From Soldier to Blade Maker: How Veteran Doug Katz Forged Nulu Knives and Redefined Accessible Design

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Who's with me? Who is with me? Adrian Barker

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speaks. No prep needed. This guy, Doug Katz,

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is in the house. I don't know if he's bold, but

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I don't know. I know he's bold. I know he's brave.

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Not sure if you're bald, because you're wearing

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a hat. Well, you know, I gotta rep the brand.

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I gotta rep the brand. Oh, that brand is so cool.

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I'm so excited, you guys. So meet Doug Katz,

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co -founder of, do we say Nulu? Nulu, yeah. Okay,

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now I just want to say for those of you that

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are coming in that are in the promotional products

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industry, we want to also hear your ideas and

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thoughts. Doug, I have like friends that are

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suppliers and friends that are distributors.

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So the distributors will be selling your brand

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and the suppliers will be jealous that you have

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this such a great product. That's how it works.

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I can't wait. So I'm so excited to have Doug

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Katz in the house. Doug, who are you? What the

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heck is Nulu? And that's a great looking hat.

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Thank you. So, who I am, you know, I'm just kind

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of a guy I think who found the path that's right

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for me, really. Grew up in Michigan, Cleveland

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originally, went into the Army via West Point

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after graduation, which was a great, things ended

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up much better than they would have been at other

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schools. So, then served my five years in Colorado

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as a field artillery officer where I met my wife

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and she was from Iowa so we moved back to Chicago

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kind of put us in between everything and I did

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sort of the traditional go from the military

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into the civilian corporate world and did everything

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from telecom to mortgages and never you know

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did well enough right like did a job. But in

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2020 or 2021, my wife got me a class on knife

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smithing. This was a gift that she got for me

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from the gentleman who taught me how to make

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knives. An amazing guy, I can't use his name,

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Steve Marney. He's retired now, so none of you

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guys get the chance to learn from him, but taught

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me really, really good basic knife making skills.

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And so I continue to do it. And I relocated to

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where I live now a little bit after that. And

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part of the deal was that I got a shop to work

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in a forge, but have some issues as well. I'm

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a disabled vet. Most of my issues are lower body

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and cranial, but I do have upper body issues

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that aren't that, you know, more or less the

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way the military works is. They may know they

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may say yeah, you probably messed up your upper

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body as a military You know person, but there's

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no record of it. So it's not recognized as service

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disability so But it doesn't make me any less

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disabled, but I was out in my shop one day before

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I got my shoulder rebuilt a couple of years ago

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and I couldn't swing a hammer. I also love to

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cook I couldn't do any of the stuff that I like

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to do, so I was just kind of sitting out there,

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and the circular shape of some of the scrap steel

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I had sitting around, I used sometimes to use

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like circular saw blades or anything to kind

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of prototype, because I don't want to waste good

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steel. And I created the Nulu, which was the

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second half of your question. And the Nulu, the

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name, you asked about the name when we were preparing

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to go live, and it means the new ulu. And the

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ulu is a Inuit knife, Alaska, Northwest Canada.

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And it was everything. The women had the ulu.

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The men would have a typical field knife, right?

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Men hunted, women cut hair, dressed animals,

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did all kinds of things. And it was a very utilitarian

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knife. So I hadn't made one of those before.

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I'd made like a pizza cutter. But because of

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the issues that I was having, It put me in a

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situation and say, well, how can I do what I

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like to do again? And so I made it. We had no,

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like, I made it and it worked. And I brought

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it to a friend's son's graduation party. And

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my now partner was there and he was like, that's

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super cool. We have to do it. I'd forgotten he

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was an industrial designer. So the rest is kind

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of history. We've been in business about three

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years total, just selling since the last... since

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June, really. But the interesting part of the

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journey has been we knew it worked. We kind of

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did it backwards how you should really do it.

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Validating commercial viability of a product

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should be done by saying, why is it better? We

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didn't do that. We said, hey, it works. Then

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I went through an accelerator through the veterans

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organization. And we started to think, why? What

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is the reason that it works? Because people want

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to know why they're spending. that amount of

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money for a knife. So we started to understand

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and think about sort of the geometry of design.

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And in the meantime, we're also trying to figure

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out how do you quantify disability? So it's been

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a very interesting journey, I guess you would

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say. All right, I have a question for you. So

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your wife decides to get you a knife smithing,

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which I love the term. I never heard that word

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before, so I'm thinking it's how to learn how

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to make knives. But how did she know that you

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even wanted a knife smithing? That's a great

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question. It was right smack dab when Forged

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in Fire was probably one of the most popular

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shows on TV. You know, it's it's nice. There's

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a real visceral connection and I found that I

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I like working in physical medium. I like what

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really drew me to blade making. Was I think it's

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functional art. I think it's something where

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you can pour some of yourself into it. I give

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most of the other nights I makeaways gifts, but

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it's something where you can make really interesting

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knives. You can ideate, but at the end of the

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day, someone can use it. And it's funny, I was

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talking to one of my kids the other day, actually,

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and I said, it's a really interesting phenomenon

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for me, because I've given them as gifts and

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everybody loves them as gifts. I don't know if

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people would pay for my other knives, but they

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love them. And I say, it's really interesting

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when you think about mortality and like gravestones

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and, you know, how will legacy live on, right?

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Is it about what's on that headstone? Or is it

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like, Having something that you made for somebody

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that maybe becomes an heirloom and has passed

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down in their generations because it's a unique

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Handmade thing and I think that just drew me

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to it But that said Kind of looking at I kind

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of make I think I really focus on a little bit

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of a weirder non -traditional style a little

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bit like what if you put this kind of blade on

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this kind of handle and how will that change

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the dynamics or how can you make something cut

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better or work better for its intended purpose?

