Blacktop Banter

With the 'in-person' event of NPE getting cancelled this year, Russ and his team have presented what will be the virtual version of the conference called National Pavement Conference Live! Russ goes over all the valuable information regarding the website, schedule, speakers, registration and cost to attendees (hint: Its free). -Marvin

When I went dow the "Slap Fight" rabbit hole, it was by pure accident. I was watching some UFC Highlights, clicked some Russian videos in the suggested column to the right, watched those and seen these guys slapping each other so hard they were KOing each other. Next thing I know, I seen some suggested video that were Americans doing it. One person dominated the highlights of these videos. The Cra...

If 2020 showed me anything, it was were my weaknesses were as a business owner. One that was glaring to me at the end of the season was just how unorganized I was, especially in my role as the leader. I always preach efficiency to my team, but realized, I was incredibly inefficient with my tasks. One person I know, that juggles a lot of tasks and hats in this world, is my buddy Brian Hess of The P...

I knew of Florida Sealcoating before I first met Jason last year at NPE. I knew of his company beforehand because of their instagram presence. Florida was always a curious state in my mind when I came to sealcoating, mainly because they are on the opposite side of the country from WI and their pavement can't need protected like ours does up here....does it? After meeting and talking to Jason (who...

I first stumbled upon Carlos on instagram a couple years ago. I seen a suggested video of a beautiful drone shot on a beach, and realized it was actually part of a marketing video being created. I then seen a video of a "floating breakfast" in Bali, and realized it was the same creator of the first video... I clicked the follow button. Fast forward to this year and I have now followed our guest, C...

If you have been to NPE at all over the last decade, you have seen Tom Eosso. The guy is just as, if not more, hyped to be there than I am. That's because we both love seeing and communicating with our peers. We both have a passion for our industry. I learn something from Tom every time I speak with him, or just so happen to sit in on one of his courses at the National Pavement Expo. Tom and his b...

Had a great time talking with my longtime friend and Manager of the Minnesota SealMaster, Jack Pakalski. Jack and his family have owned and operated the Wisconsin Franchise for many years and recently took over the Minnesota area as well within the last couple years. The Pakalski family have always created a great product for us here in Wisconsin and have delivered on customer service that seems t...

"The Modern Asphalt Aesthetic", Thats the Motto of my friend Braden's company in Kelowna, BC, Canada. When you look and the style and brand of ORCA Asphalt Maintenance, it shows through. From everything looking clean smooth and crisp, from the equipment to the jobs, everything transitions smoothly and you can tell its all with Porpoise (see what I did there?). Seriously though, the quantity and qu...

Ryan Behan and I have known each other for a few years now, albeit only digitally. He is very active in many online Facebook groups every since he started his business. Thats the magic of it, we have been able to witness him grow Ginger cat Sealcoating from start until now. Hailing from Greenfield, Mass, Ryan is a unique guy, who embraces it and uses it to his advantage. We go over his gameplay, m...

Mike Nawa has been in the Asphalt Maintenance industry for 44 years, Mainly sweeping, but doing all aspects over the years.  Based in Pennsylvania, Mike goes over how to start and run a sweeping business, including how to land those lucrative commercial clients. The conversation goes into how to "add" to your top line as being the parking lot contractor that is there more than anybody else. W...

SYSTEMS!!! BRO YOU NEED SYSTEMS! That was a text I got one morning this summer from my friend Kris Love from Loves Asphalt Solutions. We both were making moves to grow and expand this summer and Kris wanted to talk systems. After a phone call, I said we needed to talk about this topic on the podcast once our seasons slowed down, so here it is. Thanks for Listening. -Marvin

My guest Hal Davis and I both purchased Clean Sealcoat rigs for our company this year, and made a bet on who can keep it the cleanest by the end of the sealcoat season....winner gives the other their company hat. Hal was wearing my hat for this podcast. Thats right, I lost. Hal owns HD Seal & Stripe, LLC out of New Hampshire, and we talk about a myriad of topics such as: how the season went, w...

Been a couple months since the Last podcast. The time off gets explained, what we've been up to, what products/equipment we tried and what is going on in the future. -Marvin

Caught some news about a Sealmaster/GemSeal buyout or merger or something, so dug around a little on it and only caught a little info, but sharing what I know. Also, I go into our experience with SealMaster here in WI and why we have stuck with them through the years at Wis-Coat. -Marvin

Quick Podcast here on Fathers Day Morning. Talking Products, Comparisons, Covid, Adjustments and what we are up to for Father's Day. Been a crazy busy season so far, and we are really stoking the fire to try to keep caught up around here and one way we aim to do it is by adding more equipment and products to help us out...Mid-Season, which I hate to do. How has Covid effected us so far this season...

Russ Turner is the Associate Show Director of NPE and has been for the last 4ish years. He has became a good friend of mine and we quickly realized that we have the same goals for our community and industry. We talk about the show last year, what to expect with the show this year and the all-time asked question, "When can we get a venue with outdoor demos?!"  Russ gives us the rundown on it a...

Recently had a comment underneath my comment in a Facebook group where I said "trying to keep up with the Madness", and the comment said "what Madness?". I figured I'd give some insight into what I/We deal with here in WI during our season at Wis-Coat. Im sure everybody else's seasons and businesses look different, but our main theme here to fight back the initial tidal Wave of our season is KEEP...

Kolby Parks, is the 2018 World Street Luge Champion hailing from Picton....somewhere in Canada. He first fell in love with the sport at age 12 watching the X Games on television. Following the show he immediately went outside to build his first luge out of an old skateboard he received for Christmas. Growing up on a farm, Parks had materials he needed to build a homemade plywood track he and his f...

First solo run in a bit. Had a brief moment this AM before we headed toward a big project to get some thoughts and ideas out there. I discuss how we are transitioning some roles in Wis-Coat to get ready for growth, among other things. Talk about what is going on here lately at Wis-Coat and how we stay in contact as a team before the workday starts and after, via our Snapchat group...and how it hel...

Chant Singvongsa is a 35 Year old Serial Entrepreneur. He came over from Laos when he was 5 years old. Grew up poor and broke. Living in state housing and was on welfare. Growing up he always felt like he never fit in any where in life.  Was a Troubled young kid in high school and Dropped out of high school so he could work. Years later he quit everything that was not good nor healthy and foc...

If you know NASCAR then you know my friend Spencer. Spencer  Boyd is professional stock car driver. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series , driving the No. 20 Chevy Silverado. Boyd has previously competed  in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series . Spencer has even won at Talladega. Besides being a down to earth d...

David came from outside the industry, to starting his own business within it. He has a great start-up story along with some insight, tips and downright funny bits. They have made the leap to become a full service, including making their own RAP, and all around Name Brand in their area. Their Instagram presence is growing and getting noticed, as they are tackling some large projects and showing off...

Jason Vaughan and his brothers went from a Seal Tank bought from some random dude in a trailer court, to being a Standout name (Vaughan Sealcoating & Paving) in the Pavement industry and in the NJ/East Coast game. We did in on how they went from workers to business owners, and went from sealcoating to paving their own projects. Jason is a friend of mine and allows me to ask some decent questio...

With a big family to support and a nonstop work ethic, Keith has made a business that has stood the test of time and navigated the ups and downs through many years. In this episode, we go over what it takes to make it on this quest, and how to keep the faith...and find it, while building a successful Company and Brand, in the Asphalt industry. -Marvin

Friend of the podcast Kodey, asked me to cover this topic and it actually came up in a recent zoom call I was in on TCS, so I figured it might be the right time of the year to talk about it. I cover what it says in the title, but also talk about my "Manilla Envelope Tactic", which I hope helps some of y'all out. Be Safe. -Marvin