all the time. That's awesome, man. Talking with James Merrill, founder and CEO of Opolis Optics. James, so talk to me about the branding and style and all that stuff. I mean, what's the name, the name Opolis? Does that have any specific meaning, anything behind the brand you could talk about? Does that have any specific meaning, anything behind the brand you could talk about? Yeah, absolutely.

So Opolis, it means citizen or community. It's Greek-based. It's the Greek term. But I really wanted to come up with a name that represented empowerment and that had a universal that, and then it benefited, you know, had a universal benefit or meaning to it. But the style itself is vintage based, you know, I didn't want to recreate the wheel because the wheel has been already created a million times. I'm just, I like this type of design. I wanted to show people that you can make a premium product and use really great materials, right? And that the materials themselves are representative of the person that's wearing them, right? So, like, I want you to feel empowered by wearing those, Ryan, because you know the story behind it, right?

Because what's going on in the world of sustainability is so uh so negative and and and so sad sometimes but like with little little steps and little efforts by the community itself that there there can be there can be change right so i want people to to have an affiliation with opolis as an opportunity to feel empowered that they're doing a good thing even if they're not in the landfills even if they're not on the coast cleaning up they're cleaning up and participating and helping these communities by wearing those sunglasses. But the style itself is kind of just, you know, stuff that's been inspired by like some of my, you know, my heroes on the screen and off the screen. And I also wanted, again, to show people that you can wear a sustainable

product and it doesn't have to look bad, right? There's a lot of competitors out there creating sunglasses out of wood, cork, rubber, like rubber tires and all that stuff, which is great. But for me as a consumer, I wouldn't wear them on a day-to-day basis I would purchase them more or less to be a donation right? with my series, with my collections I'm trying to prove a point to the industry you can wear a really great pair

of sunglasses, super stylish but made with really great material that's good for the planet and for the people that are most impacted by the mess that we've left for them where fashion makes meets the focus of the mission i know like you you know you've been transparent just doing it through covet and all those things um you know i know there's been so many changes to the algorithms and everything else i mean

is it uh just been a process like everything else you know this this game pretty well better than i do it's all about ab testing right yeah but to be honest i feel like i've been ab testing the entire time that i've started this company right and ab ab testing means like you've spent some serious cash. And no matter what store you have or the product, the quality product that you're dealing with, this is stuff that you still need to deal and work through until you figure out a niche or a way of doing things that actually converts or optimizes, right? Yeah. So as you know, the ad spent with the algorithms is, is kind of a funky

thing right now. Um, and, and so we've, we've actually, we've had better conversions with affiliated marketing, PR, um, and wholesale and wholesale is actually something I didn't think I would even touch until like two to three years into this. I thought we were going to be strictly a DTC e-commerce brand. But given that we're so new and so young, we can't afford the money that needs to be spent to have the conversions that is needed to purchase a $175 pair of sunglasses. We need to be spending thousands and thousands of dollars each month to get those conversions.

And right now, I just don't have that. I'm spending a lot of my money in my supply chain, my R&D, and my production. Not to mention that TikTok is now becoming its own animal and learning that whole process, learning more about reels and learning how to convert those. learning more about reels and, you know, learning how to convert those, you know, and, and learning that, you know, coming off as sponsored or paid ads doesn't convert well in these certain social media platforms. So for me as like, you know, I'm 36 now and like trying to learn from the younger generation on how to do that has really tested my patience because, you know, I never really even like perfected Instagram and Snapchat. And then I have to learn all these other elements. So it's like,

yeah, you know, I love learning new things. It's a complex ecosystem out there. But it is a complex ecosystem and everybody's using it. So it's super competitive and it's trying to figure out, you know that that narrow path through all this noise or you know competitive arena and trying to figure out what fits for you and like who who in that arena is actually like is is receptive to what you're pushing out there right we just need chloe kardashian i know chloe you're probably probably listening. We need you to pick up a pair of Opelous. And suddenly, this all takes care of itself, James. I know it is. It really is.

