10-10-24 Morning Rush - Hurricane Milton Updates & An Interview With Co-Founder of Fazit Beauty About The 'Taylor Swift Effect' & A Golden Bachelorette Horror Story!

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Welcome to the rush hour, your daily dose of pop culture for your rush hour ride, buckle up and enjoy the drive with your host, stand up comedian, Dave Neal. Good morning everybody on this Thursday, October 10th, 2024. I've got all of your pop culture. Pop culture news in one place. But first we have updates from several people stuck in Florida that aren't evacuating due to the catastrophic hurricane Milton, a story gripping the nation as one sailor refuses to give up his boat.

Plus California is suing Tik TOK. I'll explain why. And a golden bachelorette contestants, wicked restraining order involves some very heavy accusations. I'll share pieces of that with you. Also, I've got an interview with the co founder of the Glitter Freckle Company that has exploded due to Taylor Swift featuring their product.

If you're an entrepreneur, if you're a content creator, if you want some motivation for any of those reasons, you're going to need to listen to this great podcast. Conversation we had. So I got all those stories and more coming up next on the rush. Have you heard of the waffle house index? Well, it is at level red says founder and former FEMA administrator, Craig Fugate.

It's what's used to see how bad a storm actually is based on how many waffle houses are closing down. It might sound trivial, but you know, the, the, this is kind of a. Really good indicator of how bad it is on the grounds, Craig, you, of course, famously created the Waffle House Index, which is, I guess it may be an unscientific if I can use that term metric of a severity of the storm based on how many Waffle Houses have decided to close.

This brings us all the way back to 2011. And I wonder what the Waffle House Index is telling you. If anything, yet in advance of this storm, what color are we at? Red Waffle House is getting ready. They're shutting down most of their, uh, uh, restaurants in the heart forecast and hard hit areas. And, you know, Waffle House is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for them to close is extraordinary.

And they're also a good indicator of when the disaster is over, how recovery is going because many cases that I've seen Waffle House will be open before anybody else and their philosophy of show up and get open really depends upon the roads being open. Uh, infrastructure starting to come back. And it's a good indicator that things are starting to stabilize and we're starting to move into that recovery.

Now, just so you guys know, today's a travel day for me as I'm flying to Boston, I've got my standup show tomorrow night in Rhode Island. Of course, all of tickets for sale. You can hit me up on Instagram, uh, on Friday night. But because of that, I'm recording this episode a few hours early. I normally record around midnight.

It's 10 PM my time, central standard time. So just so you know, no, this is not live in the morning for your up to date information, go check out a reliable news source. So vice president Kamala Harris actually called into the weather channel to give critical info regarding those evacuating. And, you know, a lot of people didn't want to evacuate because they might not have been able to afford to.

And she's basically saying. No one better be jacking up prices and you're going to get, you know, you covered, just get out of harm's way. Our federal, federal resources, you are entitled to receive without condition. And there are resources that are available to you to deal with what you need right now to, for example, get money, to be able to fill your prescriptions and deal with a hotel expense and help you recover over the longer term.

The other point I would make is this, and I've done this work in my career. Sadly, there are some folks who during the moment of a crisis will be very predatory and start jacking up prices like gasoline or hotels, um, or airlines, um, to, to take advantage of the desperation people are experiencing. So to anybody who's thinking about jacking up those prices, those companies that are thinking about doing it, know that we are monitoring.

And we're watching, and if there is that kind of price gouging, that there will be a consequence for that. All right. Yep. And don't forget, Kamala's got her Glock. So be careful. No, but all seriously, but all seriousness, uh, you know, uh, it's sad that companies do that. And yeah, there are laws against price gouging in, and of course in times of need, but you know, those aren't always enforced.

So, uh, I hope our government will make sure that people are taking care of people. This is where you don't want capitalism. This is where you want to make sure you're preventing companies and corporations and whatnot from taking advantage of those in need. Here's one family in need. They're called the Hartig family.

They're going viral on Tik TOK. They've decided not to leave. Uh, here's what they had to say on inside edition. Eight year old Ashley Harding and her husband are staying put in her home in Sarasota with their three Children. You've decided to hunker down and wait out the storm. Why? The highways were packed.

