#1229 - Richard Rawlings

Joe Rogan (0:04)

Three, two, one, boom, and we're live. What's happening?

Richard Rawlings (0:08)

How are you? I am just stoked to be here.

Joe Rogan (0:10)

I'm stoked to have you here, man. It's a pleasure to meet you. I love your show.

Richard Rawlings (0:13)

Thank you.

Joe Rogan (0:14)

It's fun. It's a fun fucking car show.

Richard Rawlings (0:16)

It really is, man. It is. I tell people, I might be the smartest guy in the world, and I figured out how to drink beer and play with cars and get paid for it.

Joe Rogan (0:22)

Yeah, but it's like, it's a fun show. It's like you're not taking yourself too seriously. You're having a good time.

You know, you're buying and selling awesome cars.

Richard Rawlings (0:31)

Oh yeah, for sure. It's a dream of mine to get it done. It took eight years to get it sold, but here we are now.

Joe Rogan (0:39)

Did it really?

Richard Rawlings (0:39)

Yeah, I started pitching the show in 2004 We didn't start till 2008 or 2012

Joe Rogan (0:46)

What were you doing before that?

Richard Rawlings (0:48)

Before television or before Gas Monkey?

Joe Rogan (0:50)

Yeah.

Richard Rawlings (0:51)

I kind of had two stages in life. I was a firefighter, police officer, medic before I was old enough to drink. I mean, I'm talking 19 years old carrying a gun.

Probably one of the smartest things for them to let me do. And then...

Joe Rogan (1:02)

Damn, you let you have a go when you were 19?

Richard Rawlings (1:04)

I had a badge. I was a cop.

I mean, literally I was a police officer. And so by the time I was 20, I was also a firefighter. And so I did that for a while and then moved into printing and advertising and then sold that and got into this.

Joe Rogan (1:20)

So was it just like something you're always into cars and that's what led you to the show?

Richard Rawlings (1:26)

You know, how would I tell the story diplomatically?

Realistically, I was watching the shows that were on TV at the time. I'm always been a car nut and a motorcycle guy and what have you. And I realized one night that my kids are never in the room watching it and my wife's not in the room watching it. And the shows that were on were a little bit too much bravado and I'm a tough guy. And so I dug it and all my buddies dug it, but the wives and stuff. And I was like, Kylie, they're missing a big chunk of the market here. If you could tone down that part of it a little bit and still have a cool brand and still be a cool guy, and get the moms and the kids in the room, hopefully it's a lot more successful. And so that was kind of where the idea came from. And I just went out and started it.

Joe Rogan (2:09)

That's interesting. So the marketing side of you kicked in.

So the marketing side of you went, oh, I think there's another way to do this.

Richard Rawlings (2:17)

Yeah, I mean, I'm still a tattooed guy with some jewelry, but I got a poodle on a leash, not a pit bull on a chain.

Joe Rogan (2:26)

Well, the show, it doesn't seem compromised. That's what's interesting about it, because it seems like a kind of a guy's show. I never thought about it that way.

Richard Rawlings (2:32)

Well, the way I approached it was, just like when I was a kid and my dad had a garage, not open for public garage, but he had a place that we kept his car and the neighbors would come over and they tinker and they drink beer and that's what car guys do. So we kind of took that approach of, that's what Gas Monkey does. We just drink some beer and play with some cars and goof around. It's just like Saturday afternoon, but all week long.

Joe Rogan (2:56)

Did you have any of a background in automobile knowledge? Did you know like how to fix things or did you?

Richard Rawlings (3:04)

Yeah, I've never really been the full fabricator. You know, I understand everything and how it works, but I'm probably more of a business guy.

So I was able to go out and hire good guys to do the fabricating stuff and we've got a great team. But I did have the car knowledge and I had the eyeball for what was good and keeping up with what was going to be happening and things like that. And that's kind of my strong suit is saying, okay, Porsches are fixed to be popular, so we're going to get into 356s or Broncos like the one you drove is, you know, or what have you. And I keep my eye on the market.