Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey, guys. Welcome back to the Drone on podcast. I'm Mike Yoder. I'm excited to bring you guys this episode today. It is me sitting down with Brandon from Rhode Island. He is a very good hockey player. He was actually trying out for the Olympic team when he had a tragic accident. And he goes from his lowest of lows of life to now being back and playing hockey. An absolute miracle story of how he got back into it. I'm excited to share with you guys today of how thermal drones and drone day recovery brought him out of that low part in his life. I don't want to spoil the story too much, so let's jump right into the podcast with Brandon.
I'm going to ask you, have you ever played hockey with an Amish person?
[00:00:44] Speaker B: So, believe it or not, crazy story. I did.
[00:00:47] Speaker A: Oh, you did?
[00:00:47] Speaker B: I did. So this was in Pennsylvania. This was with. Against, I guess you could say, wasn't on that team. And there were some kids that were like, oh, you know, he might be good at hockey because it's. It's at his disposal. And I didn't know what that meant at the time. I just thought kid was from maybe Canada or something. I have no idea.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: And we went up to. To Pennsylvania and he was just doing circles around everybody.
[00:01:09] Speaker A: He was that good.
[00:01:10] Speaker B: He was like.
[00:01:10] Speaker A: He was actually good.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: He was really good. And like, it was like, you know, a U10 team. So, like, you know, anywhere between, like, nine.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: I didn't even know they play H there.
[00:01:19] Speaker B: I'm not too familiar with the background.
[00:01:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:01:23] Speaker B: With how the Amish culture works to an extent. But parents dropped him off and he had his family there. They were Amish, and he was walking circles.
[00:01:33] Speaker A: That's crazy. That's cool. All right, guys, I have a great guest today, and we're going to get into the story of how, like, why you're sitting here, but if you would just introduce yourself, who you are, where you're from. Old you are.
[00:01:45] Speaker B: And.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: And then we'll get into it.
[00:01:47] Speaker B: My name is Brandon McGowan, born and raised from New England, but in Rhode island, which is not Long island, it's Rhode island, which is the Ocean State, which a lot of people.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: I don't even know what that state looks like. Do you know what that looks like? Austin? Is it, like. Is that close to New York?
[00:02:01] Speaker B: Yeah, very close.
[00:02:01] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:02:02] Speaker B: It's like it. So you got Connecticut, New York, and then you get Mass. New Hampshire. We're in between or.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: So is it, like, sandwiched in between?
[00:02:09] Speaker B: It's sandwiched so we're called the Ocean State because you can drive left or right. And you got an ocean. You got a Bay Area.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: Oh, crazy.
[00:02:17] Speaker B: Very. And small estate. But people get it confused with Long Island. So upon my travels, either they get it confused with Long island or they ask questions like, do you live in Quahog because of Family Guy? I said, well, that's. Family Guy is based in Rhode island, who created it. But it's a cartoon for a reason, and it's not all based on it, but it's cool that some people know what Rhode island is and don't get it confused.
[00:02:41] Speaker A: Yeah. I'm sorry, I don't know what.
[00:02:43] Speaker B: Yeah, it's.
[00:02:43] Speaker A: I mean, you know, I may have gone through it or flown over it. Like, I fly myself.
[00:02:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: So maybe I flew over it.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: But, I mean, you're not missing much. So like I said, we're like 51 miles. That's how much from one side to the other?
[00:02:55] Speaker A: No way. What about length?
[00:02:56] Speaker B: Yeah, like 51. Like. Like, you could. So.
[00:02:58] Speaker A: So 51 width.
[00:03:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:00] Speaker A: What about. How long is long?
[00:03:02] Speaker B: It's like maybe like 60. 61. 60. I mean, it's not. It takes about an hour to get from one side to the other. Oh, very small.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: Okay. So very small.
[00:03:10] Speaker B: Yeah, we're not.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: I'm about to crack this bubbler, but I want them to know that I've offered you one. You can. You can tell us why it just.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: You know, I'm like a water drinker and everything, so, like.
[00:03:20] Speaker A: Well, that's good. At least you drink water.
[00:03:22] Speaker B: No, no, I do, I do. It's just like being an ath, like, taking certain things. It just caused, like, I don't even drink energy drinks.
[00:03:29] Speaker A: Well, that's good.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: Like, just.
[00:03:30] Speaker A: Nothing wrong with that.
[00:03:31] Speaker B: No, but it's just like, it. It makes you just feel different. I can't even explain it.
[00:03:36] Speaker A: Yeah, this one is a little bit different because it's like, it has 65 milligrams of caffeine and it's not like 200 milligrams, like a red Bull or something like that. Yeah.
[00:03:44] Speaker B: Like, which granted, I, you know, first time trying it, I was like, you know, started feeling my heart and my neck, and I'm like, I don't know if this is a good idea. And mind you, I skated shortly after I drank it, and I was like, yeah, this. This is a. No, we can't do.
[00:03:57] Speaker A: Yeah, that. That would be crazy. Yeah. So I do want to get into your story, because currently stopped in here at Drone Dew. Recovery. You're on your way to Phoenix, Arizona?
[00:04:06] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. So I am going up there. My girlfriend, she's in med school there. She's got one more year. And.
[00:04:12] Speaker A: So you're moving out there just short term.
[00:04:14] Speaker B: Yeah, short term. It's, like I said, it's completely opposite of what New England is. I mean, I like the cold.
[00:04:20] Speaker A: And you actually love.
[00:04:21] Speaker B: I do actually. Like, I can't. I was out there, you know, visiting, and I was just like, I'm. I'm dying out. Swear.
[00:04:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Sweating.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: It's like in the 60s and 70s and people are still bundled up, and I'm in shorts and a T shirt, and they're looking at me like I got three heads.
[00:04:35] Speaker A: That's crazy. You like the cold? Because I used to like it when I was younger, but not so much anymore. Like, I'm all right with going south for me.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: Like I said, I've been to Florida so many times. That's a. That's a humid type of warmth.
[00:04:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: But then you go to Arizona, it's dry. So, I mean, it's. You know, going there. I've traveled a lot, all over the country and stuff, but it's just. It's just dry. There's nothing there.
[00:04:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:57] Speaker B: And, like, I go to visit and.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: Like, it's basically a desert with some mountains.
[00:05:01] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, I didn't know how many mountains there were until I. I drove cross country the first time. And I'm in this place called Flagstaff, and I'm. Oh, that's five, 6,000ft. I'm starting to beat from my head. Sweating like, I'm up here.
[00:05:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:16] Speaker B: And we don't have. I mean, the. The highest point in Rhode island is our landfill. And I'm not even kidding. You can look it up. You can look it up. The highest. And Rhode island is our landfill.
[00:05:26] Speaker A: Oh, my God. And we're.
[00:05:27] Speaker B: Our average elevation is about 130 to 140ft.
[00:05:30] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness. Yeah. And you're at 5,000ft. You're like, yeah.
[00:05:34] Speaker B: Even, like, I drove there two and a half months ago. I took a different route to come see you. And I'm going over the mountains to come here. And I'm like, wow.
[00:05:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:42] Speaker A: So you would have went across some of the Appalachian Mountains.
[00:05:45] Speaker B: Yeah. And it was. I mean, it beautiful. But I'm like, wow, we're climbing. Yeah. I had to make sure I wasn't bleeding from my nose. I'm like, this is different. I gotta. This isn't little roadie anymore. I gotta. I gotta get acclimated to this.
[00:05:56] Speaker A: That's cool. But so we kind of get into your story because you're sitting here with me now because of the YouTube videos, basically. I don't know how to kick it off. But did you go from a hockey player to a drone pilot or was a drone pilot to a hockey player?
[00:06:11] Speaker B: So, like, growing up, my parents used to get me cameras. I've always had a fascination for video photography or digital photography along the lines of that. I started off with getting basic cameras, doing video work with GoPros, and then, you know, buying my first drone and getting my first drones. I was like, you know, this is what I like to do. I like drones.
[00:06:31] Speaker A: And how old would you say you were when you got your first drone?
[00:06:34] Speaker B: Oh, God, I was. This was before. Few years before COVID So I was, like, 19, 20 when I bought my first truck, and. And it was, you know.
[00:06:44] Speaker A: And you would have been into hockey already at that time.
[00:06:46] Speaker B: Correct. So I was still into hockey, and I. I was still doing something on the side.
[00:06:50] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:51] Speaker B: A lot of people joke around, when hockey season's done, everybody golfs. Well, I fly drones.
[00:06:55] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:06:55] Speaker B: I take pictures.
[00:06:56] Speaker A: And so you would have been hockey player turned drone pilot, but you also like video, that type of stuff.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:02] Speaker A: Let the audience know, like, that you're not just normal hockey player. Like, you guys aren't watching. He's. I don't. No offense here. Like, I didn't know, like, what a hockey player is supposed to look like. Are you supposed to be long?
