Episode 4: Ian Lehn’s Interview
- 00:00 Hot Takes
- 00:53 Introduction and Background
- 07:55 Challenges & Triumphs
- 15:24 Evolution & Trends
- 21:38 Unique Selling Proposition & Memorable Moments
- 25:31 Business Strategies & Partnerships
- 28:38 Handling Challenges & Interactions
- 29:24 Advice & Forward-Thinking
- 32:19 Final Takeaways & Recommendations
- 32:27 Starting a Business in the Racing Industry
- 32:43 Living the Business: A Personal Anecdote
- 34:21 The Importance of Immersion in Your Business
- 38:57 Navigating the Economy and Supply Chain Issues
- 43:21 The Evolution of the Industry and Future Trends
- 49:09 Staying Up-to-Date with Latest Trends and Technologies
- 52:05 The Ghostbusters Poster Story: A Fun Interlude
- 55:23 Final Thoughts and Appreciation
With the dynamic automotive industry continually changing, staying relevant and establishing a brand in this competitive landscape can be challenging. Recently, the Ride-In-Style podcast, hosted by Jesse Stoddard and Josh Poulson, had the pleasure of interviewing Ian Lehn of BOOSTane Octane Engineering for an exclusive insight into his journey in the automotive industry.
Ian’s Introduction to the Industry
Ian began his journey into the automotive industry with a deep passion for cars and racing. This passion led to his involvement in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), where he built a race car and developed his own race fuel, which he used in his races. The need for high-performance fuel in the racing world provided a unique opportunity for Ian, and he created BOOSTane Octane Engineering, a company specializing in high-octane fuel for racing.
An Unexpected Honor
Ian’s dedication and industriousness were recently acknowledged in the most splendid way when he was named SEMA Person of the Year, an accolade he unconsciously accepted to his pants off guard as he had no prior indication that he was even in consideration for such a prestigious award.
Evolution and Challenges
Since joining the industry, Lehn has witnessed its evolution and faced numerous challenges to navigate the economy and supply chain issues that affect the industry. Part of the solution, according to Ian, has been finding ways to innovate amid legislative restrictions and diminishing supply of certain chemicals.
Contributions and Influence in the Industry
Beyond providing a product, Ian lives his business. He not only produces racing fuel but also participates actively in races. And in most cases, he wins. His active involvement in racing brings BOOSTane closer to the market and builds relationships with potential consumers.
Ian is vocal about the automotive industry’s future, stressing that innovation, not legislation, should guide the switch to more sustainable forms of energy. He’s currently focusing on creating a truly synthetic race fuel to provide a green solution for the internal combustion engine.
Final Thoughts
Lehn’s journey in the automotive industry provides valuable insights into staying relevant and making a mark in a competitive market. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs in the industry is to show up, take small steps every day, and, most importantly, live their business.
Ian Lehn has emerged as a dominant figure in the automotive industry through dedication, innovation, and perseverance. He exemplifies the resilience of the industry, moving it towards a more sustainable future with his new alternative fuel. For Ian Lehn, it’s more than a business; it’s a lifestyle showcasing the true spirit of the automotive industry.
Read The Transcript
Josh Poulson: Here’s one little tidbit for anybody listening out there. Maybe you’re in that situation, right? Where you’re wanting to start this business.
7 seconds
One thing Ian does to this day. Don’t, don’t don’t worry. I’m giving you a compliment. Ian Lehn: I mean I’m so scared right now.15 seconds
Josh Poulson: His face is like, Oh gosh, what is he gonna say? No. Ian Lehn: Oh, geez. Josh Poulson: Ian lives his business. Okay, so it’s one thing for a guy to go.23 seconds
Okay, he’s in a suit and tie and he goes into the office and he’s selling racing fuel. This guy races.31 seconds
Okay, he lives it. He shows up to the events, whether he’s racing or not. He shows up to the events. He’s there. He’s chumming it up with everybody.41 seconds
Ride-in-Style: Welcome to the Ride-in-Style podcast, your turbo-charged pit stop for automotive restyling. Buckle up with Jesse and Josh.Chapter 2: Introduction and Background
53 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: Hey guys, welcome to another episode of the Ride-in-Style podcast. I’m really excited to introduce our guest today.1 minute
Ian Lehn, as in stay in your lane.1 minute, 3 seconds
He’s the founder of BOOSTane Octane Engineering, and also he’s the SEMA past chair of the Emerging Trends in Technology Network and also involved in other ways with SEMA.1 minute, 15 seconds
And so we’re just really happy to have him on with us today. Hi, Ian. How are you? Ian Lehn: I’m good. Thanks. Josh Poulson: Man. So excited.1 minute, 22 seconds
I mean, the big announcement, Jesse, you know, all the past chair stuff, whatever.1 minute, 28 seconds
I mean, we got the 2023 slash 24, because you got to carry, put that on your card.1 minute, 38 seconds
SEMA Person of the Year, right here on our podcast. Ian Lehn: yeah. Josh Poulson: Amazing.1 minute, 47 seconds
Amazing. Ian Lehn: interviewed, gettin interviewed by the uh, immediate past person of the year, which is hilarious as well.1 minute, 56 seconds
Josh Poulson: And I would just like to say, Jesse, too, you know, one, one thing that a lot of people mess up is they call him, like, the Man of the Year. Um, thank you.2 minutes, 5 seconds
He beat all the women as well. Okay?2 minutes, 7 seconds
Or anybody who goes whatever way. He beat all of them. It doesn’t matter.2 minutes, 12 seconds
Person of the Ian Lehn: Listen, Jesse Stoddard: being.2 minutes, 14 seconds
Right Ian Lehn: I’ll play in any sport you want me to, alright? Josh Poulson: So, how, how, uh, how, how are you, uh, you know, I mean,2 minutes, 24 seconds
I, Jesse, I just got to ask him, how, how shocked were you on that thing?2 minutes, 28 seconds
Ian Lehn: Uh, everybody keeps thinking that I had some sort of, uh, insight or2 minutes, 34 seconds
any Like, inkling that this was going to happen, uh, I had no idea, and to2 minutes, 41 seconds
be completely honest, uh, every banquet up until that one, I thought that that particular SEMA banquet was pretty, pretty awesome, it was like quick, it2 minutes, 50 seconds
was, There was a lot of stuff happening, um, you know, as, as you know, Josh,2 minutes, 56 seconds
some of those banquets can kind of drone on a little bit, um, I thought that one was pretty, pretty awesome.3 minutes, 4 seconds
Uh, but in preparation to banquet, not knowing that it was going to be that quick and kind of fast and exciting.3 minutes, 10 seconds
You know, I did what I usually do, have a few beers, and uh, Didn’t think of anything, you know, didn’t think anything of it.3 minutes, 18 seconds
I was like, gonna go score myself a free dinner, and see some funny stuff, and maybe see Tim Tebow or something like that.3 minutes, 24 seconds
But, uh, all of a sudden I’m within the first five minutes thrust on stage to basically say gibberish words for five minutes.3 minutes, 35 seconds
I still don’t know what I said. Um, yeah, Josh Poulson: I know what you,3 minutes, 40 seconds
I, know what you Ian Lehn: you were screwing with me. Josh Poulson: So Jesse, let me, let me just, uh, paint the picture for you here.3 minutes, 46 seconds
So every Thursday or every Thursday of the SEMA, there’s a, uh, what we call our banquet.3 minutes, 52 seconds
And so, um, if you, if you’re a main, if you’re an exhibitor out there, you get two tickets to come to the banquet, but you can also buy tickets and then some people, volunteers get tickets.4 minutes, 2 seconds
So there’s, I think at one point I’m counting like table 250 or something. So, I mean, and you’re talking 10 to 12 a table.4 minutes, 8 seconds
So there’s, there’s 2, 500 people plus in this auditorium. And now beforehand though, everybody there’s like open bar and cocktail hour,4 minutes, 19 seconds
