When you run a business, you end up meeting many different people and traveling throughout the U.S. and the world which can lead to some amazing, sometimes unreal experiences. This is especially true if you have been running your business for a long time. The Gfesser brothers have been in business together as the owners and operators of Trendler for 45 years and in that time, they have worked closely together, traveled together, and experienced the many ups and downs that come with running a business.
In this episode of Brothers, Battles & Bounty, the Gfesser brothers share their craziest stories from their time in business together. If you want to hear the full stories, you can watch the episode here:
Dark Gas Station Bathroom in Georgia
Stefan starts with a story in which he and Andreas were traveling around the time they started expanding into the wholesale market. They were on the road for 3 or 4 days and had been working long hours and made around 60 visits to prospective clients. They were traveling through a rural area in southern Georgia at about 3 in the afternoon when they pulled up to a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Stefan mentions that the people at the gas station gave them funny looks as they were there in their business attire and clearly not from the area.
Stefan goes into the gas station to ask to use the bathroom, and he is sent around back and through a door that leads to a big, dark room full of boxes. He describes the room as something out of a horror movie but eventually finds the light and is able to use the bathroom. As he’s about to leave, he hears Andreas ask where the bathroom is, so he shuts off the light and hides among the boxes in the dark. As soon as Andreas walked through the door, Stefan jumped out and grabbed his legs, which scared him so badly he fell to the floor!
Moments like these can add some fun and lightheartedness to an intense business road trip.
Drinking the Mayor of Tianjin Under the Table
Martin tells the next story about a time when he and Stefan were in China to meet with one of their suppliers. He explains that when they go out, their suppliers always encourage them to drink with their meal. One day when they are out to lunch and drinking with the staff from one of the top factories they worked with in China, the owners announces that they will be joined by a special guest. This guest turned out to be the mayor of Tianjin, a city with a population of more than 13 million people.
The mayor came into the restaurant with an entourage and every time he took a drink, so did his entourage. Stefan decides to drink with the mayor, despite being warned by the factory owner that the mayor can handle a lot of alcohol. Stefan starts going shot for shot with the mayor and when he leaves some in the glass after taking one of his shots, the mayor points to his glass and fills it up to take another one. A little while later, the mayor takes a shot but leaves some in his glass. Stefan then pointed at his glass and grabbed a bottle to fill it up again. The mayor ended up being carried out of the restaurant to a stunned crowd who had never seen anyone drink the mayor under the table. Martin laughs as he expresses the pride he felt in Stefan and says that every time they have visited China since, they still talk about that day.
Frightening Encounter at a Gas Station
Andreas switches the mood as he says that some of the stories that come to his mind involve frightening situations. He talks about one of their road trips where they are driving home late at night and are determined to stay on the road and get home by 1:30 in the morning. Sometime after midnight, they stop at a gas station in Indiana and the only other cars at the gas station are parked in the front of the building, so they had to walk between these cars to go inside. They notice that the men in the cars are large, rough looking men that make them uneasy.
Andreas decides that they are going to finish filling up the car before he and Stefan go inside and when they go in, Andreas notices that the person behind the counter looks scared. The other guys followed them into the station, and one of them had a chihuahua on his shoulder, covered in tattoos with scars on his face, and asked Andreas if he wants to see a dog fight. Andreas ignored him but kept an eye on the situation.
As Stefan walks towards the bathroom, the two men follow him which causes Andreas to step in and stop Stefan from using the bathroom. He then asks the person behind the counter to call the police, but he doesn’t move. Andreas then tells Stefan out loud to watch one guy while he watches the other in case something happens. They back away towards the counter to pay for their gas as the men closely followed and ended up leaving without an incident. However, once they got to the car, they immediately locked the doors and drove away as fast as possible. It was obvious to them that these men were trying to rob them.
Hijinks on the Road
The Gfesser brothers have done a lot of domestic and international traveling as part of the business, and they always made sure that none of them ever traveled alone. This is why they can share so many stories and memories from their trips. Martin explains that when they are on the road for so long, sometimes they get stir crazy and joke with each other. The Gfesser brothers cover a few more quick stories from trying to track down a specific bottle of whiskey to Stefan having a hilarious reaction when realizing that Trendler should have a caster program while in Taiwan.
Andreas explains that the one consistent theme through all of these stories is that these are bonding experiences and reminders that they can all count on each other as brothers. They experienced ups and downs together on their adventures but because they always had a clear mission and knew they could rely on each other, they always felt unstoppable.
If you want to watch more episodes of the Brothers, Battles & Bounty podcast with the Gfesser brothers, visit Trendler’s YouTube channel. You can hear the complete stories as told by the Gfesser brothers by watching this episode here: