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Dallas has style and Bob Baumann is proof. At the House of Baumann, he’s crafting custom pieces that fit like they were made just for you (because they are). From suits and sport coats to boots and shoes, Bob brings fashion to the heart of Texas.
Join us for a walk through Bob’s spectacular showroom, where everything’s for sale—well, almost everything (the Corvette and Harley are off-limits).
Bob’s style is unmatched, and once you meet him, you’ll see why we’re such big fans.
Bob’s style is unmatched, and once you meet him, you’ll see why we’re such big fans.
Creators and Guests
What is Let's Talk Local?
Join host Sarah Zubiate Bennett on Let’s Talk Local as she uncovers the stories, people, and places shaping Dallas, fostering a stronger and more connected community—let's get to know the real Dallas!
Hi. I'm Sarah Zubiate Bennett and I love fashion. Forget New York, forget Milan, forget Paris because Dallas has its own fashion secret and it's called the House of Baumann. In this episode of Let's Talk Local, I'm stepping inside Bob Baumann's world of luxury men's wearing custom boots. And take it from a woman who owns over 25 pairs of boots.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Bob's a master craftsman whose work is a luxury dream for both men and women. It's a perfect stop for anyone shopping before holiday season hits. A hidden legend right here in Dallas. Once you see what he's creating, you'll understand why.
Bob Baumann:This is our home. This is where it all begins. And, you know, it's just different. And, you know, I wanted to create something the world's never seen.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That and you did. You did it successfully because I was just telling Shanon, we get to see the interior of some really remarkable places Right. Especially locally, but abroad as well. I think this must be the most exquisite and fabulous place we've ever recorded in as of now. Right, Shannon?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Mhmm. Right? It's so insane. Bob, tell me how how you came up with the concept, how you came up with your inspiration. You're the one that did this design in here.
Bob Baumann:Right. Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:How did it happen?
Bob Baumann:Well, have a crazy mind, first of all. I mean, I you know, it's funny when we moved in the building. Since we've been in the building about a month ago, I had somebody say something to me on a Tuesday I never heard before in my life. And then on Thursday, somebody else said it to me. And then the following week, somebody else said it to me.
Bob Baumann:And they're walking around, they look at me and they go, I bet you never sleep. And I don't. I sleep about four or five hours a night. And it's just, you know, we cater to the luxury consumer. The number one reason they make a purchase is the experience.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah.
Bob Baumann:And so I wanted to provide experience the world's never seen before. I want to be one on one. Yep. And so, that's what motivated me. You know, one of the big things when I was building the building, designing it, I wanted to able to take a car in place in the building.
Bob Baumann:And, and so that's why we had to build the building out of steel because it's still in concrete because we can drive a car in a square foot in this building. I was getting a little nervous when it was about 70% completed and I called up the structural engineer and I said, Steve, you guarantee me I can drive a car anywhere in this building, anywhere. He says, Bob, as long as you keep it under 70 miles per hour. So so yes, we've brought cars up here but we're building it. They kept saying, man, if if we don't have to do this car thing, it'd be so much easier.
Bob Baumann:And I said, next person brings up the cars, you're off the team because if there's no cars, there's no building. Because I just want it to be unique. Same with the shipping containers. You know, we brought these in by Crane and I my whole concept behind them was to cut the sides out of it. Yeah.
Bob Baumann:Just one side and make it a pop up store. So right now it's our shoe department, but next week it could have a car sitting inside it. Wow. The week after that it could be our boot department, whatever we want it to be. Our goal is we change everything up about three times a year.
Bob Baumann:So we just take it all, move everything around, put it back together. So that way it's just different. Because when each time when you come in I want it to be different. Okay. So we designed it.
Bob Baumann:We can move the containers. We can do whatever we want. When we do move the containers, it does make the people on the floor underneath us a little nervous because they can't I'm sure.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:It's loud. It's loud.
Bob Baumann:Oh, you better not fall through.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh my word. And so, okay. So right now we're standing here in front of your
Bob Baumann:Shoe department.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:What seems like shoes and then I see the boots over there.
Bob Baumann:Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And we're gonna be going to make two custom boots. So I'm gonna be guiding through the entire experience which I'm so thrilled about, and also a jacket. So those three things are what we're doing here today.
Bob Baumann:Awesome.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And thank you for making time for me.
Bob Baumann:Absolutely. It's my honor. Absolutely.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:But just this, so I'm looking around here, they your assortment is certainly it's different from what you would find at let's say a Neiman's or oh, look at these. Oh, these are beautiful. So where where is it that you find a bunch of these creations?
Bob Baumann:A lot of our shoes are custom made.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:They're custom.
Bob Baumann:And so most everything we do is custom. Okay. And you know we our shoes are made in Italy. One of the things I did when I started the business many years ago is it was important to me for people that buy custom clothing is somebody goes to their office, takes their measurements and it comes in and to be honest with you, it's a roll of the dice. It may fit, it may not.
Bob Baumann:And so one of the things I did that really upset my wife is about fifteen years ago I went to Neiman's and I bought $15,000 with suits. I came back and I cut them up and when I was done they went in the trash because I made my own patterns And so you take a chest. So a man has a forty two chest. Well, we have actually eight different 42s that he can try on. The only thing they have in common, period, is the chest.
