Hello, Voices of the Bench community. John Isherwood from Ivaclar here, inviting you to join us this February at LMT Lab Day in Chicago. Over the three-day show, we're excited to be offering 16 different lecture programs for you to choose from. Simply log on to labday.com/ivaclar, that's labday.com/ivaclar, to check out our lineup and register for these amazing courses. Looking forward to seeing you in the Windy City this February. You know, Barb, when it comes to lab day, I love hanging out with you and our podcast friends in the Ivor Klar Ballroom. But I was thinking, I really don't get down to the exhibition halls anymore, do you?
Know what, Elvis? Not as much as I used to.
Yeah, sometimes I try to sneak down there during the breakdown just to say hi to the few vendor friends that I have. But that's about it.
Isn't that nice of you? Maybe I should make it down there this year. At the very least, I can grab some cool swag.
I don't know. Doesn't it feel like giveaways have dropped in quality over the years?
Eh, maybe a little. Although, I did get a legit orange Hydro Flask from Follow Me last year. You know, the Hyperdent guys? Definitely not a cheapo.
That's right. They raffle those off for their milling roadmap activity. It's kind of like a mini scavenger hunt.
Yes, so full disclosure, I didn't actually participate, but I've got friends in low places.
Of course you do, Barb.
Normally you have to collect stamps from a few of their partner booths to qualify, but honestly, they're probably booths that you're visiting anyways, especially if you're shopping for milling equipment.
Yeah, but you might as well get some cool stuff for doing something that you're already planning on doing, right?
Exactly. This year, their featured partners are Axis, Imagine, DOF, and Roland. So you got to stop there, plus another few.
I've actually heard that they're switching up the grand prize.
Oh yeah.
They used to do cash, which is everybody's favorite. But this year they found a super cool Honda electric scooter and slapped their logo on the side of it. And it folds up like a ******* suitcase. It's like Iron Man. It's awesome. Jordan showed me pictures of it while we're in Vegas.
What? Of course you got the inside view. All right, that just might be the ultimate door prize.
Right? We're already walking the floor, collecting swag. This just happens to have wheels and can carry around a human adult.
Oh my God, you've convinced me I'm going to participate this year properly.
You should as long as we're not recording, but it's easy, and it actually sounds fun. The HyperDent booth is E27 in the East Hall. Grab your game board there first, and it's got a map to navigate to all their partner booths, and then you just collect it.
Nice, guys. Sounds like a plan. I'm in.
Oh my God, what have I done? I hope it comes with a helmet for your sake.
Yeah, thanks.
Welcome to Voices from the Bench, a dental laboratory podcast. Send us an e-mail at info at voicesfromthebench.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Greetings and welcome to episode 412 of Voices from the Bench. My name is Elvis.
My name's Barbara. Again.
What's happening, Barb?
Not much, Elvis. This comes out Monday. We're going to be traveling this week. Everybody in the industry is going to be traveling this week. And so I'm super excited.
Yeah, we're finally at the week of Cal Lab and Lab Day Chicago. It seems like it wouldn't get here. And now it seems like, oh my God, it's here.
I know.
I am not ready at all.
Same.
I'm super busy at work. I'm going to wake up one day and just go, I guess. So. We are super excited to see everyone. We're really excited for everyone to get educated on all things dental. And Barb, how are you feeling about Cal Lab? You ready?
I'm feeling so good. Yeah. Actually, you'd be amazed at preparation that I've been doing for many, many months. So yeah, it's been literally every day something, some kind of question, some kind of answer, some sort of, you know, preparation. And there's a lot to it, but we've got a great board and we've got a great meeting set it up and I'm psyched.
Yeah. Do you know if registration's looking good? Is it up? Is it flat or?
It's up.
Is it good? That's fantastic.
Obviously it's right next to where the Hyatt is and it's really close. So the last two years we've had it there and it's been so much better.
It's so easy.
We can just skip on over to lab day just after we wrap up and go over to Ivoclar and sit down and talk to everybody. So it's just awesome. I'm excited. And I know you are.
You don't need to go outside to get over there.
How much easier?
It's all like underground tunnels. It's so great.
I know.
So yeah, Cal Labs all day Thursday and then it goes into the morning of Friday. So that's where Barb and I are going to be.
Yep.
We are recording during the vendor cocktail reception that Thursday night. Yep. And we're going to put an asterisk up there because I imagine you're going to be pretty busy and or so exhausted.
Well. I have to be current and present every second of every day, but I think I can pop over. We'll see how it goes. I'm all in on both accounts, you know.
By all means, please, if you can. It's a great time to catch us because there's a lot less people at Cal Lab than it is Lab Day, so it's not like crazy busy. Yeah. But if for some strange, stupid reason, you're not a member of Cal Lab, and from what I understand, it's not too late. You can sign up on Thursday, right?
Yes, never too late.
I mean, you can walk up and just join.
Swiss Hotel. We've said that at least 10 times. So just pop a million times.
Yeah.
Sign up.
So if you're not, we're going to be Friday afternoon and then all day Saturday, we're going to be with the amazing Ivoclar people as they have opened up their ballroom to us yet again. Thank you, Ivoclar. We love that spot. It's so easy to find us. Where you pick up your registration bag, just turn around. We're right there. There we are. Yep, stop in, say hi, be on the podcast. Now, for years, people have complained they would show up and we would be in the middle of recording, then they'd leave, then they'd come back, we'd be recording somebody else. You know, it's a first come, first serve situation.
It's a very busy location.
It's busy. Yeah. It's busy. And we can't schedule because you'll say you'll be there at noon and then you get stopped by three people on your way there or you get hung up somewhere. And then we're waiting, and it just doesn't work. So, if you show up and we are recording and you want to be on the podcast, just hang around for a little bit, take a look at some of the cool stuff Ivor Claire has to offer, and as soon as we're done... It's your turn.
Right.
It's that easy. Just hang out. Everyone, safe travels, and we'll see you soon.
Yes, we will.
But even though Lab Day Chicago is happening this week, like right now, Barb and I are already excited for the next show we're going to. The DLAT show, or commonly known as the Dental Laboratory Association of Texas conference.
You know it.
Yeah. So this week we talked to one of the techs that has helped make that show one of the best local nonprofit shows in the country. Matthew Douglas is no stranger to dental laboratory work or to Texas. With an injury ending baseball career, Matthew found a school on an old Air Force base that taught dental technology. After working in office and even owning his own lab, he eventually found his way to affordable dentures back when they were still family owned and helped them train and open 200 locations that sent him around the country. But now he's back in Texas. Matthew is once again owning his own lab, but has spent a lot of time to build up the DLAT show to what it is today. We talk about how a show that is independently run by a bunch of technicians is able to grow, Stay fun and still have enough left over to do it again and again and again.
Yeah.
So join us as we chat with Matthew Douglas.
