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Episode Transcript
Welcome back to sort of sophisticated people. You know the drill by now. We're Pete and Amanda, and we talk about stuff that we hope one makes you a little smarter, and two, hopefully see things from a different perspective every once in a while. Well, that's a thesis anyways. It was when we started. Are we like, do you think we're still on track? Um, totally. Okay, good. Thank That's such a vote of confidence. Let's go. Yes. Well, before we get started today, I wanted to reintroduce our guest host, Mr. Alex k Kpk, because today we will be finishing up our three part series on his totally incredible story of immigrating to the US from Argentina when he was just a teenager and carving out a life for himself and his family for the last 50 years? Hello, Alex. Wow. Hello. Hello. And thank you for having me back and thank you for calling me Mister It's Doctor. Oh, is it? No. Oh, it should be right. I was gonna feel so bad. Thank you, you guys. Absolutely. Thanks for coming in and I swear they really should make a movie out of your story because it's incredible, dude. Um, do you know how many people told me like. For parts one and two, like how much feedback I've gotten already, like, dude, this should totally be a movie. This should totally be a movie. Is that Absolutely. Is this real? Yeah. Is this real? I'm like, right. The guy's real, like, it totally, it's, it's, it's insane. Yes. I'm getting a lot of feedback, so I love it. Um, but wait, I have a question. Uh, with tax day coming up and all I need to know, um, did you always pay your taxes, like when you weren't like legal Alex, or were you a cheater? I kind of wanna know that. We just deep, it's very topical right now. We just went deep. I know. I'm going at you since day one, since day one, since day one, even though it said, uh, how do you file taxes without having like an ID number? A social security number. There's a little story behind it. Oh, here we go. Okay, go. I'm ready. Wow. Here we go. Alright, well I was going to college. I'm gonna fact, I'm fact checking this. Yeah, go ahead. I was going to college and then, uh, they were gonna start giving me a paycheck for working construction, which I really wasn't supposed to do on an H one Visa. Mm-hmm. Student visa. Yeah. But they said, well, if you had a social security number, go get a fake social security number. But instead of that, I walked into the Social Security office and I already had a California ID driver's license. I said, I need a social security number. And they go, well, what happened to yours? It got lost in a flood. Oh my God. No. My dog ate it. Oh my God. No, this isn't fair that they could do that all those years ago. I know, I know. I said, and they go, where were you born? In Pasadena, but I was actually taken to South America with my parents. Oh my God. This is exceptional. I'm gonna get really, I'm gonna get Elon Musk on this and the whole like Doge and see if they can catch it. No, no, no. But they gave me a social security number, but it said in red. Yeah. Not, not valid for work, huh? Oh, but that's how you filed. But I just filed, Hey, from day one, I paid all my taxes. But guess what? It's not how much you pay. It's not how much you make. It's how much you keep. Well, because be very smart about that. Yes, I know. Um, hey, so fun fact. Did you know that the IRS originally. Had tax day on March 1st. Really? Yes. On March 1st? Yes. Why? They moved it like all the way back in like when it started like 1915. Yes. That was a thing. They moved it. 'cause apparently people needed more time. Spoiler alert. We still all wait till the last minute. Yeah. It wasn't like till like 1955 that it got moved to April 15th. I didn't know that. Oh yeah. March 1st. That is, does Argentina have a tax day? Well of course. I mean, I'm sure everybody has a tax day you file, but, but do you know like is it like, is it like May 15th or something like that? Or? No, you know, I never even paid a Oh, you went to, I never even bought an ice cream with my own money in Argentina. Right. Oh, fair. Yeah. Alright, well, are we done yet? Can we get started? 'cause if not we, we may need like a part four of these series, which I'm not complaining about. Oh my God. But we just might Okay. Sort of though. Um, we need word of the day first. Okay, well why don't you lay it on us. Okay. So the word of the Alex, you remember word of the day. We gotta figure out how to work in Word of the Day. Yes. Are you with me? Okay. Our word of the day. Today is. Lugubrious Lugubrious people. It means looking or sounding sad or dismal. Oh yeah. Like in a, like usually exaggerated or like over the top way. I'm sorry. Lugubrious. Lugubrious lag. Yes. Like you got a luie? No, no. Like lugubrious, like, like me for the last like 18 months. I'm very lugubrious looking. Sad. I mean, Louies look sad. Yes, I do. Louies do look sad. Okay. I went a little darker than you, but Yes, I got you. So, so, so would a, would a like a cemetery in the middle of a Yeah. Like, like that would be Lugubrious place to visit. It's a person who's lugubrious. So like you're, you would be It's a mood. Yeah. It's a mood. Yes. Thank you. Right to move. All right. So we gotta work the mood in. Okay. We're gonna work it in. Work it in people. Let's go. I felt lag Urby many times. Yes, I hear you. All right. So then a quick recap. So part one, we talked about childhood and growing up in a politically charged 1960s Argentina with Russian parents who had immigrated 15 years earlier. And that 18, you made the bold decision to move to the United States and go to college and started building a whole new life. And then in part two, we talked about the challenges of adapting to life in the United States and then we finish up with you marrying Sylvia and finding stable work after trying your hand at a few businesses before landing in the restaurant industry. So far so good. Very good. Accurate. All right. Perfect. I love it. So, uh, I was, I was listening. Where are we jumping in today? Okay. You're in America. You're probably like in your late thirties, and you and Sylvia just probably adopted Sasha. And you meet me. Shit. Shit. I've known you for a long time, dude. You were in your thirties when we met. Wait, hold on. We adopted Sasha. We adopted Sasha. Uh, I'll get to it. Okay. Well, that's fun. Okay. What? Oh, I'm, I'm having a, I feel like you just jumped ahead. I'm having a minute right now with how long I've known him. Yeah. We met in 19, well, we'll call it ninety three, nineteen ninety three. How old were you? 30. Uh, kill me. You were in your thirties? Yeah, 32. I, I cannot believe that. How old were you? 18, 19. I don't even know. You were coming outta school, dude. You were, you came outta a university, right? Can Graduat can, I'm feeling, I'm feeling exceptionally old right now. And vulnerable. Um, maybe, maybe a little lugubrious Do we wanna talk about? Not gonna lie. Well played. I'm having a moment right now. Can uh, um, do we wanna talk about how old I was in 1990? No, I'm just kidding. You Just even born. I was born, but this is what I like about this was bored. It's okay. It's like, it's like so many different generations. This is super cool. It's all perspective. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Alright, so, so let's, we're gonna jump in then. Okay. So let's start with how did you go from working in food service and managing restaurants to like the whole health and beauty world? Yeah. Okay. So I got married. I, I, like I said, I needed a steady job. I worked in the restaurant business 10, 11 years. 11 years. And, uh, by then I already had my, uh, uh, my daughter. My daughter was born and she was adopted. We'll get to ba to uh, to Ashita. We'll get to that later. Uh, 'cause it's a little side story in itself, but, um, uh, no, I have to say it. We had adopted Sasha, by the time that I decided I was spending too many hours into, into the restaurant business. And, um, on a Father's Day, she walks into the restaurant with a, uh, uh, happy Father's Day card. And I go, wow. My daughter is walking. I was working 80 hours a week. Wow. And I said, this is no life for me. I, I wanna be home more. And, um, she took her first steps in your restaurant. Well, well, well, like, not your, but like Yeah. Probably at home. And then you walked into your restaurant. Right, right, right, right. Yeah. It was crazy. It was totally crazy. So I said, okay. Well, um, um. I need something, I need to do something different. Um, my wife, Sylvia, was already working for the beauty industry, but she was in the, uh, accounting and finance, uh, area of it. Sorry, we didn't make it clear. Sylvia is a smart one in the family. Stop it, Peter. No problem. Con continuity. She's, yeah, she's definitely the, uh, the CFO of Of Correctamundo Yeah. Of this. She manages all his finances, very tight, personal business. But, um, the, the company she was working with, uh, and for, um, decided to have their first million dollar, uh, dinner at my restaurant. I met the owner, and the owner invited me to go to work for him. And I said, look, uh, what would I do? They go, oh, I like your personality. You talk to customers. Maybe you could be in sales. And I said, well, I, I took business classes. I like management, but I'm gonna try it anyways. It was an open door. So I took the opportunity, uh, I came in. I noticed how much of, of, of, uh, I guess an aspiration that I had in the past to be in some kind of a science related field. And it all came very clear to me that, uh, the, um, um, contract manufacturing of formulating products for the skin and personal care and for the, uh, wellbeing of people, uh, was something that really touched home. So I decided to dive into it. Went to, um, UCLA, took some cosmetic, uh, ingredient formulating classes. I'm not a chemist. Did that make you, um, sort of sophisticated or like really sophisticated tm? That was awesome right there. Yeah. Oh yeah. Well, it's, it was intellectually stimulating. So I, I, I guess I get, uh, I. Uh, I get a high from that. So, um, I'm not a chemist at a molecular level, but I learned enough about cosmetic ingredients and their derivatives and their compounds and everything else to say, I know that 2%, that can make me a little bit better than the next person. So I went back to, the, uh, lab, what I was working for and started working on my career. And that's when you met me and that's, and I looked up to you and said, oh my God, he's a scientist. That's when I started calling you a doctor and you were like, well, I'm not really a doctor, Peter. I just went to UCLA for a little while and I was like, well, shit, I didn't go to UCLA. And our love story started, I think, and that yes. And you know, human beings only retain about 2% of anything anybody ever tries to. Oh my God, I'm in trouble. But if you do, right, if you do, you're two percent's a hundred percent more than the guy that doesn't know anything. So there you go. So you got to go home every day at four o'clock then. Oh, you bet. And see your daughter. Oh, you bet. You bet. Nine to five. Yeah. Uh, it was, I mean, just relaxed hours we had, I can't, I mean, I never forget it. We had California admissions day off, banking day off. Yeah, I know. Well, that was crazy. President. And you still in all that, you still ran circles around Eugene LaPorte and Jim Yowl, so there, you know what I mean? Totally right. Totally. Absolutely. After working 80 hours in a restaurant, I mean, you work 40 hours. I 40 hours. I know. Monday through Friday you could, you could murder people. I completely understand it. Okay. Um. We could probably share like a million stories because like that's when we met. And like I now, now everything from here on out. I totally know. Um, but let's not bore everybody because um, it would just be too old guys. Like, just talking about a bunch of dumb war stories. So, um, like sum it all up, like, like what did you learn in the last 30 years in the health and beauty industry? Like, or like a few key themes or anything like that you would say like, Hey, like I took this away. Like this is important like life lesson or valuable info for us from that in particular? Yes. A lot. A lot, a lot. First of all, when you're working in the personal care cosmetic industry, right? Uh, is not an FDA regulated as far as uh, like say a, a prescription medicine that you take. Well shit, it wasn't back then, dude. But nowadays it's crazy. Well, yes it is a lot. We've gone, we've come pretty far Alex in 35 years, but still at the time, go for it. It's a, it's a self-regulated industry. So it's a, we're in the ethical business and anything that, uh, you're represented to the client would be something that you can really deliver on. And you have to be, uh, true and you have to know what you're talking about and you build your reputation on build me this brand or build me this product. So that's, I mean, I'm not gonna bore you on this whole thing, but Alex had the most prestigious reputation in all of the whole health and beauty contract manufacturing industry and side note president of the SEC, um, and beauty industry West and beauty industry west. The guy's insane. Like he's a legend in the industry space and he is not talking about any of that. And I love that. And we don't like, we don't have to go there or anything, but my point, your point of your reputation means everything. He wasn't slippery. He was awesome. He was authentic, he was awesome and it mattered. I love that. These are, you built your own brand, the, he built the Alex Kuck brand. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, definitely. My, my name is my brand Yeah. In the industry. Yeah. And I, amazing. I stand behind it. But when you see a celebrity driven product, or when you see a promise driven product, or when you see a doctor, a dermatologist driven product, uh, they want to say, oh, I and my team developed this product. And it was us, it was us developing brands. Fortune 500 companies came to us and say to Peter and I actually, and say, Hey, we're gonna go out with a new skincare program or a new haircare product, uh, next season. And it's almost like if Chevrolet, Porsche and Ford would came to, would come to you and to say, invent something that my customer base would love for next year. And under non-disclosure agreements, we had to develop formulas and products for those brands so nobody knows behind the. You're the secret sauce. Yeah. Yeah. Behind the scenes. So I do have a question. Okay, go ahead. So like, like Kylie Jenners, right? Mm-hmm. Her cosmetic brand. Right. Is she actively involved in that? Um, or is that just like, she makes a few key decisions, but Yeah, like she's not fragrance. Yeah. I mean, look, it's kinda like someone comes with the, like the different products. Like is it this A, B, or C? Right. Well, it could be, but it's mostly just her image. It could be one or two. Either she licensed her name to somebody else. Of course, right? Yeah. Or she says, no, I want to do it and I wanna be behind the brand and I want to be in the lab with Alex and Pete. Have you, have you like, come across that, that like, the celebrity brand that actually wanna be in the lab? Did we built we've built celebrity brands in the lab. Oh yeah. Oldest the celebrities, but Yes, absolutely. Huh? Angie Everhart, Bo Derek. Like we, we like, we did this Stella Sylva stall, right? Yeah. Sylvester's, uh, Jennifer Flavin. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. They come, I'm amazed that they, you're like, we're in there, Victoria. That's awesome. Secret. Yeah. Michael, why Michael Jordan? Oh my God. Yes. Michael Jordan. What came into our lap? Yes. Picked a fragrance. Came into our lab. We did Michael Jordan Club. Yes, totally. Alright, we're, wait. Hey, hey. We're way off track people. No, no, no. That's fascinating. I, that's fascinating. We filled 26 million bottles of Michael Jordan Cologne annually. Annual. For, for, yes, for. We were crazy. It was crazy. That's a lot of, that's a lot. I mean, I can tell you a lot of stories. Yes. But. Anyway. Oh my. Continue. So he took away reputation. And it takes, you know, and, and you learn patience. And you learn patience. So that's why you have to stay true to these people. These people come over, uh, anybody can come over and say, I had an idea. I want a chemical free, uh, blah, blah, blah for my baby. And it's gonna take you a year, a year and a half to test and develop and everything else. So this is not like, let me sell you a house. Yeah. Or let me sell you a right. A hardware. Development. Right? It is a relationship that you're developing as well as developing the product, right? Because I, I am sure if those clients are like super happy, then they're gonna refer you, right? That you're building your empire. Like, and I know now that you have to, as careful as we are to be true and ethical and honest and patient and everything else, it builds character. Yeah. And, and you can, I mean, ask me another question because they say this, you can basically transport to any other area of your life. I mean, I, I feel like we all should be leading with integrity in our lives. But when you're, even when everything depends on, on what you say and do, you know, it's not just punching the time card and leaving. So this is why I put a lot of, uh, trust and faith in my relationships, my friends, and also my business deals. I want to know. What kind of person you're gonna be dealing with the rest of your days. So do you think the people make the difference or do you think it's like the process or technology advancements in the industry? Like what is the biggest driver? It's people. It's people, it's character, it's ethics. It's you looking at each and every human being around you, uh, as your, your partner in life, your friend, your somebody you can trust. I mean, multimillion dollar deals are made sometimes just by somebody looking at, uh, your shoes and knowing if you take good care of yourself or not, or your family life. Um, call me crazy, but I read people, uh, Peter, but you always said. Emotional intelligence. You had it, it goes a long way. Yeah. And, and I didn't even know what emotional intelligence intelligence was until, until I taught you. Until. Right. Mike, fearless leader here. Thank you. Thank you. This one taught you well, maybe that's the whiskey talking, but Wow. Okay, what I'm hearing is then in order to, um, build your brand and build who you are, we need to be authentic. We need to like make sure we have a good reputation,, be reliable, have patience, like we just need to be good people overall. You'll be you. Yeah. Okay. And, and I mean, you'll be you. Earlier I thought you said something about like Rotary club. Sorry, I'm sparking, but, um, how did the Rotary Club come about? How did you fit that in while you were running around the country selling beauty products Total lucky move. Total. I was, uh, uh, couple years before in the restaurant business, um, the Rotary Club became, um, co-ed. I guess they started accepting women also in the leadership and they were looking for a banquet room. So I had the restaurant, I recommended it, and then I decided to join with them as a charter member or the, one of the first co-ed Rotary clubs. Of course you did. Wow. In America. 'cause that's how you work. Yeah. And so this was pre beauty? Well, yeah. About it. Same time. Same time. Oh, it all was going on at the same time. How did that just Yeah, wow. That's a lot. Okay. Um, but, you know, I think your Siberia story was also a lot like the radio guy that heard your voice in, I mean, point God go to Siberia in the first place. Okay. By the way, I, all the light, you cannot see. Anybody, the book, the movie, nothing. Do we know what we're talking about? World War ii, the whole radio operators thing. Right? That totally reminds me of Alex's story with the radio operator in Siberia. Sure. The short, it was the short waves. Yeah, it was, it was nuts. Okay. Anyway. Crazy. Sorry, what were we talking about? Siberia. Tell Siberia. Just talk Rotary Club. Siberia. Talk to us. Right, exactly. Yeah. So the Siberian trip was actually sponsored by the, uh, rotary Club. They had, uh, a group of dentists that decided to go to Humanitarian Mission. I'm sorry, dentists. Yes. You went to Siberia with a bunch of boring dentists. Well, they needed a translator and an interpreter, so they were from holy shit. That's awesome. So I, you know, they were in the rotary class because you were the Russian like mafia. I raised my hand and oh my God, this is amazing. So they go, well, can you translate and interpret? And I said, I don't. Of course, of course I can. Let's go. I can translate and also I can interpret if the guy is pointing a gun at you. I said, he's pissed off and he's gonna, that's so they go, okay, you're good enough. Yeah. That's pretty funny. That's amazing. Yeah. So we went on a humanitarian mission to visit, um, uh, orphanages there. We took him dental equipment, worked with,, the,, children's hospitals and children, kindergarten schools. And, uh, for two weeks, that was their mission. And I went with them So where'd you go? Like where did you end up? Like in like, in a concentration camp somewhere, dude, or what? What sort of where, wait, sort of maan, the forbidden city. I'm sorry. Maan. Maan. What is Maan? It's. By the Kamchatka Peninsula. Holy Jesus. Okay. This is very, know, this is very sophisticated. I like you fly from, uh, you fly from Anchorage, Alaska, okay. To Maan. Yeah. It's a four hour trip, right? Yeah. A four hour flight. Gimme an idea. Is this like Mongolia or where are you? I don't, I have no idea where the hell this is. No, it's, yeah, it's above China. It's above Japan. Come choc up and Insul. Alright. So far Eastern Siberia. It's mon, it's Mongolia dude, right? Where right. Were communism for, for 50 years. Yeah. Sent all of the dissidents and all of their, uh, uh, to the Gulas. To the Gulas. The Gulas. Yes. To the labor camps. Yeah. Yeah. They call them. Okay. Yeah. So, um, yes. That's holy shit. Incredible. So, I, I, I. I guess we landed there. I tried to meet the people there and I'm looking and they all look like me. They all look like west. Like You mean ugly or do you mean lugubrious? You're well played. It was a rubious scene. It really? Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much. Yes. And you know yeah. You expect to see these. Wait, why do they look like you? Well, because for 50 years Western Europeans, Ukrainians, Polish people like me, yeah. Were sent to the labor camps to work there. Uh, in 1990 when communism fell, they opened the doors of the labor camps and there's basically nothing, there's no train or anything going all the way back to, uh, to the, uh, Western Fund again. Oh shit. So they stayed and lived there, plus their families. Their wives followed them. Yeah. To where, because that's they, because that's where their life was now. Exactly. So just to, oh my God. Yeah. Just to send them a, you know, send them some food or, or whatever they needed while they were in the camp. And you could be sending the camp in those days. I mean, you were, let's say that you were in Poland or Ukraine or dude, but it was like fucking, like negative 50. And they lived there. They had to, oh my God. The, the stories I heard, I mean, they would fight for a pick and shovel just to try to go and work in the gold mines there. Otherwise it would freeze to death if you don't move. No, no. Is these people had to be, these people had to be industrious dude. Like, or to live, or you don't want die to live. Oh, you don't want to die. Oh my God. So you just move, talk about the opposite of Lugubrious, right? Right. Oh yeah, sir. Okay. I'm with you. Okay, here's a, here's a fact. Gimme a fun fact. You know how many dissidents they killed? 1 million. 23 million. Wow. No. 23 million. What? Go, just go and Google this shit wherever you want. But that's how many stall. Okay. I'm gonna GTS and let you guys keep going. That, that's insane. Okay. What else besides Siberia, do you have anything else? Like, I, you told me a story about Costa Rica once, was there anything in Costa Rica through the Rotary Club also? Yes. You did go there. Yes. Yeah, we sent dental equipment there. We sent medical equipment there. It's not easy, it's all heavy work. But when you get th there and you'll see how much they appreciate it, you'll love it. And besides, you make life long relationships, friends forever. Did I, I did, did I miss out on the whole Rotary Club thing? Like can I, am I allowed to still go or am I too old? Did I age outta the Rotary club or can I get involved now? No, you would be perfect for it. Really? Oh yeah. Semi-independent and, huh? Oh yeah. Alright. Gimme an example of one of these lifelong friends that you, uh, you claim you speak of. Gimme one of these friends. I want know, well, first of all, I can go, I'm, I'm gonna call you out right now. I wanna know if you've really made one or not. I can go anywhere in the world and have friends there. Friends that I consider themselves family. We had their children, we hosted their children here for a student exchange program, or we sent our own, uh, kids to Australia or Namibia or China or wherever it is. This is crazy because I remember all these stories when you used to tell me when we were at work. Sure. And like how, like Yes. I think we need to join a rotary club. Like, it's fantastic. Like Fabio. I mean, he was 18 years old. Oh my God. I remember Fabio, you talking about Fabio all the time. Fabio. Holy shit. Right? I wanted to freeze Fabio until my daughter would grow up and be married. Age. I love that. Oh yeah. What an excellent person. He, I mean, he was 18 years old, came over here. He went to Corona High School. We hosted him at home. Um, we taught him English and he taught us, I mean, he taught me at least pronunciation in perfect Portuguese. Just like a native. Wait. How many languages do you speak? Seven. Jesus. Okay. All right. So we're up to Portuguese. Okay. This is Christ. They, they still confuse me when I go visit him. 'cause I go visit him. He was Do you still see him? 28. He, he turned 28. He, he became a world famous economist in Brazil. Right. Wow. Started, yeah. Started handling. Oh shit. Shout out to our episode, carnival Brazil. Let's go. Oh, there you go. Right. Okay. Sorry. Continue. Yeah, let's go. We did a little, we did the whole like real de Oh, yeah. Okay. Sorry. Sorry. It's beautiful. We should have, you know, we should had Fabio won. You should have. We should have would've been a good ad. We blew it. So when he turned 28, 10 years later, right, we get an invite to his wedding. Fabio said, I want you to be my American dad, best man at my wedding in Brazil. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Didn't he have a dad? Yes. So he had like a Brazilian dad that was his dad. But Dad, you call, you called me your brother, and I'm not even related to you. Oh my God. No, no, no. I get what you're saying. I, um, I want you. So that's, so that's very like, intimate. That's very important. Like, I, I think that's amazing, Peter. It's, it's the relationships that you grow when you have somebody's kid in your house. Yeah. No, I can't even believe this. Like your family. Yeah. No, forget. Okay, so then he was there, he was at home when Sasha was born. So Sasha's like her Fabio's little sister. Uh, 10 years afterwards, after he left, he invited me to be his best man, uh, at the, wedding. I mean, we're going now, at the end of the year for his 15 year olds, uh, quinceanera. That's unbelievable. Wow. That's amazing, dude. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's how all about relationships. This is how big this world is, and this is how you can definitely, have family all over the world. By the way, I just looked this mofo up on LinkedIn. He was the CFO of General Electric Transportation. You're not kidding. Yeah. So you had him in your house, you're 18 years old. Yes. Hanging out with your fam and now he's the ceo EO of hydro waves of Brazil. Yeah. Okay. Everything in Brazil. There's no freeways or trains. Fabio, I don't know if you're listening. I love you. I don't even know you, but I love you. All right. In Brazil, there's no, you're amazing. They don't have trains or freeways. It's all jungle. Right. So all of the freight moves through the rivers. Yeah, through the Amazon and all the tributaries, all the way to Buenos. Thank you Teddy Roosevelt. Fabio is the shit. CEO of hydro waves of Brazil today. Wow. They fly him from his house. Hey, is that how you got involved with the whole Amazonian alliance or no? Totally. Totally separate? No, totally different. Really? Yes. Okay. That's, yeah. Oh my God. I don't wanna go there. We gotta make a movie other, other, right. Lets, otherwise we got like a whole part four going on. So then, was your missionary work separate from the Rotary Club or was it one and the same? No, it's, I mean, it's two separate entities. Um, but how'd you have time for that in, because in your heart you do what the right thing is. I mean, you're, if we're in business or we're in Rotary Club or we're in church, um, Alex, we need something. What do you need? You need blood. So how did you like, have time to like do Rotary Club, like travel all over the world to do sales and then be like, oh yeah, I'm still gonna do ministry work. Like, really like, you, you like pulled that off. 'cause I remember you going down to Mexico and like building houses with your church and stuff. And, and I can take no credit for it. Nothing. It's, you are who you are. He's said yes to opportunity, but it was like every weekend, dude. Okay. Then get a wife that will say, let's do this. This is who you are. I'll support you. Go and do, I mean you do you? Oh my god, dude. Shout out to Sylvia kpk. Are you serious? Like I was raising four kids, like Gabby would've killed me. And you are like building houses in Mexico. And I like, I remember recently you just did the whole, like you helped like refugees recently, like in San Diego, dude. Yeah. But your own attitude built me up to do these things. Uh, everybody does what they're called for, I guess it's purpose. Uh, okay. Well first of all, I really look up to you and second of all, I need to hear the story about the, Ukrainian refugees again, because I couldn't believe that shit. I'm sitting at work one day and you're getting in a, i I think you rented a van and you're like, dude, I gotta get outta here. I gotta go. I'm like, where are you going? You're like, I'm gonna San Diego my, can you fill in some blanks? My cousin did it was at the onset of the Ukrainian war. Right. So my cousin calls me and said, uh, there's a whole bunch of Ukrainians that, basically sold everything they had and they came to the United States, but in order to get in as refugees from the war, uh, they're all stuck in Tijuana. So he says, I went over there and started helping him with a Ukrainian flag and saying, everything is free. Ask me for whatever help you need and we will help you. I said, great. Let's do it. So some of them, we gave him direction, some family needed a couple hundred bucks to get over the border and get a hotel, or we talked to, uh, you know, churches in San Diego and said, can you take a family, a refugees? This is amazing. Well, yeah. I mean, look, your heart tells you something. You just go for it and do it. If you're gonna do something, do it a hundred percent right? So we're not gonna go there and, I don't know, stand on the other side of the wall and pray that everything goes good. If you can physically do something for something you're awesome and I love you. I just want you to know that you're awesome. Alex, I mean, your life is extraordinary. Like, I can't even fathom how you've crammed all that you've done into just the years you've been alive But like, how do you see yourself now? Like, are you Russian? Are you Argentinian? Are you an American? Are you all three? Like how do you I culturally identify, first of all, how about if I tell you that. It's not my life, it's a life that, that the creator of this universe that made us whole, seriously, stop it right now. You're killing me. Yeah. The creator, right? You are the arms and legs of God. You got it. That's the plan. Yes. A visible sign of God's love. Yes. It's purpose, right? Yes. Right. I love, I love you, right. Holy crap. I was at a Alright, but you have to pick one. Are you Russian? I Are you Russian? Are you Argentinian or are you American? I am American 150%. Oh my God. Let's go. I'm so interested. What, what is your definition of being American? Because, I mean, I feel like we're the a badass mofo. I know, but who has awesome stories, but we're like in this cultural, war of what it means to be American and how you identify as American right. So America gives you freedom. Um, but America also holds very dear the word liberty. And, uh, you're free to be whoever you want, but there's a difference in words between what we consider freedom and what other countries say, well, my freedom ends where yours starts, right? So don't abuse it. do the best you can until somebody says, oh, you're not free to do that. Okay, then I'll move to Australia, Canada, or wherever it is, just to be myself. But I know that you're serving the greater good. we need more Americans like Alex, right? Like this, this whole like, not entitled, I work for everything. Absolutely. Like, sorry. Like I, I'm gonna talk for myself. I don't wanna like say that like all of us are the same way, but like, I like, I'm this entitled American, right? And Alex is like a, like a real one. I mean, he came from Argentina as an immigrant, but he is a better American than I am because like, he worked for everything he had and he has a respect and understanding for like what's available to you because he's seen the other way. I haven't seen the other way. So I, I love you. Yeah, I love you, my brother. I love you. But wait a minute, wait a minute. I needed people like you. I needed people like everybody to help me along, and that's why I help other people along. I mean, I'll never forget that movie. Paying It Forward, remember? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there are so many people that open doors that my life story should be, I don't know, 36 hours long if I have to mention all of them. And so then what was the hardest part you feel about coming to America? America's for the Strong. Okay. America's for the strong. You better have convictions, you better have faith, you better have, you better believe in love and what you're gonna do in your life. Because after five years of being here, I was just applying for my visa process, which took 11 years to get my green card. And guess what? You can't leave this country. And my dad passed away. Mm-hmm. I couldn't go and bury my father. Yeah. Remember that? That's terrible. So yeah. As a, a young immigrant, like what would you, are there any tips or lessons that you would share with younger immigrants today? Believe in your future. Believe that there is a future here and that you can make it here, but be ready to, I guess, de socialize and resocialize. 