Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Bare It All with Linnsey is where nothing is off limits. From thriving in recovery to building businesses, raising kids while chasing dreams, diving deep into mental health, and making a real difference in the world — we talk about it all. This podcast is raw, real, and completely unfiltered. Whether you’re healing, hustling, or just trying to make it through the day, you’re in the right place. We’re here to inspire, empower, and remind you that you can rise from anything.
So tell me where you started building brands from your security business.
Bruce Cardenas:He gave me a couple protein bars. He said I've been making these bars in my kitchen by hand. After seven years, I was invited to the equity pool to the table. And we sold it for a billion dollars cash five years ago. Five years ago this month.
Linnsey Dolson:How important do you think that network was to you being able to make Quest as successful as it was and Legendary?
Bruce Cardenas:Legendary has happened. It's now become it's a big company. I'll tell you this. If if you have a consumable item, food, a beverage, drink, a gum, people get too caught up in they use the word marketing. You just need to get product in people's hands.
Bruce Cardenas:That's the key. And all of sudden, I got a call from a guy who ran Sony Music at the time who was married to one of the biggest pop stars in the world and said, hey. Just start a snowball. Once you take care of one person, then it was another person. Then was Ricky Ricky Martin, Mark Anthony, J Lo.
Bruce Cardenas:Oh, wow. Shakira. It just kept growing. And then I realized I couldn't manage my time. I'm I'm a police officer, and I'm lying to get days off to go travel with people.
Linnsey Dolson:Welcome to Bare It All With Lindsay. I have my friend Bruce on here. I am so excited to have you. I met him at an event I was speaking at, and I loved your energy. You were so high energy and just positive, and your vibe kicked ass.
Linnsey Dolson:I was like, I need to meet this guy. Yeah.
Bruce Cardenas:David Rivera's house. Rivera's house.
Linnsey Dolson:Exactly. Exactly.
Bruce Cardenas:One of my favorite events. I I attend when I'm in town.
Linnsey Dolson:I love I love that event. So in town, so what area do you live in or where you from?
Bruce Cardenas:Playa Del, right near the water. Okay.
Linnsey Dolson:Yeah. Yeah. So not too far?
Bruce Cardenas:No. No. Not at all. Every and our and our office is in Santa Monica.
Linnsey Dolson:Okay. Perfect. So I wanna know about your story. I remember David kinda gave, like, just a little introduction on you, and I was like, okay. I need
Bruce Cardenas:to know
Linnsey Dolson:his story.
Bruce Cardenas:Speak that day. Right? You didn't. Yeah. Speak.
Bruce Cardenas:Nope. He just calls me out. There's this guy in the kitchen.
Linnsey Dolson:I'm like Exactly. He was like, that guy guy in my kitchen. This is his Yes. Exactly.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. No. I mean, I'll you and interrupt anytime you want because, you know, I don't know I don't know where to start with the story, but I was a middle child of five, very low income, my father was an electrical contractor in a little town called Highbridge, New Jersey. And I had failed through all of my school years, got Es and Fs. Same.
Bruce Cardenas:And I was run over by a car with a classmate when I was seven crossing the crosswalk, and he sadly died in that accident, and I survived, but I had broken my leg in four spots, I had kidney damage, I had a lot of so I was held back a year in school because I missed a lot of class, then right away I thought I was dumb and so I didn't do anything to get out of school and I had to go to summer school to get my high school diploma, so that was the life I lived, so I didn't really think I was gonna accomplish much, I'd probably be a blue collar worker and that kind of started that was my journey. But my biggest cheerleader was my dad. He a hard working blue collar dude dude, but he was involved with all our coaching for Little League. And even though he wasn't really a coach, he was like the assistant coach because he just wanted to be there to help him. Sure.
Bruce Cardenas:Our boy scout leader. And looking back, it's interesting how a father figure has such a pivotal role in your life. He would bring us hiking and camping and fishing and all and we went cave dwelling and rappelling. And I always wonder why all my friends wanna hang out with my dad. Because when you're when you're young teenager, your dad's not that cool.
Linnsey Dolson:Right. Right.
Bruce Cardenas:And I didn't realize how cool he was. He was like a modern day, like, hero. Vietnam vet. Oh, I love Anyway, so that laid the groundwork so I and he always believed in me. Like, when other people I thought didn't think highly of me, believed in me.
Linnsey Dolson:Right. The biggest cheerleader.
Bruce Cardenas:You're gonna do he goes, you're gonna do great things in life. And that's kinda set the momentum for me.
Linnsey Dolson:I love that. So tell us about where your entrepreneur journey started.
Bruce Cardenas:So that was always once again, we didn't have a lot of money. Provided for us and he and he made it clear that if you guys need to make extra money, there's a lot of ways to do it. So growing up in New Jersey, you'd shovel snow in winter, rake leaves, cut grass, and my little brother and I, we had a little network of, you know, we shovel people snow and he had one rule. My father had one rule for us and I didn't get it completely when I was that young at 12. He said, the elderly people, you don't charge.
Bruce Cardenas:He goes, and you know your neighbors, Mrs. Hoffman, he knew we knew him by name there.
Linnsey Dolson:I love that.
Bruce Cardenas:He goes, you shovel her? And I'd be like, kinda weird. But they would pay they'd make cookies for us, right? Sure. I didn't realize how important that valuable lesson was that I was being a servant leader for these people, and it it paid off in tenfold, you know?
Bruce Cardenas:So but that was my entry. I started making money that way and and he and I remember I wanted a dirt bike when I was maybe like 14, know, go, you know Yeah. And and and he said, listen, here's the deal. If you come up with half the money, I'll come up with half the money. I'm like, that's cool.
Bruce Cardenas:He didn't I don't think he realized I was saving money all this time, and I went down the next morning with this jar, this
Linnsey Dolson:You already had it.