[00:07:14] Speaker B: No. No. I wish I could say I'm one of those hybrid ones, but I. I'm lacking the height, and to be honest with you, I. I wish I wasn't lacking the height, but granted.
[00:07:23] Speaker A: Would that make you better?
[00:07:25] Speaker B: I think it would help. You line three people up that are your height, and then you have me. Well, who you gonna pick if you really pick two?
[00:07:32] Speaker A: That's true.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: So, I mean, you know, do you think the Spartans built an army with one short, all big guys? So I.
[00:07:40] Speaker A: You must be really good to think how good you are at.
[00:07:43] Speaker B: You know, my parents always taught to, you know, you get hit, you get back up in toughness. Mental and physical toughness. Growing up. So.
[00:07:50] Speaker A: So how old were you when you remember your first ice skate?
[00:07:54] Speaker B: So I started off learning to skate when I was three years old. They give you these little crates, and you go out there and you kick a soccer ball around for a few years, and then after that, you know, push the crate out for me. And I didn't need it. And I did learn to play. And they give you a stick after that and you, you start to take off. So I started at 3 years old and it was so.
[00:08:13] Speaker A: So your whole family used to skate or still does.
[00:08:17] Speaker B: Yeah, so I have most of my, my cousins and stuff. One of them, he's a ref now and his dad, which is my uncle, he's a ref. My whole family has been around hockey for long as I can remember. I mean it was either playing street hockey outside, you know, or friends or, you know, my family or just being on the ice or public skating with my friends on the weekends. Like there was no going to the mall. It was public skating on the, you know, with my friends. Yes.
[00:08:42] Speaker A: On ponds or rinks.
[00:08:44] Speaker B: We did it on rinks. You know, everybody would meet there and they'd play music and friends. I mean it was like a middle school thing to do. Like it wasn't like going to the mall. Like it was. Hockey in New England is a very big thing.
[00:08:55] Speaker A: I just never knew that.
[00:08:56] Speaker B: It's huge. And a lot of people like, they come from all over just to play New England based hockey.
[00:09:01] Speaker A: Huh.
[00:09:01] Speaker B: And there's programs in the Midwest that are like Michigan and like they're great schools. Yeah, Wisconsin, they're great. But a lot of New England hockey, there's a lot of big names that come from the schools in. Just from that area.
[00:09:14] Speaker A: Wow. And earlier you were saying, where's your family from? Italian.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: Yeah. So we have an Italian restaurant in my family.
[00:09:23] Speaker A: So it's not necessarily that Italians play hockey.
[00:09:25] Speaker B: It's just, believe it or not, they an Italian team.
[00:09:28] Speaker A: You see where I'm going with this? I'm trying to figure out like is it, is it in your blood or is it ne, is it the state?
[00:09:34] Speaker B: It's a little bit of both.
[00:09:35] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:09:35] Speaker B: My family pretty much had. It was hockey. Who watched, who enjoyed it, who played. Whether it was my cousins or my uncle. It was instilled in me at a very young age at three. And it was, you know, getting dressed, going to the rinks early in the morning, 6, 7am and then it was like, you know, you can drive to a rink mile away and there's a rink and mass in Connecticut, in Rhode island, there's a rank crazy.
[00:10:00] Speaker A: Probably about right now these guys are that are listening or watching on YouTube right now. They're trying to figure out why are we talking about hockey on a drone show. Yeah, but so we got to get into that. So tell them.
[00:10:12] Speaker B: So any sport, not even just hockey, a lot of people Love hockey because it's physical. You know, a lot of people give hockey players a lot of credit because there's a lot of physicality in it. And some people say, I love watching hockey on tv, but I prefer to watch playoff hockey because it's more nitty gritty, which it is, you know, a little bit higher stake.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: I think we have a hockey team. Do we have a hockey team in Ohio? Yeah, you have a jacket. Columbus blue jacket.
[00:10:35] Speaker B: Yeah. And also Ohio State has a. Oh, they do.
[00:10:38] Speaker A: Team.
[00:10:38] Speaker B: Yeah. They're actually very good.
[00:10:39] Speaker A: No way.
[00:10:40] Speaker B: Very, very good.
[00:10:41] Speaker A: Why don't we know about it?
[00:10:42] Speaker B: That's like Texas. Like, you think of Texas and you don't think hockey is.
[00:10:46] Speaker A: I think long errands.
[00:10:47] Speaker B: Yeah, that's what I. You think? I would think football or baseball.
[00:10:50] Speaker A: Oh, okay.
[00:10:51] Speaker B: And there's. Well, I was thinking agricultural with that too.
[00:10:54] Speaker A: Beef.
[00:10:55] Speaker B: But if there's. There's hockey teams everywhere you look, I go to Arizona and I'm like, oh, you guys get rinks there?
[00:11:01] Speaker A: There's ranks. No way.
[00:11:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:03] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:11:03] Speaker B: And that's crazy. It's crazy. But.
[00:11:05] Speaker A: Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you there.
[00:11:07] Speaker B: The story is, you know, I had. In 2021, you know, I was kind of pretty much out of high school. You played, you know, junior hockey and to kind of help place you to go to college. That's how it works. You play a few years at a. At A.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: So high schools have hockey.
[00:11:21] Speaker B: Yeah. So there's different levels, you know, D1, D2, D3. And then you like, you can go to prep school.
[00:11:27] Speaker A: And if there's Canadians listening to me right now, they're like this. Mike knows nothing about hockey. And it's probably way bigger than I had any clue.
[00:11:36] Speaker B: It's one of those things where once you know the, the schematics and the basics of level wise, you're like, oh, wow, it's not that hard. And that's the same thing too. I tell people like I 20 minute conversation, like, oh, yeah, that makes sense. When I explain it, it's like they're like, I don't know what you're talking about.
[00:11:52] Speaker A: So do you think that us Americans here or. The reason I don't know about hockey that much is because it's not so much mainstream. Or is it? And it's just maybe there's not enough money in it. Like, it is like NFL and Major league Baseball.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: They don't get. I mean, hockey players get paid, but it's not like you look at the salaries for like NBA and. And you know, MLB for baseball or you know, you look at like NFL players, you know, I mean it's hard to kick a ball, but you look at kickers that sign like a three year contract for like 6.5 million where like a hockey player is not going to touch that. Oh no, seriously, you get signed for like a few years, you're, you're not going to average. Like you look at some salaries and contracts for NBA players, they're like, yeah, two years for like 29 million. Yeah, not even close, huh?
[00:12:38] Speaker A: And it's probably more physical than.
[00:12:41] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean my injury to. How worse. I'm sitting here with you now. I, I, a life altering injury during.
[00:12:48] Speaker A: COVID But you got to tell them how good you are.
[00:12:51] Speaker B: Like I'm decent. I, I tell people.
[00:12:53] Speaker A: Decent. You're going possibly to play with the USA team.
[00:12:57] Speaker B: Well, correct. To try out. To, to make a name for myself. But.
[00:13:01] Speaker A: Well, I, I couldn't go try out.
[00:13:03] Speaker B: Correct. But you could not, you could, anybody can do it. You could walk, right? You could, you could try. But I tell people like there's different levels of hockey professionally. So when I was playing after that injury, which we'll get into, they created a league for semi pro hockey players which was professionally, but semi pro. And this is the second season I've been part of that, that team.
[00:13:26] Speaker A: And, and how old were you at that time?
[00:13:28] Speaker B: When I got hurt or.
[00:13:30] Speaker A: Yeah. You were playing for a semi pro team or not?
[00:13:32] Speaker B: I was playing. No, so I did last year and this year. Okay, so it was a new league, it was a new structure, but it was geared towards professional like hitting, fighting, you know, we're not like, we're a few down from like the NHL, I guess. So like there's different levels and tiers in between.
[00:13:48] Speaker A: I mean, you're being very humble because for me to skate there, I couldn't, I would look like, you know.
[00:13:53] Speaker B: Well, did you ever think you'd get into Drones? And look at you now. Well, you went from what number wise? I'd say like 40,000, you know, views to like 25 million. Correct me if I'm wrong now what? Three and a half.
[00:14:06] Speaker A: I don't watch the Views anymore.
[00:14:07] Speaker B: Not like I'm a nerd or stalk the channel, but just saying I, you know, taking a gander. Well, because the reason why I might stalk the channel is because when I got hurt so I was playing hockey, I get offered to try out for high level junior teams. And when I was playing, it was just in a summer league for hockey. I just Normal day, just skating my heart out. And I went into the boards back first and immediately had a compromised spinal cord.
[00:14:34] Speaker A: Just went into the boards. But don't people go on the boards, like, all the time?