They're running out of gas. The there's nowhere to go. Hotels are booked. So I felt safer in my own home. She showed me how the family plans to survive the storm. We're starting to put them all over the house, covering every window. This is actually our master bedroom, and since the hurricane So they're covering the windows with metal and all of that, so, uh, look, I mean, not everyone is in an evacuation zone, which is, you know, people need to know and take care of, you know, uh, their families in the best way they can, and sometimes that means not being vulnerable if you're stuck on a highway somewhere.

I just wish we I wish the country was in a place where nobody had to worry about whether or not they could afford a hotel. You know, With the way technology is, we should just be able to disperse funds immediately to families that need it. And it's like, okay, so what if the family doesn't use that 500 to go stay at a hotel for three nights?

Then they get an extra 500 because they're in a, in a flood zone. I don't know. You know what I mean? It's not, everything's fair. Some people get some money. Uh, forgiven on student loans. Some people get helped out in a hurricane. Like not everything has to be even Steven. Like it's almost like we're in a giant family.

Not everything gets treated evenly, but what I would love is if our country could come together and protect its own. Now there is a man going viral on Tik TOK because he refuses to leave his boat in Tampa. God knows how he is doing right now. You remember Lieutenant Dan, the guy who's gone viral, who's Um, in this sailboat.

He, he's still here, Nicole. Everybody's worried about you. Who's worried about me? It's all over TikTok. Everybody, like across the, like across the country. So these are news organizations coming up to him. The mayor tried to get him to leave his boat. I'm gonna go live in a minute. The mayor in her press conference said that they, they came and got him and took him to a shelter, but it's like so weird she said that because he is still in the boat.

I mean, I just saw, His hand sticking out, uh, like a couple of minutes before this live shot. I have a secured anchor point. I'm tied to the boat. If the tide goes up, I go up. As long as the water stays out of the boat, I'll be fine. And I'm the one, I'm the black sheep, I'm the one that does what I And look, I, I respect the, the fearlessness of this man.

I just hope he's going to be okay. He doesn't want to leave his boat because if he doesn't have his boat, he becomes homeless. Like this is everything he owns. And it's just so sad because a GoFundMe has been set up for him. I'll actually let the TikTokers explain because some people are accusing some TikTokers of taking advantage of him.

But there has been a GoFundMe set up for him to donate funds to make sure he can go stay in a hotel and ride this out. But I guess he just doesn't want to do that. Everyone. I just want to come on here and explain what's going on with Lieutenant Dan. And I've been, he's seen a lot of comments, a lot of misinformation out there.

So I just want to come on here and set all the facts straight about what's going on. My name's Terrence. I'm the one that started this whole Lieutenant Dan thing. I've been filming him, making all the videos with him. I stayed with the last hurricane with him, checked in on him, made sure he was okay. And so I just want to, you know, answer some questions that people have been asking me.

I've been seeing it on Twitter or whatever, everything about him. So Dan is not leaving the boat for the hurricane. He is staying on that boat. There has been many attempts to get him off this boat. People have offered houses, hotel rooms, apartments. He will not leave. So for all the people saying, get him a hotel, you're trying to get him to stay on the boat.

We have all tried to get him to leave. The mayor, Tampa police, me, a bunch of other people. He will not leave guys. So do not put that on me. He's a grown man. At the end of the day, he makes his own decisions. He's I set him up to go fund me and all that money is going to him a hundred percent of the money.

He has no bank account, no ID, so it is tricky right now getting him the money, but he will get all that money. Now the reason they call him Lieutenant Dan is because he's a, he's a one legged man and uh, look, uh, we'll give updates on how it goes. I hope he's okay, even if his boat gets wrecked. But as long as he survives, there will be GoFundMes to support him.

We'll get him a bigger boat. He's going to be okay so much as. If he can ride this thing out. Well, we have a great interview to bring your way and it is the co founder of a company going super viral after Taylor Swift put them on the map. We'll have that for you next. As you know, we reported on the Taylor Swift effect.

Taylor Swift can literally change the economies of towns when she visits them. Well, something wild happened on Monday night where she wore the glitter freckles of a company that was started this past year, co founded by a lady named Elliot Buttleman. Well, she joins me right now to talk about what has happened to her small business since the Taylor Swift effect.

took place on Monday night. How has this week been for you after the biggest pop star of all time wore your product on her face? Two days ago now we had somebody who follows us on our face at beauty Instagram account message us and say, Hey, I think Taylor Swift freckle patches. And obviously was a little confused.