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Hey, Voices from the Bench listeners, Elvis here. Ready to supercharge your digital dentistry skills? Then mark your calendar for Exocad Insights, taking place April 30th to May 1st, 2026, on the stunning island of Mallorca, Spain. We know it's stunning because Barb and I were at the last Insights, and it was amazing! Whether you're just starting your digital journey or looking to take your Exocad skills to the next level, Exocad Insights has it all. Now get this, we got keynotes from Global Pioneers, in-depth software lectures, hands-on demos, product showcases from top industry partners, and of course, voices from the bench. We're going to be there doing some on-site interviews. Plus, they're adding some more fun stuff to do too. They can count Barb and me in on the first Insights 5K morning run along the coast. That's right, a running race in another country. country on the coast on a nice island. A minute to win it. And we're not going to miss the legendary Exo Glam Night, which is sure to be the most epic party of the year. Tickets are going fast, so head over to exocad.com/insights-2026 to grab yours today. You can also find that link on this episode show notes. And here for a special treat just for our listeners, 15% off. That's 15% off with the code VFTBPalma15 that's VFTBPalma15 and we will see you in Spain voices from the bench the interview All right, so this is super exciting. While we're waiting for Barb to join us here in a bit, I have the extreme pleasure of finally having on the podcast Matthew Douglas from Texas. How are you, sir?
I am wonderful. How are you today?
Oh man, I'm doing great. I'm doing even better knowing that Barb and I are coming back to Texas for the DLAT show.
Yeah, we're so excited. It's going to be awesome.
It's been a hot minute since we've been out there. Love the show. No reason we haven't been out there lately other than timing. We started going overseas and it was right around that time. But you know what? We're making it happen and it's all thanks to you and the great people of that board.
Yes, sir.
So we always like to get everyone's story. I mean, I know you're integral into the dental lab Association of Texas. I guess we should stop calling it DLAT so people know what we're talking about.
Yeah.
But how did you get into dental lab? What's your story?
Well, I went to high school, got out of high school, and when I was getting out of high school, I had a car wreck, had a chance to go play ball in different places and baseball.
What sort of ball? Baseball? Yeah.
Baseball, yeah. And I got the old Bo Jackson thing where my hip messed up. And I had to have surgery and they told me, your career in baseball is done, boy. Find something to do.
This was at high school? Your career was over, already in high school.
Right after high school. I graduated and went to school and was playing ball and felt like I pulled a groin muscle one day. And all of a sudden, after looking into that, it just said, yeah, that's what we're going to have to end up with. So I waited 20 years to get it operated on.
Oh, wow. So you suffered for 20 years?
Yeah, it wasn't too bad at the beginning, but at the end, it was starting to mess with my side of nerve. And I said, it's done. So I went and had it done. It was the best thing I ever did. But I'm glad I waited because I had so many problems with the hips all the way through until finally doc said, if you don't do this, you're going to be in a wheelchair. And I said, all right, so let's do it.
Why imagine 20 years earlier, technology wasn't as good. I don't know. I mean, maybe it's good that you waited because you would have ended up with something that wasn't as good.
They were having staph infections and all that stuff. So they were having to go in there and guys were having it all taken out and they had to sit in a wheelchair with nothing there. And I'm like, oh, that ain't going to be me. I'm sorry. I'm not doing that.
You guys get better. at this and then call me.
I could write with both hands I could throw with both hands I could catch with both hands I'm ambidextrous so I said let me see.
Really yeah have you always been that way or did baseball help you become that?
Well that's did help me be that way I mean I was already leaning that direction and then As I started playing, I started realizing, hey, I can bat the same way on either side of the plate. And then I started catching the ball with either hand and throwing the ball with either hand. Then I started writing my name with either hand. And so that helps me be a technician. I can grind heat wax with the other, and it makes it go real fast.
So how'd you find out about teeth?
Well, I went to TSTI in Waco and decided Let me see what I'm gonna do. So, I walked around, and first I had to take that aptitude test, and they said, Well, there's nothing here you can't do. You're pretty smart.
Oh, nice. That's a good report.
Yeah, I said, That's good, so I walked around. I went over and ate lunch at the sandwich shop right on the edge of the runway because that TSTI in Waco is an old Air Force base. Went over there and I ate lunch and somebody was in there and they said, Hey, you might want to go across the street. They have a dental lab over there. I'm like, Really? Let me go see what that's all about. I walked in there and bam, there it was. This is what I want to do. I signed up. did my stand at TSTI and then left there?
So, I mean, you had no idea about teeth, dental, what happened behind the scenes. What grabbed you when you first walked in there? Was it just the mess, the dust, the dirt?
It was like I like putting models together, like working with my hands. So I was like, I think I could do this. I think this would be pretty interesting. So I just sat down and started doing it. And it was really fun, it was.
Was there a test to get into the school or did they pretty much take everyone?
Well, you tested to get in, they had to take a test so they would direct you in the path of, you can't do this because your aptitude part is not, you don't qualify for that. So they told me that there was anything I could do at that school that I wanted to do. So I just went around for a whole day, finally. figured out what I wanted to do and went and bought a little RV and at the very end of the runway there was an RV park and unbeknownst to me that they had a American Airlines jet put a bunch of jets in there and that's where they worked on them. So it was like touch and go at night and it was like having a train in your front yard for a while.
So wait a minute, you bought an RV to live at the school?
Sure, I didn't want to stay on campus. I wanted to live off campus because I figured that wouldn't be so distracting to me.
Sure, yeah, that's interesting. I've never heard of someone living out of an RV at school with planes taking off feet away from you.
Yeah, it was pretty cool. I mean, it was probably, I guess, less than 50 yards to the end of the runway and we were right at the end of the runway. And they had these big hangars with all these jets. So they would work on the engines and then they would take them, take off and fly around and come back and land. And they'd always do it at night. And you're like, golly, why can't I do this in the day?
I got to get to class in the morning.
Yeah. Yeah.
How was the school?
I mean, it was good. I mean, I learned back in the day when you, it's not like the schools now, they just teach you dental.
Yeah.
Back then they taught you how to run a business and they actually taught you.
Did they really?
Sure. You took business classes, all kinds of stuff. I mean, it was pretty good. And I mean, chemistry, that was, that was a rough class.
So it wasn't just lab work. I mean, you got it.
No, you actually tore the machines down. I can fix a machine. I tear machines down and fix them because they taught you how to do that. They taught you, know, basic stuff.
Like how to take like a porcelain oven down and put it back together?
Yeah, you just take it down and start breaking things apart and figure out what's wrong with it.
That's insane. I've never heard of this in a school for dental lab. Why were they so different? Because it was on a military base or?
I don't know. It was just back when they used to teach you if you wanted to run a business. they taught you all parts of how to run the business how to keep them yeah and then later on as I grew you know and started going to schools and trying to hire people and I was working for affordable dentures I went and go to their schools all the time and then you'd listen to the classes and they were just teaching them basic dental stuff they weren't teaching them how to work on machines and I was like wow this is way different than what I learned that.
