From Listings to Landmarks with Patrick Manning

In this episode of Rise and Grind, host Thurl Bailey sits down with Patrick Manning, the visionary founder of Black Desert Resort. As a leading real estate developer and managing partner of Reef Capital Partners, Patrick has made a significant impact in the luxury resort industry, with over $6 billion in career sales and numerous record-breaking transactions.

Join us as Patrick shares the inspiring story behind the creation of Black Desert Resort, a transformative 600-acre luxury destination in Southern Utah. He discusses the challenges he faced during the development process, his commitment to sustainability, and the innovative marketing strategies that have set his projects apart.

Learn about the importance of building strong relationships in the real estate industry and how Patrick’s attention to detail has shaped his success. Whether you’re an aspiring developer, a luxury real estate enthusiast, or someone seeking motivation in your own entrepreneurial journey, this conversation is packed with valuable insights and lessons.

Tune in for an inspiring discussion on vision, perseverance, and the drive to create landmark experiences in the world of luxury resorts! 

Thank you for listening to this episode of Rise and Grind! If you enjoyed Thurl Bailey's inspiring basketball journey and insights, be sure to subscribe to the podcast for more powerful stories and motivational conversations. 

Help us spread the word by leaving a review and sharing this episode with friends and fellow basketball enthusiasts. Connect with us on social media to join the conversation and stay updated on future episodes. 

Remember, your journey might have its challenges, but with grit and determination, you can rise above and achieve your dreams. Keep grinding, and we'll see you next time!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

He said, Patrick, these words won't mean much to you at this age. He's like, but someday they'll come back to you. He said, but learn to embrace the problems in life that money could fix. And at the time, I was like, whatever. And uh 20 years later, a doctor told me that my son, uh, well, he was diagnosed with cancer. And immediately those words poured back in to my soul.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

I'm Thorl Bailey, and just a reminder: this is a weekly conversation about how people, people just like you, find the thing that wakes them up before dawn. How they push through the days that really test them and how they turn drive into purpose. My guest today is a veteran real estate developer and managing partner at Black Desert and Reef Capital Partners, with more than 30 years experience leading the full development lifecycle for nearly 180 resorts. He's the visionary behind Black Desert, a transformative 600-acre resort in southern Utah, spanning Ivans, Santa Clara, St. George, featuring amenities from a world-class spa to a water park and retail boardwalk, and an amazing, amazing golf course. Um, at and I'm not even, my description won't even do it justice. But if you're listening to this podcast, you gotta put that on your to-do list. We're gonna talk to Patrick a little bit more about that particular project. He's a leader in sustainable development, and Patrick's work has earned state and national green building recognition. He also serves on several industry and community boards, supports local arts and education initiative initiatives. Most importantly, he keeps family at the center of his professional mission. Patrick Manning, welcome to Rise and Grind, my friend. You are the definition of what this show is all about. Always rising and grinding every day.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Well, thanks, Big T. I appreciate you having me on. This will be fun.

SPEAKER_02 2:37

Yeah, this it will be fun, man. It's um it's interesting as you know, we we start to talk here. It wasn't that long ago that you know I met you down in St. George and you took me through the bones of your latest project, which is uh Black Desert. And uh just to be able to see where it's come to now and where it's headed, it's amazing. But we're gonna start back really at the very beginning. Because part of what what the format is on this show is there's always something that calls us into a passion or something that we we love to do. For me, obviously it was basketball as a guy named Dr. J. I watched on TV. Um, I'm pretty sure yours wasn't Dr. J. But I want to find out. Let's go back, take us back. What called you in, what drew you in? How did you develop this passion? Take us back.

