FULL TRANSCRIPT

 

 

00:00:00:01 – 00:00:14:15
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
The biggest time I ever got shook was in front of five billionaires in Shark Tank. I thought I was a failure. I thought it was over. I swear to you, I guess those lights went off, the cameras went off. Even though I sang out of the room, head held high. I went in the back and I was crying.

00:00:14:16 – 00:00:31:03
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
What people need is a smile. People need is a song. They just need somebody to listen. So there was a family that needed help during COVID. I gave him my house and I literally moved out of my own house and moved their whole family into my house. And I gave them a house for two years, and I rented an apartment.

00:00:31:14 – 00:00:57:11
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
They’re just getting on their feet and moving out now. One day I’ll have a million followers. Big deal. You know, it’s better. A million trees planted, communities thriving. Nature sequestering. 80 million tons of carbon a year. That’s power. I don’t care about the followers. I want a million trees. And I ain’t quitting. I’m a six foot five Mexican Jewish coco gorilla. And I tell people.

00:01:06:24 – 00:01:27:28
Speaker 2
If you’re a man that controls his own destiny, a man that is always in the pursuit of being better, you are in the right place. You are responsible. You are strong. You are a leader. You are a force for good, gentlemen. You are the Alpha. And this is the Alpha Quorum.

00:01:31:28 – 00:01:56:16
Brad Singletary:
Welcome back to the Alpha Quorum Show. Brad Singletary here. This one is a treat, you guys. Our guest today is an entrepreneur and inventor. With multiple patents. He’s the founder and CEO of Coco Tap’s, a Las Vegas company, which is the first to ever be certified as a zero waste company. He invented a tap device to turn a raw coconut into a drinkable and resealable container.

00:01:57:02 – 00:02:24:09
Brad Singletary:
His product is sold on cruise ships and theme parks throughout the world, including Miami, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and many places, including over 20 Las Vegas resorts like the Aria the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, the Wynn Waldorf Astoria, the Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas. He’s in over 60 restaurants over 40 convenience stores and he was featured on the hit TV shows Shark Tank and the Prophet.

00:02:25:02 – 00:02:54:23
Brad Singletary:
He competed in two iron mans in Hawaii. He plays the ukulele and the piano, and he brings unmistakable energy anywhere he goes. Gentlemen, a big, powerful welcome to Vincent Zaldivar Coco Henney. Hey, what’s going on, dude? I am just so happy to have you here, man. I’ve been we’ve never met before, but I’m friends with Vinny’s sister. She’s also a therapist here in Las Vegas.

00:02:54:23 – 00:03:16:25
Brad Singletary:
And just through that, I think we connected on one of her posts, maybe. And then it was like, Oh, I’ll follow this guy. Come to find out, this guy is a stud in every sense of the word. So I just, man, I mean, I guess a big part of your focus and identity right now is your business. I want to talk about some other things later, but tell me, tell us about what you’re doing right now.

00:03:16:25 – 00:03:22:15
Brad Singletary:
Your business, your whole crew all over the world doing cool things. So let’s hear about that.

00:03:22:16 – 00:03:51:08
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Well, so yeah. Coco, Vinny Zaldivar, thanks for having me on the show. I’ve been following you for a while now. We’ve been trying to connect every time I’m in town, but I’m the founder and chief coconut in charge at Coco Taps and Coco Taps is the first Vegas based zero waste company in Las Vegas. So we’re excited to help share our zero waste and circular economic processes and procedures.

00:03:51:20 – 00:04:14:15
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I say that I didn’t really choose the coconut. The Coco life chose me. So we’re growing a really awesome company. We’re in all the resorts in Las Vegas. We just landed the Green Valley grocery chains in town. We’re at the big roadhouse the Terrible’s Big Roadhouse and Jean moving lots of coconuts. We had one of our record months just in March here, and it’s organically grown.

00:04:14:16 – 00:04:43:29
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
We haven’t spent a dime on advertising. We have had some great TV exposure through Shark Tank and the profit I’m just really excited to share the Coco Love with the Valley, and it’s expanding. We just opened up Southern Cal. We we have Costa Rica online. Puerto Rico now. Miami’s coming online soon. So our goal is to have this business, this model, this system in every city in the world eventually.

00:04:43:29 – 00:04:45:15
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
But we start with the U.S. of AA.

00:04:46:02 – 00:04:50:26
Brad Singletary:
You just talked about. You bought hundreds of acres in the last year. We’ll talk about that a little bit.

00:04:51:03 – 00:05:21:02
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Yeah. So during COVID, our supply issue amplified. So getting the coconuts here at an affordable price just disappeared. With shipping costs. And we’re boating coconuts all the way from Southeast Asia. So it just became a real problem and a necessity for us to pivot and go go accelerate our program. My whole dream is to plant 1 million coconut trees over the next ten years, and we accelerated that.

00:05:21:02 – 00:05:46:22
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
We just purchased 400 acres, 200 in Costa Rica and 200 in Puerto Rico. And we’re we’re doing a huge campaign through a nonprofit called Roots for Change to plant trees in localized produce and help create jobs in the USA. Healthy agricultural jobs, build community back through through the land and partnering with Mother Nature. So it’s coming together, dude.

00:05:47:01 – 00:06:07:01
Brad Singletary:
So you’re I want to share links to all that stuff. These fundraiser that you talked about in the just your whole company. But this started you were trying to find some decent coconut water and you couldn’t find it. You’re going to the gym, you’re getting this shitty stuff from the convenience store where ever you couldn’t find anything. You’re trying to bust open a coconut.

00:06:07:11 – 00:06:09:22
Brad Singletary:
Yeah. And and you realize hold on a second.

00:06:10:12 – 00:06:32:09
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Yeah. It all started with with thinking that I hated coconuts. Believe it or not, I every coconut water I had in the package tasted like, excuse my language, horse piss it was not good. And so when I had a fresh coconut from the coconut fresh, it was like, no, it was a life changing experience. So I had to go all in change my name, Coco Vinny and go.

00:06:33:25 – 00:06:57:18
Brad Singletary:
Now part of that. So I kind of want to I want to just free flow a little bit here. But we’ve been doing this series on this. What we call the red nine. And these are nine kind of attributes of men who are healthy and strong. And this one I kind of want to focus on distinction. So being a distinct person, you know, having some like showing up, getting attention because you bring value.

00:06:57:28 – 00:07:11:10
Brad Singletary:
So you do really well in the social media game and stuff like that. You’re so good with that stuff. But you got a name Coco. Vani is Coco Love. Everybody’s, you know, is Coco. Coco. So Saturday, whatever. I mean, Coco.

00:07:11:10 – 00:07:12:00
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Motivated.

00:07:12:00 – 00:07:25:20
Brad Singletary:
Coco you’ll be on there on a live and you’re just kind of talking about your day and Coco love to you, everybody. And he got jingles. You got a player ukulele. I thought you were going to bring that today.

00:07:25:20 – 00:07:31:25
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So I apologize. I didn’t get that on the airplane, but I will. I’ll come and do a second part with you and I’ll bring it.

00:07:31:25 – 00:07:58:11
Brad Singletary:
It’s probably good, though, because they’re doing therapy next anyway. So distinction, man. So you’ve, like, created this whole brand. You know, you have yourself your look, you’ve got a certain way that you dress the way that you talk. And it seems like this is there is nothing pretend about any of that stuff. I think you keep a consistent image consistent language and stuff like that, but that seems like you.

00:07:58:21 – 00:08:12:03
Brad Singletary:
It feels natural. That’s why I think I’ve just liked you so much. Watching this is like this dude is for real and everything. He’s talking about is exactly what he’s thinking and feeling and doing is very congruent, like genuine to who you are.

00:08:12:10 – 00:08:42:10
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Yeah. I mean, it’s like our product. It is 100% real, raw, authentic. It’s there’s nothing there’s nothing fake about it. Even though people look at me like I’m some sort of jingle, like some sort of shtick, but I. I am. It started with a purpose. It started with a reason for being the way I founded Coco Taps as a company is I wanted to sell something that was good for people and good for the planet.

00:08:42:21 – 00:09:01:10
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
No matter what it was, I could sell anything. I can sell airplanes, I can sell real estate, I could sell stocks and bonds, I could sell tennis shoes. But it had to be an alignment. And so once I found the product this coconut, I said, man. And so all the way to the tap, it’s not plastic. It’s made out of corn flour.

00:09:01:23 – 00:09:19:14
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I mean, I’ve got patents around the formulas that the tap and the caps made out of. I got patents on the actual utility. I went all in, like literally all in just burned down all the ships I mean, if you really want something, you got to go all in. And so I said, you know what? This is who I am.

00:09:19:18 – 00:09:44:15
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I’m Coco, Vinnie. I’m the Chief Coconut. I’m the Colonel Sanders of coconuts. Let’s go. And I mean, I truly believe that in the next 20, 30, 40 years, as I as I continue this, I think we can localize the whole coconut commodity in the United States because we’re not growing any coconuts yet. I mean, we’ll have the first United States industrial coconut farm in Puerto Rico, and we can do it in Hawaii.

00:09:44:15 – 00:09:56:13
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
We can do it, you know, at scale that, you know, be a net exporter instead of a net importer of coconuts. Change the whole GDP around made and grown and tapped in USA. I mean, I feel that.

00:09:56:13 – 00:10:07:18
Brad Singletary:
I noticed that on your website that the taps themselves are made here in the United States. You’re you’re talking about everything zero waste. So that means nothing is we’re not dumping stuff out into the river.

00:10:07:19 – 00:10:31:14
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Nothing is going into landfill at all. What we’re creating is upcycled repurposed reused, recycled like from everything we reuse the boxes at the coconuts coming right now to our customers. We recycle those after they’re done with them all the everything and we try to eliminate every step. So to be zero waste certified, you have to do that with over 90% of your supply chain.

00:10:31:14 – 00:10:52:26
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
We’re at 96% right now so we can get to full zero and especially when it when it comes to planting trees and becoming a carbon positive company, giving more than you take not just being zero. So you know, you talk about carbon neutral, but we can go carbon positive, which means that we’re actually sequestering more and helping more than hurting.

00:10:53:11 – 00:11:14:18
Brad Singletary:
It sounds like you become a bit of a scientist. You know, I’ve heard your I’ve heard you rap in your in your van driving, driving coconuts around. But really, this is a high level of you have this high level like academic scientific knowledge that you’ve had. I’m sure just understand how what you’re doing and what’s happening in the world and how agriculture works.

00:11:14:25 – 00:11:39:14
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I’m reading a lot and I’m learning a lot on the job. It’s all on the job training, all the amazing people that I’m meeting the mentors, the the people that have been doing this for 30 years. There’s, there’s, you know, regenerative agriculture people that I run into and learn from and, you know, from Matt Powers to there’s so many people like in Hawaii and, and you just, you got to just pay attention if you want it.

00:11:39:14 – 00:11:57:21
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
And it’s scary what I’m reading to be honest. Some of the some things going on in the North Pole right now with the in the Arctic ice melting ten x hundred X faster than it’s supposed to. I mean, we’re talking about major stuff going down that we’re not going to be able to stop. You know, Mother Nature is a beast.

00:11:57:21 – 00:12:16:19
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So like some of the things are scary. That’s why I’m so committed to it. And I want to get people on board to help. We all need to get on the same train and start start giving back because Mother Nature, she’s like I said, you don’t listen to her. She brought us in to take us out. And it’s a real topic.

00:12:16:19 – 00:12:27:16
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
It’s, it’s it’s food, air and water and more than money, more than Bitcoin more than anything, clean air, clean food and clean water is going to become the real necessity on this planet.

00:12:28:00 – 00:12:48:08
Brad Singletary:
Something that I just really respect in people. And I really see this in you is what I would call kind of polarity. I don’t mean like bipolar. You might be that, too. I’m just kidding. But polarity. So you’re on one hand, you’ve kind of got this entrepreneurial capitalist kind of way and you’re building a business. On the other hand, you’re like this tree hugging, you know, like you’re happy.

00:12:48:08 – 00:13:16:28
Brad Singletary:
You care for the hippie. You’re a hippie rapper capitalist. Like, it’s something funny. I mean, it’s great that you can you can be all of those things. And I think people get locked into their you know, their identity or their political view or their or their whatever. And you’re saying I can be both, you know, friendly to the earth in the production of my of my products and and also, you know, take advantage of those that want to buy what I’m selling.

00:13:17:09 – 00:13:44:03
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Know. Yeah. I mean, and it’s like if you have a product, you know, people look at me and tell me you never shut it off, do you? And I’ve I’ve had people tell me that, you know, you’re always selling and they tell me that as if it’s a bad thing, like it’s a label. And I said, yeah. I said, you know, I see my product as as a cure to a really harsh disease.

00:13:44:13 – 00:14:03:16
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
And it’s my responsibility to make sure that you guys get it. I don’t care about anything else, but making sure that everyone gets the cure, you know? And if you believe in your product that much and you’re obsessed about helping and about moving the needle, yeah, you’re always going to be on because it’s like it’s your duty. I mean, if I’m a doctor, I want to make sure you’re OK.

00:14:04:02 – 00:14:11:04
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I’m a I’m the, the Coco Love doctor, so to speak. I got to make sure that everybody’s healthy and hydrated and tapped in you know.

00:14:11:06 – 00:14:21:07
Brad Singletary:
Talk about that. The water itself, coco coconut water. Like, what made you interested in that to begin with? I mean, you said you didn’t really like it, but what are the health benefits of coconut water?

00:14:21:10 – 00:14:44:06
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Yeah, so it’s I call it from the coconut. It’s God’s Gatorade, OK? And and so when you’re and when I was training for Ironman in Hawaii, I’ve done that twice marathons. You see all these packages along the shore trash. And so I would see all this packaging and then I would taste it. It was awful. I’m like, I’m not doing it.

00:14:44:06 – 00:15:15:08
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So when I had the fresh coconut, the benefits are unbelievable. Pre and post workout. It’s got all your electrolytes, magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphorous, iron. It is the, it is the, the it’s the sauce. It’s the from the tree of life. And it and it gives your, your inside and out. It helps your body. It’s what we need. It’s, it’s how the Polynesians before the Vikings sailed around the world with a whole boatload of coconuts and they use the stars to navigate.

00:15:15:20 – 00:15:30:19
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Now, if you go back to that history, it’s like, wow, coconuts got to Hawaii from the Polynesia wins coconuts got over here in Puerto Rico. They got everywhere from from the Polynesians they were rolling it ro and coconuts around the world. Wow. And it kept him alive.

00:15:31:01 – 00:15:48:28
Brad Singletary:
So you’re doing a lot of travel you’re one thing that you’re excellent with I believe I believe that you do this. It’s the only way you can do what you’re doing is to be good at relationships. And I think that’s what an Alpha is. He’s a he’s got good people skills. He can relate to people and he’s good with things.

00:15:48:28 – 00:16:08:20
Brad Singletary:
You’ve got like life skills. But also people talk about how do you get on with people? How do you relate? You can’t sell if you know, if you can’t connect. Yeah. And that’s what I never by the way, I never saw you as some, you know, skanky salesman. I just think you’re a highly enthusiastic person who really believes in what you’re doing.

00:16:08:28 – 00:16:14:21
Brad Singletary:
It doesn’t at all seem to me super salesy. It’s totally cool.

00:16:14:21 – 00:16:42:26
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
And I listen to it. Yeah, I have fun with it. So just the passion is what keeps me going every day. You know, I’ve been at this on this mission for seven, eight years now from the idea, and it’s not me. It’s it’s the collective we that’s moving me because I’m really, really focused on helping and growing communities and growing people and so anyways, yeah, I mean, I’m having fun with it.

00:16:43:09 – 00:17:07:14
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I don’t know what else to do, but to just, you know, I’m blessed. I’m grateful. I’m joyous every day. I mean, I get to I get to get up and, and sell a product that I believe in. That’s that’s the truth. It’s fun. And so, yeah, I’m so excited to share. And, you know, we just got we just got a coconut water this month.

00:17:07:26 – 00:17:30:16
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
For Drunk Beach at the Encore Beach Club. And, wow, so many fun things and the people that we meet and yeah, it takes it’s emotional intelligence you know, to as an entrepreneur, you have to find the demand and fill it. You know what people what people need is a smile. People need is a song. But people need to feel better somedays when you know life’s tough man.

00:17:30:16 – 00:17:50:21
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
People are dying or whatever’s going on in people’s worlds, you know, sometimes they just need an ear. Sometimes they just need somebody listen. So I do my best to practice the two ears, one mouth rule. Mm hmm. I try not to just over dominate a conversation I want to ask good questions and listen and hear, hear people what they need.

00:17:51:01 – 00:17:57:21
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I know what they need. Even if it’s not a coconut, if they’re allergic and they hate coconuts, what can I do? How can I help you? You know who? Doesn’t matter.

00:17:58:17 – 00:18:27:01
Brad Singletary:
So how do most people receive you? I mean, you show up and you’re in these high level places, you’re in a casino executive’s office, or you’re in I mean, you’ve been on Shark Tank, and you’ve you had to pitch this thing from the from the Las Vegas sign. Yeah, to to big to television shows and whatever. So talk about what it’s like to stand in front of people saying something crazy and taking the risk to to hear what they have to say back.

00:18:27:01 – 00:18:29:13
Brad Singletary:
And how do people how to most people receive you?

00:18:30:27 – 00:18:52:25
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I guess it’s just on a case by case. You know, not everybody’s going to like you and not everybody likes Coco. Vinnie, it’s OK. I’m not I’m not for everybody, but I am for somebody. And so when I’m in meetings and and I can tell that they’re, you know, the vibes not there. The Coco flow is not there.

00:18:53:00 – 00:19:17:22
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
It’s OK. Some will some won’t. But I’ll catch them. On the flip side around, because I’ve been in meetings before where there’s a we call them Coco COC blockers. OK, so if we got a coco COC blocker in the room and he’s not letting us get the deal or get through, we just get him on the next time around or we just wait it out till he gets fired or till he quits and then we go back in there and we get it again.

00:19:18:03 – 00:19:35:19
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I’ve had that happen numerous times. I’m still waiting on some people to get fired or some people to quit right now, you know, but they’re on the list and we’ll get them back on the second time around a third time round. The thing is to keep showing up, keep believing in yourself and your product and, and it’s benefits and it’ll happen.

00:19:35:26 – 00:19:46:02
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
It just it’s a matter of time. It’s a waiting game. It’s poker. As long as you’re still at the table with a chip and a chair, you can always get dealt the nuts and go all in.

00:19:46:02 – 00:20:06:00
Brad Singletary:
Baby so people people don’t like it. Sometimes they turn it down. You don’t get shook by that. You’re not that that doesn’t do anything to you. There’s got to be a little sting. There’s got to be a little, you know, stride, a little ego. Like, Hey, man, they told me they don’t like my idea or whatever they.

00:20:06:00 – 00:20:24:00
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Used to at the biggest time I ever got shook was in front of five billionaires and starting. Right. They don’t they all just gave me excuses and I was like, I thought I was a failure. I thought it was over. I swear to you, I got those lights went off. The cameras went off. Even though I sang out of the room, you know, like head held high.

00:20:24:12 – 00:20:47:07
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I went in the back and I was crying and I was pissed off and I wanted to kill somebody. But but, you know, that stuff you get you get you grow, you grow and you get stronger, you get better, and you learn that it’s it’s nothing personal. It’s just business. And you know what? I came to find out that not a lot of deals happen on Shark Tank, period.

00:20:47:21 – 00:20:54:28
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Like, those guys don’t write checks for more than like 50 grand. And a lot of times not even their money. So it’s like they don’t care. It’s all right.

00:20:55:01 – 00:20:57:16
Brad Singletary:
It’s entertainment, good show, it’s good TV. Right? Yeah.

00:20:57:22 – 00:21:02:26
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I sang my way in. I got my kicked in the coconuts and a single way out. It’s nothing wrong with it.

00:21:04:09 – 00:21:18:11
Brad Singletary:
So you’ve got this high energy you know, you got this high energy way. In fact, I asked your sister about you. I got to pull this up for a second. She told me, I said, tell me something about your brother. And this was her this was her response.

00:21:18:12 – 00:21:20:02
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Was this recently or just today?

00:21:20:09 – 00:21:39:09
Brad Singletary:
No way. Hey, your brother’s coming in. Tell me something about him. She said, my brother, larger than life and really doesn’t fit into any box. He could sell water to a fish in the ocean and can turn any dull environment into a place with life and vibrance and laughter. Wow. And that’s what I’ve encountered.

00:21:39:16 – 00:21:41:17
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Wow. That’s nice to hear. Hmm.

00:21:41:18 – 00:22:12:10
Brad Singletary:
So talking about just energy, we did a couple of shows on that and how some people are maybe naturally born with it. You’re extroverted, you’re kind of born with some enthusiasm. You have a little bit of spark in your personality. You got a big smile, but I’m guessing that you have to manufacture that sometimes to get up and go show up and be a positive leader to your team and to and like, how do you create energy in yourself?

00:22:13:06 – 00:22:48:18
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I think it’s a day to day thing. You know, every day is different. You wake up, sometimes you can’t you know, sometimes you jump out before in the morning and sometimes I can’t get out of bed at ten or 11. It just it’s it’s a day to day basis and I’ve been I’ve been through things that sometimes I’ve had to like literally cry in front of in front of, you know, one of my team members or, you know, it ain’t all roses and sunshine all the time, but you bring you bring your you know, you bring your own sunshine you can you can bring your own sunshine even even on the cloudy days and on

00:22:48:18 – 00:22:57:10
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
the dark days and the tough days. You got to bring it. And so it’s a practice. That’s all it is. Here you have a coconut and you smile and do your best.

00:22:58:12 – 00:23:17:25
Brad Singletary:
So you say you have to you have to bring your own. You bring your own sunshine. What is that for you? Is that word is that looking in the mirror? I mean, I feel like I swear I’ve seen some of your lives where you just, you know, you’re talking to you and there could be hundreds of thousands of people watching this, but you’re you’re it’s like, OK, this is your morning message.

00:23:18:16 – 00:23:42:08
Brad Singletary:
And it’s like you’re it’s a pep talk to Coco Vinnie sometimes and to me, I’m finding all of this like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll feel it, you know? But do you use words? I’m guessing that you have to use words to create the sunshine you talk to yourself, you talk to your people. You talk to the person who said you’ve got somebody you need to lift or you want to bring some light that with words.

00:23:43:07 – 00:24:03:28
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Sometimes for me, no, it’s more motion. Yeah, OK. I got to get into motion. So if I stretch, if I hit the gym, go for a swim, do something good for myself that really feeds that, you know, that the energy and the once you get into motion, then it shakes some of that emotion loose if you’re feeling down, then you can shake it.

00:24:04:15 – 00:24:22:07
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
It’s a physical movement for me. I’m more I’m very physical. I’m a I’m a hands on learner. Words put me to sleep but if I can see something and I can grab it and I can like a Rubik’s Cube and I can play with it and I can figure it out, then that really gets my juices going. So everyone’s different.

00:24:22:13 – 00:24:44:29
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Some people need to listen to a song, you know, I’ll I’ll put music on in the shower or I’ll just some of the cruelest ideas came in the shower and I was like, OK, like, it’s weird. I’ll leave, be sitting in the shower and then boom, like, ding, that’s it. And then I got to jump out of the shower all wet naked and write something down or whatever but like, there’s some really cool things that are that have come through that.

00:24:44:29 – 00:25:09:28
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
And I don’t know, I just you got to just keep centered, keep grounded. I call it being tapped in. You got to stay your feet on the ground and and keep moving forward. So it’s it’s not rocket science. For me. I guess I’ve had a little bit of practice and I’ve learned some techniques, you know, morning routines, but, you know, it don’t always go the way as planned, you know.

00:25:10:16 – 00:25:26:08
Brad Singletary:
You seem like you’re a family guy. You know, you seem like, you know, you’re trying to take care of your mom and be there for your siblings and your your grandma, too. I noticed recently you you went and I see that occasion, you go, like, pick her up and take her out on a walk and a stroll and that kind of thing.