Bob Baumann:That's it. The point to point, the pad in the shoulder, the circumference of the sleeve, everything else is totally different. And so it's our responsibility to be able to get into our clients' mind to understand what they like, how they like it to fit. Measurements are not just measurements because what I may think is tight, you may think is loose. And so by being able to have these different garments for them to be able to put on, we can get into their head and find out what they really, really like.
Bob Baumann:And so that allows us to create the perfect garment. Same thing with, you look up there, the shoes, all the black shoes are just strictly for customers to try on. And so they can put on, say this one feels comfortable. And once we know what they like, then we turn around and we literally have 500 different shoes that we could make. Different styles, colors, everything.
Bob Baumann:We do everything from custom made tennis shoes, blue jeans, cowboy boots, all the way to tuxedos, everything in between.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And I can't wait for you and I to sit down in that beautiful room over there so that because I'm dying to learn about your why. How you got into this industry to begin with. I have an idea, but I just want people to learn about you. And do you find that most of your customers come in into your store?
Bob Baumann:Oh, absolutely. Yeah.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Why can't I get Monty in here?
Bob Baumann:Well, Monty's, he's he's one of a kind because there's only one client I've gone to see in the last fifteen years And that was mister Ross Perot. Got you. Everybody else comes here. I Got you. Dress a lot of Yep.
Bob Baumann:People like that, but they all come here.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Got you.
Bob Baumann:And, Monty's probably the only client I had that's never been in here. So but I have you, so who
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:needs money? Cheers. You mind walking me around just so we can
Bob Baumann:Absolutely. Just
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:so I can ask some questions about how this came to be. Sure. So, what significance do all of these beautiful cards on your wall
Bob Baumann:I think they're unique. I think they're different. I just, you know, if you look at them, they're all actually three-dimensional.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yes.
Bob Baumann:So each piece is a different layer. And so it's just something that caught my eye. And one of the things that we did when we moved in here is that my old building, people come in all the time and I say, where'd you get that? I want to get that. And so all the time I'd be hooking my customers up.
Bob Baumann:I had one of my customers spend over a million dollars with the gentleman that manufactured my bar, my furniture, my leather sofas and everything in the other building.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, gotcha.
Bob Baumann:And so a client came in, he fell in love with it. He met with my, the guy that manufactures everything. He spent over a million dollars with him having to make furniture for his house. And, so I decided when I moved here everything's for sale except the Corvette and the Harley. But anything else you can buy.
Bob Baumann:Oh my gosh. And so you want the cars, can buy
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:them. Really?
Bob Baumann:Yeah. We have Union Jack sofa and the very first customer that walked in when we moved in here, he bought that sofa. So we ordered another one. Got you.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Even these Chesterfield?
Bob Baumann:Yes. Oh. And so you know, the idea here is we don't not every customer needs to be in a showroom when they come in. Sure. It could be a regular client.
Bob Baumann:He just wants to pick out some shirts.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah.
Bob Baumann:So we can just sit right here and do it. We don't have to go into a private room.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah. It's just so comfortable. Every square inch of this place is perfection.
Bob Baumann:Thank you. We put this in here so our customers can get rid of some of their
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:stuff. You know,
Bob Baumann:if they're in a bad mood or throw a towel, we're like, put the gloves on. Let's get it out, I need you to be in a good mood, you know, before we start looking at clothes.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I love it.
Bob Baumann:Pencil So sharpeners, that was a huge hit. You know, if you're in sales, say sharpen your pencil.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah. Yeah.
Bob Baumann:This is one of our showrooms. The mirror is, it was a mold used to make parts for ships. And so I bought it, had them made a mirror out of it and actually bought three of them, put one in each showroom. Again it's unique, it's different, it's over a 100 years old.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, and this is also for sale?
Bob Baumann:Oh yes.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Okay. It's beautiful. And so what happens in here? So we have
Bob Baumann:We have, you know, that's probably just actually things people have left there. Somebody else tried on. But you know, customer comes in, we sit down with them and we find out, you know, we've to get in their head, we've to know them. What do they do for a living? How long have they been doing it?
Bob Baumann:Are they married? Are they single? Do they have kids? What ages are they? Because all that affects how we're going to dress you.
Bob Baumann:And our whole goal is to tell you how we think you should dress. You asked earlier what got me in the business. Well, people judge people by their appearance.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I know.
Bob Baumann:You know, women know that. Men don't. And so when we start dressing somebody, we truly change their life. And that's what I love about it. It's not about the clothes.
Bob Baumann:It's about seeing a guy look at himself totally differently. And just looking in the mirror and just going, Wow. Yeah. You know, his wife's like, oh my god, look at you. Yep.
Bob Baumann:You know, and so when they look that way, they act differently, they walk differently, their confidence levels through the roof and so my goal, our goal as a company is to transform their life. That's what we want to do.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And do you have any component to your business that allows these people to consign items they're no longer wearing through you? Is there any type of recycling
Bob Baumann:Well, actually, most of our clients, we have several different foundations that we give clothing to.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Ah, beautiful!
Bob Baumann:And so, you know, there's a company called Bridge Builders and the whole thing is to change a person's life. But the gentleman that started it, his name is Mike Fetchner, know Mike said they want to change their life but they don't know how to get to the other side of the bridge. And so part of it is being able to put them in the right clothing that makes them feel better about themselves. And so yes, we do have quite a few organizations, three that we donate clothes to all the time. Our customers, they always come in here and say, okay, I'm done with this stuff.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yes.
