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An Interview with Turnquist Custom Fig Belts 2
26 Plays2 years ago
We are back for another December with Dan Turnquist, the maestro of custom figure belts. We catch up on Dan’s comeback to pro wrestling, the latest in technological upgrades in the 3D printed figure belt world, and everything else going on with Dan. Merry Christmas Kevin, we are rooting for you!
Turnquist Custom Fig Belts On Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/turnquist_fig_belts?igsh=MzBkaGhmc2pxYXVv
Use code CHICKFOLEY to save 10% at www.ringsidecollectibles.com
Find all things Chick at www.CHICKFOLEY.com
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Transcript
Introduction to the Chick Foley Show
00:00:01
Speaker
What is up Foley fam? We are back with a very special episode of the Chick Foley show.
Interview with Dan Turanquist: Belt Making Updates for 2024
00:00:07
Speaker
Hopefully the MVP Marco does not come after me and Sheena aka Chick Foley for some gimmick infringement, but we did another interview. This is a follow up from last December when we interviewed Dan Turanquist of Turanquist Custom Fig Belts.
00:00:22
Speaker
This guy's really like the top dude in the game right now making these belts and we just want to touch base to see You know what's changed in the operations how the you know? Differences in the custom belt game from last year to this year and what he's got planned for 2024 So we have a nice conversation with Dan He answered some of you guys listener mail and I think you guys are really gonna enjoy it You can find links to his social media and his email to order belts Down in the comments below and without further ado here is our interview with Dan Turner
00:00:54
Speaker
All right, so with the housekeeping out of the way I'm gonna let Sheena kind of run point on this one She's a you know, not to steal the MVP Marcos gimmick, but she is another really great Interviewer that we have here. It's part of her skill set with the within the chick Foley show universe.
Dan's Wrestling Return: Stories and Challenges
00:01:09
Speaker
So Sheena, let's kick off our conversation with Dan the man
00:01:12
Speaker
So I think the first thing on everyone's mind, so if you haven't, you know, listened to this, like I said, go back and listen to part one. But the thing that's on everyone's mind right now. The big T's he left us with. The big T's. We all want to know how the return of Red Daniels went. So can you give us a little recap of how it all went down?
00:01:32
Speaker
It's so wild to think you guys had brought that up. And I was like, I'm so far. I'm officially done for sure. Like, and you said that before that. I know. I know. Yeah. Never say never. This is the wrestling band. This is Pro Wrestling Carney 101 guys. I stole my pro wrestling ring even I sold my real ring and everything like it's I'm I'm but I did sell it with the caveat that the Booker has to book me if I ever want to be booked. So.
00:01:58
Speaker
Yeah. So basically it was cool to like come back and I knew some of the guys cause I'd been gone for
00:02:05
Speaker
I think roughly three years. We worked the whole locker room. None of them knew that I was coming back at all. So I showed up to the show and people were all like, what are you doing here? And one of my really good friends, Cashboard, and all he did was walk up to me and he goes, dude, you were on MDT. And I was like, I know. I was like, you're probably the only person here who knows that.
00:02:28
Speaker
But it was cool to like see some guys and then like there was some animosity because like indie pro wrestling is a bunch of divas. It's basically like a high school. I could see that. Yeah, I can get really petty. And so especially if like a guy who was was previously kind of like top of the card comes back, you know, some people are all like don't want to see you back. And then other guys did.
00:02:50
Speaker
But it was zero sum game if one person's moving up when a former champ makes his return It's good. It is going to see him pump me. Yeah, it's gonna ruffle some story. Tell you you say that I legitimately this was a round brawl for all I'm pretty sure right I think so I
00:03:05
Speaker
I was legit joking and I was like, I'm going to cut a promo and say that the only reason I'm back is because nobody out here can tie my boots. You guys need me. And he was like, you got to be eating some kind of local cookies from our local place while you just run down the whole locker room.
00:03:24
Speaker
So I like, I sat in the back the whole time and it was at a local gym. So it was kind of weird cause like the dressing room was also the gym like locker room. So guys were like coming in and out, like to get changed to work out. And I was just sitting there and all I could think was like, man, I'm really happy. I'm not wrestling tonight. Cause I'm just sitting here in street clothes. I'd be real awkward if I was dressed up like a wrestler at like my local gold's gym.
00:03:51
Speaker
But it was, it was cool. I came out and I kept telling the promoter, like, dude, no one's gonna, no one's gonna remember me, you know? And he's like, they're gonna, they're gonna lose their mind. And the champion does this thing. He wins his match. He's like, I've beaten every former champion. I'm the greatest in my music plays. And I walk out and everybody standing ovation. Welcome back. I was like, this is pretty cool.
00:04:12
Speaker
We got a kick out of watching the clip you posted. It was fun to watch. It was fun. And then I did the little thing and I shook his hand and hit my finish and move on him. And I thought that was cool. And I helped to tear down the ring and all that stuff. I've always been big on paying your dues.
00:04:27
Speaker
And, uh, and then here come the next show was like a tag match kind of thing. You know how they'll do like the, the two like big feuds tag together, you know, kind of like the two singles matches. So we did that in a tag match. And I was, I could tell the ring rust instantly, like
00:04:44
Speaker
That was gonna be one of my questions was was how how was the ring rust was it? So I mean you had to prepare a little bit But I mean there's no there's nothing that prepares you for pro wrestling other than pro wrestling Yeah, not at all I'd gone up to like the training school that we have and like bumped around with some guys and but nothing's like So just a funny story is like we're sitting in the back and sorry to tell anybody this but wrestling you do talk to each other So I'm talking to this other guy
00:05:10
Speaker
God, wait, wait to break the fourth wall. I invited kayfabe to the interview. Oh my God. So I'm, I'm like, the match that I'm in is like the champion guy who I'm going to wrestle. And then like a super, super indie guy, right? Like hardcore, any guy does all kinds of super kicks and stuff.
00:05:28
Speaker
And we're talking about this comeback spot. He goes, what do you want to hit is your big fiery comeback. And I'm like, what if I hit you with like a punch and then like a dusty elbow and a body slam. And the dude just looks at me. He's like.
00:05:42
Speaker
you want to do a punch and a body slam, that's it. And I'm like, is that not cool enough for something? And he goes, nah, man, it's whatever, dude, it's your thing. And I'm like, I'm like sitting there the whole time thinking like, oh God, dude, I need to change what I'm going to do. Like people are going to think this dude's so lame. And so I'm like, I'm like, all right, maybe I'll do it. And I'm like, I finally, no, screw it. I was like, we're going to go, we're going simple. We're going like,
00:06:05
Speaker
body slam leg drop, you know, we're doing it like I used to. And we get out there and we're kind of doing the thing where, you know, the crowd, I got to cut a promo, which was really cool.
00:06:16
Speaker
I got to cut a promo about like, you know, Hey, I'm back and I'm coming for the belt and everything. And we got in the ring and the guy immediately like locked me locked up and put me in a headlock. And I couldn't hear a single thing he was trying to tell me. So we, I was so lost and I was, I was like blown up instantly. I was like, before I even like hit the ropes, I was just so tired because I was like, Oh my God, I'm so nervous. But it went over well. And then the next, the last match, it was like a,
00:06:43
Speaker
it was a career versus title essentially, right? So I get in the ring where the main event we're talking and we're at some random venue and the guys like the promoters like, Hey, we got to be out of here by nine o'clock. And I'm like looking at the guy and I'm like, Oh, sweet dude. Cause we were supposed to go like 20 minutes. I was like, we could go like 10 then.
00:07:02
Speaker
And, uh, the other guy goes, no, screw it, man. We're going, we're going as long as we need. He's trying to have like the Dave milts, your five star class. I was like, I was like, dear God, I was like, I'm going to die. Aren't I? And, uh, like I'm like 330 pounds, right? A guy was wrestling. It was the one of the first times in my career. I've wrestled somebody who was my size. So.
00:07:25
Speaker
We were trying some stuff out before and I was trying to pick him up on my shoulders and I could get him up, but it wasn't well. I was just like, man, I was like, this sucks. I was like, this is gonna be so awful. I was like, these people are gonna just like boo us out of the building. Nothing against him. He's awesome. He still wrestles everywhere. But we get out there and I'm saying within a couple minutes, I am so tired.
00:07:50
Speaker
And I like, like, I get tired thinking about this match. No joke. So it was like, I'm tired. Like, I can't even imagine like, I would, I can't even imagine dude, just because like you said, the nerves, your heart's
Dan's Reflections on Wrestling and Craft
00:08:05
Speaker
pumping. And then you know, you're not you're a little bit out of practice. And then yeah, just
00:08:10
Speaker
And how nervous you'd be, I don't know. Exactly, yeah. And I've never worked with this guy because in our tag match, so that's another thing. It's like when you've never wrestled with someone you don't really know. Once you wrestle some guys, you kind of get used to what you can kind of expect, you know, like some kind of stuff they like to do or where they can go. But we talked out a lot of stuff. And man, I was just like, there was one point about halfway through the match where he hit me with something and it was kind of like a double down spot, you know, where the ref's like, one,
00:08:39
Speaker
I'm laying there and I'm like, I can't get up.
00:08:42
Speaker
I'm like, I'm not gonna hot route to a new finish. Yeah, I was just like, I, and I was like, we've got like, like six more spots planned. And I was like, I don't think I can stand up. And I stand up and I run at him and I hit him and he ducks his clothesline. And then I knock him down and I hit him with a couple of things and I'm supposed to hit him with a body slam and a leg drop, like I said, and I get him up for the body slam. I hit the leg drop and I laid there and I pinned him and I said, I said, I'm, I think my heart's going to explode. I was like, I'm so tired right now.
00:09:11
Speaker
And I hit him with this and it's like a fall seat. And then the next spot was this top rope spot. And it's so funny. I think about all the time I go to the top rope and I really wanted to do this thing. We're like, I'm at the top rope. I'm about to hit him with like the crown, you know, like the, I will rule you. And he comes up to get me and we like tease a superplex cause like, that'd be super cool, but like I'm not an idiot. So I'm not doing a superplex.
00:09:33
Speaker
So he climbs up to the rope, and I'm so tired I can hardly stand on this top rope. And he's hitting me and catching. And I'm supposed to jump off for the crown, and he's supposed to hit me with the lowdown, like the D-Lo Brown, or the Bubba Bomb, whatever. And I don't jump. There is zero, zero jump. So he just like, nothing happens.
00:09:56
Speaker
So I like, I just like punch him in the face as hard as I can. And I'm like, try to get, I'm going to hit the ropes and I punch him, run toward the ropes. And he just, and we try to get it. He just like picks me up like a child, basically just like chucks me to the side because I didn't jump enough. And I'm laying there and this is the end of the match. I'm laying there and I'm just like, all right.
00:10:17
Speaker
I got to hit my finish two times and then take his, because we were trying to do like a super scenic kind of thing where I was like, I'm going to hit my finisher on him one time and then tell the crowd like, not enough. I'm doing again. And then when I go for the second one, he like, he does like the black hole slam. So like fall out, do a black hole slam.
00:10:33
Speaker
I hit him, I go to hit him with my finish and he just like, he takes it, he gets up and he just like throws me off the ropes. And I'm thinking this black hole slam is going to look so bad because like I can't get up. And that man picked me up like I was an infant child dude and slug me a full 360. Does anybody have a recording of this? It's on Instagram. I'm pretty sure. Okay. I think it's on my Instagram.
00:10:58
Speaker
Because I had somebody live stream it there. So I want to say it's not he 360 like just black hole slams me so hard and he put me down and I was just like oh my god, dude I was like, I think I don't know if I'm gonna live through this and like you're never doing this again He counted three and I was just laying there and I was like, I'm done I was like I either have to like commit to being in the gym 24-7 or like I'm done But you know we got to the back and the guy was like everything good out there and I was like everything good out there dude I was like, I'm sorry. I blew up on you because
00:11:28
Speaker
Some dudes in the industry will get upset if you blow up. And it can go bad. It can go really bad because you don't get to wrestle a lot. And sometimes it's somebody's only chance to get a real legitimate look from people. And it can be dangerous if you're tired and you're trying to do something. You can't properly do it. Yeah, I feel that. And so I'm lucky that this guy was pretty cool because I was just like, man,
00:11:56
Speaker
I could not. Luckily, I have the wherewithal to try to do some stuff the right way and stuff. But yeah, I was just like, I got to the back and I was like, as long as you're cool with everything, dude, I'm cool, but I'm sorry. And he's like, no, dude, it was a great match. It was awesome. And I was just like, I can never get in a pro wrestling ring again.
00:12:16
Speaker
So how sore were you like the following days? Like how bad was it? It wasn't as bad because like I'd gone up, like I'll tell you this, bumping is one of those things that like if you're doing it a lot, because when I was wrestling, I was wrestling two nights a week roughly and then practicing another two nights.
00:12:36
Speaker
So I was doing a pretty consistent, you know, like 15, 20 bumps every few days. You kind of build up, build up like a tolerance to the first time you bump in a long time and you have it, you get this like horrible pain that shoots down your neck into your shoulders. And so I still had totally healthy for you. Yeah. Yeah, really. And I had that for a couple of days.
00:13:00
Speaker
But like I, one of the things that's like, it was weird. So growing up through high school and stuff, I used to always be in bands. And when you got done playing like local shows, you'd always have this like ringing in your ears. And like you had the same thing when you're done, like when you're leaving a pro wrestling show, it's like everything's so quiet because it has just been so loud. And like that was probably, like I had that feeling like tinnitus or whatever it's called for like days or just like. Yikes. And then like the ring is loud when you're hitting it.
00:13:28
Speaker
Uh-huh. But I wasn't terribly sore. I'm lucky that I've made it through wrestling as long as I have without any serious injuries, except I had an ankle, a high ankle sprain one time, but that's it. Yeah, that's pretty minor in the wrestling world. Yeah, there was a guy wrestled with him. It's during the injuries that you could...
00:13:46
Speaker
There was a guy at wrestle with who had a fracture in his, uh, fracture in one of his vertebrae from taking a bump wrong. So yeah, you can see it. It happens for sure. And you don't want it to happen for like a hot dog. No, no, hell no. Yeah. We're going to feed you a hot dog out of the session stand. Thanks for coming. I used to drive two and a half hours to a show and that's all we ever got paid. If they didn't sell all the hot dogs, they'd let us have them. Oh my.
00:14:12
Speaker
Wow. That's, that's, that's the love of the game right there. Yeah. That's one of my favorite matches was up there though. Cause I wrestled one of my buddies and I don't want to go off on a bunch of tangents, but we wrestled and neither of us were really known. It was one of our first times going up there. And this is like a place that's in a really rural Illinois. I know we were talking about rural Kentucky, but like, this is a small town of like a couple hundred people and there's no big towns around it, but they like,
00:14:37
Speaker
Eat, sleep, and breathe pro wrestling. They have a small old church. It used to be they got converted into a wrestling building. And the same 50 people come every Tuesday night and watch this show. And so my buddy and I come up to wrestle, and the crowd's just like, who the hell are these people?
00:14:56
Speaker
And I'm supposed to be the bad guy, friend I'm wrestling's the baby face. He comes out and he's like, let's go. And they're just like, you suck, boo. And it's just quiet. And I come out, they kind of booed and we did a little spot where he like, we lock up and he rolled me up, got a no count. He's like, I almost had you. And someone in the crowd was like, you didn't even get one. No, you didn't.
00:15:17
Speaker
Halfway through the match, someone in the crowd just screams, will you just pin this guy already, God? Oh my God. I commend anybody who's out there that's a performer that's performing for a live audience because yeah, that's brutal.
00:15:31
Speaker
Yes. And then I had one, we wrestled a really big show in front of like 800 people. It was a big event for like, for a charity. And I wrestled a guy and he was pretty green. And this was when I had a masked gimmick, so I couldn't really talk or anything. And he didn't want to work the crowd. So we wrestled like an eight minute match and just like silence in front of like 800 people was awful.
00:15:50
Speaker
Yeah, he was one of my best friends too. And it's like, well, it was due to like, we always, we had like been tag partners for a long time. I'm like, dude, we're going to tear the house down, dude. We're going to, we're going to do the regal cutter. We're all kind of, we're going to tear the house down. And dude, like he just walked to the ring, didn't hype the crowd up at all. So no one knew who to cheer for. And then we just had this match and it was just like, you could hear crickets. But if you looked around, there's just people everywhere. And I was just like, this is, this is so embarrassing right now, dude. I was like, these people don't care at all.
00:16:18
Speaker
Oh my God. You know, and the beautiful thing is, is you, you kept wrestling after that, you know, you didn't let that deter you and you, you kept on going. So there's something to be said for that. I was going to tell you, um, our last, uh, interview, the Dan part one, we, we talked about how one of your earliest.
