The Deep End with Eric Triplett

The aquarium world is getting smaller, more specialized, and far more innovative. Recorded at AquaSwap 2026, this conversation with Nolan of Nolan's Aquarium explores how the fish-keeping industry is evolving as hobbyists shift toward nano tanks, aquatic plants, and Madaka ricefish—and why independent businesses need to evolve with them. Nolan shares how his business moved away from breeding large...

Some industry problems do not last because they are too hard to solve. They last because the right people never work together. This conversation unpacks a long-running pond filtration issue through the story of two experts whose refusal to collaborate left a major solution sitting on the sidelines for years. Kent Wallace explains how he developed "The Fix," a modification kit designed to restore t...

Eric interviews content creator Logan Rando during a live event at Aqua Swap. Rando explains how he uses his acting and improv background to produce viral "man on the street" videos that introduce the niche aquarium hobby to the general public. He details his strict code of ethics for filming strangers organically and emphasizes the importance of maintaining positive social dynamics during intervi...

Eric explores the Japanese concept of Sakura, using the transient bloom of cherry blossoms to highlight the fleeting nature of life and beauty. The speaker connects this cultural philosophy to the world of koi husbandry, explaining how these "living pieces of art" reach peak perfection only for a brief moment before aging. Through personal anecdotes about Japanese tattoo artistry and backyard pond...

Today's episode shows how a growth-oriented mindset and expansive belief systems are essential for professional success. Eric argues that individuals often limit themselves by being "realistic," whereas unrealistic thinking allows for much larger achievements and innovations. By referencing high-performance figures like Kobe Bryant and Kanye West, he emphasizes the power of visualization and daily...

Today Eric addresses the psychological and operational hurdles of scaling a business past the three-million-dollar mark. Triplett introduces the concept of "logic versus logic," contrasting the natural assumption that employees should "just know" their jobs with the professional reality that Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are required for true consistency. Using the "Peanut Butter and Jelly...

Eric teaches about the vital role of clarity and specificity in achieving professional and personal growth for contractors and business owners. He emphasizes that feeling "stuck" is often a symptom of undefined goals, suggesting that asking customers and oneself "what is holding you back?" can reveal hidden obstacles. To bridge these gaps, the discussion outlines four key areas of improvement: ski...

Today's episode features a discussion on the Cobra Effect, a phenomenon where superficial solutions to problems inadvertently make them worse. The speaker illustrates this through historical examples like bounty-driven snake breeding in India and China's one-child policy, which eventually led to unsustainable demographic shifts. He translates these lessons to the business world, warning entreprene...

Eric emphasizes the critical distinction between setting goals and managing priorities. He argues that many business owners struggle because their daily schedules do not reflect their stated ambitions, suggesting that calendar management is the ultimate indicator of one's true values. Through personal anecdotes, Triplet describes how he recently pivoted his financial targets and delayed a book pro...

Eric and the Podhouse crew discuss their experience during the second day of the Sponsor Games, a collaborative event for content creators. Alongside his partners, Triplett describes a high-pressure challenge where teams had to follow a brand brief to script, film, and edit a sixty-second promotional video for Shure microphones in just over an hour. The group details their creative process, includ...

Eric Triplett and Mike Garvey debrief after the first day of the Sponsor Games event in San Antonio. Led by industry expert Justin Moore, the intensive workshop focuses on teaching creators and entrepreneurs how to move beyond basic sponsorships toward building mutually beneficial brand partnerships. They candidly discuss the logistical challenges of the event, such as high temperatures and techni...

Today's podcast is a conversation between Eric Triplett, a high-drive "Challenger" personality, and Mike Garvey, a strategic "Achiever." The two entrepreneurs discuss how their distinct Enneagram personality types led to the accidental formation of 38 Special Productions, a media company focused on the contracting industry. They detail the origin of their partnership, explaining how they combine t...