Is so interesting to me because I mean we talked to a lot of people and they've gone to schools all over country, even overseas, but I've never heard about to the point of being able to work on the machine. I can't imagine they're teaching people how to fix mills now.
No, because we didn't have that back then. It was, yeah, you know, porcelain ovens and hand machines and casting machines and, you know, lathes, you know, you can take the windings out of a lathe and put new windings in it. Yeah.
That's fascinating. So how long was the school? Two years or.
Yeah, it was two years. Quite, you went, 20 something hours, I think it was, a semester.
Yeah.
And so you were really getting crammed. They crammed four years into two years is what they did.
Oh, sure. Sounds like more than four years.
You would actually in the summertime, you would go year round, just go.
Okay, so there was no like internships at a lab or?
No, when you got done, you, I mean, people were coming to hire us on, when you were getting ready to graduate, there would be a lot of people coming to come hire you. I ended up working for a place out of San Angelo. They had an office they opened in Waco. And so I went right over to Waco and started working in a denture clinic. It was a denture mill is what it was.
Just dentures. Is that what you found you enjoyed the most?
Well, I just started listening. They said, oh, a machine's going to replace you in Crown and Bridge. And, you know, that's going to come sooner than denture. And I was thinking, you know, And dentures, it's probably not going to be so fast because a human's still going to have to touch things. I don't see how. So I said, but I learned everything. I mean, I can do it all. I have a full service lab. So I figured out, you know, dentures was going to be my go-to. And then when implants started coming about, I jumped on those quickly too. So all four is my thing now.
Is it? Nice. So when you were in school, I know Texas is big into registration. I mean, from what I understand, someone has to have that CDT in the lab. Was that around when you graduated? Or did that come later?
It was starting. It came later. I mean, they wanted you to be a CDT. And, you know, they showed you some benefits of being a CDT. You know, so I was like, that's where I'm headed. And I jumped on that bandwagon real quick.
Nice. Got it in removables, I take it.
Sure did.
Yeah, you did. So you got to your first lab. What did you realize that school didn't teach you enough? Taught you enough? Got you that it started.
They said that, you know, when I went in there, my first boss was Steve Spoon from Miracle Dental Lab.
Okay.
He had been around the block. He was a Navy trained. I sat down. He goes, well, you're just going to start in the plaster bench. And I'm like, sure, no problem. Yeah. Got in there. And then finally he said, can you set teeth? And I'm like, sure. He said, how fast are you? I said, well, we'll see. So we sat down and I watched what he was doing and he saw me and I pulled out a soldering iron because I'm not using the hot iron over the fire. And he was looking at me. what's that? I said, what's a trick? I said, I'd like to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.
So instead of that huge flame, you just had to solder an iron. It was a hot tip, right? Yeah.
Exactly. And it never goes cold. And then I was using both hands and he was like, hold on. I would grind with my left hand, heat the wax with my right hand, and then place the tooth in there, and then just keep moving. It just...
That's got to be fascinating to watch. to people that can't do that, I mean, which is majority of the population.
It was fun. It was fun. And then he, once he said that I could set teeth, he said, well, let's see how fast you can do this. So we started working on speed. He said, you know how to do it and you know where to place the tooth. He said, let's just get you faster. And he goes, then he went and bought him a solder iron. So he started doing the same thing with the solder iron.
Started practicing with his left hand. Sure.
And it became a big thing. And then I moved from that, went to work, I guess after I left there, I went to work in close to home in Beaumont for a dentist in-house.
Oh, so you did the in-office thing, yeah.
Yeah, and that's what my second job was. And then after that I opened my own.
Okay, so how long were you with the dentist and what'd you think of working that close with patients and stuff?
It was okay. I was just basically in the back and he would bring everything back there and I did everything. I cast the parcels. wax partials, I did crowns, I did dentures, all of them in the back of the office.
Did he ever bring you out to deal with the patients?
Rarely. I mean, we'd go out there with a trouble case. We'd go out there and see because, you know, some of these dentists, they don't want you to be telling them anything. You don't know much. You're just allowed.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stay in the back.
Stay in the back. Keep your mouth shut. Keep it down.
Let the sunlight hit you.
That's right. It was fun. It was a nice little office and it wasn't big enough in the back that I could do. And I was solo. I was by myself.
Yeah. And you did all of it.
All of it. And did that for a while. And then I went to work for myself and then started sending technicians to affordable whenever they'd come. I'd love to hire you, but I don't have a space for you here. I don't have full. I have enough. So I kept sending and sending and sending and then finally. Stuart Rainey calls me on one day, him and Jim Presley from Affordable. And they look, Matt, take the dang job and quit sending those people. Just you do it. And I'm like, Well, tell me about it. And so I was getting a little bit burnt out. Said, Come on over here and talk to us. So I went over to Kinston, North Carolina, and sat down with him, talked to him. Yeah, they offered me a job. I took it and I stayed there 12 years.
So how long did you run your own lab for before you realize that it's not always sunshine and fun?
It was several years. I mean, probably about, yeah, I've been doing this since '81.
Okay, so when you opened up your own lab, was it out of your house? Did you, I mean, did you get a building?
I had a place in a, it was like a, you know, the storage building that have an office and then a storage room next to it.
Yeah.
So I was in the front part of it. There was two places that had a, like a storefront. It had glass and a door and it was just an office and then a back room. And it was probably about 1000 square feet. And so we did that for a long while.
And then was it just you?
No, I had three or four people at different times. Yeah, I had people working with me.
So you really grew it?
Yeah, and it just it happened, you know, I never I Almost right down the street, 'cause then right down the street, Steve Spoon opened a lab. He came to Houston and opened a lab, so it was a thing, you know. He goes to me and tells me... Okay, you're competition now. And I'm like, look, there's a dentist on every corner. We can do this together.
Yeah, there's no such thing really.
We've been friends for a long time. Even though we didn't work together, we became friends and we still talk.
And then Affordable says, hey, how would you like to have a steady paycheck?
Yeah, well, I wanted to venture out of Texas too. So I did. And I went to Savannah, Georgia. And then to Commerce, Georgia. Once they figured out that I could set teeth super fast, you're going to train our technicians to do this.
So did they put you to work?
Hey, guys.
Hey, Barb.
I'm so sorry I'm late. I've never done this on our podcast before where I just insert myself after 15 minutes. But hello, I'm here and I'm sorry I'm late.
It's all good.
But I do like your accent.
We're just getting to the part where Matt ends up at Affordable and they pull him in to start teaching all those people how to set teeth right.
Well that's fantastic.
Were you educating or did they just put you to work?
I was actually a lab, I started as a lab manager in Savannah.
Okay.