00:16:37
Speaker
wrestling memories was when you got the little minifigures and the cage sets and everything, right? And I wanted to, I was like so excited to update you because that's one of my most recent memories. We just got both the entire collection of those minifigures. Cause my son loves them, right? Like my son loves these little minifigures. And so Seth just happened to find these two sets on eBay.
00:17:01
Speaker
I pieced together a bunch, I pieced together probably about like 75% of the line and then like eight of the figures that we still needed were across two of the different places. I found them both MOC, so I got them with the rings and cages. I got the one that comes with the little mini dumpster and everything. Yeah, so sorry for the MOC. Oh, that's awesome. We literally opened a box for like, was it 97, 98? 98. Yeah, 98. Oh, no.
00:17:26
Speaker
We opened a box from 98. Think about those figures, man. They finally got to take their first fresh breath. You know what I mean? Yeah, they got to get some air in there. They're excited. If you believe in Toy Story and the little toys coming to life, dude, Brett has played with those things nonstop since we got him. He loves those little mini figures. Throw some wrestling on the TV and then sit down and have
00:17:47
Speaker
Big battle royals. Yeah, those are like the happiest action figures in our house right now because they're getting the most play so I just thought it was funny that I was gonna talk to you and you had mentioned those and We literally just got both of those sets and they've been a hit here in the house
00:18:01
Speaker
I want to say that that was like my first figure set. Yeah, that's what we talked about. You know, yeah, you said, yeah, that was the very first. I mean, you know, you dropped 15 bucks, you get a ring, like six figures, some weapons, like those things were. Yeah, this thing still had the price tag on it. It was 15, like 15.99 or something like that for the whole set. Can you imagine like how
00:18:21
Speaker
Yeah, you can't even get in a leak. You can't even get in the leak for 15 bucks. Barely get a value meal for $15 anymore, dude. Yeah, what are basics now? Probably 12? 13 bucks, dude. That's insane. Somebody I picked up and I found that Aaliyah basic that's been really tough to find. I found it for a fellow collector while I was down in Texas for work last week. And he was asking what I owed him. It almost felt like a heel, telling him that, you know, yeah, he owed me like 18 bucks shipped for a freaking basic, dude. It's terrible. Yeah, it's awful,
Custom Belt Projects and Fan Interactions
00:18:51
Speaker
dude.
00:18:51
Speaker
Um, so it's been a year since like, you know, almost, almost to the day last December, we talked to, we talked to you. So is there, what's the most exciting project that you've worked on since we, uh, were last together? That's a cool question. So my favorite thing that I've done since we talked, uh, I wanted, so I've got two that I, that come to mind. I gave, I gave some stuff to Brian Myers, uh,
00:19:19
Speaker
It's really funny because of how it worked out too. And I don't think this, I'm pretty sure the Jericho cruise was this year, right?
00:19:26
Speaker
I think they've done it every year. It's a belt that Cardona won. So I made the Oceanic championship. I'm a big ocean guy anyway. So that thing came out and I instantly started modeling it because I was like, this belt looks super cool. And I made a couple of them for some friends and I shipped one to Cardona or to the major pod or whatever. And two days after I shipped it, Brian Myers had sent me a message asking for some
00:19:55
Speaker
triple B and he told me one of them was going to go to the school and one of them was going to MJF. So that's pretty cool to know. I told him too, cause he was like, I'll try to get a picture. And I can't remember if he did or not, but I was like, just have him smash it. I was like, have him call me a giant Mark and just like smash it. Like that'd be so cool.
00:20:14
Speaker
Yeah. Get a promo by MJF. That'd be awesome. Yeah. I've got one from Cody Rhodes back in the day. When he was in ROH, my buddy went down to see him and he had him say something like, or a dangle sucks or something. They both said it cracks me up. This was way before AEW or anything, but- Yeah.
00:20:30
Speaker
That was cool just getting them cuz like the triple B I'd made it for a couple guys and I guess someone had posted in one of their groups and he was like Who sent this and I remember I was sitting at work that day and I just happened to look at all my lunch break it like IG and I'd got a message and I was like I'm out of here I'm leaving right now. I'm gonna go make this belt But my favorite thing I've done is I went to
00:20:53
Speaker
I went to the, did they call it the last dance too? I think when punk came back the second time. I went to that in person and I made a few custom CM Punk belts. Like, I don't know if you guys saw them. I've seen, I only gave them to three guys, but.
00:21:08
Speaker
It's got like the, the light blue belt, and then it's got the Chicago stars with like a white stripe. And that's the, so the belt is kind of like, I gave a few of those to some guys in person. And then I got to like meet up and hang out with a lot of dudes who I'd only like sold belts and talk to online. So that was really cool.
00:21:27
Speaker
That's neat. I was walking around and people would just come up to me and be like, dude, what's up? It's Turnquist. I can't believe it. And I'd be like, hey, dude. So just to think that anybody would ever just, I'm sure you guys get it too, going to shows and stuff. It's weird, isn't it? Yeah, because we're just totally normal everyday people. Exactly. Yeah, people just see you and they're like, oh my god, it's cheek fullier. Oh my god, it's Turnquist. You're like, oh yeah, I do do that. And it was cool because I met up with some dudes after.
00:21:55
Speaker
And we all went to like Buffalo Wild Wings. And it was like some other like customizers and some other guys like Jay flip figs was there. And fig freak and some guy angel angel or a Falcon customs a few like just a bunch of people was cool. And it was so funny to me though, because I brought my best friend who like he likes pro wrestling, but doesn't give any kind of cares about figures.
00:22:18
Speaker
So it was just like you look at this table and all these dudes were talking about like all this post got this many likes and all this custom this and then you just got my buddy who's like eating his chicken wings.
00:22:29
Speaker
So did you, so did you guys like all play or was it just like, do, do customizers just naturally draw to one another? Like, Oh yeah. Like we've, we found each other, you know, one of us, one of us. It was like, I was going right. Cause I knew, I knew punk was coming back and I was like, I missed the first one because I didn't believe it. And I was like, I am going. And then, uh, I knew that.
00:22:51
Speaker
uh, fig freak and I had talked knew he was going and then he was telling me that flip figs was going. So we had all kind of met up and talked and I posted on my discord server, like anybody was going. It turned out like tons of people went cause like I was just sitting there and dudes kept coming up to me and talking and wanting to talk about belts and all kinds of stuff because I gave out those punk belts to a few guys in person.
00:23:14
Speaker
Yeah. And it was just, it wasn't, but like meeting up with Falcon Customs and stuff was completely off the cuff. It was just like, he's from the area. So he was like at the show and he was like, I was like, where do you want to get food at? And he was like, Oh, we got this little place here. It's called Buffalo Wild Wings. I'm like, yeah. This little local spot. I was like, my town of like, you know, 10,000 people has Buffalo Wild Wings, but sick man.
00:23:39
Speaker
Speaking of seeing punk man, did you see my my entry into the custom belt game dude? I didn't I took the jazz wares AW belt I took a black Sharpie and I drew a X across the main plate there, man Yeah
00:23:55
Speaker
I hope it doesn't make it awkward for you, like, you know, being on an interview with me now. Listen, if you guys, if you guys are ever at a wrestling event together, you can meet all the other customizers and go to Buffalo Wild Wings. Yeah, we can all go. This is my friend Seth. He's a belt customizer. Everybody ate. Everybody's welcome. I airbrushed a few X's on some for people, but
00:24:18
Speaker
Because I like how it looks. It came out nice, dude. So the Sharpie, it looked whatever, but the next day, once it had faded a little bit, it actually looked pretty dang nice, dude. I was low-key for 30 seconds of work. Yeah, and it spread out a little bit, you know what I mean? So it wasn't just a straight line.
00:24:39
Speaker
Yeah. For the absolute minimal effort I put into it, I was happy with the result. I need to figure out a good way to make them because people still ask for it. I made some custom WWE ones too, like the week before he came back to WWE. Yeah. I don't know. He's got to get a little tiny spray bottle, a little tiny spray paint can.
00:24:58
Speaker
I found... Maybe you could 3D print a spray paint can and then... Yeah, put spray paint in it. I was thinking about making a stencil, but yeah, I could probably put 3D print on my spray can. Yeah, a stencil will probably make more sense. I tried using a thinned out paint with an airbrush. It worked okay for a couple, but it's too wide, I think, but I don't know. Yeah. For a belt that showed up three times, I'm not that worried about it.
