STANDARD H Podcast

Everyone’s entrepreneurial journey is different, and to me, that’s what’s so fascinating about the experience. It’s also part of the reason I started this podcast because I knew no two stories would be alike. Taking this into account one might argue that Dan Mirth’s business started like many others in that he created products he wanted himself only to find out others were willing to buy them. However, this is also where his story differs. You see, Dan built a desk and then his wife Sarah found a product competition to submit it for…and they won second place. Then they submitted the design to another competition and in a week, they branded the business Artifox, built the brand’s website, even shot a video - all in a week! Oh, and then wound up being selected as one of the winners. If that isn’t efficiency at its finest I don’t know what is. I recall a Venn diagram where the three circles were comprised of Awesome Brand, Quality Product, and Cheap (or) Discounted, and the middle where the three intersect stated THIS DOESNT EXIST. Well, I’m here to tell you: Artifox is about as close as it comes to that brand existing. It’s tasteful, it’s cool, it’s very well-designed, it’s functional, it’s timeless, all while being affordable considering the industry in which it exists. We explore Dan’s beginnings including the Thanksgiving soccer matches that occur in his sister’s basement - you read that right - in her basement, and how Dan was meant to be an engineer but decided to apply his understanding of how things function and couple it with his creative outlet of design. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation getting to know Dan and hear what could be described as an ethics-based approach to running his business, who incidentally happens to be a cyclist, as well, but I’ll let him tell it…

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Artifox

https://theartifox.com/

@theartifox

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

This week we’re talking beer! And it’s another example of me having the good fortune of sitting down with an awesome friend and having a conversation about their burgeoning business. Often the feedback from these episodes involves some version of, “I love these podcasts because I feel like I’m right there with you, drinking a beer with you guys.” Well, good news: Matt DelVecchio and I did just that as we discuss the origin story and the ins and outs of his company, Duckfoot Brewery which is based right here in San Diego. Matt starts by schooling us on the different scales that define beer and where Hazy IPA’s fall on those scales, and how a particular wedding gift changed his life. Matt is actually my former neighbor in the Leucadia area of Encinitas, California - I moved; he didn’t - and I’ve had the pleasure of literally tasting his success as his beer business has grown over the last 6 years. We talk about his New York beginnings, his move to San Diego to start the brewery, the creativity behind the brand and Matt makes a solid case for leaving your surfboard at home and taking a hand plane instead. We wrap things up with some insight into Matt’s participation in a Phish cover band and a heart-felt story about a family-owned Jeep Cherokee, which I was super excited to hear.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Duckfoot Brewing

https://duckfootbeer.com/

@duckfootbeer

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

I could easily talk to most guests on the podcast for far longer than these episodes allow, and no one sits in the category more than Adrian Barker, and that’s exactly why he is the first guest to be on the show for a second time. The first part of this episode was truly just us catching up and I wasn’t going to leave it in, but when editing our conversation, I felt there was a very honest sense of vulnerability that inspired me to include it in the post. Given the fact neither of us are natural self-promoters in this age of “Look at me”, I wanted to share it as I hope it will help others know they’re not alone in their hesitations. We have an incredible amount of overlap when it comes to the ways we view the world of business and as you’ll find in this episode, the ways we view the world on a personal level, as well. Happiness is something we all strive for, and Adrian and I discuss the process of finding it. We take it a step further by identifying how happiness relates to luxury watches, and things that are otherwise characterized as materialistic. I thoroughly enjoy getting to know Adrian more and more, and it’s fairly obvious given the amount of laughter in this episode, and it was really great to swap stories and experiences as we dive deeper into his Ecommerce business and his overall growth as a content creator. Adrian’s just as real as it gets, and this is exactly why I know we could’ve easily made this episode 3 hours. But a condensed round 2 will have to do for now.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Adrian Barker

https://barkandjack.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvIIb5YF8sUnm1D62jCvVVw

@barkandjack

@iambarks

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

I met today’s guest - how else these days but through Instagram - where my budding friendship with him came through a series of domino effects from this very podcast. Charlotte, NC-based Noah Williams is a marketer, videographer and influencer with over 100k followers, and deservedly so given his taste in style, let alone his palette for watches, whiskey & wine. We talk about small towns in North Carolina, feeling like an outsider, skateboarding, and how all of those things often lead to an interest in fashion. Noah tells the story of his early days growing his Instagram account and falling deeper and deeper into the world of watches. Now, Noah is one of several contributors to Crown & Caliber, and in turn, Hodinkee, and he’s also a bourbon fan with a new found interest in wine, so we chat about those avenues as well. And the conversation wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t share some automotive stories, and as a fellow GTI owner, we have fun with some car talk including a dicey speeding ticket Noah acquired in Texas.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Noah Williams

@noahwilliamsstyle

@noahwilliams_pr

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

One of my favorite things about doing this podcast is every once in a while, a longtime friend agrees to be a guest and today’s one of those days. I’ve known Timothy Hogan for roughly 11 years, and I feel the level of comfort in recording this episode is abundantly clear. Tim is an incredibly talented photographer, woodworker and one of my favorite people to surf with though it doesn’t happen nearly as often as I’d like. We discuss his journey from growing up in Connecticut where he failed as a middle school saxophone player to leading the charge to relocate to California and convincing several friends to do the same…mainly in the name of surfing. As a result there’s some surf chat and it’s certainly safe to say, there’s a good amount of nerdy photography chat, as well as some good car talk: Volkswagen vans, specifically. We wrap up the episode discussing Tim’s parents including his mom who does CrossFit. It’s always great to spend some time with Tim, and I’m stoked to share a glimpse into his life and our friendship, so I hope you enjoy it.

