Pegasus Podcast
@thepegasusapp https://www.thepegasus.app/🐴 Conversations with the movers and shakers of the global equestrian industry. Hosted by Pegasus founders Sam Baynes and Jen Tankel.
Pegasus Podcast
From College Gig to 6 Million Followers: Nick Luciano's Journey in Western Sports
Ever wondered how a college side gig could morph into a full-time career as a leading social media influencer in the equestrian world?
Western sports and lifestyle mega-influencer, Nick Luciano, joins Pegasus App co-founder Sam Baynes on The Pegasus Podcast.
Check out the show highlights:
- The story behind Nick's video that became the 4th-highest viewed video on TikTok
- How platforms like TikTok and Instagram are reshaping the cowboy lifestyle
- The complexities of media rights in the equestrian world
- Nick's commitment to positivity, and his entrepreneurial ventures like Luciano Western Wear
- The significant impact of his mental health initiative "Club Bulletproof" and the challenges he faces in maintaining an inclusive, supportive community.
Get inspired by Nick’s innovative approach to content creation, community-building, and his resolve to revolutionize the equestrian industry through both social media and technology. This episode is packed with insights and inspiration for anyone passionate about Western sports and the cowboy lifestyle.
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🐴 This episode is brought to you by Pegasus, the first modern event management system that makes it easy to host and run equestrian events. Sign up for early access at www.thepegasus.app.
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Right, nick. So thank you very much for joining us today. For our audience, who might not be familiar with you and your story, do you just want to give them a quick two-minute summary of who you are and what you do?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so my name is Nick. I am 27 years old. Right now I am a social media influencer and entrepreneur and part-time videographer, graduated college from UNT. I have my dog, have my dog, bullet, that I rescued, which is a big part of my content. So if you watch my content you probably know my dog. I have my horse, diesel, which he's in training right now, and I'm also training to learn tie down roping. So I'm involved in the western space in a lot of different aspects, the horse space in a lot of different aspects. Main sponsor is Ariat, so I do a lot of Ariat events. I love pbr, I love bull riding, kind of a I hate that term, but I'm a jack of all trades. I just love anything and everything that has to do with western sports and, yeah, that's like that kind of the, the quick rundown right.
Speaker 1:So for the audience, nick's being a bit modest here. So, to put this in perspective, on instagram he 350,000 followers, which, especially in the equestrian space, is remarkable, right Like there's not many equestrians who have numbers of that size. And for those who are following along, his handle if you want to check it out while you're listening is at the Nick Luciano. Luciano is spelled L-U-C-I-A-N-O and is N-I-C-K, so they're Nick Luciano, so you can follow along, right? So let's unpack a few of those things, right? So you essentially call yourself an influencer, but you got into this and correct me if I'm wrong was that you didn't actually grow up in the Western world riding for yourself. You weren't really associated very much with the Western world and horses, you were more a videographer, and that was kind of how you got into this and started on this journey.
Speaker 2:Yeah for sure. So I mean, the very beginning of my journey in the Western world was when I moved to Texas and I went to college at UNT and on the side I would basically film different promo videos for different studs. So like if a barrel racer needed, you know, a video for social to promote stud, like stud fees to breed to a stud, I would basically go out to the ranch and have them run, run them around in the arena or in the pasture, you know, get clips of doing whatever they do and kind of put it together in a big promotional package for them. And you know that was kind of my side gig during college yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And what? What year was this?
Speaker 2:this was probably shoot.
Speaker 1:This was 2017, 2018 right, and you were in college. So how, so how does a college kid get, for lack of a better, for lack of a better term, roped into doing this sort of stuff for western horse shows? If you don't come from, you know the kind of the space yeah, honestly, I, it's just the people you meet.
Speaker 2:Like you know, you have your local rodeo team at the college. You have um a lot of people, like for, for example, for me, as somebody I met in college that did a lot of western and um equestrian stuff, and then I met a dude who bull rides and then they invited me out to some practice pens and then I just kind of grew my friendship inside the western space and then I applied my skills because somebody needed a videographer and I was like, all right, this is pretty cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's do this as a side gig, you know yeah, yeah yeah, and then I got into it and then I actually started writing and after I started writing I really fell in love with the sport of rodeo and pbr and everything and it's all just kind of snowballed to where I am today right, so you start filming, you start um, filming these clinics when you started out.
Speaker 1:I mean, I've known since you basically started, say 2017, right, literally, literally over the last seven, eight years. It's kind of been over that period that western, uh, writer influences have kind of grown in prominence, like prior to there wasn't really a thing. So to name who are some of the clinicians that you've filmed and supported at their clinics?
Speaker 2:So I've worked with mainly ropers right now. So Tyson, durfee, hunter, ream and then horsemen like Colton Woods.
Speaker 1:Right, so large names right, and so you've basically been with them as they've kind of grown into this space of being, I suppose, like comfortable with the camera and big noting themselves, which you know is very anti kind of the cowboy culture. So what has been the experience of like being on the sidelines and watching them go through this transformation of being more comfortable to put themselves out there, and how was it? Have you noticed anything about how the industry's changed and how they've responded to them as they've taken that leap of faith?
Speaker 2:yeah, I mean, when I first started it was, it was very kind of different to video what you were doing, like you said. It kind of goes against the cowboy, you know way of like doing things, um, but I think it's very important to show what you're doing to to really get this way of life out there. Because I'll tell you what, there's so many videos that I make people don't even know like I'll be roping the dummy and people like I didn't even they call it a lasso but like I didn't even know a lasso was a thing like they think our way of life and like this, what like, what we do, it like is just fictional yeah, like that, that's in cartoons.
Speaker 1:I didn't know you actually had those things yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So I think it's really important to to actually get the cameras out there and it's been cool to see that shift um tyson durfee, who I met at the NFR probably three years ago. He's been one that was kind of ahead of the game, yeah.