Ian Lehn: Cocktail hour. Josh Poulson: hour, and it’s unlimited, right? So my man here is like probably tanking up like, hey, you said free beer? Got it.4 minutes, 27 seconds
So Ian Lehn: Yeah, whatever’s free, man. Josh Poulson: So anyway, so as, as the outgoing, uh, they, you know, the, the,4 minutes, 35 seconds
the thing is, you know, the person who was last year introduces the person who won it this year, or just has the plaque up there with the two emcees. So.4 minutes, 45 seconds
I had to go back early and get miked up. So I said, all right, my wife has no one to hang out with. And we’re here. And I said, here, hang out with Ian.4 minutes, 52 seconds
Cause we, you know, we know Ian, love Ian, you know, uh, my wife feels safe with the end cause he’s like a rugby player, uh, and,5 minutes, 1 second
And he’s way too good looking that she won’t go to someone else. Okay. So I say, hang out with Ian.5 minutes, 9 seconds
And then there wasn’t a chair for us. Now that’s funny. Like. Seema’s like, oh yeah, we forgot to get you a table, Josh. We forgot to get you a chair at a table, which is, whatever.5 minutes, 18 seconds
Doesn’t matter. So anyway, she ends up sitting with Ian at his table. And I go backstage and I go, okay, well, who won this thing?5 minutes, 26 seconds
And they said, I don’t know if you know him. His name’s Ian Lehane. I’m like, are you kidding me? He’s with my wife right now.5 minutes, 35 seconds
So, Ian Lehn: thing is, is, you know, Amanda and I, I was like, all right,5 minutes, 41 seconds
this thing’s going to kick off, like time to get one more free beer. So her and I walk up and get a cocktail and we’re walking back and,5 minutes, 51 seconds
uh, at that point you’re backstage. And I was like, Man, who would it, who would, who would it be? Like person of the year?5 minutes, 57 seconds
Who would, who would be funny for Josh to give an award to?6 minutes, 2 seconds
And you know, like our, you know, our buddy Colby, who’s the chair of pro, he’s, he’s super cool dude.6 minutes, 8 seconds
Like, you know, we’re like, who would it be fun, you know, who would be funny for Josh to like, give a hard time up on stage?6 minutes, 14 seconds
And we’re naming all these people and we’re sitting down and then they jump right into it and they start naming, you know, they start talking about this guy.6 minutes, 22 seconds
And I’m like, well, this dude seems, you know, he’s, he doesn’t seem that cool. And then, uh, they said proprietary technology out of engineering school.6 minutes, 32 seconds
I was like. Holy, holy shit. That,6 minutes, 35 seconds
Josh Poulson: I have that Ian Lehn: I say, I say proprietary all the time. I was like, oh, dang it. I gotta start cobbling together something to say.6 minutes, 44 seconds
And I was like, oh. Josh Poulson: and the most awkward thing is his bio was so long. The guy’s done so much.6 minutes, 51 seconds
I mean, he’s won this race, he’s invented this, he’s won this launch pad.6 minutes, 55 seconds
He’s been the chair that, and it’s uncomfortably long, like to the point where I went out stage and I didn’t have to use the restroom. By about halfway through, I’m like, I gotta, I gotta take a piss.7 minutes, 4 seconds
I gotta get out of here at some point. I, will this Whoever this guy is, let’s get him up here and let’s go. No, it was hilarious. It was so long.7 minutes, 13 seconds
Ian Lehn: Let’s get it going. Josh Poulson: Alex, can you read a little faster here? The prompt isn’t moving fast enough. All I see is words non stop on the prompter.7 minutes, 21 seconds
But it was Ian Lehn: Oh, that’s funny. Josh Poulson: He was totally shocked. Speechless.7 minutes, 25 seconds
He Ian Lehn: Totally shocked. Yeah. No, that was, it was crazy. Josh Poulson: But it is probably the, you know, besides maybe Hall of Fame,7 minutes, 34 seconds
it’s probably, I mean, it’s a, it’s probably the highest honor at SEMA. That you can get named, being named person of the year by all your peers.7 minutes, 42 seconds
I mean, Hall of Fame, they give one, three of those a year.7 minutes, 46 seconds
Uh, people in, uh, SEMA’s person of the year is one of, one a year.7 minutes, 51 seconds
So, congrats to Ian, but go ahead Jesse, I’ll let you, I’ll let you ask what you need to know about it.Chapter 3: Challenges & Triumphs
7 minutes, 55 seconds
I just had to figure out how this guy felt that day and how uncomfortable has he felt since. Laughs. Jesse Stoddard: But, uh,8 minutes, 3 seconds
it, Ian, congratulations. It is awesome.8 minutes, 6 seconds
And, and it’s pro it’s a tribute to your hard work, you know, for a long time.8 minutes, 9 seconds
Um, I would love to know a little bit more about your background, especially like how you got into this whole industry and what was your journey like before that and how did you get into it?8 minutes, 21 seconds
And if you don’t mind going back in time, a little, you know, little,8 minutes, 24 seconds
uh, DeLorean ride, they had the DeLorean booth. It was in my mind, the guy that brought the back to the future car. to SEMA and then have the European models trying to sell it for 200 grand.8 minutes, 33 seconds
Just reminded me of that.8 minutes, 34 seconds
So if you could go back in time a little bit, tell us how you got into the industry. It’d be great. Ian Lehn: Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah.8 minutes, 41 seconds
I mean, um, you know, I’ve, I’ve always, I’ve always, I’ve always loved cars. I feel like that’s how every speech starts with somebody from FEMA.8 minutes, 51 seconds
Uh, no, I, I grew up, I grew up racing, uh, with, with my, my stepdad, uh, motocross.8 minutes, 59 seconds
And then I kind of followed a little bit in his, uh, His footsteps went to engineering school at Georgia Tech and studied mechanical engineering and then,9 minutes, 11 seconds
uh, joined Formula SAE, which is, uh, Society of Automotive Engineers is kind9 minutes, 18 seconds
of The nerdier version of SEMA, but also plays a very important part, but they have something, uh, for, for college, college students, uh, where you build a race car.9 minutes, 30 seconds
And that’s really where I kind of fell in love with, you know, doing all the, all the, the technical aspects of, uh, of racing.9 minutes, 38 seconds
And, um, I was racing in college and couldn’t afford race fuel. So I was going into my final year of getting my degree.9 minutes, 47 seconds
I needed a senior exit thesis. And I decided to see if I couldn’t design my own race fuel, uh, cause I was like, it can’t be that hard, uh, which, you know,9 minutes, 58 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: I thought that? this morning, you know, I think I’ll just make a race fuel.10 minutes, 1 second
Couldn’t be Josh Poulson: You’re like, I’m drinking this coffee and I’m like, Man, I think I need to just develop a new kind of coffee.10 minutes, 7 seconds
Cause I don’t really like Ian Lehn: I could do my own. I could do my own. Um, in reality, I just used all of my professors to help me do it.10 minutes, 14 seconds
Um, and I, I, you know, designed, designed a fuel additive essentially that allowed me to, transform pump fuel at the gas station into a high octane fuel that I could use, uh, when I was racing.10 minutes, 27 seconds
And then, and then my stepdad started using it in his boats and then his buddies started using it.10 minutes, 33 seconds
But for right after I graduated college for a long time, uh, I just made it basically in my garage for my, my, my stepdad’s buddies and myself.10 minutes, 46 seconds
And I lived, I lived in Panama, the country. And, uh, was a watermelon farmer for about five years.10 minutes, 54 seconds
Uh, and, uh, you know, Jesse Stoddard: Hold on. Hold on. I’m sorry. Hold on. Okay. Hold on. So,11 minutes
Josh Poulson: gonna go Jesse Stoddard: wait, wait, you’re, you’re in your, garage. You’ve set up a lab. It looks like a giant chemistry set. I’m just trying to envision this. You have a chemistry set in your garage.11 minutes, 9 seconds
You look like you’re selling drugs.11 minutes, 11 seconds
You’re, you’re basically math Ian Lehn: it looks Jesse Stoddard: And next thing you know, you’re in Panama. This, this is an odd transit. You got to at least explain that.11 minutes, 19 seconds
What, what’s going on there. Ian Lehn: Uh, so, uh, went, went down a little bit of another rabbit hole right11 minutes, 27 seconds
