Born Scrappy
The go-to podcast for scrap metal exporters and traders
Born Scrappy
Elevating your experience at ReMA's The Show 2025 with Event Chair Andy Cohen
In this episode, I chat to Andy Cohen, Vice President of Raw Material Purchasing and Sales at Metal Conversions. More importantly for this episode, Andy is Event Chair for REMA's The Show 2025 taking place this May in San Diego.
Andy has been in the scrap metal industry for nearly two decades and has attended countless ReMA events and held various different roles as part of ReMA. He’s introducing whole lot of new things to this year’s event and is looking to break all the records!
Whether you’re a regular at the annual event, or you’re thinking about going for the first time - this episode is for you!
In today's episode, we talk about:
👉 What to expect at The Show
👉 VIP tickets and after parties
👉 The Safety First Plaza
👉 Keynote speakers
👉 And much more!
Listen to the full episode. Wherever you stream your podcasts.
Born Scrappy. Brought to you by Buddy.
The only marketplace and trade OS built for scrappies, by scrappies.
https://www.tradebuddy.io/
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WHO IS STU KAGAN ANYWAYS?
26 years in the metal recycling game and still learning and growing...
I learnt from the best and worked my way up from yard labourer to Executive Director of Trading and Operations for the largest metal recycler in sub-Saharan Africa. Responsible for 4,500 employees, 85 sites, and the overall profitability of a multi-billion dollar operation.
I brought my breadth and depth of knowledge to bear and co-founded the fastest growing, most-loved, and most awarded metal recycling company in New Zealand. No small feat in a country where people are outnumbered 4:1 by sheep (spoiler alert: sheep don’t produce much metal waste).
I thought it was time that tech worked for our industry, so I took all of my experience as an operator and trader and leveraged that to build THE killer scrap app, Buddy. That’s right - built for scrappies, by scrappies.
Father of two crazy-awesome boys. Husband to Lisa. Under 9 rugby coach. YPO member. Lifelong learner. Mentee. Mentor. Chief dog walker. Committed Stoic. Undefeated dance-off champion.
COME SAY HI ON LINKEDIN
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stukagan/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/born-scrappy/
Hi, I'm Stu Kagan, and welcome to Born Scrappy, the podcast for scrap metal exporters and traders. Join me in conversation with some of the most experienced traders and operators that have helped shape this incredible industry. Today I'm chatting with Andy Cohen. Andy's the vice president of raw material purchasing and sales at Metal Conversions, but more importantly for this show. He's the organizer of the show. Rima's annual showcase event taking place in May in San Diego, and it's going to be amazing. In today's episode, we talk about what we can expect at the show, Safety First Plaza, live streaming podcasts, VIP tickets, after parties, and much more. So let's find out all about the big event with Andy, but first intro. Andy Cohen, how are you? I'm good, Stu. How you doing, man? Yeah, I'm amazing, man. I'm, uh, I'm loving season four so far and, uh, interviewing some great people and, and this is, uh, no different. This is going to be lots of fun. Awesome. I'm excited to be here. I've, I've, I've listened and watched and, uh, I'm just, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm anxious, maybe a little nervous. I get to be, uh, I get to be a part of, uh, the series. This is great. Yeah, it's cool. It's gonna be look at a week. This one's going to be fun, right? I mean, sometimes we delve into like, ah, you know, what are the big trading mistakes you've made and try and add value for the next generation. But this one is really all about, um, the big show coming, you know, where you're, you're being a part, you're, you're putting on the show. So I think let's just, before we jump into the show, Let's just understand a little bit about who Andy is, where you are currently, where you come from, and that sort of side of the story. Yeah, definitely. So I'm currently in, uh, Columbus, Ohio. I work for a company called Metal Conversions. I've been here nine years now. Um, we are primarily a secondary, uh, aluminum smelter. We make, uh, speck, secondary casting ingot, and sow. Um, that is our main gig. We also do trading of, we have a scrap yard in Mansfield, Ohio. Uh, we do trading of all different grades of items. Um, I started, I'm from Fort Wayne, Indiana, born and raised. Uh, went to, you know, schooling, went to college, I was a psychology major, which is probably why I got into trading. I know my mental problems were bipolar as you know, when you're buying, it's great, when you're not, it's terrible. Um, Then, uh, I started working retail beginning in the beginning. I was a store manager for an athletic retail company running stores. I was living up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, running the store at mall of America. And, uh, a family member of mine who was in the scrap industry and the recycling materials industry came and visited me. And I told him I was tired of working retail. I wanted to get into something different. And he, uh, he took my resume and. Long story short, a few months later, I was, uh, started at OmniSource back home in Fort Wayne, working for them in their, what is today their management training program. Back then it was, go to the scale, you know, go work the truck scale. Okay. Uh, then, you know, you're there for a few months and then it's go, go work receiving doc. Okay. You worked receiving doc for a while. And then finally was working, uh, scales, running scales at a couple of their different yards, their stainless yard, their. Insulated wire yard, they're chopping mines and, uh, got into staying with nickel alloy, got into doing their settlements. And then from there started trading and it's kind of, you know, history. It's all written from there. So how long ago did you get into it? Uh, about 19 years ago. I think I started it Omnisource end of 2006. I love that, um, that part about, you know, how it used to be versus how it is now, right? It's like all structure around it now, but when you and I started, it was exactly the same. It's like, all right, the guy on the, the guy on the front skeleton arrived today, you're doing. Yeah. And literally you just dive in like head first, deep in, can't swim, have no idea, but it's the best way for you to learn. Yeah. Yeah. I know today I couldn't imagine going to a new employee, recruiting a new employee out