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And I think that's kind of maybe an arrogant

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thought, but I think it's more the engineering

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me than the knife -smith. And I think my brain

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works more that way, more in a engineering process

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than an artisanal process, where the outcome

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might still be a knife, but how I got there was

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a little bit different. Wow, wow, wow, wow. You

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know, I love knives, but I'm afraid of them.

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Look what happened to my hand. I lost all my

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fingers. Right, right. If you're listening, I'm

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just kind of making a joke. I have my fingers

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off. Okay, let's look at the knives. All right,

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ready? I'm excited. I, and who doesn't use knives?

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I mean - Well, you know what? Can I answer that

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question? Yeah. Yes, I would love that question.

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who doesn't use knives are people that can't,

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or people for whom using them has become difficult

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enough that it's easier to go on Instacart or

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wherever you might decide then to get your food.

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And, you know, we were talking in the beginning,

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how did I perceive this? Well, I couldn't cook.

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So I was one of those people who couldn't use

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a knife for that period of time. That's the path

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that we've really gone on now is What does disability

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look like who can't use it? And the interesting

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answer has been we all will get there One of

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my tattoos. I have a lot of tattoos one of them

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is mother nature and father time and I Got that

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I think I got that one of my 25th wedding anniversary

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For the reason of you know kind of immutable

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things but it's interesting how those same two

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things have played a part in this business. And

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the reality is people look at disabilities and

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identity as opposed to a state of being or an

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overlay onto a particular set of tasks. And where

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we're trying to bring the dialogue and as a team

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we've invented this model called the Ability

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Curve, which takes the approach that from the

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time you're born to the time that you you're

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on a curve that tr on a myriad of tasks. An at

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your ability to do them to 10, you can graph

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it. Y know, 10 being the best at some point because

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yo rebuilt. But then you go level. But the reality

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is slope as you gain streng coordination and

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the abili And then it goes back. It's like the

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old, we crawl, we walk, you know, the old thing,

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you know, is at the rim of the space. And we

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end up kind of in the same boat we were as kids.

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And guess what? That's disabled. So we're really

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trying to bring the dialogue about universal

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design and that a little bit more to, you know,

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in the startup space or, you know, wherever.

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Because I think it's a good dialogue because

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As people live longer, lifespan and the quality

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of life are two different things. My wife and

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I have been caretakers for, so far, three different

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parents. My parents are divorced, so we get bonus

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parents, but my dad, her mom, who have both passed,

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and then her dad, we're taking care of now, and

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then my mom and her husband are on deck, headed

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up to Illinois probably in the next year. So

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I saw, front row seat, court side, the inevitable

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degradation and thought about it doesn't have

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to be that way necessarily. There are tools and

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aging in place is a big thing, right? It's a

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big thing now. So we're trying to kind of bring

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that dialogue to, we shouldn't look at individual

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disabilities. We should be figuring out where

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do the Venn diagrams meet and let's start developing

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that way. have the development branch out if

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there need to be more specialized things for

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particular maladies. I love that Doug, but I

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also want to say that as a mother of four children.

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And I wasn't so worried, weirdly enough of the,

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I don't think my boys were in the kitchen, so

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I had to worry about them. But my daughter, I

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remember when she started expressing an interest

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in cooking, and still now she's 19, when she's

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got a knife in her hands, I don't know where

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to go with that. I get scared. I can't help it,

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right? Accidents happen. And you know what? It's

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interesting you say that, because a lot of our

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design, so if you look at it. Let's show it.

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Hold on for one second. Hold on. This is one

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that my mentor made. It's beautiful. And I like

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this one because I don't believe. Wait, the one

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that you're showing, first of all, let's go a

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little slower, because I love this and I want

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to show the line. But what I don't know is what

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you're showing us is the item. First of all,

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is it in the line? No, this is not one that they

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can buy. This one was given to me. by my wife

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and it was made by Steve who was my mentor but

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I like using this one for the explanation of

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the point that you were talking about the tip

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because it's a very primitive knife it's a primitive

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design that he made and he makes some in primitive

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and made some of the other one but I don't like

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plucking out traditional knife design but with

00:12:57.129 --> 00:13:00.850
this you can see it's got a tip and this one

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has a double blade but why need a tip hunting

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or self -defense That's the only reasons that

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you would need that because it would be to either

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get food or not die. But, and if you look, this

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is how, and I know I'm off frame, but you can

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see how this aligns with my body. The most important

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thing when this was created was eating and not

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dying. So cutting was a lot less important. So

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this is a secondary functionality. But you can

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see even me not at a counter. My hand tightens

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up, my knuckles go white, and all my grip, all

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my strength goes here. And if I was at a countertop,

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my shoulder goes up, I have to create leverage

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with the transfer of force because this is a

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linear design. But if you think, what if you

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don't need the tip, which we don't in the kitchen?

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And you brought that up very, very cogently about

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when your daughter's in the kitchen. Well, we

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don't have a tip on this, right? We removed the

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tip because what was cool, this is where I say

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my partner is a genius. It still has like that

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cool knife design. But this, I can do this all

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day. I'm not going to get cut because this is

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about cutting, not about stabbing. Wait a second.

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I don't have to worry. How could she cut herself

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with that? Well, you could. It's super sharp.

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And the issue with this is now you can see how

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my body is aligned. It's aligned this way and

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this way. the force transfer versus the linear

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design is circular. It means that I can find

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anywhere I want. And I actually usually cut like

00:14:39.470 --> 00:14:42.830
this because I only have to grip it this lightly.

00:14:43.429 --> 00:14:46.730
The blade is completely aligned. I got to line

00:14:46.730 --> 00:14:49.409
up. There we go. With my muscular skeletal structure.