before I graduated, where I developed some post harvest technology to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables.11 minutes, 34 seconds
Uh, and I was like, you know, what better place to kind of prove this technology than Panama because of the canal and shipping, you know, let’s,11 minutes, 44 seconds
let’s go down and figure that out. So I tried to sell it to the government and, uh, the government was in, uh, but nobody else was buying it.11 minutes, 52 seconds
So I was like, you know what? This farming thing can’t be too hard.11 minutes, 56 seconds
Well, let’s, let’s, so I bought, I bought a hundred hectares, uh, which if you ask me what a hectare is to an acre, I’m going to, I’m going to lie to you.12 minutes, 7 seconds
I don’t know what that means. Um, so I had a hundred hectares, uh, and a horse.12 minutes, 13 seconds
I grew watermelon for about four and a half years and I sold it to Amsterdam. It was my biggest customer.12 minutes, 21 seconds
So I went back and forth to Amsterdam selling watermelon. Uh, that, uh, that part of my life could probably be a separate podcast.12 minutes, 30 seconds
But, um. There was a lot of hilarious, uh, experiences being the only gringo within, probably, 200 kilometers.12 minutes, 40 seconds
Uh, and learning Spanish and all that good stuff.12 minutes, 42 seconds
But, uh, what I found Josh Poulson: getting robbed and then held up by gunpoint.12 minutes, 47 seconds
Well, you had the Ian Lehn: Well, I got held up by Machete Josh Poulson: yeah, that’s Ian Lehn: I had Josh Poulson: That’s right.12 minutes, 52 seconds
Ian Lehn: I had, I had the gun, but they just, they didn’t realize that the tip of my gun, the orange part I colored in with a Josh Poulson: Your BB gun.13 minutes
Your BB gun. Ian Lehn: it was a BB gun.13 minutes, 4 seconds
Josh Poulson: I will poke your eye out. Ian Lehn: yeah, exactly.13 minutes, 8 seconds
Um, so what ended up happening is I, I started to find myself traveling back13 minutes, 14 seconds
to the United States to make more and more fuel because My, my stepdad’s13 minutes, 20 seconds
buddies started telling their buddies and all of a sudden I’m like, I’m spending more time making this, you know, this fuel than making any money selling watermelon, which I, I did not make much money selling watermelon.13 minutes, 33 seconds
I’m not a good farmer, by the way.13 minutes, 35 seconds
Um, and then, uh, my old college professor, I was having a beer with him in Atlanta and he goes, you should check out this, um,13 minutes, 44 seconds
this thing that goes out in Vegas. It’s called the SEMA show. I was like, oh, you know, I’ve heard about that.13 minutes, 49 seconds
And, uh, I, I looked it up and I joined and I found out about the launch pad competition, which is like SEMA’s version of.13 minutes, 59 seconds
So, uh, you know, I applied for it and, um, ended up winning the thing.14 minutes, 8 seconds
And next thing you know, I’m walking around the SEMA show looking at all of this crazy stuff.14 minutes, 16 seconds
Uh, and, and being introduced to the, the CEO of SEMA, Chris Kirstein.14 minutes, 22 seconds
And then meeting Doug Evans, you know, Hall of Fame legend.14 minutes, 27 seconds
Uh, meeting Ron Coleman, meeting all these people that come to find out are like, kind of untouchable to a certain degree.14 minutes, 35 seconds
And I’m meeting them within the first day of being at the SEMA show.14 minutes, 39 seconds
And these guys and, and, and, and girls, you know, I had Marla Moore and Jesse Combs. Jesse Combs Launchpad.14 minutes, 49 seconds
Ended up just kind of taking me under their wing and kind of showing me, showing me the SEMA ropes. So I, I kind of got a.14 minutes, 58 seconds
A fast track into the, to the SEMA world, the automotive aftermarket. And, uh, I mean, that’s, that’s really why I’m, I was up on that stage,15 minutes, 7 seconds
Josh Poulson: feel like you didn’t really earn it? Ian Lehn: I didn’t earn any of it, dude.15 minutes, 13 seconds
I, uh, you know, I showed up and, uh, you know, everybody else worked on the class project, I just, uh, turned it in.15 minutes, 22 seconds
Josh Poulson: some good racing fuel. Ian Lehn: Yeah, Jesse Stoddard: Ian, tell us about your business now, tell us, and what, what are you, what are you doing now? What are you excited about?Chapter 4: Evolution & Trends
15 minutes, 32 seconds
Ian Lehn: You know, the product that I developed in college is still kind of the thing that pays the bills. You know, our fuel additive boosting professional.15 minutes, 42 seconds
That’s what all the guys are racing with. You know, we, we swept King of the Hammers last year with it, uh, on the podium, it15 minutes, 49 seconds
was, you know, that’s still kind of what, um, uh, what we’re known for, what, what15 minutes, 56 seconds
kind of excites me today is the world is a, is a wild place for the internal16 minutes, 2 seconds
combustion engine and not to get like two down the nerdy rabbit hole, but, uh, I16 minutes, 8 seconds
really enjoy a lot of the stuff that SEMA does with their political action committee and like on the Hill and the whole.16 minutes, 16 seconds
And I don’t want to call it a debate. I think it’s a conversation between, you know, battery electric vehicles, hybrids, alternative fuels.16 minutes, 25 seconds
And even though boosting is still very much like a small to medium sized company,16 minutes, 32 seconds
I have the ability because of all of these cool people in our industry to work on stuff like alternative fuels.16 minutes, 41 seconds
So we’re, we’re working on.16 minutes, 44 seconds
Um, you know, we’re a week out of SEMA and we’re, I’m already talking about 2024, but like, we’re, we’re, we’re going to try to release.16 minutes, 53 seconds
The first truly synthetic fuel, synthetic race fuel, uh, to the automotive aftermarket.17 minutes, 1 second
So we want to come out with a hundred octane, truly renewable race fuel, and it’s going to be a small company like Boostain that’s going to try to do it.17 minutes, 10 seconds
Um, I got a lot of work ahead of me to pull that off, but that’s the kind of stuff that gets me excited because it’s like, don’t know where else in17 minutes, 20 seconds
the world I could work on crazy ideas like this, but SEMA tells me that it’s okay, and they give me awards for doing it, so it’s like, just kinda nuts.17 minutes, 32 seconds
So that’s the kind of stuff that gets me pretty excited, is working on crazy ideas and people saying, do it, which is, which is Josh Poulson: Let me, let me ask you about that.17 minutes, 41 seconds
But Ian, because I think a lot of people don’t understand and Ian’s at the forefront of, um, I think you were in the Cleveland plain dealer even,17 minutes, 49 seconds
um, talking about, because the, the big, you know, once one side of the aisle says, oh, we have to be green.17 minutes, 56 seconds
We, that’s why they want to go all electric. Right. And they want to get rid of the, you know, the ice. vehicles. However, the other side is going, Yeah, but we still need, you know,18 minutes, 5 seconds
you can’t go 100 percent electric. That’s not the solution. What Ian’s done is he’s saying, Hey, there’s an in between here.18 minutes, 12 seconds
Um, so maybe you could touch on that. And because it’s not like we all have to be driving electric vehicles. And even if we did, would that really make us green the way they’re saying?18 minutes, 24 seconds
Ian Lehn: Yeah.18 minutes, 25 seconds
I mean, you know, when, uh, when the car came out, they didn’t go and shoot all the horses.18 minutes, 31 seconds
Like, it’s like, there’s gotta be this transition period and it takes time.18 minutes, 39 seconds
And I think. The thing that I, I find myself saying a lot is like, let innovation18 minutes, 46 seconds
dictate the rate of adoption, not legislation, because, uh, you know, uh, the America’s wonderful.18 minutes, 58 seconds
Uh, but like, I can’t, I’ve talked to a lot of politicians and not one of them, uh, knows what ICE stands for, which is Internal Combustion Engine.19 minutes, 10 seconds
So, how are these, how are these guys and girls…19 minutes, 13 seconds
Uh, going to make laws that are going to dictate, you know, how, how innovation19 minutes, 20 seconds