Bruce Cardenas:I already had my half, and I think he looked like, oh shit, like
Linnsey Dolson:That's funny.
Bruce Cardenas:And we went and got my dirt bike, but I had so many valuable lessons about being an entrepreneur, which I didn't know I was an entrepreneur, I was just hustling, making money. And I always did that, I always had a side job even through high school when I was doing sports, I always worked, I always worked to make money, because that was the as you know, money just facilitates things in life. Yeah, it's a tool. It's tool. I realized I needed this tool to do things.
Bruce Cardenas:I needed this tool when I want to start dating girls.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, yeah.
Bruce Cardenas:Even though dating then you go to like the local bowling alley, so you needed money to facilitate things. So that was my that was my entrepreneurial mindset. I always wanted to be a police officer. That was my boyhood dream. That was that was emphatically gonna happen no matter what.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, really? Even through your teenage years, that's what you wanted to do?
Bruce Cardenas:My my uncle was a a decorated police officer in Philadelphia, my neighbor was a colonel with the state police, my sister ultimately married my older sister married a police officer and they're retired now, I always just admired the everything about it. Right. But interestingly enough, even in high school you would have laughed at me because I was like a cop groupie. Our local police department had five men, five people, and they would let me do ride alongs, they really liked me and I lived like a 100 yards from a police station and I remember I got out of high school and, you know, still doing these ride alongs. I went to the chief one day and said, hey, I really want to be a police officer and, you let me do these ride alongs.
Bruce Cardenas:I feel like I'm part of the team. He goes, are part of the team, Bruce. He goes, but in his own words, but this is what I heard, he said, you're young, you're dumb and you're immature. He didn't call me dumb, whatever my whatever I took in, he said, but if you go in the Marine Corps, I'll hire you today, you get out. And I'm like, I left thinking that's some bullshit.
Bruce Cardenas:I'm gonna leave my safety, my hometown to go in the Marine Corps, But he knew something about me I didn't know. And that prompted me to go in the Marine Corps.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, you did? Oh, yeah. Okay. How old were you when you went
Bruce Cardenas:in? Almost 20. Okay. Because after I got out high school I kind of manned around doing odd jobs. Sure.
Bruce Cardenas:And I never been on a commercial airline flight, I never been never left. I mean, you grow up into your hub.
Linnsey Dolson:Sure.
Bruce Cardenas:And all of sudden I realized there's a big world out there and and the Marine Corps literally took me from being a boy to a man.
Linnsey Dolson:I've heard many stories of that.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. And it wasn't my first choice and even when I was there I was like holy shit like this is brutal like this is there's a movie called Full Metal Jacket. If you ever watch Full Metal Jacket that kind of depicts the Marine Corps like it's it's it's torture. But I literally changed who I was, it changed my perspective on life and of course, there then I travel, I was like, wow, there's a big world out here.
Linnsey Dolson:Nice. My dad was a drill sergeant in the army. And that's exactly he said that's what he did because he was being dumb, getting in trouble, all that. And his dad was like, you need to get your ass in the army.
Bruce Cardenas:I tell everyone that. I don't care where you are in your life cycle, man or woman, if you're not sure what you wanna do, because college is not for everybody. No. No. Even even the military
Linnsey Dolson:I kinda feel like it's a waste of time.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. But even if, you know, you want the Air Force is a nice easy route. It's no one's getting hurt. Right. But they pay for your school.
Bruce Cardenas:So I always say that, but the Marine Corps opened up so many opportunities and I ended up still becoming a police officer. But I ended
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, up you did.
Bruce Cardenas:I didn't go back to Highbridge and my mom was disappointed. She's like, you can come back. I said, I end up in California. I I used to compete in power lifting, you know, in in the Marine Corps.
Linnsey Dolson:Okay.
Bruce Cardenas:And my training partner said, hey, I wanna go to I was on the East Coast. He said, wanna go to California for this powerless meet. And I said, don't want to go to Cali- I've never been to California, it's too far. In my mind, I was already like I don't want go there, I was getting ready to get out of the Marine Corps, he goes no, just come with me. So I ended up in Camp Pendleton down near where you live, and did this powerless meet and did quite well, but while I was there, I spent an extra day, we're hanging out in base, and there was a career day, and these different companies were there, like trucking companies, tech companies, whatever, and these police departments were recruiting and I was like, holy cow!
Bruce Cardenas:And at the time, I'm making up a number, was like 50,000 a year, I'm like, oh my god, you can make that much money? So much money. Right? Beautiful people and beautiful weather. And I said, I'm staying in California.
Bruce Cardenas:And that that started my journey to become a police officer. It took about a year to get on, but I joined the LAPD.
Linnsey Dolson:I did not know that about them. So how long were you at the LAPD?
Bruce Cardenas:So it was a year process and it was a brutal process because background checks and everything was by paper then. There was no emails, everything. Sure.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, yeah. Then I
Bruce Cardenas:finally got on. It was it was literally a boyhood dream. I actually could get emotional thinking about it because I remember my background officer called me on Christmas Eve. I said, Cardina, do still wanna be a police officer? I said, yeah.
Bruce Cardenas:More than anything. He goes, well, you know what? He goes, I don't know how you squeak through the system because they love it's a mental gymnastics.
Linnsey Dolson:Sure.
Bruce Cardenas:He said, but yeah, Merry Christmas, you need to report to the Police Academy January 11.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, that's so cool.
Bruce Cardenas:And I did that twelve years full time. Okay. I'm actually still a reserve with the LA County Sheriff's after all these years. And the only reason I left being a police officer full time because I started a, once again, started a successful bodyguard business that became massive.
Linnsey Dolson:Okay, so was that your first business, the bodyguard business?
Bruce Cardenas:First real, yeah, because while I was a cop, even though at the time I thought that was a lot of money, you know, had two young kids and all of a sudden I was like, that's not a lot of money.
Linnsey Dolson:Every time you make more money, then you're like, oh I thought that was a Yeah, lot of
Bruce Cardenas:then you're like, wait, so I was getting by and then I ran into a retired police officer who I had taken a police report for, his car was broken into and and and I once again, goes for me, it goes back to relationships. I could have blown him off and said go to the station because that's, you know, most cops do that, they don't want. I said let me take the report for you and after about an hour he said Bruce, you know, there's really something about you. He goes, you took the time to make this report with me, you really took the time to be personable. He goes, I'm a retired police officer, I have a security company, maybe you'd be interested if you want to work on weekends or nights when you have time.
Bruce Cardenas:I said, yeah, and I did protection when was in the Marine Corps, I already had a taste for being a seat servant leader. I've always been good at being behind the scenes and protecting people. So I started working for him, and after about six months, said, John's name was John, said, I think I want to start my own business. I said, I like this. Serving other people is fascinating to me.
Bruce Cardenas:I said, I'll help you do that. And he helped me start my own business. I knew nothing about insurance and payroll and I started, I reached out to a few people I knew one of my good friends Charlie who owns a limousine company, I said I started this company, he says say no more and he and all of a sudden I got a call from a guy who ran Sony Music at the time, who's married to one of the biggest pop stars in the world and said, Hey, we're coming out to LA, can you take care of us for a couple weeks? And that just started snowballing. Once you take care of one person, it was another person, was Ricky Martin, Mark Anthony, J.
Bruce Cardenas:Lo, Shakira, it just kept growing and then I realized I couldn't manage my time. I'm a police officer and I'm lying to get days off to go travel with people, then I just had to wait it out. It was actually a little uneasy for me because there was a comfort of being a civil servant, the comfort of knowing, okay. Well, was your dream, It was your childhood dream. It was my dream, and I'm like, okay, well, I'm supposed to retire, so like I get that pension and I took a risk and I left to do the entrepreneurial thing, is very uneasy, right?
Bruce Cardenas:You don't know when your check's coming, but then I realized this is my calling, and it became a multi million dollar business.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, I love that. Yeah. So that was your first business.
Bruce Cardenas:That was my first why, and then it really so I I use this term and I hope everyone in the world has a purpose and why in life. I mean, they find their why in purpose.
Linnsey Dolson:Right. Oh my god. You have to find your why.
Bruce Cardenas:But I think a lot of people got mean, a lot of people go through the motions of life. Like, they work at a job and they hate it and they they're miserable.
Linnsey Dolson:They're on autopilot. That's what I thought. They're on autopilot.
Bruce Cardenas:And and and probably, I don't know, 80 of the world's on autopilot, but me when I became first of all, the Marine Corps became a Hawaiian purpose. I'm like, wait, these guys have transformed my life. And then the cop thing was like a Hawaiian purpose. And then when they did everything kept becoming, well, this is a different Hawaiian purpose for me. I'm I'm serving other people, which is I'm quite I'm quite content with that.
Bruce Cardenas:I've never want to be the front guy. But I became the front guy because I owned a company, and then people are calling me, and I'm sitting in front of CEOs of companies and they're asking me, well, what should I do for my protection and what should I do for my event? And I'm like, wow, I've morphed into something more than I and I I always in back of my mind, I'm still like, I'm that dumb kid from New Jersey who has kinda did some things that are Sure. Not ordinary.
Linnsey Dolson:But and it's also still being of service to people, Always. That is I feel like the biggest goal is to be able to make good money Yeah. But being of service to others. And changing people's lives. It doesn't get any better than that.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. And God bless, I love people. I want people to get rich. I want my friends to be rich. I mean, I I like my friends more, the ones that wanna do good things for people.
Bruce Cardenas:Right. I don't begrudge anyone who wants to be rich, but at the end of day, listen. You work all these years and have all this money and you're gonna you're gonna die with, you know, you gotta you do something with it. Right? Right.
Bruce Cardenas:So do something for your loved ones, your friends, your family, rehab centers, whatever whatever your calling is, but, you know, do do good things for other people.
Linnsey Dolson:No. I I love that. So tell me where you started building brands from your security business. So it was like security bodyguards?
Bruce Cardenas:Bodyguards. More bodyguard than anything. I had I had security accounts, but pretty much mine was personal protection.
Linnsey Dolson:Okay. Which is in California, especially Southern California. I can imagine that would
Bruce Cardenas:be easy. Was either taking care of artists or even record labels and then you
Linnsey Dolson:Then the best of the best lives here.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. Then you get involved with the stalking cases because artists have stalkers and and problems. So then I became like a
Linnsey Dolson:I feel like that would be intriguing. I know. Yeah. That would be super I love that kind of shit. Like, I'm so nosy.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. I became a problem solver. Like, all of sudden, big names are calling me and big well known names like, hey, we have this problem and I'd have to intervene and go talk to someone. Both men and women, you know, people it's interesting people live vicariously through what they see on social media or TMZ or in the tabloids, so you see
Linnsey Dolson:They see what's shown to them very well.
Bruce Cardenas:They see what's shown, but then they think, okay, I wanna be part of that person's life, and then I had a guy show up at one of the one of the famous fam one of our most famous families in America, well known for their television show, a guy showed up at at one of their houses with his suitcases, and he and he got on a bus from Tennessee, came all the way out here, and he said I'm here to marry her, and I'm like, what? So I dealt with a lot
Linnsey Dolson:of Mental health Oh. Is no joke.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. It's no joke. And especially negotiating with them. So that became my calling and it really became the only thing I learned from that, and I learned early on about business, it wasn't even about John actually taught me this, we'd go to meetings and he would you don't have a lot to offer, I always say that one of my rules in life is never show up empty handed, hence, right? Never show up empty handed, but he would go to Costco and buy like these jars of candy, like toffee in the glass jar and he put his company sticker on it.
Bruce Cardenas:I did, I started doing the same thing. I'd go to a studio and visit the assistants or secretaries, I'd always leave them these jars and they remembered me.
Linnsey Dolson:Hell yeah, they do.
Bruce Cardenas:And so even early on, just I don't show up empty handed, like I don't care what it is, I don't care what business you're in real estate, don't show up empty handed, bring them something to show gratitude for the relationship or the partnership. And that was like my first learning on how to build relationships and bring value to people. And I always tried to not only meet someone's expectations, but exceed them. Like if someone had a problem, I would solve it and then I would say, know this is gonna be another problem, let me get ahead of the game and even to the point where a very famous artist one time told me I was traveling with her, we're doing a video shoot in Puerto Rico for three days and I knew she was kind of a phobe about shaking hands, right? She shook hands, but then I'd always hand her like a handy wipe or a wipe, like a baby wipe, baby wipe.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. Then I knew she was so I would do things and one day she turned to me and said, you know, Bruce, have you ever thought about like artist management? And I'm like, no, because you should think about that because you do more for me than manager does. What do you mean? She was, you get the handy wipes, you know what water I want in my room, you go advanced dressing rooms, you know what things and she goes, my manager doesn't even do that.
Bruce Cardenas:And I thought well, and I didn't, I didn't process it, I realized I wanted to exceed people's expectations. Wasn't just there to be the bodyguard. I wanted to make sure everything in their life was seamlessly, you know, avoiding problems.
Linnsey Dolson:Problem solver.
Bruce Cardenas:Including walking their dogs.
Linnsey Dolson:Really? Oh my god. So you just split a bucket beyond for them.
Bruce Cardenas:Because it there was no ego with me. I've I've hired guys before that I'd like, hey, we gotta get the luggage into the car. I don't do luggage. I go, well, you're not working for me then. Like, it's not you know what mean?
Linnsey Dolson:Yeah.
Bruce Cardenas:It's certain I'm I'm about serving other people at whatever that
Linnsey Dolson:team We don't pull that that ain't my job shit
Bruce Cardenas:around here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's exactly it.
Bruce Cardenas:Right. And then I've lost some people, then other people go, oh, I get that. I get that, Bruce. I respect that. You know?
Linnsey Dolson:So Right. No. I love that. And that's the difference between the successful person and not successful person. So what did you do?
Linnsey Dolson:Did you end up selling that business? Did you what did you do with that business?
Bruce Cardenas:Well, as as rosy as I wanna paint my life, it wasn't always rosy and I
Linnsey Dolson:That's okay. That's May I ask? Tell us about the not rosy part.
Bruce Cardenas:So I was doing quite well financially, more money than I could fathom, and I remember a year I bought my mom a new Lincoln Town Car. She always drove and they were always old beaters, I brought her a brand new car, had it delivered to her house.
Linnsey Dolson:What a killer feeling.
Bruce Cardenas:Oh, by the way, the most amazing feeling because I always looked at my life, I was a taker from them, like you're on milk for, what, nineteen years, Yeah,
Linnsey Dolson:right, absolutely.
Bruce Cardenas:And as an adult I was able to have a car delivered, and I remember it was the greatest feeling in the world. The next year, my bookkeeper calls me and says, Hey Bruce, your payroll is due Friday, it's $75,000, you have 25 in the bank, this is Monday. Go, Oh, what's that mean? Like, because all I know is I'm building relationships. Right.
Bruce Cardenas:Well, you have a lot of outstanding debt, and I didn't like studios owed me money for thirty, sixty, ninety days, you know, because when people owe you money, they're in no hurry to pay you back.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, God.
Bruce Cardenas:And all of sudden I was like
Linnsey Dolson:I know that, yeah.
Bruce Cardenas:I go, what's that mean? She goes, you need to get people I remembered clear as day I called a woman who ran she was executive vice president of talent at one of the studios. I did everything for her. Yeah. All her artists, would travel with, take care of them.
Bruce Cardenas:I would consider her not only a business associate, but a bit of a friend.
Linnsey Dolson:Sure.
Bruce Cardenas:Hey, you guys owe me $50,000 from the Super Bowl. Can I pick up a check today? She's like, that's not exactly how it works, Bruce. I go, wait a minute. Your invoice is in the system, it's gonna be processed, it might be thirty days.
Bruce Cardenas:I remember these words as clear as they are, it actually gives me chills. I go, you don't understand, my payroll is due on Friday. She goes, you don't understand. I love you Bruce, but you're a vendor and your check is in the system. We write millions of dollars of checks a week.
Bruce Cardenas:And it was a dose reality that I was important but I was not that important. She's not gonna, she's get out of finance and pull my check and I remember she got off the phone with me and I was like, wow, I'm alone. Like I have to figure this out. So I went and cashed out my pension, the partial pension I had to pay my payroll and it's a business reminder for people out there because I didn't have any resources, I didn't know anybody. I couldn't I didn't have there was no masterminds, there was no David Riveros, I didn't know a single soul that I could call and say, hey, can I you float me a 100,000 and whatever the terms would be?
Bruce Cardenas:I didn't know one person. Not one soul I could think of that at that years ago. Now, fast forward, I'm like, you know, we meet people at these masterminds, right? Meet you, meet everyone. I could easily call anyone now and just, you know, what I'd like to offer you.
Bruce Cardenas:Anyway, I cashed on my pension, and I was still in the same boat because then I'm just constantly chasing, chasing, but that's what I had a lightbulb moment. I realized I had a very lovely woman who was just a bookkeeper. I didn't have a CPA, didn't have an accountant, so I had to hire people to help me manage money. I had to establish a banking relationship and so, it was a valuable lesson, almost went out of business, but simultaneously I went through a divorce. It was like a
Linnsey Dolson:That happens.
Bruce Cardenas:That was that was a reality check too, She was a lovely person, we're friends now and you know, you go through that rough part where you're not friends, and I remember we split up and she said I need this much money every month from you, and I'm like, that's crazy, I can't do that. She goes, you're a pretty smart guy. She said like Shit. She goes, first
Linnsey Dolson:You'll figure it out.
Bruce Cardenas:She goes, first and she was in banking, so she knew how much money I made.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, shit.
Bruce Cardenas:She goes, you'll figure
Linnsey Dolson:it out.
Bruce Cardenas:And I was like, holy shit.
Linnsey Dolson:Did you guys have kids?
Bruce Cardenas:Okay. The kid the obligation over there is no problem.
Linnsey Dolson:Like,
Bruce Cardenas:you that's pay that's that's an obligation of life and you should I tell guys, don't be that asshole, you know? You gotta pay for your kids, right? For sure. I wasn't trying to avoid that, but I was like, that's a lot of money.
Linnsey Dolson:Right, right, right, oh man!
Bruce Cardenas:But anyway, so I took a couple punches and at the end of the I did wake up one day a little like down thinking man, I gave her everything, everything I had, rentals. And I realized I woke up one day and I was actually living in my friend's guesthouse, and I wasn't sure what I wanted, it was a big guesthouse, but, and I realized something, okay, I'm able to eat, I have a gym membership, and I'm still alive and I'm running my business, I'm just not making the money that I once was, But it didn't really matter, because I was I still was living a fulfilling life. Does that make sense?
Linnsey Dolson:It does. It does.
Bruce Cardenas:Anyway, that's it.
Linnsey Dolson:Nice. So tell me, okay, about your brands that you build. I wanna know the brands.
Bruce Cardenas:Oh, yes.
Linnsey Dolson:Tell me about what you built, what you sold.
Bruce Cardenas:Here's what's crazy. This is all I I really believe I used it. One of my favorite words, I've lived a very serendipitous life. Things have just you know, things happen and you're always like, how'd that happen? That's kinda weird.
Bruce Cardenas:Like, you meet people serendipitously and things happen.
Linnsey Dolson:You're like, how the the hell did I build that? Or how did I do that?
Bruce Cardenas:I'm at the gym one day and and, you know, make fast acquaintances with a woman named Shannon Penna. She goes by the name Quest Creator on Instagram. You know, gym acquaintances and her husband Ron worked out there, and I remember after I knew her for while, she gave me a couple protein bars and said I've been making these bars in my kitchen by hand.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, wow.
Bruce Cardenas:And I'd love to get your whatever, you might enjoy them. I saw her weeks later and said those bars are phenomenal. The taste, the texture, ingredients, and she said I've been making them my kitchen, I made the first 14 flavors. Because she had such amazing energy too. You talk about connecting with people on an end.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, I that is the first thing I noticed is somebody's energy.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. So she had this tremendous she talks for like she loves talking, she's talking about this food for thirty minutes, and I'm just like, wow.
Linnsey Dolson:Passionate about
Bruce Cardenas:it. Yeah, like holy shit. It's a protein bar, and she's like diving deep.
Linnsey Dolson:Super passionate, yeah.
Bruce Cardenas:And I felt compelled, it was something of an immediate reaction, I said, you know what, I don't know why, and I don't even know if I could help you, but I'm doing security at a celebrity golf tournament next week at Riviera Country Club. I probably can't get in the hands of celebrities, but I could probably give it to the PR person who's a good friend of mine. Does that be great? He delivered four or five boxes of bars to my house. I brought them to the golf tournament and got them in the hands of all these celebrities.
Bruce Cardenas:I didn't personally, I gave it to my friend Cheryl who's doing the PR, and she's getting people to try it on camera. Now keep in mind, social media was brand new. Facebook just started.
Linnsey Dolson:So how many years ago was this?
Bruce Cardenas:2011.
Linnsey Dolson:Okay.
Bruce Cardenas:People are trying it and I remember I showed her some pictures on my Blackberry, I didn't have an iPhone yet.
Linnsey Dolson:Okay, okay. And she's not seeing the picture where
Bruce Cardenas:And you're they're kinda like, wow, how do you know these people? Just from what I do. And then I got on a set of extra at Mario Lopez, the early days of the Kardashian shows because the production company was really good friends of mine, I got it on If you went back and found the old shows, our bars are on the counter and like it
Linnsey Dolson:So smart.
Bruce Cardenas:All free by the way, they just loved our product. And after about nine months of me just helping them, and I would show up at their office occasionally, pick up product, Ron took me to lunch, the founder, Ron's, Shannon's husband, and said listen, we feel like we're stealing from you, you're bringing us all this value and we're doing nothing in return, and I said, I said I get free protein bars. And he kind of cracked up, he said you're worth way more than that. We're gonna put you on the payroll starting next week. I said no, no, please don't, I don't need your money, I'm quite well on.
Bruce Cardenas:He goes, well you can give it to charity, do whatever you want. The one that minute I got my first check, something inside kicked in. It was something my dad taught me like, you know, like you got compensated. Now you really have to, I felt compelled to step up my game.
Linnsey Dolson:Sure.
Bruce Cardenas:And he said, keep doing what you're doing, do your day job. We just we appreciate you. But kicked into overdrive like mentally. Right. And every time I saw an opportunity, took it and it's a little bit of a blur, but went from where I started traveling 40 weekends a year for them, 40 weekends a year for four years straight, building the brand, building relationships.
Bruce Cardenas:And at the end of the journey after seven years, I was invited to the equity pool, to the table, and we sold it for a billion dollars cash five years ago, five years ago this month. And I still will look back and think, know, it was all sweat equity, there was no agreement, there was no handshake, there was nothing, it was like, hey, it came close to finish and they said, hey, you're gonna be part of our equity.
Linnsey Dolson:That sweat equity is what fucking teaches you more than anything in life.
Bruce Cardenas:And I realize now I meet a lot of people, it's crazy how the world's changed, now I talk to people, well, what percentage of company do I get? Well, what are you talking about? You haven't done anything yet.
Linnsey Dolson:Right.
Bruce Cardenas:So it was a great learning lesson, but the beautiful thing for me was we sold that, and even a year before we sold Quest, Ron had already got a group of us together, say I wanna start this company called Legendary Foods. We had a non compete, we couldn't make anything protein for three years, but we made nut butters and seasoned nuts and the only thing I share with people about the mindset we had when we sold Quest, there was a lot of money, right? We started working from his house, he had a rental property, that's where Legendary started, working from his house and we started once again from ground zero. We didn't have the mindset we had any money because you don't know where a couple brands are gonna go. And a lot of people, Lightning doesn't Lightning does not always strike twice by the way.
Bruce Cardenas:You might have had a success, it doesn't always happen again.
Linnsey Dolson:Right.
Bruce Cardenas:There's a lot of factors. So, fortunately, legendary has happened again. It's now become it's a big company. And now we're gonna
Linnsey Dolson:You feel like you did the same pattern?
Bruce Cardenas:Same exact pattern. I'll tell you this, if you have a consumable item, a food, a beverage, drink, a gum, people get too caught up in they use the word marketing, like they come up with cool ideas marketing. I you just need to get product in people's hands. That's the key.
Linnsey Dolson:100%.
Bruce Cardenas:Here's here, try it if you like it, you're gonna share with your kids, your loved ones, whoever. People get caught up in and we did this at Quest, it was a downfall, it wasn't our downfall, I take that back. We were making so much money, we had people in the company that said, well, that's cool what we're doing right now, but let's start we did a music video that involved three days of production. You think you were on a movie set, flip the locations, $300,000 later, and then we pumped another $500 into promote the video, and it didn't move one, sales didn't move one bit. And then we spent a bunch of money on a virtual alley booth at an expo, we got a food truck and we did billboards, and what we concluded as a team is, you know what, go back to basics, get product in people's hands.
Linnsey Dolson:I think that's why like social media and like influencers and working with brands worked so well, because it's just the simple fact if you see like these athletes and they'll have a certain drink in their hand, and they're not advertising it, they're talking about something different, but you're like, hey, what is that guy What's he
Bruce Cardenas:eating? Yeah.
Linnsey Dolson:What do the Kardashians or whoever have on their counter? And so it's like, it works so well versus a commercial or an advertising. You're telling me that your product's great. Well, yeah, of course you're gonna say your product's great. But when I see other people thinking your product's great, then I'm convinced it's great.
Linnsey Dolson:Yeah.
Bruce Cardenas:And we learn a valuable lesson. Tell people, friends of mine have companies, I said you should not even call your marketing team marketing, you should call them a sampling team. If you have a product, get samples in people's hands. Right. And there's so many learning, know, even becoming, you know, people it's a couple things I've learned, you know, become obsessed with your not your competition.
Bruce Cardenas:Who cares what other people are doing? Just be obsessed with the people you're serving.
Linnsey Dolson:I love that.
Bruce Cardenas:And one thing we learned, you know, like when we launched, like we we have macaroni and cheese coming out January 1. It's Legendary macaroni
Linnsey Dolson:and cheese? Really?
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. It's actually a cup of mac, but 47 grams of protein. And it's it's
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, that's
Bruce Cardenas:It tastes phenomenal. So cool. But we will when we launch that, we will send out probably 3,000 VIP kits. Like, you get a kit in the mail with a cool pink box and you open it and have three different kinds of macaroni and cheese. That's and that'll go to influencers, micro influencers, thought leaders, that's marketing.
Linnsey Dolson:Hell yeah.
Bruce Cardenas:You're gonna try it, you're gonna show your kids are gonna try it, whoever's gonna try it in your life, and that's that that we're gonna sell you on that. I don't need to you don't need to see an ad in Google, you don't need to see a billboard, you're gonna get the sample in your house and try it.
Linnsey Dolson:I know. I love that. I think it's such a game changer. And so people say, well, actually I say, and I believe is your network is your net worth. Yeah.
Linnsey Dolson:So how much do you think you building your network with your, like, you know, private security and bodyguard business and the network that you built Mhmm. How important do you think that network was to you being able to make Quest as successful as it was and legendary?
Bruce Cardenas:Oh, I think I think it's key for everything. Sure. For me, personally. People It's don't have that
Linnsey Dolson:so key.
Bruce Cardenas:Some people will sit behind a keyboard and reach out to people. You know, they have their own methods, but to me, I think about people I've touched over the years that I could reach out to and say, they're like, I haven't, I might not have talked to them for five years and they're like, yeah, great, what are we gonna do? I've always, always, always brought more value to people than they brought to me. How do I say this? I've actually made more deposits in people's accounts than they've made in me, so that when, if I do ever need something, don't feel the slightest built of guilt because I'll be like, hey, I showed up for 10 times for you, for your event or your charity Right.
Bruce Cardenas:Or your So, I've and that's by design by the way. I am a truly giving person, that's one of my languages, like I love giving to other people.
Linnsey Dolson:True love language.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah, yeah, for sure, a 100% like I give, if I'm not bringing value to my partner, I'm worthless. Whether it, you know, morally, spiritually, financially, so same thing in business to me, I want to bring value to people I know so that if I do need anything, they feel really good about it by, you know, helping me.
Linnsey Dolson:I love that. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's the best way to live. Yeah.
Linnsey Dolson:There's no better feeling honestly than changing people's lives or being able add to their life or add value. It's just
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. And this is a perfect time of year, to see the holiday, you know, Christmas just passed and I realized I I've probably done 20 toy drives. I feel good about I call my friends, say I'm gonna show up at this, you know, midnight mission or Trina's kids or wherever, And I I I want my friends to participate with me. And they do because I've helped them along.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, yeah. I mean, your who you know will open up more doors for you than a college degree, than any of that will. Just who you have in your circle. I mean, I love it. There's times where I'm the simplest thing I'm like, shit, that's a legal question.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, I'll call so and so. They know. They specialize in this. Or I'll call this person. Or just having like your network, all the best people and depositing into their lives as well.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. No. It's and it's worked wonders and now we've evolved with Legendary Foods, you know, we've hit a certain point where we're doing we're doing well. One thing I've never I I'm starting to share about it publicly, but about thirteen years ago, Ron, our founder, and we spent time as a group of guys and girls, men and women, and we've all concluded we're going to all be affected by cancer and heart disease. Everyone has, I'm sure.
Linnsey Dolson:One hundred percent.
Bruce Cardenas:And so, thirteen years ago we started doing some research and we started with just treating dogs with a ketogenic diet. We had a ranch in Texas and cancerous tumours were reversed just from diet. Fast forward today, we have an organisation called the BioShift Research Foundation, we started a non profit, and we're spending millions of dollars a year in neuropathy, which is like nerve damage neuropathy cure, heart disease, I'm one of those patients in the study because I have a heart issue, cancer, glaucoma, so I say it kind of like this, tongue in cheek, we're selling donuts so we can help keep people alive longer, and it's our group of people and
Linnsey Dolson:I love that.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah, so it's now that is truly now, I'm actually a little obsessed with that, now because I realized how many people are gonna my dad died of cancer. My whole family's been wiped out by
Linnsey Dolson:See, my dad passed away from cancer two years ago and he had a heart disease. My grandma passed away. I feel so many people are affected by cancer. It's insane.
Bruce Cardenas:So we're we're finding answers and we're not we're we're we're not, you know, putting our money where mouth is. We have I have friends of mine coming in all day long getting scanned. We're sending for this test called a clearly test, which is imaging of your heart. So,
Linnsey Dolson:you gotta tell me how I can help or
Bruce Cardenas:even volunteer. Love that. By the way, we're always recruiting women. Women, that's one of the number one killers heart disease, and a lot of women don't even know. And one thing I found out is what you what what you appear on your outside has no no indication of what's going on inside.
Bruce Cardenas:Now, have people that are like marathon runners have all kinds of heart disease.
Linnsey Dolson:Right.
Bruce Cardenas:And then there's people that are obese that their pipes are clean as could be.
Linnsey Dolson:So wild.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. So that's our mission now, to do that.
Linnsey Dolson:I love that. You're so freaking amazing. Okay. And before we run out of time, you have something coming out here soon you told me about.
Bruce Cardenas:Oh, the Me personally? Oh, book. Yeah. Yeah.
Linnsey Dolson:Tell us.
Bruce Cardenas:So that was once again, talk about relationships. I spent time with a really good friend of mine, Beidros Koulian. He's the founder of Fit Body Boot Camp. An immigrant. His own success.
Linnsey Dolson:Okay.
Bruce Cardenas:We met at an event. We spent we spent a day together. We worked out together, hung out, had lunch, and at the end of it, he said, you know, Bruce, everyone on earth has a book in them. Everyone, every single human being, right? Even if maybe your mom will be the only one that buys your book, right?
Bruce Cardenas:Because you might have seven or eight books. I'm like, do you mean? He goes, dude, just hanging out with for the day, bodyguard, marine, like, and so I procrastinated because of self doubt. I have self doubt. I have self doubt.
Bruce Cardenas:I anyway.
Linnsey Dolson:Everybody has, but if you push through it. So I
Bruce Cardenas:finally and it's gonna be launched February 1, it's called lead with value. Lead with Value. My biggest thing is enough
Linnsey Dolson:to get it.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. My biggest thing is bringing value to other people with really no expectations. Like, if I do something for you, I don't if I hear from you, great. I don't care. I mean, so the book is about leading with values.
Bruce Cardenas:My, you know, my journey, but also the learnings I've learned along the way and how relationships are important, all that stuff, so I'm pretty excited about it. Yeah, I, at first I was like, nah, let me just put it on Amazon and like, no, now I'm like, I'm gonna hire a publicist, I'm gonna reach out to my network and say, hey, I wanna bring it out to the world because even if and I really say this truly, if even if I change a couple people's lives, you know, why not? I mean, it'd be fun.
Linnsey Dolson:So, I feel like maybe handling it similar to like you do with your brands, right? So, are you gonna be sending copies out to influencers? Yeah. I see. And tell me about that.
Bruce Cardenas:I think I'm gonna I think I'm gonna make a certain amount to send to people that are meaningful in my life and with, you know, a box and a note and and I I wanna get out some key podcasts. I hope you have me back. We could talk about Yeah.
Linnsey Dolson:I would love to.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. And I think I'm gonna do that. I don't know I don't know where it's gonna I'm not trying to be some best selling author, but I really wanna make Get
Linnsey Dolson:your message out.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. Why
Linnsey Dolson:not? What about like book tours and stuff? Maybe.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. I'm a little shy about that. Think
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, means that you have to do it. When you like, when you're shy or you're nervous about something, that means okay. You gotta go do it.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. Like me, I'm not look at me, but I feel like, know, you put all this work into it, and I've already now I've already had a thought process for another, you know, another book about being a servant leader and yeah. I I don't know. I mean, I love what we do. I mean, slinging the protein and and looking for answers in disease, but the book is just another added value.
Linnsey Dolson:Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Well, and it's just we it's adding value and it's just sharing your insight. And I was like, that's what I'm wanting to do.