[00:14:38] Speaker B: Well, this is very true, but then we're going to get back into the height. Which you had asked earlier. See, when you're practically already on the ground and you're short, you know, when somebody just comes in a little bit lower, you're just sliding in, you know, laying on your side or on your back. And that's what I did. I went in back first. So instead of a normal, like, sitting upright hitting motion, I was sitting like I am now sliding into the boards back first.
[00:15:05] Speaker A: And that's not normally how you try to go into the boards.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: I mean, no, not really. I mean, people do it. But I was skating, like. Yeah.
[00:15:15] Speaker A: So when I recall watching hockey, every now and then I would see guys, like, slide on the ice and they slam up against the board.
[00:15:22] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:15:22] Speaker A: But you had to hit it just right to get.
[00:15:25] Speaker B: I mean, I. And the crazy thing was the doctor said I impacted that spinal cord, so. Right. With the vertebrae around it to impact it, so. Right. To cause paralyzation. And I didn't feel pain. I tried to sit up, and I couldn't. Yeah, do it.
[00:15:44] Speaker A: Okay, so we gotta let the people know that are just listening to this. If you're not watching it on YouTube, you're not paralyzed now, though, because you just walked in here.
[00:15:52] Speaker B: I did. I did. I walked in here. And I remember I explained that. And when we were on the phone, you were like, oh, man, that's. I'm like, yeah, no, I'm still playing. You're like, oh, I did.
[00:16:02] Speaker A: It didn't make sense.
[00:16:03] Speaker B: You were like, oh, okay. Yeah.
[00:16:05] Speaker A: So for how long couldn't you feel your legs?
[00:16:08] Speaker B: It was little. It was over a year. I was in the hospital. Yeah. I, I.
[00:16:12] Speaker A: And it's like, you walk like there's nothing wrong.
[00:16:15] Speaker B: There was very little answers of what this was during COVID So, you know, I had great doctors.
[00:16:21] Speaker A: You know what? I'm just gonna ask you right up front. Do you believe in Jesus?
[00:16:24] Speaker B: I do.
[00:16:25] Speaker A: But do you believe he healed you?
[00:16:27] Speaker B: See, this is the thing. I went to Catholic school. Okay. And obviously, family being Italian, you know, we're all praying people. There was just a lot of things that went south before the injury. And the injury was just icing on the cake, where I'm like, if there is a God, why is this happening to me? That's which. What I'm saying not to get too deep, but this is. What's this. Part of the reason why I'm talking this deep is why I'm here. It's because of you.
[00:16:57] Speaker A: I appreciate that.
[00:16:58] Speaker B: Because.
[00:16:59] Speaker A: But.
[00:17:00] Speaker B: But there's more to it. So, you know, my grandfather had passed away shortly before. He was battling cancer for. For a very long time. He had.
[00:17:09] Speaker A: My. My grandma just, like, died a few years ago.
[00:17:14] Speaker B: And that's. And it just. It hits you. You know, it's like, he was the one.
[00:17:17] Speaker A: That disease is the worst.
[00:17:18] Speaker B: It's the worst. And you know what they told him? Two years, and he lived for seven. But when he looked at me and was like, you know, I'm tired. I was like, I'm like, yeah, I'll leave. But it was the tire that I didn't understand. And, you know, this was right before I had gotten hurt. And he was the person to bring me to the rink. And, you know, I'd sleep over the house and shoot around in the net and, you know, hit the garage or just one more shot, you know, the lights would come on, you know, in the driveway, and.
But he, you know, when he passed away, and then shortly after, I, you know, my mom had gotten diagnosed with lupus. And then after that, I had got paralyzed. So it's like an autoimmune disease she's having. It attacks your immune system in. In various ways. So she went from being this woman who we would give our handwritten letters to, to have her type, you know, the 100 words a minute to, you know, her hands shake a little, and, you know, she loses strength some days. And, you know, I got hit with these two things. And not to mention that my dad, you know, he wasn't a well man either. He had a massive heart attack and had stents in his heart. So, you know, he. He was, you know, very limited at what he could do. And after that, I just. Just kind of sat there and I got hurt. And I. Then.
[00:18:29] Speaker A: Now. Now you start thinking about all the other stuff that has already, and I'm.
[00:18:34] Speaker B: Like, so if there was a God, like, what. What is this? Why am I getting punched? This. I had.
[00:18:39] Speaker A: So you looked at it. That.
[00:18:41] Speaker B: That's. That's what I looked at. I'm like, so what? You know, I had a lot of regrets. People do. You can't go back and you can fix regrets.
[00:18:48] Speaker A: Yeah. But there.
[00:18:49] Speaker B: There's things that you have to mentally kind of grasp. And I. I couldn't. So the biggest thing for me was I went from believing in God Going to Catholic school and all this to. I don't. I went from, like, really dark to, like, thinking the Bible was just a bunch of words on a paper. Okay. And I just. I didn't have any answers. I was struggling.
[00:19:12] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:12] Speaker B: I was mentally one. From one hospital to the next hospital. And I just, you know, my. And my parents knew and my friends knew and everybody. It. I was. I was battling mental health but didn't want help.
[00:19:24] Speaker A: Okay. So. Okay, so you go to the hospital, they. They tell you basically, you're paralyzed. You'd said there were two options that they gave your parents.
[00:19:33] Speaker B: So there was.
[00:19:34] Speaker A: I want to get into that, and then I want to come back to this. Whatever.
[00:19:37] Speaker B: So, yeah, so there. There were just two options. Like, we, you know, obviously the first question is, what's wrong? Yeah, that's what they wanted to know. And they said, you know, we don't know. There's like.
[00:19:48] Speaker A: But your legs aren't working.
[00:19:49] Speaker B: My legs aren't working.
[00:19:50] Speaker A: And you're awake.
[00:19:51] Speaker B: And I was awake, and they just said there was so much swelling around that spinal cord. And the lower back is a lot different from your upper spinal cord or your mid range, which I've. I've come to learn. Your lower spinal cord is. If you impact something, you're doing damage on the inside. And if. Even if you do a bone bruise or something like that, it can fill up with fluid, you can get a blood clot. I couldn't do any surgeries. They were like, we can't do any fluid. Drink. We're afraid to go in and do more harm than good.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:23] Speaker B: They said we have to just medicate.
[00:20:25] Speaker A: Him and just wait and medicate was. Put you in a coma?
[00:20:28] Speaker B: Well, it was just pretty much drug me. Like, we are drugging me, like, to something I have never experienced. Like.
[00:20:36] Speaker A: So at that point, the doctors are. They're even saying that, you know, it's going to have to be a miracle for you to walk again.
[00:20:43] Speaker B: Or they said, we think he might walk. We don't know. And then it turned into, we're not sure why he can't walk. We don't even think he might be able to. And when you hear that in my eyes, it felt like hero to zero. I worked so hard in my life to play hockey. Granted, if I wasn't gonna go play somewhere professionally, I just wanted to grow up saying I did instead of I didn't. And I couldn't even accomplish or finish that. And, you know, the thing is, once we left that first hospital and they said, you Know, we have to start PT because getting motion in your. You know.
[00:21:19] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:19] Speaker B: Like, even for a strokation motion in your body for somebody with stroke or heart attack, it's good. And I. I didn't.
[00:21:27] Speaker A: But. But you couldn't actually move it.
[00:21:29] Speaker B: Couldn't feel. I could walk or anything.
[00:21:31] Speaker A: Oh, gone. All right, so 10 days in a coma.
[00:21:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:21:34] Speaker A: Right. So, okay, so you're with it, and they tell you that it's probably best for your body to go in a coma or what?
[00:21:41] Speaker B: No, they medically induce you into, like, they control your ner.
[00:21:45] Speaker A: Nerves.
[00:21:45] Speaker B: The biggest thing is your nerves. So they didn't want your body to react in a state of anxiety or.
[00:21:52] Speaker A: Stress or could make it worse.
[00:21:54] Speaker B: Correct. So. And there was so much uncertainty. If we knew then, granted, there would have been a different story and a different outcome, I guess, right then and there. But they said it's. There's so much uncertainty. I. We. If we go in, we can do more harm than good. If we drain something, we could do more harm than good. So, you know, once we had stayed in the ICU because we didn't know what was happening.
[00:22:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:17] Speaker B: You know, I started having seizures linked with the spinal cord injury, and I had no idea. I've never experienced that.
[00:22:23] Speaker A: Yeah. And what would it. What would that look like or feel like?
[00:22:26] Speaker B: You know, it's. It's the only way to describe it. It's like your body is here, but your mind is somewhere else.
[00:22:32] Speaker A: Oh, no way.
[00:22:33] Speaker B: And it was crazy. I started having these seizures, and they said it was linked to the impact of your spinal cord. And that's all. Everything was going downhill. Everything was going downhill. And it was to the point where I went from playing and doing all this to say, well, what sign? Everyone would come in and say, you know, because I've done guest speaking events about this to nursing students, and they said, how can you tell us when we go to talk to a patient? I said, rule number one, don't go in, talk to somebody. And if it's severe injury, don't say, just be happy you're alive. Yeah.