00:25:25
Speaker
Yeah, those blue strap belts do look nice. You're looking at them right now. Thank you. Yeah, I thought it was cool. And they've got custom. They've got the on the side plates or like the the arrow, the like the lightning, not arrow, but the lightning bolt.
00:25:38
Speaker
That's cool. For a few years, I had an actual replica of the Ultimate Warriors, like a baby blue belt like that, man. So I've always been fond of that color scheme. There's a guy who's having me make a, it's like a what if kind of belt that he wanted that was like if the Ultimate Warrior had won the WCW championship and it's got like a pink strap and stuff.
Belt Making Business: Technology, Challenges, and Passion
00:25:58
Speaker
That'd be cool. I'm pretty excited how it's turning out.
00:26:02
Speaker
Any new developments in the setup from last time? Any new tech or printers? You know, there's new airbrush technology for sure, because I broke enough expensive ones that I started breaking cheap ones. And I finally got to a point where I think I know enough about them that I bought another really expensive nice one recently, and it definitely changes the quality.
00:26:30
Speaker
So that has helped a lot, but I'm rocking the same printer. I'd like to get, there's a newer version of it. I'd like to change that. I'd like to eventually have a website. I was kind of telling this to somebody that like,
00:26:46
Speaker
you know, there's like the customers who are after my heart who hit me up and are like, Hey, can I get the PWG tag titles from like 2015? And I'm like, hell yeah. And then there's like the 90% of the other guys who are just like, can I get the winged eagle? Can I get all of Roman Reigns belts? And so I was like, I would, I would one day really like to get to a point.
00:27:07
Speaker
where I could have a website that just did stuff that's like, you know, the Seth Rollins, the Roman Reigns belts, and then like used my disc. Yeah, exactly. And then used my discord as more of like a almost like Mattel creations kind of thing where guys who want more off the wall stuff or I just had a guy tonight talking to me about making his backyard, backyard fed from, you know, 20 years ago's belt and he was sending me pictures of it. And I was like, yeah, totally. Like that's what I'm about.
00:27:36
Speaker
That's cool. We just sent out another of the Foley Pixley custom belts that you made for us, man. And I've got to make it. I know. You guys wanted a couple more of those, and I got to get that going.
00:27:49
Speaker
Next season won't be over till like summer slam at the earliest. Okay, cool. We had talked. Yeah, I just know they were really excited to get it, man. We always look forward to seeing people. It's a surprise position. I thought I was going to get back to back belts, but I fizzled off in the playoffs, so unfortunately, I had to pass it off to someone else. A lot of people want customs and then a lot of people are like,
00:28:15
Speaker
It's like, there's like three types of people who want custom belts, right? They either want like some super original design and they've thought it all out, or they want some version of the WWE title, but with their logo instead, or they know they want a custom belt, but they have no idea what they want. And so it's all right.
00:28:32
Speaker
I'm like, I used to have a lot more time to work with that, you know, and sit down and sketch up. And like kind of, yeah. And try to like draw mockups for people and stuff. But now I'm kind of like, I can work with stuff, but you got to like, you got to do the work. Yeah. You got to, you got to give me the direction and you know, get it started. I had one guy and he doesn't,
00:28:52
Speaker
he doesn't do as much anymore. I can only assume because I think he was in like middle school and his dad used to like draw these super intricate custom belts on paper and send me pictures and I would make them and that was always super fun.
00:29:03
Speaker
but it's like, I've noticed too, there's like people who get ahold of me and they're like super hot on something. Those are like flashing the pan people. So they're like, dude, I'm starting my own pick fed. I need all custom titles. I just bought, you know, $50,000 and figures and cameras and stuff. And then it's like, I need some belts and I need them now. And I'm like, all right, and I'll start working on them. And then like, I'll make them and ship them. And then like,
00:29:30
Speaker
I'm like, I'll hit them up a few months later and I'll be like, you got a link to your pick fed, man, you got any episodes or no, I stopped doing that. And I'm like, why even like go through the effort? Like I got to get it, you know, like I'm the same way with stuff. My wife always tells me that like belts are the one thing that I haven't like just given up on.
00:29:50
Speaker
Well, I mean, it's dude, it takes so much. I think people and people get really excited and they think they need all the equipment and all the things. I think it's my advice to people is start small, start with your iPhone, start with a small set up and just see if you can even stick with consistency because that's the biggest struggle for most people. They'll start off hot. They'll put out one or two like pick fed matches and then it's like, you know,
00:30:13
Speaker
they realize how much time it takes and they're like, eh, no. And then they've invested so much money that it's really a loss, right? Whereas if you just start small and just see if you can even keep the consistency, you're going to be so much better off. Yeah, exactly. And I try to check out pickfeds and stuff and support people who
00:30:32
Speaker
you know, who want to work with me on things. So, you know, I like to check out like spam, spam wrestling. He's got cool pick fed. He's got all belts from me and stuff like that. So, and I tried to be a, uh, I had a bunch of dudes this year who like, I've been working with, cause I've been kind of doing this for two, three ish years now, really.
00:30:52
Speaker
It's like it's going on. It's going into year three, I think is how I would describe it. And like, I just shipped out like six orders and they're all from guys who are like day one guys. And I was just, I was kind of talking to them about it. And it's like, and I gave them some of their belts. Like I would told them like, Hey, this is like a Christmas gift and stuff. And it was just like, you know, Hey, thanks for always being like a solid guy. And I was just telling my wife that like,
00:31:18
Speaker
I'm very fortunate to have the life I do and I don't do this for money. I really do do this because I enjoy it and I like to think of it as my legacy that someday I'm going to leave behind a bunch of belts and people look around and they're looking through their collection someday or whatever and they're like, oh yeah, I got a bunch of these belts from that guy. That's cool. Some people look back and they never even paid me for them.
00:31:45
Speaker
No, I love that. And it's so true. They will remember that. So yeah. Circling back real quick, you had mentioned wanting to get a website. What would hold you back from starting a website? So far, the biggest thing that's hold me back is I'm trying to find a way to make sure that I don't have to raise the price and don't have to take a loss.
00:32:10
Speaker
So that's in today's economy, dude, you're going to have to. Yeah. Cause I haven't raised my price since day one, you know, they've been $15 for singles 25 for tags since, since the beginning. And it's something that's important to me, but then like, once you start getting into websites and stuff like that, then you have like, yeah, there's, and there's like, they take some per transaction even. So it's like,
00:32:34
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Once you start taking credit cards and PayPal or whatever and stuff like that. Yeah. It's, it's tough, dude. And getting a website, I, I recently saw someone posting, I didn't realize how expensive it was to have somebody design a website for you. Like a, you know, like a nice functional good website. Like, you know, it's like, you know, however many hundred dollars per page, like, you know, and like, I'm just like, wow, dude, like,
00:33:05
Speaker
And you have like, so you have to pay domain fees and then you have to pay whoever like is, yeah, either if you're doing it yourself or what kind of developers and then you have to pay, like I said, like if you go through Shopify or Wix or different places, they all have their own. Then when you become a super official, you know, the government starts taxing your ass too. So yeah, I've already been, my best friend's an accountant. So since like day one, he's been on me like,
00:33:25
Speaker
That's, it's an investment to get an actual website up and running. Yeah, definitely.
00:33:31
Speaker
You better be doing this shit right because you don't want to, you know, you don't want to get in a bad situation on it. So I'm pretty good there. True. But, uh, you know, there's, there's also ways to like, you know, be smart business and not just like feed all your money to the government either. Yeah. Yeah. That's, that was one of the big reasons I kept buying new printers. Exactly to offset. Yeah. But exactly. There's a lot of stuff that, you know, that is right. Offable about making stuff and different things, but.
00:34:01
Speaker
I would love to have some way to... I had to stop selling stuff on Macari at one point this year because they wanted me to fill out tax forms and stuff. And I was just like, man, I don't need another source of headache from selling actual figures. It's freaking wild, dude. Yeah. It's crazy. And you know what? If you have to raise your prices, then that's what you get. The product's worth it, dude. The product's worth it.
00:34:23
Speaker
I think you can double your prices and people will still be happy for what they're getting there. Yeah, and it sucks because yes, I'm empathetic to that too. I'm not trying to stick it to anybody or anything like that, but at the end of the day, I know you're not doing it for money, but you're also not doing it to lose money. I think taking care of yourself and taking care of your people, if you haven't raised your prices in three years, you're about the only business out there that hasn't. That's the truth.