00:14:49.889 --> 00:14:53.009
So the vision impaired community has shown interest

00:14:53.009 --> 00:14:54.750
because when you're cutting, you know exactly

00:14:54.750 --> 00:14:57.889
where the blade is. Now, when you talk about

00:14:57.889 --> 00:15:01.259
when your daughter's in the kitchen. Any knife

00:15:01.259 --> 00:15:04.120
is dangerous. We don't recommend this for, you

00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:05.580
know, we don't say to parents, yes, give this

00:15:05.580 --> 00:15:09.240
knife to your kid. What I do say is anybody using

00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:12.360
a steel knife and when a parent or anybody makes

00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:15.919
the decision that their child is old enough to

00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:20.000
use a steel knife in the kitchen, then they're

00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:27.480
entering a risk profile in an activity. It tends

00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:30.379
to be safer because of the control. That said,

00:15:30.539 --> 00:15:32.580
because we also work heavily in the disabled

00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:36.259
community, and me being one too, I always recommend

00:15:36.259 --> 00:15:39.940
wearing a cutting glove. We're gonna be selling

00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:42.679
them in the near future, but they're very inexpensive

00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:44.519
and it will save you money on band -aids. Any

00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:47.039
money you're gonna spend on a cutting glove because,

00:15:47.220 --> 00:15:49.580
no, but what I will say is when people talk about

00:15:49.580 --> 00:15:52.840
chopping, if you're, let's say this is, and they're

00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:56.440
chopping, it's gonna move a little bit when you're

00:15:56.440 --> 00:16:00.309
chopping. With ours, it stays exactly aligned

00:16:00.309 --> 00:16:03.649
with your body. There's no moment harm. So while

00:16:03.649 --> 00:16:07.450
no knife is safe, I do feel that it is a little

00:16:07.450 --> 00:16:10.409
bit more controllable, which makes it safer.

00:16:10.509 --> 00:16:14.269
Now that said, sometimes I'll get stupid and

00:16:14.269 --> 00:16:18.789
I'll clean it, like just with a, and what we

00:16:18.789 --> 00:16:21.389
tell people is we do not recommend being as stupid

00:16:21.389 --> 00:16:24.100
as I have been in the past. is to clean it in

00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:25.559
a way where you're keeping your hand away from

00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:27.440
the blade. Because the other part is this does

00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:29.919
impart a lot of force. And if you're just kind

00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:32.940
of cleaning it, then you can cut yourself. So,

00:16:32.940 --> 00:16:34.620
you know, there are safety considerations. That's

00:16:34.620 --> 00:16:36.820
the next product to make. That's the next product

00:16:36.820 --> 00:16:39.200
to make, a way to clean it without a safe way

00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:40.679
to clean it. Yeah, well, yeah, absolutely. And

00:16:40.679 --> 00:16:43.019
it's, you know, this is me being stupid. The

00:16:43.019 --> 00:16:44.460
good way to clean it is always have your hands

00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:47.820
away from the sharp part. But I think, you know...

00:16:47.850 --> 00:16:50.850
you see nice miss many of because you know, it's

00:16:50.850 --> 00:16:56.669
lik too comfortable and don't right? Like a little

00:16:56.669 --> 00:17:02.429
too think people forget that So Doug, so so when

00:17:02.429 --> 00:17:06.349
you he with the tip, my heart, I s the same feeling

00:17:06.349 --> 00:17:10.150
as if yo a gun, right? Like it s go talk, let's

00:17:10.150 --> 00:17:16.170
get, let' together from your websit I didn't

00:17:16.170 --> 00:17:18.529
feel that way with this. OK, so you're offering

00:17:18.529 --> 00:17:23.690
15 % off. How is this packaged? It comes with

00:17:23.690 --> 00:17:28.509
a sheath. It's a clam shell type sheath that

00:17:28.509 --> 00:17:32.349
we designed for one handed opening. It comes

00:17:32.349 --> 00:17:35.750
a little bit stiff, but you can flip this little

00:17:35.750 --> 00:17:38.230
latch here. So it comes with the sheath. Currently

00:17:38.230 --> 00:17:42.349
we also have sharpeners that we recommend. It's

00:17:42.349 --> 00:17:45.039
a little bit of a unique sharpening. I would

00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:47.140
say within three weeks to a month, we're going

00:17:47.140 --> 00:17:51.359
to have cutting boards and a dock. If you go

00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:54.259
back, it might be on there, but we're not yet.

00:17:55.880 --> 00:18:01.299
Backspace one to show the product line. You can

00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:05.200
see coming soon the dock and the cutting board.

00:18:05.539 --> 00:18:08.539
The cutting board we designed is two sided so

00:18:08.539 --> 00:18:10.640
that bowl allows you to cut things because this

00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:12.420
does have a lot of strength. You cut a carrot

00:18:12.420 --> 00:18:14.839
and it goes across the room. That keeps it where

00:18:14.839 --> 00:18:18.119
it's supposed to go. The dock is amazing. Both

00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:22.380
of them come in acacia and bamboo. Really sustainable,

00:18:22.539 --> 00:18:26.279
durable wood. And the reason we designed the

00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:30.259
dock that way is it keeps you interesting. We

00:18:30.259 --> 00:18:32.519
designed it originally to kind of sit like this

00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:36.579
in the cutting board. It left a blade exposed.

00:18:37.019 --> 00:18:39.559
One of my partners... brought that up, which

00:18:39.559 --> 00:18:41.880
was a good point. So we're trying to do it. And

00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:44.039
you had talked about the promotional industry.

00:18:44.740 --> 00:18:46.680
We're really looking at this because you could

00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:49.079
laser engrave it and it's meant to sit on the

00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:53.059
counter. This isn't a knife. I mean, all of them,

00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:55.559
they well, this product is perfect. This product

00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:57.539
is perfect. Once I could have your logo, the

00:18:57.539 --> 00:18:59.700
other side could have the clients. I am loving

00:18:59.700 --> 00:19:01.859
it. OK, I want to go back, though. I want to

00:19:01.859 --> 00:19:06.200
go back to the knife because this is really interesting.

00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:11.039
I I've never thought of this and how, look at

00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:12.740
the different ways you could grip it. So you

00:19:12.740 --> 00:19:15.660
have the fore grip. What is the fore grip? What

00:19:15.660 --> 00:19:18.000
would you use that for? This is what we kind

00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:20.140
of call the fore grip or the main grip because

00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:24.880
with this you have 162 degrees of cutting edge.

00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:27.819
With this, a regular knife, you have one degree.

00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:31.599
It's this. It's a line. When you bring a circle,

00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:33.359
and my kids love this because, you know, I get

00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:34.920
to talk to them about geometry, which every kid

00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:40.720
loves. This is 162 degrees now. So you can find

00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:44.559
what works for you for that task and you're in

00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:47.140
a neutral position so you can chop this way.

00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:49.160
So this is the forward grip because you get the

00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:52.920
most usage. This we call the axe grip. Now it's

00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:54.940
more of a cleaver and if you look at my body,

00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:57.960
now the alignment is with a different part of

00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:00.559
the blade. So this is really good and actually

00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:03.400
I almost kind of punch when I cleave and you

00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:05.579
can see it doesn't put strain on me. And then

00:20:05.579 --> 00:20:07.559
what I love is this is your precision blade.

00:20:08.059 --> 00:20:10.859
This is where you can cut garlic. You can do

00:20:10.859 --> 00:20:12.140
all the kind of and then you can always use it

00:20:12.140 --> 00:20:17.000
as a mincing knife. And then this is one you

00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:20.039
can hang it like in an industrial kitchen, commercial

00:20:20.039 --> 00:20:24.279
kitchen to avoid contamination. But this is TBD.

00:20:24.299 --> 00:20:27.859
We're going to be doing some development on expansion

00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:30.460
for people to be able to secure the knife and

00:20:30.460 --> 00:20:33.910
hold on to it who may not have grip, right? A

00:20:33.910 --> 00:20:36.890
couple of my affiliates have either spinal injuries

00:20:36.890 --> 00:20:40.930
or cerebral palsy. I love that they're my target

00:20:40.930 --> 00:20:47.049
market. They use it and they get it and they're

00:20:47.049 --> 00:20:49.450
like, oh, I get it. You don't have to gorilla

00:20:49.450 --> 00:20:51.609
grip this thing. You can just kind of hold on

00:20:51.609 --> 00:20:55.549
to it and just use it. What I tell people is

00:20:55.549 --> 00:20:58.569
if you were going to design a machine that cut,

00:20:59.910 --> 00:21:02.490
this would not look like what you would do. it

00:21:02.490 --> 00:21:05.289
would likely be a circular blade that works on

00:21:05.289 --> 00:21:08.250
a piston or an up -down movement, but something

00:21:08.250 --> 00:21:09.970
that would maximize. And if it was up -down,

00:21:10.250 --> 00:21:12.589
the pistons would come from above because you're

00:21:12.589 --> 00:21:14.430
spending money on electricity and other things

00:21:14.430 --> 00:21:16.650
and you want to maximize the efficiency of the

00:21:16.650 --> 00:21:19.190
cutting. With this, your body is the machine.

00:21:19.650 --> 00:21:22.130
However, the piston goes in the way that you

00:21:22.130 --> 00:21:24.109
would want to use it, you're getting that good

00:21:24.109 --> 00:21:27.690
force transfer. So when you talk about, we have

00:21:27.690 --> 00:21:31.279
general grip description. but I did an abilities

00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:35.299
expo in June, right? We literally just got an

00:21:35.299 --> 00:21:38.859
inventory and I did this expo and it really threw

00:21:38.859 --> 00:21:40.900
me for a whirl because we designed this around

00:21:40.900 --> 00:21:44.720
upper body issues and I sold a couple to people

00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:47.119
who had had strokes or had some pretty severe

00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:50.779
things, but we sold a ton to people who sit in

00:21:50.779 --> 00:21:54.480
wheelchairs either because they have to part

00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:59.160
of the time or fully and many of them had comorbidities

00:21:59.289 --> 00:22:01.329
with upper extremity stuff. And what we learned

00:22:01.329 --> 00:22:06.349
was seated. This is great because you can, it's

00:22:06.349 --> 00:22:07.910
hard to see, I can't really put it on camera,

00:22:08.250 --> 00:22:12.190
but if you're seated, you can use your core and

00:22:12.190 --> 00:22:15.289
you can cut toward yourself. And if you're, again,

00:22:15.369 --> 00:22:17.490
as we talked, if you're vision impaired, you

00:22:17.490 --> 00:22:22.910
know where your cutting is. So, and all these

00:22:22.910 --> 00:22:24.609
things, the really cool thing is, and what we're

00:22:24.609 --> 00:22:26.710
hoping is that it goes some ways. The really

00:22:26.710 --> 00:22:28.809
cool thing is if it works this well, and this

00:22:28.809 --> 00:22:31.690
is where universal design comes in, if it works

00:22:31.690 --> 00:22:34.589
this well for me with upper extremity issues,

00:22:35.250 --> 00:22:38.950
if you have no issues, it still works better.

00:22:39.390 --> 00:22:41.650
I don't know how many times people say, I see

00:22:41.650 --> 00:22:43.450
what you're saying, but I can solve that with

00:22:43.450 --> 00:22:48.049
a sharper knife. And my answer is, well, this

00:22:48.049 --> 00:22:51.109
knife is sharp, but no amount of being sharp

00:22:51.109 --> 00:22:55.309
will overcome bad design or inefficient design.

00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:57.940
Now, what I will show you is this is a knife

00:22:57.940 --> 00:23:00.079
that I made, but it's good for orchestration

00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:03.440
or showing this. It's not a kitchen knife, but

00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:06.819
a chef will hold a knife like this, right? Someone

00:23:06.819 --> 00:23:09.799
who goes to chef school. And why do they do that?