of college or anywhere and saying, yeah, you're going to just go, what am I going to do? They ask you, what's the plan? Well, the plan is for you to just go work in the yard for a while. Well, for how long? Well, you know, I don't know. Now you got to plan. You got to know where they want. Yeah. I mean, you got to put them in certain situations to learn back then it was just child by fire. And I, when I was with one of the really large corporates, they actually have as a part of their program that you have to become a manager after a certain amount of time. I hated that. I just don't believe that you can do that. Like you don't know if the person's going to be able to get it so quickly and depending on what role they're in. So I like, um, throw them in. Let them work a whole lot of jobs. And, and usually it's not even that they're ready. Usually management comes because one of your managers leave and it's like, okay, well, who's going to be the next manager? John over there, he seems to be working hard. He's the new manager. Hey, whether you're getting promoted because you're good at it or you're getting promoted because the guy, the person above you, uh, left still promotion. Absolutely, man. That's exactly right. All right. So, so Andy, let's talk about why we're here today. So the big event, the big show is coming up. The Rima show is coming up in May. And why are you the guy? Like we keep seeing you, you take your glasses off, you do these little videos now on social media. How did you become that guy? I was hoping you were going to be able to tell me why I got that job. I'm not going to say I don't know. I started a couple years ago, actually. These positions, uh, you know, chair of the convention is a, is a big role. I mean, you have a big responsibility. It's outside of membership dues. It's the largest supporter of the REMA budget. Um, what is brought in from, from the convention. So they plan and Colin. Uh, Kelly, the chair, he's been in it about a year now. So it would have been two years ago. He had to start thinking who he was going to ask to run his convention. And Tim and Andy Golding had some names in mind and they came to me and asked me if it was something I was interested in. And, uh, the first two times I asked, I said, no, that's not something I'd be interested in because I know what kind of work went into it. You know, I knew Andy Golding when he did it. I knew Steven Moss when he was doing it and he'd done a great job when he did it. Um, but finally I. I called them back and said, yeah, it's something I want to do. This is a, this is a role I'd love to take on and the challenge and putting together, uh, what is now known as the show. It was something that really interested me and piqued my interest in terms of people who do know me. I mean, I go to a lot of, a lot of old Israel events now, Rima events. I'm out, I'm about, I love traveling. I love talking to suppliers, love talking to consumers. Um, So, from that standpoint, I had the experience of being at a lot of different events and what, uh, events need, what people like at events, why people go to events, and, uh, they saw that, and, uh, I saw that. It was a good pairing. I just want to delve a little bit deeper into that question. What makes somebody like you put their hand up to do that? Because. No doubt they're currently asking somebody for two, three, four years time from now, right? And who, what would make you say yes to that? Of course, when they hound you enough, eventually you say, but something that drives you. It's a volunteer role. I mean, so you got to be one first and foremost, you got to want to help the industry. You got to want to volunteer your time. And, and, you know, I've been a chapter president. I've gone through the ranks. I've been on boards. I was non ferrous vice chair on the national level. So I've, I've put time in. Um, and I enjoy doing that, but this one was a little different, probably a little more on a selfish reason. Uh, well, first off, I want building it. I mean, you know, vice chair, you're dealing with, um, like non Ferris or vice chair of Ferris or a chapter president. Um, you're working a lot with your members. You're working a lot with, uh, the political side of it, advocacy, um, which was nice. And I learned a lot doing that. Uh, this is putting a show on I mean, it's you're you see what you're getting out of it What you're putting in you're going to get out and you're going to create an experience for people and I liked that feeling and then selfishly you know for if i'm going to volunteer my time as an employee, I had to show metal conversions and the ownership at metal conversions that Uh, you know, they weren't paying me to just go mess around and hang out that there was a return For this volunteer and for this role Um, with the travel that I'm doing and everything, and there is, I mean, let's be honest, I'm on Born Scrappy, talking to Stu Kagan, I mean, my name's getting out there, I'm putting videos out, Rima's promoting them, so, for selfish reasons, it's helped building, you know, the metal conversions brand a little bit, my brand, and that had a sales piece to it, for sure. That's really important that I wanted to get that out of you, because when people are being asked, yes, it's volunteer work. But at the same time, you know, it's a win win. So people shouldn't just, um, you know, run away when somebody's asking you next, who's doing the next one in Vegas, or I guess it'll be off that I think we're going back to Nashville in a couple years time as well, which will be lots of fun. Yeah, when you're chapter president, you get stuff out of it. I mean, I learned leadership, I learned advocacy, you know, each role I've taken, you get something personally out of it. This one was just a little different, because you're not, you know, you're not doing the advocacy, you're not going on the hill, you're not, You're putting the premier recycling event on every single year. Yeah, I think, you know, it's the, it's the old adage of you, you get out what you put in. Um, and, and that's kind of like in this industry. Um, if you want people fighting on your behalf, you know, when we talk about advocacy, if you want a great event, et cetera, well, Get involved in and make it happen as much as possible. We're getting involved a lot. My wife and I, um, on the international side, on the supplier side of Rima. So we've been participating. Well, let's understand what you're doing differently though. So 2025, the show, just to clarify for anybody, if you'd be listening this long already, and you're like, what is the show we're talking about with