happens around that and to completely abandon the internal combustion engine when, you know, a majority of what’s driving around right now is that so19 minutes, 30 seconds
there’s plenty of opportunities to develop technologies to lower the carbon footprint of the internal combustion engine.19 minutes, 37 seconds
As it stands right now, and if we cut off the pipeline of companies like myself from, you know, making money to, to put into research and development,19 minutes, 51 seconds
you know, we’re, we’re basically halting any type of further development.19 minutes, 56 seconds
And I think it’s, I think it’ll put us further back than, you know, allowing things to happen kind of organically.20 minutes, 4 seconds
Now, I understand that, The, you know, folks on the hill need to set a goal for us to aim for because we need to be thinking bigger picture.20 minutes, 15 seconds
Um, but, but don’t, don’t force because people will make drastic and un, you know, irrational decisions.20 minutes, 26 seconds
Is irrational a word? I think it’s a word. I’m not very good at the, the grammar stuff. Um.20 minutes, 33 seconds
Yeah, and you see that with a lot of the OEMs right now where they’re, they’re basically, their, their engineering departments are basically completely20 minutes, 42 seconds
flipping over, uh, into battery electric and it’s just, it’s, yeah, it’s just,20 minutes, 50 seconds
it’s just, I don’t think any of it’s sustainable, not only from a business model standpoint, but overall, I think, uh, to, if we’re truly trying to help our environment, don’t let, Okay.21 minutes, 1 second
Don’t let a narrative dictate what, what we should be doing, like allow companies to come up with better solutions.21 minutes, 8 seconds
And, and that’s what we’re trying to do. And we’re a small company.21 minutes, 12 seconds
I mean, if, if, if I had, if I had a larger company, I feel like I could make way bigger of a dent and that’s what I’m going to try to do. But.21 minutes, 21 seconds
I think we just need to come up with a holistic solution and you know, hybrids are going to be great and battery electric vehicles are really cool and they do21 minutes, 31 seconds
have a place in our world right now, but they’re not the total solution, you know? Josh Poulson: I’ll give you one example.Chapter 5: Unique Selling Proposition & Memorable Moments
21 minutes, 39 seconds
Ian and I were actually judging a competition at SEMA this year, and There was a monster truck there, Jesse. Huge monster truck. Ian Lehn: Oh yeah.21 minutes, 46 seconds
Josh Poulson: Crazy big. And it totally 100 percent ran on hydrogen. Jesse Stoddard: Oh, awesome.21 minutes, 52 seconds
Josh Poulson: And so like you could, you could put your mouth around the tailpipe and no problem. Okay, you’re not gonna, you’re not gonna die from that.21 minutes, 59 seconds
I wouldn’t recommend it probably, especially if it’s going over cars, but it actually had 200 extra horsepower than a normal monster truck.22 minutes, 8 seconds
So the point, the point about You know what he’s saying here about EV being the solution, the infrastructure is not there, you know, and I mean, I just went to the Ford dealership.22 minutes, 17 seconds
Guess what? They have like five Lightnings they can’t sell because people don’t want it.22 minutes, 21 seconds
So just because, just because, you know, the California says, well, every vehicle better be this way by 30, 2035, you know, that’s dictating a certain way and people may not adapt to, you know, adopt that.22 minutes, 35 seconds
And so now what do you do? But like Ian said, there’s a lot of other alternatives and maybe it’s some electric,22 minutes, 41 seconds
some hydrogen, some alternative fuel, whatever’s best for the environment and for people and their budgets and everything. It’s got to win, win, win.22 minutes, 51 seconds
Ian Lehn: 100%. And that was, Mike Copeland made that monster truck. And that thing was, that thing was badass. Uh, Josh Poulson: awesome.22 minutes, 59 seconds
Ian Lehn: it was so cool.23 minutes
But yeah, I mean, I, I, yeah, we, we can come up with solutions if we’re given the opportunity and not, not being handcuffed by, you know,23 minutes, 11 seconds
crazy kind of crazy ideas that, you know, everybody’s going to be, Hm.23 minutes, 17 seconds
You know, putting around on an electric vehicle, you know, driving across the country, you know, it’s just, it’s23 minutes, 23 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: You know, I love what you said, how innovation should lead the change.23 minutes, 28 seconds
Technology and innovation and the entrepreneurs behind that should lead the change, not the government bureaucrats trying to23 minutes, 34 seconds
force something that is not based on reality, right?23 minutes, 39 seconds
I mean, I don’t want to get too political, but there there’s also the fact that Where do, where do all the parts for all of the batteries come from?23 minutes, 47 seconds
Where do all the, all the rare earth metals that need to be mined?23 minutes, 50 seconds
Where does the electricity come from to charge all of these vehicles?23 minutes, 54 seconds
And what people don’t understand is a lot of it comes from the, from fossil fuels. So, you, you build all these electric vehicles and you, you’re gonna, you,24 minutes, 2 seconds
I mean, we can’t, it doesn’t eliminate fossil fuels, which I think that the general public doesn’t understand. They think that it just magically happens and that you, you know, so, to your point.24 minutes, 12 seconds
There needs to be a little bit more science involved and technology and innovation instead of just, you know, somebody on the hill deciding. Ian Lehn: Yeah.24 minutes, 21 seconds
Yeah. And our, our, I feel, I feel, I feel that our industry, like the automotive aftermarket, we, we have a bit of a black eye that we’ve been kind of carrying around and, and people kind of look at the SEMA show and say, Oh, look at these.24 minutes, 36 seconds
Ridiculous trucks and these ridiculous cars like these guys aren’t gonna24 minutes, 42 seconds
be the one that you know You know carries us into a cleaner future and it’s like yeah Don’t get us wrong.24 minutes, 50 seconds
Like we like crazy stuff and we’ll do we’ll build a truck.24 minutes, 55 seconds
That’s You gotta, you gotta use a ladder to climb into and it’s, it’s got a huge25 minutes, 1 second
stereo, but that same company is also like got a bunch of people in, in a, in a warehouse somewhere trying to engineer, you know, crazy new sustainable options.25 minutes, 15 seconds
I mean, take a monster truck that Josh and I judged that Mike Copeland made that basically the exhaust is, It’s water and it’s like, that’s, that’s,25 minutes, 25 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: where the creativity, creativity is where it comes from in that in that hard work. So, yeah. Ian Lehn: We are creative.Chapter 6: Business Strategies & Partnerships
25 minutes, 31 seconds
Nobody can ever say that Jesse Stoddard: I want to ask you about some challenges and triumphs you’ve had in your industry. So can you and your work? Sorry.25 minutes, 39 seconds
Can you share some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in the industry and how you’ve overcome them? I mean, you’ve had quite a journey, so you must have overcome some tough stuff.25 minutes, 50 seconds
Ian Lehn: Oh yeah, I mean, there’s some very specific sides to having a fuel company that are tough, you know, from just what we’ve been talking about.26 minutes, 3 seconds
I mean, legislation continues to kind of come down and make things more difficult to get. You know, certain types of materials to, to, to manufacture.26 minutes, 12 seconds
And you guys start kind of thinking outside the box to, you know, the, the boosting formula has evolved over the past 10 years.26 minutes, 21 seconds
So much just because, you know, certain chemicals are no longer really available and to a certain degree, there’s some of those, there’s some of those that, uh, I agree with that.26 minutes, 34 seconds
Yeah, yeah, we, we should be making this thing a little bit better, but the others, I’m like, I don’t really understand where we’re going here26 minutes, 42 seconds
because it seems more like it’s, it’s a bureaucratic decision because it’s like, you know, the, this, yeah.26 minutes, 49 seconds