00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:12.299
They're choking up on the blade and holding the

00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:15.759
spine to get better force transfer. So what I

00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:20.660
asked that chef that day, who said to me, I wouldn't

00:23:20.660 --> 00:23:22.579
use it because I know how to use a knife. And

00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:25.339
you're showing wrong on a chef's knife. Here's

00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:28.500
the knife technique. I said, what's the handle

00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:32.000
for? He said the handle's for balance. My answer

00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:37.240
to that is if you have to use the handle of a

00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:39.839
tool to balance it because you're holding it

00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:41.960
in the middle, it's not the right tool for the

00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:46.299
job. Nothing bad, nothing wrong with a traditional

00:23:46.299 --> 00:23:49.640
knife in any way, but it's the right tool for

00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:52.059
the right job. I mean, I don't take two knives

00:23:52.059 --> 00:23:55.099
and put them together as scissors. Scissors are

00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:58.359
a very, very specifically designed thing to transfer

00:23:58.359 --> 00:24:00.599
force in a certain way. I could cut paper, but

00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:03.099
it's not the best way to do it. We feel that's

00:24:03.099 --> 00:24:06.599
kind of a similar argument with the nude. I love

00:24:06.599 --> 00:24:10.720
it. I think that I'm so glad that there's a variety

00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:12.759
of different people that would use it. But for

00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:14.900
me, as someone scared of it, it feels like a

00:24:14.900 --> 00:24:17.460
comfortable knife that I could use and not be

00:24:17.460 --> 00:24:19.880
worried that I'm cutting off my fingers or someone

00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:23.079
for my daughter. So for that reason alone, I'm

00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:25.579
in. I love it. I love it. I love your mustache

00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:31.200
too, by the way. When we had a vision impaired

00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:35.779
influencer, reach out and say well we we got

00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:40.920
introduced and wanted to um evaluate it we're

00:24:40.920 --> 00:24:42.819
like well wait a minute here you know vision

00:24:42.819 --> 00:24:44.480
impaired right you talk about safety and all

00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:46.880
that we were really worried about that and but

00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:48.579
then we stopped and it was interesting and there

00:24:48.579 --> 00:24:50.700
was when i was at the Billy's Expo i was recounting

00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:54.720
the same story and a woman there another exhibitor

00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:56.799
who actually bought a knife was like we still

00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:00.859
have to cut it's not your responsibility to protect

00:25:00.859 --> 00:25:03.960
us If you make a product that is better suited

00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:07.680
for us, then we'll use it. And you don't have

00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:09.559
to worry about liability. That's the one thing

00:25:09.559 --> 00:25:12.960
I really like working in the space I'm in is

00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:16.619
it's not about someone getting ready to sue you

00:25:16.619 --> 00:25:20.859
or whatever. There's so little degree of innovation,

00:25:21.140 --> 00:25:23.440
capital and other things that go to this. There's

00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:26.500
a lot on the high tech side. There's a lot with

00:25:26.500 --> 00:25:29.259
apps and things that help with that. And that's

00:25:29.259 --> 00:25:32.170
great. But there's very little on the physical

00:25:32.170 --> 00:25:35.650
product side and and I think that's a shortcoming

00:25:35.650 --> 00:25:39.990
that eventually will change right the The the

00:25:39.990 --> 00:25:43.130
degree that because of the way our society is

00:25:43.130 --> 00:25:47.250
put together That people more people will be

00:25:47.250 --> 00:25:50.309
caretakers than ever before They're gonna start

00:25:50.309 --> 00:25:52.150
saying well, why isn't there a product to help

00:25:52.150 --> 00:25:55.130
me do this? And this could be something as small

00:25:55.130 --> 00:25:57.750
as why isn't there a product that will help mom

00:25:57.750 --> 00:26:00.480
or dad? more able to prepare their own meals

00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:02.240
because they could do it in the past, and that

00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:04.740
takes some of the pressure off me. So I do think

00:26:04.740 --> 00:26:08.279
that there's a little bit, right? The doors open

00:26:08.279 --> 00:26:10.500
a little bit. I think it will grow over time.

00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:13.559
I love it. I love, you know, it's a chatter social

00:26:13.559 --> 00:26:16.279
accessibility is a very important conversation.

00:26:16.339 --> 00:26:19.660
Actually, we are having a big event called Swat

00:26:19.660 --> 00:26:22.839
and Order, and we are closing the first night

00:26:22.839 --> 00:26:25.200
with an accessibility panel, which reminds me

00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:27.819
to make sure I say to you that your website should,

00:26:27.819 --> 00:26:29.640
you know, make sure that it's also accessible

00:26:29.640 --> 00:26:33.000
for those that have trouble seeing, right? So

00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:35.460
they can use a reader and how important that

00:26:35.460 --> 00:26:38.539
is. I didn't know it until Dylan and a variety

00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:41.089
of people said, Hey, Adrian, this is, you know,

00:26:41.089 --> 00:26:42.690
this is where we're coming from. You know what's

00:26:42.690 --> 00:26:47.490
so funny about that is when you would bring that

00:26:47.490 --> 00:26:49.509
to someone who doesn't have a familiarity with

00:26:49.509 --> 00:26:53.250
the market, they would be looking at it as, okay,

00:26:53.289 --> 00:26:57.089
I have to be compliant. As opposed to just being,

00:26:57.509 --> 00:27:00.190
you know, having some humanity and saying, hey,

00:27:00.329 --> 00:27:01.970
somebody who's vision impaired might want to

00:27:01.970 --> 00:27:05.069
look at my website. And, you know, it should

00:27:05.069 --> 00:27:09.210
be as inclusive as our design. So I do think

00:27:09.210 --> 00:27:13.710
it's very interesting the degree that people

00:27:13.710 --> 00:27:19.369
are disassociated and disconnected from disability

00:27:19.369 --> 00:27:22.549
until it's them. And I actually just wrote an

00:27:22.549 --> 00:27:26.029
article, usually posted, I have a medium and

00:27:26.029 --> 00:27:30.869
a substack and all that, about the phenomenon

00:27:30.869 --> 00:27:34.309
of people who really don't give a crap until

00:27:34.309 --> 00:27:36.369
it's them. And then they're like, wait a minute.