previously was called Israel. It was the ISRI event, the biggest event of the year. It's obviously now RIMA and we've named the show. What is happening different this year compared to previous years? So we've, you know, we did a good job. So thankfully I was allowed to be involved with Stephen Moss the last two years as his vice chair. The last two conventions I got put on, um, I had the privilege of being his vice chair and kind of sitting behind the scenes and seeing how he managed, how he put it on, how he created along with the help of the staff. And everybody involved and to kind of see I like this, you know, maybe I tweaked that or this was working Well, let's keep that but maybe can we build on it and create something new and and change some things and uh this year we we were out and i've gone out and talked to consumers and suppliers and equipment, uh providers of What have they enjoyed? What haven't they enjoyed? What did they like? What didn't they like? and um We've created some new things. Um, you know a few of them Uh One area that we've really, really grabbed a hold of this year is the educational side of it, the sessions. Um, we've always felt, you know, uh, Andy Golding and Steven Moss did a great job the last five, six years creating incredible networking events. You know, from the after hours to the closing party to young executives, things that go on that we'll still have this year. But we felt the next step for us to make this event, this convention, the show even better was the educational piece, the speakers. Not only are you going to go because you're going to meet everybody, not only, not, you're not only going to go because the exhibit hall is full of great service providers and equipment and, and, and so forth and all the new technology, you're now going to go as well, because you're going to be able to be there. You're going to listen to experts on the latest topics, uh, best practices, so that when you leave, whether you're an owner operator or you're an employee, you can go back to your business and you can implement. What you've learned and walk away, you know, when you're at that airport on Friday in San Diego, getting ready to fly home in your head, it's just going through of, okay, day one, what am I starting with? What am I bringing in? You know, there was safety stuff. There was quality stuff. There was, you know, advocacy. What is it? You're going to be able to take that stuff. So I would probably say right now, that's probably the biggest new thing is the educational piece, how we've continued to grow that along with, um, some other events that that are happening. It's really interesting because I think that's so important because the educational piece, you know, we come and network is massive and relationships are vital in this industry, but at the same time, um, to get knowledge from participating at these events is hugely important. I was at an event the other day, I moderated a tech panel, um, of new technology in the industry in Houston. And, um, I'll never forget. I was looking around at some point in the, in the panel and people were messaging and it looks like they're, you know, are they bored and they're all on their phone and I had like five people come up to me afterwards to say, I've just messaged my management team. To tell them that we need to start implementing certain things to make better data driven decision and it's, and if you can have that, and I'm thinking myself as an owner operator, if I'm sitting in an audience and listening, and I'm on my phone messaging my team and going, Hey guys, why are we not doing this? Why are we not speaking to these people? Why would that then I know I'm getting value. And then, as you say, you get on the, you get at the airport on your way out. And you've just got your laptop out, your phone, you're taking notes. You're like, I've got to put this all into one place. And we need to actually make that change. It's going to be massive. I think that's an incredible part of this year's show. I'm really excited to see all of that. And so that's something, but what's the safety first plaza? Cause surely that's aligned with this as well. Yep. So this is something new as well that we started that, um, it actually came about. While we were in, uh, San Diego. So I had to, I got to go to San Diego in December of like 23, uh, before even Is that, I just want to confirm, is that the whale's vagina? Yes. San Diego. San Diego. Yes. Correct. Correct. Correct. If anybody isn't aware, that's an Anchorman reference. Yes. Yes. That is the history of it. It was, it's a well known fact. It's going to be a lot of that, man. Yeah, I got the benefit of going because I hadn't been to San Diego and Israel and Rima hadn't been to San Diego since I think it was 2009 2011. It was actually my very first convention in the industry, so it's kind of come first full circle. It was my first convention and now it's my first convention as convention chair. Um, but they have an area there at their convention center that's outside. I mean, San Diego's weather is perfect. We can't get any better. And right around the hotels, they have a big, uh, Open area that's concreted with grass and, and we were there, there was a convention going on and they were setting up for it. They were setting stuff up outside and I'm looking at it and I was talking to Robin, uh, Wiener was there and I was talking to her and Colin was there and I was talking to him going, We got to use this space. This space needs to be used. You know, people, we want people in the exhibit hall floor. We want this stuff, but there's something that can be done here. What are we going to do? And, I was talking to Jason, uh, Gly about it, who's, you know, who, who basically is running the convention and putting it on, just listening, listening to my ideas and actually implementing them and correctly and, you know, fixing my problems. And he goes, let's do a safety pavilion. And we were like, yeah, but we're not calling it a safety pavilion. What are we calling it? It's a safety first Plaza. And there's going to be, uh, exhibitors and booths all set around safety, yard safety and our operations. From OSHA to highway to trucking at this point. Now it's somewhere between 15 to 20 different exhibitors outside. Uh, everybody's going to be able to walk by it. We have a, uh, a national brand that provides safety equipment, you know, work boots, uh, gloves, everything. They're going to be, a vendor's going to be on site. It's actually a vendor that's going to be announced at the convention that signed a deal with REMA. So REMA members get a discount when ordering their equipment. Um, so this Safety First Pavilion has really turned into something because, I mean, as we all know, safety is a big pillar of REMA, and I think it's a big pillar of every member that's a part of REMA understands that. Safety first. You can't do it safely, you don't do it at all. And so, for us to have a Safety First Plaza is a real testament to what we stand for. Is it the first time we've ever used an outdoor area for the event? I can't think of one. Um, I, I want to say probably to this scale. Yes. Okay. I mean, we've done some outside things, but to this, but to this scale. Yeah. I mean, where it's outside, you know, eight to five, it's, you know, nine to five, it's going to be open. Yeah. And there's more outside going on. There's more outside going on. Yeah. I mean, the, you know, the, the final closing party is at the, uh, the Rady shell, which is built by the San Diego Philharmonic. It's on the bay. Overlooking the sunset, it's outside, um, it's going to be an incredible event. That's what's beautiful, you know, I, like I said, I was vice chair of this, of Nashville and we learned a lot at the Nashville convention about what convention goers want and what they like, what they enjoy. Um, I remember sitting in the convention. It's a beautiful convention halls in Nashville. It's pretty new. San Diego's is very similar. A lot of windows. Uh, a lot of natural light, but the beauty of San Diego is the, you can be outside too. The weather's great. And the way that the convention hall is set up with the exhibit floor, you're never that far away. And so not only will people be able to see the exhibits, be in the exhibits, but they'll be able to be outside. They'll be able to be, to have natural sunlight coming in on, but still having meetings, still have meeting businesses. Um, the beauty of Nashville was everything was so central and right there. Whether you are going from your hotel to the exhibit hall floor to a meeting to dinner to lunch You could do all of it in a 10 minute walk at most San Diego is the same way. Yeah, that's that's incredible. I'm gonna go somewhere else and have dinner and uber you're more than welcome Yeah, but you could you can leave the exhibit hall floor meet somebody for lunch and be back in an hour Yeah, it's classic. That's brilliant. No, I'm really excited. What is, what is the one thing you're most excited about? Because there's a lot going on. What's the one thing that stands out for you? I, I think it's just the San Diego and the convention center and how it's just set up the city for us. Kind of like how Nashville was, you know, you walked into Nashville and Israel owned the city. Right? I mean, logos everywhere. You could walk around. You saw, you walked down Broadway. There was, yeah. I'm excited to do that in San Diego, it's going to be, but it's mid May, it's going to be 75, 78 degrees, maybe partly cloudy, and you're going to be at the convention, the exhibit, the exhibit floor, the convention hall. It's just going to be Rima logos, it's going to be Rima colors, it's going to be branded, you're going to walk out, you're going to cross the street and get into the Gaslamp District right on Fifth Avenue. And it's just going to be more logos. It's the hotels logo. You're going to be walking the street and you're going to see other attendees, other recyclers, other scrappies walk in the street. And you're going to look into a bar or a restaurant. You're going to see more of them just hanging out. Like to me, that's, I love that. That's what I'm looking forward to is there's going to be about a mile radius, maybe a little less, maybe a half mile radius around the convention center that encompasses all the hotels, restaurants, bars, walkways, music venues. That you're just, you're going to feel so, uh, encompassed by Rima 2025, the show that you know where you are and you're going to leave going. That was an experience that I haven't had before. Nashville was similar to it and we've, but we've taken it and we've kicked it up a notch to where you're going to walk away and go, that was the best. That was, that was awesome. Man, I'm, I'm, I'm signing up just based on that. That sounds awesome. I am. I actually have the opposite. I had the opposite experience in Los Angeles. Did, were you at the LA event? It was the opposite. Literally when you left the convention center, everybody was gone. You never saw another scrappy unless you had an appointment or a meeting or a dinner plan or whatever it was. And that's what I was, I was hoping that this would be like, so that's amazing. We all want to be around each other. Yes. Hit the bars, hit all the restaurants, but the fact that you can always see other people that you know. Um, yeah, that's going to be, it sounds like it's good. And that's what we learned from Nashville and we learned that in Nashville. I mean, you know, I think people were nervous that there were so many different hotels. Because in the past that had always kind of been a problem, but the way that Nashville was set up and the way that San Diego is set up, you're, you're no more than five minutes from anywhere. And you're going to see everybody walking and being next to each other. That's great. What, what goes on behind the scenes that none of us are aware of? Like, what happens behind the scenes and what are you afraid of could go wrong come May? Um, you know, the staff, the REMA staff take care of all of it, the behind the scenes. Um, I'd love to say and pat myself on the back that, you know, I'm there and I'm handling things, but they handle it. I mean, they're the ones putting in the work. They're the ones behind the scenes, making sure the stages are set. Making sure the session rooms are set up properly with the right number of seats, making sure, uh, you know, breakfast and the lunches in the exhibit hall and, um, you know, we're going to an after hours party at another location, making sure that the people checking people at the door are looking for the right badges, you know, there's going to be a VIP, there's a VIP pass now that you can get that so you don't have, there's a, that will have VIP entrances and VIP bars at different events we're doing. Yeah, they're the ones that are making sure those things happen. And that's the behind the scenes, um, that you don't see, you know, you might see somebody running that you didn't know, you didn't recognize, you know, who they were, it was probably a Rima staff member running somewhere to get, make sure that, you know, somebody's mic wasn't working or something, or, you know, we're, we're doing, uh, uh, a lot of our sessions in, in the podcast stage, the podcast stage, uh, Rima 2025 live at the show is, uh, is going to be streamed live. So everything, everything on the podcast stage, uh, which is in the, uh, the, uh, kind of the foyer, the atrium of the convention center, right outside the exhibit hall doors, the stage there, uh, it's going to be, be, uh, streamed live on Rima's website, on the, uh, expo website. And then obviously I'm trying to get it done on the app as well. Um, but it's the, it's the staff that's behind the scenes getting things done. What scares me. Weather maybe right now. I mean, luckily, it's San Diego, so I'm not too scared about it. But, you know, our closing party is outside safety. The 1st pavilion is outside. You know, we, we want people walking from their hotels to the convention center because it's such a short walk and easy walk. I mean, you're outside, you know, if, if for some reasons. Something strange happens, I mean, that was the nerve that was what was nervous about Nashville. And if you were actually there the day before the convention started that Sunday, it was terrible. It was rainy, it was wet, and everybody's looking at each other going, Oh crap, no one's going to want to walk to lunch. It's just going to be a problem. The whole idea of walking somewhere is over. So maybe that's, that's, that's one of my fears. And then the other fear would just be, I mean, we're trending registration wise to break 7, 000. Registrants would be the largest. We've broken records the last two years. This one would be even better. Uh, over 7, 000 attendees. Um, big fear, just for some reason, if that just falls off, you know, competitive at all. I, uh, yeah, listen, I, my first one can't be the one that doesn't break a record after we've been breaking records. You know, yeah, you come in with ideas and then all of a sudden, wait, you got less attendees with your ideas. Maybe your ideas weren't that good. Look, I don't think we have to worry about that. Everyone I've spoken to in the past few months is excited for the show and you've built it up really nicely already. So hopefully, um. As long as you can live up to it, but I guess everybody will be there already. So you just got to pull it off on the day. Um, I went to a great, the great lakes, we may vent and they got hit on the first night with a massive storm and they had a live band outside. Like that was really unfortunate. So they can't, they can't screw up anything, but don't think that I'm going to ignore where you dropped in this little VIP. Right. So like, how do we get VIP tickets and what are these? Are they secret parties? You know, what's going on here? So they're, uh, yeah. You know, I, if I told you about the secret parties, I'd have to kill you. So we can't, we gotta finish the podcast first. I can't do that. Stop recording now. Yeah, we don't, you know, I, I don't know how to edit this, so I can't do that to you. Um, there is VIP this year. It's the first time, uh, if you purchase an all access. Badge, you know, which is the full everything, you know, Monday through Friday, you get every single event. You can then do an add on, which is a VIP experience. And so for any of the, uh, main stage speaker, the closing speaker, you know, there's always the VIP seating in the front. Um, during the exhibit hall opening and during, um, you know, the after hours opening, there'll be VIP access. So you can get into a shorter line. They'll have their own bars, so the line may not be as long for those. They'll have that at the closing party as well. Um, just some added touches. You know, I mean, listen, I'm proud of it. I've gone out to some clubs in my days when I was younger. And, and, and gone out. And you always, you always like looking over at the other tables that were getting a little bit, a little bit of better treatment than you were. A little something like, wait, what did they do? Look, this is your opportunity to do that. It's, it's 250 bucks. It's an add on. And it's well worth it with, you know, if you don't like waiting in lines, you get a, uh, A logoed, uh, Rima, the show polo with it. And, uh, obviously the shorter lines and the bars and the other access. And, and well, it's going to be, uh, I think it's a good little add on people will like, we've, we've gotten a little bit of traction with it. It's been, it's been good so far. Yeah. I like that. Um, and the fact that it comes with a polo as well, I mean, you know, you're really getting banged for your buck and the BIR has a gold membership. Where you get to go and certain areas, et cetera. So yeah, it makes a lot of sense. You know, people want the better experience, the smoother, um, you know, less lines, quicker movement, um, early access. If you have that better CT, whatever it is, it's well worth the 250. Yeah. Yeah, no, it's going to be, we, that was something new this year. Um, other things that are new this year, we're doing a, um, the ribbon cutting for the opening of the exhibit hall on Monday. Uh, usually the exhibit hall opens around five o'clock. Uh, for that big, you know, networking show and everybody loves going to, it's maybe, it's probably top, it may be top two event for me. I love going to it. All the exhibitors are pumped because it's the first couple hours. Um, everybody's excited to be in a new city. Uh, this year we're doing a ribbon cutting for it, you know, because the doors don't open till five. So from four to five in Safety First Plaza on Monday, there'll be a DJ, there'll be some light drinks. A little bar will be a little bit of a party, a little bit of music going, getting ready for when at five o'clock the doors open, everybody's going to flood into the exhibit hall show floor to see the show going on right at the beginning of that is the first timers meeting, which we'll, we'll talk about here. Um, you know, which is a great event for people who've never been to kind of meet others who've never been. So, but yeah, the ribbon cutting is gonna be a fun event that we've never done before. Yeah, it sounds like fun. Warm everybody up. A couple of drinks. Get them all ready to spend. Buy some equipment. No doubt. Yeah. Service provided and the supplies of big equipment will be. You give them drinks and, uh, we'll give them discounts. That's kind of how it goes. Yeah, buy a crane. Yeah, buy a crane and rock out with a membership to Buddy. Be perfect. Yeah, it sounds like a good day all around. Um, but then hold on, you know, we haven't touched on Jesse Cole. I absolutely love Jesse Cole. I know a lot of the Americans know Jesse Cole. Let's explain who Jesse is and the impact that he's had on like, I guess, world