00:34:52
Speaker
Yeah, I think all the real turnquist belt fans would totally understand if, if and when that day has to come to pass. I would think so. And no one I've never had any, most of the time when I tell people costs, like, Oh, that's great. You know, and it's like, I would like
00:35:08
Speaker
I have a guy who I work with now on he does my social media and stuff, which has been super helpful because that's wonderful. Nothing like nothing in the world makes me dread anything more than like having to sit down and think about what am I going to make as a caption and.
00:35:24
Speaker
you know, nothing again, and like sharing people's stuff. I'm just, I'm not that guy. I'm not that guy. And having to respond to like all the messages and likes and all that kind of stuff. Yeah. And it's a lot. It's like when I can, and I sat down and I kind of had a serious conversation with my friend because the person who's helping me, they do social media. They're super successful, like highly successful. And I was just like,
00:35:50
Speaker
I'm around 6,000 followers on IG and I'm like just a lemic 1600 on Twitter. I'm like, surely there's some way to make this profitable, right? Or at least beneficial. Yes.
00:36:06
Speaker
I don't need customers. And I don't don't take that as like, I don't want customers. I'm good. Right now I'm good. You have you have more work that you know what to do. I have an extreme backlog. And I'm finally figuring out, like a really good way to get through it and stuff
Balancing Belt Making with Personal Life
00:36:21
Speaker
like that. That's one thing I wanted to say on here is that anybody who's sent an email throughout the year, do a follow up on it, because I lost the file that had everybody's orders on it.
00:36:34
Speaker
And it really, really messed me up. Like recently I lost the file that had all the old like orders and everything on it. So I've been trying to go back through email, but if like, if you sent me an email early in the year and you really want something and you still want it, hit me up again and I'll get you like expedited essentially. Right. So yeah, but like, I just wanted to, I want to.
00:36:59
Speaker
That's one of the biggest complaints is, dude, that guy, he never responds or that guy, he never gets stuff made. And it's like, I am consistently making stuff.
00:37:16
Speaker
like 50, 60 belts a week consistently. They just might not be your belts because either there's a backlog or, you know, but like when you look at stuff. Yeah. Cause people don't realize, I don't think people like really take into account that like they see, you know, your followers and how many belts you're making and cranking out. And I think people just think like you do this as a job, whereas like they don't understand you have a 40 hour a week, you know, regular job that you go to. And then this is like your passion project.
00:37:46
Speaker
Yeah, that's true. I, cause I had talked to some guys about like, you think it would help if I like posted like office hours? Cause I have people who will like hit me up at 2 AM. And then like, if I haven't responded by like 6 AM, they're like, dude, and I'm like, I'm asleep.
00:38:02
Speaker
Yeah. And have your social media guy set up away messages, right? You can set it up where if somebody sends you a DM when it's not office hours, it's like, hey, thank you for your message. We'll be responding within 48 hours or something like that. So it sends them an auto message back, but they don't expect an immediate reply because yeah, that would be so annoying.
00:38:24
Speaker
That's a good idea. I think that one of the biggest things that I've tried to get people away from is messaging me on Instagram just because... Yeah, you can't keep track of any of that stuff on there. I'm tagged so much, right? Everything that shows up in your messages. It's like, because everybody, the first thing they do is they tag and then they post in your story, which is great. Yeah, they're sharing and posting and tagging you and all of that. But yeah, the important stuff is getting lost in the shuffle.
00:38:50
Speaker
Yeah, it makes it hard for the people who are like, Hey man, I've been waiting. And like, and I understand that not, cause I use discord essentially like the same way that you guys use like your Facebook group, right? It's a private place for people to come talk about only one thing. And, uh, but I understand that not everybody wants to download a whole new app and, and, you know, get on there and do that kind of stuff and, and just to order belts from me. So that's why I have the email also. But the problem is when I first.
00:39:18
Speaker
established the email and sent it out. Yeah, we talked about that. Yeah, we talked about it in part. You had it in your link and then it was just like, yeah, the email became- I had 247 something emails within a day. I spent three hours just writing and putting stuff in my spreadsheet and I was just like, this is insane. How can these people really want this? Yeah.
00:39:41
Speaker
And so it, I don't know, I'm doing my best. And if you're upset about it, and if like, you know, there's people out there who can say what they want, and that's fine. Like, this is America. If you don't want it, don't talk to me. You know what I mean? Block me or whatever. I don't care.
00:39:55
Speaker
I've never heard any bad word on the street about Dan Turanquist. I appreciate that. I think most people are pretty understanding, but yeah, you're going to piss some people off and I think that's just life. They would be pissed off if you did exactly what they wanted. You could respond immediately and get their belt to them in a week and they would still have something to complain about.
00:40:17
Speaker
I had a guy who did that one time. He was like, he messaged me, wanted a bell. And I was like, all right, man, I actually do have that. Let me just get it on a strap or whatever. And I didn't respond to his message fast enough. He's like, I'm not going to beg you to give you my money. I'm whatever. And I just responded with like, thanks, man. Looks like this wasn't a beneficial transaction for either of us. So I'm just going to block you, OK?
00:40:39
Speaker
Speaking of that, so I know commissions are closed right now, but do you have any idea when you're going to start opening up orders and commissions again? That's a really good idea.
00:40:52
Speaker
Right now I am 100% trying to rectify any upset customers, right? Any people who've been waiting. So I haven't gone out and publicly just said, hey, orders are back open for that exact reason. Cause I don't want anybody to think like orders are back open. Yeah. He forgot about me. So I'm, I'm taking some time before I open back on orders to say,
00:41:19
Speaker
you know, Hey, let's I'm, I'm, I'm working on some stuff on, I don't really, it's kind of hard to post like, Hey, I suck. If you wanted something, can you just get hold of me? There's not a graceful way to say that.
00:41:31
Speaker
True, but I think the transparency, people appreciate that. I know that if I saw somebody be like, hey, I'm human, I effed up, you know what I mean? So if you have something, hit me up and we'll get it worked out. Yeah, and so I'd like to think I could get that done and then maybe open up in February. That's kind of the tentative goal. It's good WrestleMania season. Yeah. Yeah, I'd like to hopefully make a bunch of...
00:42:00
Speaker
the continental championship too when it comes out.
00:42:03
Speaker
Yeah. If it doesn't suck. Yeah. Yeah. Um, that'll be cool. So we'll keep you guys posted. Um, you know, whenever Dan opens up orders again, we'll post it on our social media and share it in our stories and stuff. So you guys, you guys will be in the loop, but, uh, I'm going to go ahead and jump into some of our fully family listener mail. We pulled our, um, our fully fan members and they sent in some questions for Dan. So I want to start with, uh, Ivan Milanovic, Ivan's custom figures on Instagram. Great customizer. Yep.
00:42:32
Speaker
He said, I've been trying to get someone to make WMAC master's belt. Please tell me you remember that show. I do not remember that show. I had to, I had to look it up. It's some sort of like boxing, like, it's, it's called WMAC masters. Have you ever heard of that, Dan? I am in the process of Google on it. Yeah. Yeah. I've never heard of it. Um, looks like it was, it's professional art. It's almost like a, uh,
00:43:00
Speaker
It kind of makes me think of like, what's it called, like Power Rangers. Yeah, yes, yes, yes, yes. Well, okay, so I think I could do it in the same way. I got a lot of people who want the
00:43:14
Speaker
million dollar title. We talked about that about how it's articulated. I've got two ways to do it. One where it would actually be like a full 3D printed and one that I want to do that's just kind of probably cheating. Yeah, tell Ivan to check out the email because I would love to make this bill. And this is kind of like what I was talking about. This is totally right up my alley of like, I want to make like I got a guy I'm working on a
00:43:40
Speaker
a Marvel, a wrestling belt that showed up in like one Marvel comic book. Like one for him this guy had. And he was like, can you make this? And I'm like, sure. And I just made the rock and wrestling belt that Hogan had, which was literally just the gray rectangle. I made that. And then I've made three Super Nintendo games, like VWA or V, yeah, I think it's VWA. One of them's like a star and stuff. I've made a few of those.
00:44:10
Speaker
It just goes to show you how niche that this product and this community can get. Yeah, you can get super obscure. Yeah, people just hit me up and they're just like, I'm trying to recreate this exact moment from this exact whatever. And I'm like, yeah, that sounds cool. The only one, because I've made the real world title, like the Ric Flair real world title, and I'm trying to think of other, I made that, I think I made it for you guys too.