I guess it was confused, but we did send to her makeup artist four months ago. Um, so I guess maybe that would make sense, but we turned on the TV and checked my phone and every media outlet was covering her outfit as soon as she walked into the Arrowhead Stadium. And I'm sure as everyone saw me crying of a video that has 5 million views now.

Uh, we were, you know, so emotional, um, really just to have. You know, Taylor, the number one influencer and icon of our generation, be validating the hard work that we've put into our brand over the last two years. Yeah. Isn't that amazing? Now your reaction was so like organic, but also such gold for, for, for the internet, because that's how I actually saw at first was that video.

And then you explained later on how it all went down. So, I mean, who's filming you and like, how are you even digesting that? Cause you're right. She is the biggest influencer in the world. She took two weeks off of not being at the game. So this was kind of a big story that she was coming back. It really was kind of an amazing moment.

Um, yeah. So, um, You know, my I live with my fiance and he's been through a lot of the highs and lows of our business over the last two years. And I think now he's realizing when there are certain special moments to try and capture them just for the memory bank. So He was actually filming me crying as I'm reading the news and, um, I should hire him as our full time social media manager now because he killed it.

Unbelievable. Yeah. What a, what a great, uh, test that he passed there. You know, it's like they have, when I've seen this happen on, on TV shows that usually the director will be in someone's ear going moment, moment, moment. And it's like that moment where everyone has to make sure you're getting this. And it was really such an organic, uh, uh, You know, I guess, I guess what it was, it was a validation for all the hard work you've put in.

Right? Exactly. Yeah. I mean, it's funny because he was like, don't post that. Don't post that. It's just like, you know what? I have nothing to lose. I'm just going to throw up like a natural raw reaction. Um, you know, it obviously has turned into something much larger. And it, and it obviously wasn't like a shot in the dark.

Your company, I think I saw was featured in urban outfitters and, you know, tell me about the come up from the, I have an idea to, wow, let's actually try to do this. Uh, what was, what was that entrepreneurial spirit all about that got you into this? Yeah, so my partner and I, Nina, we've been working on FACEIT for about the last year and a half, two years.

We started out with skincare patches and segued way into makeup patches. So using patches as the format of applying both skincare and makeup. Before Taylor amplifying this product for us and obviously amplifying our business on a national stage. You know, we have had many viral moments on social media.

We launched our makeup patches during Coachella weekend, immediately sold out and went viral. We're nationwide at Urban Outfitters. We're rolling out into a massive, uh, retailer come November next month. So a lot has been building upon this moment. So it's funny from an entrepreneurial mind. Everyone now is very excited about the brand and obviously congratulating us, but we've been working to get to this point.

Nothing actually happens overnight. We sent to Taylor's makeup artists in May when we launched the product. Um, I'm not sure if that's who gave it to her. She bought it on her own. We've also had a strategy in place to send to all of the chiefs wags. So we definitely have had a strategy in place to make sure that phase it is surrounded, sorry, that Taylor is surrounded by phase it.

Yeah. You know, it's, there's such an industry that we saw blow up last year with a lot of the, with the NFL partnering with one of the wives of a player. Uh, when it comes to a lot of the, uh, you know, alternative fashion, redesigning jerseys. And I mean, Taylor's really, you know, she has just had a sort of a trail of economic boom wherever she touches.

And for, for something so simple as her deciding to put on some, you know, glitter freckles, which is a term I've never, it's probably trending out there. I've never said glitter freckles in my life. Now it's, you know, I think with entrepreneurs, a lot of times before someone endorses it, like Taylor Swift, a lot of times, you know, people don't believe in what you have.

Did you face resistance when, with the idea? Like, no, no, no. People are going to want to wear fake glitter freckles. Like the idea itself sounds. Yeah. No, totally. As an entrepreneur and as, you know, a business owner, I've had a few other companies, you know, a lot of the journey is knocking on people's doors and convincing them on this idea and how it's actually going to change their business as well.