00:25:26:08 – 00:25:26:25
Brad Singletary:
How’s she doing?

00:25:26:25 – 00:25:34:00
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
She’s good. She’s good. She’s 104, man. She’s going to be 105 this year. Wow. She’s a she’s a beast. She’s amazing.

00:25:34:05 – 00:25:36:10
Brad Singletary:
She drinking coconut water. Is that how she does that?

00:25:36:10 – 00:25:43:11
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
That’s hilarious. She hates it. I’ve given her one on like I’ve recorded it. It’s like, what do you think, Grandma? She the guy. This is grown up crap.

00:25:45:14 – 00:25:45:28
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
It’s funny.

00:25:47:12 – 00:26:01:19
Brad Singletary:
So to be respected and trusted, I’m guessing that you can’t get these deals. You can’t get the, you know, the investment that people share with you and stuff like that without being respected and trusted. How do you garner respect and trust?

00:26:03:03 – 00:26:24:24
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
You know, it depends what kind of respect we’re talking about. But they have to respect the hustle. They have to respect the fact that I’ve not given up. They’ve seen me get shot down on two different TV shows. In front of the world and I ain’t quitting. There ain’t no quitting me. So they got to respect that my product is bar none more than whatever I do.

00:26:25:03 – 00:26:43:15
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
They can come at me and make fun of me and clown on me, but they can’t take my product. My product speaks for itself. It’s like a walking billboard it is be a one Rolls Royce of coconut water. It is bar none, freshest, sexiest coconuts on this planet.

00:26:43:23 – 00:27:05:06
Brad Singletary:
So in back to the science on that, too. It seems like you really kind of fine tuned the taste in the different types of coconut and the different like, you know. Exactly the type and the age and the and the conditions. It’s almost like these these wine folks, you know, who they know exactly what type of, you know, what part of the country it’s from and that kind of thing.

00:27:05:07 – 00:27:07:10
Brad Singletary:
You’ve done that with coconuts, too. Yeah.

00:27:07:11 – 00:27:41:25
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I mean, we had coconuts all over the world now. You know, the classic taste is like I said, Southeast Asian and the Thai coconut and stuff. But what I’m finding is there’s better there’s there’s better strains, better coconut and and different different places in the world. So and different different strokes for different folks. I’ve done a lot of market research and a lot of my South American customers don’t care for the, the Southeast Asian sweetness.

00:27:41:25 – 00:28:02:18
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
It’s a little too sweet for them. And so there’s a lot of kinds of cool stuff. I found a coconut that we’re planting that’s actually a hybrid from from the Caribbean and from Asia and, you know, Southeast Asian. So our coconuts, the ones that we’re growing, are going to be so awesome. I mean, I’ve already had them. They’re unbelievable.

00:28:02:18 – 00:28:05:16
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So I can’t wait to share it with everybody, you know?

00:28:06:26 – 00:28:26:14
Brad Singletary:
So you talked about respect. People see what you’re doing. They respect your product. They know that you’re being consistent you know, you just keep showing up. You just keep getting picking yourself back up. What are the things, I guess, contribute to trust. People are throwing money at you and stuff like that. How do they trust you? What in the world do they.

00:28:27:13 – 00:28:52:01
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I guess from from what I can tell, integrity, purpose, the mission. You know how we’re helping other people. We’ve raised thousands of dollars for other nonprofits. You know, we have a during COVID, we we got out in the streets and we started selling coconuts on the beach in California and here. And we raise a lot of money for new life beginnings.

00:28:52:01 – 00:29:23:01
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Homeless women and children shelter. We’ve done a lot of community stuff where we’re a minority certified organization. So you know, respect is earned and trust is earned. It’s not something you just get. And as we continue to stay true to ourselves, our mission, our product, our passion that will be earned. I don’t even we don’t demand it. We don’t command it.

00:29:23:01 – 00:29:26:06
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
We just earn it. Keep on earning that service.

00:29:26:06 – 00:29:36:09
Brad Singletary:
Just keep doing the next great thing. You just keep doing what is right. You talked a lot about nonprofit stuff. And what was this organization you’re saying? The Women and children. What was that called? New Beginnings.

00:29:36:09 – 00:30:06:10
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
New Life Beginnings. It’s a 40 year old organization started by this beautiful lady named Rebecca Younger, and she opened up her own home to the first family that needed help women and children from, you know, domestic violence to human trafficking to all kinds of things that that are out there and you know, I just it’s near and dear to my heart because, you know, a lot of stuff goes on in this world.

00:30:06:10 – 00:30:26:13
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
And people come from tough environments. And when people like that show up and open up their own home to strangers and and give them a hand up, then those are the kind of people I need to get out there and help and so that’s the kind of people I am that’s kind of person I am. And a true story.

00:30:26:13 – 00:30:44:02
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I mean, there was a family that needed help during COVID and I gave them my house. I literally moved out of my own house and moved their whole family into my house. And I gave them a house for two years. They’re just getting on their feet and moving out now. But I literally gave my own house up for two years and I rented an apartment.

00:30:44:28 – 00:30:47:19
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I mean, that stuff is just real. It happens.

00:30:48:19 – 00:31:03:22
Brad Singletary:
So, wow, that’s crazy, man. Yeah, that’s that’s the kind of stuff that I guess I didn’t know some of that, but those are some of the things that I can tell about you that I can tell that I like this guy and you know, I just want to get to know you better. So that’s cool that you’re here.

00:31:03:22 – 00:31:10:00
Brad Singletary:
But talk about you said minority certified, minority owned business or something. Think about that.

00:31:10:09 – 00:31:50:14
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So there’s an organization the Southwest Regional Supplier Development Council, and they’re a minority organization where all these big companies have diversity programs and they need to start purchasing and doing more work with minorities, with minority owned companies. And in order to be minority certified you have to have over 51% of your company has to be, you know, either Asian, Hispanic, Native American, you know, African-American, whatever, you know, minority classified as women owned.

00:31:51:02 – 00:32:21:19
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
And so that’s we’re certified. We’ve been certified for going on our like fifth year now for cocoa taps. And so when MGM Mirage I just graduated the MGM supplier Diversity Mentorship Program. So they they’re always looking for ways to help minorities get contracts or do things. So it’s it’s a you know, it is what we are I mean I own over 50% of the company I’m Hispanic and it’s we’re certified.

00:32:22:17 – 00:32:41:10
Brad Singletary:
That was one of the coolest things when I first saw your you know, playing the ukulele and some of that stuff you talked about Mexican Jew. And I forget the the jingle in the rhyme or whatever. But I was like, now that is killer I just love that you just I don’t know. That’s not the kind of stuff you hear people going around kind of bragging about, but you’re like bragging.

00:32:41:10 – 00:32:42:15
Brad Singletary:
You kind of almost like I’m.

00:32:42:15 – 00:33:08:03
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Proud of it. I’m it’s who I am, right? My mom’s Jewish. My dad’s Mexican. And you know what? What are you going to do? You’re where you are, who you are. So I’m proud of it. People sometimes, you know, interpret it wrong. They think I’m being, I don’t know, some sort of racially driven or whatever, but no, it’s I’m it’s a pride of my heritage and who I am and who I’m born.

00:33:08:09 – 00:33:14:08
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Born in this world. I’m a six foot five Mexican Jewish Coco Gorilla. And I tell people I’m this.

00:33:14:08 – 00:33:24:19
Brad Singletary:
Is a this is a this is quite a large guy here. He’s just towering over me. 65. Holy smokes. Yeah. So you did two Iron Mans were they both in Hawaii?

00:33:24:19 – 00:33:39:13
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Yeah. So in Kona they had this it’s actually a half Ironman. It’s a 70.3 race. You do a 1.2 mile swim in the ocean, you do a 56 mile bike ride and then a 13.1 mile run.

00:33:39:21 – 00:33:41:03
Brad Singletary:
Oh my goodness.

00:33:41:03 – 00:33:44:11
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I’ve done that twice. So I’ve kind of done a full Ironman, just a little separate.