SPEAKER_00 3:36

Well, you know, I uh I developed my first uh resort when I was 19 years old in St. Augustine Beach, Florida, and had done, you know, resorts in 17 states and five countries. Uh when in 2004, and it was my job, you know, it was my career and and it's the path I chose. And but I want to emphasize it was a job. In 2004, I'm living in the Florida Keys, and somebody called me because they knew I was looking for other properties, and they told me I needed to go check out entrata. And uh I said, okay, great, where's that? And they said it's in St. George, and I said, Where's that? And they said it's in Utah. And I said, Where's that? And anyway, but I uh I came out here to see, and when they said entrata, they really meant the Black Desert land, because at one time Black Desert was part of the footprint of entrata. And I came out here with my wife just to see another property. I mean, it was like I said, it was my job. But when I stood out on the land right about where Latitude Restaurant is now, I was standing right there, and I looked at my wife and I said, We we're supposed to sell everything and move here. We're supposed to live here. And wait, wait, what you said, you just you look, come on. Yeah. And and she said, Well, why? And I said, I don't know, I can't explain it. And and she said, Well, you're gonna have to try a little bit harder than that. But but I can tell you, Thurl, that standing on that land was the first time in my life that my job became something way different. It was never no longer a job at that moment. It was purpose, it was impact. It was, and I, and I was suffocating inside with this overwhelming feeling that um that for the first time in my life I'm gonna do something to make a difference, to build a platform for doing good. And um, and then the vision just started to unfold as far as what that project was going to be. But in the beginning, it was life-changing.

SPEAKER_02 5:48

So you talked about just having a job early on. I mean, obviously you were young. Um maybe you were trying to find your way. Um what drove you to that particular path for a job? Were there other opportunities for you to go and do other things?

SPEAKER_00 6:07

I took a uh what I called a gap year from I was gonna head to uh University of Kentucky and um took a gap year and ended up getting my real estate license in Florida and became the number one uh residential real estate salesperson in the state of Florida at 18 years old. So that's when uh an investor recruited me to partner on the first project when I was 19. And I sold that project out in like seven months, and we did we did another five more together. And um after that I just became a lone wolf and just started doing it myself. And that's what I mean by a job. That was how I made money. That's you know, the purpose was to make money.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

Well, let's talk about that grind. I mean, at that young age, there are a lot of 17, 18-year-olds that are, you know, what they call drifting, right? They're trying to figure out where they want to go. It sounded like there was something innate. I don't know whether you were taught that way growing up, but there was something even at that young age that understood what the grind meant.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

Yeah, I mean, I think one of the reasons I uh I feel so connected to you personally is because what the where I found early success and then later um a different definition of success is because the I mean this sounds so cliche, but I don't think most people understand how deeply you need to care about people and to really actually really show up and care about them. And that's where I found success even in just selling real estate is I just really, really at 18 just cared about about people. And I I think that that care is what got us, I'm fast-forwarding a little bit, but even all the political capital necessary to get a resort like Black Desert approved in a tiny little town like Ivans, you know. Um, but the politicians knew we cared, the residents knew we cared, they didn't show up and fight us when we were trying to get it approved. And but caring is the number one thing. And and if I could just for a second, absolutely I've told this story. I've probably told this story 30 times. Um one of the more moving times in my last decade is when I gave you a compliment and I said, I said, Thorough, of all the people I've ever met, I don't think I have ever met anyone more attentive than you. That when you are speaking with someone, your eyes are locked. And like most people, they see everything that's going on on the peripheral around them and they kind of glance over. I do that. And you know, because it catches your attention, you lose focus for a minute. And I was like, you never lose focus. Like it, and and you said, I really appreciate you saying that. A long time ago, I made my mama a promise. And that was one of the most impactful things anybody said to me in a long, long time.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

Well, I appreciate that, man. And and um I agree, I think that is why you and I have connected so quickly, is because we have some of those same ideals and and important innate things I I believe that that you need uh in this grind to be successful. Since you brought us kind of to the present, I want to ask you. Um I know you were standing with your wife and you were looking at this this land. Is that when the your first vision for Black Desert formed, or what did you see that maybe others didn't see?

