Emme Hughes. Yes. Thank you for coming in today. I appreciate it. You're from Eden, Oklahoma. Enid. Enid? Enid. Enid. Enid. Enid. Yeah. Okay. Enid, Oklahoma. And you are the owner of EH Metalworks. I am. Well, thanks for coming in today. Of course. I appreciate you having me. Well, I'm glad. Looking forward to talking to you. In the preamble that we had before we started, there's a lot. You reported that you didn't have a lot going on, but it sounds like maybe you're into more things than you originally led on to. Valid. Valid. All right. Well, let's just start in a simple place, which is maybe it's not simple, but tell me about EH Metalworks. What do you do? So at EH Metalworks, we are a full-fledged fabricator. I say we're a one-stop shop for any metal fabrication, production. Anything metal, we do it is what I say. Even on my check. My checks, when I write a check, it says anything metal, which is pretty broad. You know what I'm saying? But when you think of metal, I want you to think of EH Metalworks. Sure. So, essentially, I started my company cutting signs on a 5x10 plasma cutter, designing, cutting. And then it grew into, can you build this? Can you build this frame? Can you build, you know... This countertop or, you know, whatever it is. So you started off in almost a hobby capacity. Is that what you're saying? Not really a hobby, but I just found interest in designing metal and cutting it. Yeah. Okay. Not thinking, oh, this is my business that I'm going to start. It was, I enjoy this. I love to learn everything about it. I'm obsessed with it. Hyper fixated on it. And then it just like quickly spiraled. When was that? I was 18, so it's almost five years ago. Okay. Because I'm 23 now. I turned 24 in August. I started the company September 16th, 2021. Okay. Yeah. And so now we do aluminum fabrication, stainless, mild steel, any type of metal. We do a lot of industrial work, which pays better. We do a lot of custom work. We do a lot of, you know, regular signs like... cutting signs i have a laser cutter now i got a grant from the usda really about a year ago i think so it was a very competitive grant and i had a mentor that was like hey you know you should apply for this grant you know she walked me through all the steps and we got that done and it was a big deal so i have a fiber laser cutter that cuts to the thousand And so that's awesome. You know, so we can kind of like engine parts with that. Well, it's high tolerance. Yes, it's very high tolerance and it's all just flat, flat sheets. So, you know, cutting flat parts, there's really no three dimensional parts. I do have a CNC milling machine for five axis, but we really don't. hound in on that because we're so busy on the fabrication side and laser cutting side and plasma cutting side and tube bending side and all the things you know what i'm saying so we really haven't had a chance to really hone in on the machining side of things so five years ago you started this and so you kind of word was leaking out that you were capable and were making these things and they're like, hey, can you help me with this or help me with that? And you're like, I feel like a business is starting. Yes. So my papa, Ted Shepard, he was my best friend forever. Like my best, we did everything together from racing my race car to, you know, just going to Sonic and getting a... We're circling back to that race car later. Yes, yes, we are. But he pretty much... Well, let me back up a little bit. So my papa has been in the industry for 50 years, but he never was on like the art side of the industry making signs. It was all industrial for like Toro, you know, ADM. And well, Toro's Ditch Witch, but Ditch Witch. I was going to ask you talking lawns sort of landscape stuff. Yeah. So he would produce parts for them and then do industrial work and only have like two customers. But the two customers that he had kept him busy. So I was going into this business in a different aspect of what I, you know, it's the same industry, but it's different. He was like, you're making signs for people. You're, you know, he didn't understand the dynamic of it because he never really knew there was a business on that side of things. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, it's clear. And so once I started cutting a lot of signs, I would like stay up like wee hours of the night and cut signs and design signs and mess up. Were you like addicted to this at this point? Addicted. And I have ADD, which makes you like hyper fixate on things. So I was hyper fixated on cutting metal and, you know, making something. What was it? What do you mean? What was it that grabbed you so hard? I really can't tell you. You won't? I don't know. Oh, you don't know. I really don't know because I just found it and I was like. This is so much fun. I like computers, so I was on the computer designing. And then it's like, oh, and then I can produce. It's like instant gratification is what I really think I liked about it was that I was able to design so quick to get my result of what I created. It's kind of like power washing a sidewalk. It's like, yeah, it's instant. Yes, it's instant. Like, wow, I designed that. I cut that. And, you know, and I still have people like watch me design that went to school for designing, which I never did because I was self-taught. And they're like, how do you do that so fast? I'm like, I don't know. I just, like, I'm ready to get this, like, see this cut, you know? So what do you design at that time? What were you using to design? I use the same thing that I started with. It's called Design Edge, which it came with my plasma table. So it's, like, almost, like, it's super old. Like people are like, why are you using that? You know, because I know how to use it. Because I know how to use it and I don't want to learn another system to use it because then I'll get confused. Because I'm typing. You still have the same machine. Yeah. Aren't they kind of made to go together? The design program and the machine, absolutely. But a lot of people will design in like Fusion 360 and stuff like that and then transport the files over to the computer cutting system, which then you cut the part, right? Got it. And so I use the basic design program with the plasma table that I've been using for five years now, almost five years, and then I transport it over to the laser. which has its own design program, but that's just when you're comfortable with using