In this episode, Eric and his colleagues discuss the necessity of defining specific goals when attending professional conferences. While staying at a unique headquarters in San Antonio for the Sponsor Games, the group emphasizes that most attendees fail to see a return on investment because they lack a strategic game plan. Triplet explains his methods for proactive networking, such as using intent...

Eric shares a "debriefing" session following the maiden voyage of the Podhouse, a collaborative content creation initiative based at an Airbnb in Las Vegas. Podcasters Eric Triplet, Mike Garvey, Larry DelliSanti, and John Pajak evaluate their experiences at the ConExpo convention, specifically highlighting the success of their "booth takeovers" and the attention-grabbing power of their coordinated...

Host Eric Triplet advocates for modern safety helmets as a superior alternative to traditional hard hats for contractors. The discussion highlights how new technology featuring chin straps and advanced impact-absorbing materials offers significantly better protection against brain injuries and falls. James from Caco America explains that these helmets are designed to be cooler and more versatile t...

Eric interviews Andrew Strobel, an R&D lead from Vermeer , during the ConExpo trade show in Las Vegas. The discussion highlights a groundbreaking partnership with Interlune to develop robotic trenching technology designed to excavate lunar soil, known as regolith. By adapting terrestrial engineering for low-gravity environments, the project aims to eventually extract Helium-3 from the moon's surfa...

Eric interviews Steve Weldon, a product specialist from Vermeer , during the ConExpo trade show in Las Vegas. The conversation focuses on the technical advantages of mini skid steers, highlighting features such as chariot-style platforms for operator safety and toolless access panels for easy maintenance. Triplet openly shares his contractor regret over previously purchasing a competitor's machine...

Eric introduces Podhouse, a strategic initiative described as a mobile content creation war room designed to amplify industry events. Moving beyond traditional podcasting, this project utilizes remote studio hubs to capture deep, authentic conversations that typically occur off-camera during trade shows and conferences. By documenting these interactions in long-form and short-form media, the creat...

Today, Eric references a viral video of a lone dancer at a music festival to illustrate the foundations of leadership. He explains that starting a movement requires the courage to look foolish before others decide to join in. The speaker highlights the "second follower" as the pivotal force that transforms an individual's audacity into a collective culture. He challenges his audience of contractor...

Eric addresses a client's critique that his recent business decisions—specifically adding a Belgian Malinois to his crew—constitute "jumping the shark." Triplet uses this pop-culture reference to explain that what spectators perceive as a desperate or gimmicky decline is actually a strategic evolution for his brand. He reveals that the dog serves as both a security detail against death threats and...

Today Eric argues that a company's primary challenge is not marketing or pricing, but rather the quality of its people. Drawing on leadership principles from Natalie Dawson, he describes a rigorous behavioral filtering process used at a recent job fair to identify high-performance candidates. Triplet emphasizes that technical skills are secondary to cultural alignment, noting that he disqualified...

Today's show centers around the concept of contractor triage, a diagnostic framework designed to identify and repair critical failures in a business. Eric argues that simple sales training is often ineffective because it fails to address deeper "wounds" such as unstable mindsets, leadership deficiencies, and a lack of financial clarity. To achieve long-term stability, entrepreneurs must move beyon...

Eric explores the deep connection between business expansion and the moral responsibility of a leader. He argues that true success is not about personal luxury, but about building a massive "umbrella" of opportunity where employees can fulfill their own financial and personal dreams. Reflecting on his thirty-five-year career, he describes moving from a fear-based survival mindset to one of intenti...

Eric introduces the concept of "sales pathology", which he defines as a repeated pattern of dysfunction in how contractors communicate with potential clients. He argues that many professionals suffer from "speech disorders" in sales—such as inconsistent pacing, over-explaining, or sounding uncertain—which ultimately destroy trust and lead to lost revenue. By comparing these issues to physical ailm...

Eric reflects on the long-term rewards of personal integrity and taking full responsibility for professional mistakes. He shares how compensating a client for a lost fish, despite feeling taken advantage of, eventually led to a six-figure contract a year later. Another anecdote describes how returning a consultation fee after failing to follow through resulted in a massive project years down the l...