SPEAKER_00 9:58

Well, people tell me all the time that for decades people saw that lava field and said that is good for nothing, nothing at all. Um, but I think the first thing that came to mind, and I'm gonna, you know, I I know I'm going back 20-something years, but but but putting it in today's numbers, what I first saw as I was looking around, poking around St. George in that first week I got here to look at this land, what stood out to me, and no offense to any stakeholders in this region uh when I say this, but most places that have six million tourists a year have a, first of all, they have a resort. And and St. George did not, but they have a what I call a there. So normally when you go to a tourist destination, like Las Vegas has the strip, you know, there's always a place. Uh Sedona, you know, everyone at Palm Springs, everyone has like a central area, and and St. George just didn't. And and I started thinking like, uh, and this is gonna sound a little bit bad, but I started thinking, well, who are these six million people that are coming here? I I don't know who these people are. Like, why are they coming here? And it just one of the thoughts that came to my mind is well, broke people don't fly to Vegas and rent a car and drive two hours to hike parks. And I'm like, so these people need a there there. So the boardwalk, as I've described to you before, the boardwalk was the initial, very first initial vision. And it was let's give them cobblestone streets with shops and restaurants and music, and let's do culinary right and let's get a concert venue, let's give these people when they get done with their hike a place to go other than to their hotel room. And so that was the initial vision.

SPEAKER_02 11:50

Okay, it was a bold vision, obviously. Um, how do you translate that? How do you translate that bold vision into an actionable first step, Patrick?

SPEAKER_00 12:01

Well, I I figured that that boardwalk was too bold. And so I I was like, and when I say I, we have an amazing team. Reef Capital Partners, our executive team, our there's no chance, no chance with with my experience and my past and and history and and knowledge of development. No way I could have done this by myself on this on this one. This one's big and complicated. But that boardwalk needed to be de-risked. It was too risky to build something that big out in Ivans. And like, what if the tourists don't make it out there? Uh, not that it's that far, eight minutes from downtown, but but what if they don't get out there? So I was thinking, well, what else do we need in this town? And and you know, I thought we could maybe de-risk the boardwalk by building a good size luxury hotel, you know, somewhere where somebody has some money and they want a different experience than what's currently being offered, that they would have that experience. And right looking into Snow Canyon State Park, uh, great, obviously great setting for a luxury hotel. So I thought that if we built this hotel good enough size that it would help fuel feed the boardwalk and be supplementary to the tourists that are coming. Uh, but then it was like, but how do we de-risk the hotel? And that one was easy. It was like, we can de-risk the hotel by building convention space because I had all the confidence in the world that northern Utah, that's very loyal uh, you know, uh to it to the state, would rather come to St. George than keep going into Vegas. And so I was like, great, you know, the convention center de-risk the hotel, the hotel de-risk the boardwalk. But then I was like, but a business traveler is different than a leisure traveler. They may not want to go hike to parks and because they're here on business. So what are they gonna do when they're not in a in a meeting? And so then it was like, well, we better build world-class golf. And but then it was like, well, not everybody golf, so we need something else to do. Let's build a world-class spa. And then we were like, okay, that's great. But wait, what are the kids gonna do? Okay, let's build an awesome water park. Wow. And then the problem became, well, now the amenities cost so much that it's hard to absorb it with the real estate we have, so then the real estate offering got bigger to match the amenity size, and it just that's kind of the the short version of the evolution of the vision.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

So with that vision and with every success, there's always failures, there's always setbacks that stay with this particular project. Sure. And it may be one in your past that that was a setback or something that made you think, should I have, or uh you have any, I'm sure you have a few of those.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Well, I think the hardest one, even though it was a a huge success, probably the hardest one that I've had to deal with was actually Intrata. And so in developing Intrata, you know, I started there in like 2004 or five on I'm not talking about Black Desert, but actually Intrata. And, you know, we had, I don't remember the exact number, but we had 40 or 50 million dollars or so in development loans when the crash hit. And it took everything to to hold on, to talk, communicate with with our the people who have already purchased that are you know freaking out, you know, are they gonna lose all their equity? And to dealing with our banks that we have loans with, to, you know, dealing with um contractors that you know needed to get paid. That was a that was a grind, uh just getting through that. And that's why Black Desert took so long is we've we started it in the boom of 04, 05, 06, and we had to pause because the cities were too busy. And then we paused again in the recession and just had to hold on. But we did hold on to entrata. We ever everybody got paid. It it was just hard.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

Was there any particular ritual or person or decision that kind of pulled you through that?

SPEAKER_00 16:19

Caring about people, you know, making sure you don't leave town because things get hard and it would have been way easier to leave, you know, and go focus on something else that doesn't have all the debt. But like I said, we we stuck through it and made sure that we did honorable things and um and that paid off. You know, when we were trying to get Black Desert done, I want to mention who which mayor it was, but one of the mayors reminded the residents um of the history of what we had done at Entrada and how in 05 when the huge floods came through, um, and we shut down all of our operations at Entrada, even though we were in a real estate boom. We shut down our uh all took all of our equipment and all tons of very expensive, if you will, um lava boulders, and we went and and short up the banks of the Santa Clara River and saved about 25 homes that would have been lost in that in that flood. And the mayor reminded everybody that those are the types of things that this developer is doing is they're sticking with it and they're helping residents when it's not their job.

SPEAKER_02 17:34

Sticking to that particular topic, what lessons have you learned about navigating politics and regulations?

SPEAKER_00 17:42

Um, I think the biggest thing that that I've learned is make it make it easier for the politicians. Don't create fights that they have to then have your back and it makes them look like they're going against the res 200 residents that are saying, don't let this go through. I unlike what you typically see in development, what you typically see is a developer shows up to city council and the residents are there, not even knowing what they're trying to fight because they hadn't really seen it yet, but the but the council had seen it over a course of weeks. And then the residents are irritated because they don't even know how to fight this thing because they didn't even know what it was. Right. I did the exact opposite. I went and sat in a hundred plus living rooms and showed people what the plans were for Black Desert before I went to the city. So now it's the reverse. The city's calling me saying, wait, why are we the last to know everything? And and I said, I promise you, you'll be glad that I'm doing it this way. Because when we did go in, there was almost, I mean, literally, almost zero opposition because everybody knew what it was. So I think the biggest lesson I've learned with how to get through political processes is to do the work instead of just asking them, you know, to shove it down somebody's throat.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Right.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

Um, and and even, you know, and I tell council members all the time, all I ask for is for you to be open-minded and to and to educate yourself on what we're trying to do. And if you vote no, I support that completely because it was an educated, you know, you you didn't you didn't succumb to you know the pitchforks. Yeah. You know, and at the same time, you didn't succumb to the developer. You you made a conscious, good, educated decision for your city.

SPEAKER_02 19:29

Well, kind of in the same mix, well, maybe not the same, but uh an important part. I mean, partnerships and stakeholders can sometimes complicate progress. Do you have any of those moments? I know you have experience in that as well, but uh how how difficult or how I mean you're a people person, was that an easy process?

SPEAKER_00 19:51

I would say it was easier because for for for three reasons. The boom, so I had to pause, and I took that time to make friends. Um, the recession, pause, make time to make friends. And then as we were starting to get into development, COVID hit. And and you know, we had to do things differently again. And I think because of that long process, you know, if I had tried to get this done in six months or a year, it it took 20. And and through that, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of of very positive relationships. So I'm I'm not I'm not I'm not giving myself credit for being smart. I'm giving the I'm giving the universe credit for taking the time that it needed to be patient. Wow, you know, that and and let this come in its own time.

SPEAKER_02 20:45

So uh we're gonna be able to show some of our viewers and listeners on our YouTube channel the beauty of what Black Desert is. But for those who are just gonna be listening audio, I want you to paint them a picture, your picture of and your description of what Black Desert is.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