something and you know how to do it, it's kind of hard to get out of those. So what are you good at designing? You're saying, I appreciate you said there are people who are more kind of academically trained in this domain than you, but you have more than a knack for it. And you've put in time. Yes. But what do you... What do you, I guess, enjoy to design? Whether you make it or not is another question, but what do you enjoy to design and what do you think you're good at designing? I'm good at designing like art pieces. So let's say you're getting married next month and you want a last name sign that says, you know, Shep's wedding. You know what I'm saying? And then the date and then the decorative pieces. Like you can send me a picture of a sign and I can design it. And that was before AI. You know what I'm saying? That was when I had... take an image and create it, right? But what I found is there's really not enough money in the small signs like that. Okay. There's money in cutting boring parts. Not boring parts, but you know what I'm saying? Squares with a certain size hole, you know, plates. And kind of when you're doing job runs, basically. Is that what you're talking about? Like a sign, maybe you'll make one of that sign. Versus multiple? Versus 550 parts, right? Okay. Which, to me, that's, like I said, boring. But it pays the bills, right? That's usually the case. It pays the bills. Yeah. And the fabrication does, too, but you know what I'm saying. Okay, so winding back, when did you intend for this to become a business? Not out of the gate, I assume, because you were working with your granddad on this stuff. Yeah. And you were learning. You started at a really young age, right? Yeah, 18. 18. But you were welding prior to that? Yeah, I started welding when I was six. Do you think that's a good age for welding? Is that young? That is young, very young. I was afraid of sparks, so he taught me TIG welding, which doesn't have sparks if you do it right. And so the TIG welding, I really didn't. fall in love with is, I love it, you know, but it was a, wasn't instant gratification like the designing and cutting side. So tell, tell me about TIG welding because I think a lot of people think of welding. Yeah. You know, all this stuff going on, which is probably more of a torch situation. Yes. You know, you're talking about tungsten and earth gas welding, right? Yes. Versus other welding. High frequency, you know. Okay. So talk about that. So TIG welding. I'll kind of back up and tell you how I learned how to take all that. I love that. So my race car, I drove micro sprint dirt cars, you know, raced all over Oklahoma, Texas. I'm doing everything I can to stay on track here. Yes, yes. No pun intended. And so, like, if my cage on my race car would crack, you just take it, right? You use the pedal, you use the torch, then you use the rod. So it's like a three. You're using every. It's like a drummer. Yeah, you're just like doing all the things. So could you think of it as like soldering? Like you got your material in one hand, your source of heat in the other. Yeah, but the source of heat is controlled by your foot with TIG. You know what I'm saying? Or it can be controlled on the torch, but I use my foot to do it. It just depends on what you prefer. But I guess in simple terms, soldering would be the closest thing to TIG welding, right? Or brazing. Or brazing, but still, you know, it's the motion of adding the filler, controlling the heat with the torch, right? Do you remember learning? Yes, I do, actually. So on the race cars, there's these oil pans that are aluminum, and a bunch of people's oil pans would crack. Okay. And if you know anything about aluminum TIG welding, you know that the aluminum has to be very, very clean. for it to weld properly or it'll be contaminated. You'll have porosity and stuff like that. And so I would take these oil pans that people would drop off because they can't, you know, they don't want to buy a new oil pan for 400, 500 bucks. They'd rather spend, back then I wasn't charging them, but they'd rather have Emmy just take it up and make it work. Right. And so I, that's what I remember. I remember trying to clean up the oil out of the oil pan, trying to make it, you know, prep it. prep is the biggest part of tick welding aluminum prepping the space and you know when you have an oil pan that's saturated with oil through that soft aluminum you can't really get all so it seeps into the metal it's contaminated period got it okay and so i would be over there welding and i'm a perfectionist so i'm like i want this to look good i want this to look good and pop wall would be over there going it's not going to look good No matter what you do, it's not going to look good because this metal is contaminated, and you just need to fill it up and get the crack to seal and be done. Get back on the racetrack. And be done with it. And I was like, okay. And so I would just sit over there and do that, and then I would also, like, tick weld just random stuff just to, like, practice, right? Because you can lose your touch if you don't do it all the time. It's perishable. Yes, you can lose it if you don't use it. And so I don't do a lot of welding now that I have an employee, well, two employees, and they do most of the welding and fabrication and stuff like that. But I do all the cutting still. Okay. So I've been trying to get back into the shop and try to not lose my touch, right? So what's your folk at the shop for EH Metalworks? You guys are doing now sort of, are you seeing sort of a pattern of business start to develop? Meaning, or it's kind of what walks to the door, we'll do it. Or whatever you guys bring in, we'll go do that. It's not consistent at all, to be honest with you. We don't specialize in one thing. We're just taking in everything that we can to make, to pay the bills. You know what I'm saying? So if you bring in a trailer, we'll fix your trailer. If you bring in, you know, a handrail job will build your handrail. If you bring in, I mean, like, fence job will do it. We have to. You know what I'm saying? Because we're such a small company that's still trying to build that all these jobs matter. So you'll go out on site as well? Yes. And to fix as well as, and you guys have a shop that you guys will build things in? Yeah, I have. Well, Pawpaw, let me rephrase that. Pawpaw had a 10,000 square foot shop. That's a lot of space. So I work out of a 10,000 square foot shop where all of my, you know, we have 10 welding machines, manual mill, manual drill press, mandrel tube bending equipment, the plasma, the laser, then the Herco mill. And then probably something that I'm forgetting. We have forklift tractor, you know, all the things, which is great. And I wouldn't be able to have that if it wasn't for Pawpaw. you know, putting in all that work to be able to acquire these things, right? So I'm pretty much right now just trying to take the tools that have been given to me and produce something that's going to last for 15, 20, 30, 40, however long. And do you have an idea, though? You talked about that time span of how long you want to do this. Do you have, like, in your dream and your vision, like, I would love it if in... X amount of years we were doing this. Do you kind of have a dream of where you want to be? So I absolutely do. And I'm very unrealistic at times, which is nothing's really unrealistic. But, you know, I have very big visions for everything in the shop. Yeah. So what I would like to see futuristically is this is kind of very far fetched. I'd like to have like a Netflix series, kind of like Gas Monkey. You remember Gas Monkey? Okay. So kind of like a Gas Monkey, but a fabrication, you know, woman-owned fab shop to then inspire other women, almost like a housewives of Metal Fab, right? So the more women that get in the industry, you know, have like a group of women-owned companies or different companies, it doesn't have to be women-owned, you know what I'm saying, that just interact with each other and maybe no drama, but just like, this is what we build. And here's how we do it. You know, teach other people. Is drama required though? I mean. Do you need a little bit of that so people enjoy watching it? Probably, yeah. But I'm dramatic, so I think that would work. Perfect. All right. As long as that's got that. Yeah. I mean, until then, finding things that, like finding a niche, right? It can take you years to find a niche, and I haven't found that yet, which is totally fine. You're learning a lot. Well, maybe if the niche is the show. Well, what do we build on the show? Everything. Everything. Yeah. It keeps it interesting, right? And we entertain. Yes. We're what you do when you don't feel like thinking about your work. Uh -huh. Yeah, for sure. So we've got to get into this racing piece. Okay. So talk to me about racing. How old were you when you started? Was your granddad? introduced you to it what's a micro sprint car like okay like run me through this so when i was and i always my mom and dad and everyone's always trying to tell me you started at this age and i always get them confused i don't know if i started at six or nine but somewhere around that area i started racing let me give you a little bit of a backstory on how that even happened right yeah so my papa had been racing for years and years and years like he would Travel all over the country to race. And he dominated. He was. What years are we talking? I mean, he passed away when he was 78. So. Are we talking like 1980s? Yeah. Like he had like the, the flow hair, the, you know, glasses, like white race suit. He was like the gargoyle glasses on. Mr. Cool. Right. So he. group like around enid oklahoma you know texas stuff like that a lot of people know him for racing more so than they do metal fabrication but the way he was is everything he did he wanted to be the best like if we're gonna do this we're gonna be the best at it and i think that's really what's shaped me into who i am today not saying that i'm the best but i'm reaching for that right i have expectations set for myself that internally i want to meet you know but that takes a team of people Let me not get into that. But essentially, Pawpaw raced for years and years. And then I was always in the shop with him. So we were riding four wheelers, you know, side by sides, stuff like that. And then I think I came to Pawpaw and said, hey, I want a race car. Because we have a race car hanging from the rafters in the shop. Like his brother's race car that they built together and sprint car. And so the next day. He drives to Tulsa, buys me a junior sprint car, and brings it home. Really? Yes. He heard you. Yeah. Oh, yeah. He was ready. And so I was in the house with my mamaw, and I remember I was wearing this orange Abercrombie jumpsuit, sweatsuit. I don't know why I remember that. And it had dried super glue all over it because I was bored. It got super glue all over me. I'm an only child, so I got bored. Yeah. And Mamaw didn't know anything about it, didn't know that he was going to go get the race car, didn't know anything. And she saw him pull in with the car and was like, what? Did that man just go get another race car? Did that man just go get a race car? And then he calls her, and he's like, have my baby come out here, and I have something for her. And I walked in, and he had the racing suit, the race car, like everything. Not messing around. Not messing around. Like, let's do this thing. Wow. Fun fact, at my shop, we have a racetrack in the backyard of the shop. We have 18 acres. And so we have a racetrack, a water truck, a water, like, where you fill the water truck up, a water tower. Really? Stuff like that. So, like, sheep's foot. What kind of track are we talking about? It's a circle. Okay. So that's steep and it's dirt. Most of the time clay mixed with dirt, right? Okay. And so. It was, like, later in the evening when he brought the car, and I was like, can I go race it? And we don't have lights around the track. It's just only during the day. Sure. There's no fence. It's just, like, pasture, racetrack. So what did he get? Like, what are you looking at? A junior sprint car. So tell me what that is. So a junior sprint car, like. Does it look like a. It has a wing on it. Okay. So it's a winged open wheel. Round tubing, chromoly tubing. Is this like a drift car, like drifting? So it has a big right rear on it and a small left rear. So two separate. So two separate sizes of like you're drifting essentially. Like all of your weight is on the right rear when you're going into the corner and then coming out. But it's not like the drift car with the massive fin on the back. No, no, no. It's like imagine like the wings are like this. You know what I'm saying? And then the nose is like that. So, but like the back isn't one solid piece. It's literally two different. Yes. Yes. Okay. So