And nobody believes you until it's almost too late for them to take that chance. So we've definitely encountered that along the way. And I understand, I mean, from a retail perspective, uh, or even from a customer perspective, you want that outside validation. If I'm going to spend my money on this product, like I want to know that other people love it too.

And likewise for retailers, they make a big investment bringing on new brands and they want to know that they can sell through. We've never had a problem selling through. I mean, Urban has been so successful for us being able to launch into 180 of their doors, which is nationwide. All their Urban Outfitters has been amazing.

So it's now so great that, you know, now that Taylor says, you know, I love Glitter Freckles. Everyone's quoting mean girls as everyone else wants glitter freckles now. So TMZ posted an article. I read it on yesterday's podcast that glitter patches see 2, 500 percent spike in sales. What's life like for you and for the company right now?

Oh my God. Well, let me like pull up actually like real statistics right now in front of my laptop. Yeah. We've had a 2, 500 percent increase in sales over the last 48, eight hours. Um, So thankful for my team who was ready for this. I know that the swift effect has, you know, been able to move mountains for other small businesses.

And a lot of times they do sell out not anticipating this response, but we've had so many viral moments. We have a team manufacturer distribution center, social media team, everyone's working around the clock, um, trying to keep up with all of this, but we also have, have had the infrastructure Ready for a moment like this.

So I'm definitely sleeping and eating less than I was 48 hours ago. But, um, it's really all about, you know, taking advantage of this moment with our company and really milking it for as long as possible. Yeah. You know, uh, I think that's how a lot of companies work, right? You'll have these giant boosts of sales and new opportunity.

You know, inevitably will plateau and then the next thing will come along. But I think what you've proven is like, put yourself in the right position to have luck strike. And that of course came from you putting your brand out there on social media. I mean, it's really, uh, you're, you're what's happening to you right now is like a textbook chapter for marketing.

Uh, you know, with with products that you might not have the ability and the funds to compete with, you know, getting, you know, product placement in vogue or paying for, you know, whatever, but you're able to do it through what really matters, which is getting getting in the right hands of people that can move product.

Yeah, exactly. So anyhow, I'm, I'm going to be following you. Um, I, I don't know, maybe I'll be wearing glitter patches on the show. So we'll have to see if it helps. We have a team spirit collection. So we have red, purple, orange, and blue. So if you support a team that that's their color. I think, I think everyone's going to be wearing these two game days and tailgates.

It's been exciting. We've had an immense response from the sports community, reaching out, every retailer reaching out. It's, it's been a whirlwind of, of 48 hours. What was the big, what was the big one? Uh, can you name any big retailers that want to work with you or has anyone even tried to buy the company?

Uh, uh, yes and yes. Uh, can't say too much about either of those. Don't sell, do not sell. Yeah, say it louder for the people in the back. If anyone's wondering, my advice, keep that equity. It's, it's gold. Yes. Yes. I mean, it's, we've been completely bootstrapped. We had a friends and family investment two years ago, but you know, we've been able to cashflow phase it, which we're really impressed by ourselves for doing that.

And, and even today with these, Insane orders and insane retail orders were able to keep up. Um, and then retailers, we have a drug store, um, launching into about 1800 stores come November, but this was pre Taylor. Um, but very thankful to Taylor to help us sell through with that first retail partner. And very lastly, what any advice for young women out there that are looking to leap into an entrepreneurial sort of idea and they're afraid to take that jump?

Any advice? Yeah. Um, what I would tell my younger self is just do it. I really proud of this generation because they're not afraid to put themselves on social media and make these silly little videos that can potentially turn into a career for them. So just keep doing it. Don't be embarrassed. Um, your friends are gonna be really jealous later on.

Um, sacrifice. There's a lot of sacrifices that go into being an entrepreneur. So having with the stomach for that. Don't take no for an answer and don't let rejection kill you because there's just so much rejection along the way. Um, you just have to keep pushing and manifestation is also really real. Oh, I, I agree with that.

I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with me today and uh, thanks again and good luck. The sky is the limit for you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Well, that was a fun, inspiring conversation. We'll have more to get to before we're done here. Let's just take a quick word from our sponsors.

We'll be back right after this. Let's go to California for a quick update on why they and a dozen other states are suing the social media giant Tick Tock. Have a listen. State of California today is announcing a lawsuit against TikTok. We're filing in state court. We're bringing claims based on our false advertising law and our unfair competition law because TikTok has intentionally and deliberately, um, manipulated and hurt knowingly, um, young people through its platform.