00:44:37
Speaker
the Midwest States or whatever, the Western States. Like that never showed up. Yeah, that showed up a couple of times, right? So just stuff like that's really cool. Stuff that you're never going to see like Mattel make or something. This is more up my alley. Yeah. He's, uh, Ivan went on to say, Dan is top tier. I have the ROH pure championship from him and it's spectacular work. So I wanted to go ahead and add that comment. I wonder which one, uh,
00:45:08
Speaker
It's been for, I'm at this point, man, I had a guy, it was really funny and I'm not mean. And Ivan, I really appreciate that. So awesome. Like I said, I would love to make this a WMAC master's belt. That seems super cool. But I had a guy who hit me up one time to tell me that a belt he bought from me broke.
00:45:26
Speaker
And I was like, oh, no, it did. I was like, that's pretty rare. And I take the engineering approach when stuff breaks, where I don't just say, dang it, it broke. That's life. I kind of delve into it, and I think, OK, what's the root cause of this problem? How can I make sure it never happens again? And so he's showing me, and he's like, the front plate keeps popping off. And I'm like, the front plate keeps popping off. I'm like, that doesn't sound right. And I was like, can you send me some pictures? And he sends me pictures.
00:45:54
Speaker
And I'm like, I didn't make that belt. And he's like, he's like, no, you did. And I'm like, I was like, no, I promise you I didn't. And I like showed him my version. And I was like, I know that I didn't make that because that one I like how that one looks better from a plate design standpoint. And this is a belt that I had been in the process of redesigning. And I was like, and I know it didn't do that because I don't use that type of glue. I use a glue that literally rips the strap off when you pull it off.
00:46:22
Speaker
I was like sometimes, sometimes plates do fall off and the reason, the number one reason a plate would fall off is because a small piece of support gets left on the back of the plate that doesn't let the glue adhere properly.
00:46:36
Speaker
And that's something that I have had happen, but I was like, that's, that's not mine, man. And he's like, no, it's yours. And so I told him, I was like, well, let me PayPal you like two bucks or whatever. And this is the glue I buy. And he's like, Oh, I'll buy that glue. You don't have to send me any money. A few days later, he was like, Hey, that glue worked, man. And I'm like, all right, good. I'm glad your belt's back together.
00:46:56
Speaker
You are so nice, Dan. Like this guy in the business. I know. I mean, you like PayPaled a guy $2 for a belt that broke. I told him about the world. He ended up buying it. It's super cheap glue. With Dan, it's actually not the custom belt business. It's the custom belt friendship. Yeah. Dude, I tell people all the time that that's what I'm here for. I would much rather fine dude so I can sit around and have conversations about
00:47:21
Speaker
which NWA champion was better, you know, what's cooler on the big globe, like which side plates and different stuff. Like that's, I don't, it's like, I'm not ever going to be in a situation where I want to like lose a potential friend or someone who I've made a connection with over like a small belt or something. Like I've had a guy, I had a guy who had some issues where the, like it was, it wasn't the paint on the belt, but it was on the little end piece that kind of fell apart. And I was like,
00:47:52
Speaker
I was like, I'm going to remake it and send you your money. And he was like, you don't have to do that. And I was like, it's already done. Or I just had one just last week where it's Christmas, you know? So the mail is insane.
00:48:04
Speaker
So the dude's belt taken forever, the belts that had been like lost basically. So I was like, so I started remaking it and then the shipping started popping up and I'm like, Oh cool. So the shipping's and he got it. And he was like, it's cracked in half. And I was just like, Oh my God, dude. Cause what happens a lot of the times is if it gets lost, it gets caught in one of these sorting machines and they can wreak havoc on it. So I just sent him another one for free because I'm like, no one should spend their hard earned money on something that's going to break.
00:48:35
Speaker
Oh man. Dan is an all-timer good guy. They do break. That's when I... Yeah, it happens. If it gets caught in a sorting machine, I would hope that it would break. It's not exactly... You're not buying something from Mattel. You're buying something that's custom and I just try to work with guys. I actually thought something that would be fun to do going into this year would be like,
00:48:59
Speaker
show me your belt you bought for me in like 2021 and then like let me replace it so then we can do like a side by side to see like how much better they look.
00:49:08
Speaker
That's cool. Dude, your original work was already great, but I've definitely been able to tell the difference on some stuff we've gotten you from later orders. Really just leveling up on the great product you were already starting with, man. I think that would be pretty neat to see in the comparison over a couple years. The evolution, yeah. If you can think of a really creative cash for clunkers name, but with belts, that's the idea. Oh my gosh. That's funny.
00:49:34
Speaker
Yeah, you do a trade-in day where you like you trade your belts and you get a discount on a new belt Yeah, you get two dollars off. Yeah, you get two dollars off if you order a new one You need to come up with a way that you can like recycle some of the material off of it. Yeah, it is new belts
00:49:52
Speaker
There's been some times where I'll sell guys like at a super cheap rate or something like a belt that is not up to my standard. And I feel bad about that because sometimes that'll get posted and people like I don't want people to look at that and think that that's the final product when it was really just someone didn't care or also guys like big bags of just scrap pieces.
00:50:13
Speaker
A lot of, yeah, a lot of creators and artists and stuff do that. I mean, like I can't, I follow a bunch of like pottery accounts. I know it sounds really like handmade pottery and they do second sales all the time. Like where they sell stuff that they wouldn't sell at retail price, you know, but they like have second sales and just give it like deeply discounted for anyone who wants it once, just so it's not wasted, right? And two, there are people that don't care about that stuff, right? There's people that'll buy this piece of pottery that has this flaw on it because it doesn't matter to them, right?
00:50:42
Speaker
Yeah, that's yeah, there's so I've had some of that and that's like one of those things where I'm more I'm kind of hesitant and I'm like, I don't want someone to go out because there are the people who are like, I am a perfectionist. I only want the best, you know, and like, I get that and I understand that. So, you know, some people want this and some people I had a guy, I finally made the current Intercontinental Championship, the one that Gunther has. Yeah, it has Gunther sign plates and everything. And I, I got to I finally I was like putting it together. I look and there was like a small chip.
00:51:12
Speaker
on one of the side plates. And I was like, damn it, dude. I was like, this guy's been waiting for a while for this. And I sent him a picture and I was like, I can offer you like a $2 discount on this, or I can remake it. It's your call. And he's like, oh, the coat's going to cover that anyway, dude. I don't care. I'll take the discount. And I'm like, yeah, I got to ask because some people would be like, just make it again, you know?
00:51:31
Speaker
Yeah. Well, that was cool of you to even ask, dude. And again, it's always worth it to ask because it was worth it for you not to have to remake it. You know what I mean? He got his product quicker and it didn't bother him. He got a savings. So it was a win-win all around, you know? For sure.
00:51:44
Speaker
Zach hurts or wants to know what are your opinions on today's designs for championship belts?
Opinions on Modern Wrestling Belt Designs
00:51:49
Speaker
I guess he's meaning like what compared to like old-school Titles, how do you feel about the modern the the take that the modern titles have have taken on that's a cool question I feel like people don't ask questions like that a lot so Obviously there's one company whose belts all have a giant W on them. Yeah
00:52:10
Speaker
And I won't lie. I don't know what your guys's opinion is. I like the world heavyweight title. I like it. I think it's, I mean, yeah, I get, I get the criticism on it, but I do think objectively it's a clean looking belt, dude. Like there's no, there's absolutely no denying what the belt is. You know what I mean? Like, you know, that's a WWE championship. It's a, it's a nice design, man. Like I said, I definitely prefer winged eagle, but I, I think it's kind of haterproof man, aside from just the lack of originality.
00:52:37
Speaker
I like that it means something. They didn't just slap out a belt. The lion means something and the crown means something. They did the video talking about, and there's all the jewels add up to something with the McMahon crest or whatever. Even the center is kind of a globe-ish. It's kind of got some dome globe feels.
00:53:03
Speaker
I like, I like that belt, um, modern championship belt. So I like the AW world title cause it's kind of like a throwback throwback ish. I, uh, let me think. So if I go through WWE, it's kind of hard cause three belts look the exact same. And then the women's and the men's belt all look the same. They're not bad. I'm curious to see what the new tag titles look like when we ever get those.