Speaker 2:So, it's cool to see him keep going and now he's transitioned into public speaking and like really battling, like rodeo champion mindset. So it's cool to see that. And then you have people like Hunter, who I've worked with, you know, to learn tie-down roping. It's been cool to watch him get more comfortable in front of the camera and now go from since we started working together, go from 7 000 followers to over 25 000 followers and just getting more leads and just building community on his platform. So I think it's cool to see this shift and I mean some people call it the yellowstone effect, which is good, but I think just with any other influencer, so to speak, I think there's a proper set of morals that go along with promoting the lifestyle, if that makes sense yeah, totally, do you think I mean so?
Speaker 1:now between jen and I with pegasus, we've been quite involved with different aspects of the Western horse sport community and it seems like the horse world and the Western horse world is convincing itself more than anyone that the Yellowstone effect is a real thing. It's almost become like a buzzword that they use to like everything's picking up the Yellowstone effect, like they buy into it more than anyone else. For you, as someone who's been behind the camera and you're helping these clinicians build their following, do you have any sense for whether it is the yellowstone effect or is it just a coincidence that yellowstone has come out at the same time as these clinicians are just basically creating their own content and people who before never had access to it, who were already interested in western horse sports, you know, are following along, as opposed to it being like a growth of western sports by people who had no interest in western sports prior but got inspired by yellowstone?
Speaker 2:uh, I think. I mean I think it's a good mix of both. So, for example, I was at the PBR World Finals over the weekend and Cole Hauser is there and he's ripped on Yellowstone right. So it's a good blend of him using his platforms to draw people to his tailgate parties, to draw people inside the arena to really get an experience of what it feels like to be around cowboy culture, and that's just, for example, the bull riding aspect. So the PBR has a lot of different marketing tools and I think Yellowstone has really helped get people in seats to experience a bull riding for the first time. But I also think that those platforms can be used to really draw people to the tools that they would need to get started in the Western space. So I think it's honestly a good blend of both.
Speaker 2:I don't think it has to rely just on Yellowstone, but I think the shift in the culture is also. I don't want to get political, but the city life has kind of gotten a little out of hand and I think it's drawn people to a simpler way of life. A lot of people moving out to rural areas a lot think it's drawn people to a simpler way of life. A lot of people moving out to rural areas. A lot of people don't want to live in the city anymore, so I think that shift of culture has also been impacted, where people are also interested in horses and bull riding and equestrian stuff.
Speaker 1:So, on that point, as someone who's creating the content and putting it out there and working with these more prominent riders, are you also managing their social media to an extent?
Speaker 2:I would call my call myself like an idea machine. I have adhd like crazy in my mind, like so you need ideas. I I got them. Yeah, for example, I'll work with I work with hunter and we've formulated some social media concepts, so I'll help him with some, whether it's a transition or a piece of content that's going to add value. I just honestly, I love giving the knowledge that I have, so I don't necessarily manage them, but I kind of consult in a way if that makes sense.
Speaker 1:Sure, sure, sure, but when you actually they actually, he actually posted videos, for example. Are you involved at all with looking at, like, how to go? What is the data, data, what are the analytics behind the performance of it? Like, what can we tweak next time? Or are you more just like giving ideas, filming it and then he's off with his team just managing the social media themselves in terms of, like, tracking it, monetizing it, all that sort of stuff yeah, I would say I'm more of the idea machine behind it and the way I kind of approach anybody on social media.
Speaker 2:if you're looking to grow a bigger audience like, my main platform is TikTok. I have like 7 million followers on TikTok, which has bled over to Instagram. I think that, like, I view all socials as just like a big top funnel funnel like value. So I see that if you want to grow a big audience like you don't necessarily have to niche down but you can take viral concepts and mold them to your niche and that's your top funnel and then your secondary form of concept, whether it's a clinician or a motivational speaker, whatever you should funnel down those people into ultimately like where you want them.
Speaker 2:I tell them my secret sauce and then I help them apply it and ultimately I mean it's helped a lot of people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and I want to come back to that in detail. The reason I was kind of asking about whether you're involved in managing the social media is, I was wondering, like have you been in a position to kind of tell whether one. Are you noticing more and more people interacting with these more prominent accounts who aren't, you know, as you said, like city folk who are moving out to the rural areas and getting more interested in a more rural perspective, uh approach to life? Or are you finding that this groundswell of support and this audience for western content is more coming from people who are already in the world but, for the first time, are like, actually have content to consume, and that you know? That will give us a good indication of whether, like is the economy and the sports. Are they growing? Or is the market growing, staying the same size but just becoming more efficient in how it connects and communicates with each other, with itself?
Speaker 2:I definitely think it's growing. I mean, the numbers speak for itself. I've seen a lot more people. I mean pbr is the main event that I can think of, like we just had one at at&t. I've been in the pbr last couple years and there are 30 000 people packed in there, right yeah and I think it's been a good blend of.
Speaker 2:Now they're taking music and blending it with rodeo. So I think it's ultimately what's making it grow, is meshing a lot of parallels, right. So, like kid rock's rock and rodeo, this weekend they did a different rodeo format, which is rodeo teams. I thought that was really, really, and then they blended it with Kid Rock to host a concert afterwards. So I think you had a lot of people there that you could tell when you went to the stadium a lot of people there for the Kid Rock concert and a lot of people there for the rodeo. But ultimately, the people that were there for the Kid Rock concert, a lot of them had never even seen a rodeo.
Speaker 2:Ultimately, too, like a mix of, like you said, good marketing to get more people in seats to experience the culture and then ultimately, from there, a lot of people are hooked or a lot of people just want to see the concert. So I mean again, I think it is growing, but I think the marketing side of things is now catching up to everybody else, and Western has always been behind, in a sense, as far as marketing goes, and I think we're now just finally catching up to everybody else, and Western has always been behind, in a sense as far as marketing goes, and I think we're now just finally catching up.