00:33:45:17 – 00:33:50:06
Brad Singletary:
I don’t even know what that was. I didn’t know what the, what the different events were and the length of that. So yeah, a.

00:33:50:06 – 00:34:11:08
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Full, like a full Ironman, the Ironman Championship in Hawaii. It’s a lot is a lot. It’s a yeah. 2.4 miles swim, hundred 12 mile bike and full marathon all mine that’ll take you. I mean, some of these guys knock it out and like, I know six, 8 hours, but that would take me three years to finish that last.

00:34:11:08 – 00:34:19:09
Brad Singletary:
Swimming two miles. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, I did a mile swim as a Boy Scout and I thought I was going to die just from that. Really? Yeah, I was in this.

00:34:19:12 – 00:34:22:22
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Got to train, man. You go drink your coke coconut water and train yeah.

00:34:22:22 – 00:34:28:13
Brad Singletary:
So you’re a cyclist, you’ve got all these different kind of things. You’re still doing that or tell me about your travel.

00:34:28:14 – 00:34:47:03
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Travel’s been tough. You know, I’ve been I do a little jog here and there. But, no, I have not been training for anything at the moment. I’ve got to probably put something on the board soon because I want to cut some weight. I want to start training again when I train, I cut a good £50. So it’s time calling me in.

00:34:47:03 – 00:34:55:28
Brad Singletary:
How often are you in and out? How often are you here? There? I mean, you’re it seems like in one week I’ve seen you in four countries.

00:34:57:00 – 00:35:19:14
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
It’s been a while. Yeah. No, I’m. I’m in Miami. Next week, Orlando in L.A. And Puerto Rico. So the next 30 days, I’m going be in four different places and fight in places. But, yeah, no, it’s it’s it’s work. I’m a I just go where the go where the the wind blows me. I’ve got a lot of stuff going on everywhere.

00:35:19:15 – 00:35:40:16
Brad Singletary:
Part of this distinction is like, leadership. And so talk about your team, how you do that. I mean, I think you seem like I mean, you’re obviously super capable person. You wouldn’t have been able to do this, but you got some. Yeah, got a team and they’re more and more I’m sure they’re they’re significance to what you’re doing is just more and more like pronounced.

00:35:40:16 – 00:35:45:23
Brad Singletary:
But talk about your team and the things you do and the things you have to let go of and let them do.

00:35:46:14 – 00:36:12:02
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Yeah. So I’ve been, you know, I don’t like to micromanage. I just I love to, you know, empower people to take the ball and run with it, you know, and I, I’ve been so lucky that the right people have been magnetically drawn to, you know, in our team to the company. So Coco Rob he was at Pepsi for 25 years.

00:36:12:28 – 00:36:35:10
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
He saw me on Instagram or on Facebook. He was following me and we were in a, we were in a seminar together. What was it called? I can’t remember the name now. It was something it wasn’t say seminar. It was, gosh, Robin Williams. You know what I’m talking about?

00:36:35:10 – 00:36:35:19
Brad Singletary:
Oh.

00:36:37:15 – 00:37:00:21
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Darn it. It was here and I can’t remember. But anyways, we were in this life thing together and then he started following me and he, he came through. He’s now the president of, you know, operations and everything here in Vegas. And he’s taken the ball and just run with it, you know? So there’s a lot of good things happening with with some, you know, we play to our core values.

00:37:01:20 – 00:37:10:29
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
And if if there’s not an alignment with the core values, then, you know, and then they’ll just self-select out. We don’t have to fire anybody either. They’ll just self-select out.

00:37:11:19 – 00:37:38:00
Brad Singletary:
So so the people, the process, whatever’s going on, whatever decisions need to be made, you’ve already made the decision in choosing what you value. And if the person doesn’t work out or the or the idea or the new tool or whatever doesn’t work, it doesn’t follow that. Then then that’s doesn’t work. You’re ready. It’s an easy call. We talked earlier about being trusted, but here this means you have to trust other people so you’re not just trusted.

00:37:38:13 – 00:37:59:22
Brad Singletary:
You’re a trusting person. You turn this over to Rob and you take over the Vegas stuff. And that must I think that that kind of thing will be hard for me, you know, and everything. I’m I’m a little bit obsessive. That’s, I don’t know, maybe excessive. I Grant Cardone, you know, be obsessed or be average. But you’re you’re hustling, you’re passionate, you’re doing this stuff.

00:37:59:22 – 00:38:03:21
Brad Singletary:
But at some point you had to stop doing it all yourself.

00:38:04:01 – 00:38:21:26
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Gallego You got to delegate got to hand the ball, you got to pass the ball. You can’t just be the one doing everything and every position everybody’s got to there’s a everybody’s got a seat on the bus. You know, everybody’s rowing in the boat and you all need to be rowing in the right direction and know where we’re headed.

00:38:21:26 – 00:38:32:17
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
You know, we’re going to you know, I might be a captain but I can’t go anywhere without my team behind me and helping get there, you know? So as I’m just I work for them.

00:38:33:05 – 00:38:36:23
Brad Singletary:
Truthfully, that’s an interesting way to say it. You know, they don’t work for me.

00:38:36:23 – 00:38:45:12
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I work for them. If they have an issue, I have an issue. And so I work for them. If they have a problem, I have to solve it. That’s my job.

00:38:47:29 – 00:39:09:16
Brad Singletary:
That seems to be one of the coolest things about leadership. I heard a talk one time about the difference between leaders and managers and it and it talked about in a typical company like a manager is someone who’s beholden to the higher ups and they’re all loyal to the higher ups and to the system. But a leader is loyal to the people, the people that work for them.

00:39:09:16 – 00:39:16:13
Brad Singletary:
And it sounds like that’s what you’re talking about. They’re the special people to you. You’re taking care of them. You work for them.

00:39:16:20 – 00:39:40:06
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I work for them. I’m working with them, for them, on them, with them. We’re all we’re all here to make money. We’re all here to grow and have fun and do something great. That’s it. I mean, it’s simple. It doesn’t have to be complicated. I’m not about the titles. I’m not about flex and rank. None of that. That’s stupid.

00:39:40:06 – 00:39:52:22
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I just like to have fun. I’ll be the goofiest one in the room, probably. It doesn’t matter. But but yeah, I like to. I like to get shit done. Do I work my guts out? So it’s like, you know, got to have fun and get it done.

00:39:53:07 – 00:40:12:18
Brad Singletary:
Talk about your marketing a little bit because that takes you know, getting some exposure or being visible. You’re doing this, you’re just constantly sharing what you’re doing. You’re just kind of walking around, like documenting your life I saw a picture with you and Gary Vee, you know? I mean, you’re, you are you got that stuff figured out. I hope it’s helpful.

00:40:12:18 – 00:40:30:15
Brad Singletary:
I guess I don’t look at your numbers and stuff, but it seems like you you know what you’re doing, and I just love seeing. My favorite thing is when you’re when you’re, you know, you’re with like a customer at the store level and they just bought one of your you know, they’re trying it for the first time. You’re like and I saw it recently.

00:40:30:15 – 00:40:36:16
Brad Singletary:
You’re like, hey, that’s I invented this. You know, this is my product or whatever. And they’re just like, it was just a happy it was cool because it’s.

00:40:36:16 – 00:40:56:09
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Organic because he’s like, I buy two of them this morning. I’m buying more of them. I’m like, man, that just makes me feel good. Like, the product is doing its job. It’s, you know, build a great product and let them come get it right, build something great. That’s it. That’s all we’re trying to do. And as far as marketing and Facebook and all that, honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing.

00:40:56:17 – 00:41:19:27
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I don’t I could be doing it ten X better, you know, all these guys, but I don’t really care to be honest. I know I should probably care a little more, but I just organically raw. I’m documenting what’s going on because I hit record. You know, I hit record all the time and I just let it flow and whatever comes to my mind is what I’m supposed to be saying.

00:41:19:27 – 00:41:50:23
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
It’s just flowing through me and you know, it’s going to come on. I have no doubt. It’s just a matter of time. It’s like the same day you plant the seed. It’s not the same day you’re going to harvest the fruit one day I’ll have a million followers. Big deal. You know, it’s better. A million trees planted. 400 million coconuts growing communities thriving with nature, sequestering 80 million tons of carbon a year.

00:41:50:28 – 00:41:57:12
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
That’s power. I don’t care about the followers. I want a million trees. I don’t want a million followers. I love it, you know.

00:41:57:25 – 00:41:58:27
Brad Singletary:
80 million what?

00:41:58:29 – 00:42:26:08
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
£80 million of carbon can be sequestered from the air into the soil. And when photosynthesis happens, carbon is taken from the air, sequestered into the soil, and it builds nutrients. That’s what the fruits and everything grows like. It’s a reverse process. When the tree breathes in the carbon dioxide and the carbon, it exhales oxygen. So when we breathe in oxygen, we exhale carbon.

00:42:26:17 – 00:43:05:00
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
It’s the yin yang balance of life. The plants breathe what we’re exhaling and we breathe what they’re exhaling. It’s the life force that we got to connect back to, and it feeds us in it. It’s like our whole nature connection to Earth, into soil, into grounding is all connected. So like if you walk barefoot on some grass and if you put your feet in the ocean on the sand, you’re grounding, you’re connecting to the you get your recharging your batteries and that’s what we need to start doing more of.

00:43:05:00 – 00:43:33:26
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
When you hold the coconut, it releases negative ions, the same stuff that comes out of the lawn. Your grass, if you walk barefoot on grass and if if you’re at the ocean, the negative ionic flow, when the air, the sea and the land collide, it creates this magical ionic negative ionic flow that actually resets our our system. Our bodies are electromagnetic beings that operate for 80 years with no batteries.

00:43:34:07 – 00:43:52:16
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
We need to plug back in to that, that connection to Earth. That’s what makes us thrive. So if you’re depressed try walking barefoot on some grass, get connected, get grounded, do a little exercise outside, get some sunshine. That’s, that’s really you got to connect back to Mother Nature. We’re so disconnected.

00:43:53:17 – 00:44:18:03
Brad Singletary:
Dude. That’s mind blowing stuff. Just what you’re saying. Number one, the content of what you just shared. But the process of that you are a master teacher. That’s, that’s that’s what I’ve found about the strongest men, the most capable dudes they can teach in whatever it is. They can explain it in this colorful like you can just illustrate a story or an idea.

00:44:18:18 – 00:44:36:07
Brad Singletary:
And when your sister said you could sell water to a fish I’m thinking it’s because you can teach. Like that was profoundly inspirational right there when you said hold the coconut and then you held your hands and I can just picture myself hold a cove like she’s I can connect to the connect to the Earth. I can connect to release negative ions.

00:44:36:07 – 00:44:36:24
Brad Singletary:
What was that?

00:44:37:02 – 00:44:57:12
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Yeah, like like, I mean, negative ions is what’s good for us. It recharges us. And so that’s what comes off of the out of the out of the ground, in the grass and then the ocean and the coconut. It’s connecting you back to source. Wow. Tapping in, baby. When I talk about are you tapped in? It’s are you tapped in?

00:44:57:12 – 00:45:14:07
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Are you are you connected? Are you feeling it? Are you in line with it? We’re all on this giant rock floating around the sun. You know, we got to realize how, you know, I’ve simple it is like we got to just connect to it.

00:45:15:22 – 00:45:34:19
Brad Singletary:
So I read a book a few times, but we did a little series on it probably a year ago called King Warrior, Magician, Lover. When I think about sometimes people ask me about with the name of, you know, Alpha Quorum and all that, they ask me, what do you think an alpha is and to me it’s that. So here’s here’s what that book is about.

00:45:34:19 – 00:45:54:13
Brad Singletary:
It’s about archetypes. And it says, in order to be a strong, healthy man, you’ve got to be all for these king. So that’s like the leadership in you. That’s the benevolent king. You’re the giving like serving king. You’re a leader, you’re a warrior. You know, you’re fight for like what’s right. You speak out against what you should speak out against.

00:45:54:13 – 00:46:18:12
Brad Singletary:
And whatever magician, you have specialized knowledge, you know, think of the old, you know, the magician who would work up some potion or he can read the stars or whatever, a magician and then lover, you’re connected to the sensual, you’re connected to the earth, you’re connected to art and beauty and music and whatever else lover means. Right. But do that to you right now that I just think.

00:46:18:12 – 00:46:40:24
Brad Singletary:
Yeah, that is you’re the most respectable people. It’s just a little more. I like that book if you ever want a good what’s it called? King Warrior, Magician Lover. It’s about it’s about masculine. It’s about the life of men and how we can, you know, live in those live in those like archetypes. King Warrior, magician lovers. So good.

00:46:40:24 – 00:46:55:02
Brad Singletary:
But that’s what you are you’re teaching me. And I’m like, this dude’s a magician. He’s talking about negative ions. And now I have a connection. How, like walking on the and I’m just you’re you’re doing that. You have a magical way about you, and I’m not trying to be a fan.

00:46:55:02 – 00:46:55:23
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Thanks, man.

00:46:55:24 – 00:47:11:28
Brad Singletary:
You know, I do have a little man crush, but anyway, you got some cool attributes. Some of this, I think you you know, you’re I believe people are born with talents and stuff like that, but, like, you’ve honed something like, what were you doing before all this? What was your last, like, job?

00:47:12:25 – 00:47:33:13
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Well, my last company was called Zen Entertainment, and I was the CEO of this gaming network. People were playing Internet poker online, winning cash and prizes. So I woke up one day and that wasn’t in alignment with who I was or what I wanted to do. Anymore. I just didn’t demand the line. And I said, I’m not doing anymore.

00:47:33:13 – 00:48:07:08
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
And it wasn’t just the job, but it was the woman I was with. There was everything that I was chasing. I was just chasing the money and the superficial or whatever, just trying to get the money. And I was done doing that. And so I just put the brakes on, sold everything, broke up with the girlfriend, hired a CEO, left, and when I went walkabout I had my keyboard and my bike, and I went down to California to live in a little 300 square foot casita on the back of my mom’s property to get connected with my family.

00:48:07:08 – 00:48:29:23
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Again and my mom and my grandma. And and just to say, you know what? I’m going to figure it out. I don’t care. But it ain’t this. You know, I was making great money I had everything I should have had, but I was tired of shooting all over myself and listening to what I thought I should have and chase all these things that just, just bullshit.

00:48:30:25 – 00:48:35:00
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
And so I left and I went figure it out. I found a coconut, and that’s how it all started.

00:48:35:00 – 00:48:44:22
Brad Singletary:
There must have been there must have been. I’m guessing that wasn’t all smooth. And that sounds like this courageous. Oh, wow. He went after his dreams, but I’m sure it was not like a dream. It was.

00:48:44:29 – 00:48:45:07
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
It was.

00:48:45:07 – 00:48:48:07
Brad Singletary:
Hard. You’re living in a 300 square foot place, and, you know, your.

00:48:48:07 – 00:48:48:24
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Adjustment.

00:48:49:20 – 00:48:56:29
Brad Singletary:
Probably had to really scale back and, you know, watch the money and, you know, scrimp and save. And I’m guessing there were difficulty to that.

00:48:57:18 – 00:49:21:14
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Yeah, well, you know, what was most difficult was I had had this whole identity of who I thought I was and what that I needed to be. And it took me two years to shed all of that to get rid of all those things that I thought I should be or that I thought I was and defined my real true purpose, my real reason for being.

00:49:22:01 – 00:49:42:19
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
That was as hard as I was called. I was I think that was my quarter life. Crisis, you know, and that was really what it was about. It was about figuring out why the hell am I here? What is my why am I here? Start asking myself that. What am I doing here? And why am I why am I missing all this time, energy and money into this?

00:49:43:02 – 00:49:58:14
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Why is it and it didn’t make sense, right? Soon as I answer that question, I was like, I had I’m done. And then it just started to kind of go from there. And I said, it doesn’t matter what I’m going to be. I’m going to do it in in alignment with myself and health. You know, I started doing Iron Man.