'cause America still has the best sound values in any other culture that I've met. And that's freedom. And that's, you know, you can be whoever you want here if your heart is in the right place, if you're gonna make it here. Would you say the system is fair? Um, no it isn't. No, it, it, I mean it, to take 11 years to become a, an American citizen and just to hop across the border and be here, that's not fair. There are, you know, laws or, or systems or processes that need to be changed. Yes, of course. I mean, I hope, I hope it's in my, but guess what, you know, I came here in 1976 and everybody else that made it here before I came here, they go, oh, you should have come here 10 years before. 10 years before, uh, you know, all the factories were not moving in China. It was very easy. Well, guess what? If somebody comes in today, uh, I can't say, oh, well 10 years ago it was easier if you would've come. But Alex, you had a, you had a ID card that said AR on it from Argentina. That's right. And you'd lied and said it was Arkansas. That's right. And someone believed you. Well, so I mean, it worked. I mean, there's that It wasn't illegal. Alright. So since being in America for 52 years, what is the thing that you're most proud of? I would have to start with my wife. Aw, you're a stead. Sylvia was my high school friend in Argentina. Five years later she came, to the United States. We got married, we waited for our visas together. And uh, she's been my companion and friend and partner for 42 years. We made a life together. She made you the man you are today. Amen. Why do I have to talk like I'm from Scarface? I don't know. I don't understand, right? Huh? Because you bring out the Al Pacino in me. I don't know. I am not Aris man. I'm a political refer for, I'm a political refugee ua. Alright, sorry. Continue. All right. That was, that's terrible. People like me, here he is talking about Sylvia and what he's most proud of. And I'm screwing this all up. Alright. And after my wife. Yes. It's my daughter and I'm super grateful. That I could make it here, that this country opened the doors for me. That I, I had so many good relationships and friends. And, uh, if you look for a blessing, don't look any further. Just name it and claim it. Amazing. I do have a question that you can, has such a badass attitude. What, um, where did you adopt Sasha from? So we went to, we went to a private adoption attorney, uh, in Beverly Hills, and Sasha was born in Kingman, Arizona. They wanted a decent family for their baby. Yeah. As much as we wanted a baby wanted a baby. Yeah. Fair. That's the way it works. Yeah. Is that the song? I came from Kingman of Arizona. All the way to, to Tacoma, Philadelphia, Alabama, la No, I don't know. Okay. Winslow. Winslow's. Winslow. Is that close to Arizona? It's Winslow close to Kingman now I wanna know. All right. Sorry. Alex. I love your story and I love your attitude, and I feel like you've taught me so much and that you've lived this beautiful life. And thank you. Thank you for sharing with us and thank you for coming on. And Peter, what are we just gonna like, call it or, or do you have fun facts up your sleeve? Hell no. I'm not following that dude. Just close this out. We're going rogue. Alex, thank you so much for being here and sharing your incredible story. If anyone is listening out there, we are selling the rights to a movie. So contact us at sort of [email protected]. Thank you very much because I'm in on this 50 50. Alright, thank you very much. Um, your journey to America, the decades you spent, not just creating products, but building relationships, mentoring people, making a difference in everybody's lives. Is inspiring and you haven't stopped. You're still out there teaching people, like guiding people and proving that leadership and generosity. Don't have an expiration date, Alex. It's why I love you. You are my mentor man. For sure. Cheers to you. Well, I second almost all that Pete said because you're not my mentor yet, but I, I claim dibs. He will be, um, if you take another one. But it's been an honor to have you on the show and I know our listeners will walk away with some real wisdom today. Thank you guys. And there you have it, fellow listeners. The fascinating journey through the life of our dear friend Alex, whose story spans continents, cultures, and eras from growing up in Argentina as the child of Russian immigrants, to boldly moving to the United States to pursue the American dream. His story is one of faith, love, and resilience. If we've done our job today, we hope you're walking away with this challenge in mind. What are you building that will outlast you? Whether it's in your career, your family, or your community? What's the thing that 30 or 40 or 50 years from now will make you proud and feel like you've contributed to this crazy world in some small way? Because at the end of the day, success isn't about what you take. It's about what you leave behind. If you like this episode, be sure to subscribe. Leave a review and share it with someone who enjoys stories that inspire and make you think and laugh. And remember, every life, no matter where it leads, has wisdom worth uncovering. So until next time, stay curious and stay inspired.