00:53:28
Speaker
I don't know what the deal is with that, man. I feel like this should have debuted a year ago. I feel like they've said that they've shown test images a few times. Yeah, I don't know what's up with that either, but I really like some of the AW belts. I'm a big fan of the international title. I think that that's a really classy looking belt. I don't like the Ring of Honor belts. I liked them before. I liked the old
00:53:58
Speaker
the really old ROH belts. And then like some of the 2017 era belts were okay. But the new ones, I don't, I don't like, they're kind of doing the same thing WWE did where the belts all look the same. And I miss like, like if you go back to the attitude era, like the tag belts were different than the IC, like the oval IC and the oval IC was different than the big gold and the bigger, the big deal. It's about had its own feel for sure. Yeah. So I wish we could go back to something
00:54:25
Speaker
a little bit more original, but I do understand that branding is super important. And, uh, you know, you gotta kind of have your, put your brand first and foremost, and that's more important. And they send them to the sports teams and. Yeah. Oh yeah. They're trying to get, trying to get their, their night or their brand out there. So I haven't made, I will make side plates for guys. If their team wins a, uh,
00:54:52
Speaker
You know, like if someone wanted one cool, like NFL, NFL side plates. That's awesome. I keep telling myself about that. Yeah. I keep telling myself, I want to make Celtics ones, but I'm going to jinx it. Cause it was like, we made it to the finals and then we made it to the Eastern conference finals. And then we're pretty good this year. And I'm like, no, I can't make them until we win. And then like, but
00:55:12
Speaker
You just need to put that out there. You go ahead and make them. It's like the laws of attraction. Just go ahead and put it out there. Or it could jinx them forever. It could jinx depending on your outlook. Samborough wants to know, are there any prominent organization's belts that you haven't made yet? That's a cool question.
00:55:36
Speaker
Off the top of my head, I made all the new Japan stuff. I haven't made any stardom belts yet. Not because I had a guy ask for one, I just haven't got to it yet. I've made some of these. Have you done any deadlock pro wrestling belts, dude? They're an indie organization, but I think they have the nicest belts in wrestling, dude. Never made them, but I'm looking them up right now.
00:56:01
Speaker
Yeah, look up Deadlock Pro Wrestling. Deadlock.pro is their IG, man. They have some really, really nice-looking belts. Okay, I've seen that logo before, but I've never made their championships. I've never had anybody ask, though. Yeah, I see their women's belt. I really like it. I've made one of my favorite belts I ever made, and it's kind of funny to say it, is the
00:56:24
Speaker
Oh, the, what was, it was the company that used to be on YouTube and they were, uh, like Joe Hendry was their champion WCPW.
00:56:34
Speaker
wrestle what culture, what culture progress like. Yeah. Yeah. They ended up becoming defiant. I think I made the what culture championship and I was super excited about that. Um, and I've made like some rev pro stuff, some progress stuff. WWE has nice builds too. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and then like, I've even made MLW stuff.
00:56:57
Speaker
Yeah, the deadlock I haven't made. I've made a few, like a lot of indie belts even. JPD and I had joked about when we were doing the, that custom figure competition, we had joked about like doing the championship belt, just being like the big gold, but with like the logo over it, like how indies do or like doing the tags or whatever. But no, I can't think of anybody that I had just haven't.
00:57:23
Speaker
There's some belts I'd like to make. There's like a pro wrestling theme in like Hawaii or something. They have like Pacific Islander theme belts.
00:57:31
Speaker
That'd be cool. Those are cool. I want to do the Daniel Bryan
Exploring Unique Belt Designs and Themes
00:57:35
Speaker
belt. That's one that I'm mulling over in my head every day. I'm like, how can I do this right? You need to go all out. Actually go find a naturally fallen oak tree to carve the plates out of and stuff, man. It needs to be legit, dude, but just micro. Yeah, get some little turquoise shards. Yeah, I don't know about all that.
00:57:59
Speaker
I wonder if I could though. I wonder if I could do it like that. It's like he won my favorite titles. Just pulling back the curtain a little bit. I'm a real huge nerd about like... That was an awesome storyline for me. Yeah, regenerative farming and just being environmentally friendly and all this stuff. That's just who I am. It was a beautiful belt. And the belt was beautiful. Yeah. And it's like wood grain and everything. And then the storyline was amazing. I love Daniel Bryan.
00:58:25
Speaker
healing off on people and telling them they were eating their ultra-processed hot dogs. It's like, how is he the bad guy? Yes, exactly. The best deals are telling the truth, man. Exactly. All the best deals are telling the truth. Yeah, it's like, how are you hating this guy who's just wanting to do what's good for the planet and for animals and all this stuff, right? So yeah, I love that. If you can find a way to recreate that. Wrestling fans are the worst, dude.
00:58:52
Speaker
late 90s in WCW. There was the Kurt Hennig and I want to say Barry Wyndham was with, I forget who I was with them, but they were the West Texas Rednecks and they were supposed to be like, you know, low key, like racist, just like country Hicks and stuff, but the fans ended up cheering them and stuff. Like they were so few with the no limit soldiers and they were supposed to be the heels and all the wrestling fans were cheering for the races. Yeah. And you're just like, dude, what are you doing? You know,
00:59:18
Speaker
wrestling fans are the worst intro is the song called rap is crap. Even when gender Mahal started like in 2017, his whole kind of thing was like he had the whole like you hate me because I'm not American. And then Vince, Vince like turned it into really generic schlocky crap after that. But those were like where they were like, you know, they weren't just cookie cutter
00:59:40
Speaker
Yeah, they were working on a different level. Yeah, and it was like, it was a cool way that you could have gone about, you know, the whole foreigner as like succeeding. It's like, you just hate to see an immigrants to see, just hate to see somebody, you know, come here and work harder than other people. And then it just turned into like, stupid American. Yeah, yeah. Over the top. Yeah.
01:00:02
Speaker
I would love to make the Daniel Bryan belt. That's one that I, and then I tried so hard. I'm a huge acclaimed guy. I like freaking love the claim when I went to see him in St. Louis, I was a scissor belt. I have the strap cut. I couldn't get scissor me. Daddy asked us to the words to stay on it. I was so upset about it. I tried like every way to do it.
01:00:23
Speaker
But that's a belt that I would love to fully recreate, but I made a scissor. You can scissor with the belt. That leads into the next question, Zach Hertzler. Did I already read this one? Is there any title that hasn't been released in figure form yet that you think we need? I don't think I gave you that one yet. So yeah, the scissor me, the acclaimed titles would be good. What else do you think that we need that's in figure form that we haven't gotten yet?
01:00:49
Speaker
Uh, that's, let's think. So I would like to see the real, the real world championship, the Ric Flair like tag tag team one with just gold stones and set, you know, I'm talking about, it looks like the WWE tag. What you need, man is the, cause remember it was always blurred out on TV. You need to find a way to recreate the blurred effect.
01:01:08
Speaker
That would be nuts. Yeah, I could try something like that, but there's a way to do it and do some pixels and stuff. Yeah, you just need to do a little pixelated screen. Just make it pixelated, yeah. Just put it right on, glue it right on top of the plate. That would be kind of fun. A lot of people have asked for that belt, but no one has ever asked for the subsequent WCW belt.
01:01:30
Speaker
of what they used when he did leave, because they had like one or two shows where they just used like a random belt from, I think it was Dusty's Florida Fed, and they just put like a piece of like, you know, metal over it that had WCW written on it or something. That was their world title for a couple shows before they got the 93, the like, the Ron Simmons, that belt.
01:01:56
Speaker
Yeah. Have you done a 3D? I can't remember if I've seen it before. Have you done a 3D printed, uh, hardcore belt? Yeah. Done the hardcore belt. The hardcore belt is cool. I hate making it because I have to paint the strap. I hate painting straps. What about any of the, uh, those like WWE shop, like wrestler specific belts that
Challenges in Replicating Wrestling Belts
01:02:15
Speaker
they've dropped? I have guys ask about that all the time. And it seemed like that'd be pretty tricky, man, with all the different stuff going on. It's something that I like, you could replicate if you had, um,
01:02:26
Speaker
like a, a really nice like direct to garment printer or something, which I know some guys in the community have, but I haven't been able. I had like a lot of guys ask for that warrior one and stuff. And it's, it's just something that Brett, pink and black winged eagle. I was telling a guy that he was at, I was like, I could probably do like a pink strap and some black decals on it, you know, a hit man or something, but I couldn't, I couldn't do the,
01:02:51
Speaker
You know, and I'm the first person that if someone comes up with me as something and asks, I'm just like, yeah, you know, so-and-so might be able to do that better for you or something like that. But that's something that I don't have the ability to do yet. If it becomes like, cause they've done some really cool ones. Yeah. But I can't do any of those. Yeah. It'd be cool to see some, some of the, like the mankind one I had a lot of guys ask for with the straps around the big Eagle. And I might actually be able to do that. I tried a couple of times, but.