And then after that they moved me to the busy clinic that they had in Commerce, Georgia with Mr., with Dr. Young and he was doing about Four million, he was #2 in the company. Oh, wow. As far as revenue, and so he...
Hold on. When you say 4 million, what does that look like on a daily basis for you when you're managing that kind of operation?
Seventy inches a day.
Like, break it down.
Sixty-four inches a day. It's about sixty-four inches a day. Start to pick up.
Shut up, really? No way. Yeah, 664.
Yep. If you're making a...
How do you do that?
Yeah, I'd like to tell you, but then again, I'd have to kill you. All right.
Well, you can tell Elvis, tell me.
No, you just, you have, let me, let me count the people in that room when I was in commerce. There's one, two, three, five people in that room, including myself. Well, I sat with another person that was setting teeth and then we had one waxer, processor, and somebody pour models. And so after we got through setting everything, we started helping the WACs. And then went from that to finishing denture. Our lunch changed, our hours were changing. We'd take breaks and eat in different shifts. So we would... Yeah.
I was going to say, forgive me, but it doesn't sound like you could take a break or a lunch.
You took a small break. It was- Or go home.
One second.
Yeah. And then the lunch, they would, when the doctor came back from lunch, he immediately started inserting. One side they were pulling, the other was inserting flippers and acrylic parcels and stuff like that. But they started all the extractions, so we did all the immediate dentures first. a parcel so they when they were pulling they were pulling them shucking teeth pretty quick wow yeah it was it was an operation to see I can tell you that.
You guys give yourself like so much time it's like move your move your move your like you got two minutes to do this and five seconds to do that.
There wasn't much talking going on if you if I saw the whites of your eyes I'd put three or four more pans in front of you.
That's how I manage. That's brilliant.
Yeah.
It's not time to lean, time to clean. It's time to lean, time to make dentures.
No, there was no clean. At the end of the day, it was when the cleanup came. It was that you didn't have time to clean up nothing. You tried not to make big messes, but you know, at the end of the day, that was a massive cleanup. And then getting ready for the next day and making sure the order was... You had your orders in so you could have teeth and wax and acrylic and everything like that. It was just a, it was like a well-oiled machine. And you know, they had the basic part of it down. They just wanted me to make the setters set faster. And so every time I would go some, I became a regional manager. And as I would go in the labs, they're like, Oh, you're that guy that can suck teeth so fast. And I'm like, Yeah, that's me. Let me show you how to do it.
I mean, you are. It sounds quite obvious that you're a ******.
No, I'm not. I'm not. I know a few, but I'm not.
So you became regional. So you traveled the country to help train other affordable...
They said go back to Texas is what they told me. Go back. You're going back to Texas. And I was like, wow, okay. So... This is going to be awkward. I don't want to go back to Texas. I wanted to stay in Georgia. North Georgia mountains was beautiful, man. I loved it. My wife too, my wife was like, what? They said, well, you got to move in the middle of Texas. And I went to Midland, Texas. And I walked around, I looked around, I thought it was tumbleweeds and dirt. And I said, no, sorry, but this isn't going to work for me. I went to Georgetown, Texas is where I ended up being as a regional.
And what does that mean? Still traveling the country?
Yeah, I had to fly everywhere. I was gone. First, they said you'll be gone a week and a home a week. Well, it ended up come home a day and get your next bag and take off again. Wow. We opened 200 sites. And I was part of that, helping that open all these sites up.
That's hard work.
It was fun. It was exactly fun. I figured out I could read blueprints. Then I got to do the punch list at the end and the guys moved to the next one and left me with the punch list to make sure it all got done.
Interesting.
Affordable was a good, good learning atmosphere, I can tell you.
Oh, I bet.
Affordable, I think their headquarters is in Tampa. Have you ever been to Tampa?
It's in Kinston. Well, it's in Raleigh now.
Oh, all right, so I'm wrong.
It started in Kinston. You're probably thinking of National Dentake.
Oh, God, no, I'm not. I'm thinking of affordable. I know that there's a lab. How about that?
Yeah, there's a lab. Yeah, there is a lab. Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. My ex-boss is going to be on the panel at our show this year. nice. Yeah. I've been trying to get him to speak and he spoke in Chicago in the Zahn room, the big room in Chicago.
Yeah.
One year and all I just, when I knew he was going in there, I got all of the affordable people that I could find in Chicago. We weren't even working for the company. We were just all ex-employees, and we all went in there and sat and listened to Mike talk. Aw. Yeah, it was good. Mike is a, he's a good dude. I think Mike's been on the podcast. He probably has. He had a vision back in the day of this, what we're going through now with this digital stuff.
Yeah.
And everybody said, you're crazy. I don't know what you're talking, you're talking crazy, that's crazy. He'll tell you that story 'cause everybody came up to him and told him how crazy he was and today he's like, See, I told you.
Told you.
Well, you know, most people that are crazy are actually geniuses.
I take.
That as a compliment, Barb, thanks. Exactly.
And I mean it as a compliment, you know? They think you're so far off or you're doing something like ridiculous, but then you're super successful and you're an early adapter and most of the time, Crazy is good. So Elvis, I know that. Elvis is crazy.
There you go.
So how long were you at Affordable? Did you say like 12 years or something? 12 years, wow.
It's a long time to move around like that.
It went from the mom and pop because that's whenever it was really good. When we were there, when it was the mom and pop, that was the most enjoyable time because those people, they would call you on your birthday. The owner of the company called you, Warren Edwards, call you on your birthday. He had a map of the country and had your side on it, had your name by where you were at. And so he knew where you were. The best thing about that whole thing is what really drew me in is when I went to Savannah out of Texas, the first office I went to, I went there and they were going to move the lab manager out of that office and put him underneath me. So they were going to actually kind of demote him a little bit and make me his boss.
Oh, that's never fun.
But I didn't go to work for three months. I got a house, went over there, moved me, they paid for me. We went to the beach every day and I got a paycheck every other week. And I kept calling every Thursday and say, okay, so no, don't call, don't go into work. So I didn't get to go to the office for a long time because the owner wanted to sit down with him and me at the same time and talk to us and explain what was going on.
So that was just a timing? Sure.
Took us all the Cracker Barrel, took me and him and the boss man flew in and the owner, and he sat down, Lauren, and he said, This is what we're going to do. And he was good with it.
That says a lot when the owner comes in to do all that.
Yeah. And it was fun. It was actually a good thing. And then that's when I said, Wow, this company didn't... I mean, I'd never been to a beach where you could see your feet. in the water.
Yeah, I know.
Texas is just muddy. And so I'm out there and there was a hurricane coming and I didn't even know there was a hurricane coming. That's how unplugged I was coming there. And I was like, man, there's big old waves over here. And then all of a sudden all these starfish and... and sand dollars and everything was coming by me. And I mean, first thing I did is I was walking by a jetty and I stepped on a horseshoe crab and I thought the world was coming to me and I didn't know what kind of monster that was at my feet.