sports. Yeah, I, his story is incredible. Um, if you're on LinkedIn, follow him. Um, he's a great follow. He puts it all out there. He tells you his story, his journey, he shows you where they're at. But, uh, you know, he is the creator, founder and owner of banana ball. The, the Savannah bananas. Um, I mean, he's revolutionized the way they do things and where they're at from, you know, when they started with one team playing, you know, 10 games to 5, 000 people that now they have, I think, six teams playing. All over the country and they're selling out. All this, all the baseball stadiums, you know, the Red Sox, I mean, they're, they're going to be in San Diego at Petco park for I think three days. And it's sold out in, you know, 30 minutes, all three days. Um, but he is, uh, opening show Monday, Tuesday morning, main stage speaker. He's going to tell a story about not just building a business, but adjusting as you build your business, you know, you're going to have failures, you're going to have successes It's understanding why you had your failures and why you had your successes and moving forward. I got to listen to a podcast with him, uh, speaking, and it was interesting because they put cameras up at all their events, but the cameras aren't on the field, they're not, the cameras aren't watching the field. The cameras are watching the stands where the people are because they want to see the reactions to what's going on and they time them. Uh, they noticed that after about, let's say it was, uh, at two hours, People were starting to walk out. All games last like an hour and forty five now. That's it. They saw people were leaving. They adjusted. At one forty five, everybody was still there. So we'll end at one forty five. Uh, you know, when do people have the most smiles and the biggest laughs? And they're, they're watching these things and they, they do that. Um, you know, you go there and, uh, you want to buy merchandise. The price on the, on the tag is the price that you pay. They cover all taxes. Uh, all tickets include food and drink. So that you're not going there and spending 75 more dollars or 150 more dollars on hot dogs and beers. I mean, he just sees what people want and then finds, finds a way to make it happen. And it may not work at first. You adjust and you pivot and you find a way to make it work. And if it's something they'll want, then it'll be something that's good for you. You may not think it's going to be good for your business, but if people want it, it'll end up being good for your business. I mean, it comes down to data, like literally they're using the data of watching their crowds. And they're pivoting and they keep moving, moving the goalposts. Um, and they, they realize what their followers want and they're giving it to them, right. They're disrupting an industry. I mean, if you haven't, if you haven't watched one of these games or seen anything from it, you have to go and just search on YouTube. Like they're hilarious. I mean, they do like. Dances and songs and wild pitching like it's it's it's unbelievable. They work on the songs are amazing Like it's incredible. I love the fact, you know, the fans are a part of the game If they hit a foul ball And a fan catches it. It's an out It counts I mean, that's great. Let the fans feel like they're part of you know, they they he's he's he does a great he did He's done a great job building Not just a business, but like you said, I mean he's disrupted baseball He's changed it to where people want to be a part of it Yeah, getting him to come and talk was a real, uh, a real exciting moment for us. And we were able to get it pretty early in, uh, early in the process. Um, I'm glad Colin Kelly, the chair was on board to having him come and speak. Uh, we were all excited. I mean, as soon as he saw some of the YouTube stuff, he was like, Oh, I'm here. Like, this is, this is what we need for to kick off Monday morning. Right. You already had the exhibit hall, or Tuesday morning, you had the exhibit hall Monday afternoon, it's Tuesday morning. People are ready to get down to business and start rocking. You don't want somebody who's going to put you to sleep. Yeah, totally agree. I think it's very clever. He's not going to put anybody to sleep. That's for sure. No, no. Um, who are the other speakers? What are the events are there that people should be looking out for? Yeah. So let's, I'll just go through it kind of, you know, I'll hit the main things as we go through. So Tuesday morning, obviously it's Jesse Cole with the opening. Um, a nice one, big, um, obviously we have, we, we're, we're continuing with our educational sessions each day. One thing that's a little different this year, uh, with the education sessions is they're at the same time, same blocks every single day. So it's, you know, there's, uh, eight there, I think it's, there's an eight, there's the main stage Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday mornings at eight 15, there's a 10 30, there's a this time and this time, and it's the same time every day. So when you go to build your schedule. You know when these sessions are, and you can build around it. Then we go into, uh, Tuesday night is after hours. Um, we've had some fun with these the last few years. Uh, you know, I'll give a shout out to, you know, Andy Golding was kind of the one who brought these about in LA the first time, you know, LA was, was a good convention, this was one of the best things to come out of it where these after hours and we're doing one Tuesday night, it's at Nova SD as in San Diego. It's actually, uh, a bit of a nightclub. Um, you know, we had that feel last year to close out Vegas. They have, uh, obviously a DJ dance, food, drinks. Uh, then they have a, a rooftop as well that we're going to have that. I'll have all kinds of seating and lounges. And I believe if the rumor is right, there'll be, uh, you know, hand rolled cigars up there that you can do and people will hand roll them for you. It's outside. It's right off fifth Avenue on the street. It's going to be a great time. Um, That's one of the main events. I just wanted to confirm. I read somewhere that Um, andy golding will be dancing on the stage with his shirt off. Is that confirmed or we not sure yet? He'll be dancing on the stage. We've told him if he takes his shirt off who will be escorted out So we no one has to worry about that because that might keep people away. So We've we've we've told him he would be escorted out And if you want to see him get escorted out then show up that's gonna be fine. He doesn't listen either Um, so that's Tuesday night after hours, uh, Wednesday