PJ Vogt

Dustin wanted to help with the barbecue scrubber, redesign it so it less resembled a sex toy and turn it into an actual sellable product. And Dustin, of course, had his own motive for getting involved. Destin's dream is not just that the scrubber would work or that lots of people would buy it, but that crucially, this barbecue scrubber will be 100% made in America.

Sometimes someone will say a product is made in America, but they could just mean assembled here from foreign parts, the last two puzzle pieces put together in this country, which is not Destin's dream. He wants it so that the handle of the scrubber will be from metal cut in America. He wants it to be stamped into a handle-like shape in America.

Sometimes someone will say a product is made in America, but they could just mean assembled here from foreign parts, the last two puzzle pieces put together in this country, which is not Destin's dream. He wants it so that the handle of the scrubber will be from metal cut in America. He wants it to be stamped into a handle-like shape in America.

Sometimes someone will say a product is made in America, but they could just mean assembled here from foreign parts, the last two puzzle pieces put together in this country, which is not Destin's dream. He wants it so that the handle of the scrubber will be from metal cut in America. He wants it to be stamped into a handle-like shape in America.

He wants it to be attached to the chain mail scrubby part in America, and he wants the scrubby part made here too. This is the part that everybody, I mean, most any expert will tell you is just not logical. The problem is American wages are much higher than wages in countries like China, which pushes up prices for truly American-made goods.

He wants it to be attached to the chain mail scrubby part in America, and he wants the scrubby part made here too. This is the part that everybody, I mean, most any expert will tell you is just not logical. The problem is American wages are much higher than wages in countries like China, which pushes up prices for truly American-made goods.

He wants it to be attached to the chain mail scrubby part in America, and he wants the scrubby part made here too. This is the part that everybody, I mean, most any expert will tell you is just not logical. The problem is American wages are much higher than wages in countries like China, which pushes up prices for truly American-made goods.

And American consumers, like everybody else, we just want to buy things that are inexpensive. So the era of American manufacturing is just mostly over. You will hear this from smart people on the right, smart people on the left, that manufacturing jobs, like the ones Destin's parents had, are mostly not coming back. And the only people pretending otherwise are tariff-loving populists.

And American consumers, like everybody else, we just want to buy things that are inexpensive. So the era of American manufacturing is just mostly over. You will hear this from smart people on the right, smart people on the left, that manufacturing jobs, like the ones Destin's parents had, are mostly not coming back. And the only people pretending otherwise are tariff-loving populists.

And American consumers, like everybody else, we just want to buy things that are inexpensive. So the era of American manufacturing is just mostly over. You will hear this from smart people on the right, smart people on the left, that manufacturing jobs, like the ones Destin's parents had, are mostly not coming back. And the only people pretending otherwise are tariff-loving populists.

Except that's not quite true, because Dustin is not talking about tariffs. He's just stubbornly asking if something could be made in America, even just one time. Of course, Dustin is somewhat unusual. John, his new business partner in this, much more normal. John just wanted to build a damn scrubber.

Except that's not quite true, because Dustin is not talking about tariffs. He's just stubbornly asking if something could be made in America, even just one time. Of course, Dustin is somewhat unusual. John, his new business partner in this, much more normal. John just wanted to build a damn scrubber.

Except that's not quite true, because Dustin is not talking about tariffs. He's just stubbornly asking if something could be made in America, even just one time. Of course, Dustin is somewhat unusual. John, his new business partner in this, much more normal. John just wanted to build a damn scrubber.

So back to this first prototype they were looking at together, John tells Dustin that the chain mail he sourced for it, he got that from a supplier in China.

So back to this first prototype they were looking at together, John tells Dustin that the chain mail he sourced for it, he got that from a supplier in China.

So back to this first prototype they were looking at together, John tells Dustin that the chain mail he sourced for it, he got that from a supplier in China.

Okay, and when you say, like, when he would manufacture something, he would have a guy in China, it's never occurred to me to think about how this works. Does he, like, like, how does he find his guy in China? And how does he connect with a guy in China?

Okay, and when you say, like, when he would manufacture something, he would have a guy in China, it's never occurred to me to think about how this works. Does he, like, like, how does he find his guy in China? And how does he connect with a guy in China?

Okay, and when you say, like, when he would manufacture something, he would have a guy in China, it's never occurred to me to think about how this works. Does he, like, like, how does he find his guy in China? And how does he connect with a guy in China?

Oh, so if I had an idea for a better barbecue scrubber, I could get it more cheaply made in China, but then because I'm not there, someone will just come in and make... knockoffs, but they're not even knockoffs because it's being made in the exact same factory.