STANDARD H Podcast

Brett King and I met roughly 6 years ago through golf in a roundabout way. I used to manage the Scotty Cameron Gallery in Encinitas, California and Brett was a customer. Funny, I have met so many wonderful people working retail and many of my best friends to this day have come into my life the same way Brett did. After chatting about putters and accessories, I later found out Brett designed helmets for race car drivers - something that intrigued me given I was about a year into starting STANDARD H as a side hustle. We immediately clicked and much like STANDARD H, Brett’s path has taken some twists and turns. We start our conversation somewhat existentially, and Brett allows a glimpse into his art background and how he maintains his artistry within an industry that’s beginning to use more and more technology as opposed to his handmade approach to helmet graphics. Brett and I had actually recorded during the Pandemic, but we encountered some audio issues - twice, in fact - so it was only fair for me to make my way to his current home town of Las Vegas where we recorded. Making things even more fun, we got out for a round of golf earlier that afternoon with his awesome wife, Tiffany, and my buddy Jonathan. We had a blast and I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, and I think you will, too.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Brett King Design

https://brettkingdesign.com/

@brettkingdesign

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

I can’t stress how wonderful the world of watches has been and the people I’ve met through the hobby. Todays guest has become a great friend over the years and I love any opportunity I can get to hang out with him and at the very least: talk to him. James Lamdin is a big personality usually comprised of a big smile, fun energy and never short of an opinion and I absolutely adore this about him. We share a love for Aloha shirts, so it’s always great knowing I have a botanical brother from another mother on the east coast. The Watch Journey is something many of you are familiar with, but I’d like to explore people’s car journeys as well! A couple of months ago, I reached out to James and asked if he’d want to come back on the show and just talk about cars. He quickly replied with an emphatic yes and, well, here we are! Today’s episode is nothing more than a fun catch-up session with a wander through the list of cars James has owned as well as the ones he still garages today. And if you lived in the 80’s, be prepared for some significant standouts from television. I’m so thankful for his friendship, and if you haven’t heard episode # 8, check that out after this, as I’m confident you’ll enjoy it. For now, here’s the most recent conversation I’ve had with James which also includes his latest Doxa release.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

James Lamdin / Analog Shift

https://www.analogshift.com/

@analogshift

@jameslamdin

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

As a watch enthusiast, it's tough not to utterly admire what Max Busser has brought to the industry. Not just his products, but his approach to business and collaboration as a whole. He and I certainly share the mindset of such platitudes of "A rising tide lifts all ships" and knowing it "takes a village" so to speak. And it is his love of community that originally sparked my interest in his company, MB&F (Max Busser & Friends). There's some interesting background on him naming his company, as well. Max's professional journey is fascinating, and though he warned me that he tends to ramble, his talking really only exposed how much about him I didn't already know. He has a wonderful way of articulating why his company is the way it is, and so much so, he often answered questions before I even asked them! I'm proud to share this as I haven't heard Max speak this openly about his company, including the advantage of being scared and welcoming competition. I think you're really going to appreciate what he has to say. When we wrap things up bringing cars into the mix, Max shares his passion for hand-built cars. Though I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, it's also not every day one discusses the likes of TVR Griffiths & Wiesmans. This conversation was such a pleasure to take part in, and I couldn't be thankful for Max and his time. We actually chatted for about 15 minutes after ending the podcast portion where Max asked me questions about STANDARD H - clearly illustrating his openly caring nature. I may be biased, but I feel like the world needs more creative, outside-the-box, thought-provoking business owners who actually care about others and aren't so insular and selfish in their thinking. In other words, more people like Max.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Max Busser / MB&F

https://www.mbandf.com/en

@mbandf

@maxbusser

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

Jonathan Segal is someone I’ve wanted to interview for years. When STANDARD H launched I had called his firm to see if they would mind me hosting an image of theirs on my website as the home served as an inspiration to the brand. They politely agreed and even though the website no longer hosts that image, this conversation will be present instead. Jonathan has designed some of the most recognizable buildings in and around San Diego. Primarily characterized as Brutalist architecture, his buildings’ façades clad in concrete often house people as well as businesses - labeled as “mixed use” - the approach has been quite popular over the last couple of decades. However, not many are as aesthetically pleasing to me as Jonathan’s creations. A funny thing about Jonathan is there may be several of you listening who already now of him for an entirely different reason, and that’s his incredible car collection. He has shown at the Quail, and has won several awards over the years. When we recorded this conversation, he had driven a ‘73 911 RS in chartreuse to work which looks incredible - so you’ll have to check out the Instagram post for photos. Needless to say we dive into architecture, his cars and even talk watches. I really love the analogy Jonathan comes up with comparing buildings to blue jeans, so I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Jonathan Segal Architect

https://www.jonathansegalarchitect.com/

@jonathansegalfaia

@jonathan.segal

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

Atom Moore and I met several years ago during my first visit to Analog Shift when they were still in their WeWork space. I didn’t realize we hadn’t seen one another since until we connected for this podcast. Strange how time flies. Atom and I are of a similar age, so naturally, we share a lot of the same memories of growing up as teenagers in the 90s. We both devoted a ton of time and energy to the early days of the mountain biking as well as shared an affinity for bands like Metallica. Today, Atom is a professional photographer, primarily acting as a freelancer for Watch brands and companies within the Watch industry. He’s gained quite the following and admiration due to his incredible macro photography of some of the most sought after time pieces many of us adore. I certainly encourage you to check out Atom’s work as he often partners with the likes of Vacheron, Grand Seiko, and a couple of former brands hosted right here in Autodromo and Brew Watches. However, alongside the stills of close-up content, Atom also shoots video and gives us a wonderful explanation why. This was a fun conversation as Atom takes us down the road of how he grew his appreciation for the medium of photography and walks us through his approach to some his more abstract horological art pieces. We wrap things up of course with some car talk and Atom shared stories of his latest acquisition featuring its own Instagram account so stay tuned for that.