You're obviously not a Florida boy.
No, I was from Texas. I had never been out of Texas. You don't see that mess over here. And I, because like Jesus walking on water, getting to the shore, I was tripping. That was not my gut. My wife was standing on the bank looking at me, just laughing. Your face just turned different color and you took off running screaming like a little girl.
Well, she's a good wife. She tells me like it is.
I like her. Well, she laughed at me for a whole day, I guarantee.
And still brings it up.
20 years older now. Yes. Oh, yeah, she sure does.
That was so good. So what'd you do after Affordable?
After Affordable, I went to work for a doctor that was a former Affordable in Atlanta, Georgia.
Oh, so you went back to Georgia?
I'll stay out. I went to Texas and then went back to Georgia.
Okay.
So hold on. So like wrapped it up with affordable, you decided you wanted to move on and found someplace.
Yeah, I was in Texas at that time. And then he had contacted me and wanted me to come work for him in Atlanta. So I went to work for him in Atlanta.
Yeah, which is kind of where you wanted to be, right?
Sure, and it was fun. I lived in Canton, Georgia at that point. I could drive down 20 minutes from the mountains into, it was on that side of Atlanta. And I'd come right down in and go in and go to work. And then I went to the Henman one year, getting my CE, and Barksdale Dental Lab was there.
Oh, snap.
Yeah. And Blake and all those guys were there. And this guy named, I guess, what is it? I guess he was the GM. His name was Jim. And he said, That's the guy. And I could hear him say that. And I was working with Jim Collis.
Oh, we love Jim Collis.
Yeah, he's going to be at our show this year, too.
Yeah.
He was in the booth and we were sitting there actually doing a demonstration for SHOFU. And then Jim walked by me from Barksdale and he goes, that's the guy, that's him. And so a few minutes I walked somewhere and I heard my name again and I looked around like, he is talking about me. And then we all went to lunch. Then from that moment on, they were dragging me to Huntsville, Alabama, and I went to work for Barksdale.
Did you really? You had no idea.
I ran there when they were when they were in two places before they went to the big place.
Where they are.
I was their denture manager.
Wow. How long ago was that?
It's been a minute.
I was going to say Blake must have been like what, like a teenager or something.
Yeah, he was young because Blake and I would come over and go to there where Blake was and it'd be on a Saturday or something. Because I was doing all-on-four. I was going up to Nashville and doing all-on-four with for Barksdale.
Yeah, wow.
Going up there and traveling and going to where all the doctors were training at one of the hospitals there. And then I come back and one time I walk in, I sat down, Blake's over there grinding metal and just grinding metal, had his headphones on, just jamming. And I sat down beside him and that's when we got really close. You know, we talked A lot. I like Blake. I really do.
Blake's a great guy. That's when you started doing the all on fours. Was this with Blake?
Yes, with Blake. I went over to Stedgart, Arkansas and trained with Carter Dental Lab, did a Nobel training over there. And then we were doing all on four and then it just kind of evolved from there as a Started doing it. I started learning shortcuts, doing things, and it got pretty intricate real quick.
Yeah, they do a ton of them now. I can only imagine. Oh, yeah.
It was.
There were less people doing them.
Yeah, pretty quick. What does that mean? Like, what were you doing?
Oh, just with the way that we would do the conversion. The conversion back in the day when we first started was longer and longer. I learned a way over at Carter to do it, and it was there was just a long way of doing it. And the way I do it now is totally different. It takes way less time.
Gotcha.
But now we're doing all digital, so it's way less. Yeah.
As my new saying is, we all had to go through this analog chain to get where we are now.
Sure. It's fun. I mean, the analog, you don't see much of that very much. I mean, you do some, but not like. Not like it did. Yeah.
And it makes it a lot faster is what you're saying.
Correct.
And obviously Elvis agreed.
And better, I think.
Yeah. Yeah.
Because everybody wants to do the zirconia now more than acrylic. So.
Why do you think that is?
Well, because it doesn't, you, if you do acrylic wrap titanium bar, after a while the teeth are wearing down, then you got having, nothing's going to be able to move because the denture won't, a denture will pop out, but an all of four stays stationary, so whenever the poster your teeth have been ground down by just natural attrition, then all of a sudden your anterior teeth are touching and pow, pow, they start popping out. So then you have to do what they call a retread, take all the teeth off in acrylic and re redo the, on the same bar. But then you have another cost. With zirconia, you never get to that point. Nothing does that.
Then nothing moves.
Right. It won't wear down like that.
Wow. Okay. Thank you for that. I know Elvis knows, but I was curious about that. So thank you.
So how long were you at Birksdale?
Over a year.
Yeah.
And then mom and dad got sick and my wife wanted, she had a little bad asthma and if you're in a bowl and Huntsville, Alabama, which is a bowl, all the pollen stays in there and she talks.
Oh yeah.
So her mom and dad got sick, my mom and dad got sick, and we said, well, let's just go back to Texas. That was tough. I didn't really want to leave, but it was... what I needed to do?
Huntsville's beautiful. I've been to that lab. I've been to that area.
They were just getting ready to do the lab. I mean, they already had purchased and were getting ready to start renovating. We were still in two places. The denture lab was downtown and the Crown Bridge was outside. And they were getting ready to do all that. We had been over to the building a couple of times and then that's when I left. Wow.
You missed the good stuff.
I know I know I miss I miss the people though I mean because I would go fishing with Mike's dad and it was just fun we was unplugging go fishing man it was just good people that's all it was it was just like family and I.
Hear it's still like that that's what's cool about it I know people.
We just hired a guy that affordable out from California Brandon Dixon and he He contacted me and I said, dude, you are getting in a good spot, man.
Aw, that's cool.
It says a lot if you can pull someone from California to Alabama.
Sure enough.
It would be an improvement.
And that everybody speaks so highly of them in their lab.
Yeah.
The good people there, you know, especially Barksdale's. I mean, we've heard nothing but positive things. That's pretty awesome.
Yeah.
Shout out to you, Blake.
Yeah, Blake. Love you, dude.
I hope your check is in the mail, Blake. We talked about you. So you went back to Texas. What'd you do? Back to Affordable.
When? After I left? No, I opened my own. I opened my own. I'm back smoking. This is beautiful. I had opened mine before and then left and went to Affordable and made the round trip and then went back home. I said, if I'm gonna work this hard, I am working for myself again.
There you go.
How's it going with your-- No, it's good.
I'm 62 years old. I'm on that downhill slide. I don't have to be the huge lab on the block, but the guys I came back, when I came back, I've still got doctors that came back when they found out I was back in Texas.
That's amazing.
Where have you been?
Well, I've been here and here and here and here.
Yeah. And I didn't have to knock on any doors, the work just came. One told another, Hey, he's back, hey, he's back. That's awesome.