Chloe, if you're out there, Kim, I will hook you up with some Opelous optics. I'm in LA. That might be the path. If you get your story out there enough and get a good celebrity influencer, someone. I don't always – I'm not like the check the box of influencer marketing on every product.

But I think something with as good a story as you have, you know, if we – we'll have to see. I'll keep you in mind. Well, I mean, that's why I wanted to get on your show, Ryan. You have authenticity about ryan you have you have a authentic authenticity about you and you have a great following and so i think my story my product you know complements what you're trying to do as as a as an entrepreneur as a professional and as a brand itself so you know i was thinking that we can only help each other you know So, you know, I was thinking that we can only help each other, you know, promote each other's story, you know.

I love that. I love it. Let's talk, let's transition. I know you've got some new stuff coming out. You're talking about the plastic. We gave it away a little bit maybe, but let's talk about product development and things like that. Yeah, so we're really excited. I've been waiting two years to launch this so we're we're launching what we trademarked as our stoked plastic collection and so when we were talking about the supply chain of waste advocates going through their landfills and and beaches to collect

plastic bottles for us this is the collection that i'm talking about so that one bottle that we're there collecting off the beach or landfill turns into a pair of premium sunglasses which is our stoke plastic collection one bottle one pair yeah essentially it might be almost two but we're kind of like you know simple and simplifying it by basically saying one bottle equals one premium pair of eyewear which would retail around 75 to to $80. So it's fairly competitive with what our other sunglasses companies are doing with the recycled fishing nets, HDPE, which is shampoo or detergent bottles, mixtures and stuff like that. But for us, we're going to be the first one on the market to be 100% RPET or recycled PET,

which is a water bottle you find in the landfill or the ocean. And the production process, and it's interesting because, Ryan, this is like these platforms I like to use to educate some of the consumers in the market itself, is that there's a difference between PET, virgin PET, and RPET. So PET itself is water bottles or soda bottles that go from the consumer's mouth into the blue bin and then to the redemption center and then repurposed. So these bottles aren't actually found in nature. So they're not cleaning up anything, right? So our PET, our recycled PET pet is outbound plastic so outbound plastic is the water bottles that we find when we're kayaking canoeing or you know or in the landfill they're actually in nature

so my focus was to clean up to actually do something about what plastic pollution is doing and the fact that water bottles is the one is the number one you know pollutant in our environment right now i really wanted to focus in on that the issue with that it's really complicated because the properties in our pet have already been broke down with the recycling process anyway and then to add to that you put them in nature the uv the the the soil conditions everything is then is just beating it up even more so it makes it harder and harder to regenerate into a new product so that's why we've trademarked and we've got ip to actually reinforce that those plastic properties that have been just beat up and that's that's

essentially why we're going to be the first ones on the market to create a concept or our product like this. So that's why we're really excited about it. And again, it's called Stoked Plastic. It comes out in the end of September, early October. And literally, we're going to be the first ones out there. And as we talked a little bit, Ryan, that we're hoping that Stoked Plastic becomes more than just sunglasses. And sunglasses more or less become a concept

or a proven concept that you can make premium plastic goods, durable goods, out of plastic bottles you find in the rivers, oceans, lakes, landfills. That's huge. I mean, it makes me think it's the ingredient brand. You know, Stoat Plastic becomes, you know, now you've got Ultimate Burger, you know, like the ultimate meat or whatever, and that's the ingredient for like other things. But stoked plastic could become the ingredient for, I mean, hundreds if not thousands of other products that could be made utilizing that process, right? Yeah, not to mention like, you know, the amount of volume you could create at using different applications.