Speaker 1:And I know this is something I've. I think I've asked you this before but in the Western world, when you're a videographer and you go to these events, especially these major events like PBR et cetera, how complex are all like the filming rights? Like, do you have to apply for permits and and stuff? Do they have like strict controls over what you can film and what you can't film and how you can distribute it? Or is the western world pretty free for all in allowing people to just basically film and post it, because they believe that all content is good for the industry at large and if the industry grows, then they succeed?
Speaker 2:it's pretty much free reign like I it's. It's pretty much like if you're a freelance videographer and you want to get into like, or photographer and you want to get into like concert photography, you buy the concert ticket and you go there with a really long lens and you get a bunch of pictures of the artist right and you can post them and then potentially build your portfolio from that. Pvr or any rodeo is the same. You could go to a rodeo really long lens. I don't necessarily have to have a media pass. I could be sitting in the stands and be capturing content and use that to build my portfolio. And I mean I have a lot of friends in media, so some get a media badge from different companies and are tasked to cover certain riders, but there's no exclusivity on whether you can or can't post if that makes sense.
Speaker 1:Right. So in the English world it's the complete opposite. It has gotten to the point that the FEI, which is the international regulator of English horse sports, right that the FEI have now created a rule that basically says any video that you shoot, including on your iPhone, over 15 seconds, is technically the right of the person who has a license to stream the show. So there's this constant battle between it's more like an ideological battle with approach to the sport, which is the majority of these events. They make a lot of their money and the regular and the regulatory bodies make a lot of their money out of the streaming rights because they can sell the advertising on it, and so I completely understand why show managers and the regulators want to clamp down on who can film what and how they can stream it, because companies have paid money, good money to have that right, to secure that asset so that they can then sell advertising and monetize it, etc. Which makes sense in terms of the economy inside the horse sport industry. But what it does is it also drastically hamstrings the ability for individual content creators and professional photographers to be able to go like either for themselves, to grow their own social accounts, to film it, post it and get the word out there and grow general interest everywhere.
Speaker 1:But for like someone like you, if you turn up with a specific writer who you're there in support of and you're trying to get video footage of them that they can use for their socials to increase their profile as a professional writer, these rules and regulations really hamstring how you can do that. Or they make you pay to get the media press pass, which you know might make the whole trip uneconomical. So it's a very different approach to how they manage the media. It sounds like in the English world which is like they try and control it and generally that means that it kind of suffocates the exposure and the dispersion of that content. That could result in a wider interest in the sport and the long-term health of the sport Sounds like the Western world is like the opposite, which is kind of like free for all. The more that's out there the better. We don't want to do anything that hamstrings the success of the growth of our sport.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, I totally agree.
Speaker 2:I think, yeah, it kind of puts yourself in a set of handcuffs and I understand like the budget side of things, but I think what is ultimately responsible for some of a big part of the growth in the Western world is that it is kind of like free reign, right, I can go to a rodeo and I can post I'm going to this rodeo and I can post this is my favorite athlete at this rodeo. And then I think too, like a lot of these rodeo athletes are accessible, no-transcript, are really tired of commercial polished over stuff. They want to see raw, real experiences and I think people are just tired of them trying to be sold to come to something rather than. That's why influencer marketing is so big and that's why I'm able to make a living doing it is because I'm able to showcase me going to an event in a raw, real space rather than a $40,000 camera and big lights and actions. So I think that organic side is ultimately a huge part of what's responsible for a big wave of people coming into the Western industry too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and that's actually a good transition point into the next evolution of your career in the space. So you started off behind the camera supporting these clinicians and you still do that and that's still, you know, very valuable. And but you also mentioned that you now have your own Instagram following, in your own huge I didn't realize it was 7 million on TikTok, so I excuse me for not mentioning that at the start of the video. So 7 million followers on TikTok, so at what point did you go from being for lack of a better term a supporting character to becoming one of the lead characters yourself and going down this path of creating your own following?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's an awesome question. So yeah, I was a supporting character for a long time, like filming the clinics, filming studs. I'd also went out to Montana and filmed, like a ski drawing. I did a ski drawing video. Do you know what ski drawing is?
Speaker 1:No idea, I don't think I've even heard that word before.
Speaker 2:Ski drawing is awesome. It's in Montana, you'd like, where it snows a lot Wyoming, utah. Um, there are different tracks, like it's a straight track and the horse runs down the middle. Then you have a guy on a pair of skis oh yeah, I've seen that.
Speaker 1:I just always assumed that that was just like a bunch of drunk people in the street running around. Like I saw the videos and I was like whoa shit really got out of hand at the uh, at the town, piss up no, it's, it's an actual sport.
Speaker 2:They take it very competitive. I mean they might have a little bit of liquid courage behind them, because I tried it and it was hard which part's hard being on the skis or like being on? The skis snowboard and people doing a snowboard, and ain't no way I I I ate it. So yeah but that was like one of my first like, like, um, bigger projects was that was the first time I got paid to go out somewhere and fly somewhere and film somebody.
Speaker 2:Yeah that was cool. And then story time. Like that trip was a trip that I made the video that blew me up on TikTok. So my video during that trip is now. I think it's the fourth most like video on TikTok ever. Really, what 3 million likes on it. And Jesus. Yeah, so that video that's a huge claim.
Speaker 1:That's like. That's like I. That's almost more impressive than having 7 million followers Like to get up to the ranks of like one of the most liked videos on Tik TOK. That's insane.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cause there like to get up to the ranks of like one of the most liked videos on tiktok. That's insane. Yeah, because there's billions of videos on tiktok. Yeah, exactly, it's pretty, pretty crazy. And most that's my like.
Speaker 2:If you see me on tiktok, a lot of people refer to me as the sugar crash guy and that's like the like. The song that I used was sugar crash. That took me from. I was like kind of in the midst of building that videography business and I was kind of getting like a little down because I was like, oh man, do I want to do videography or do I want to do social Right? Cause I was like in that mix of supporting character versus main character and I guess that was God's sign Cause he gave me that video and I, I, I swear in two days I went from 500,000 followers on Tik, on TikTok, to a million in like two days and then over the course of the next two months I skyrocketed up to 4 million followers and then I've just been growing ever since and then that account is at 6.4 million and I have a backup account that has a million followers.
Speaker 2:So that is the big transition where I've kind of went from supporting to main and then I realized that I can just build a whole career off of that.
Speaker 1:Right. So I mean you mentioned earlier that it's important to go and put yourself to basically build this platform and use this platform to really for lack of a better term spread the word of the Western culture and the Western sports, etc. So what is your kind of moral goal with your Instagram account and your audience and your platform?
Speaker 2:My moral goal is I just I want to make people feel good about themselves, I want to spread positivity, I want to tell my story, I want to basically make people smile or motivate them on the other side of the screen.
Speaker 2:Cause I remember one of the first messages I got this girl was it was a very long message and she said, basically I put out something on my story and she's, like you know, hearing this saved my life, and I've gotten multiple messages. Like you know, these types of videos have saved my life. I'm glad God put this in front of me because I was going to end it all tonight and that has been my moral code. Through everything and whatever content I put out, I want to make sure that it not only inspires somebody but also shows somebody that you can do whatever you set your mind to. And I think a lot of other influencers have to have that kind of moral code because, at the end of the day, influencers have to have that kind of moral code because, at the end of the day, like you, have to have some sort of responsibility with your platform and if you're not adding value and building somebody up, then what are you doing? You know?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, totally. So those people I mean, without going into detail, for those people who have reached out and have sent you messages like that do you know if you've looked at their profiles et cetera, have they been people who have been in the Western horse sport world themselves, or were they outside of it who just kind of discovered your video and was just unrelated?
Speaker 2:It's pretty much a mix of both. I mean, I've had farmers and ranchers who they live out in the middle of nowhere, 60 miles from the nearest town. They don't really have many friends and they they're scrolling on social media and they'll message me and be like man, your content really helps me Right. And lately that's inspired my newest project, which is club bulletproof and it's like a. It's my online community, it's a mental health and self-development community and we're doing a relaunch of it in the next couple of weeks actually, which is going to be awesome. But that's inspired the remake of that, which is basically a community where people inside the Western space or outside I don't limit to whatever, but they can come and have a community of people that want to be better, they want to be in tune with themselves, they want to basically develop a bulletproof mindset, which is my, my slogan to my brand bulletproof mindset.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Basically being so in tune with yourself and your, your goals and your values that it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks and that is the foundation of my content is because I've put myself out there, I've gotten hated on, I've I I've gotten death threats. I've gotten every single you know hate comment you can imagine in the world, but I'm still here going through it and I think that's ultimately what inspires people to to be drawn to my content.
Speaker 1:I guess yeah, totally out of interest for the, the hate comments and the death threats and stuff. I mean one that sucks, but two like having looked, I mean look to your content. What could you possibly be doing to attract such commentary Like, is it? I mean at the top of my head, knowing nothing about it, my, my assumption could be that maybe, like there are some people out there who are like you know, you know you're not a real cowboy, or something like that. Are there people who consider themselves like a real cowboy, who like, get angry, know you're not a real cowboy, or something like that? Are there people who consider themselves like a real cowboy, who like, get angry at you for maybe not having the bona fides they expect you to have, or is it something completely unrelated?
Speaker 2:That's an awesome question too. It's a bit of both right, because in order to grow your platforms, you kind of have to put yourself out there in a different space, and when people see you having success and getting attention, ultimately their insecurities come to the surface and they want to, like, leave a hate comment, whatever it is.
Speaker 2:Right. I mean, I feel like society nowadays is just plagued with this insecurity and entitlement, that when someone is doing better than you, that you have to bring them down. And that's why a lot of people don't get on social media, because they just get bullied all the time. Right, and for me, too, that was. That was a big thing in the beginning, cause, like I didn't come from this lifestyle and I wanted to get into it, so obviously I wasn't going to be perfect right off the start.
Speaker 2:But you have people that have grown up in this actually dogging me for not doing it the right way, for wanting to be a part of it, doing it the right way, for wanting to be a part of it, and I think it's absolutely so stupid because the way I look at it I use this analogy a lot is when you go to an NBA game, right, and you're wearing a basketball jersey, right, nobody says how good are you at basketball to enjoy this, this performance? But for some reason, in this lifestyle lifestyle, you wear a cowboy hat or you wear something that is representative of the lifestyle. People ask well, do you actually count how? How cowboy are you?
Speaker 1:yeah, have you earned it?
Speaker 2:like have you earned it? And I think that's so stupid, because we need more of us and not less of us, and that's what I'm saying is like that, I don't know. It just feels like a infection, a plague of like just insecurities that have come into the surface, like how cowboy are you? And I'm like dude, like come on, like can't people just enjoy it for what it is?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah and like, and the net outcome is like I might not be the most true blue cowboy out there. I may not have grown up with the dirt under my nails, and you know I may have been. I maybe wasn't out there fencing at the age of six you know what I mean and riding at the age of four. But I'm here now and everything I'm saying is a positive message that supports the reputation of the industry, supports the growth of the industry, and I'm a net positive contribution to this industry and this culture.
Speaker 1:The thing is is it takes the perspective of wanting to grow an industry to be able to appreciate that, like the average person who's just in it and just assumes like it'll always continue, nothing's going to change, everything is as it is and everything is as it will be. Like in that perspective. If you don't is as it is and everything is as it will be. Like in that perspective if you don't. You're not looking at people as a value add or a value lost to the space. And if you're not even got that mindset, then you're going to judge them on what they are as opposed to what they bring to the table, and if they aren't, what you think they. If you don't think what they are is good enough, then like that's where you're going to get that mindset which is like a big part of why we do this podcast and we try to talk about these big cultural trends and business trends in the industry in the equestrian space is like how do we get more and more people who are in the equestrian industry both english and west and to start thinking about it from the perspective of like this is an ecosystem that we need to protect.