Bob Baumann:Take my name out of it and give it to somebody.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah, yeah, that's great. Okay, that's what I was getting at. So that is beautiful. I'm glad that you do work with people in that respect. What is the price point of any of your offerings?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Shoes, boots, jackets, shirts?
Bob Baumann:Sky's the limit. But seriously, I mean, you want to buy a suit from us, you're probably looking at $3,000 and up. Sport coat, 2,500 and up. A pair of shoes, $500 and up and again it's just whatever somebody wants to spend. I mean I made boots for $15,000 $16,000 Oh for sure.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Hate to say that, but yeah it is.
Bob Baumann:And so, you know, our whole goal is to make sure we know our customers' comfort level. That's very important to
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:me. If
Bob Baumann:somebody ever walks in this front door, usually before anybody ever comes in, we interview We get on the phone, we visit with them, we find out who they are, what are their needs because I treat people the way I want to be treated. And anytime somebody hands me a bill, if I'm shocked, then I'm either it's A or B in my life, I'm either mad at myself for not paying attention or I'm mad at the person that was waiting on me for not bringing it to my attention. And, you know, I was in a restaurant not too long ago and there's a particular wine I like and there's two different companies that make the exacts that make the wine under the exact same name.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Ah, okay.
Bob Baumann:And the one I like is about $120 Well, the one the waiter brought to me was about $7,500. And he said, Bob, are you sure this is what you want? And I said, No, that's not right. Absolutely not. No, it's this one.
Bob Baumann:My god. And I said, I was shocked, but you know. And so if somebody comes in here and we start showing them product and we start mentioning prices and they're shocked, I'm upset because we did that person an injustice. Sure. We brought them all the way down here when we're not, they're not our client.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's right.
Bob Baumann:You know, and so it's so important to me that we take the time to make sure the client that wants to come in that he's truly qualified. This is what he really wants to do. And again it just goes down to respecting people. You know, not even tell you this, Sarah, I've had I started the company thirty five years ago but I can promise you in thirty five years I've had at least five times that I had someone on the phone and when I was talking about prices they're like woah, woah, wait a minute. No, that's way out of my league.
Bob Baumann:There's no way. And I'm like hey, that's why we go over this. Totally understand. In thirty five years I've had at least five of those guys call me back and say, Hi, just referred a guy to you. He's going to be calling you.
Bob Baumann:He's your client. You know? And so it's again, people appreciate it when you them the way you want to be treated. And I tell everybody I want to be treated like a king.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:My gosh. Last night I got out of bed and I told Monty, I said, I just want to feel your love just pouring and oozing out of every pore of you. And you know, he's looking at me and he's like, Do I have time to eat in between those moments? And so I'm sitting there telling him, This will make me feel special. This will make me feel special.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:But, to your point, I try and treat people that way. Right. I want them to light up with excitement when they see me knowing, Okay, this woman is someone who will treat me well.
Bob Baumann:Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Always. Right. Right? Absolutely. I've always sensed that you are that kind of person as well, which I think is a beautiful thing.
Bob Baumann:Well, know, I run my thank you very much. Appreciate It's true.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:It's true.
Bob Baumann:I run my company off of two quotes and they're very simple. Number one is, people don't care how much you know.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's right.
Bob Baumann:Until they know how much you care.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Uh-huh.
Bob Baumann:I can guarantee you there's nobody in the men's clothing industry that cares more about their clients than we do.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I love it.
Bob Baumann:And we'll go to the end of the earth to make a client happy. An example of that is, I'll never forget, I dressed a man for probably fifteen years and then he was getting married. And so we were making his tux for him and he was getting married in Paris. And for whatever reason it got lost, it didn't show up, he called me up, he was mad as can be understandably so, cussing me out, saying, You know, the most important day of my life and you're screwing it up. Well, he flies to Paris and it's like the very next morning we find the tux.
Bob Baumann:UPS had lost it. I went straight to DFW, bought a ticket, flew to Paris, knocked on his hotel door and he opened up and he's like, What the world are you And doing actually what's even more crazy, I did this exact same thing for your husband. Oh yes. Exact same thing. And he goes, What in the world are you doing here?
Bob Baumann:And I said, I'm in the business of making people happy, not disappointed. Here's your tux. And he's like, You've got to be kidding me. He says, You flew all the way over here? And I said, Absolutely because I'm here to make you happy.
Bob Baumann:He says, Oh my God, why don't you come in? Stay in for the wedding? I said, No, I gotta get home and figure out how to pay for those tickets.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Do you mind if we go look at the boots?
Bob Baumann:Let's go.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:There's
Bob Baumann:a I'm lot to
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:like speaking of giving clients what they want, I am so excited to go through this. Oh, look at that. Even the dogs. Yeah, let's go through here. Yeah, I want to see these.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:You even have dogs.
Bob Baumann:Oh, yes. Oh.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, my. Oh my goodness.
Bob Baumann:This is all the high schools in the Metroplex.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh my It's an
Bob Baumann:old old map.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Now this is cool. I mean everything's cool, but this is special. Where did how did you get this made?
Bob Baumann:I bought it at an auction, found it, and so I purchased it and thought it would look cool in here. Wow.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's just really unique.
Bob Baumann:We came up with this a while back. So this is only in the restrooms. My name's Forrest, Forrest Gump. My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.
Bob Baumann:The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. See, in this world, there's two kinds of people, my friend. It's Those with loaded guns.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And a
Bob Baumann:ocean dick.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:So
Bob Baumann:it's five jaws for speed of So
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:it's a compilation of some So
Bob Baumann:it took me
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Meaningful This is so cool.