And that's real cool because they remember you. You've got a great reputation, obviously. How do you not work for work though? Like it's just referral.
Yeah, basically it's referral. I do probably, well, now it's just me, my wife and a driver.
Damn.
And we do a half a million dollars in easy.
Really? I mean, if how many dentures do you do a day? 40? No, I'm just kidding.
No, mostly I'm looking at 30 or 40 pens of crown and braids right now. Really? Yeah.
So is that how manage that? So that's all you.
Yeah, but I do a lot of outsourcing with my crowns and I touch all my dentures. I don't, and frames, I send my frames out. So I outsource my frames and my crowns, but when they come back, You know, I look at it, make sure it's right, and send it on down the road. And I have probably a 1% remake with Outsourcer. And it's all in the US.
That's the way it should be done.
Yep. You just have to figure out where to go and how to do it. And being with DLAT, I made a lot of contacts. So I've met a lot of people, and that's what's so good about... When I started with the DLAT, it was like 12 booths, 13 booths maybe, you know? And they were like, We want the big show mentality here. I'm like, okay. That's what they were, that was their draw for me to come in.
So let's talk about your involvement with them. When did you get involved? Was it when you came back or?
Yeah, it's when I came back. When I came back to Texas is when I got involved. And I went to, you know, a meeting and then they approached me to come and be on the board and asked me to bring some of the people. big show mentality of like because affordable when you were at affordable they have a a con well they used to they don't have it anymore but they used to have a conference every year and it was either golf or fishing and they bring every practice owner and any associate that had been with them longer than five years I guess and then the lab manager to a site wherever it was.
And just had a big golf fishing.
Well and you'd learn so we'd have It was a big weekend, big weekend, and it was awesome, man. I mean, that was the most fun. And the thing was that you got off the plane, you got your packet. In that packet, you got $200 spending money, cash.
Really? That's cool.
So you figure how many people, and that was to everyone. I'm not talking about, well, I wasn't talking about just certain people. Everyone that was there, doctor, lab guy, got $200.
And the airport bar made most, I'm just kidding.
No, it was fun. I mean, it was, it was, but everything was paid for. You didn't need to spend that money. That was your money to do, you know? And so that, that was something was affordable. And then as they got that, you know, got gobbled up and got into out of the mom and pop thing, that kind of dwindled off. But the good thing is they had a travel agent. Her name was Joyce Sissler. And actually Joyce works for me now at DLAT. Yeah.
Yeah, I know. I got an e-mail from her.
She is. I brought her over and she is our event planner because she planned all the events with them. And it took a while for me to get DLAT to do that. It took a while because I told men, y'all are missing the mark here. And as I got more higher into the board and can make more decisions, then I brought her in and I said, look, this is what we're going to do. And now she does, we have an executive conference committee, which is me, Kay Tippett, and Joyce. And then we have everybody else. And that's separate from, because before, when I was on the board, when I started with DLAT, all we did as a board was the conference. That's from the time and that's all we, that's all we. And so I said, man, they got to start doing things as a board so we can grow the association. So I tried to split things up and as I, I've been probably, this is probably the first year in probably a while that I haven't been the president because I was the president for this. I made three terms as president.
Consecutively or back around?
No. Yeah, I went back around. Oh, wow. Yeah, it was, I've been there for a while. Yeah.
Well, talk about your comment. You said, not just the meeting that you were gonna add, other stuff. What did you guys add outside just doing the meeting?
Others, just the meeting. I wanted them to grow the association, and that's what I'm, there's a lot of things. If you're a member of DLAT, What is the value? You're paying dues and you get. So that's what my question to the board was. Whenever I left, I left them that letter that the president of the United States leaves the next president. Well, that's sort of what I did. But I have a meeting at the end and I said, okay, I'm leaving. And my vision is what I see I'm leaving for y'all to do is to grow the association, to get more members so that we have more, the more members, the more power you have.
Yeah.
And so they don't have a seat on the state, but you got to pay your dues to the state. And that's the thing is we don't have a voice in the state at all. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You can pay 100, but you might as well get ready to pay the late fee because they're going to find something you did wrong. So you got to pay that late. And I just burned my wagon. I'm telling you right now. But now that they've done it digitally, it's changed a little bit. This is probably the first year that I had to pay pay extra money. I had everything in line. So, you know, it's been a journey trying to figure out how can we, what can we do, so.
Yeah, so share that. What's your vision or how did you help them add more?
I brought Joyce on. She's actually an event planner, but she's a travel agent. She has a travel agency. So if you wanna go somewhere, all you gotta do is call her. Yeah. And, and that helped. And she does it for free. She makes money on what she does, like for the rooms in the hotel.
Yeah.
Yeah. Actually, I finally started, we started, I said, she needs to be paid. She needs to be a paid person. So we pay her now to do our event. Not a lot, but she gets money, but she does a lot more than just plan the event. She, if I need something, I tell her, she does it. the board needs something they they ask her she can put it together I mean she's the go-to person in a lot of aspects yeah.
And you said that this show used to be really small.
Yeah when I first came it was 12 and and Gary Box you know Gary Box yeah he came he came to me one day and goes Matt come here we were in um the Hilton Lakes over there by the sporting good place one year and We're in this big room and there's not very many booths. And I'm on the board and he walks up to me, puts his arm around me and he said, Matthew, I want you to look around this room. This is your show. Are you proud of it? And I looked around, I'm like, no, I'm not, but I have no control. He goes, you need to get control. Oh. And so I had to do some things that were, you know, not fun to get back the control, but I had to hold people accountable and their feet to the fire and do some things. And finally, once I got control of it, I could be able to make some decisions and as a board grow that show. And it worked, you know, it's now over a hundred booths and we're going to have to probably move this next year because I'm trying to do things like in Chicago where you have the big rooms. Well, I've got one this year for Strawman, but that's all I have room for. So next year, I'm trying to go back to the lakes where I have three ballrooms on three different levels a huge floor for our vendors.
Well what do you think your secret sauce is like you've got all of these associations that are gotten smaller and you guys have grown and you say you know you had to make some tough decisions and you know do things but what do you think the attraction is a hundred booths that's huge.
So the attraction is is our due diligence. We start doing this show after, at the point the show's over, it starts again. You know, we don't have any, there's no break. We may be break for 20 days just to take a breath. But the thing is that got the show going in the direction. I had the same question asked to me by Bennett and at the NBC up there. I bet. One Chicago meeting that had all the associations in the room. and to sit down and they were all asking me questions. What did you do? What I did was put the people in the right place. So if your forte is speaking to people or working on Facebook, that's where you went. That's what I did. So I just said, these are the things we need to do. And as a board, we don't all have to work on the same thing. We just need to find the person. I had Jason Stubbs doing Facebook because he is all over Facebook. So I put him doing that and he blew up Facebook. And so as we blew up Facebook, that got more attraction to our show. And it just, like Cade, Cade's HR. I mean, not HR, but he does anything with our computers.