morning. Uh, there's another, uh, big session, um, where Colin Kelly is going to address the, um, state of the union, state of the membership, state of the association. Talk about, you know, just what, what's the association doing for its members. And if you're not a member, why you should be, what the association is doing for you. Uh, that's then when like the young executives award is given out, the lifetime achievement award is giving out. Um, along with some of the other awards that, that are presented, um, that leads through, um, obviously more shit sessions on Wednesday, Wednesday afternoon, uh, the women in recycling have their, uh, cocktail party. That's at a place called Rustic Rooftop, uh, it's right there on 5th. It's about a, again, a five minute walk from the convention center and the hotels. Um, it's a great space. That's Wednesday night. Young executives have something at the rooftop of the Hard Rock Hotel. Theirs is on Tuesday. Uh, I think it's like 5 o'clock early evening. Um, Thursday, this leads to the final day. Thursday, we are doing something new. We're doing media and crisis communication training. You know, a lot of us now who are running operations are coming across where environmental people want to come in. Or Uh, you know, a fire happens, you know, God forbid, a fire happens. And now all of a sudden news crews are showing up and they want to interview or, you know, the politicians want to come and talk to you about, you know, what'd you do wrong was that we're bringing a consultant group in and they're going to teach people media training and crisis communication so that you can be prepared for if anything happens. Andy, you got something. I just want to say, yeah, like if people are listening right now, do you know how much you spend to get a consultant to come in? Train your company or like it's, it's thousands and thousands of dollars to get somebody out there to do that for you. Like I remember being in New Zealand and having to have a consultant come and help us through one or two issues that were happening in the area with metal recycling, right. And how we were being viewed and we were very wary of receiving phone calls from the press, et cetera, about it. Um, and we spent thousands of dollars on it just to make sure that nobody in the company said something. By mistake. Cause they don't, you never, and it just got misconstrued. Um, so I didn't, I wasn't aware of that. And I think that's new this year. And if you bring it and you bringing some of your staff, like if I'm coming there as an own operator, bringing two people with me, I'm having those two people sit in on there. On that and take notes because I want them to relay that out to the company when they get back. Yeah, I mean, that's the, the goal. I mean, that's why you stay till Friday for this event. You don't leave Thursday. So it's Thursday afternoon. Um, it has, it's, it's like one to one to three, one to four. I believe it's on this, on the schedule on the website, but yeah, media training and crisis communication. It's a consultant group that we've dealt with before. Uh, there's a few of them that are coming in and they're hosting a session, whether. It's 25 people that show up or 300 people that show up, uh, you're going to walk away understanding how to handle yourself in a situation, an unfortunate situation that your company may be in. And it's great. And it's all included. Yeah, I mean, that's, that's massive. So, so this, I guess gets me to the next point, which I wanted to ask you, if I'm an employee of a company listening to this podcast right now, and I'm going, I really need to get to the show. How do I go and tell the owner of the company or management and say, look, you guys, you're missing a trick here. I need to get to this. Give them some tools to be able to sell it better. Yeah. So what I would do is, is the, the website, uh, rema2025. org, where you register is a great resource. Uh, not just with the schedule and obviously being able to register, but it gives you themes and topics of what's going to be, uh, talked about in the educational sessions. And then with each spotlight and other sessions, it gives you a, a synopsis, a thesis of what's being talked about. What I would say is not only are you going to be traveling to the largest exhibit show floor of equipment and technology that, uh, you know, if you're in operations, or if you're in marketing, or if you're in HR, there's stuff for you on that exhibit floor that was sold out in December. I mean, it's the fastest it's ever sold out. It's going to be huge. There's a safety pavilion. If your ownership of your company and your company want to take safety serious, there's a safety pavilion that you are going to be at where you're going to be able to talk to all the people who are writing the rules on safety. If you are operating or you're a salesperson or you're buying, you're going to be able to sit in sessions and see and write down and leave with actionable items. That you can bring back that not only are going to, and I tell them that it's not going to help you grow as a professional, but help your company grow. You know, we all, personally, I get all that, that, you know, that FOMO, that fear of missing out. Your company should get FOMO if their employees are missing out because they're not going to bring it back and make the company better. You know, I would say, um, to, if I reported to, that would literally say these words, how can we afford to not be there? With the new technology, whether it's material handlers, whether it's software, whether it's health and safety, like how can you, as a company right now in this day and age where we are moving so fast at the fastest rate technology's ever moved and the networking ability, right. And building relationships, like the hardest part I always found was when you're trying to do a return on investment here was. To try and explain the networking and try and explain the, it's really difficult to put a value on it, but I just worded it as how can we afford to not be there? Yeah, it's not, and that's, and that's kind of what we focused on, you know, net, the, the, the networking piece, the last six years has grown so much and has done such a great job that we didn't need to improve that as much. I mean, we're still changing some things and tweaking and adjusting, but that's where the educational part and the safety first pavilion came into the fact of. People needed more to go to their companies to justify why they need to be there, not just for two days. They need to be there Monday to Friday. You're not flying out till