#160
Dustin Hayes
Red White and Badass Brew Coffee
I heard Dustin Hayes on Gun Owners Radio earlier this year. When I was going to California for San Diego County Gun Owners GunProm, I knew I was going to film some shows, so I reached out to Dustin to see if he was interested and he was! The California trip was non-stop once I got there. John Petrolino (RSWC #093) and I met in San Diego. At GunProm, he was awarded the Media Figure of the Year. He also let me use his rental ‘stagecoach’ while we were out there.
Dustin grew up in Oklahoma, in the same town as Garth Brooks. After dropping out of high school, his father encouraged him to join the military. It was tough to decide which he wanted to join, but the Navy said he could see the world and that’s where he went. After 13 ½ years in the Navy, he was medically retired due to some injuries. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do so he ended up getting a degree in business.
The business degree led him to get a concrete business going with his then father in law. Dustin knew how to run the business, but he didn’t know anything about concrete. That was his father in law’s part of the business. However, he did learn about concrete. Doing sales, he was selling over $100,000 in 3 months and things were going well. Unfortunately, his father in law passed away. Then he ended up divorced. After a shady third person in the business, they had to sell the business.
Again, he wasn’t sure what he should do. Life led him to buy a business washing solar panels. He did this for about 5 months. While he was at a tattoo parlor getting some ink on his back, the tattoo artist noticed something wasn’t quite right with the skin on his back. Dustin went to the doctor and found out he had skin cancer. While he was recovering, he had 2 calls from other veterans who wanted to buy the business. So he sold the business as he was going to be out in the sun often. One more time, he wasn’t sure where life was going to lead him.
During recovery, he decided to start brewing his own coffee. He knew how to market and sell, he just needed to learn about roasting. There was a learning curve in roasting coffee and other aspects of the coffee business he needed to learn.What he wanted to call the brand was too close to another brand name. He made a video about how he liked pumpkin spice coffee. It got a little traction as some friends thought it was funny. He made a few more videos, too.
Eventually Dustin realized that he needed to take it a bit more seriously so he opted for Red White and Badass Brew coffee. He told me that it takes about a month to get a flavor down to where its just right and what he’s looking for. He has found some place that will roast the coffee for him, but he does all the package designs himself.
RWBB has several flavor options. M.O.A.B (Mother Of All Brews), Red, White, and Brewed, Lifeline Hero Edition, Vanilla Warfare, No Lucks Given. But the best seller is Whiskey Business! All flavors come in 12 oz bags of ground coffee or 5 pounds of whole beans bags.
I did come back to New England with a couple bags of RWBB coffee and I absolutely love Whiskey Business.
It was great to meet Dustin and hang out with him. I alway love a success story, but I get motivated and inspired by the struggles everyone goes through.
Check the links below and tell him you saw him on RSWC!
Favorite quotes:
“I just worked hard and got where I’m at and they kinda (the Navy) molded me.”
“I’ve never been afraid to take risks.”
“Now I came to a crossroads in life and I’m like ‘what the hell am I going to do now?’”
“Don’t go get a real job, guys, just go make your own job.”
“I got into coffee just by pure chance, trying to figure out my life.”
Red White and Badass Brew Website
https://redwhiteandbadassbrew.com/
Red White and Badass Brew Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/redwhiteandbadassbrew
Red White and Badass Brew Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/redwhiteandbadassbrew/
Second Amendment Foundation
http://saf.org/
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
https://www.ccrkba.org/
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