Audio, video.
Software, audio, video. And now Joyce's son, Joyce's son is Austin, helps Cade and that took where Cade now because Cade was like he's like I am we don't ever get to you go sit in a class and then all of a sudden 10 minutes into the class somebody comes tap you on the shoulder hey we got a problem oh sure and you got to go so we never got to see that's why we started taping everything and doing our live streaming so we can watch it later.
I also think one of the differences I've noticed with DLAD is you don't use a another company to help run anything. You guys do it all yourself.
Right.
You know, a lot of these shows have, I'm not saying it's good or bad, but having an outside company just kind of run things, but.
Management. Management.
But this is all like technicians doing it for technicians. And that's what I think changes the vibe. Honestly.
You paying somebody to do something, you're not, you know, we're nonprofit. So at the end of the year, at the end of the show, for as long as I can remember until two years ago, we had $0. We were trying to start scrapping and saying, how are we going to pay our deposit for the next year?
Yeah.
Yeah, for sure.
And so now, last year, we have $40,000 left over because we're not paying those people outside to do that.
Yeah, but it's a lot of work for everybody, though. Well, yeah.
I bet it's a lot of work. I don't even know how you guys manage it. It's crazy.
It is crazy. It is crazy. And that's why it was advantageous for us not to have the board doing it and separate it. So I approached them and told them, I said, we need to have, you know, a conference chair that does the conference, has his team, board does board things. They can just totally be two, not two separate entities, but just two separate things. So you can do your job and we can do ours. And it doesn't have to involve you except for once a quarter or however many times you want me to tell you what's going on. And They finally said, that's probably the best thing we can do. And I was working for that for as long as I can, was on the board. And finally, this is the first year that it's separate like that. Yeah. And we finally trying to work ourself down to where it's not as costly for the technician to come. So I bumped up the, bumped up the, the vendors fee a little bit, not much, not, I mean, 35, $4,500. It just depends on where your booth is, corner booths, you know, or a regular booth. I know all about that. If that's $3500 or $4,500 where you go to Chicago, I'm not even going to tell you how much money that is. Yeah, I know.
We don't do that.
And then so that's where I'm like, okay, I don't have to raise it that much. But now if you're a member of the DLAT, it costs you half. It costs you half to get in. So it's like you have over $100 off. So if you're a technician member, a technician membership, It's $65. You saved over $100. You got all your seeds in one day.
Yep, that's so great. So can you tell us, give us a rundown? I mean, Elvis and I are going to be there, obviously. We can't wait.
Sure.
But for those that are listening to this podcast, kind of go through the meeting for us. Tell us what's happening. I know it's all night Saturday, I'm pretty sure, but you're going to give us a little blick.
Well, Thursday we come in and It's setup day. I actually get there Wednesday. Thursday's set up. We have a golf tournament that day.
Do you have a lot of people that go to the golf tournament? They used to do that at the FDLA.
Yeah, we have a lot of people. I mean, it's really fun. I mean, last year, Rafi from Alien and I rode around in a golf cart. We didn't hit a ball, but we had the most fun.
Did you drink Crown Royal?
No, I actually have a, it's called peanut butter whiskey. Peanut butter whiskey.
My dad used to do that, and he used to drink Crown Royal, and that's how he got through it.
Oh, it was cold. It was kind of cold and chilly and rainy looking, you know, but I would ride with Rafi. We'd stop. I'd got out and laid down like Caddyshack on the putting green. watched them and took pictures of them hitting the ball. I did all the pictures taken and a lot of the alcohol drinking and then we ate.
The pictures started off great, but...
And then they wanted to take it. And then we went to, and we get to eat there, so we ate and then soaking up some of the juice. and then back over in that evening we have a vendor reception on Thursday night oh that's cool and then everybody comes we just sit and talk and I think that's whenever if it's Thursday night I think there's a band see Thursday yeah Thursday night's a band we have a band and they're all technicians oh really they're all technicians out of Waco.
Ah that's awesome I had no idea yeah what's the name of the band is it Dental?
Technician 57 Chevy 57 Chevy.
I love it.
They're good. I mean, when you go in, big old burly guys, it's fun. I mean, it's actually, we've had them singing almost every year for as long as I've been.
That's awesome. I had no idea there was a band made-up of technicians. That's great.
Yeah, it's pretty fun. And then Friday we start the show. And we have John Madden as our keynote on Friday.
Love them.
Peter Peasy's Saturday keynote.
Nice. Powerhouse people.
Rob Nazal, Jim Collis.
Yep, yep, love him, you know?
Gary Morgan doing our regulatory.
Gotta do it, gotta have it.
Jeff Davis from...
Oh yeah.
Yeah, you know who he is.
Yeah.
Chris Bond is from Stroman. Sean Nowak, Vicki Thomas, Whitney Courtney, Jimmy Stiegel, Paulo Lebrano.
Yeah, Paulo's gonna be there? I love Paulo.
Yeah, yeah. Mike Thomas, he's gonna be, we're having a panel. So the panel's gonna be analog to digital and Sean Noak sponsoring it. So we have a vendor.
So you gotta let him on stage since he's sponsored.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we gotta let him on stage. You know how it is.
Yeah, he loves speaking.
I love Sean. When he first did his first speaking thing, he came over with our keynote one year. He was pretty nervous, but man, when he gets up there, it's different. He is really good. He's really good. He's.
Just gotta get started.
Yeah. And then Friday night we have our casino night where it's gonna be kinda like what they did over and they kinda stole it from us. We had planned it and I don't know how it leaked out, but Sean did it over in Louisiana, New Orleans. Same thing, roaring 50s, roaring 20s, whatever you wanna call it.
Yeah, but he did it on a boat, you're gonna have it in a casino.
It's in a casino. And then we have a karaoke at the same time in there.
Oh, God. Elvis is going to get up and sing Elvis.
Yeah. Hey, I'll tell you, it was good.
Here's a shocker for the world. I've never karaoke'd in my life.
Oh my God.
This might be it.
You just haven't drank enough yet. Yeah.
Do it back to Fireball and get your pizza.
All right. If anyone wants to see that show, come to the DLAT. Friday night from 7 to 10.
That sounds fun. It does sound fun. I love it.
It'll be fun.
Let's have a fun committee about all the stuff we have to do tonight.
We just try to make it different every year so it stays interesting.
Yeah. Yeah. When did you integrate the Ortho?
Ortho came in 2006. We were over at the lakes was the first year when we left the lakes. Let's see. So that was 17, 18.
I think we were there maybe that first year. You were.
You were. And then it was only COVID. And we had the COVID one.
Yeah.
When COVID came.
Yeah.
And we didn't have that many. They didn't come then because they couldn't they all travel because they're from everywhere, Canada, all over, all over North America.