Friday. You get in there Monday afternoon and you're flying out Friday morning, and you're going to walk out with thinking you're exactly like you're saying. You know, when, when Colin and I, Colin Kelly and I first sat down in Vegas, when he, when I agreed to do this and he agreed to have me do this, we looked at each other and said, we want this person, each employee, each attendee sitting at the San Diego airport going, wow, that was an experience. Not only did I network and had fun, but I, I got, I got items to take back that I can change myself and my business. Yeah, that's exactly it. Lastly, um, before we start finishing up, I just wanted to mention for the international, um, viewers, listeners, because, um, obviously there's a huge amount, I think it's got to be above 80%, maybe 85%. I don't know the stats of, um, Members from the U S that attend this sort of this, this event, there's a lot of international people that don't necessarily come through and they can't really prove out on the return on investment, what else could they do, I guess, is I'm going to probably answer this question at the same time as asking it, but what else could they do in the area? Visiting other middle recyclers, trying to learn a little bit more, not just be for the four days, but actually spend, you know, three days on either side, spending time with people in the area. So, you know, this location is actually great, uh, in the sense of, you know, you're real. I mean, you're almost across the street from Mexico. Um, you know, there's some great there in Tijuana, aluminum processors, other metal processors, and consumers that are buying, they're buying, uh, scrap that are processing it and making products. So you got that. You obviously have the domestic side of it in California, whether you're going to LA or. Uh, Arizona or I mean, they're all close. All those things can be, all those can be seen on back ends. Um, in San Diego, San Diego has done a great job of on the, just the recycling in general of, um, fabrics, uh, plastics, uh, especially, you know, with the bay and the ocean and how they're helping to protect the environment. Um, from waste and that's what we do. We protect the environment from waste. So if you're from overseas or just, you know, from the other region of the United States, coming in and seeing how somebody else does it, whether it be how they do it there in Mexico, right across the border there, across the street, almost to San Diego, to, you know, LA to Arizona. Um, you know, they're not that far away and you can, you can see plenty of recyclers on either side booking, bookending your trip. So, um, before we run off, how did these guys, how does everybody sign up? Website, Rima, the show, pretty easy. Yeah. Yep. Uh, easy to sign up, uh, websites, Rima 2025, just Rima with the year 2025. org. Uh, I think right top, right ginormous button that says register now and click and go, I'd tell you to, uh, get the all access, uh, value wise, it is the best. Get the V. I. P. Uh, you can also, you know, you can add on, uh, there's, uh, there's a networking only ticket for somebody who, if you do an all access, you can bring a spouse with the networking only so they can be a part of it. Um, you know, they're not gonna be able to walk the show floor, but they can go to the parties and stuff afterwards. Um, but with that all access, you're getting, uh, obviously all the networking events. You're getting basically dinner and drinks Monday night, you're getting breakfast Tuesday, lunch Tuesday, dinner and drinks Tuesday, breakfast Wednesday, lunch Wednesday, um, there's events going on Wednesday night, Thursday morning you get breakfast and you get dinner, dinner and drinks again Thursday night. I mean, so if you're sending an employee, every meal is covered. Maybe except one, maybe you add that value together. I mean, it's, it's a lot of people just look at it, but then they're like, oh, that's absolutely not bad. Okay. But you don't get away from a quick fire questions at the end, just because this is about, about Rima. Let's get to know Andy a little bit, because all those VIPs apparently get to spend the day with you and shadow you for the day. So let's get them to know you a little bit better. What's your favorite movie or TV show? Favorite movies. Uh, I'm a comedy guy. So, uh, probably an oldie, but Spaceballs, Old Mel Brooks. Oh my God. I mean, if I had to say one, if that's on, I could watch that and I could turn it on if I had the ability to all the time. Love it. Oh God. Comb the desert. I mean, I remember, yes. Do you think we took them too literally? What's your name? Barf. What's your full name? Barf. Follow me. Anyway, let's, uh, let's not lose everybody now. Um, I haven't, I haven't seen in a very long time, but absolutely lovely. Have you got a favorite book you like to read or have read? Um, yeah, I'd probably say most probably a recent one that, you know, I think it's kind of what books tend to be kind of whatever I read last, so to speak. And it's actually, uh, one of your guests, I think from last season, Joe Fogle, uh, recommended it. Uh, Welcome to Management by Ryan Hawkins. I read that one, really liked it. It's, you know, I think the full title is like how to grow from top performer to excellent leader. It's just about being a learning leader, always opening your mind and trying to learn and listen and challenge. Yeah. Very cool. Have you got a favorite place to visit? Uh, probably, uh, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Arizona area. I grew up going out there as a kid. My grandparents had a place and, uh, I liked the dry. I like the dry heat better. Gotcha. And as a scrappy, you must have some sort of quote you love. What's your favorite quote? My favorite quote. Um, so I, I am a scrappy. Um, it's, uh, impossible as an opinion. Uh, Our, I'm in Columbus, Ohio and our, the, we have a professional soccer, MLS team, the crew. And they won the title back in 23 and the coach, uh, the manager, Wilford Nancy said that afterwards, he said he, that was their mantra for the year was impossible as an opinion. I like that. I like that a lot. That is brilliant. I love that. Andy, this has been lots of fun. I'm excited to get to the show. I'm sure we'll see each other before. Anyway, um, thanks for being on the show, man. I appreciate the time and I look forward to seeing everybody in San Diego. Register. REMA 2025. Don't miss it. Uh, you'd be foolish not to. I think Stu and I both said that. You're wasting money. Not going to afford. Exactly. Can't afford to miss it. See you all soon. Cheers, everybody. Thank you, Stu. Have a good day.