it's two different tires, which offset the, you know. Okay. So it's designed to take left turn. Yes. Yes. You do drift though? Yes. Okay. You drift. And then if your car is set up right, you'll straighten up. You know what I'm saying? So like, how did he even know where to like. I guess he knew somebody who had, like... Oh, yeah. The racing community is very tight-knit. Okay. So he knew who to call to get what he needed. Got it. And he knew exactly what he wanted to get me started in and stuff like that. And this thing, it was running? Like, the thing worked? Yeah, it's ready. Like, ready to go. Okay. And then, well, the colors and stuff weren't, you know, he bought it and it was black, I think. And then he got it painted purple with my name. Kicked it up a notch? Yeah, yeah. You know, made it perfect for me. And so we spent hours in the shop. I would sit in the race car. He was like, can you reach the pedals? You know, it's designed for me to drive it. Really tailored. And so you have to in the racing industry because you have to be comfortable to win races. And, you know, it's a whole thing. So he pulls in with this. Uh-huh. And you guys have a track at the house. Uh-huh. Did you guys like go straight to the track with it? No, because it was dark. He got home too late and he was like, well, tomorrow we can, you know, get you in it. I was like, okay. I was just like, yay. You know, this is awesome. And I fell in love with racing. I think that was my first. It's kind of like the metal cutting. I fell in love with racing like I did with my designing and cutting. You know what I'm saying? Yes, I do. And so then that just progressed into like. From the junior sprint, you go to a restrictor car, which is a larger car for, you know, it was like 12 or 13, I think. And those go 80. Why is it called a restrictor car? Because it's the middle. So, like, it's the junior sprint, then it's the restrictor, then it's the A-class, and then it's the outlaw. So the outlaw is, like, the top tier, fastest car, bigger wing, bigger engine. How fast are those outlaw cars? They probably go 100. In a circle. Yes. And there's 20 cars on the track. And you're drifting. And you're drifting. Which is more unpredictable. Yes. Than not drifting. Yes. You flip, you wreck, you all the things. Yeah. I mean, drifting is, they get people very good at, but can't say for certain. Yes. You don't know what's going to happen. You know, something can break and then you're in the wall. Yes. You know, but starting at a young age, I just got used to it. So I didn't jump in the car when I was 20 and think about all. the things that could happen I was six or nine can't remember which one not even knowing the risk yeah you know what I'm saying so I was just used to it by the time where I kind of got my wits of oh I could like literally break my neck yeah you know but things could happen still didn't care because I had you know well you're in it now yeah I love it I I you know wanted to dominate which i did a lot of the time not trying to sound you know it is what it is yeah i did very good um but then i retired about a year ago so tell me about the race career okay so when did you actually what so you guys got the car tailored up yes you know you're going to the track and stuff getting getting the reps in and at some point somebody says You want to do a race or let's go do a race? Oh, every weekend. Okay, so how old were you when you first raced? Did you have to be 16 to do this? No, I was six. Okay. Yeah, I think I was six or nine. I can't remember which one, but literally like little babies out on the track racing. And then they have go-karts, which you can be like four or five racing a go-kart. Really? I didn't know that. Yeah, so it's a big deal. Like the younger you start, usually the better you are, the older you get, right? Yeah. And so I was like six or nine, can't remember which one, that bothers me. And just going out there, like having to learn the flags, right? Green, red, yellow, white, black, the black flag, which means you're disqualified. Yeah. And I didn't know that. Was it ever directed at you? Yes, I got black flagged, absolutely. What happened? I went in the corner and the guy was in the way and I spun him out and kept going. Oh, we shouldn't have been there. I know. And then I got black flagged and I didn't know what that meant because they didn't teach me what the black flag was. And so I was not understanding why they were taking me off the track when the race wasn't over. And I get in the pits and I'm crying. Like, why did they take me off the track? That's not fair. And they're like, because you got disqualified for hitting someone and spinning them out. She almost killed that guy. Yeah. And they're like, I'm like, that's not fair. And I remember a guy brought me his name. His last name is Dacus. He brought me the sticker, and it was a black flag sticker. He's like, here you go. Put it on your car. You know, you got a sticker. You have been black flagged. The first junior sprint at that racetrack to ever get black flagged. Wow. Yeah. Hopefully they have a plaque somewhere. I know. I know. So when did you Ð I heard you earlier talking about it that you had concussions and things along the way, as happens. You know, in sports. Yeah. In general. But are there any events that sort of rattled you along the way? Absolutely. There was one wreck when I was in the restrictor car, which is the class between, you know, A-class and outlaw. Anyways. You said those can go 80 miles an hour. Yes. That's moving. It's fast, but it really doesn't feel fast when you're in the car because it's like slow motion. And everyone else is going the same speed. And everyone else is going the same speed. So you're like going into the corner. And then when you wreck, it's like, when is this going to stop? This is taking forever. Even though when you're watching it, it's like a quick action. But it's like when you're in the car, it's like time stands still. Do those wrecks tend to be just knots of cars? Like it's not just one person wrecking. It's like the field. Yes. And so I remember the worst wreck that I had, I was. coming past the flag stand and i was i think it was in third the race had just started it was a two-day show which means we're racing friday and saturday you're like this is a big deal you know to me when i was young i was like this is a two-day show i want to win both nights win the trophy whatever and i went in to that on that front straight away past the flag stand and so dirt gets like greasy clay does when you water it which it really turns into like black ice. Okay. From a slippery perspective. Yeah. So like when you hit it with your tire, like you can't control it because it's just. Are these treaded tires? Yeah. Yeah. So they're Hoosier tires, which have like, yeah, they're threaded and not threaded, but you know, threaded. I'm talking about metal, not threaded, treaded. Yes. And so I went into that corner. And I got too high up on the track because there was a wall all the way around it with, like, a catch fence, you know. And all I remember is driving, and I kind of, you're not supposed to glance over. You're just supposed to look forward, right? Like, don't look over, side to side, like, look forward. And someone was about to pass me, and I'm like, what? You know what I'm saying? It's never happened before. Who is passing me? And I glance over just slightly. and I got too high on the track, and I got in that greasy stuff I was telling you about and hit the wall. And the wall is like a magnet, so it sucks. Did your side of your car go up into it? The right rear, so the bigger tire, right? Got it. And it was right in front of the crowd, right in front of the stands. And I hit that wall. The greasy stuff slid me into the wall, and then it just, like, sucked me in. And I was always taught that, like, keep your foot in it. when you hit the wall, because you might be able to drive out of it. This time, that was not the case. So you're just grinding down. I'm trying to drive out of it, but as soon as I hit it, it sucked me into the wall, and then you have to flick your switches, which is your fuel switch. Fire reasons. Yes. Explosions. So you don't catch on fire. Right. And so I reached for the switches, because I knew it was flipping. And then I flipped 10 times down the front straightaway and got hit. Like, there's a bar that's at the back of your... head on the car and a car hit me boom right on the back of the bar and then like kept flipping me right this was the first night so i was like really irritated so you're you're like you're not inside of a car you're i mean you're exposed is that what you're saying no you are in the car there's a like it's not like a goat it's like a go-kart where you're pretty much that goes yeah but then there's sheet metal you know, around you, around you, but it's still really not that much coverage. That's why they call it open wheel because my arm could literally fly out of the car while I'm flipping, but you have arm restraints, which keep you from getting, you know, they're buckled into the seat and all the things. So you get drilled from behind. And then you have a Hans device, which hooks to your helmet. That way your, your neck doesn't break. Oh yeah. So it keeps you from like, Breaking your neck. Slamming forward. And so I flipped eight times, and then I landed on my top. So I was just hanging, right, with the belts. And that's the worst feeling ever. You're just like, you're sitting there, and it's like. Well, it's like, am I about to get drilled again? Yeah, yeah, uh-huh. And gravity is pulling you down. So, like, your head's, like, heavy. You know, everything's just, like, falling forward. Here I am. And I'm like, flip me over, you know, because they'll come out there. So you were awake for that? Oh, yeah. Okay. I didn't know if you've been KO'd. No, I didn't black out, surprisingly. I was just like, when is this thing going to stop? And I think the worst part about flipping that night was, and I was like 15. Are we talking cartwheels? I'm talking like nose to tail. Nose to tail. They got it on video. There's a video. I'll send it to you. That'd be good, dude. Concluded. Like, this sounds nuts. Yes. And to me, it was just normal, right? And the only thing that hurt was I was talking to the car. I was like, when are you going to stop? When is this, like, stop rolling, you know? And I bit my tongue. You did? I bit my tongue. That was the worst part. After all that. Yeah. And then I, and my mom's an RN. So anytime I'd flip, she would freak out and be like, don't move her. She could break her back. You know, like if you break your back, you're not, I think there are a lot of parents that would feel that. I mean, I'm not an RN and I'd, I'd feel pretty much the same way your mom probably did, which is like, Oh God. Yes. And I got out and I was just like, my immediate reaction was shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. And I kept saying it over and over and over again. Like in the lights were all beaming. to my eyes because I had a concussion, right, from that much trauma, you know, back and forth. And mom's like, okay, enough with that. Are you okay? I'm like, I'm fine. I'm just mad. I totaled my car and I want to race tomorrow. Well, that's what I was going to ask you when you were saying that. Were you like, shit, I'm freaked out, I'm scared, or I just wrecked my vehicle. I just wrecked my car. I'm mad. I don't get to race tomorrow. That's literally what made me mad. And so we had a spare car at the shop, and they went and got it so I could race the next day. How'd that day go? I flipped again. Really? But not as bad, just a little bit. How common is flipping? Very common. It is? Very common. And that's because primarily of the track surface, the way you can slip up into the wall? Well, most of the time it's cars colliding with each other that cause flips, right? So the whole wall situation was my bad. Yeah. You know, no one put me in the wall. No one hit me. I hit the wall. Okay. So it was totally my fault. But, you know, that was probably the worst flip I had in my whatever years of racing. That sounds like you got pretty lucky all things considered. Oh, yeah, for sure. And, of course, you know, when we do these things, we don't. necessarily always think about like that was you know like when's the next race yes you know so you said you you've retired from racing yes and uh you just feel like you'd run your course with it you're like or you're like i've gotten lucky long enough no so i moved from the sprint cars to a sport mod which sport mod is more it's a bigger car not big tires you know just like Is this a completely different style of racing? It's dirt track, but it's big cars, which means safer, less there's no flipping hardly, like more laid back, but still fast, you know, still aggressive. And I was racing at Enid Speedway, which is our racetrack in Enid, clearly. Yes. And my Pawpaw won a bunch of races there. So I kind of wanted to like make my mark locally, not really make my mark, but be able to. race on the same track that he did versus race at other tracks that he never raced at. And so I think it was my third night racing this car. Like I'd never raced a car like it. And I won the feature, which is like the big show. Really? And I beat. Were you expecting to win that? No, no, I was not. Papa actually told me, he said, just know you're not going to go out there and kick their butt. And he used a different word. Yeah. Because you haven't done this type of racing long enough. Like, you're not just going to go out there and dominate. And him saying that to me made me want to. Right. Yeah. He just locked the wind. He fueled the fire. And I'm like, oh, I can't win? And then I won. And he wasn't there that night because he was super sick. And I called him. I said, I won. He's like, you little shit. He was pumped. Yes. He was so excited. But he always tried to keep me humble, right? That way, like, you're really not, you know, you're not as good as you think you are, even though he probably thought different. He just wanted to keep me. Yeah, keep you motivated. Yeah, keep me motivated and level-headed and all the things. But I then, after I won that race, somehow, well, no, it was in the newspaper. We have 52,000 people in our town, which isn't too, we're the third largest town in Oklahoma. I mean, it is. Yeah, I mean, that's a lot of people. But I think there was a news article that went out locally, like the first female to win at Enid Speedway in 20 years or whatever it was. You know what I'm saying? And I was like, I didn't even know that. And then they did a whole story on it. Like they interviewed me and stuff like that. And then the big news channel. which was koco4 which is like the oklahoma news channel not just the enid called and did an interview and i was on the news and then daily mail picked up the picked up the story and did a story on daily mail and then i was like you know what this is a great note to end on really yeah because i couldn't do and papa passed away about a year ago okay and i my dad you know he's the one that Did the sport mod for me, rigged the car up. He's been in the racing industry also for years and years. But it's just Papa and I have this connection. And I was like, I can't do this without him. And it's not making me money. Yeah, I mean, if it's a drain on the money, it's like, well. Well, I wasn't ever buying a race car or purchasing things for it. But it's like. Do I put my focus into racing or do I put my focus into my business? Yeah. Which produces income. Was it hard for you to hang it up or are you kind of ready? I was ready, to be honest, because there comes a point in time like I'm engaged now and I never had a boyfriend. I met this guy, Taylor, and he. we just started hanging out on the weekends which is weird because I'm never home on the weekends you know and I was like you know what this is actually pretty nice to just be able to chill out on the back porch and hang out and not be like constantly moving because what I found is running a business and then on Friday night you know we got to rig this car up we got to go out we got to drive to Oklahoma City or Tulsa we got to do I'm like I can't Wait, no, we don't have to. We don't have to. Like, I don't have the energy for it. You know, plus with losing Pawpaw and stuff like that, it really caused a lot of like, okay, the reason I started my business, you know, the reason I'm racing, he's pretty much planted these roots for me and I have to figure it out. Like, I can't just go and do whatever I want. I have to get serious about this and build something for myself, you know. Okay. I mean, I don't want to say it wasn't like a grow-up time because grown-ups race. Oh, yeah. But it was a point of decision. Yes. Yeah. What's going to pay off in 10 years is racing, which I could have been picked up by, you know, some type of racing group or, you know, get paid to race. That could have happened. But the likelihood of that happening and the likelihood of Metal Fab picking up and being successful, which one seems more likely? Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yes. And I fell in love with Metal Fab just the way that I fell in love with racing. So. So it's kind of like I swapped. And I think they have different risk profiles, physically speaking. Absolutely. Yeah. And I enjoy loving what I do. And I'm getting paid to love what I do and carry on a legacy, right? Well, so we were talking earlier before we came in here about. And I'm so tired of saying these two letters. It almost makes me want to choke. But like AI. And I think at this point, you know, everyone's the wrong word. But a lot of people are using it at least personally to like, you know, what was the score here? Or how do I do this or that? You mentioned you were at an industry, you know, association meeting. You're involved in other ways. And how do you see AI kind of coming into your world, I guess, from a work perspective? So like I was saying out there, I think you went in here when we started talking about more stuff that we were going to talk about on the podcast. But I mentioned like using it for designing. Yes. I think you were out there. And so I type into chat GBT, which I use chat. I don't know anything about Claude or nothing about chat is like the only thing I know how to use. And I say, okay, you know, I need to draw this DXF file, which it can't do art, but it can do like simple things, which simple things pay the bills, right? And so I'll say, you know, design this, this, and that. And then I'll get off of it and open a new tab and I'll be doing something I've been needing to do. While this is doing something else. So it's almost like you're being double productive because chat is working over here on that different tab. And Emmy is over here working on this tab. And then the guys in the shop are out there working on whatever there is. You know what I'm saying? So I see it really being more time effective. Yeah. Making time. To work multiplier. Yes. And you're able to make more money. To be honest, like the amount of work that you used to have to do when you're sending an email, it doesn't cost you as much to send an email. You know what I'm saying? Yes, I