Bob Baumann:It took me three weekends to put it together. Oh my gosh. It was 140 different movies. It's seventeen, eighteen minutes long. It's five to ten seconds of each clip.
Bob Baumann:And I have it only playing in the restrooms because when people come out, they're like, oh my gosh. You know, because movies take you back to a place and time where you were in your life. Oh, gosh. And so they come out and they know exactly where they saw it and they're like, Oh my god.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:You're right. So You're absolutely right. And I was thinking, I wonder if he's gonna have Casablanca. Right? Oh, yeah.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Right. Of course.
Bob Baumann:Oh, yes.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:All of these genres.
Bob Baumann:Frankly, my dear, Clark I don't give a
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Gable. They're all. Significantly Scarlett O'Hara.
Bob Baumann:In I'll have what she's having.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh my gosh.
Bob Baumann:So it just plays all day long and it's again part of the experience, you
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:know? It's special.
Bob Baumann:So Oh my goodness, God.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I mean, it truly is inspiring. Oh, we can come this way?
Bob Baumann:Yeah, we're going this way.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I got you.
Bob Baumann:So we do a lot of entertaining. Uh-huh. We can serve dinner for a 100 people. Oh. We have one dining room table that actually goes through the whole space and it's one table that will seat 80 people.
Bob Baumann:What? So everybody sits at one table. And that's important to me because
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah. I love that.
Bob Baumann:We have a lot of companies that come see us and they'll buy five people or 40 people a gift. Mhmm. They bring them all over here. They celebrate. They want some, you know, made some goal, whatever.
Bob Baumann:And then every single time they leave and they go to dinner. And they go to a place that, you know, a great steak house here in town, but it's loud. Uh-huh. And even if you're in a private room, it's loud, and you have people sitting at different tables, and the truth of it is you're only talking to the people right next to you because it's so loud. Uh-huh.
Bob Baumann:You can't hear what that person's saying, And so one of the things I think about treat people the way you want to be treated. Well, if I'm going to an event like that, I want to be seated at the boss's table, not some other table, you know? And so I decided to have this table made and it pretty much goes through the whole place.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:So how And
Bob Baumann:we move stuff around
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:with these load bearing structures.
Bob Baumann:That's still Well Yeah. Know. That stays. But I'm saying it just comes right through here.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, through here. Yeah. Gotcha.
Bob Baumann:So we move a bunch of stuff and, you know, everybody can sit at one table. My whole thing too is if if I just spent a $100,000 giving away gifts I'm going to dinner, number one, I'd love to pick the music. Mhmm.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's right.
Bob Baumann:I want to be at the volume I wanted. Yep. And I want to be able to say, everybody, time out. Everybody listen to me for a second. Sarah, stand up.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah.
Bob Baumann:Let me tell you why we're here. That doesn't happen in a restaurant.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah.
Bob Baumann:It's just a great time. Everybody's getting drunk and having food.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yep.
Bob Baumann:Here, I want whoever's still in the party to be able to acknowledge everybody, tell everybody what a great job they did. That's why they're here, etcetera.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah. This is special.
Bob Baumann:So and it's a great place.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yep. Yeah. Beyond great. It's just it feels like home and just with a lot more panache. Right?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yes. I like it. Oh, what is this?
Bob Baumann:I want to tell you about this. This is very important to my wife and I. Laura and I started this program about eight years ago now and it's a nonprofit. We funded ourselves. It's called Suits of Honor.
Bob Baumann:Oh. And we give a suit, custom made suit, sport coat, no suit, shirt, tie to a veteran that's coming back from serving our country and he's had to go, he's had to have gone across enemy lines. That's one of the qualifications and we do one every other week. And we started doing them in groups of 12. They don't know each other.
Bob Baumann:They come in. This gentleman's an amputee. His name is Chad Fleming and sort of the guy that started the program
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Chad Fleming.
Bob Baumann:He's pretty famous.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yes.
Bob Baumann:He was speaking at the Bush Library and he was asking me what should I wear and I said we should be in a suit and he wanted to wear his fatigues. And I said why do you want to wear your fatigues? He says because I want everybody to see I'm an amputee. Yeah. And I said well I disagree.
Bob Baumann:I said because you're going to feel below everybody in that room because of the way you're dressed, when in reality you're above everybody in that room. That's sacrifice. And we had a pretty heated debate for about two hours. I said, look, if it's so important to you, can make the leg out of Velcro and you can tear it off and you can show everybody. But I said, you should be in a suit.
Bob Baumann:So finally he agreed and we made him a suit and he sat at George and Barbara's laurel table. And all these big time Republicans there, And when it was over, the first thing he did was went outside and called me. He says, you changed my life. He says, gave the best speech I've ever gave in my life. He says, And you're right.
Bob Baumann:I never thought about it, but I did feel underneath these people. And tonight, he says, I get emotional thinking about it.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Me too.
Bob Baumann:He says, I was the best dressed person there. He says, I was above everybody. And so that's how we started the program. Last year we did 43 of them.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Wow.
Bob Baumann:And so my wife and I, we don't take donations. We fund it ourselves. It's just our way of giving back. Yeah. It's beautiful.
Bob Baumann:So that's what's important to us.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah. I that's love
Bob Baumann:one of the most important things in this building. So when winter comes around, we're gonna have great fires. Here's the boot department. Speaking Oh of
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:my gosh, look at this Harley. Oh, that is sexy. These boots are insane.
Bob Baumann:So we literally This is my favorite newest boot.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Look at those.
Bob Baumann:Which ones?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Look these. Oh my gosh.
Bob Baumann:Aren't those beautiful?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:My goodness, yes.
Bob Baumann:So I came up with this idea. Oh.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Led Zeppelin.
Bob Baumann:Bring us your top 20 favorite bands. What are they? We don't care. Uh-huh. We have the boot made, and then we have an artist who airbrushes the song.
Bob Baumann:Oh. It's all done by freehand. Oh my It's all the way he designs, the way he's gonna put it. So for example, these are my wife's boots. And so she loves Tyler.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Uh-huh. Me too. I have a mouth like he does, by the way. Do.
Bob Baumann:So Huge. She loves Aerosmith and you Peggy, she has
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:good taste.
Bob Baumann:She has great taste.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Fleetwood Mac. Yes. Oh my gosh. That's insane.
Bob Baumann:And what's great is the other boot
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I could steal these.
Bob Baumann:Is totally different. There's your group right there, the Beatles. Oh, the Beatles. Phil Collins, Chicago, Oreo, Speedwagon, Rolling Stones, Aerosmith again, Bon Jovi, Coldplay. And so it's his interpretation.
Bob Baumann:Whatever he does is what you're going to get.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's neat.
Bob Baumann:But it's really cool. It's part of the excitement of what are they going to look like. There's no two pair alike. They're all totally different. So this has been a boot we've done extremely well and you just literally just pick out the skin that you want, the color, and the rest the artist takes care of.
Bob Baumann:We have a lot of guys that are hunters. And so this is the big five.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh my.
Bob Baumann:This bit was all Oh, it's hand so
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:favorite animal, the elephant. It
Bob Baumann:was all done by hand.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I enjoy hunting more than Monty. Really? I do.
Bob Baumann:Funny, I'm not a hunter. Oh, I love it. Just killed my dad. So, it's all done by hand. It's all painted by hand.
Bob Baumann:One of the things that's very unique about this boot is we made the top one piece.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Got you.
Bob Baumann:And then we chose large scale alligator, which is the nicest skin in the
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:world. Mhmm.
Bob Baumann:There's only 10 pair in the world and we've sold seven of them. We have three pair left. Wow. To give you a little education on boots, this is a regular cowboy boot and this is called a triad. And what a triad is is there's something on the boot on the top that you want people to notice.
Bob Baumann:So the shaft goes all the way to the sole. So your jeans are like that.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yes. So people know that
Bob Baumann:they're And people something are like, okay, what's
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:What's on your that?
Bob Baumann:You know? And so
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I think we want that.
Bob Baumann:Know, because you can some cool stuff. Yeah. We'll talk about it.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:We'll play with it. Okay.
Bob Baumann:And so, that's the two choices. I would probably I think since you're thinking ranch Mhmm. I would probably make them brown.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Okay.
Bob Baumann:Because it's more of a ranch than black. You know what
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I'm But but they're very city. These people, like, they're not I would think that if they were going to wear them, they'll be walking around
Bob Baumann:In black.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:In black. I think.
Bob Baumann:Sure. There's black horn back right there.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, these are lovely. What are these? Right here.
Bob Baumann:That is
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, those are nice.
Bob Baumann:This is belly, but I don't like the belly.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:You don't?
Bob Baumann:Because the belly can split
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, over I see.
Bob Baumann:It will split over time. The hornback never will. And the hornback gives it the dimensions and everything. You can do either.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:What is the difference in price point?
Bob Baumann:Considerably.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:It is?
Bob Baumann:Yeah. So it all depends on how we do the boot. Uh-huh. But belly is probably two and a half times more than hornback. Yeah.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Interesting.
Bob Baumann:It can be
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:So that is more expensive than this?
Bob Baumann:Yes.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Darn it. I like that more. So, we'll stick with the horn back. Well because we want it to be nice, but durable. Thank you so much.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:You're welcome. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You're a man.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:You're a very stylish man. He is actually pretty stylish as well. What would you prefer? Would you prefer brown or black? Well,
Bob Baumann:black's very dressy.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I know.
Bob Baumann:And This so he
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:can wear.
Bob Baumann:And let me tell you, black boots look great with blue jeans, faded jeans especially. But also, I think of Ralph Lauren. So that's probably Ralph Lauren's favorite pair of boots right there.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Ah. And
Bob Baumann:you just go look at pictures of him.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah, you're right.
Bob Baumann:He's always in that boot.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:You're right.
Bob Baumann:And He so it's really you know the person better than I do. And so that's a decision. And I mean we can look them up. I can look at pictures of them. I'm pretty good at reading people.
Bob Baumann:And that'll help me give me an idea of what I think we should do.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Okay. You know? Okay.
Bob Baumann:I would probably do some lacing that's like on this boot here.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, yes.
Bob Baumann:See the pulls on
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:the Uh-huh. Definitely.
Bob Baumann:What makes this boot so special is I've never seen another boot like this in the world. That is That to make is remarkable. To make these boots
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, isn't it?
Bob Baumann:It took four alligators.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh gosh.
Bob Baumann:Because you have the tail. Mhmm. So that's two. Mhmm. And then the tops, and I've never seen this ever.