And so you basically run two meetings at the same time, like while there's, I I don't want to say traditional, but I'm going to say traditional lab stuff going on. Then the ortho has it at the same time.
They have a board and they do, they just tag along with us because it's easier for them to do that and monetarily smart for them to be with us so that they're not having to do that much.
I'm sure it benefits both parties very well.
Sure. Oh, we have a blast. I mean, and They do their thing. They have like, they played ******** last year. We didn't play ********. Everybody was like, why can't we go over there? Well, you can, but you got to start bending. You got to start bending wire and you're not going to do that.
You got to start moving teeth and not replacing teeth. Sorry.
Correct. Correct. It's fun. We get along with them really well. They're bored now. We actually talked to Phil on their board day before yesterday because I told him, you know, My plan on trying to move to the lakes was so that we could all grow, and I don't want him to think that he was just making a lateral move. I had more room for him. He had 80 people there last year, and I said, I got a room for you over there. It's got over 120 people. It can put over 120 people in it. Okay, we're going. We'll be with you.
Nice.
So, you know, it was in the hard sell.
Is that their only meeting?
Yes. I mean, they have people from Greece and... They're reached up into Canada. Really? They have a lot of people coming from Canada.
Interesting. Wow, that's...
They only can have 12. I think they only have 14 booths on their side.
Yeah, versus 100 on yours?
Yeah, and they don't have that many. I mean, that's all they can do. You got screws and... the expanders and wire and acrylic, and that's all they have. That's why he told me, he said, because I asked him, I said, you know, I have room for us to grow here. You're part of the bending hole. And he was like, I don't think we can make it any bigger because I don't think we have anything else we can bring. I mean, they get some specialty things from like the auto wire bending things. And they came over last year and that was really interesting. This year they're going to do a lot of, um, laser welding. They got three or four laser welders that are going to be there and they're going to be going doing all that stuff. It's pretty interesting. I go in there, sneak in and watch. I don't want to stay in there too long because then I'll start liking it. I want to do work.
They still have laser welders. That's crazy.
Yeah.
Wow.
And yet they're more digital than we are somehow.
Sure are.
I know.
It's fun. I mean, the fun part of us being all together is they learn from us and we learn from them. Oh, of course.
Yeah. So are you going to continue combining that timeframe and those meetings in the future?
Sure are. As long as they want to stay with us, we're going to have them with open arms to be with us. I mean, we've always been really cohesive. We can get together and and sit down and we actually one year we had to go to them and it was hilarious because we sit and I'm going to say something, Kate's probably going to get mad at me, but we have a Stripe account where all our money goes into Stripe. And at the end of the year, we were going looking to make our deposit for the next year and we're like scratching. Where are we going to find this at? And so we went to Ortho and asked them, Hey, can you like, um, ORG, can you like, lend us some money? And oh yeah, sure. And then after they did that, Kay comes to me and goes, you know what? I had $60,000 in the Stripe account. I didn't even know. Oh, jeez. Oh, that's awesome.
That means something's working. And you guys are doing a great job. Yeah, no doubt. I mean, in a world full of people saying, you know, live CE and these shows, dipping, y'all are killing it. And Barb and I, we go to a lot of shows. This is one of the best. And because it's the vibe and it's not huge. So I mean, you can still be at the show and see most people and just, it's not like Chicago, you know, where it's like, as soon as it's done, everyone's gone and you'll never see them again. And that's something you just can't replace. And we are so excited and appreciative of the invite you sent to us. I know I mentioned earlier, it's been a while since we've been there and it's just a timing thing, but we are so happy to be back and looking forward to getting back to the show, man. I mean, just...
We're excited y'all are coming back because I kept, you know, I kept barking trying to get you to come and... It was always something that didn't got in the way. And I was like, but it's different when you're there. When y'all are there, it's different. I mean, everybody's like, hey, that's a step up for us, you know, because it's like you're in Chicago because y'all are always in Chicago. Yeah.
That week is blocked off in my life till I die.
Yeah, I get it. I went up there one year, I left and did an all on four conversion. And left straight from that office in Scrubs to Chicago. Really? And when I got on the train, cause I rode a train, cause a buddy of mine said, Hey, let's just ride the train. Yeah. That was the stupidest thing I'd ever done in my life. There's no heater on that train.
Oh.
And I'm freezing, dude. Train goes all the way. And I was like, when I finally got off that train, my legs were numb. I got off.
Because scrubs are so warm.
I got off two blocks from the hotel, I turned the corner on the Miracle Mile and said, What in the H have I just done? I mean, I went to my room, my vice president was with us and we went in there and I was changing clothes and I said, Man, my legs are, they're red like I got a sunburn. It was dinner, it was the middle of dinner before they thought out. I said, No way, you don't wear pajamas to freaking Chicago. Ever, ever.
We look forward to Texas in April. There'll be a nice little change.
So might be a little rain, might be a little damp, but you'll be fine.
We'll take it over snow.
Yeah.
Awesome. Matt, thank you so much.
Hey, thank you guys. It was fun.
Yeah, I love hearing the story. I can't wait for this event. We encourage anybody and everybody in Texas or out, man, it's worth it. is a good show.
We have a lot of fun. That's the main thing. It's a lot of fun. I got a trophy last year at the end of the golf tournament for most entertaining. Sweet. Yeah, little bobble head. It was fun.
I don't even golf and I kind of want to see this.
Hey, I didn't hit a ball. I did with smoke cigars, drink alcohol, and take pictures.
Nice. My kind of guy.
Yeah, it was fun.
And then you got a trophy. It's not a bad deal.
Yeah, I got a trophy for it.
Thank you so much, man. And we'll see you in April.
Appreciate it. Thank you guys.
Yep. Have a good one.
Yes, sir.
A big Texas thank you to Matthew for coming on our podcast to tell your amazing story. I was a little late in joining, sorry about that, but I was happy I was able to join and talk about my favorite part, which is the DLAT show itself. Elvis and I have been to this meeting, how many times? More than a few. They do an amazing job with their education and their fun evenings. It is happening April 9th through 11th. It's in Dallas at a hotel near the airport, which is really easy to get there. It's not just a meeting for people in Texas, everybody. It's a great meeting for anybody that loves what you do and hanging out with awesome, cool people. And as we mentioned, we're recording live the whole weekend. So come tell us your story. We would love to hear about it. And we do love the live shows, Elvis. They're the bomb.
We do. A little face to face. Never hurt anybody. Right on. All right, everybody. That's all we got for you. Safe travels. We'll see you in Chicago. And if for some reason you won't be there, we'll talk to you eventually.
Yeah. Have fun. Safe travels.
Bye. yeah. Gotta lock that door, keep those kids out. The views and opinions expressed on the Voices from the Bench podcast are those of the guest and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the host or Voices from the Bench LLC.