Yeah, um obviously it's a little bit different to different people, and so this is just a Patrick version. I I I look at it as a 600-plus acre entertainment complex built to build memories to last a lifetime, and as a foundation, um a mechanism, a tool for impact of the community. And when I say community, I really mean the outline of the state of Utah. And um so that from my perspective, when I wake up every morning, I think what can Black Desert do to help? Um, whether that's helping the young couple that just, you know, that um just got engaged and they're coming to stay at the resort, and how can we help them build memories? Or how can we help with attainable housing? How can we help with homeless? How can we help um with there's you know, I know personally a few kids that um families that don't have homes right now, they're living in their cars. I mean, what can we do? Um, from a user standpoint, what we're really building here is um, as much as I'm not trying to put an emphasis on golf because it's so much more than golf, right? What differentiates Black Desert from really anywhere else in the United States, as we build out, we're it's no secret now that we're going to build some more golf courses. As we build that out, what we're building is what I'm calling guilt-free golf. So the top golf destinations in the country, the top one, two, three, four, um, those are buddy trips. There's nothing for the non-golfing spouse to do, nothing for the kids to do. So hopefully, if you go away with your buddies to the for three or four days to one of these golf destinations, hopefully you're feeling very guilty for leaving your family behind. So, what we're doing at Black Desert with the water park, and we're going to build a concert venue. And so it's a music destination, it's a culinary destination. We've got a world-class spa. Is that now instead of it being a buddy trip, it's family trips. And the whole family wants to go back to Black Desert. And instead of, you know, feeling guilty, you all meet somebody, some went to the water park, some went to the spa, some went to the boardwalk, and somebody went golfing, and you all meet up for dinner at basalt, you know, that night. And instead of feeling guilty, you share war stories about how wonderful your day was, and everybody had a blast. And that's really, really what we're building is guilt-free golf, and and what I think will become a top three golf destination in the country.

SPEAKER_02 23:54

That is amazing. Guilt-free golf. Hey, can you invent something angry-free golf for people like me? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. That's a tall order.

SPEAKER_01 24:06

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

Um, so let me ask you, how do you define success today, Patrick? Legacy, community impact, financial returns, something else. How do you define it?

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Well, we we obviously have to have you know provide good returns to our investors, and you know, our banks have to get paid. So financial has always got to be part of it. You got to be fiscally responsible and you've got to, you know, take care of those that trust you. Um, success to me is again that platform. Like, what are we doing to make a difference? Um, you know, and a real difference. Um and I'll give you an example of a small thing. I was in the lobby, which I'm 90% of my day I spend in the lobby at Bike Desert just listening. And these two guys are getting ready to check in, and they're talking to each other about how one of them is going to propose to his girlfriend that night at Basalt, and um, they had a table reserved. Uh, obviously the girlfriend didn't know. And so I had several hours to prepare, and neither of them knew um that I had overheard that he was uh proposing. And so I called Jesse Stone, uh, who owns uh uh the biggest drone company, and outside of the basalt window that that night, I watched from the other corner of the room, and when I saw her nod yes and gave him a hug, the drones went up and it said, uh, Michelle, what will you marry me? Wow. And then it said, she said yes. He didn't know it either. He didn't know that's awesome. So, like, what impact are you making? And um, yeah, that that's success.

SPEAKER_02 26:05

Well, I know you're a part um of a lot of mentorship and boards that you serve on. Do you have any experiences and maybe it's similar to the one you just talked about, but um your experiences being in that mentorship position or being on some of the boards that you're on as well?

SPEAKER_00 26:30

Yeah. Um one in particular, um Lance Brown at Utah Tech asked me if I would join their uh athletics board. And I said, I'd be happy to, but you'll be sorry. And he said, Why will why will I be sorry? And I said, Because you're a higher ed bureaucratic, you know, your university, and I'm a disruptor. And I'm if I come, I'm gonna be vocal and it's gonna make everybody uncomfortable. And he's like, Okay, let's do it. So the first three hours of this first board meeting, um, I was never invited back after the first one, by the way. But the first board meeting, um they spoke for three hours about about building the athletics department, and they were doing a SWOT analysis, and they had these big white, sticky things on the wall, and they had their strengths and weaknesses and so on. And Lance said, put yellow dots next to whatever and red dots next to whatever. Anyway, and um, and he said, Okay, now everybody go do that. And I said, Nobody, and this first time I spoke, it's been three hours, I've never spoken at this board meeting. I said, Nobody get up. And they all looked at me funny because I'm the new guy. And I said, Lance, how can you expect us to go up to the board and put a dot next to what we think is the greatest, in this case, weakness, when the greatest weakness is not listed on the board. And he's well, what do you think is our greatest weakness? And I'm by the way, I'm sitting right next to the head football coach.

SPEAKER_01 28:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:09

And I said, Well, first of all, this whole the athletics advisory board is a charade. Let's change the name to what it is. How do we get butts in seats for a football game? And I said, But the greatest weakness that we have is for three hours, all I've listened to is why we can't.

SPEAKER_01 28:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

Why we can't win, why we can't, you know, why we can't because we're Utah Tech, we're not University of Utah, we're not BYU. Why we can't? And I said, reverse engineer. If this is about butts and seats, there's a reason why the concert venues in St. George are always full and your football stadium is not. And it's called entertainment value. And I said, so if you want butts and seats, you gotta win. If you want to win, unfortunately, today, you have to go raise a bunch of money. That's right. And in order to raise a bunch of money, you can't say we can't. Attitude, the whole mentality of this university needs to be to be we can and we will. And so why don't we do it together? And so they have made they have made some good strides, by the way, in that in that department. So powerful.

SPEAKER_02 29:26

Man, I wish I was in that meeting just to be a part of that.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

So the football coach jumps up, jumped up, and he yells, I'm pumped, I'm pumped.

SPEAKER_02 29:35

Of course she did. Of course. Oh man. Well, um, man, this has been a great conversation. We're gonna take just a quick break uh to honor our sponsor, and we're gonna be back and talk to Patrick, asked Patrick about the best advice he ever got. We'll be right back with Rise and Grind speaking with Patrick Manning. Hey everybody, welcome back to Rise and Grind. Pearl Bailey here. We're talking to Patrick Manning about Black Desert Resort, um, his real estate developments all across the country and the world. And I wanted to ask you, Patrick, the best piece of advice you ever got.

SPEAKER_00 30:24

There's a lot to choose from, but I think back I was about 21 or 22 years old, and I'd had some success built you know doing some resorts, but I was freaking out one day because I was afraid that I wasn't gonna be able to make payroll on Friday. And the the investor partner of mine that was quite a bit older than me, he started laughing and he said, Patrick, these words won't mean much to you at this age. He's like, but someday they'll come back to you. He said, but learn to learn to embrace the problems in life that money could fix. And at the time, I was like, whatever.

SPEAKER_02 31:14

And uh that's a pobler word when you're young.

SPEAKER_00 31:17

Yeah. So literally, I was like twenty like 20 years later, I was about 42, 43 years old, and a doctor told me that my my son, uh well, he was diagnosed with cancer, and immediately those words poured back in um to my soul. My son's fine now, totally fine. Um, but man, that those words are probably what everybody always says. I'm I'm always so calm, always so chill, you're never nervous, you're never, and it's because of that. It's because learn to learn to embrace the problems in life that money can fix. All this business stuff, all this, it can be fun, it can be hard, it can be a grind, it can be, you know, all those things, you know, but it it's it's not gonna kill you. So um I think those words were probably the best advice I ever got.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

Well, I can attest to the fact that you have this calm demeanor because there are times during your building at Black Desert and preparing for the PGA and LPGA, and I'm looking around. And what's that famous question I always ask you? Is it gonna be ready by the PGA? And you just look at me with this calm. You know, I'm like, I'm worried for you, but you're not worried or shaken at all. And so I can uh I can attest to that. That's that's uh that's something great to have. So how about a quick piece of advice for listeners who are trying to build something audacious right now?

SPEAKER_00 33:03

Yeah, I would say um there's a few things. One, don't ever look at something that you're passionate about, something you want to do, something you believe in, and and focus on the challenges or the or the boundaries, or don't settle for, well, life only gave me this, so I can only do I can only do 70% of my dream. Um always, always think about in a perfect world, there were no obstacles, there's no nothing is gonna stop stop you from from your ultimate dream. Start there because there is a way to get there, unless you start with something marginalized from the beginning, and then be bold and don't be shy, don't be afraid. Don't I'm actually one of my most favorite things that I've had happen over the last 20 years is people telling me what we're doing is impossible. That is fuel. I love it. They were like, it's impossible to get Black Desert approved in these tiny towns, it's impossible to get the PGA, it's impossible to get the LPGA. I'm actually like a little disappointed now because when I say we're gonna do something, people are like, Oh, yeah, I believe it. Like, where's the impossible at? You know, um, but but be bold. And I'll tell you the most powerful word other than maybe love in the English language is help. It it do not be afraid to ask for help. And because believe it or not, people want to help you. People want to help you reach your dreams, they want to be part of it in some big or small way, and so asking for help is probably the most important thing. And honestly, expect the help. Don't expect for them to say no, expect them to help. And, you know, and then care about everyone that this may impact. I the reason we have the equivalent of four super Walmart parking lots underground is because that was the that's what we felt was needed to mitigate the traffic that we were gonna cause, you know, with with something the size of Black Desert. Because people now park their cars underground and we'll settle them around. They don't have a reason to necessarily leave the resort, and if they do, we'll take them. You know, let's carpool. Um, but care about the residents, care about your bank, care about everybody. So dream big, go after it, be bold, ask for help, and care about everybody involved.