Bob Baumann:The top is one piece. Oh. There's no seams on or anything. Uh-huh. Just the back seam.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:These are really beautiful.
Bob Baumann:Then I had them antiqued. They just came out looking great.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:So these are are stunning. Stunning.
Bob Baumann:If I did something like this, I would strictly put the logo and that'd be it.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Okay.
Bob Baumann:But they are stunning.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:They are. I mean, they really are.
Bob Baumann:So they're absolutely beautiful. And it is a one of a kind. He'll never they would never ever meet anybody that had a pair of boots like these.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah. They're they're those are just perfect. They're perfect. And you don't do women's oh, no. You do do women's boots.
Bob Baumann:Oh, yeah. We do
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's right. Because we're doing it with his wife. Okay. Yes. Silly me.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Okay.
Bob Baumann:We do women's boots, women's shoes, very few things, but we do some things.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Okay. So Okay. Well, those I love, love, love, love. So what is the best how do you walk people through the process? If you have like, so let's say I'm
Bob Baumann:We'd sit down, we'll pull up some images Uh-huh. Look at them, look at the logos, and then we just sit there and we start designing. You know, we look at all the colors that everything comes in. Yeah, because I do a lot of boots for a lot of guys just like those have teal tops on them. I do a lot of boots that guys put pink tops on them.
Bob Baumann:Yeah. They're cool looking. Yeah. They're really cool looking. Mhmm.
Bob Baumann:And again, nobody sees it unless you pull your pant leg up. So so we look at all the different leathers, all the different colors and we just sit down, we start designing it, we start coming up. It's really just a what's the word I'm looking for? It's not the right word, I want to say help me out here, Allison. It's not a jam session.
Bob Baumann:It's just what do you think of this? What do you think of that? Going back and forth.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Brainstorming session. Brainstorming session. Yeah. Yeah.
Bob Baumann:How about this? How about that?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Mhmm.
Bob Baumann:And that's how they get designed.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Okay. Alright. So you tell me how you'd like to do that. We can do it later. But, yeah, these are just these are just some show stopping boots.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I told you that I had called Rocket Buster lead time a year minimum. Right. Like, oh my gosh. All these people. So what is your your typical lead time on boots?
Bob Baumann:Well, it's funny you ask that because our lead time was every bit a year. And so I called the factory up about six months ago. I got the owner on the phone and I said, Dude, this doesn't work for me. I said, I won't buy anything and wait a year to get it.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah.
Bob Baumann:I said, We've to come up with a compromise. So I said, look, I'll pay you x amount of dollars for every pair I order if you'll make them in ninety days. He says, okay, you got yourself a deal.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's incredible. So So how what does this this run someone?
Bob Baumann:This boot is $16,000.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, of course. Why do I have to like that one? Of all the boots, I'm like, this is the one I want.
Bob Baumann:Well, you know what's funny is see, you and I have the same type of taste.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Drives me crazy.
Bob Baumann:I was looking in the Robb Report because I wanted to get a new watch. And I wanted a brown watch. Mhmm. And so I'm going through and I'm looking and I'm looking and I'm looking and finally there's only one and it was their special on watches. It was their edition all about watches.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yep.
Bob Baumann:There's only one I like. So I pick up the phone come Monday, I call the company that makes it in Europe, and I said, how much is the watch? He says, well, there's only six in the world that are $5,000,000 a piece.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh my gosh. See, why? I'm like Why? Yes. How about 250,000?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yes. But
Bob Baumann:not 5,000,000.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yes. And see, these pants, they were up in this kind of I store
Bob Baumann:can only imagine.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:In Spain.
Bob Baumann:Yes.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And, I was like, Oh, those are like a piece of art and then they have a beetles on it. I love music. But then, when I It doesn't even matter. But, yes, like you, I love things that tell a story.
Bob Baumann:Amen.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Right?
Bob Baumann:Yes.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And so I want this okay, what is the price point of something like this?
Bob Baumann:That boot's about $8,000
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Okay. So right. That's more palatable. That one is not palatable.
Bob Baumann:What's what's interesting is the boots are all made 100 by hand.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Mhmm.
Bob Baumann:And so I try and teach people, give you an education. Let me look for a boot here to show you. There's a gun right here. So if you look at this boot Mhmm. It's getting light where we can see it, at least where I can see it, and you look where the stitching is, you'll see certain areas like right there, it's just a little bit wider than it is through here.
Bob Baumann:Let me find another good example. I'm gonna get some good light here, I'm blind. Okay. See how it's not perfect? It's not absolutely perfect.
Bob Baumann:There's a little gap there. There's a little gap there.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, yeah.
Bob Baumann:See what I'm talking about?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yep, I do.
Bob Baumann:Let me look on this side too. Okay. I'm gonna put my cheaters on. Okay. This stitch, there's a gap in between the two there.
Bob Baumann:I'm still not finding a great example of what I want to show you. The point is when they stitch these boots, they literally the guy has the
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:most Those are also beautiful.
Bob Baumann:Most companies, and here's a really great example probably of what I want to show you. So where most companies, they have six needles. Okay. So see right there how it's messed up?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Do
Bob Baumann:you see that?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yep. I do.
Bob Baumann:Clear as day. Yep. And that's because he is doing it by hand, one stitch at a time.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Interesting.
Bob Baumann:And most companies have a machine that has six needles.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Got it.
Bob Baumann:And it will stitch it all together. And so when you see a flaw in the boot that actually shows the boot is handmade.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:But you have to really look right to
Bob Baumann:Right. The guys that know boots.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah.
Bob Baumann:Know what they're looking for.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I love it.
Bob Baumann:And that just makes the boot that much more valuable. You know, one of the things I like about any boots that we make, I don't believe they're ever gonna end up in a garage sale.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Mhmm.
Bob Baumann:Never. They'll be handed down Mhmm. From generation to generation. That's These were my great grandpa's big That's right. Whatever.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's right.
Bob Baumann:The name of the company forever was Edward Baumann Clothiers.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Ah.
Bob Baumann:And when I was moving here, I knew I was gonna build this wall. Mhmm. And this is a list of my clients. Oh. And so, I literally went out and bought two by eights, cut them all five to six inches long.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:This is so cool.
Bob Baumann:And bought a laser and one by one one of my employees would sit there and burn the client's name. Oh, that's special. Yeah. And I guarantee if we look up here long enough, we will see mister Bennett's name up here. It's up here somewhere.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:But these are some good names. And so Oh, yeah. I see him.
Bob Baumann:Do you?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:There you go. There he is. There you go. There's Monty.
Bob Baumann:And so as we're getting closer and closer to building being finished, I struggle with what I wanted to call this wall. Mhmm. And this is how incredible God is. Because I didn't want to say the clothing company that God built honorable mentions. Yeah.
Bob Baumann:I didn't want to say the men's store and I just cannot come up with it. And clear as day, I'm sitting in my office one day and God's like, you listen to me, I'll answer your question. I said, okay, I'm listening. He says, you're changing the name of the company. I'm like, He says, it's gonna be the house of Baumann, and the wall will say the house that God built.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:It's powerful.
Bob Baumann:I know. I can almost start crying right now.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah. Here I am. I didn't know that you were a God person.
Bob Baumann:Absolutely. Yeah. And so I sat there and I was like son of my God. Yeah. It's so perfect.
Bob Baumann:So, these are the people that made it happen.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah. Is special. Okay, so these are one of Just your other
Bob Baumann:another one of our showrooms. Okay.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Okay. Oh my gosh, see this is what did not need to happen. I did not need to come in here and see all the things that I could get Monty.
Bob Baumann:Amen. I'm glad you did.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Goodness. See, I'm the I'm his problem. He's not He because you know how he is. He wears jeans, the sports coat. He is not a
Bob Baumann:Everything's dark. Everything. Oh yeah. If you can get him in any other color,
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:that's He does not look so good on him. So wow. Oh, look at that. Oh, Yes. You wanna go sit in that front room?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yeah.
Bob Baumann:And She's like, please.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I know. She's like, I don't wanna be walking around anymore.
Bob Baumann:Let's go this way.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Okay.
Bob Baumann:So I just want you, I put a balcony. Oh, how do you like
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:my Oh, yes, look at hats.
Bob Baumann:Everybody's got hats.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Everybody's got
Bob Baumann:Everybody's got it
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:over here on your, is this a or an elk?
Bob Baumann:That's an elk.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:It is.
Bob Baumann:These are going on
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:the Oh.
Bob Baumann:Those are oil paintings.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, you can tell. A mile away.
Bob Baumann:Could you believe that somebody painted that?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yes, I It's been unbelievable. Gosh.
Bob Baumann:Sarah, this is my mind.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:I'm an artist driven by passion, ceased by obsession, delighted by creation, enthralled with expression, entranced by vision, diverted by daydreams, filled of emotion, filled by compulsion, consumed with beauty. A sign of inspiration to my mind. Oh, that's beautiful. Bob, what type of education did you have
Bob Baumann:in So With garments? Zero.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Really? Yeah. I love it.
Bob Baumann:I grew up in Dallas. Mhmm. When I was nine, I had a brother die. When I was 26, my mom died. I was driving 18 wheelers.
Bob Baumann:Mhmm. Never went to college.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And I was Okay.
Bob Baumann:I was blue collar. Yeah. And, so a friend of mine had, when my mom died, I believe in God, but I no longer really wanted much to do with it. Of course.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Yep. Happens to people.
Bob Baumann:I was in a very downward spiral. And a friend of mine, by the grace of God, noticed that. Mhmm. And he says, have you ever heard of Zig Ziglar? And I had no idea who he was talking about.
Bob Baumann:I literally thought he meant the Ziggy cartoon guy.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, okay.
Bob Baumann:Because I drove 18 wheelers and I read the papers. Mhmm. And so he took me, he introduced me to this man.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, you met him.
Bob Baumann:And Zig and I sat just like this and talked for about two hours. And I'll never forget. He finally says he says, look. There's no doubt about it. You've been dealt a bad hand.
Bob Baumann:He says, you've been through more in twenty six years than most people go through in the first fifty, sixty years of their life. And he says, but what's gonna determine your future? Are you gonna determine your future? Are your circumstances gonna determine your future? And so, Sarah, I walked out of his office that day.
Bob Baumann:I bought it hook, line, and sinker. Mhmm. My mom died on Thursday, 10/10/1986 and on no. July 10. Excuse me.
Bob Baumann:Thursday, 07/10/1986. And on Monday, October 13, ninety days later, 9192, I'd begged that man to hire me, I went to work for Zig Ziglar.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Okay.