It has promoted, uh, excessive and addictive content. use by design, uh, of our children, uh, through its, its different features from autoplay and infinite scroll to its likes, to its beauty filter. I think there are parents throughout this state and this nation who are rightfully worried about their children's future.

Mental health, uh, their safety, their wellbeing, uh, because of the use, uh, of social media and its ubiquity, its omnipresence. I got to tell you, tic tac is weird in the sense that even when you don't choose a filter, it cleans up your face. It literally, the no filter is still airbrushing your face. You look good on it.

Now, as far as how addictive it is, it's like, look, I don't know if we can compare a tick tock to Snapchat. I think we need to have the same conversation across the platforms about ways to police the algorithms to kids. Absolutely. Now I, I've talked a lot about this and I'm planning on not letting my kids be a part of that.

I want them to be kids. It sounds so archaic to say that, well, what if all their friends are doing it? Well, I think, I think my generation now we're realizing how addictive this stuff is and we're coming to the conclusion that because it's so addictive, We can do a better job of trying to understand like in a community setting how to overcome it.

In a way, because it is just absolutely wild out there. I actually have another clip I can share with you guys about how addictive social media is, and to put less blame on the kids and more on us as adults, we can't control the addiction. How often did I look at my mom wanting her attention? And instead I saw the back of her phone zero.

How often does my kid. They want time with me, because they say something on the surface that seems minor, but it's actually just the beginning of an unraveling story that leads to them being left out, that they actually really want to figure out with me, and instead I'm on my phone. If I'm honest, like a decent percentage of the time.

And so if we're not so available for those deeper, synchronous connections, because we're on our phone, it's not just about modeling behavior. Our kid then, they're not getting what they need, and then they learn to turn to what seems to be soothing. Hey, that's what it comes down to. How can we fix the problem with our kids when we're all addicted junkies ourselves?

And we can, we can start to, you know, go out with friends and say, Hey, let's do no phones or no devices. If you need to go check something, just go to the bathroom, whatever, you know, but at least we can start having those conversations. Now, very quickly, we have this wild story. I'm going to be covering this on YouTube today.

Extremely unstable, Golden Bachelorette star Guy Gansert's ex claims he threatened to shoot her in recent request for restraining order. So we already shared the information that this restraining order came in after they did background checks on this current season. And the reason why this has been such a big deal is that the recent bachelorette, Jen Tran.

Her winner on the season, Devin, who they had since broken up, had a pretty horrific restraining order against him. And it's like, how did it, how did that slip through the cracks? Well, this just happened recently, but he's a retired doctor and in text messages, they say he flips to anger and the X alleges that he has done some pretty crazy things, followed her and, you know, was attempting to possibly put a tracking device on her car.

Uh, we call that pulling the Colton Underwood. Uh, but I'm going to read all of the remarks, but I'm not, and I'm not saying I want to take this with a grain of salt, I'm taking this seriously, but it was published in the U S sun, which does publish hot garbage. I'm assuming these quotes that they're pulling are from the restraining order and they've been signed off by the judge.

I don't think that this is a permanent restraining order. It could just still be temporary, which means there will be a trial or he'll just agree to it and move on. Either way, we'll be here to cover it as it goes down. I know you guys might be expecting a golden bachelorette recap. I don't have that for you yet.

As I mentioned, I'll be traveling very busy, uh, but just know it will be coming. I'll have extra content for you on Patrion today. If you want to catch my driving with Dave weekend episode, you can go actually check that out in the description. Now on Patrion, I'll have the private link for you there. And I appreciate all the support we've had.

Uh, it's going to be a busy day for me, but I'll be back as always this afternoon with another episode of the rush. The rush hour is a twice daily pop culture and entertainment news podcast hosted by standup comedian, Dave Neal lives too short for a boring ride. So join Dave as he covers the top news stories of the day.

Don't be caught clueless at the water cooler. The rush hour with Dave Neal features all the viral TikToks and podcast clips you need to hear. Plus, feel good stories and some motivational stuff too. A perfect compliment for your commute. Featured in Time Magazine, Washington Post and Us Weekly. Get your rush hour on today.