This chemical works and it, it, it brings efficiencies. Um, so there’s, there’s been that.26 minutes, 57 seconds
And then, I mean, honestly, you know, at least I’d say personally, there’s.27 minutes, 4 seconds
There’s always, there’s always those, uh, uphill battles that you have as a startup business.27 minutes, 9 seconds
Um, I’ve been lucky though, that every time that I’ve, I’ve hit, uh, a roadblock27 minutes, 16 seconds
or a hurdle, I’ve, I’ve had people that I’ve been able to call on, you know, not27 minutes, 23 seconds
to, not to, you know, pump Josh up too much, but you know, Josh is one of those guys that, uh, you know, when I, when I, I would say, uh, a year ago, I actually.27 minutes, 36 seconds
Well, at the start of COVID, I was kind of presented with an option to.27 minutes, 42 seconds
To merge boosting with another company and a mentor of mine, Ron Coleman and driven racing oil.27 minutes, 48 seconds
And I, I sold boosting and I moved to Memphis and, uh, kind of did the corporate thing for a little bit, realized it really wasn’t my, my thing.27 minutes, 59 seconds
Um, and when I bought boosting back, uh, I wanted to go to the SEMA show and I wanted to make a big splash and I need, I wanted to build my first SEMA show vehicle.28 minutes, 10 seconds
And I had never done that before. And I was like, uh, Hey Josh, can you help me build a Bronco?28 minutes, 18 seconds
Josh Poulson: I’m like, I Ian Lehn: I have no idea what I’m going to do. Josh Poulson: have no idea what I’m going to do. Ian Lehn: Yeah.28 minutes, 24 seconds
Uh, you know, so I would say that, you know, with every small business, there’s, there’s going to be tons of hurdles.28 minutes, 32 seconds
Um, and I’ve, I’ve had all of those, but I’ve been lucky enough that I’ve had people around me, like.Chapter 7: Handling Challenges & Interactions
28 minutes, 38 seconds
Josh and Doug Evans and Marla that, uh, will, you know, that I can, I can pick up the phone and I can call and I can ask them and they’ve already been through it and they can kind of like pull me through.28 minutes, 50 seconds
So I’ve been very fortunate that I’d say every hurdle.28 minutes, 54 seconds
Has had a buddy that Jesse Stoddard: Have you had anything that you would consider like a significant failure that, like in hindsight, led to growth and like a breakthrough or anything like that?29 minutes, 4 seconds
I mean, everybody. Ha,29 minutes, 6 seconds
Ian Lehn: I mean Jesse Stoddard: ha, ha. Ian Lehn: Booster, uh, yeah, uh watermelons watermelon farming29 minutes, 16 seconds
Josh Poulson: farming, you didn’t really, uh, you didn’t really kill the bank on that one, but, but you proved a concept.29 minutes, 22 seconds
It was a, it was a life lesson.Chapter 8: Advice & Forward-Thinking
29 minutes, 24 seconds
It was a life Ian Lehn: No, it was, it was, I got stories, stories for days, so I don’t consider it too much of a failure.29 minutes, 31 seconds
Um, I mean, yeah, yeah, I mean, when I, when I first started, I guess when29 minutes, 38 seconds
I really started boosting and I did the Launchpad thing, Um, I kind of thought once I won Launchpad that people would just line up out the door and start buying a bunch of it.29 minutes, 51 seconds
And I. knew nothing about what, what it took really to, to build a business and29 minutes, 59 seconds
market and do all of the things that people don’t really see as a, as an30 minutes, 6 seconds
entrepreneur and, and Boostain very much kind of skipped across the rocks there for probably two or three years.30 minutes, 16 seconds
Um, and you know, I, for, for probably for that entire time kind of thought, The hell am I doing right now?30 minutes, 25 seconds
You know, I have, I have this prestigious award. You know, everybody says that, you know, they’re proud of me and you know,30 minutes, 34 seconds
they’re, they’re so excited with what I’m doing, but then I would go home and I would sit and look at my computer and be like, Holy cow, like this thing is not.30 minutes, 43 seconds
Making what it, I think everybody thinks it is. And, uh, I, I would say that, that it, it, it, it very poten.30 minutes, 53 seconds
It very much could have been the biggest failure of my life, but I, I, I kind of look at it as.30 minutes, 58 seconds
Like, I learned the hard way that it’s like, just show up and take a, take a small bite every day.31 minutes, 8 seconds
And, you know, just if you, if you, if you can look at yourself and say that you’re, you’re working hard towards something it’s, it’s going to happen31 minutes, 17 seconds
and that, that, that I wouldn’t call it my biggest failure, but it was definitely the scariest point in my career, right after winning Launchpad.31 minutes, 28 seconds
You know, I was, I was living in my parents basement, basically barely making payments on the warehouse, still driving the same car from high school,31 minutes, 40 seconds
which I’d never, I’d still have it sold. It’s still the, the Jeep Wrangler that Josh made fun of me about.31 minutes, 46 seconds
Um, but I also kind of, I love looking back at that period of my life31 minutes, 53 seconds
because it’s given me kind of, uh, the confidence that I can kind of.32 minutes, 5 seconds
I kind of realized I could do whatever I want if, if I can, if I got through that, um, I know that I got people around me that are going to support32 minutes, 14 seconds
and, you know, and I know that I can work hard and make it happen. Josh Poulson: one thing he does, Jesse.Chapter 9: Final Takeaways & Recommendations
32 minutes, 20 seconds
So here’s, here’s one, here’s one little tidbit for anybody listening out there. Maybe you’re in that situation, right? Where you’re wanting to start this business.Chapter 10: Starting a Business in the Racing Industry
32 minutes, 29 seconds
One thing Ian does to this day. Um, and don’t, don’t don’t worry. I’m giving you a compliment.32 minutes, 37 seconds
Ian Lehn: I mean I’m so scared right now. Josh Poulson: He’s his face is like, Oh gosh, what is he gonna say? No, Ian Lehn: Oh, geez. Josh Poulson: Ian lives his business.Chapter 11: Living the Business: A Personal Anecdote
32 minutes, 44 seconds
Okay, so it’s one thing for a guy to go.32 minutes, 47 seconds
Okay, he’s in a suit and tie and he goes into the office and he’s selling racing fuel. This guy races.32 minutes, 55 seconds
Okay, he lives it. He shows up to the events, whether he’s racing or not. He shows up to the events. He’s there. He’s chumming it up with everybody.33 minutes, 3 seconds
Everybody knows who he is. He’s giving them out samples.33 minutes, 6 seconds
He’s, he’s probably at night secretly putting it in there and slapping a sticker on it.33 minutes, 11 seconds
And then when they win the next day go, Hey, I know why you won, but whatever, whatever it takes.33 minutes, 15 seconds
But I mean, just as an example, Jesse, I call this dude one time and I say, Hey, Ian, what’s up? What are you doing?33 minutes, 21 seconds
He’s like, Oh, I, uh, just got, I got a call yesterday. They needed, uh, they needed me to, uh, uh, from the team.33 minutes, 30 seconds
And what race was that? The, was it?33 minutes, 33 seconds
Ian Lehn: they call it like the outlaw 12 Josh Poulson: it’s a 12. Ian Lehn: uh, Josh Poulson: 12 hour race, right? and it’s like it’s one of those Baja type races, right?33 minutes, 43 seconds
And so I go, what do you mean? They call he goes, yeah, they’re one of their drivers, you know, got sick or something happened. And so I flew to where was It It was in.33 minutes, 53 seconds
Ian Lehn: down in the middle of nowhere, Josh Poulson: Yeah. So he’s in Cincinnati. He flies to Texas. He jumps in a truck and he races for 12 hours.34 minutes, 3 seconds
And I said, well, how’d that turn out? He goes, Oh, I beat Michael Schumacher’s son. Uh, I was like, I was like, you came in first?34 minutes, 11 seconds
They just called you. Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?34 minutes, 13 seconds
You want to come down to Texas and Jesse Stoddard: and win a race. Could you just come down real quick and win this race? Ian Lehn: Yeah. Josh Poulson: yeah.Chapter 12: The Importance of Immersion in Your Business
34 minutes, 21 seconds
But I mean, it’s because, but he lives it. That’s his lifestyle. You know, we’re talking about the most interesting man in the world. Even though he doesn’t drink Corona that much.34 minutes, 29 seconds