00:49:58:14 – 00:50:24:20
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I lost like £70 doing all that training and it all just flowed. I knew like I did know three things. Whatever I did, I didn’t before I met the coconut had to be good for people, good for planet and fun. If it didn’t have those three, those were my non-negotiables. If I didn’t have those three, I don’t care what it was, what I was doing, I just said, no, no matter how much money, no matter whatever, if it didn’t, it wasn’t good for people it wasn’t good for planet.

00:50:24:20 – 00:50:26:10
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
And if it wasn’t fun, it was out.

00:50:27:08 – 00:50:47:12
Brad Singletary:
What’s their connection to the planet? Like have you? Because that’s something I really admire. I’m just, you know, I’m just a redneck and I and I don’t even know some of the words you were talking about earlier about, you know, with the zero waste and some of the things you’re doing. But what connected you to that? What when in your life did did that become important to you to like taking care of the planet and stuff like that?

00:50:47:16 – 00:51:08:14
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
What’s really weird is that I’ve always been good at figuring out problems and seeing problems. And I can always remember, ever since I was a kid, I would always see trash and I would always like I would I would walk around with my grandma, would take me on these long like two, three, four or five mile walks. She never drove.

00:51:08:14 – 00:51:28:00
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
We walked everywhere. She would take me there. Thrift store. We go to go to different places. The mall, whatever. But I would see trash and I would notice all this trash everywhere, whether I was walking through a desert and I’d seen all this stuff in the ground. I would always notice it, and it never made sense to me.

00:51:28:18 – 00:51:50:17
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So I always wanted to figure out what to do with all that trash. Honestly, since I went from a young age, I remember trying to think about that. And then, you know, I just it’s been something that’s been inside of me. It’s my human, and I think it might come from my Native American background. I have like 26% or more.

00:51:51:12 – 00:52:29:00
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I think it’s Yaqui Indian, but the Native American cultures are all about Mother Earth and living in harmony with Earth off the Earth, off the land, and that’s just been inside of me. So that’s, that’s my connection to it. And it makes sense because though Mother Nature created this system with no waste, nothing is wasted in nature. The only time you get waste or trash is when you segment certain things away from nature and you start separating things like a lot of manmade systems are segmented.

00:52:29:19 – 00:53:03:14
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
It’ll accelerate one part and destroy another so you can get a faster output of certain vegetable by using X chemical or whatever. But in 15 years, now that entire land is just destroyed and a wasteland. So there’s trade offs to acceleration. Are you really getting there faster no. You’re actually killing things long term. So there’s certain ways that when we get connected back to a circular way, then it and then it flows again within within nature.

00:53:03:14 – 00:53:11:09
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So I learn, I’m learning, I’m learning this. I’m just learning about how can I be better, how can I do better and learn better?

00:53:11:15 – 00:53:30:25
Brad Singletary:
I’m sure that sacrifices some profits, you know, like it just seems like the typical manufacturer, they just they don’t care about that as much. And they do what the law requires and what they can get away with. And if they can’t get away with it here, we’ll take it somewhere else. But like that must that must be more expensive.

00:53:31:11 – 00:53:42:16
Brad Singletary:
Or else other people would be more mindful, you know? So to do it in the earth friendly way is probably more expensive, but that that’s not as important to you as good for the earth, good for people and fun.

00:53:42:16 – 00:54:10:11
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Well, actually, no, it’s not. That’s a fallacy. OK, so, you know, I don’t have a a trash bill. I don’t I don’t pay the trash bill because we don’t have any trash. So that’s savings. That’s not losing that’s. So there’s certain things that actually we make more you know, the shipping all the shipping costs have went up. My manufacturers are local.

00:54:10:25 – 00:54:25:03
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I just drive down and it saves me $18,000 a container load on shipping. So being local and being conscious of doing things with less carbon output is actually saving money.

00:54:25:19 – 00:54:26:02
Brad Singletary:
Wow.

00:54:26:14 – 00:54:50:19
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So when you when you don’t waste anything you save money because if you’re throwing something out that’s throwing money out, period. So it’s a total reverse dichotomy thing. Going on with corporate America that says we can outsource, we can do this, we can go long, you know, we can go overseas. Yeah, they’ll make sense on the short game.

00:54:50:19 – 00:55:11:14
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Maybe, maybe for your quarter if you want to make your quarterly number right on the stock market and blow it out in a quarter, that’s fine. But see you in five years. You might be out of business because there’s a lot of waste going on and it’s it’s happening. You’re seeing it right before our eyes. We got to localize everything, manufacturing.

00:55:11:14 – 00:55:24:16
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
We got to bring everything back because all this other stuff was a lot of it was subsidized by governments pumping money and artificially deflating costs.

00:55:24:25 – 00:55:27:02
Brad Singletary:
The manufacturing costs overseas, you say?

00:55:27:04 – 00:55:55:11
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Yeah. So like like, you know, China and all these other large manufacturing deals were government subsidized for these fake prices. And now we’re going to pay the piper. It’s coming reverse inflation’s coming. All these things, you know, like hyper inflation. I’m sorry, not reverse. I’d love to reverse inflation right now, but no hyperinflation, you know, I mean, things that have been kicking down the road and can’t do that anymore.

00:55:55:13 – 00:55:57:09
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
You got to get it. We got to do it right here.

00:55:57:23 – 00:56:10:20
Brad Singletary:
Wow. I love how you just you really you have a big picture view of everything from the good that this does to people that know trash bill. I mean, that’s just cool. That’s just cool. You’re recycling your stuff and whatever. You’re right.

00:56:10:26 – 00:56:13:16
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Eliminating eliminating waste is terrible.

00:56:13:18 – 00:56:18:10
Brad Singletary:
You had to get certified. You have a thing about certified zero, the only or the first in.

00:56:18:10 – 00:56:38:14
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Nevada versus Vegas, we’re the first. And I don’t even know if there’s another company right now, certified zero waste. We were the first in town. And so it took extra audits. It cost me probably ten grand in audits. And you had to fly that third parties in. And then we have to go through our whole supply chain and have to set our zero waste goals and all that stuff.

00:56:38:14 – 00:57:04:15
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I mean, it just takes work. But long game. I’m not here for, you know, a short time. I want to be here for a long time and a good time, you know, so there’s certain foundations that we’re laying here right now and things that we’re putting into place that in 2030, 40, 50 years when I’m gone, these processes and things that we’re laying down are going to be solid and they’re going to help.

00:57:04:27 – 00:57:22:08
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So they’re not going to hurt so it’s and you know, I think the founder of Patagonia is like an 80 year plan. You know, I’m modeling some of this stuff after after that. I just, I love and respect some of these companies that are that committed. I want to be that.

00:57:24:01 – 00:57:45:09
Brad Singletary:
Do you have obviously you know, you have probably accountants and different people that consult with you and they’re paid, you know, but in terms of a personal tribe, people that you can go to not necessarily maybe have maybe business things, but like you’ve got a personal thing going on or you’ve got, you know, you got some conflict somewhere you need to get you know, you need somebody to smack you upside the head.

00:57:45:16 – 00:57:56:15
Brad Singletary:
To get you back to reality. Do you use people? Do you have a little tribe core of people that you talk with or consult with any of them or mastermind type situations?

00:57:57:01 – 00:58:14:07
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
You know, I got a couple a couple of, you know, solid, solid people around mentors and whatnot lately. I haven’t been really I have a couple of different mentors that I that I talk to about things, but not not necessarily you know what?

00:58:14:18 – 00:58:21:17
Brad Singletary:
I’ll call them formalized. I call home you got a buddy. You can pick up the phone and say, hey, I got something going on and they’ll talk with you about it or whatever.

00:58:21:26 – 00:58:35:06
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Yeah, probably. Yeah. I mean, not not really. I can think of offhand. I have a couple of good friends in town, but mostly mostly business partners that we also have good personal relationships, too, that probably share with.

00:58:36:25 – 00:58:55:24
Brad Singletary:
So I’m, I’m all over the place here and we’ll wrap up here in just a few. But talk about funding. Like how did you how in the world did you buy hundreds of acres in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and how did you how are you? How did you go from I have an idea to you got this huge operation going on.

00:58:56:16 – 00:59:26:12
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Well they’re they’re partnerships. You know, you got to you have to recruit and work with people and so I had certain people that wanted to be a part of it in Costa Rica have certain people that are coming to it and Puerto Rico. So they’re just different they’re different partnerships that we were able to put together. And it’s all about relationship building and getting great partners, finding the right people and so that’s that’s really how it’s done.