Right? Because for our first batch, and we do micro-batches, so it's to limit our CO2 footprint in production, we've only, I'm quoting, air quoting right now, picked up over 300,000 water bottles from the Balinese coast right now. And that's just with a small initial production. So imagine, you know, a couple thousands, millions of different product we could make out of this stuff, what that would do for these communities and landfills, right? You know, it's not only like getting the crap off of their doorstep, but it's actually

contributing to their livelihood. It's bringing economic change into their lives, which is incredible. So that's kind of what the focus has been on for about two years. And that's essentially why I'm a very poor entrepreneur at this point, because everything that I made from the government went into these communities and this R&D. So that's essentially where we've been and hopefully where we're going. Is all the plastic coming from overseas to date? I mean, is it all, is that all part of the supply chain is overseas?

Yeah. So the supply chain that I'm working with, and obviously we could get a lot of plastic from Hawaii and the coast here in the United States. And that's that's down the road. And that's hopefully where we go with it. But the supply chain I'm focusing on now is the communities that I worked with directly when I was working for the U.S. government. So I know these people so well. I know these communities. I know where the I know where the money is going and how it's impacting these folks. So obviously the Made in America, Cleaning Up America, that is on over $428 million a year just for beach cleanup, you know, just for our coast here. You imagine what $428 million could do for the Balinese or the Filipinos or, you know, and the Kenyans and the landfills. That's incredible. And we still

can't keep up with the trash getting onto our coastlines, you i surf every every day at venice breakwater and i'm you know i feel like sometimes i'm back in bali surfing amongst all this plastic and it's mind-blowing to me that this is not a developing world problem this is a everybody problem you know and until we can start figuring that out for ourselves about okay you know obviously it's cheaper to do things overseas but there's got to be a better way to streamline things so that we can start really engaging the American public and the American labor, James, I know you talked about the real-life struggle of entrepreneurship, but for those that are listening out there that are starting companies or doing things, I mean, have you started your book of wisdom? Yeah, the things of not to do.

Yeah, sometimes it is that, though. Sometimes wisdom is learning what not to do. Yeah. So it's funny, Ryan. It's been like, okay, one of the biggest battles that I have with myself every night when I'm trying to sleep is whether or not I should have raised more money diving into this. And as I go, should I be bringing in investors or should I be focusing on just selling the product? And to be honest, I don't really know how to answer that question yet. But I know for a fact that if you have an idea and you have a passion for that idea, you need to jump into it. Because for me, I learned by trial by fire, and I probably would never have done this if I knew about all the trial and error that I'm now dealing with right now. And as an entrepreneur yourself, I think you can appreciate that, right?

It's really hard to leave a sense of security that we have with a nine to five. Or for me working with the government, there was a huge sense of security and passion there. But I knew that I wanted to do something on my own terms in my own way. And I thought I had a really great idea to do that. But, you know, in hindsight, I wish I had probably a hundred to $200,000 more, you know, to start the company. Um, I wish I had done a little bit more research on the R and D and how long this would have taken. To be honest, I thought the technology had already been there. So I thought, like, might as well just jump right in there. And as I went and worked with all these manufacturers from Vietnam and even to the United States, this, our pet technology is very nuanced.

It's still very new. nuanced. It's still very new. And, you know, little old me trying to figure this out with basically, you know, my savings and a little investment that I've gotten from friends and family. It's been really difficult, you know, and then being being in L.A. during COVID and trying to start a company, it really is about focusing on your story, ryan and that's why i'm here right now is is talking to as many people as you can and is learning as much as you can from other people in in different industries as well taking best practices and taking advice on how to do things um but yeah obviously i what keeps me up at night is is financial insecurity that you have sometimes. You're like, I have all this production.

I have made all these promises to these community members. Can I make this work? And really, it depends month to month, sale by sale. Am I selling on e-commerce? Am I selling enough? Or am I having to go to retail? Am I going to have to go to trade shows or whatnot? having to go to retail or am I going to have to go to the trade shows or whatnot? It's a very difficult task to prioritize when you don't really know what those priorities are until they really

manifest themselves, you know? Yep. A lot of truth there, my friend, a lot of truth there. And I, having done, you know, gone down a couple of different ventures in entrepreneurship, it's always trial by fire, you know? Yeah. But you know what I learned too, it's always uh trial by fire you know yeah but you know what i learned too it's just like you know enjoying the moment and have some humor about it um and then you know as my my girlfriend and my bulldog are experienced too is you have to you have to be able to turn it off every now and then oh yeah you know you because if you don't turn it off you you'll let the moment pass and you'll, you'll never have it again. So I've been trying to be better about that. Um, which has been its own challenge and obstacle as well. Uh, but there has to be a balance of it, even though it's

like all consuming every day, every night, um, you have to have a time and place where you just kind of shut it, shut it off for a second. a second 100 100 so james before we get to a little rad or fad let's tell everybody where they can keep up how they can contribute and or purchase um how do they keep up with all things james merrill and opelous yeah so you can find us at www.opolisoptics.com. We have an Instagram, opolis underscore optics. You can find me on LinkedIn. And then you can find the product itself on our e-commerce store. And now L.O. Bean is going to be selling our stuff at their flagship store in Freeport, Maine.

And hopefully we're adding other big retailers to that list. But yeah, all social media, anything online, we're there. And I'm super open to talking to anybody that has any questions about us. And my email is fairly public, so people can find me. I love it. So get out there and find Opolis Optics. We're going to have links to all of that on our show notes and at the radcast.com are you got time for a little rad or fad absolutely let's do it first polarized lenses rad or fad

it's on every package it's it's it's definitely rad uh because polarization actually is is an eye care kind of component so it actually it protects the UV rays from basically giving you cataracts or sunburns for your eyes. How do you know if it really has it or not? That's a good question. Obviously, if it has to do with eye care, they're supposed to be making that known on their branding or any products that they're putting out there. And so usually what you're looking for, Ryan, is UVA, UVB 400 protection. Hey, you just heard it there from the expert, folks.

You need polarization to save your eyes, and you need to make sure you're looking to see if they have the true documentation. All right, number two, solar panels. Rad or fad? I think they're rad. I think they're rad if you have the money. It's a huge upfront cost, and you really don't see the benefits, I think, until like two to three years of installation. I'm not sure.

Ryan, don't quote me on that. It's a rad thing but it might be a fad thing for me right now yeah i know it's expensive uh canton new york yes can new york it uh yeah definitely definitely rad i went to school upstate new york and super cold but you know it's a part of my history it's a part of my past so i gotta say rad all right cool instagram reels rad or fad yeah fad for me fad for me i don't i don't i don't know if reels you know better than i do ryan i don't know if reels will be able to keep up um or support what's going on with the facebook ad spend algorithms. I think TikTok's going to take over that,

and I think Reels is just a way for them to compete right now. But I don't see a longevity to it. Yeah, I'm not going to make any prognostications, but you laid it out pretty good, my friend. TikTok's where it's at. TikTok, yeah. Unfortunately, yeah. I know. It's a love-hate

relationship i've you know it might be the only place i show my age but i'm on there i'm verified on there but it's just i you know i'm as add as anyone but it's just a little too i don't know i i'm a grammar you know like so yeah yeah, I really appreciate you coming on, James. It's great to get to know you. I know we're going to stay in touch. I want to help one another. Absolutely, 100%. And I really want people to go out there and check out Opolis Optics

and get your cool shades like mine. Get your cool Jimmy or James Dean shades. I know. I didn't even plan this look, and it just kind of worked out. Did you come up on your, your cafe moto motorcycle? Hey, yeah.

It might be out there. My cafe racer. There you go, man. There you go. Yeah. No, it's all good.

We really appreciate you coming on. Hey guys, go follow James Merrill and Opelous optics. You know where to find us. We're at the radcast.com search for opelous you'll find all the content there all the highlight reels everything else you know where to follow me at ryan alford on all the platforms we'll see you next time on the radcast