01:03:23
Speaker
Ivan says, he is with another question. He says, if I recall correctly, Dan is a horror fan. The fiend had a custom fiend belt made. Which horror character would Dan like to see have his very own custom title belt? Huge horror fan. Actually, my wife got third place at horror con this year in Chicago. No way. She was, we made a, it took up our whole summer. We made a midsummer costume. I don't know if you guys have ever seen that movie. It's about like a Swedish cult. It's like a cult. Yeah.
01:03:50
Speaker
But at the end of it, the lady has a full Florence Pugh has a full.
01:03:56
Speaker
like robe of roses, basically, and a crown of roses and flowers. Oh my gosh, you have to send me a picture of this. Oh no, he just pulled it up. I've seen it before, pretty crazy. Wow. It was super cool. And like we worked on that so hard. And so I would love to make a Midsummer themed wrestling belt. That would be cool. But my wife's also a giant Chucky fan. And I had a couple of guys actually ask me to make some Chucky belts for the show.
01:04:23
Speaker
But if I had to make one, it would be a Jason belt, like for sure.
01:04:29
Speaker
I'm still just over here jaw-dropped at this costume, this cosplay that your wife wore. It was super cool because the Terrifier actor stopped when we were walking out to look at it and all these actors wanted to talk to us about how cool the costume was. She only got third place. She lost to some store-bought Beetlejuice costume. The guy who won was Shaggy from Scooby-Doo.
01:04:55
Speaker
And the only reason he won is because he had a puppet and he did the shaggy puppet voice. And it was funny. I was like, that's, but it was cool. And, uh, you guys aren't from the area. Like Sven Gulli got to host it. Yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah. He's kind of like alvira, but like for like the Chicagoland area, my dad was talking to me about him and he was like,
01:05:18
Speaker
My dad watches single every like Saturday night or whatever and I'm like I'm going up to Chicago for this horror convention my dad's like it's been going to be there and I'm like that is a big convention I'm gonna meet Jason Voorhees is like spin cool he's not gonna freakin be there and he hosted the competition and the first day there was a line like out of the building and I was like what's this line for people to meet some gooey.
01:05:40
Speaker
And I was like, oh, I owe my dad an apology. Yeah, it's funny. Well, yeah. Like when you said, I mean, I know I knew immediately who Sven Gulli was. I didn't realize like it was just like a local Chicago thing. I was like, yeah, I know. I know who that is. He's not like public access in Chicago, I think. Yeah. But you get him down here to work. We're not like Midwest. You guys are Midwesterners again. So.
01:06:01
Speaker
Yeah, I know. All right. The last question that we got from the Foley fam, Tony Barker, he says, which championship that you worked on proved to be the toughest to complete. That's a cool. Okay. So I'm going to take this approach. I'll give you
01:06:21
Speaker
three different belts, okay? So the hardest one to model, right? So from just a computer sitting down and modeling standpoint to date is the current world heavyweight championship. It's not just flat, especially if you look at mine, like the lions are full 3D because it's a CNC machined belt. I think a trophy company made it not like a traditional belt maker.
01:06:48
Speaker
Um, it's got the raised globe ish and the shape they're in the center. There's some serious depth to it for sure. So it's, it's not as easy as just going in and drawing some shapes and cutting them out. So it took me like a couple of weeks to really nail it. Cause I would, I would like do a version of it and then I'd print it out and I'd be like, no, this is crap. And then like I'd come back and it kind of tested me. Um, like I had to, I had to go back and really like think about.
01:07:16
Speaker
changing some things. And I actually learned some things about 3D modeling in the process. So that was definitely the hardest belt to model. Still to this date, the hardest belt to manufacture is the all Japan triple crown because two of them have chains that run between all of the belts.
01:07:36
Speaker
Yeah, I remember you posted about how difficult it was. I think you did had Vader, right? Yes. And I've only made it three times to date. And I ended up coming up with a way where the chain actually runs the length of the full strap, but all of the plates have holes cut out of the back of them so the chain can fit between them.
01:07:56
Speaker
Yeah. And you have to assemble the belt and the chain off of the strap. So then the chains will still hang between the side plates and like kind of move you freely, you know? It just sounds like a headache. Yeah. It just sounds like a pain in the butt. But the belt, like, it has to be a little bit longer than the other belts and it's really stiff and rigid. And then, of course, it gets painted straps, too, because there's like a red lining around one of them and there's a red circle around one of them.
01:08:25
Speaker
And then by the time I've made both of them, I've been like, I just don't feel like this is great. So then it's like, you should probably charge more money. But I'm like, I don't even really like this. So I'm not going to charge more. So I usually will be like, I'll give you a discount. So those are the two hardest to actually manufacture. If I think about that new Roman belt, it kind of sucks because it's got
01:08:54
Speaker
of multiple colors to like, so raised colors are harder than lowered colors, if that makes sense. Like if I'm filling in voids, that's relatively easy in a belt. But if I'm doing stuff that's raised, I have to use a different paint and it's gotta be a different texture. And then it's gotta have a different sealer that comes over it to try to protect it. So that new Roman belt, it's like around the W is silver, the jewels are black.
01:09:24
Speaker
the letters in between the gold are silver, the jewels around the outside are silver and red. So it is tricky, but it's not, you know, just dual plated belts are hard too, because you got to make the decision when you're making it. What's, you know, is it easier to paint the whole thing gold and come back and fill the void silver? It's easier to paint the whole thing silver and come back and do the raised up gold. It's
01:09:49
Speaker
That's probably going to inside baseball. Trust me, dude, the listeners love hearing this kind of stuff, man. Yeah. Yeah, I could go on and on. Yeah, we got the hardcore of the hardcore. So I want to go ahead and we'll wrap this up.
Gratitude and Personal Stories
01:10:07
Speaker
Is there anything that you want to, you know, any closing thoughts before we get off here? We already asked you last time what your favorite match was, but we're going to give you a closing question this time. But before we do,
01:10:19
Speaker
Is there anything that you want to close us out with? So I definitely want to close out with saying that I wanted to call my, so I have one employee technically, right? He's my father-in-law, Kevin. He's the man. I wanted to call him so I could get him on here for a second just to talk because I always tell him, I'm like, he used to go live with me a lot and he's been dealing with some health stuff. I always tell him like,
01:10:43
Speaker
One of these days, I'm going to do a podcast, man, and I want you to be on it with me. And he's like, oh, no, no, I could never do that. And I'm like, dude, no one cares. I just want to hear you talk about it because he's got some of these absolute craziest stories growing up in Chicago and like talking about in like he helps me out with the belts. He helps me get him ready for paint and stuff. And like he he has his own opinions on belts based solely off of how difficult they are to get taped down to the to the board to paint.
01:11:12
Speaker
So it'd be interesting to hear people talk because he hates the winged eagle because the little pieces break off sometimes. And it's stuff like that. So I wish I could get him on but he couldn't. He wasn't feeling well enough tonight. But closing thought is just like, if
01:11:30
Speaker
you know, thank you. I would never, like you said, you know, last year, this time we were on here, it means the world to me that enough people support me to still have me on a year later and still care and hear people ask questions. And just to hear that Ivan remembered that I like horror and stuff like that. That's super cool. And that like means the whole world to me. And so I just want to thank everybody for supporting me and thank everybody for being so cool because like,
01:11:57
Speaker
nobody has to be cool. Everybody could be a jerk and just be like, Oh, those things suck. Just get them from this person or whatever. And people so rarely do that. But if you have been waiting for a long time for a belt, do me a big favor and just, just reach out to the email and I will try my best to get to it. Unless of course tomorrow or whenever this goes up, 800 people reach out to the email then that I can't do anything about it.
01:12:22
Speaker
Awesome. Well, I was going to hit you with a closing question, but that was, that was really heartfelt and awesome. And please, you know, let Kevin know that we're thinking about him and we're working for him. And yeah, and the Chick Foley show is fully behind him. So Dan, thank you so much for being on with us again. Again, we talked about before, we're going to have to make this our December
01:12:46
Speaker
We're going to hang the stockings up, put the tree up, and we're going to get Dan on for an interview to give us a recap of everything that's happened in the custom belt world in the previous year. Same time next year. We'll do it again, man. Definitely. Awesome. Thanks, Dan.
01:13:19
Speaker
you