[00:23:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:05] Speaker B: If I had a dollar for every time somebody said that, I. I probably could have helped invest in your company. I'm not even kidding. It was unbelievable. It was just.
[00:23:14] Speaker A: And that's not what you wanted to hear, because are you. Are you saying that you would rather been dead than be alive at the.
[00:23:21] Speaker B: At that moment? Yeah. I hated my life. I didn't.
[00:23:23] Speaker A: Because you went from this super active guy to.
[00:23:27] Speaker B: To nothing. And I tell people what did you.
[00:23:29] Speaker A: Call it earlier, when your legs.
[00:23:30] Speaker B: I felt like Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump. I had no legs. And people. And people were joking around like, oh, it's all right. Like, be happy you're alive. I'm like, am I gonna go for a walk? Am I gonna go get some fresh air?
[00:23:42] Speaker A: I'm sorry.
True.
[00:23:44] Speaker B: I tell people and they're like, you know, just get your mind off of it. I said, you know how I got my mind off of it? I was trying to pop wheelies in a wheelchair. Oh, I couldn't do anything. And then the biggest thing is then the therapists come in and I'm like, what are you gonna say to me?
[00:23:56] Speaker A: Now?
[00:23:57] Speaker B: Granted, I believe therapy is for people. I just don't believe it's for everybody. I think people have a form of therapy for themselves that they can help. And mine was drones.
[00:24:05] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:24:06] Speaker B: That was my therapy after was. Was flying drones, not talking to somebody.
[00:24:10] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:24:10] Speaker B: Problems.
[00:24:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:11] Speaker B: At the time they would come in and sit there with their little clipboard and be like, how are we today? The same as yesterday. I can't walk.
[00:24:18] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness. Okay. So you go into this 10 day coma, you come back out of it. Do you know exactly, like, the moment you come out of a coma? Do you know where you are when you're going on?
[00:24:30] Speaker B: So I've never taken like any, you know, municipal drugs or anything like that. I've never experienced what it was like to get high.
[00:24:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:35] Speaker B: So they give me these. This medicine where I was like, watching tv, but the TV wasn't on, so I was hallucinating very much where it was.
[00:24:46] Speaker A: So that's how you felt when you came out of the coma is like.
[00:24:50] Speaker B: Because your mind and body needs to regen your days behind of. Of your body. You're in a, like a. In a state of just nothing.
[00:24:58] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:24:59] Speaker B: And then your body has to react to. I'm moving my hand or, you know, I can go to the bathroom by myself, but I can't, you know, like.
[00:25:05] Speaker A: But. So they told you you're gonna go in a coma, did you think that you would be able to move your legs when you wake up or not.
[00:25:11] Speaker B: Really, to be honest with you, I had no idea because. Okay, the feeling. The impact and the feeling that I had felt on the ice was I was like, I am in some trouble.
[00:25:20] Speaker A: Yeah. And how did that feel? You told me it was like, the.
[00:25:23] Speaker B: Only way to describe it, it was like when I had tried because I didn't feel pain. I just felt like my legs were like, if you fall asleep on your.
[00:25:30] Speaker A: Arm and it just feel the, like the tingling.
[00:25:32] Speaker B: Yeah, it was just that. And then nothing.
[00:25:34] Speaker A: No pain. No pain. Just like ever in the. During the injury.
[00:25:38] Speaker B: So as time progressed, it was swelling and you know.
[00:25:42] Speaker A: And when you came out of the coma, that. When they had.
[00:25:45] Speaker B: Yeah, this is when we started doing pt because now agitating, that's, you know, rubbing on the vertebrae, getting fluid buildup and whatnot. But I, I didn't know if I was ever going to walk again.
[00:25:55] Speaker A: Okay, so you're laying in the hospital. You come out of this coma. How long are you laying in. In a hospital bed? Until you start PT. And in that hospital bed on YouTube, on your phone or YouTube on our TV or.
[00:26:09] Speaker B: I was in. When I had gotten transferred to the Spalding PT at Kent Hospital in Rhode island, the floor was balding.
[00:26:18] Speaker A: Isn't that like a bath?
[00:26:19] Speaker B: Like close to a basketball? Yeah, that's. It's the same spelling, but it's. It's Spalding rehab. Oh.
[00:26:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:26:25] Speaker B: But yeah, not the same people.
[00:26:27] Speaker A: I thought maybe, yeah, they wanted to.
[00:26:29] Speaker B: Expand from basketball, which, I don't know, there might be some marketing in that, but. But yeah, they were, they were great. And I lucked out because this was during COVID so a lot of travel, doctors and nurses. But yeah, this floor was, was made for a gym, a kitchen, and you had rooms that looked like, you know, little apartments that had your own bathroom and. But they were hospital beds. It was in the hospital they converted that floor for that reason.
[00:26:53] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:26:53] Speaker B: And the craziest thing was it was a very much of an unknown. We don't know if you're gonna walk. So my mental health and believing like God and all this, gone.
[00:27:06] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:27:06] Speaker B: I was just numb.
[00:27:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:08] Speaker B: So I sat there and I was, you know, scrolling on my phone on YouTube, like, what am I going to do?
[00:27:12] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:27:13] Speaker B: And your video came up.
[00:27:15] Speaker A: Okay. So I often ask people, how do you find out about drone new recovery? And often it's like, I think it was in the recommended section.
[00:27:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:23] Speaker A: But I'd be curious, what did you watch on YouTube? Were you watching hunting? Were you watching drone stuff?
[00:27:30] Speaker B: So I had subscribed to a few, like, DJI I described to subscribe to. And there was a few other local channels too that were like, you know, smaller channels that were just giving feedback on new drones that were coming out. And yeah, you know, maybe did like podcast style vlogs of like, hey, the DJI just sent me this drone. This is what it does.
[00:27:50] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:27:50] Speaker B: And as I'm scrolling I see like the channel come up, it said Drone Deer Recovery. Like, well, that's weird. I said that. That, That's a different name. It's Drone Deer Recovery. Something.
[00:28:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:00] Speaker B: I wonder if they're like, like doing something with drones. So I, I clicked your video and I'm watching it and I was like, oh, wow.
[00:28:06] Speaker A: And the first video was me just in a truck heading out to do a.
[00:28:10] Speaker B: Headed out.
[00:28:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:10] Speaker B: And it was just, I was like, like, like, hey, I'm Mike. And I'm like, okay. I'm like looking at it and then I, you know, you had come up with that video and I'm like, that was pretty good. I was like, all right. Like, you know, it was, it was energized. It wasn't like a basic video. Like, here's this drone.
[00:28:25] Speaker A: I really wish I would know which video that is because I, I'd want to watch it myself because now you. I put out so many videos.
[00:28:33] Speaker B: This is true. This is. You have so many. But it was, it was the first video, I believe you started posting in like 2022.
[00:28:39] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So my very first video that I've ever was on October 9th of 2024.
[00:28:46] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:28:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:47] Speaker B: And I, I had watched that and I had read your bio for your.
[00:28:51] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:28:52] Speaker B: For your YouTube.
[00:28:53] Speaker A: I wonder what it was back then. Cuz I've, I've changed it.
[00:28:55] Speaker B: Changed it. And it was, it was like, like showing how to use thermal drones to benefit, like, dear Recovery. And so I was like, oh, that's cool.
[00:29:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:04] Speaker B: So I was like, well, I've heard of thermal drones, but I've never really seen like how its used hands are.
[00:29:09] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:29:10] Speaker B: And you're like out in the field. Not like, you know, I'm doing a podcast about it. It's.
[00:29:15] Speaker A: Yeah. Because at this time you've, you've already bought other little drones to make videos and stuff. So you do have some interest in drones. And the reason that this popped up is because you were looking at maybe reviews of new equipment.
[00:29:28] Speaker B: Exactly. And because the, the drone that you had, it was with dji and that's what I used. And I had three of them already. So I'm sitting here watching your video, and then you came out with another one, and then another one. And then I'm like, oh, let me go follow him on Instagram. And then I started following.
[00:29:43] Speaker A: How many, how many followers did I have on Instagram?
[00:29:45] Speaker B: If you only had like a thousand followers or something like that. The thing was very small. It was. Dude, it was, it was, it wasn't big, but. And like, I said, you. Your views because I had clicked your channel, and when you click the bio, it says when you made it, which was in 2022.
[00:29:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:59] Speaker B: And then it said views, and you had, like, 5,000 views. And then, like, I saw it start to grow. And now, like I said, this is because I'm a nerd. You're up to, like, almost, like 25 million views.
[00:30:11] Speaker A: Oh, no.