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Atom Moore

https://www.atommoore.com/

@atommoore

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

Ben Tarlow has a history with vintage cars unlike most who’ve been on this podcast. He and I were introduced by friend of the show, Kyle Snarr, and we hit it off immediately. We were less than 5 minutes in, when I learned about Ben’s family business - one I’ve been familiar with, as well as a big fan of for decades! Ben decided to go in a different direction, professionally, however, and began his vintage car import business. Primarily dealing with Alfa Romeos in the greater New York area for several years, it wasn’t until the Pandemic that he formed Morton Street Partners alongside two friends. Located in NYC’s West Village, Ben and his partners have created something rather unique that blends cars, art and commerce like I’ve never seen before, and at the root of the operation lies inclusion and growing collector communities which I find to be really inspiring. This was a super fun, and fairly concise conversation, so I’m excited not only to share it with you, but also for the prospect of following up with the guys at MSP very soon.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Morton Street Partners

https://www.mortonstreetpartners.com/

@mortonstreetpartners

Ben Tarlow

@midcenturymotoring

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

Back in the Fall, I made my way back to my home state of North Carolina which is where I met up with today’s guest, Chris Powers. Much in the way of previous guest, David Weiss, Chris and I realized we’d met before at the store I had been working at right after college. Today, Chris owns Trophy Brewing, one of my favorite Breweries in North Carolina. Having worked for large companies as well as some more local establishments, Chris took his expertise into a fairly casual conversation with a friend about starting their own thing, and well, they certainly made that happen. Trophy has grown somewhat exponentially since they started, and it was not only fun to learn a bit about the beer world of Raleigh, but also to get into the weeds of how to start such a business. Chris was incredibly open regarding sharing information about their 4-person partnership, the acquisitions of real estate and how Trophy plans to keep reaching the tastebuds of those in & around the Southeast. We also discuss their new distillery and later touch on Chris’s history with cars, being a dad, and automotive-inspired pizza? You’ll hear about it...

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Trophy Brewing

https://www.trophybrewing.com/

@trophybrewing

Chris Powers

@powershour

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

I first learned about Brew Watches through HODINKEE as many of you may have. Former podcast guest James Stacey always seems to know how to get my attention through his words and photos and his features of Jonathan Ferrer’s espresso machine-inspired chronograph was no exception. A chronograph that times an espresso shot, now that’s something you don’t see every day. And same goes for the TV set shape of the Brew Metric’s case. Definitely drawing from the 60’s & 70’s this $395 chronograph and it’s vintage radio-inspired color palette is also nothing if not attention-grabbing. And all of this coming the gentleman I’m speaking to as he sits in the driver seat of his 2019 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Jonathan is my kind of guy. He’s an east coaster with a history of riding bikes, listening to the likes of Nirvana & early 2000’s pop punk, and he’s been the one man band behind Brew Watches…that is, up until a week before recording this podcast. I’m excited to share his story and certainly appreciate his candor when it comes to his approach to design and decision making. I think you’ll enjoy this one.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Jonathan Ferrer 

https://www.brew-watches.com/

@brewwatches

@johnferrer

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

Charles Stanley is one of the more energetic, positive people I know. He and I first connected over Instagram to later meet in person for the first time, where else than Luftgekuhlt. Charles and I quickly bonded over our love of cars as well as cycling. We both used to race mountain bikes in the 90’s - he at a much higher level than I ever did, and we still chat about bikes and riding through our DMs and text which is always fun. What I love about doing these podcasts with friends is they inevitably unearth information I didn’t know previously. Such is the case when Charles began talking about his younger days rock climbing in the New River Gorge and then opening an outdoor store! His first car was a good one, and from a lineage standpoint, a perfect compliment to what he currently drives on the rallies he organizes called Targa Carolina. That car, a backdated 911 occupies several minutes, as Charles is effectively associated with his car and vice versa, so it was great to explore the car’s history and details. Charles and I, of course, get into some watch talk which opens the door to discuss his company, Rotor Supply. This episode almost couldn’t be more on par with what STANDARD H stands for, so this was incredibly fun.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Charles Stanley

https://www.therotorsupply.com/

@cstanman

@therotorsupply

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

Today’s guest is the founder of a company many of you watch fans have heard of time and again, and my history with Ken Jacobs spans the better part of 10 or so years. So this conversation was a fun version of memory lane to take a stroll down, which we do just that out of the gate. The recording of this episode also happened to fall on the day I took delivery of my 5513 Submariner - a watch I consider to be my grail Sub. Ken does not come from a watch background, in fact, he had an entirely different career prior to starting Wanna Buy a Watch. More on that in the chat, and it was fun to dive deep into his history with time pieces, and how he became one of the preeminent dealers of pre-owned and vintage watches selling to many of the watch collectors with whom you and I are surely quite familiar. Something that seems to run in the Wanna Buy A Watch Family is a sense of humor. The store is a warm embrace, and as we sat in the living room-like section in the front, a lot of laughing took place and Ken was nothing shy of a great host. Needless to say, we take some twists and turns, including some neon clock discussion. Ken offers a wonderful glimpse into his life and I can’t thank him enough for his candor. As a result I didn’t edit much at all out of this conversation - mainly because I feel it really gives you a sense of who Ken is and his delivery which I love. At the end of the day, he just wants to get great watches into the hands of great people, and I think that’s why we keep coming back. If you haven’t visited Ken and his team there on Melrose, I highly recommend it.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Wanna Buy a Watch

https://wannabuyawatch.com/

@wannabuyawatch

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime