Standard H Podcast. Conversations about the lives of entrepreneurs and people growing businesses. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/standardhpodcast/support
You can listen to the podcast by hitting play above or you can watch the episode via the video below!
Introduction:
I first heard about Workshop 5001 from one of Henry Catchpole’s YouTube videos. Subsequently, I reached out to its founder, Marlon Goldberg, about coming on the podcast. As a preliminary conversation, I dropped by his shop for a proper introduction where he gave me a tour of what they work on, as well as chat a little bit about watches.
This conversation echoes some of that, as well as introduces things like his early desires to be a jazz saxophonist, and even a bit about his boxing workouts.
We discuss the cars in his garage as well as what isn’t getting the attention it deserves. I round things out by asking Marlon how he defines luxury. All of this and more in this week’s episode!
I recently started doing some of these episodes with a cold open, however, this episode commands a bit of a backstory.
Many of you are familiar with Matt Bain as he is certainly one of the original Vintage watch dealers in the world still working today. He has sourced some of the finest pieces the community has ever seen and he’s widely known among the top collectors in the world.
For me, however, it was back in 2009 when I first met Matt. I was working at James Perse in Malibu, when in walks this gentleman who I could tell was not a local resident. As I began to ask him questions to get to know him a little bit, he told me he sold watches. For example, Ralph Lauren, and more specifically, the RRL store around the corner was one of his accounts. I had seen the odd vintage Rolex submariner in their case lines before, but I guess I just didn’t realize it was being sourced by someone outside of the company. This was around the same time that I started reading Hodinkee as well as writing my own fashion & lifestyle blog, Screaming Mouth.
Matt told me he went by “Watch Commander,” so I continued to check his website off and on for years to come. I didn’t see Matt again until last year in Miami when I attended the Antique Show for my first time. I walked up to his booth, re-introduced myself, basically explaining to him that there’s no way he would remember me, but we had met some 15+ years ago. Matt actually said that he indeed recalled that meeting, and we started chatting immediately. I kindly requested that he come on the show, and here we are roughly a year later. As many of you know, I returned to Miami a few weeks ago, and fresh off of my red eye flight, I took an Uber over to Matt‘s office where we recorded this conversation.
Matt has amazing taste not only in watches but in cars as well. I was beyond excited to sit down with him as he’s been someone I’ve looked up to from afar for over a decade, so this was a special one for me.
Matt and I talk about his early days as a dealer, his affinity for Art, the best investment he ever made, as well as his furniture business, which I’m not sure many of you know about, and course we touch on his car journey as well.
This one was a long time coming, so I hope you enjoy it.
Pit Stop Episodes are here to offer insights into STANDARD H, production information, product releases, updates, and any other behind the scenes information about the brand. These are recorded on Instagram Live where real-time questions can/will be answered. Thanks for watching!
This episode is one of those that's been a long time coming. Jacek Kozubek, perhaps better known for his watch dealership, Tropical Watch, is someone I've been getting to know more and more over the last several years since he moved here to San Diego from the Bay Area. Heavily serving the vintage Rolex market, Jacek also dabbles in some other areas of watches, most notably the precious stone variants it seems of late. More on that as well as his relentless pursuit of speed in cars that might just scare his passengers if he's not on a race track!
Blake and I return with a preview of this year's F1 Season. He and I discuss the 5 teams who've debuted their liveries thus far. We start by catching up which leads into our plans to attend Watches & Wonders. Stay tuned for several sidebars into some fashion talk and Lewis Hamilton's non-alcoholic beverage.
Links:
STANDARD H
@standardh_
The Deep Track
@thedeep_track
To continue down the road of repeat guests, John Ferrer joins the podcast today for his second time. This was a really great representation of the types of conversations I often have with other business owners. John has always been someone with whom I enjoy talking shop, as he always has something poignant to say, while also being relatable. I highly respect the business he’s built with Brew Watches, and I look forward to him continuing to be a guest in the future. This conversation is fairly heavy on business talk, a little bit about watches, and a little more about cars, so I hope you enjoy it.
Links:
STANDARD H
@standardh_
Today I welcome back Shinoo Mapleton, the Lotus Guru from Episode 23. It’s been almost 6 years to the day since that episode, which is so hard to believe - We have both moved locations, our brands have shifted and grown, and Shinoo shares how his company, Inokinetic, is evolving still with the addition of Porsche maintenance. Shinoo is an incredibly fun person to talk to - not only is his enthusiasm infectious, but I always seem to learn something from him, and I never know what it’s going to be. Per usual, we left even more on the table this time, so I feel like we’ll just have to bring him back sooner than later.
Links:
STANDARD H
@standardh_
Links:
STANDARD H
@standardh_
Tim Green and I first connected over Instagram and later cohosted an event at London-based Subdial, the growing pre-owned watch dealership. You may be familiar with his watch drop videos on YouTube, an exploratory look at some of their weekly inbound inventory. Tim has had a storied history in England as both a watch collector and automotive aficionado - he jokes many car dealers know him by name. We discuss the revolving door of owning both categories, and his constant pursuit of perfection. Tim recently purchased not one, but two Porsches, and we also discuss wha might be his perfect three-watch collection. All of this and more with Mr. Tim Green.
Links:
STANDARD H
@standardh_
SubDial
@subdialwatches
@_timgreen_
This is the second half of the conversation. If you'd like to hear the first half, head over to Pare Pare Podcast on Apple Podcasts to check it out! Otherwise, here's part 2! Happy Holidays, everyone, and thank you for listening!
Links:
STANDARD H
@standardh_
I first started following Toby Bateman when he joined Hodinkee during COVID. His selfies have always brought a smile to my face even though he describes them as “grumpy,” and his watches are a classic approach to design that I certainly appreciate. I was eager to speak with Toby about his various CEO roles at extremely different companies: HODINKEE was obviously watch-based, Vollebak - an incredibly tech-centric apparel brand, and now Mr. Porter, the menswear site he actually helped launch in 2011. This conversation is very heavy in fashion and watch talk. We chat about running Holiday promotions, approaches to our own personal style, and we even touch on a couple of cars in his life. We both looked down and realized an hour and twenty minutes went by, so it’s fair to say this was an effortless discussion and I hope to host Toby again. I hope you enjoy it.
Links:
STANDARD H
@standardh_
Toby Bateman
@tobybateman
Mr. Porter
@mrporter
@mrp