Speaker 1:This is an ecosystem that we need to grow and we need to embrace all aspects of every single stakeholder in the industry. We need to embrace them and figure out how they contribute, as opposed to like creating more rules that keep people out or creating more rules that limit the distribution of content or creating customs that make it intimidating for someone to get into writing. I mean, we haven't really gone into this yet, but you know how you first got into riding. I imagine you didn't grow up in it. Like for the average person like me, if I wanted to go and get into western horse sports and be taken seriously, that would be very intimidating. I'd feel like I'd have a bunch of very alpha men standing around judging the shit out of me, like being like you know you're not a real cowboy like this is pathetic. Blah, blah, blah blah oh, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:It's like and when I was first learning to ride, I mean I always looked at it from the perspective like I always looked up to mike rowe and like dirty jobs, like bro had no idea what he was doing, but he's putting himself out there and like learning and yeah I've always liked that, so like even my content.
Speaker 2:Now I have a whole series on my TikTok of becoming a tie down roper and, like you'll see me, I'm struggling to tie down these calves. I'm struggling to run down the rope and flank them properly. I'm struggling, but I think, ultimately, showing that struggle is what's going to relate to people and show them that hey, this guy's not the best and he's doing it Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I can do it too, absolutely. I think that's what more of the industry needs, because, you're right, there are those I'm more cowboy than you guys, judging from the sideline and never showing when they mess up on social media. Right, and I think it takes people like me and other influencers showing them getting into the lifestyle to ultimately, you know, drag more people into it, because, I mean, it is hard to get into right, like finding a horse to ride on the weekends and like learning how to sit properly, learning how to saddle up, learning how to trot, learning how to lope, and all those things are very difficult and it's it's something that if you don't showcase that, then people are just going to see the finished outcome and if they don't see the process, they're not going to want to get involved.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. And the other thing too is like I don't care what you do in the horse world, I don't care how long you've been in it. You all are connected in the sense that we all provide services to each other. So if you haven't got people coming in, you haven't got money coming in. If you haven't got money coming in, this whole thing stops. So anything we can do to encourage people to like, get more and more people like, because, like, you've got a market right, especially in the horse world, you know where there's a lot of older riders like you not only need to attract new people to grow the market, you need to attract new people into it to stop the market from shrinking as people leave it Right. So and if it all, and if it shrinks and it doesn't grow, like, if it doesn't grow, then you're not going to get new investment. If it shrinks, there's going to be less money to go around. Less money to go around means that there's going to be less business, services and products available. That results in making it harder and harder for people to get in, and so it compounds in how quickly something shrivels up, because it's even harder for people to find an outlet where they can learn to ride and get into the sport. So, yeah, it's very narrow-minded to potentially for lack of a better term trying to intimidate someone from not trying to help get open up the industry for new riders and for new interest, and it it it only demonstrates like an awareness of the fact that, like you don't you don't really get this. You're looking at this whole thing through a keyhole, you're not seeing the bigger picture and, and the best way to understand that is what you find and this happens in every industry is that by the time people get to the end of their careers, that's when they are like laser focused on like how do we get new people into this?
Speaker 1:For example, there's the Cowboy Office.
Speaker 1:It's a podcast with two American cowboys who are very experienced.
Speaker 1:They've judged all over the world, they're subject matter experts on how to basically set up reigning operations and infrastructure in countries overseas and all that sort of stuff, and they started the entire podcast because they were like the cowboy attitude is like there'll always be someone there to fix it and so there's no point really worrying about it.
Speaker 1:It will take care of itself. But they're like no, like they're at the end of their careers and they're like no, no, no, like we need to talk about this and we need to come up with solutions and we need to be creative and we need to change our ways, because if we just get complacent then this whole thing could end in 20 years. So you'll find that the people at the end of the careers are the most supportive of people like you who are just at least they're trying, at least like they're willing to put themselves out there, at least they're willing to take risks. I will take that student and that person any day over someone who maybe already has the skills and has the experience but is not going to like encourage new activity.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it just goes along with that, saying like, the most important of any business or any market is your people. You don't take care of your people, it's not going to, it's not going to grow, it's not going to flourish. So I'm sure you know that too. Like, as you build a team, you got to take care of your people in order to see it grow. I mean, you're right. You see so many people that they they end their rodeo career or questioning career and then they get into coaching because they still love it and they still want to see the, the sport grow. And I've seen those people are the most welcoming to welcoming to me. All right, if I ask for help, they're like oh yeah, let's go, let's do it so okay, so right.
Speaker 1:So that's talking about the industry and kind of. So you got into it. You were up in montana, you were filming this insane event that I didn't know was a real word, which goes to show that you know, even I I've been trying to learn the equestrian space very diligently for the last five years and I've still got a lot to learn. So you create this video, your tiktok blows up and then you go all in on basically being an influencer in the space, and so are you finding that the majority of your audience now how many of them do you think are true blue Western writers, been in it for a long time versus people who are interested in the space and are following along because they see you as that gateway into how they could potentially adopt this lifestyle and get into the sport I think I mean I have a good mix of of people.
Speaker 2:When I look at my demographics on social media, I got people all over the world from europe where the cowboy culture doesn't really exist. So I mean it exists but it's very it's rare, right? People you know would like to watch that as an outlet on my platforms, right, even though it's not the most cowboy, so to speak, I am out there roping, I am riding, but I'm not other people like you have, you know, dale brisby, have buster fryerson, you have all these people that grew up in it and live on a ranch and have cattle to take care of. Then there's another aspect you can you can go into. So there's lots of different types of cowboy. I mean, I would say, most of my followers. I actually just did some market research. A lot of them do follow me for the Western Livestock kind of posts.