Bob Baumann:And so I went from wearing Now I was the best dressed truck driver ever, so let's get that out. I went from wearing starch jeans, nice pair of cowboy boots, and always a polo shirt, raffle ring, to all of a sudden I'm now in suits. So I had to go out and buy three or four suits. And I walked in and it was amazing how people treated me the way they talked to me. It was like everything was so different.
Bob Baumann:And I'm sitting there going, wait a minute. I'm the same guy. Nothing's changed at all except the clothes I have on. Yep. But, I mean, it's like they treated me with more respect.
Bob Baumann:I can't say it all. It's just it was such a transformation. Mhmm. And so I made a deal with myself, and that was anytime I was the number one salesperson in the company for the month, I would go to Neiman's and buy a new outfit.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Ah.
Bob Baumann:And so I go down and give me a new shirt, suit, and tie. And I was top sells nine out of twelve months. Mhmm. So I'm always down there getting an outfit. And I saw how it made me feel.
Bob Baumann:And what I loved about working with Zig is Zig, the whole concept of the Zig Ziglar Corporation is let us change your life. Let us show you a life you've never had. Mhmm. Let us show you how to look at life. Mhmm.
Bob Baumann:And, what I loved about doing the close is it was the same thing. We're changing your life. Mhmm. We're changing how you see yourself. We're changing how you feel about yourself.
Bob Baumann:When you look in the mirror and you're like, wow. That's you think wow. You're you're unstoppable. Mhmm. But more important than any of that, it's what the world thinks of you when you walk out the front door of your house.
Bob Baumann:And so that's what got me into this business. And I know nothing about it. I've never taken any courses on clothing or anything. I just I have five sisters.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And so I'm like Are you the only boy?
Bob Baumann:Well, I had two brothers. And I said my one died when I was nine. My other brother died when I was 42. And I'm like, can't you just take a couple of the sisters?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Why do you have
Bob Baumann:take the brothers? This doesn't make any sense. You call yourself God? No. And so all I did growing up was go shopping because I was a baby.
Bob Baumann:So somebody needed to buy a dress, something all the time, so I just go shopping. So my wife will tell you I can out shop any human being alive.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:It's just interesting and very unique because I've always had an absolute passion for clothing. My father, know, couldn't really hold on to jobs, but the jobs that he could hold on to were that of manufacturing and clothing manufacturing. So he had worked in the maquiladora industry in Mexico, so took advantage of cheap Mexican labor. And I'm from Juarez and El Paso. So interestingly enough, my father is the one who would sit me down and say, Listen, we don't have a lot of money as you know.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:But it is really important that you always take pride in your appearance. You've learned stage presence from your classical singing, you know, your piano playing, all of this. But people unfortunately in this world won't give a damn about who you are if you are not able to carry yourself in some fashionable sense. And he's and and I was like, okay, dad. Well but and he would sit and show me stitching seams, how to how to select the best thing on the on the rack for not a lot.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And I just appreciate those lessons from him so much because he loved government history and clothing, fashion. And so now for my nephew to have just such a passion for it and when Monty and Monty loves him, I mean, he's tall and thin like Monty and my brother especially, my brother is very manly, just machismo And I mean, just like emanating from within him. And my nephew's just not bad, but he loves clothes. Makes some of his clothes and, you know, he's finishing school at University of Houston, but I love to see a man have security within himself to chase those dreams, especially when your immediate family is sometimes discouraging it. Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Right. Right. Right? Imagine with someone like Mani, I know you don't know my brother, but, yeah, it's just it's an interesting thing. So I wanted to learn a little bit about how you got your start in this.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:And you're not a hunter?
Bob Baumann:No. In fact, I tell people all the time, it was very disappointing to my father because my grandfather was a world famous big game fan.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, wow.
Bob Baumann:My dad always said, Bob Jr, your grandfather's in some magazine. I've got it somewhere in the attic. I'm gonna find it and give it to you. And he'd tell me that forever. And then he dies, and I never saw the magazine.
Bob Baumann:And after he died, you know, my mom had died many many years ago. He had remarried. Well, his wife was going through the attic, and she found the magazine. It just ticks me off because I never got to have this conversation with my father. He says, Bob Junior, your grandfather's in some magazine.
Bob Baumann:No, dad, grandpa's on the front cover of Field and Stream. So it's a little bit different. It was one of his stories, I'm not gonna tell it, but just one of the most incredible hunting stories in the world. His plane went down.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh, wow.
Bob Baumann:They were lost and everything and they survived. But so it really disappointed my dad and my grandpa that couldn't kill a bunny rabbit.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's my nephew. But Yeah.
Bob Baumann:I do want to say that through the process of building this building Mhmm. You know, it's five stories tall, it's 55,000 square feet, took two and a half years to build. And through that process, I realized I could kill another human being. Yeah. So we might be able to kill an animal, but I get so mad at times.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Oh my gosh. My gosh, Bob, you're telling me. Mani unfortunately picked the most not unfortunately, right? But he's always said, You are hands down the most difficult woman I've ever known I've ever met. But he says, thankfully, but you're worth every bit.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:You're worth every bit of it. I'm like, well, and I'm getting less and less difficult, Bob, as time goes by.
Bob Baumann:Or or is he well, there's two sides that come in. We're both.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:Right? We're both passionate sort.
Bob Baumann:You just need to remind him, the bible says God will not give you anything more than what you can handle.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett:That's right.
Bob Baumann:So just get over it, Monty. Gosh. Hey. He's over it. Good to see you, Monty.