00:59:26:12 – 00:59:43:22
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
It’s not I’m not doing all this by myself. It’s not is not for me. So I shouldn’t be doing it all anyways. It’s for everyone. It’s it is such a fun deal that a lot of people should be in it, you know, just like these giant public companies, a lot of people invest in them because they want to be a part of them.

00:59:44:01 – 01:00:02:01
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So this thing is huge. I mean, the coconut water industry alone is in the billions already, and that’s just packaged coconut water, fresh coconut water. We have the ready to drink fresh coconut water. It’s a whole different game. And it’s amazing. It’s fun.

01:00:02:23 – 01:00:15:19
Brad Singletary:
What is it that you’re most proud of with your company and what you’re doing? And is there a particular account that you have or a particular property or like what’s what is your what is the crown jewel of cocoa taps?

01:00:16:00 – 01:00:48:04
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Oh, my God, that’s a tough question. I love all of my customers. I’m so proud of every single one of them. I would say honestly, it’s the team. It’s the the family that we’re growing here. It’s the excitement of the future. Like we have so much coming. Like, it’s just the beginning. It’s is in the infancy. Like, so, you know, when when we’re in a hundred cities, you know, over the next few years, I just am so excited and proud about that.

01:00:48:11 – 01:01:17:05
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
How many people we’re going to employ and how many people we’re going to empower to run those territories to own their own business in those cities. And like I have a territory licensing program, we’re launching. We’re going to every city in the country can can own a Coca Tap’s distribution, you know, just like you see Coca-Cola they have their bottlers and their distributors or whoever, Michelob and all these other brands we’re going to have.

01:01:17:23 – 01:01:30:13
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
That’s what I’m proud of. Like, I’m proud of the people that we’re going to affect and the change that we’re going to inspire. You know, there’s not a lot of companies that are zero waste that even think about this stuff right now, but everybody’s got to go that way.

01:01:32:17 – 01:01:53:20
Brad Singletary:
All right. Two more questions, man. I’ll let you out of here. I know you’re busy. You got stuff going on. You look like a million bucks. You’re you know, you’re sure you got it? You got a lot of things to take care of. So tell me your area. Tell me an area or some areas of your life that you want to work on that you really would like to you know, buckle up and get a little stronger with.

01:01:55:15 – 01:02:20:13
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Where I start, man. I mean, honestly, that the two things that I’m that I’ve been working on a bit this last two years during COVID and whatnot is, you know, my personal life, you know, getting that that get some things out of the way there. There’s some challenges, you know, just because I’m so obsessed and driven and working so much.

01:02:20:23 – 01:02:52:22
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So can some of that going health and Wellness Man, Personal health and wellness. I just had all my physicals done and everything. I’m heavier than I should be, you know? And so that’s a work in progress. I just started a new program there to get back get back on track. You know, COVID messed up my routines. I’m not blaming it at all, but, you know, sitting and eating and working out less just for some reason.

01:02:53:10 – 01:02:57:23
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
I should use this as an opportunity to work out more. But I didn’t want to. I was just like De-motivated.

01:02:57:23 – 01:03:01:13
Brad Singletary:
Yeah, I put on like £40, man. I get you on that one. I totally.

01:03:01:13 – 01:03:11:00
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So those are two things I’m working on and and developing solid quality relationships in every city in the, in the free world so that we can get cocoa daps everywhere.

01:03:11:24 – 01:03:31:02
Brad Singletary:
And then the last thing, brother, what is your gift? What is your what’s the most alpha thing about you? The thing that you’re you just this undeniable talent that you have that makes you feel the way you do and see the way you do. What is your greatest gift.

01:03:33:15 – 01:03:37:04
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So my superpower. Is that what you’re asking me? Yes. Good Lord.

01:03:40:01 – 01:04:12:22
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
You know, I would say that one of my strengths and superpowers is being able to keep on keeping on and solving problems, finding a problem, and solving it some way somehow, no matter what I think, I think the the undeniable resilience and the warrior inside of me, I think that’s a superpower because I’m ready to fight for my course.

01:04:12:22 – 01:04:31:13
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
And that’s a superpower. I don’t I don’t quit, I don’t stop. I don’t I just keep going. And I got that from a few different people. I think my my pops is one of these resilience cats who just submarine, just keep on trucking no matter what, get blown up, shot, stabbed, put in jail or whatever. My dad has been through it and he just keeps on keeping on.

01:04:31:25 – 01:04:35:19
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
So that’s a perseverance, you know? No, quit.

01:04:37:15 – 01:04:50:19
Brad Singletary:
So if people are interested in what you’re doing, man, how do they get connected? What I I’ll put some links, but just tell us where you would like them to go. Do you want to go to websites, social media? Do you want to look at some of these fundraising things? You know, nonprofit stuff?

01:04:51:02 – 01:05:14:27
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
You know, if they want to coconut, they can they can reach out to at cocoa taps for you if they want to sponsor a tree, they can go to roots number four Change.org for as little as $0.11. You can water a tree in a day. You could plant a tree for 25 years and make sure it’s watered that’s a thousand bucks for 9100 days the tree will be cared for.

01:05:15:06 – 01:05:35:23
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
If you want to sponsor it. And there’s so many cool things they can be a part of or just reach out to at Cocoa Vinnies Cocoa Vine and Y on any of the platforms, whether it be Twitter Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, I’m easy to catch and get a hold of and I’ll return your call no matter what. Even if you’re a bill collector.

01:05:37:06 – 01:05:55:20
Brad Singletary:
Dude, I appreciate you so much. I can just tell you’re always running. You got things going on, you’ve got family, you know, you have responsibilities, you’re taking care of people all around you, your employees, your you talked about having this family move into your home. You’re just a servant. You know, you’re a person who’s taking care of business.

01:05:55:20 – 01:06:17:02
Brad Singletary:
Taking care of people. And that’s something that I just really have noticed about you. It’s just I feel I think you’re I think you’re my favorite guest. This is episode probably like 88, 89, something like that. Wow. And I really think you’re you’re one of my favorites just cause I’ve been able to watch you for the last probably, I don’t know, three or four years or something like that.

01:06:17:02 – 01:06:18:04
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Yeah, it’s been a while, huh?

01:06:18:04 – 01:06:18:22
Brad Singletary:
Been impressive.

01:06:18:22 – 01:06:20:16
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Been talking about doing this for a while now.

01:06:20:16 – 01:06:30:04
Brad Singletary:
We have you able to do it. Appreciate you coming down here to me to, you know, in the future. I’m going to have to go track these busy people down and show up at your place for a short visit.

01:06:30:05 – 01:06:33:22
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
We got to do it. We got to do a field trip, man. We got to come to the farm.

01:06:33:24 – 01:06:34:25
Brad Singletary:
A Rico man come to.

01:06:34:25 – 01:06:41:11
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Puerto Rico, and let’s do some. Let’s do some remote work, man. Do some video and show them what’s up. Plant a tree. Let’s do this.

01:06:41:11 – 01:06:41:24
Brad Singletary:
Awesome.

01:06:42:02 – 01:06:43:24
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
That’s the hands on stuff I like to do.

01:06:43:24 – 01:07:01:11
Brad Singletary:
I swear, I keep thinking about could I have out here in my office a little, little vending machine, not a vending machine. Just like a, you know, honor system, like a bowl. They can drop their eight bucks or whatever it is for have to have a coconut for people to buy. I have to find a way to do something like that.

01:07:01:11 – 01:07:13:07
Brad Singletary:
But do to really appreciate you being here, man. Hey, brother, you’re just a bad ass in every sense of the word. And I really mean that. And I am glad to have spent an hour or so here with you today and hope that we can talk again in the future.

01:07:13:08 – 01:07:16:24
Coco Vinny Zaldivar
Hey, man, and see you soon. I appreciate thank you. Thanks for having me.

01:07:23:29 – 01:07:29:02
Speaker 2
Gentlemen. You are the Alpha, and this is the Alpha Quorum.

 

 

 

 

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