[00:30:11] Speaker B: I mean, crush me. Wrong. I'm pretty sure you're up to, like, 25 million views on your video and, like, on all your videos. And I'm like, you know, you've only had this for, like, three and a half years, and it's expanding. Like, oh, dude. Like, you went from, like, look at where we are now compared to your first video of, like, somebody holding a camera in a truck, which you have to start somewhere. But I'm like, it was different. Like, you were out in the field. I wasn't watching this video.
[00:30:37] Speaker A: Like, hey, I'm sitting behind this desk and it does this.
[00:30:41] Speaker B: And now the drone is up outside, and I'm inside, and this is what it looks like. You're like, hey, how's it going? I'm Mike with Drone Day Recovery. And I'm like, okay, this guy's in a truck. The camera angle is shaking like you wouldn't believe. But he's going. He's. He's going. And the fact that this camera's shaking means you're driving and you got to go to where you have to go. So I'm like, this has got to be interesting.
[00:30:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:30:58] Speaker B: So from there on, I was. Yeah, I was a fan, and then I started looking at your videos, and it was like, wow. Like, you're. You're getting more hands on with what technology you're using.
[00:31:09] Speaker A: You. Did you notice in. In some of the first videos that I tried hiding what drone I was using?
[00:31:16] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:31:17] Speaker A: Yeah. So. So. So people kind of notice that after maybe 10, 15, 20 videos, like, why is this guy not sharing correct what he's using? And. And I never really. I don't think I really told that story of why I was is because I knew it was so new. It was so fresh. I was the only one doing it correct. I didn't want. And everybody else doing it.
[00:31:39] Speaker B: And that's what I figured, because I'm like, he's using. And now I'm, like, curious, and I'm. I'm on Google after I watch this.
[00:31:45] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:31:46] Speaker B: I'm like, what is this? And I'm like, well, I know it's a DJI drone, but I don't know what this is. And I'm like, he's at this.
[00:31:52] Speaker A: I knew that they. I knew that you'd know that it's a DJI drone, but I didn't want.
[00:31:57] Speaker B: But I didn't know what it was. And I'm Googling it and I. And I'm like, searching through, like, Reddit, like, trying to find this out. And I'm like, well, either he worked for the government, he's got a good way of hiding this. But, like, I don't know what this is. And like, and it. I was so intrigued by the technology. And now you're holding an iPad to your face, which was the new controller.
[00:32:13] Speaker A: Yep. Yeah.
[00:32:14] Speaker B: Nobody's ever seen anything like that unless, like I said, it's government issued or there was another American drone company out there, but that wasn't dji. So I'm sitting there like, wow. Like, and then your more videos popped out, and then there was one that caught me and drove me to do more, and that was the one that came out of who you are.
[00:32:32] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:32:33] Speaker B: Like, how started.
[00:32:35] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:32:35] Speaker B: And that got me to the point of. This is Mike, what he did. I had no idea that you came from an Amish background that you.
[00:32:47] Speaker A: That's my mom. She's walking in.
[00:32:49] Speaker B: How's it going? Sorry.
[00:32:53] Speaker A: It's all good.
[00:32:54] Speaker B: So we were. That video. So I was already, you know, I.
[00:32:59] Speaker A: Think that video you're referring to is basically, it was a. At the end of the season, Kevin was like, hey, Mike, let's. Let's shoot this video. Kind of saying where your story, you know, where you came from. And then there was B roll stuff in there. Like the little phone. Is that okay? Yep.
[00:33:15] Speaker B: So I was looking at that, and this was like, I had just got out of the hospital.
I made a miracle recovery. I couldn't walk a hundred percent fully. I could walk about like, you know, 20, 30ft. But I had made a promise to my parents that I was gonna walk out of this hospital. I told the doctors, which I surprised them. They didn't even know I could walk until the last day I was in the hospital. I walked out with all the doctors and nurses there and the cameras and everything.
[00:33:37] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:33:37] Speaker B: But it was tough because after I left, that's all I knew was waking up, checking my vitals, like, it was mentally defeated. And so.
[00:33:45] Speaker A: So because you're dealing with that every day, you were just waiting for another drone derecovery video.
[00:33:50] Speaker B: So, yeah, I was like, well, I'M now I'm home and like, what am I going to do? I still can't go for a walk.
[00:33:54] Speaker A: Do you comment on the videos?
[00:33:56] Speaker B: I don't. So I. The reason why I don't comment is because, like, I know people comment, they're all about it and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I'll like a video, I'll share it. Yeah. But it's all about the view sometimes and it is all about the input.
[00:34:07] Speaker A: The reason I ask is because if somebody comments enough.
[00:34:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:12] Speaker A: And then they meet me at a show or something, if they say, hey, I'm the commenter, that, you know, my name is this. This.
[00:34:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:19] Speaker A: Because I do look through the comments at times. If I see the same one often enough, then it's like, oh, okay. I remember seeing that profile.
[00:34:27] Speaker B: So I was like, I'm not one to comment. I wasn't always a big fan of doing that. Obviously when that, when that video came out about you and like that personal video you started, it was like, it kind of flipped the switch, you know, for me because mentally I couldn't grasp, like, I didn't know your background. I didn't know you come from an honor background. And obviously I kn. I guess you could say the gist of like, how some people fully practice Amish background and how if you don't and everything and whatnot. And I didn't know how you sacrificed a lot to get where you are today, which granted that, obviously that's common sense. That's any company. But you, you came from like barely anything to start a company like this now.
[00:35:10] Speaker A: Yeah. So that was often the questions when I was on podcast because when it was first blowing up, I was doing a podcast. It felt like I was doing one every week.
[00:35:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:35:21] Speaker A: For like six weeks straight.
[00:35:22] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:35:23] Speaker A: Like, I was traveling Illinois, I mean, doing them over the phone and stuff. And the question was, how do you go from being Amish, like living a lifestyle that is not very techy, to now you're, you know, this leader in this new tech type type stuff.
[00:35:39] Speaker B: Yeah, I was.
[00:35:40] Speaker A: So now you're thinking, if he can do it.
[00:35:43] Speaker B: Yeah. And, and the thing too is like, I, I learned like, you know, it's your demeanor in that video. I mean, it was, it was like a 22 minute video or something like that. Your demeanor was like, you know, this is. You revert. You were humble in the video. You, you started like, you, you. I would have never guessed you were cutting trees to you, your pilot's license and now you buy a thermal drone and now you're doing ag drones. Like, you.
[00:36:06] Speaker A: You.
[00:36:06] Speaker B: You took a gamble.
[00:36:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:08] Speaker B: In the sense of, like, you're doing it for you and other people. And, you know, you might not have said it, but, like, obviously with. With going through mental health and everything like that, you. You're doing this partial for you. And obviously. Yeah. Money is. Is not everything, but every video is. You're putting a smile on somebody else's face and seeing that, I'm like, well, you know what? Like, he went through a lot and to start this. So, you know what? Why am I going to sit here and not. Not. Not try?
[00:36:35] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:36:36] Speaker B: So I was, you know, like, I started getting better with hockey and everything. And then I said, well, you know what? I. I want to fly drones. I want to get a bigger drone.
[00:36:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:43] Speaker B: And.
[00:36:43] Speaker A: And you wanted a thermal drone.
[00:36:45] Speaker B: I did, I did. And that's when you finally. You finally released the drone.
But I. I was just trying to.
[00:36:51] Speaker A: Get that whole thing figured out as far as, like.
[00:36:53] Speaker B: Right. Yeah, look at. Because look at where you are now.
[00:36:56] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:56] Speaker B: I mean, they were flying off the shelves. I remember I called. Well, originally I wanted one, and you were giving a giveaway, and I missed it. And I was. That's when I was having a procedure done, and I missed it, and I didn't know it was the giveaway. And I was like, oh, so you.
[00:37:08] Speaker A: Didn'T even get into the giveaway? Doggone it.
[00:37:11] Speaker B: I didn't get into the giveaway because I was like, at first, at the time, the drone that. It was a lot more money, and then it dropped in price. Oh, a lot of money.
[00:37:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:18] Speaker B: It's still.
[00:37:18] Speaker A: Yeah. Dude. What's crazy, when I bought my first drone, the complete kit that you have in the house, it was like 22,000 bucks. Then it came down to, like, 18. 17. 18.
[00:37:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:28] Speaker A: Now it's down to 13 to.
[00:37:30] Speaker B: Yeah. And it's crazy. And I had looked and I was like, like, oh, man. Like, he's giving away this kit. Like, yeah, maybe, like, I could get this and stuff. And then I had saw that you already had picked a winner, and I was. I'm not gonna get this. I had stopped and, like, I'm not gonna get this because I'm like, why am I gonna spend that much money? Because I still had, like, why.
[00:37:48] Speaker A: I gotta know, why did you want a thermal drone at that point? Did you have a business already kind of figured out that you want to.
[00:37:54] Speaker B: I. I had so many people reach out and say, like, hey, your videography work was great. Like, with Your drones, you got to make an Instagram page and post it. So I Instagram page and I made a little company and, you know, doing.
[00:38:04] Speaker A: Just like, photography and videography. Not with your thermal.
[00:38:07] Speaker B: Not with my thumb drone. Yeah. And my girlfriend, she was, like, big into, like, you know, like, you, like, you know, kind of like, obviously, you know, like, your wife is, like, a supporter.
[00:38:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:15] Speaker B: And at the time. And somebody that understands you to kind of support you. She was like, I think you should get it out there. Obviously, my family did say this as well, but, you know, I was like, ah, but when you hear it from your family, it's like, okay, but when you hear from a significant other, and kind of like, all right, maybe I got something. Maybe I can do it. So I said, what do you think? You know, should I get this thermal drone? And she's like, you've been. You've been following us for a while. I think you should. I think you should get it and do it. And, like, I never really like to get anything for myself. I like to kind of help other people.
[00:38:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:41] Speaker B: And I was like, you know what? Like, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna get this drone.
[00:38:45] Speaker A: Did you have a business already kind of figured out that you were gonna do it?
[00:38:49] Speaker B: So I created an Instagram page, and I was like, I'm. I'm gonna. I. I call it. The company name that I created was Little Roadie Drones.
[00:38:57] Speaker A: Little Roadie Drones.
[00:38:58] Speaker B: So that's what I created. It was basically, it was just videography. And I posted some videos that I had taken of, like, you know, like, the beach and, like, the lighthouse. Yeah. And then I started getting. Some people say, hey, can you shoot some for the car dealerships that we have there?
[00:39:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:39:12] Speaker B: And houses. And they said, hey, can you do, like, you know, a thermal of the house? I'm like, no, I don't have that drone. And then somebody else asked.
[00:39:19] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:39:20] Speaker B: And then somebody else asked me. And then I. It came up in the video of Search and Rescue. There was, like, somebody that had the M30T.
[00:39:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:39:28] Speaker B: And they were doing a search and rescue.
[00:39:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:39:30] Speaker B: Like, and then you. You think about it, you're like, oh, you go through dj.
[00:39:33] Speaker A: Was that on the drone deer channel or was it something else?
[00:39:35] Speaker B: This was just a random video I had saw through one of the other YouTube channels. And I was like, you know, the word recovery is in your name. You use it for that.
[00:39:46] Speaker A: Recover anything. As long as it had eating a signature, you could recover.
[00:39:50] Speaker B: Like, you know, when I was explaining the company, people, like, oh, but it's just made for de. I'm like, no, that's not how it works. I said it. It's just because it's this company name. Like, because I'm called little roadie Drones, that doesn't mean I don't do search and rescue. You gotta, you gotta, you know, like, come on, like, you can ask.
[00:40:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:40:06] Speaker B: So I, I, like, I said I had looked into the drone and I, I, I, I missed the contest. And I was like, oh, man. Like, this is tough. Yeah, it's a lot of money to spend. And I, you know what? And I ended up saying, I'm gonna do it. It cool to spend the money and do it.
[00:40:21] Speaker A: And you were going to do it to look at people's houses in thermal or deer recovery in New.
[00:40:27] Speaker B: It was a little bit of both.
[00:40:28] Speaker A: New Hampshire, right.
[00:40:29] Speaker B: New Rhode Island. Rhode Island. New England. Like, we say because Rhode island so small. I just say New England because you can get anywhere in like, okay.
[00:40:35] Speaker A: Or New England.
[00:40:36] Speaker B: It's not like over here where you got to like pack a lunch to go across town or if you want ice cream, you got to put it in a cooler. Yeah, it's, it's, it's just. But like, for this, I was like, people were asking me, yeah. You know what you had always said in your videos? This drone will pay for itself.
[00:40:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:40:52] Speaker B: And I was like, I don't know about that. And sure enough, I get. People were asking before I even had it. And no sooner. I'm like, I mean, because this is a lot of money.
[00:41:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:41:00] Speaker B: Like, we're not talking like a few thousand. We're talking, this is an investment. You know, this, like, I could have bought two Honda Civics for this. So, like, you know, where did, did.
[00:41:10] Speaker A: You not have a Honda Civic? Austin. Yeah, I had a Honda Civic. Yeah.
[00:41:14] Speaker B: And am I wrong? You could get a used for that.
[00:41:17] Speaker A: Yeah. Maybe three.
[00:41:18] Speaker B: Maybe three. Exactly. And you could even get a souped up one for that.
[00:41:23] Speaker A: At that point, the drone was the most money I spent, more than any vehicle I ever bought.
[00:41:28] Speaker B: Yeah. No way. Yeah. It was insane. And I was like, you know what you kept saying in a few of your videos? It's going to pay for itself. I'm like, he's just saying that because he just wants money. But I'm like, you know what? I'm like, you influenced me so much. Not even like to physically buy it, but, but you mentally, like, you might not realize it.
[00:41:47] Speaker A: You.
[00:41:47] Speaker B: I mean, I don't know if I could talk for everybody, but there is Some people out there, including myself, that you, you've had a really good impact. And you're only what, three years old.
[00:41:59] Speaker A: Yeah. And this is season three. Yep.
[00:42:00] Speaker B: And you've impacted everybody. Like.
[00:42:03] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:04] Speaker B: Including me. You, like, I had to hear it from somebody else, like, to kind of say, like, you know what, like my girlfriend, like, saying, hey, get this drone and stuff. But I watched three of your videos before I made a phone call and said, yeah, I want this drone. And then she goes, oh, we don't have any more.
[00:42:18] Speaker A: I go, oh, I got it.
[00:42:20] Speaker B: So I missed the giveaway. Then you don't have any more. And then I'm like, did you go.
[00:42:25] Speaker A: Look for it somewhere else?
[00:42:26] Speaker B: No, I was gonna get it through you.
[00:42:27] Speaker A: Appreciate that.
[00:42:28] Speaker B: I was gonna get it through you.
[00:42:29] Speaker A: And the only reason why, the reason I bring that up is like, it's, it's. Oh, it just frustrates me to no end that I can't keep enough stock in.
[00:42:37] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:42:37] Speaker A: Because what happens is like you're saying I influenced.
[00:42:40] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:42:41] Speaker A: And then a lot of people are like, well, Mike doesn't have it. I'm just gonna go to the next.
[00:42:45] Speaker B: So. Correct. And for anybody listening. And this is the reason why I didn't go somewhere else. So if you go on DJI's website and you type in this drone, they come with two drones. You have the, the.
[00:42:55] Speaker A: They come with two batteries.
[00:42:56] Speaker B: Well, two batteries. But they have the Matrix 30 and the 32.
[00:42:58] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, yeah.
[00:42:59] Speaker B: So one's thermal, one's not thermal. They just come with two batteries. Everyone's like, oh, it's cheaper on here. You're right, it is cheaper on there. Anybody can tell you that. But what they're not understanding is you have a package.
[00:43:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:43:10] Speaker B: You're getting eight batteries. You're getting an option for the spotlight. You're giving the landing pad two WB37 battery batteries. Correct. You're also giving an option that you created for a mobile monitor.
[00:43:26] Speaker A: No.
[00:43:27] Speaker B: Which is a no brainer, obviously. I mean, and I got that too. And where can you get that package where you're ready to go in the box. You have to piece that together. Which I, I'm not gonna lie to you, I did. I pieced it together and I immediately didn't even finish putting stuff together. And that price well exceeded.
[00:43:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:43:48] Speaker B: And I was like, we're done. And there's no monitors out there. And the ones that are. You're talking like two or three thousand.
[00:43:53] Speaker A: Milk. Milk.
[00:43:53] Speaker B: Yours is like a perfect price point. It's great.
[00:43:56] Speaker A: Cool. I appreciate that you're selling this?
[00:43:58] Speaker B: No, but it's. It's. I'm serious. And people out there are like, oh, yeah. Like, you know, you just. You'll find it somewhere cheaper. Yeah, you're right. Have fun flying your drone. And they'll find something with two batteries.
[00:44:07] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:44:08] Speaker B: What are you going to say in like for the search and rescue man or find a Georgia. Just give me 30 minutes for these to charge then and we'll find it. It'll. It's something.
[00:44:16] Speaker A: Yeah. It might be another half mile or away by the time I go to.
[00:44:20] Speaker B: Charles Deer Recovery on the website and you get a package. You don't piece it together. It comes in a package.
[00:44:25] Speaker A: Y. Hey, I couldn't say it any better myself. And I got a node now. You bought the package? Yeah. Did you pay it off?
[00:44:31] Speaker B: I did.
[00:44:32] Speaker A: You did?