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Timothy Hogan

https://www.timothy-hogan.com/

https://www.timothyhoganstudio.com/

@timothyhogan

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

If you follow STANDARD H, chances are good you also follow Wei Koh. He’s the founder and creator of Revolution Magazine, a magazine exploring the world of watches, and The Rake, a traditional menswear magazine that’s one of only a handful of magazines I subscribe to. Wei has been very open in interviews, so I strived to ask questions I haven’t heard before. Never a disappointment, Wei does a beautiful job combining his signature self-deprecation alongside sincerity which is one of my favorite abilities of his. We talk about drinking, being a late bloomer, and his understanding of how certain people find success. I ask him how he recommends smaller brands reach a larger audience, and his answer is incredibly insightful. We also go into a bit of car talk and how his lack of interest to play golf is what got him into cycling. Watches, cars, and bikes - to say this man has taste would be a drastic understatement. Wei has served as an incredible inspiration to me not only through his business ethics but also by way of his unabashed embrace of being himself. He’s a trend setter and one hell of a writer. Though I had many more questions, Wei was incredibly generous with his time even as we went longer than he’d scheduled.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Wei Koh

@wei_koh_revolution

https://revolutionwatch.com/

@revolution.watch

https://therake.com/

@therake

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

I’ve been a big fan of today’s guest for several years, so I was certainly excited to chat with him. Tim Mosso is one of only a few people I watch online for reviews & news within the world of watches. I’ve always enjoyed his straight-forward delivery, his seemingly encyclopedic knowledge and it helps he and I have other interests in common such as automotive racing and cycling. We talk about how his military service prepared him for his current role as “The Watch Specialist” for Watchbox, and how his first 800 Watch-related videos were shot to differentiate his content from that of blogs such as HODINKEE. Needless to say Tim was onto something, and much, much more. I wanted to get to know the man under the Oakley’s and today you will, too. Tim sure has his hands in more horological cookie jars than one can even imagine, and we get into a healthy amount of car talk. I’m excited to have you hear him share it all.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Tim Mosso

@tim_mosso

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

Today’s guest is a salesman who has sold everything from phone contracts to cashmere. Davide Baroncini is the owner of Ghiaia, a menswear label based in Pasadena, CA but as you can imagine, the road from Italy to California wasn’t a straight shot. And it was for this reason I was delighted to sit down with him to hear him share his story. Ghiaia is producing some of the best sweaters I’ve come across in recent memory and once you hear the labels for which Davide has worked, you’ll soon understand why...Brunello Cucinelli being the standout for sure. I truly enjoyed this conversation due to the absolute exposure of Davide’s passion. You can really hear how important clothing is, and not at all for superficial reasons, rather how it makes one feel and the emotional impact clothing has on and individual. He’s an Italian and a man of style as redundant as that may seem...and he has an affinity for cars and watches making Davide a prime suspect for this show. We’re becoming good friends so I’m super happy he was willing to take part and I hope you enjoy it.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Ghiaia

https://ghiaiacashmere.com/

@ghiaiacashmere

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

Del Gregory is a UK-based creative who has certainly led a fascinating life of travel which has historically been driven by his work as a photographer. He began his professional career at the ripe age of 20 as a fashion photographer, but he then found a groove shooting architecture - luxury hotels and exotic locations mainly. As retirement was looming, Del decided to create a new type of magazine called B500, an online-only periodical featuring various cars and people from around the world. Impressive is the word that immediately comes to mind given he launched just before COVID-19 took the world by storm. Like many of us, Del is a one man band and his work now includes 7 issues of B500 - again, an incredibly impressive feat given the last year of our existence. We go into how he’s grown his audience while exploring how he defines B500’s success. We chat about his early days getting into the weeds of photography as well as the equipment he uses. Del even gives us a glimpse into his life being chauffeured in helicopters around islands in the Indian Ocean. What a life that must have been! All that and more in what was truly a fun conversation with Del!

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

B500 Magazine

https://issuu.com/b500magazine

@b500magazine

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime

Today’s guest is Jarnard Sutton. I actually met Jarnard as he was walking down the sidewalk in front of my house while I was checking my mail. It was one of the more random introductions I’ve had in recent memory. We chatted for roughly 10 minutes that day and I found out several things: he lives near me, he enjoys IPA’s and he’s a content creator. This was all the information I needed to realize we’d become friends. And it’s certainly been fun getting to know some of my friends even further through this podcast, and this conversation is definitely no exception. Jarnard talks about life in North Carolina as a black kid listening to rock music, and how he was led down the punk rock road by the most unpredictable source. Jarnard is definitely a hustler. He worked multiple jobs at once to make ends meet, and offers a glimpse into what stress can really do to a person. Meanwhile, as Jarnard was trying to break into radio, he created a podcast in the same way many DJ’s would. He created playlists through the platform that effectively served as his own radio station. His resilience is inspiring to say the least. All of this is what led to his start in the audio/video space for restaurants - a segment I love following along through his social media platforms. This episode is a little different by way of Jarnard turning the tables on me a little bit. It’s definitely more of a two-way discussion after learning Jarnard’s story. It was a fun exercise so I hope you enjoy it.

Links:

STANDARD H

https://standard-h.com/

@standardh_

@standardh_podcast

Jarnard Sutton

https://www.thenardcast.com/

@thenardcast

Passion Fine Jewelry

https://passionfinejewelry.com/

@passionfinejewelry

Independent in Time

https://www.independentintime.com/

@independentintime