Speaker 2:And from the Zoom calls. I've been on with them. They either have horses themselves or they ride or they're looking to get better and I think, honestly, it just all boils down to mindset. For me, and that's the biggest value I want to provide to these people and that's why they follow me is they can come to my page to see an awesome transition. They can come to my page to see my dog. They can come to my page to get motivated. They can come to my page to see my dog. They can come to my page to get motivated. They can come to my page to ultimately see the mindset of Nick Luciano and then, you know, they hit that follow button and then ultimately, they wind up getting more.
Speaker 2:So, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, totally Okay. So what you have done very successfully is you've then transitioned this following in this platform that you've built and this, ultimately, this trust that you've built, into a business. Do you want to just give a quick overview of kind of what those, what that business is, and then we can get into like the challenges, trials and tribulations of being a business owner, which we can all you know, you can all tell war stories.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I mean, in the background, before I blew up, I was always building my brand, which is Luciano Westernware, and that is the brand that has a slogan Bulletproof Mindset. So it's always been a brand that people can wear where they feel like they can do anything Right. You feel like you're building that armor around your mind and you, ultimately, can do anything. So I've done merch with motivational slogans, I've done funny merch, I've done cool merch and ultimately, I've been growing that brand for ever, since I started back in 2020. I was actually packaging orders in my parents' garage at one point and I would do TikTok live streams and I'd be signing hats and I'd be like 20, 30 hats a night on a tiktok live stream and getting to know these people. Um, so that that brand has just grown in itself over time and that's where we I take that brand to ffa conventions, the nfr, and we sell a bunch of hoodies, shirts, hats, et cetera. And then, along with that brand being my personal brand, in 2021, I started another company called the Tratterhouse, and the Tratterhouse is a content group. So on TikTok, there was this group of kids in LA that all moved in together and they called themselves the Hype House and nobody had really done that country version. So I was like I want to do that, I want to be the first to do it. So I got a.
Speaker 2:I got a great sponsor, along with Ariat, and, between us, it's me. When we started it was me, caden, roy, blake and Bo. There was five of us in a house and between us we have like I'd say, like 12 million followers combined and we all moved in together. Area is our main title sponsor and we had another app behind us as well and we gained 200,000 followers in the first two days. That was the one business adventure and that started in 2021.
Speaker 2:And over the next three years it's two people have gone to pursue music and one is going to pursue go back to his other job, and now it's me, blake and Roy, and we're sponsored by Ariat. We we've just went to Nestor Hosiery, which is a licensee of Ariat, to make their socks. We go to their PBRs Ariat's a title sponsor for the PBR. We go to their booth at National FFA Convention. So that's the other side of things, where it's a group component which acts as like a mini marketing agency in itself, and then those two kind of coincide and yeah, those are the two businesses I run right now.
Speaker 1:And then you've got the online community platform coming out.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, so that's the community part where I've been the main character for so long, but now I kind of I feel like I'm at the not the end of it, but I'm at the point where I want to help people Like you know how a rodeo, or an athlete gets at the towards the end of their career, they want to start helping people community where I can help people with whatever they need, so like, for example, I haven't I had a really bad problem with like drinking and vaping, and well, drinking wasn't so bad but vaping.
Speaker 1:I was very hard for me to quit. Is vaping gotten to a point that people are considering it a problem? I haven't heard this. I have not heard this in public discourse yet that vaping has been considered. I mean, I look at people who vape and I'm like that cannot be good for you at the rate that you're doing it. But I didn't know that people were starting to think of it as something you had to kick.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, because it ultimately messes with the way your brain operates. What?
Speaker 1:do you mean by that? Go into that in more detail.
Speaker 2:So it's like it's instant gratification over and over and over and over, Just like when you're swiping through your phone. It's instant gratification over and over and over and over. And all those little hits deplete your dopamine, which means why you have no motivation to do anything.
Speaker 2:Interesting dopamine, which means why you have no motivation to do anything. Interesting I think that's a big part of the online community is I want to be here to teach people that you need to. A big part of having a Bulletproof mindset, too, is your mental diet. So we're building modules to have a better mental diet, to have a better physical diet, to have a better support group around you. So I mean, with what we've gone so far, we've had a hundred solid members for the past couple of months and it's been awesome to. I've had life coaches on Zoom calls. I've seen people change their lives drastically, whether it's quitting a new job, moving out of a toxic household, breaking up with somebody, going through life's challenges with a community.
Speaker 1:That's kind of where I'm at. I know this might not be something that the listeners want to hear, but I'm fascinated. So how hard is it to quit vaping? Is it the same as quitting cigarettes? Is it considered easier, harder, what was it like? What was the process?
Speaker 2:It's way harder because I started out smoking cigarettes when I was in high school, right and you know, I smoked cigarettes and I smoked weed and I went back and forth between the two for a very long time and I was like this is not healthy. And then I went to vaping and I was like this is even worse because this is even worse, and I love it well, one it's.
Speaker 2:It's just like anything in this world, like hyper consumerism has like engulfed everybody's brains, right like. I saw a meme last night of like or not a meme, but one of those illustrations where it was like the guy is snorting, something like a lot of cocaine, but it's his phone and it's all the notifications snapchat or whatever yeah, I live in this society where instant gratification has depleted our motivation to do anything, and that's something I mean. I struggle with it every day because we're constantly surrounded by it too.
Speaker 2:The reason casinos don't have windows and vapes being these sweet, flavorful things that are constantly in your hand, and you get 14,000 puffs. It's like dude, you're taking a hit of it every you're waking up with it, you're going to sleep with it, it's always in your hand and you get 14 000 puffs. It's like dude, you're taking a hit of it every you're waking up with it, you're you're going to sleep with it, it's always in your hand and it's the hardest thing to quit. So that was yeah, it was way harder for me so what was that process?
Speaker 1:did you just go cold turkey? Or did you like be like, all right, I'm gonna do like one a day? Right, I'm gonna like one, one cartridge a week, rather than two cartridges a week did? Did you have to wean yourself off it?