He will just live it up and you have to do that for your business.34 minutes, 34 seconds
If that’s your business, even if you hate your product, I don’t care. Like I don’t love my products, but I go to all the shows.34 minutes, 40 seconds
I go to the events, you go to the parties, you do this, you do that. And people start, they buy you just as much as they buy your product.34 minutes, 49 seconds
So when people are buying boosting, they’re actually buying Ian.34 minutes, 52 seconds
And if they’ve got to know him, they’ve got to love him. Ian Lehn: That’s, I didn’t, I never said that there wasn’t perks.35 minutes, 1 second
Uh, you know, there is, there’s definitely the occasional perk.35 minutes, 5 seconds
And actually I was, we were at PRI, I was, I was at a trade show and I was, I35 minutes, 12 seconds
was sitting, I was sitting in one of my customers booths and talking, and I got like two phone calls, like back to back.35 minutes, 20 seconds
And I was like, What the hell are they calling about?35 minutes, 23 seconds
It’s like, there better be a scud missile headed toward you if you’re gonna call me back to back and if this isn’t a And I pick up and I’m like, hey man You know, so and so dropped out.35 minutes, 34 seconds
You, you want to go racing tomorrow. And I was like, ah, I was like, man, I’m, Josh Poulson: at a trade show trying to sell his product.35 minutes, 43 seconds
But he’s like, Ian Lehn: I’m trying to, Josh Poulson: you know what?35 minutes, 45 seconds
Ian Lehn: and I’m sitting there and there’s probably like five people in this meeting and like, is everything okay? And I was like, I just got a call to go racing.35 minutes, 54 seconds
And they’re like, what the hell are you doing here? I was like, okay, uh, can we talk about this later?36 minutes, 2 seconds
And, uh, I basically walked right out of the show, jumped in my car.36 minutes, 7 seconds
Cincinnati from Indianapolis and drove straight to the airport and I was in a car 12 hours later.36 minutes, 15 seconds
And it was funny, like the start of the race, I was like looking around like, this is hilarious.36 minutes, 21 seconds
Oh Josh Poulson: probably for weeks.36 minutes, 28 seconds
And Ian’s like, at the PRI show, like, Oh yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.36 minutes, 32 seconds
And, uh, he dumps a little bit of his boo stain in there and he wins. Ha ha ha! ha! Ian Lehn: And Mick Schumacher was there.36 minutes, 39 seconds
He had his Haas helmet on and everything. And I remember going on the radio. And I was like, hey, what, what, what’s, uh, what’s Mixture Mocker’s car number?36 minutes, 48 seconds
And they’re like, 43. And I was like, he’s right in front of me. And we were in the woods. And I just, and he was going slow and I just rammed right in the back of him.36 minutes, 56 seconds
I was like, Josh Poulson: Hi! Ian from boo stain! Ha ha ha. Ian Lehn: this is my world, buddy. This ain’t F1, man. We hit each other here.37 minutes, 5 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: That is so awesome. Great story.37 minutes, 7 seconds
Josh Poulson: Alright, so I got, I, hold on, I wanna see how, see this guy, he, he knows everything. Tell me, this is just out of the blue. I’m drinking a Red Bull here.37 minutes, 15 seconds
Alright, so Red Bull Racing. Who are, name me one or both of these guys. Cause I have no clue.37 minutes, 21 seconds
Jesse, do you know either one of these Jesse Stoddard: No, one of them looks vaguely familiar. Maybe.37 minutes, 26 seconds
Josh Poulson: Yeah, I’m sure they’re both F1 racers, right?37 minutes, 30 seconds
Ian Lehn: I know both of them, but the only one worth mentioning is Max Verstappen.37 minutes, 33 seconds
And who’s Josh Poulson: which one is that? This guy or this guy? Ian Lehn: uh, the, he’s the dude with the hat on.37 minutes, 39 seconds
He basically has already won the entire championship, even though he’s. He’s still got a race this, this week in Vegas.37 minutes, 47 seconds
He’s still just going to dominate everybody and yeah, yeah. I don’t think I would have passed him, but I sure would have tried.37 minutes, 55 seconds
I would have at least tried to like hit him if I could have, but uh, yeah, Josh Poulson: just, he’s the epitome. He lives this industry.38 minutes, 3 seconds
Uh, he is the exact opposite of me. Yeah,38 minutes, 6 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: he likes cars, you mean? Josh Poulson: He loves cars. And trucks. Ian Lehn: I love cards. Oh, man.38 minutes, 13 seconds
Josh Poulson: Yeah, he loves cars and trucks.38 minutes, 15 seconds
In fact, when we get together, I talk to his girlfriend because she’s a weather girl.38 minutes, 20 seconds
So she, she does, she does weather for, uh, what, what channel in Cleveland, what Ian Lehn: Fox 8. Josh Poulson: on, she’s on TV.38 minutes, 29 seconds
She’s a meteorologist. I love the weather. She loves the weather. Ian gets so frustrated because we’re not talking about cars.38 minutes, 36 seconds
We just talk about the weather the whole time because her and I don’t want to talk about cars.38 minutes, 41 seconds
Ian Lehn: I’m hanging out with my buddy, and they’re talking about weather the whole time, and cloud formations, and I’m like, hey, man.38 minutes, 49 seconds
Like…38 minutes, 50 seconds
Josh Poulson: You’re in the Ian Lehn: We work together. Josh Poulson: work together.38 minutes, 52 seconds
Let’s do Jesse Stoddard: So good.38 minutes, 55 seconds
Oh, Ian, I got another question.Chapter 13: Navigating the Economy and Supply Chain Issues
38 minutes, 57 seconds
So, uh, when it comes to your business and the, the, there’s been so much rapid weird change since 2020.39 minutes, 4 seconds
And I’m curious, how have you navigated the economy and supply chain issues? Um, not to be a downer, but I, I want to, I want to kind of hear, like,39 minutes, 14 seconds
Ian Lehn: Oh no, no. Jesse Stoddard: that? Uh, and, and how do you get through, you know, through all that stuff?39 minutes, 21 seconds
Ian Lehn: Uh, you know, I mean, at the beginning of COVID, um, it was, it was real scary because everybody just thought that the world was going to end.39 minutes, 32 seconds
Right. And I think, you know, and, and, and that’s when, that’s when the opportunity presented itself for me to, to, to merge my business with driven racing oil, which I.39 minutes, 43 seconds
I ended up doing and, uh, I mean, it didn’t, it didn’t change any of the39 minutes, 50 seconds
difficulties of trying to, to navigate as far as like supply chain, because there was, there are a lot of raw materials that, you know, I mean,39 minutes, 59 seconds
boosting is made in the U S but you know, the U S doesn’t have everything. Right. So there’s procure from different parts of the world.40 minutes, 10 seconds
Um, and all of that just kind of like got really, really scary there for a little bit.40 minutes, 16 seconds
I, I mean, I, there was, there was one point in 21 where I was looking at some of the last bottles of booze stain that could have all fit on my desk.40 minutes, 28 seconds
And I was like, Jesse Stoddard: Oh, Ian Lehn: Oh God, this is really, really scary.40 minutes, 35 seconds
Um, but you know, again, I think it’s, well, it was scary because.40 minutes, 43 seconds
I think everybody did think that the world was going to end, but I think Josh didn’t, the industry kind of boomed during, during, because, you know,40 minutes, 51 seconds
everybody was stuck at home and all of these, all of these project vehicles that have been sitting in people’s garages that they never had time to41 minutes
get to all of a sudden they have all the time in the world to start buying parts and, uh, finishing these builds.41 minutes, 8 seconds
And all of a sudden our industry went through kind of a boom. So. Supply went down and demand skyrocketed.41 minutes, 16 seconds
So everybody is like, I mean, lead times were wild, you know, talking to suppliers and hearing words like eight months.41 minutes, 25 seconds
And it was just like, excuse me, like that’s, that’s wild to, to, and it was just kind of like commonplace, but I think it, I think it’s a testament to.41 minutes, 36 seconds
Kind of, uh, you know, I don’t know what the word I’m trying to think of41 minutes, 40 seconds
is, but I think it’s a testament to kind of how, how robust or, you know, the resilient, how resilient our industry is.41 minutes, 52 seconds
Thank you, Josh, for that. Um, how resilient our industry is, because I think a lot of people.41 minutes, 58 seconds
You know, we’re able to kind of figure out solutions and that’s kind of what we’ve always done, right?42 minutes, 4 seconds
I mean people people have been Coming up with crazy ideas and making them work42 minutes, 10 seconds
in the the aftermarket for a really long time And and kovat was just kind of a42 minutes, 17 seconds
another Difficult period that people had to you know Come up with better solutions and and that’s going all the way back to the beginning of the42 minutes, 26 seconds
interview That’s why we should be given the opportunity to, to, to solve these problems because we’ve always solved the problems if we’re given the opportunity,42 minutes, 38 seconds
but if the opportunity is taken away, it makes it really, really difficult. And I think COVID was just one of those times that we, we had to make it through.42 minutes, 48 seconds
I mean, I hear stories of back in the eighties when there was the, the kind of the gas crisis. Uh, and all of that.42 minutes, 55 seconds
And, you know, the industry was dead then, um, but made it through.43 minutes
And now we have cars that have 40 miles to the gallon and, you know, are making 500 horsepower on four cylinders.43 minutes, 9 seconds
It’s like just crazy stuff. And I take credit for that.43 minutes, 14 seconds
I take credit for the industry for doing that type of Josh Poulson: Well, that’s why you are man of the year or person of the year. I’m sorry. Jesse Stoddard: well,Chapter 14: The Evolution of the Industry and Future Trends
43 minutes, 21 seconds
uh, speak, speaking of the evolution and trends, talk a little bit about how the industry has changed since you first got involved and where do you see it heading in the future?43 minutes, 30 seconds
I’d love to hear your thoughts on that. Josh Poulson: He’s only 20. He’s only 20 years old, Jesse.43 minutes, 35 seconds
I mean, we’re talking, we’re talking six Jesse Stoddard: right? Am I right? Ian Lehn: Listen, uh, no, my knees do not say that I’m 20.43 minutes, 43 seconds
I am very much. Josh Poulson: it’s because he plays rugby. I mean, think of Jesse. I just want you to think about this for a second before he answers this question.43 minutes, 50 seconds
Think about your answer carefully, but if you’re going to pick a sport, okay, that you want to play.43 minutes, 56 seconds
Football padding helmet, but if you’re a smart engineer that graduates from Georgia44 minutes, 2 seconds
Tech, all right, and you use your brains for a living, what sport should you not do where you just bareheaded and you start off in a big huddle,44 minutes, 15 seconds
like everybody sniffing everybody. mean, what, what, Jesse, you, Jesse Stoddard: Well, you, know, Josh, I can think of one.44 minutes, 21 seconds
I think rugby would probably be that that were sport to pick. Josh Poulson: rugby, yeah, yeah, Yeah, stay away from rugby.44 minutes, 29 seconds
So here, my man, uh, professional rugby, um, men’s national team rugby, um,44 minutes, 37 seconds
brain damage rugby, Ian Lehn: Hey man. Uh, I haven’t scrambled the eggs too bad. Uh, I had a few dings.44 minutes, 46 seconds
You know, I would say that my time playing football in college was probably more, that’s probably where I had the CTE from, not rugby, but,44 minutes, 55 seconds
Josh Poulson: right?44 minutes, 55 seconds
Cause Georgia Tech has a lot of money and you’re going after them that way Ian Lehn: yeah, Josh Poulson: your rugby team. Ian Lehn: Yeah, no, yeah, I only get a free beer in rugby, but, uh,45 minutes, 6 seconds
yeah, so, uh, what was the question? And thank you for coming, thank you for coming to my defense, Jesse, on that. Yes, rugby is a wonderful sport of camaraderie and all that other good stuff.45 minutes, 16 seconds
But how’s the Jesse Stoddard: got involved, where do you see it heading in the future?45 minutes, 22 seconds
Ian Lehn: I’ve only, you know, I’ve really only been in the industry for about a decade, but it, you know, the evolution is it’s so fast.45 minutes, 34 seconds
Um, it’s, it’s kind of wild because I can think of certain things that have kind45 minutes, 41 seconds
of changed, um, that have kind of marked changes, you know, um, this year there was future, the future tech booth where Josh and I were doing a lot of the judging.45 minutes, 54 seconds
And it was a bunch of EV stuff and it’s all retrofit EV technology where you can46 minutes
take cool old cars and, you know, stuff these battery and, you know, uh, electric motors in them and make them cool.46 minutes, 10 seconds
Like our industry makes stuff pretty cool. Um, and, and I think it’s been kind of wild because when I first came in the industry, I think people were already talking about.46 minutes, 22 seconds
You know, the, the, the future of the big horsepower V eight is kind of gonna die and go away.46 minutes, 32 seconds
Um, but I feel like every year. You know, companies like Dodge will just hold my beer.46 minutes, 39 seconds
I’m going to come out with a thousand horsepower, you know, Dodge demon off the showroom floor.46 minutes, 47 seconds
And, you know, so it’s just like, there are, there are things that are constantly changing and then there are some things that are just like a constant.46 minutes, 54 seconds
Um, which is kind of fun to see the, the juxtaposition between the two because47 minutes
things, things do evolve, uh, but then the stuff that stays the same still trends towards also developing and evolving.47 minutes, 11 seconds
And that’s been, that’s always been really cool to see just in my short time of being in the industry.47 minutes, 17 seconds
Um, and you know, there’s, there’s always tons of things happening on47 minutes, 23 seconds
the hill that are kind of wild to see because it kind of all depends on who’s in office and all that good stuff.47 minutes, 30 seconds
So it’s a little bit crazy to be involved in the, the SEMA pack and see that stuff up close.47 minutes, 37 seconds
But, um, no, I, I, I think, I think the coolest changes for me is that, you know,47 minutes, 45 seconds
technology continues to evolve, some things stay the same, and then I think one of the coolest things is seeing what, now I get to talk about it, because I47 minutes, 56 seconds
guess I am older, uh, and I’m almost like too old to be an FLN, which is kind of a crazy thing to think about, because that’s kind of where I got my start.48 minutes, 6 seconds
Future leaders network. Um, but it’s really cool to see what the, like the next generation’s doing.48 minutes, 12 seconds
The whole, the whole seeing how marketing has changed to the, the influencer48 minutes, 19 seconds
side of things where it’s, everybody has a voice, everybody gets to put their crazy idea out into the world. It’s.48 minutes, 28 seconds
It’s no longer Hot Rod Magazine telling people what’s cool.48 minutes, 32 seconds
It’s, you get to see people like the, the one guy from Ford era, uh, God, what’s his name?48 minutes, 40 seconds
It’s, it’s like a biblical name of some, some… But he’s just building old trucks and just making them ridiculous.48 minutes, 48 seconds
But everybody gets to… Say what’s cool.48 minutes, 52 seconds
It’s no longer, you know, a few publications or a few people saying, you know, deciding. It’s, it’s really cool to see how everybody has a voice.49 minutes, 2 seconds
And I’m not saying all of it’s cool, but there’s a lot of stuff that’s just Way out there. That’s pretty gnarly and neat to see.Chapter 15: Staying Up-to-Date with Latest Trends and Technologies
49 minutes, 9 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: how are now, how are you staying up to date with like the latest trends and technologies and, you know, are there any specific, uh, events, publications?49 minutes, 18 seconds
I mean, you’ve talked about SEMA a lot. Anything else that you like? Resources.49 minutes, 22 seconds
Ian Lehn: Yeah, uh, I mean, SEMA does, shop, yeah, I will read some articles written by Mr.49 minutes, 29 seconds