[00:44:32] Speaker B: I did pay it off. So we're. We're. We're almost at the payoff. Let me rephrase that. We're almost at the payoff.
[00:44:37] Speaker A: So what type of projects did you do to. To pay off thermal drone?
[00:44:41] Speaker B: So I immediately was eager to see Flight Hub 2. Which is on. On there.
[00:44:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:44:46] Speaker B: Which.
[00:44:47] Speaker A: So, so yeah, just give it an easy breakdown of Flight Hub 2, though, is like, there's so much packed into Flight Hub 2 that if you're listening to this, you're going to be like. So I don't understand.
[00:44:56] Speaker B: So Flight Hub 2, it's offered through DJI. The only way to explain it in, I guess you can say in English terms is Lightroom and Photoshop. You have two options. One is more expensive. One is like your base option. They offer the same thing. You have your Premiere Flight Hub 2 package or you have your basic Flight Hub like standard package, which won't give you like live viewing and everything. And The Flight Hub 2 is good for. I mean, even you could. Could use it if you really want to. We.
[00:45:24] Speaker A: We use it. We just haven't made videos on it.
[00:45:27] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:45:27] Speaker A: So. So Austin actually just got back last. How many days ago? It was not that long ago. Three days. Two days ago. Three days ago. Yeah. Basically three days ago, Austin got back from doing over. It was over 6,000 acres doing herd analysis, counting deer. And we. He ran it all through Flight Hub 2. That video is coming out to teach people how you can use that system. I just haven't made videos on it because it is techy.
[00:45:55] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:45:55] Speaker A: I'm okay with releasing that on my channel, but if you go back and watch the videos, it was more. I wanted to entertain. Right Pull the eyeballs, entertain. And then for the ones that really like the technology, here's, here's a little bit of tech, here's some, you know, more schooling or, or teaching.
[00:46:14] Speaker B: So that the, the reason why I had went with it is because, you know, I wanted to do search, rescue.
[00:46:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:46:20] Speaker B: And I wanted to help other people. And I, I was, you know, growing up, it was instilled to help other people. My, my dad did it, my mom did it. You know, my grandparents, we like to help other people. It's just, you know. Yeah, it's something, you know, it's cool. And for me, that's what I wanted to do. And you know, I did internships at police departments where I live and they had like, you know, like the Maverick T. And like it was just a small, it looked like a, you know, like to be honest, it looked like an air drone. You know, like the, the Air 3. Like very small, but small.
[00:46:48] Speaker A: And you know what's crazy? You bring up the MA.
Yeah. I've sold Matrice 30s to guys in other states and they said that my local department called me out because they had to go do a search and rescue or something in the rain and they couldn't fly their drone.
[00:47:05] Speaker B: So that, that was the thing. So I was watching videos of like you obviously people calling you out to, to go, you know, find the deer, which is great. And then I'm watching videos which. Of the drone itself of the same drone that you're using for search and rescue missions. So I'm like, wow, this is like, this is a drone to use. You had a video of, you had a leaf blower with a hose on it.
[00:47:29] Speaker A: Yep. Yeah, I was, I was basically spraying water with a, with a garden hose and a late blower, trying to show people like this is the best thermal drone out there with, you know, it can handle up to 50 mile an hour winds, rain, like everything. Basically, if it's a search and rescue mission, you can't, you can't wait till the weather clears up. I mean.
[00:47:49] Speaker B: Well, I mean that's the thing is, is I was always taught is time is of the essence.
[00:47:53] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:47:54] Speaker B: And you know what you do, and especially with search and rescue, because yours is a form of search and rescue. Obviously you're just recovering.
[00:48:00] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:48:01] Speaker B: This is a. Trying to be search and rest. You're not going to be like, oh, I gotta wait for these batteries to charge. We'll look for the area or it's raining, I can't get out there. You know, sorry, sorry, your, you gotta go Is. Is everything you need. It's an IP55 rated, which in English, IP55 rated is weather resistant. I mean, if they're not sure, they can go on your channel and check you out. A leaf blower with a hose.
[00:48:23] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:48:24] Speaker B: If I did that with like, like, my Air 3 DJI would be like, yeah, that warranty doesn't buy.
[00:48:31] Speaker A: I did it to the Mavic 3T. It took them for a little bit, and then it just. It just plummeted. Yeah, it fell out of skin.
[00:48:37] Speaker B: But you're. Like I said, it's. It's a good package. Like, if you don't want to spend that money and you're not going to do what I wanted to do or what you do, then sure, go get two batteries.
[00:48:46] Speaker A: That's so cool. So do you do any deer recovery in real life?
[00:48:49] Speaker B: So I haven't, because unfortunately, I obviously left because I'm moving to Arizona. But my plan when I go back is that's what I want to do because we do have a lot of woods.
[00:48:57] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:48:57] Speaker B: And. And a lot of people.
[00:48:59] Speaker A: And there's deer there. Oh, hunter.
[00:49:01] Speaker B: I haven't shot a deer or hunted deer. I do shoot. I do shoot.
[00:49:05] Speaker A: See, that's so cool because you're not necessarily. You're not a deer hunter, but you. You have a drone deer recovery kit. But, like, you're saying it's not just to do deer recovery.
[00:49:15] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:49:16] Speaker A: And you follow the channel. You're watching me recover, you know, dead deer carcass.
[00:49:21] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:49:22] Speaker A: Does that gross you out or anything?
[00:49:24] Speaker B: No, no, it's. I mean, my friends hunt. I've been around. I'm out. Half of Rhode island is a lot of woods. A lot of my friends hunt. I had a friend that used to just shoot out the backyard. Just like, yeah, I'll pick it up tomorrow. And I'm like, yeah, pick up the deer tomorrow. Shot right on his porch. You know, just like, let it laid there, you know, as I get, you know, it's cold, it'll stay fresh, and we'll grab it in the morning. I'm like, I shoot guns. I mean, I've been around it, you know, my.
[00:49:46] Speaker A: But you're just not a deer hunter. You like the technology. It's exactly able to do search and rescue stuff for you.
[00:49:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:49:51] Speaker A: Okay. So that's amazing. Thanks so much for sharing that. You're, you know, you use your thermal drone for that, but you're going basically back into hockey all time.
[00:50:02] Speaker B: So I'm moving to Arizona temporarily for a little bit. I'm Gonna do search and rescue over there.
[00:50:07] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:50:08] Speaker B: With Arizona Search, track and rescue, which I'm excited because that's so cool. I'm using your drone kit. Not trying to promote it, but I'm just saying I'm using your drone kit, but there is no trees like what we have in Rhode island, so it's just open. So I'm excited to see the thermal capability.
[00:50:22] Speaker A: Yeah. I'm. I. I'm curious how that's going to do, because when the sun is out and then the sun goes down, those rocks are gonna hold a lot of heat.
[00:50:31] Speaker B: So I brought it up with me when I had first went up there, and this is when I had them ship it there.
[00:50:37] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:50:38] Speaker B: When I had talked to Jess Sales and she had shipped it there, and I was curious and there was a few hot days, and I sent it up during the day when it was like 73, 75. And I toggled those different thermals options, and it actually changes if you do. White is hot, black is hot.
[00:50:57] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:50:57] Speaker B: And you're changing the color.
[00:50:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:50:59] Speaker B: For thermal.
[00:51:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:51:00] Speaker B: It doesn't register that hot. So you have to play around with it, which I found out.
[00:51:04] Speaker A: Dude, I like that.
[00:51:06] Speaker B: I don't know. You're.
[00:51:07] Speaker A: Yeah. You're teaching me something, because I've never been there, so I'm not that.
[00:51:11] Speaker B: That was the biggest thing. I was like, okay, so there's a lot of hills and open land.
[00:51:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:51:15] Speaker B: If I need to look for somebody, I can't use white is hot, black is hot. Because it's going to be 100 degrees and I'm going to be the only one that's hot. Like, so I looked and I toggled around and I had it point on me, and it didn't illuminate anything else that was really warm next to me like it did when I toggled through the other imagery.
[00:51:35] Speaker A: That is cool.
[00:51:36] Speaker B: So it's. Yeah.
[00:51:38] Speaker A: So it does work in the desert with rock. You just need to know the settings and the parameters exactly.
[00:51:46] Speaker B: No idea. And this was. Was 1:00 sun up 75 degrees. And I toggled through every thermal and it did not register everything hot in the same sense that it would. Would have that it should.
[00:51:58] Speaker A: That is cool.
[00:51:59] Speaker B: So it's. So, yeah, I'm. I'm going there. I'm gonna help with Arizona search, track and rescue, and I'm gonna do a camp and. And skate down there and. And try to just still play.
[00:52:11] Speaker A: Yeah, that's awesome.
[00:52:12] Speaker B: And I, like, I said I. I please played semi pro Last year and this year, and I. I'm still gonna. I'm still gonna play after that. I'm still gonna continue, so.