Speaker 2:I did have to wean myself off it because I said I was going to stop and ultimately, when I was doing it, it made me feel foggy, it made me feel dependent, it didn't make me feel good in any means, and nothing's really supposed to go in your lungs. I don't care what people say. Like you're not supposed to inhale things into your lungs I've.
Speaker 1:The thing I've always amazed me about vapes is like it's like it's micro droplets of like oil into a spongy substance which is your lungs. Like in what world? If you're just like first principles thinking, do you think little droplets of oil in the sponge of your lungs is a good thing?
Speaker 2:and I've had multiple friends end up in the hospital with breathing tubes because of it really yeah, it's you don't hear about this?
Speaker 1:how can we hear about this in the news?
Speaker 2:because they want to keep you sick and it's like they get popcorn lung and it's. It's terrible and that's why I like. Drinking is one thing. I wasn't an alcoholic, so to speak. I didn't want any of those substances to further affect the mental stability of me, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, totally, totally Right, okay, Interesting. So that's fascinating. So, with the community, you found that, you know, I mean vaping is just like a small part of it, but with the Bulletproof community, it's basically an online platform that people can sign up and then basically you bring in motivational speakers and did you just, did you build this community just by, like you know, building the platform and then, like, launching it on your social media channel, et cetera.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so there's a new platform called School. It's with a.
Speaker 1:K-O-O-L.
Speaker 2:And it's like a Discord server, but paid for. So a lot of people that, like are building communities, would build a free Discord and then you pay for things inside the Discord. So it kind of combines everything in one and ultimately I do a motivational video every Monday. I call it Mental Armor Mondays, so I'll post a motivational video that I won't post anywhere else and it's directed towards you guys. Then we'll do Zoom calls twice a week and normally we'll cover topics. The last topic we covered was dopamine, and I'm really passionate about it because they found out that dopamine is not the reward, it's the buildup to the reward, right. So studies on the brain and dopamine, with this instant gratification society that we live in, I mean, I just feel called to help these people reach their potential and there's a saying that goes you find your purpose in what pisses you off.
Speaker 1:I like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and what pisses me off is that people feel like they can't do what can't put what.
Speaker 2:they can't do what they say they're going to do, and they can't or they're afraid both right, because society has ultimately you know, like we talked about that layer of insecurity, society has ultimately boosted their insecurities onto them to make them feel like they can't. And then they're. They're getting hit with an instant gratification, 24-7 with this and everything else. So, like today's world is so comfortable, it's detrimental to mental health and I just feel that for me, for someone who has overcome that in certain aspects of my life, I want to help people overcome it themselves.
Speaker 1:Right, that's fantastic. So that's the case. That's school. And then, oh, not school, bulletproof Mindset, the community, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, club Bulletproof.
Speaker 1:Club Bulletproof. Okay, fantastic. So let's go back to the apparel business, because two things jump out at me in this. One is that we've gone down the path before at Pegasus of looking at creating and selling apparel. The one kind of thing we always bump up against is like sourcing good quality materials and having it be the right stuff right. How was that process, especially in the early days, and what have you learned now? For other people listening to this who have thought about sourcing their own apparel and doing something similar, what was the discovery process like? To figure out how to do this as a business properly, and what do you wish you knew at the start. That you kind of know now.
Speaker 2:That's a long way to go. Talk for hours about that, you know. I think, ultimately, like I started with Printful, right? So Printful is a print on demand service that you can hook up to a Shopify store and you don't necessarily have to do any, any work Ultimately just do the marketing, make the content, they buy the product and they ship it out. But I think from there you're missing. I think you've kind of picked over. The overall theme is like I'm very big on community and message. I think that's what you, what you, kind of miss out on. So that's why I did those live streams in the beginning where I didn't have I probably had like 60,000 followers. But I was doing a live stream on TikTok and I had 25 people in there and that would just come in and out, in and out, and I wound up selling like 30 hats in a night because people just we would just talk, right.
Speaker 2:It was impersonable to me no-transcript. Yeah, it was impersonable to me. I'd tell them my story and they're like you know what? I'll buy a hat to support you, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's ultimately what it is. By the way, is especially like if you think about apparel businesses with creators, you know it can be easy for some people to think like, oh, this is why you're watching this and paying attention and how you reward them for that, because they need to pay their bills at the end of the day. It's like they create this business and it's you know, by you purchasing their stuff, is you supporting them and putting some money in their pocket that allows them to afford life, so they can continue creating the content that you like, allows them to afford life, so they can continue creating the content that you like. So it's kind of you paying them for their continuation of the service that you actually like in an indirect way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, and that's why I always say, like a lot of brands is about selling. To answer your question, what I wish I knew back then that I know now. It's about selling a feeling rather than product.
Speaker 2:Right we live in a society where people want to feel something because there's so many great products out there. You can go on Alibaba, you can go to anywhere and get a decent product for a quality source, but ultimately like what makes them want to buy it. And I think that's where it's very that's where that sense of responsibility comes in as an influencer. What was your moral code? What do you stand for? Why should people buy from you? And I think that's what Bulletproof Mindset is for me is because my apparel is something that, when you buy it, goes to support more people, not only you know helping them, but also just building a community of people that want to be better too.
Speaker 1:So yeah, and so bringing this back to kind of the discussion we were having at the beginning of the podcast, you're selling Western apparel targeted at Western riders and the Western culture in an industry where they might be like how cowboy are you? So? What are the trials and tribulations selling something if you yourself didn't grow up and you weren't like a championship rider yourself and so maybe some people consider you don't have the bona fides to be selling this apparel, etc.
Speaker 2:I think it ultimately boils down again to like what does your brand stand for? And so, for example, I did two launches for when there like fires in the Texas panhandle right, I launched a shirt and I did. All the proceeds went to the cattle raisers association out there. So ultimately, even though those people are more cowboy than me, doctoring cattle every single day, I'm going to help them financially. And then I also, when I got my dog Bullet, I had people donate from the Amazon wishlist. I have still a bunch of dog. Then I also, when I got my dog Bullet, I had people donate from the Amazon wishlist. I have still a bunch of dog stuff sitting right here that I got to take to shelter.
Speaker 2:Ultimately, when they bought from the launch I did with Bullet, it wasn't, it was. It was kind of like dog merch with a Western twist. Everybody in the Western world has a dog right. I not only am I using, I'm donating all this stuff, but I'm also donating. I donated a portion of the proceeds as well. So I think it just ultimately like I think being cowboy too is what do you do for the community? Like, even if you didn't grow up in it, what do you do for the community, because that ultimately sets you apart from why you want to be in it and you can tell if somebody really cares about it or if they're just in it for views and clicks.
Speaker 1:Yeah, totally, and I really cares about it, or if they're just in it for views and clicks. Yeah, totally, and I, I resonate. It resonates with me a lot and the reason, you know, I'm I'm very aware of this idea that a community that can judge you for not having you know what they deem the right to you know, have an opinion or to be participating is because, like with pegasus, I mean jen she's a lifelong equestrian. She was an upper level eventer, so she's a legit rider. She was riding from the age of four very competitively in a very dangerous sport. I didn't. My background was I came from the military and then I'm a tech guy as opposed to being a rider.
Speaker 1:But at the end of the day, I have spent the last five years learning everything I can about the equestrian industry. I've spent the last five years talking to everyone in the equestrian industry that I can talk to, understanding what are the bigger problems, what are the systemic challenges and then how can we build software to basically overcome those challenges and really help the industry flourish? Like, how can we build opportunities for people who have jobs and live in the equestrian industry? How can we save them money? How can we make them more money? How can we make their lifestyle easier? How can we provide, create new careers that don't currently exist, so that an 18-year-old who goes to college doesn't have to choose between their love for horses and growing up and getting a real job? How do you create a legitimate career path in the equestrian space that your parents would also consider worthy of a college degree and a white collar professional job? And if some of those do exist already, how do we educate people on them and how to get into them so they don't just exodus the industry massively at 18 when they go to college?
Speaker 1:And so for me, to your point, it's the exact same thing, which is, yeah, I might not be a good writer, I might not come from the industry, but I'm out here doing a shit ton of work to make the industry better and to create a better environment and a better ecosystem in which all of the riders, businesses can flourish and in which we can draw more attention into the sport, so that trainers have more customers to train, so that trainers have more time to focus on what they want to focus on, etc. So it is very much one of those things where I agree with you. It's like what do you put? Not so much like where have you come from?
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, and I think me and you are alike. We're problem solvers, right, and there's a bunch of tasks in this, in this lifestyle, that could be automated, that could be better, that ultimately helps people solve their problems and then ultimately, you grow those winds up having people get a career in this, in this career field. You know what I mean? I think it's, I think it's really neat what pegasus is doing, and I think, like I was talking to, uh, I met somebody at the pbr and I was like, yeah, I got this podcast on wednesday on wednesday, with this with pegasus, and it's basically because he mentioned another company called pegasus, I was like, oh enough, I have a podcast with a company called Pegasus and I was like it's like Airbnb meets Shopify meets clinicians, and they were all like that's so sick.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and uh, I think it's it's just important too, because not only building a company like this can help more people build the lifestyle, but I think it ultimately shifts the mindset of in order to get into the horse business, you don't have to go broke. There's a huge mindset, if you train horses or you have a stable, that it's going to be a money pit. And that's when I really met Colton and Colton is helping me train my horse right now. We did a Zoom call about a million dollar horse business. Right Like how, shifting the mindset and putting the work in and building it correctly, such as utilizing different software such as Pegasus or his software whatever software you want to use, you can actually have a career in the horse business.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. When I first started out five years ago, everyone was like was like oh, you know, if you're breaking even, you're doing well and it's like well, that is not a recipe for success. And the thing is is like I have to give it to them it's not a recipe for success and anywhere else, this whole industry should have gone under a long time ago. The fact that it hasn't and the fact that it persists is a testament to how much of this industry exists on pure love and will alone. The fact that so many equestrian businesses lose money and are money pits and if they break even, they consider it success, the fact that these businesses persist, the fact that the train keeps going, it's mind-blowing and it's more a testament to the strength of these businesses persist. The fact that the train keeps going, it's mind-blowing and it's more a testament to the strength of the commitment of the different people in it than it is to like the integrity of a well-designed ecosystem and economy yeah, like it's it's it's like it's it's in people's blood.
Speaker 2:You know, there are so many barrel racers and so many women out there and so many guys out there that will just live in their trailer and truck. They don't even want a house as long as they have something that can transport their horses and they can rodeo and they can rope. That's like the true love and that's the love that's always persisted, and I think that's honestly what helps fuel the backbone of America, because without that love for the lifestyle, you don't have the money flowing to keep it alive. You know, you don't have the money flowing to keep these ranchers putting beef on the table and these farmers putting food on the table. So, and that's ultimately why I love it too, because I feel like, whether I'm feeling a mindset or whether I'm feeling an aspect of the lifestyle, ultimately it's doing something to keep it alive.
Speaker 1:Totally, totally Well. I think that's a good point to end it on. So just to reiterate one last time, so for those who want to follow you, so what's your TikTok handle and your Instagram handle?
Speaker 2:My TikTok handle and Instagram are the same. It's just at the Nick Luciano. Yeah, everything is just Nick Lucianociano right.
Speaker 1:So if you go there, you'll also be able to find uh the links to uh your different businesses as well. Try to house. What a wild concept, yeah that's a different concept.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, that's the group, that's the. Uh, if you like, are a fan of comedy. You know group skits, stuff like that. We're just a bunch of comedy. You know group skits, stuff like that. We're just a bunch of good old boys that just we like making videos, man. So that's just a passion project. Awesome, awesome.
Speaker 1:All right, man Well, thanks very much for joining us today. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:No problem, thank you.
Speaker 1:Take care, man, and we'll have to have you back on sometime soon.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I.