TFBIP | Ep. 34 - Russ Warner: From Garage Hobby to Viral Business

What does it take to build something out of nothing — with no funding, no blueprint, and a business partner who told you no for six years? Russ Warner has been a chameleon his entire career. From running a mortgage company with 38 branches, to assembling longboards in his living room while hiding parts from his wife, to waking up one day to find a TikTok had pushed his product to 50 million people overnight — Russ has never waited for perfect conditions to move. In this episode, Josh and Zach sits down with Russ to break down the real story behind Ghost Boards — a one-of-a-kind plexiglass longboard company that went from 3 sales a month on a Shopify store built in two hours, to national wholesale accounts and inbound licensing interest. They also get into the mindset behind never taking no personally, the "yes, and" approach that's defined Russ's career, and what most entrepreneurs get wrong when things scale faster than they're ready for. If you've ever talked yourself out of starting because the timing wasn't right — this one's for you. In this episode: How Russ asked the same neighbor the same question every month for 6 years — and what finally changed The TikTok moment that flipped Ghost Boards from hobby to business overnight What it actually looks like to scale without a plan — and the expensive lessons that come with it The superpower Russ credits for every pivot he's made Why Russ believes "no today doesn't mean no tomorrow" Connect with Russ Warner: http://linktr.ee/ghostboards Connect with Josh Zieglowsky: Instagram: @thejoshz Connect with Zach Spencer: Instagram: @zach_espencer