SPEAKER_02 35:38

That's powerful, man. I I I really appreciate that. And I do want to kind of wind down to what I feel like is central to your work, and that's your family. And how do you navigate it sometimes trade-offs um between big projects and family life?

SPEAKER_00 35:59

That's probably the hardest part. Because it's your two biggest passions, and they do at times conflict. Um First of all, we almost every year go on a uh when school gets out, we go on a two-month vacation, like almost every year for the last 20 years, and we unplug. I mean, this last summer uh we went to the Florida Keys and I logged my hours that I worked. We were gone 61 days and I worked four hours. And um, and so being able to unplug is important. Um, but then you find what's that?

SPEAKER_02 36:42

Was it difficult to unplug, or did you just decide that I'm gonna do it?

SPEAKER_00 36:45

No, just decide. Yeah, and I told everybody, and everybody said, you know, and and everything was great. Well, the great thing about the great thing of what happens is obviously if I only worked four hours, then the team picked up all the stuff I would normally be doing. And when I got back this time, I said, I'm not taking it back, you keep it. So I work a little bit less now. Um, but I I also find ways, you know, my my wife isn't the type that always wants to go to to every gala, you know. And um, but my daughter loves it. And so I find wherever I go, I take the kids to work with me, you know, not all of them at the same time, but rotate, take them to work with me. But uh when I go to work, they think it's awesome because I throw them the keys to a golf cart and give them a credit card and let them go zoom around the resort and go go get some dole whip out at the oasis and whatever. And they so they have fun. So I think just including them in the process, and it makes it easier because it's a resort. It'd be different if I was, you know, running a factory and it's not so not as much fun. Um, but it is challenging, there's no doubt. My my wife has a an entire photo album of me earlier in life, um, you know, in our for in our first 10-15 years of and it has at least one picture of every vacation we went on, and every single one of them, I have a phone on my ear. And so that's her make fun of me for always working. Uh, but we find ways. I mean, we've been in we've been together for 27 years and have six kids, and and just like you. And um and you know, you don't get there by by sacrificing too much.

SPEAKER_02 38:31

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 38:32

So when you unplug, are you a reader? I do, I read, um, but but mostly um because it's what my kids want to do, we fish all day, every day. I love it.

SPEAKER_02 38:43

I love it. Patrick, this has been amazing. Amazing that I get to share with the public, the people that are going to be watching and listening to this podcast, share something that's special to me in our friendship, but also um talking to someone who's gone through it, who started at a young age and developed a passion for something and got through the difficult times, stuck with it, um, which is the grind, and and uh and it's never done, right? I mean, you you're you're you continue continue to be passionate about the things that you do, um and it's not for your your own benefit, it's for the service of people and in the community. So thank you so much for taking the time to join me here on Rise and Grind. And um I'm definitely gonna be seeing you soon because winter here up north is a little bit different than where you are.

SPEAKER_00 39:44

Well, you you as you know, you're welcome down at Black Desert anytime. We'll take good care of you, and I I appreciate you having me on. And tomorrow morning, let's rise and grind.

SPEAKER_02 39:52

All right. Thank you, Patrick. Thanks, Daryl. Thank you, Patrick Manning. Thank you for joining us on this episode of Rise and Grind. Be sure to join us next week. Take care, every single time.