Linnsey Dolson:Probably 2,026 is my first book on like my life story Amazing. And all of it. So
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. I mean, to me
Linnsey Dolson:I gotta pick your brain.
Bruce Cardenas:Yeah. To me, as we grow older and I think of all the pitfalls, all the mistakes I made, all the I mean, if I could help someone avoid those when you're in your whatever age.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh my
Bruce Cardenas:god. Because I I, you know, I I've talked to some of my friends that do these business deals. I'm like, hey, I don't want to I don't want to upset you, but it sounds like you waste a good friend of mine, she reached out to me a few months ago and say, Bruce, I'd like to talk to you. I made this chocolate bar. Nicole, let's meet and I met her and she said, I've spent $50,000 I paid someone to make these bars, and I tried it.
Bruce Cardenas:And I was like, I don't know if I could take a second bite, which by the way, there's two things I learned, two things important for you to learn. He said, I don't understand, like my friends and family love it, I go, you know what your friends and family have in common? They're all lying to you.
Linnsey Dolson:They love you.
Bruce Cardenas:They love you, so they're not gonna say your product is shit. Oh. It's no different when you eat eat, you know, you go to grandma's house and she's giving you a second portion. You're like, I can't even stand the first portion. Right?
Linnsey Dolson:Right.
Bruce Cardenas:So I said so she spent all this money in these candy bars and they're like kinda little protein. I said, and it's like, you're not gonna be able to sell them. But I I said, if I wish I would talk sooner, I would have had you research, do more r and d. And also the key thing is don't have your friends and family try your product, get strangers to try. Strangers are gonna be honest.
Bruce Cardenas:You know this. I mean, hey, how do I look, honey? You look amazing. No.
Linnsey Dolson:100%. And your true friends should tell you, and they should call you out on their shit. And they should tell you that was a war that's probably not a good decision or that It tastes like
Bruce Cardenas:doesn't matter whether it's your what you're wearing, what you're who you're dating, or whether it's a food. Hey, can I be honest with you? Yeah. Please do. So that's what I've learned.
Bruce Cardenas:And I tell people always if you're approaching me about a business opportunity or an idea, I need to preface this, are you okay with me being honest with you? If you're not, I don't I want you to know that because I'm gonna lie to you then.
Linnsey Dolson:Yeah. Even with coaching, ask people, tell me the level of accountability you want. Because if you want accountability, I'm gonna be honest with your ass. I'm gonna say, you know, and but so tell me so I don't offend you.
Bruce Cardenas:I'm same way because I'm I'm I'm a hard charger, and I have friends of mine, like, their favorite thing is, well, let's we'll get to it tomorrow. I go Yeah. Manana never comes, Like, we're on the phone right now. I went through a transformation recently, I held myself accountable. I saw myself on stage, speaking at an event, and I was like, who's that fat bastard?
Bruce Cardenas:I saw the pictures and I couldn't I said I can't and so I went through my own transformation, yeah, I dropped a bunch of weight, I'm in my high school wrestling way right now.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, I love it.
Bruce Cardenas:More muscular than I've ever been, but I looked at myself as I had to I was like, I'm not holding myself accountable, how am gonna preach to people and pump that I'm doing these great things and businessmen look like that? So yeah.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, I love that. I think, really, people, like, underestimate how important your physical appearance is to how you feel. Like, when I look good, I feel good. When I don't look good or I don't think I look good, like, I feel like I don't execute at the level that I should.
Bruce Cardenas:You're right. As a matter of fact, my final chap my book was done, and then I I did went through this transformation, and I said, I called the editor. I said I'm gonna add another chapter. You're like, basic I I can't remember what's called maybe your your greatest wealth is your health. Whatever.
Linnsey Dolson:Yeah. Yeah.
Bruce Cardenas:And I wrote a whole thing about it. She's kinda didn't know. I don't understand what has to do with business. I go, it has everything to do with business.
Linnsey Dolson:Oh, yeah.
Bruce Cardenas:I said, if you're a successful business person, you look the part, you go into a room, people, there's confidence, there's a deliver you you can't tell someone, hey, here's how you build a protein bar company, but you look like this. So it's all ties together. So she finally got it, but it's the it's probably the best chapter of my of my book.
Linnsey Dolson:Hell, yeah.
Bruce Cardenas:I did a photoshoot, I have a before and after, I did a whole thing. Yeah.
Linnsey Dolson:It's like the glow up I see. Like even women I work with in recovery or my favorite one is this girl, I talk about her a lot, but she got sober and then I helped her build she was my first coaching client and I gave her free coaching just to like try, right? And to learn on her. And she built this business and I started seeing her. She lived far but on social media and like, next thing I know, has like long extensions and like she's getting Botox and she's got like all her clothes and like her brand purses and I'm like, okay.
Linnsey Dolson:Like, she's fucking doing it. But you know, you can see it and you can see the confidence. And she went from like just, you know, not really caring about her physical appearance to her physical appearance being a very big important thing to her. And next thing you know, she's like coaching other women and like all that. Love it.
Linnsey Dolson:So your outside is just as important as your inside.
Bruce Cardenas:For sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yeah.
Bruce Cardenas:It all ties together.
Linnsey Dolson:It it so does. We're like basically out of time, but tell everybody how to find you.
Bruce Cardenas:I don't know. No.
Linnsey Dolson:Google. Social.
Bruce Cardenas:Social. Yeah. Google you. Instagram seems the most popular, but I have my website, brucecardinus.com. Perfect.
Bruce Cardenas:And then the Instagram, bruce e cardinus.
Linnsey Dolson:Awesome. And then remind us the name of your book one more time and when it comes out.
Bruce Cardenas:Lead with value, February 1. Lead with Value.
Linnsey Dolson:Thank you so much.
Bruce Cardenas:Thank you for having me.
Linnsey Dolson:You guys.
Bruce Cardenas:Bye.