Josh Polson in the shop magazine. Those are always cutting edge, cutting edge stuff. Um, no, SEMA does a pretty good job of like, they do a lot of market research.49 minutes, 41 seconds
Um, and, and, and share it with everybody who’s like, um, you know,49 minutes, 45 seconds
everybody who’s a member gets to, uh, uh, get a pretty good insight to where the automotive aftermarket is.49 minutes, 52 seconds
Um, they got a guy named Gavin there that does really good, good stuff. Um, Jesse Stoddard: we don’t get, uh, yeah.49 minutes, 59 seconds
Ian Lehn: Did you, did you know he dressed as a wizard for Halloween? I was like.50 minutes, 3 seconds
If, why are you not carrying a staff and checking IDs and saying you shall not pass, like, missed Jesse Stoddard: is a data, he’s the data wizard.50 minutes, 13 seconds
Right. That’s what he’s into. Yeah. Ian Lehn: He is the data wizard. Um, I’m also, I’m also a part of, uh, SAE.50 minutes, 22 seconds
Which is the Society of Automotive Jesse Stoddard: That’s super nerdy. Ian Lehn: kind of like, Jesse Stoddard: nerdy. Ian Lehn: yeah, it’s super nerdy.50 minutes, 29 seconds
Oh man, I get to sit on those phone calls. Very different phone calls than the SEMA phone calls.50 minutes, 36 seconds
Um, and, and they’re, they’re a lot more technical as far as like the type of information that they put out.50 minutes, 44 seconds
Um, and it’s a lot more OEM based and, and stuff like that.50 minutes, 48 seconds
And believe it or not, I’m going out to San Diego on Saturday to potentially50 minutes, 55 seconds
get contributor of the year for SAE, which is, Oh, I don’t know if they know.51 minutes, 3 seconds
Oh, oh, yeah. Yeah, this this podcast comes out after this weekend, right? So I still have a chance.51 minutes, 12 seconds
Jesse Stoddard: Yeah. Ian Lehn: Okay, thank you. Thank you for that. I mean, yeah, yeah, it’ll be it’ll be a little bit crazy to kind of hear that.51 minutes, 21 seconds
And Josh, I don’t even think you know this, but I also sit on a board for the climate change lobby.51 minutes, 30 seconds
The first meeting I go to, they’re like, Let’s go around the room and talk about what everybody does for a living.51 minutes, 37 seconds
And I was like, so, I do this thing. And they’re like, interesting, interesting, is all they kept saying.51 minutes, 46 seconds
And I was like, Jesse Stoddard: That’s awesome. Ian Lehn: I’m just, I’m just here, here to have a conversation. Jesse Stoddard: That’s awesome. Well, we’re kind of running short on time.51 minutes, 55 seconds
This has been awesome.51 minutes, 56 seconds
I don’t know if you’re open to a follow up interview, but we’d love to have you back again in a future episode and maybe keep the conversation going. But before we go;Chapter 16: The Ghostbusters Poster Story: A Fun Interlude
52 minutes, 5 seconds
Ian Lehn: yeah Jesse Stoddard: Um, but I do want to ask if maybe the short version of the Ghostbusters poster story, just to leave us with some entertainment value here.52 minutes, 12 seconds
What is this thing about? Why is it up? Ian Lehn: Well, so this is an original, this is an original poster from, you know, the eighties.52 minutes, 23 seconds
That my girlfriend got me. Good job. Good job. 1984 was when the first one came out. 89 was when Ghostbusters 2 came out.52 minutes, 32 seconds
And the new trailer just dropped for, uh, the newest Ghostbusters. It’s gonna come out, Josh. Okay?52 minutes, 39 seconds
Um, I’m a huge Ghostbusters fan. Uh, so much so that a few years ago…52 minutes, 46 seconds
I made a proton pack, uh, that is completely operational.52 minutes, 53 seconds
And, uh, I, I, I read it. I used a Ryobi garden sprayer and essentially put a bunch of PVC pipe in it.53 minutes, 3 seconds
So it would dispense, uh, mixed drinks, uh, to people at, at Halloween parties. And my, my, my McKenzie goes.53 minutes, 13 seconds
How much did you spend on this Halloween costume? And I was like, Dave, it’s a few hundred bucks. And she goes, I can’t believe you did that.53 minutes, 22 seconds
And then we went to the first like Halloween party and I ended up winning the contest and I made, I, I kind of, I broke even.53 minutes, 31 seconds
Let’s just put it that way.53 minutes, 32 seconds
I broke even on Jesse Stoddard: uh, for your next, uh, trade show, I gotta, I, I don’t know if this, this is a winner of an idea, but you gotta dress up full on, you know,53 minutes, 40 seconds
uh, Dan Aykroyd or whatever, the whole costume, and you have to have the pack, but it’s gonna have to, you’re gonna have to use it to dispense Boostain.53 minutes, 49 seconds
So that, so you have Ghostbusters and everything with Boostain, and then you’re actually going to go up and use that to put it in. That, that’s a little, little branding, marketing thing you could do for fun.53 minutes, 58 seconds
And you gotta rewrite the song. We gotta make a jingle. Uh, who you gonna call? And then it’s gonna be like, Boostain, or something like that. Like, we gotta get that, like, put that together and make a jingle.54 minutes, 7 seconds
And by the way, when you…54 minutes, 8 seconds
When you do parody songs and you do satire, legally, you don’t have to worry about copyright,54 minutes, 13 seconds
like you would if you, like, write a, uh, if you’re, if you write an original song that sounds like another song that’s copyright infringement, but parody, uh, falls outside of that.54 minutes, 22 seconds
So you can create a pair, just like Weird Al Yankovic, you know, you, you write a parody song with Ghostbusters. Yep. Totally need to make that your, that’s your character.54 minutes, 31 seconds
Ian Lehn: And I will 100 percent do that next year if Josh commits right now to helping me build the Ecto 1 so that I can drive it in the SEMA show parade.54 minutes, 43 seconds
And anybody listening, I will LS I will I will LS swap a 1956 Cadillac Uh, I think it was like an ambulance or something like that.54 minutes, 55 seconds
But Josh has to build it, and he has to say that he loves Jesse Stoddard: And the state puff marshmallow man or like the Goodyear tire or something like some monster has to walk behind you.55 minutes, 4 seconds
It’d be awesome. Ian Lehn: Josh! Josh dresses as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man! Oh, I mean, this is great!55 minutes, 10 seconds
How could we lose Jesse Stoddard: All right Well, Ian Lane, thank you very much for being on today.55 minutes, 15 seconds
We really appreciate you and, uh, any last words for our, for our viewers and listeners today?Chapter 17: Final Thoughts and Appreciation
55 minutes, 23 seconds
Ian Lehn: Oh man, no, I, I’m just excited you guys asked me to be on here. It’s still kind of surreal, the whole person of the year thing.55 minutes, 31 seconds
Uh, yeah, I, I, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for all, all the folks that have kind of helped me along the way.55 minutes, 38 seconds
And, you know, it’s, it’s easy to, it’s easy to give back to an industry that’s given you basically a whole career in life.55 minutes, 46 seconds
So I’m, I’m, I’m excited to be in it and I’ll, I’ll keep doing all this fun stuff and hanging out, even hanging out with people like Josh.55 minutes, 55 seconds
I’ll do all of those things that, you know, the hard work, the hard work. Jesse Stoddard: Alright, thanks man. Appreciate it. Ian Lehn: Thanks guys.56 minutes, 5 seconds
Ride-in-Style: And there you have it.56 minutes, 6 seconds
Another high-octane episode of the Ride-in-Style podcast—revved up and ready to go.56 minutes, 11 seconds
Your hosts, Jesse Stoddard and Josh Poulsen shifted your automotive game into overdrive.56 minutes, 18 seconds
If you’re hungry for more insights, trends, and game-changing interviews from the automotive restyling universe, don’t forget to hit subscribe and leave a glowing review.56 minutes, 27 seconds
We’d also love for you to share this podcast with your gearheads, installers, and auto lovers network. Because remember, knowledge is power, but shared knowledge turbocharges.56 minutes, 38 seconds
For more expert resources to supercharge your business, cruise on over to AutoStyleMarketing.Com, your one-stop shop for everything automotive marketing.56 minutes, 48 seconds
Until next time, keep those wheels spinning and your passion ignited. Thank you for riding in style with us. See you on the next lap.
