Brian Smith

And Doug and I, we didn't have a lot of money, but we decided we got to get some samples.

So we pulled 500 bucks together and called the guy who ran the advertisement.

And we talked him into being distributors for the U.S.

Exactly.

Yes.

Yeah.

And so we ordered six pairs of samples.

And after they arrived, Doug was going to be the salesman because I was an accountant.

I was terrified of sales.

And he went on the road and visited every single shoe store in Southern California.

He came back with about 150 business cards of all these retailers and not a single order.

And

He said, Brian, they tell us we're crazy trying to sell sheepskin in California.

And that sounds logical, but Australia's climate is identical to California.

So that wasn't the real answer.

And so, you know, as an entrepreneur, you have to pivot when you hit a wall like that.

And I thought, well, maybe the surf market's the way to go.

We looked up, you know, the yellow pages.

There are probably 60 to 80 surf shops.

And so Doug and I changed gears and I thought,