[00:52:22] Speaker A: So you're gonna go play and then play, like, hockey?
[00:52:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:52:26] Speaker A: You're still gonna do some thermal drone stuff when you're not on the ice.
[00:52:30] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:52:31] Speaker A: Your goal is to hopefully play pro.
Okay.
[00:52:36] Speaker B: But right now, if, you know, because I'm. I'm cleared medically by a miracle.
[00:52:41] Speaker A: That's just so nuts.
[00:52:42] Speaker B: Which is insane. And it's always good planned.
[00:52:45] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:52:46] Speaker B: But the biggest thing for me is, like, I already have the equipment.
[00:52:51] Speaker A: It's a golf.
[00:52:52] Speaker B: You get a golf set, you do whatever you got to do, and then you go back to it in 10 years. Golf clubs are still there.
[00:52:57] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:52:58] Speaker B: You know, it might not be new, the clubs, so you just got to get new ones.
[00:53:01] Speaker A: You know, I like that. But talking about new ones, did you. I should have showed you the new drone that's coming out.
[00:53:07] Speaker B: Yeah, you should have.
It's ridiculous because I. I mean, even just walking in and, like, watching the videos and walking, I felt like a schoolgirl. I couldn't even contain myself. This thing was.
[00:53:19] Speaker A: He was up at the. At headquarters, and we're. It's just complete madness. Today I was shooting a video.
You're gonna want to tune into that. I flew another deer out using the fly cart, and so I had a lot of footage to dump. And we're getting ready for this ag demo tomorrow. We got a brand new trailer, new way Ag trailer to just release, and we're getting that all prepped. You stop in because you're just driving past. You had called me. I wouldn't recommend you guys doing this to just stop in randomly to see if I'm there. But you had to get something repaired, and you were passing through. You did call me, what, probably three, four weeks ago and said, hey, if you're around, you know, let's chat. And you just happen to catch me. I was there. I am busy. But I'm like, you know what?
[00:54:04] Speaker B: We.
[00:54:04] Speaker A: Let's sit down. Let's chat.
[00:54:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:54:06] Speaker A: Maybe your story. Right, Right. We'll inspire someone else that's listening, watching, and, you know, let's chat. So I. I was like, austin, you're working overtime right now. I appreciate that. I was like, austin, can you come down here? I always work overtime.
[00:54:23] Speaker B: Well, after seeing what. How madness in there, everybody was working overtime. I just couldn't believe it.
[00:54:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:54:28] Speaker B: Behind the scenes. And that's what I'm telling, like, you got to give yourself credit. This is coming from being in the hospital. Like, like three third season.
[00:54:37] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:54:38] Speaker B: And you're putting stuff out that I have barely even seen and would have never thought you would push stuff. I had, Wait, I had to get put on a list to get this drone.
[00:54:46] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:54:47] Speaker B: And she called me. Granted, I did get it, but it was, you would think because of the price point in the package, it wouldn't sell out. Opposed to going through dji.
[00:54:56] Speaker A: Yeah, no, it does, it does.
[00:54:58] Speaker B: And I, like I said, as soon as she called me, she goes, what do you think? I said, I, I, I'm in.
[00:55:04] Speaker A: Sweet.
[00:55:05] Speaker B: Give it to me. I'm, I want this drone.
[00:55:06] Speaker A: I appreciate that.
[00:55:07] Speaker B: And, and you, like I said, you, you inspired me. And, and it's not saying it's tough, but it's, I'm all about hockey. And, and this inspired me to take what I put on the back burner and continue it. And it's, it's opened doors.
[00:55:21] Speaker A: Dude, I gotta get on the ice with you.
[00:55:23] Speaker B: I, I, yeah.
[00:55:24] Speaker A: Dude, I've not skated in, I don't know, I'm gonna just make a rough guess here. I would say 14 years.
[00:55:30] Speaker B: It's, it's like riding the bike.
[00:55:32] Speaker A: Oh, I fall a few times and.
[00:55:34] Speaker B: Then you get back up.
[00:55:35] Speaker A: Yeah. You know what? I gotta come watch a hockey game.
[00:55:37] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:55:38] Speaker A: And best of luck to you. I hope that you do get to the NHL and you sign like the biggest contract that's ever.
[00:55:45] Speaker B: I, I, I mean, even if that maybe you can be a sponsor one day. Yeah, it's gonna grow.
[00:55:50] Speaker A: Hey, maybe that could work.
[00:55:52] Speaker B: They, that's all they're doing is sponsorships nowadays.
[00:55:55] Speaker A: Okay. All right. What's something like that look like?
[00:55:57] Speaker B: Like, I mean, there's putting it on jerseys. I mean, even if you were like, hey, I want to put together a team, you can use the logo.
[00:56:05] Speaker A: What do you think, Austin, those jerseys.
[00:56:07] Speaker B: I mean, look at the logo that you have now. You're telling me you couldn't put something on a jersey like that?
[00:56:11] Speaker A: Doesn't that logo look out enough guys or a hockey team? Yeah, yeah, but we do make better.
[00:56:17] Speaker B: Pilots than probably pushing a hockey down the road. It's, it's not bad.
[00:56:21] Speaker A: No, you're. He's saying, basically, I just buy a hockey team. I like, he'd be on my team and he knows a bunch of guys.
[00:56:27] Speaker B: It's like you, you make a farm club, team or team, you could just buy one and that's it. You got your logo. And you could put it on the helmets too.
[00:56:34] Speaker A: Hey, you Know what? I'm not going to rule it out because you just never know. Like, that's what I tell people. Like, if you just dream big, just send it. Yeah. What?
[00:56:44] Speaker B: That's what I did.
[00:56:45] Speaker A: Yeah, you just. Just try.
[00:56:48] Speaker B: May work from thinking if I was going to get, you know, my wheels stuck in the. From the wheelchair to I'm flying drones and walk.
[00:56:54] Speaker A: Dude, that's so cool.
[00:56:55] Speaker B: And I went from.
[00:56:56] Speaker A: I'm just so glad you're back playing. And the doctor is like, yeah, you just go do it.
[00:57:00] Speaker B: Yeah, they. They said, yeah, do it it. And. And like I said, I went, hockey's been my life and. And so is drones. But you opened my eyes to continue and look at your success. I mean, it's statistic. Like, it's there. Yeah, it's like I said, it's. It's there. You went from 10,000 views from your first year to. You're at like, almost 25 million.
[00:57:19] Speaker A: Yeah, that's true.
[00:57:20] Speaker B: And you.
[00:57:21] Speaker A: I appreciate the kind words. What am I supposed to say other than thank you so much? Oh, thank you. I'm glad that you came on the podcast. I'm glad that I took time to talk because again, if we can help someone else.
[00:57:32] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:57:33] Speaker A: That might be going through something similar. Yeah, that's what. That's what I want to do. And a lot of times you guys don't hear me talk about this, but we have a mother company, it's called HLE Drones, and it stands for Help Lead, educate Drones. Like anything drones. And so you saying that it reaffirms like that is what, you know, my goal is to help people get into here, lead the industry and. Yeah. Educate. As we go through Austin, do you have any. Any questions for the hockey player before we end this?
[00:58:04] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't know, man.
[00:58:05] Speaker A: I just. Such a cool story. Like, I know just to think of somebody doing something outside of the box, not taking the golf clubs, but like having a plan of following a passion.
[00:58:16] Speaker B: But also like sticking with your hockey passion.
[00:58:19] Speaker A: Like, I hope you get that gold medal. Yeah. Now we've you. Awesome. So, okay, so where. If people want to follow along and, and see if. If you make a big. Where can they.
[00:58:29] Speaker B: So, I mean, I do have two Instagram pages. It's one is little roadie drones. So it's R H O D Y.
[00:58:36] Speaker A: Okay for.
[00:58:36] Speaker B: For that. But it's. My name is Brandon McGowan and.
[00:58:40] Speaker A: And that's on Instagram.
[00:58:41] Speaker B: That's on Instagram. It's Brandon McGowan. And yeah, you'll see. You'll see my. My hockey picture. And there's no other Brandon McGowan's that I know of. Better the skating around.
[00:58:51] Speaker A: That's so.
[00:58:52] Speaker B: But yeah, I mean, like I said, you know, I'll definitely check in. And you, I'm gonna fill you in for sure.
[00:58:58] Speaker A: Sweet. Well, I hope. I hope you do.
[00:59:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:59:01] Speaker A: Alrighty. That's so cool, guys. I. I don't even know how to end this, other than. Thanks so much again for coming. Thank you for sharing your story. Guys, you heard it here. If you're looking at something new or you. You're feeling down, guys, sometimes it's just trying something new and trusting and going for it. And so that's all we have for today on. On the podcast. We'll see you guys on the next one.