00:27:36.490 --> 00:27:38.670
Why are curbs the way they are? This building

00:27:38.670 --> 00:27:40.670
doesn't have a ramp, right? All of a sudden,

00:27:40.970 --> 00:27:45.069
the world is not accessible to them, so it's

00:27:45.069 --> 00:27:50.329
a problem. And I find that really interesting.

00:27:51.150 --> 00:27:53.410
And truth be told, I probably was one of those

00:27:53.410 --> 00:27:56.990
people until things started to break down. But

00:27:56.990 --> 00:27:59.549
I see more and I hope that there will be more

00:27:59.549 --> 00:28:02.250
people starting to talk about the relevance of

00:28:02.250 --> 00:28:05.329
we will all end. Disability and ability is a

00:28:05.329 --> 00:28:08.150
continuum. It's not an identity. It's not a different

00:28:08.150 --> 00:28:12.190
tribe and you in the instance, you know, again,

00:28:12.230 --> 00:28:15.250
one of my one of my I was just on a podcast and

00:28:15.250 --> 00:28:18.710
now he's one of our affiliates. He had a spinal

00:28:18.710 --> 00:28:23.069
injury at 19. I'm sure at 18 he wasn't thinking

00:28:23.069 --> 00:28:25.309
he was going to be in a wheelchair and part of

00:28:25.309 --> 00:28:27.869
the dialogue was about that and about people

00:28:27.869 --> 00:28:30.809
understanding that life is short, but there's

00:28:30.809 --> 00:28:36.119
also a high degree of. As strong as we are, we're

00:28:36.119 --> 00:28:39.920
fragile. And any day anybody could have their

00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:43.000
own challenges to overcome. And I think understanding

00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:46.220
that makes us better as a community and a society

00:28:46.220 --> 00:28:48.799
to work together. I love that. I love that. I'm

00:28:48.799 --> 00:28:51.460
proud that I spent over 12 years with Muscular

00:28:51.460 --> 00:28:55.319
Dystrophy Association, was the district director

00:28:55.319 --> 00:28:58.299
for Southern Connecticut, because yeah, everyone's

00:28:58.299 --> 00:29:01.619
different, nobody's perfect, and understanding

00:29:01.619 --> 00:29:05.819
muscle dystrophy. The real interesting thing,

00:29:05.859 --> 00:29:08.619
and it's a good news, bad news story, I think

00:29:08.619 --> 00:29:11.400
that to some degree, what's driving some of this

00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:15.599
is disabled veterans. And the amount of time

00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:23.490
we were at war and the degree that the on -the

00:29:23.490 --> 00:29:27.509
-spot medical procedures and processes were such

00:29:27.509 --> 00:29:30.170
that more people survived with life -changing

00:29:30.170 --> 00:29:34.069
injuries. And we've been doing the right thing

00:29:34.069 --> 00:29:37.250
as a society. There's everything from obviously,

00:29:37.410 --> 00:29:40.630
you know, the government and VA to organizations

00:29:40.630 --> 00:29:44.980
that create accessible houses for veterans. And

00:29:44.980 --> 00:29:47.180
their motivation is patriotic, paying back somebody

00:29:47.180 --> 00:29:48.660
who served for their country. And I love that.

00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:50.619
But I do think that's bringing some of this stuff

00:29:50.619 --> 00:29:54.099
to the forefront where there's a patriotism that's

00:29:54.099 --> 00:29:56.660
connected with it. And that's the good news.

00:29:56.740 --> 00:30:00.339
The bad news is that it took that long. And if

00:30:00.339 --> 00:30:03.740
you were to look at society, you know, our country

00:30:03.740 --> 00:30:06.420
as a whole and population as a whole, what percentage

00:30:06.420 --> 00:30:09.339
served? It's a very small percentage. In the

00:30:09.339 --> 00:30:13.380
same way that the disabled space reflects a percentage

00:30:13.380 --> 00:30:16.500
of our total population, what we're seeing is

00:30:16.500 --> 00:30:19.480
a small percentage. And there's people who have

00:30:19.480 --> 00:30:21.700
dealt with this from the day they're born, right?

00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:25.420
There's people who have conditions that were

00:30:25.420 --> 00:30:27.140
congenital, there's people that have things.

00:30:27.859 --> 00:30:30.019
And I think there's gotta be more focus on that

00:30:30.019 --> 00:30:32.900
being, okay, great, we can take what we learned

00:30:32.900 --> 00:30:35.759
from the veterans and we've gotta be more engaging

00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:39.740
with all of this. Doug, thank you, first of all,

00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:41.960
for your service and your sacrifice. You're bringing

00:30:41.960 --> 00:30:43.880
up so many good points. I hope we do get you

00:30:43.880 --> 00:30:46.640
on ChatterSocial. Let me just put that in the

00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:48.380
thing so you have it. Yeah, make sure you get

00:30:48.380 --> 00:30:50.660
that. People will love it. You know, you have

00:30:50.660 --> 00:30:54.299
a nice group, chattersocial .io. Boom, right

00:30:54.299 --> 00:30:57.740
there. So thank you. Is there anything that you

00:30:57.740 --> 00:31:00.000
haven't been able to share that you'd like to

00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:03.859
share before we close out? Not really. What I

00:31:03.859 --> 00:31:06.950
always say, though, is And I'd like to end with

00:31:06.950 --> 00:31:09.849
this is I've been fortunate. I've been fortunate

00:31:09.849 --> 00:31:14.890
with people helping me and, you know, good luck

00:31:14.890 --> 00:31:20.470
along this way. And I would be a bad person if

00:31:20.470 --> 00:31:25.009
I didn't say anybody who I can ever help in your

00:31:25.009 --> 00:31:29.109
listening population, please feel free to reach

00:31:29.109 --> 00:31:33.650
out to me because I have tried businesses in

00:31:33.650 --> 00:31:37.240
the past and failed and I think I failed when

00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:43.640
I tried to do it myself. And I really found and

00:31:43.640 --> 00:31:45.799
it shouldn't have been this big oh my gosh like

00:31:45.799 --> 00:31:48.700
I figured this out because in the military there

00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:52.160
was always that community mission driven aspect.

00:31:52.779 --> 00:31:55.319
Everybody's for you know this mission as a result

00:31:55.319 --> 00:31:58.059
I don't mind going asking someone for help because

00:31:58.059 --> 00:32:00.019
we're all trying to do the same thing it's important.

00:32:00.660 --> 00:32:02.640
A lot of times You know, I forgot that when I

00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:04.640
went to corporate America, and I think people

00:32:04.640 --> 00:32:07.279
work under the assumption that entrepreneurialism

00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:10.119
or doing something is all about the... Uh -oh,

00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:12.940
what just happened there? Hold on. I lost you

00:32:12.940 --> 00:32:15.779
for a minute. Oh, no. No, you're fine. I'm sorry.

00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:19.180
People think they have to do it themselves. And

00:32:19.180 --> 00:32:22.319
this was the first time that I really had reached

00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:25.019
out and gotten help. And even, you know, one

00:32:25.019 --> 00:32:28.660
guy became my CEO. You asked, like, when I was

00:32:28.660 --> 00:32:30.319
where I was going to make it and when I decided

00:32:30.319 --> 00:32:33.619
to make it and all that. and I mentioned Forge

00:32:33.619 --> 00:32:35.099
and Fire. One of the people I reached out to

00:32:35.099 --> 00:32:38.740
was one of the judges who, when I was forging,

00:32:39.940 --> 00:32:44.180
before I made Nulu, I was really, you know, I

00:32:44.180 --> 00:32:47.599
got a little bit down. Like I'm not, my knives

00:32:47.599 --> 00:32:51.200
look like crap. And he made a great video that

00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:53.200
just happened to hit at that point, was like,

00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:55.779
keep going. You'll get over the hump and all

00:32:55.779 --> 00:32:57.099
this. And I used to watch a lot of his videos

00:32:57.099 --> 00:32:58.579
and I'm like, I'm just gonna reach out to him.

00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:02.319
So. So many people helped me. If I can ever help

00:33:02.319 --> 00:33:05.319
anybody, please reach out to me. Let me know.

00:33:05.420 --> 00:33:07.220
And if anyone is interested, we do have an affiliate

00:33:07.220 --> 00:33:10.380
program. You can get to the affiliate app through

00:33:10.380 --> 00:33:13.940
the site. Let me know. And I would love to grow

00:33:13.940 --> 00:33:16.519
with you. I love that. I definitely see you in

00:33:16.519 --> 00:33:18.700
the promotional products market. My husband's

00:33:18.700 --> 00:33:20.460
using a knife, so I'm like - Oh, there you go.

00:33:20.559 --> 00:33:22.380
I have to keep an eye on him. Okay, just kidding

00:33:22.380 --> 00:33:25.240
around. I love your mustache too. I love your

00:33:25.240 --> 00:33:29.059
founder's story. There is a story behind this.

00:33:29.220 --> 00:33:31.839
Wait, the story of why it's so perfect? I used

00:33:31.839 --> 00:33:33.519
to do lending. Well, you know what? This has

00:33:33.519 --> 00:33:35.759
been trained a little bit. Like I don't wax it.

00:33:35.779 --> 00:33:39.160
I kind of like the more natural up curve, but

00:33:39.160 --> 00:33:42.119
I used to be in lending and lending is very hard

00:33:42.119 --> 00:33:44.660
to stand out. So I used to wear a bow tie and

00:33:44.660 --> 00:33:46.779
have this because, and one guy, it was funny.

00:33:46.940 --> 00:33:48.359
He worked for a bank at one point and he was

00:33:48.359 --> 00:33:50.250
going through all these like. I was scrolling

00:33:50.250 --> 00:33:52.130
through all these people in ties or dresses.

00:33:53.130 --> 00:33:56.549
And then there's this guy with an 1800s mustache

00:33:56.549 --> 00:34:01.089
and a bow tie. And I was like, all right. But

00:34:01.089 --> 00:34:03.990
it's fun. I think it is a little. My wife's been,

00:34:04.529 --> 00:34:06.309
are you ever going to get? But I'm like, you

00:34:06.309 --> 00:34:08.909
know what? It's become sort of a trademark. Well,

00:34:09.050 --> 00:34:11.130
I really think you should switch out your photo

00:34:11.130 --> 00:34:14.269
on the About Us. and go with, because you don't

00:34:14.269 --> 00:34:17.949
really know. I am a big TR fan, so I do wear

00:34:17.949 --> 00:34:22.230
these, but these, it kind of worked out, right?

00:34:22.230 --> 00:34:24.170
Like it kind of worked out because it's got the

00:34:24.170 --> 00:34:27.210
whole look, but I usually wear hearing aids.