do. You can take the information from the email, pump it into chat, say, hey, please summarize this for me. What do I need to know about this email? Do you kind of feel like in general, there's no reason not to be doing that? In general. I mean, there are fringe cases where it's like. I think that it's making things not as personable. For sure. I mean, I'm like, I like to hear your story. I like to hear my customer story. I like to be intentional when I'm talking to people. You know what I'm saying? And so I see it maybe making the world a little bit more. Transactional. Transactional and cold. Yes. And that's not in a bad way. I'm just saying, if someone's going to take the time to send you an email, how do you know if chat did it? Or did they sit down and take the time to write this email? Well, you know, on our phones, it says, or it'll say, excuse any errors or whatever. I wrote this on my, whatever, on my mobile or something like that. Say at the bottom, like, please excuse if this sounds nothing like me. And if it's impersonal, I'm just pushing through my work as fast as I can. Yeah. I had this written by AI. And sometimes, you know, there's cases where, like, let's say you have a customer that you interact with all the time. It's almost like the initial contact of, like, Shep. You and I are talking. We're sitting here talking. I'm not sending you an AI email saying, hey, this is what I do. This is who I am. But chat made that. You know, I don't know. I just can't wrap my head around it. I like having personal relationships with people to where I understand your story. I understand where you came from. I understand why you are the way you are. Right. And I'm not looking to take anything from you. I just want to. learn about people and make friends and you know what i'm saying yes not everything to me is like a transaction it's like oh i was able to quote this job for you you might have went with someone else but hopefully we can still be friends you know what i'm saying like i want to be able to walk into the grocery store and talk to you yeah even though you decided to go with someone else on building your fence Yeah. I mean, I'll never forget that you did that, but I mean, we still be friends. Yeah. And if it's transactional like that and you use AI and you're doing all these things and I just hate to see AI take over to where you're not having these one-on-one interactions with people because what's going to happen in 10 years when everyone's using AI and then they go to a conference and they don't even know how to interact. They're just like, oh, let me ask chat. Let me talk. bring chat up and then he'll answer for me you know what i'm saying like to me that's just like i feel like i feel like it's going to cause more social anxiety for people or something i don't know i i love it and i don't love it at the same time yeah well it's it's uh you know the idea of you know cognitive dissonance which is like you have these two concepts happening at the same time yeah which is ai could be this you know the cure cancer thing But it also could be this awful thing at the same time. Yeah. So it's kind of like, how do we reconcile those two things happening simultaneously? And how does this work? You know what I'm like, for real? Yeah. Where is this coming from? Like, is someone inputting this data? Someone has to be inputting. You know, it's like beyond my understanding of how they have all the answers. It's unreal. I don't get it. It's like a magic trick. It's unrealistic. I think through this, I'm like, maybe we're entering a good time, which is this age of authenticity, which is what you're talking about, which is in our work lives, we may be really leveraging AI to do a ton of stuff, which is going to create sort of a craving to see the real thing outside of work. I wouldn't be surprised if people, I just think as humans, When we see something that's fake, our antennas go up and it's a little uncomfortable. And so I think we'll just have to kind of live with that fact in a work environment that we sort of had this kind of unsettling feeling about things that we know have been generated. Yes. And we just we understand the pace of work has to stay at a certain speed now. Yeah. So we just kind of like, well, I guess that's not how it is here anymore. You know, people are just plowing through. Times are changing. Yeah. An immense amount of work. But outside of that, in our personal lives, I wouldn't be surprised to see all of a sudden wanting to go to a concert more. Or go see the real thing. Yes. What industries are going to pick up because people are tired of AI? You know what? Like you said, the concerts. Is there going to be more interaction with real life things now? Is it going to turn people away from using? You just don't know what it's going to do. I think that people who don't think about a play right now, going to a play right now, it may be really refreshing because you're watching it with your own eyes. This is happening right now. It's not fake. I'm not on TikTok watching this crazy video that's actually AI. I was thinking about that last night. I'm like, remember, which I'm young, but when you would get on Facebook if someone posted a video. it's an actual video of someone doing something. Right. You know what I'm saying? And I'm like, now I watch a video and I'm like, not so sure. Is that AI? And what's scary is. longer it goes the better it's gonna get yes you know so i'm thinking that is scary well i think there's a good part of that though which is now when you see somebody doing something incredibly stupid or something like that the assumption is like oh that's fake yeah you know before it was like oh that person's really doing that yes and so now people are going to be i may be overall healthy in a general sense that people are addressing social media with the predisposition or supposition that this is fake. Yeah. And it's on you to prove to me that it's real. 100%. It may be more healthy actually to come in with that. This is fake. Yeah. Which I don't get it. I'm like, I use AI for simple things, answer questions, curiosity. You know what I'm like? When I was here, I was like, what are some things to do in St. Louis? What did they say? And I was like, oh, well, you can go to this barbecue place, which it was called. It's like it was on the Food Network. What is it called? Pappy's. Oh, yeah. Amazing. It was so good. And I'm like, I wouldn't have known this if it wasn't for AI. It's like I used to live in St. Louis. Yeah. It's like I actually live here part time. And this is where you need to go. Well, I think that. I mean, it's unavoidable. It's just too damn helpful. Yes. So it would be interesting to see how, you know, in supply chains and what you're doing and what we're doing, how it sort of manifests itself. Absolutely. And it's either going to create less jobs or bring more jobs. I don't know which. Yeah. I don't know which. I think it's going to be kind of like, you know, losing weight, putting on muscle. It's like, you're going to take from here and add to here. Yeah. Like two different places, which is scary for me. I'm like, well, I know that blue collar workers are probably in the clear for a while at least, you know what I'm saying? But I'm thinking of like people with marketing degrees, people with website that do, which would be marketing, but like, all these other professions that people have specialized in for years and now ai just does it yeah so i feel bad for the people that went to school like if you have like a computer science degree yeah you just graduated i mean i'm not implying look there's a ton to do but it's not like it once was yeah and it's like will this make their career not pay as much but your pay you paid the school x amount of dollars right Because it projected that you'll make this. And now what are we going to go back and change this since we have AI now? Or do I still owe you this money even though I can't make that much anymore? You know what I'm saying? We all know the answer to that one. Yeah, yeah. Well, let me ask you this. How do people find you? And what's geographically how? I mean, you kind of do what the job calls for, but in general, I mean, is it kind of where you are or how do people find you, reach out to you? So locally speaking, Google. Google. But word of mouth, you know, take it to Emmy, take it to Emmy, take it to Emmy. I'm like, oh, my gosh. Love it. Love it. But sometimes my sanity is like, how am I supposed to fix this? I'm like. Oh, well, I guess I'll just do that. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, oh, my brain is constantly challenged, which I love it. But some days it doesn't want the challenging. It just wants simplicity, you know. But a lot of people find me on Google. I mean, you all found me on LinkedIn. I try to post on LinkedIn when I remember. Yes. I try to respond to LinkedIn messages when I remember. Because, like I said, the ADD kicks in and I'm like. oh, yeah, I should probably check my LinkedIn Messenger. And I look and I'm like, oh, my gosh, there's so many messages. Yeah, you know, I think that's hard for a lot of people, though. Yes. It's just not in the normal flow. No, it's not. And then Facebook, a lot of people find me on Facebook. But like I said, I'm still growing this thing. You know, I'm really working to find that niche, looking to find those partners that will help me grow. partners. That was the wrong word. We take that back. Let me take that back. I don't want any partners, but like, you know, financial partners don't want that. I'm just saying like people to mentor me, right? Tools that will help grow the company. Like y'all systems of where I can literally get on my phone and work up a quote for metal and get it shipped to me. You know, like that blew my mind. I had no idea. And that's. a way to grow because it's more time. Your time is not spent calling Joe Blow and saying, Hey, I need a price on some two by two square tubing. And then he's like, Oh yeah, we don't have that. I'm going to have to call this player and see how much it is. And I'm like, yeah, this just became something. Okay. And he's like, I'll call you back. And I'm like, all right. And then I'm waiting and he still doesn't call me back. And I have to call him like, Hey, do you have that price yet? And then he's like, Oh, I forgot. And I'm like, I'm trying to get this quote in. You know what I'm saying? So what you guys offer is going to save me so much time. Well, jump on there. Yeah. I'm excited. And the app and everything, that's just like great. I'm excited. It's an extremely useful tool. Yeah. And yeah, I hope that it succeeds for you because when you're buying, I mean, I was a buyer. exactly what you just described, which is I sent the inquiry, and it just doesn't come back as quickly as you want. No, and it might be the wrong thing, too. It could be the wrong thing. It could be the wrong thing, and I'm like, okay, so was this the price for the 2x2 16 gauge? Oh, no, this is 2x2 eighth inch. That's not what I needed. That's literally not what I asked for. That's literally not what I asked for, and I've waited all day to get that answer. So should I double that? You know, like, then you're... of losing money because of it's kind of like when you hear something like let's say they said well Shep stubbed his toe and then I tell Rachel that and then Rachel tells Joe Blow that and then Joe Blow comes back and tells someone else by the time it gets to you It's probably you ripped your toenail off. You didn't stub your toe. You know what I'm saying? It just goes through so many faucets of people. Do you think there's somebody named Joe Blow somewhere? I don't know. If I picked up the white pages. Joe Blow. Maybe. I'm not going to have to check that out. Maybe, yeah. Ask chat. I'll ask chat. Yeah. They'll say yes. Yeah. Well, maybe. I'm like, okay, show me their LinkedIn. Get him on the podcast. Get him, like, right now. Yeah. He needs to be here, like, yesterday. I need a full interview transcript right now. For sure. For sure. Well, I'm going to wrap up by saying, Emmy, thank you for coming in. It's been really fun talking to you. Yes. Learning about your experiences. And EH Metalworks, where they can find you at LinkedIn, Facebook, Google. Yep. For anything metals. Yes. If you need this piece of metal bent or connected to that piece. Yeah. Or laser cut. Or laser cut. Plasma cut. Anything. And we ship. We're capable of shipping. Yes. And if there's anything that, if anyone's listening to this and you have any ideas maybe to throw at me based on like, oh, if I was you, maybe you should look into doing this. I am open to. as much you know guidance guidance as I can get awesome well thank you very much yeah thank you I thank you for the stay and everything St. Louis has been like I said very interesting good great good all right