00:34:27.269 --> 00:34:29.070
I don't wear them when I go on a podcast, but

00:34:29.070 --> 00:34:32.250
I wear hearing aids, compliments of the VA, and

00:34:32.250 --> 00:34:35.210
regular glasses, the buttons on the top, and

00:34:35.210 --> 00:34:37.510
if you put the glasses on, it'll hang up phone

00:34:37.510 --> 00:34:40.610
calls, turn the volume down, because the arms

00:34:40.610 --> 00:34:44.360
of the glasses do that so i was like i wonder

00:34:44.360 --> 00:34:46.280
if they make nose pinch glasses and i've actually

00:34:46.280 --> 00:34:48.559
really i kind of like them they they they work

00:34:48.559 --> 00:34:51.340
really well i'm surprised you're not solving

00:34:51.340 --> 00:34:55.739
that problem how to wear the glasses with um

00:34:55.739 --> 00:34:58.800
well you know frankly the problem trying to solve

00:34:58.800 --> 00:35:01.320
and i haven't done it yet is not losing my glasses

00:35:01.320 --> 00:35:04.500
i think i have 8 000 pair of reading glasses

00:35:04.500 --> 00:35:08.239
in my house somewhere um they're like they're

00:35:08.239 --> 00:35:10.000
they're somewhere with the other sock from the

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:16.179
dryer right? So yeah, I love t your, I really

00:35:16.179 --> 00:35:20.940
can't wait again. All right. So for e website,

00:35:21.500 --> 00:35:26.800
we've got, we've the best mustache in town one

00:35:26.800 --> 00:35:30.940
more thing. Yes, every want to stress it is dis

00:35:30.940 --> 00:35:34.420
and disability employment month for the month

00:35:34.420 --> 00:35:40.090
of octob be doing some stuff for t know what

00:35:40.090 --> 00:35:42.630
we're doing, they could check out our site. But

00:35:42.630 --> 00:35:45.309
it is a good time to, if people have interest,

00:35:45.769 --> 00:35:47.869
it's when there's a lot of information being

00:35:47.869 --> 00:35:51.449
shared about the nature of disability and how

00:35:51.449 --> 00:35:54.050
it's not really what people think. So I would

00:35:54.050 --> 00:35:57.690
encourage people to use this as a time to understand

00:35:57.690 --> 00:35:59.730
it a little better, especially in a time when

00:35:59.730 --> 00:36:02.230
there's a lot more of this than of this and we

00:36:02.230 --> 00:36:05.099
need a little more of this. than this. So I love

00:36:05.099 --> 00:36:06.780
that. And Doug, one other thing. Let me just

00:36:06.780 --> 00:36:09.019
say this. I think if you're listening and you

00:36:09.019 --> 00:36:11.840
are a company and you're looking for raffle prizes

00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:14.719
because now is the holiday season, why not buy

00:36:14.719 --> 00:36:19.179
a couple? The value is obviously over $100. So

00:36:19.179 --> 00:36:22.260
so or buy the set with the sharpener and the

00:36:22.679 --> 00:36:26.300
right? Because I think th what they get to buy

00:36:26.300 --> 00:36:30.619
it for great. But when people are what I would

00:36:30.619 --> 00:36:36.260
absolutely lo unique, it's different. I generation.

00:36:36.260 --> 00:36:41.059
But as I said, that actually would be a g for

00:36:41.059 --> 00:36:44.059
like, you know, your off their own place. I mean

00:36:44.059 --> 00:36:49.280
for days. I love it. I ag sometimes someone said

00:36:49.280 --> 00:36:55.539
to I want to feel like a chef. And I look at

00:36:55.539 --> 00:36:59.159
it and say, cutting is like the most thankless

00:36:59.159 --> 00:37:03.300
task. Like, I want to get onto the meal and enjoying

00:37:03.300 --> 00:37:05.679
it with the people who I'm making it for, or

00:37:05.679 --> 00:37:09.639
myself. And I think that the more that people

00:37:09.639 --> 00:37:12.179
can disassociate from that traditional design,

00:37:12.780 --> 00:37:15.659
the more they might like cooking. I think a lot

00:37:15.659 --> 00:37:19.590
of times there is a... intimidation factor of

00:37:19.590 --> 00:37:21.730
using a knife because you see I mean there's

00:37:21.730 --> 00:37:23.210
like an Amazon commercial where someone's you

00:37:23.210 --> 00:37:26.050
know chopping like this and doing all that and

00:37:26.050 --> 00:37:28.969
well that's great but it's the end result you're

00:37:28.969 --> 00:37:31.489
after you're cutting for a reason and I think

00:37:31.489 --> 00:37:35.869
us looking at it and saying hey enjoy the journey

00:37:35.869 --> 00:37:39.730
but enjoy what's at the end enjoy that meal and

00:37:39.730 --> 00:37:42.269
that that that's what it's all about. I agree

00:37:42.269 --> 00:37:44.010
Doug, but I also like to have all my 10 fingers.

00:37:44.210 --> 00:37:48.429
So I'm going to do anything. Thank you so much.

00:37:48.670 --> 00:37:51.070
I love talking to you. We'll be back. We'll be

00:37:51.070 --> 00:37:52.789
back in touch. We're live. And then this will

00:37:52.789 --> 00:37:54.710
be turned into a podcast. You and I will be talking

00:37:54.710 --> 00:37:57.809
before that. I love this episode. Thank you so

00:37:57.809 --> 00:38:00.789
much. Thank you for listening. And so again,

00:38:00.889 --> 00:38:03.289
Doug is brave. He came on, but he knew he likes

00:38:03.289 --> 00:38:07.489
the challenge. He's bold. He's brilliant. And

00:38:07.489 --> 00:38:10.150
he's not bald. He does have to. You can stop

00:38:10.150 --> 00:38:13.489
there. No, you know what, I actually love your

00:38:13.489 --> 00:38:17.110
format. I used to have my own podcast, and I

00:38:17.110 --> 00:38:20.889
think a lot of times less preparation is better.

00:38:22.550 --> 00:38:24.309
You know, you got to know the guest and all that,

00:38:24.329 --> 00:38:27.250
but I do like it when it's a conversation. I

00:38:27.250 --> 00:38:30.409
do like it where there's always a different way

00:38:30.409 --> 00:38:31.889
to look at things and a different way to reach

00:38:31.889 --> 00:38:34.710
people. I love it, Doug. Oh my gosh. All right,

00:38:34.889 --> 00:38:37.469
five stars to you. Thank you so much. Excuse

00:38:37.469 --> 00:38:39.190
me, everyone, and I'm going to end this stream

00:38:39.190 --> 00:38:40.750
right now.