The Boys

S1:E21 Our Friend Hassan

• Jeremy Rice • Season 1 • Episode 21

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If there's one thing for sure, we love people, and EVEN MORE connecting people we love with eachother.  So one of the things we want to do more with our podcast is connect people that we love, with our listeners, and continue the love-athon spreading the JOY even more.  This week, we sat down with Hassan Rahimi, a true light in our community, not to mention an incredible master of beautiful rugs! This man knows his rugs, and he should being a 6th generation of his family involved in the rug industry!  We discussed him coming to our country post 9/11, setting roots, the courage it took,  and raising his family here, including a heart tugging story of his daughter and St. Jude, and the power of listening to your gut.  OH, and of course we make fun of eachother along the way.

Check Hassan out at his graceruggallery.com
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jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Yesterday, Dwayne, you didn't get to enjoy what Stuart walked into when he walked into the store. It was, um, full blown madness and bitching two steps into the door. And evidently, it sounds like it was like that this morning when you walked up there again. You know, what else can you do?

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

look he won the empire shitting all

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Oh, well, um, so Hassan, Hassan is already on here with us. He can see us and hear us. We just or see him yet,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

well thank god I didn't say anything about his son you're always Which I wouldn't by the way, so we love you. Um, it's like the incidents. Hassan, you didn't. I think, I think the boys know this. Um, I had a, a bunky iPhone about six years ago and I think I'm going to death and I think the, the microphone was twerking, well you couldn't hear. And every phone call I put it on, um, speaker phone. And because I put it on speakerphone, I was in the car with somebody and pick up the phone and the client's driving me around. And, as soon as I pick it up, I put it on speakerphone and the drapery fabricator, she said, that old cow, all she does is just drive around, play tennis and act like she's got a big life. And she just talked about her and talked about her, how bad this person was. Well, I'm in the car with said person and my client's hearing how the fabricators talk about her and how ugly she is and how bad she is. So of course that didn't go well. You know, so long story is if you ever put something on the speakerphone, I always go, well, I got you on speakerphone. So the point that this one now revert back to Jeremy, it's like, oh, by the way, Jeremy or Dwayne, I know you don't see Hassan, but he's on on here and can hear everything you can say. You could have told me that fool, but I'd never seen anything about Hassan.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

as soon as you got on.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

honey, I was talking. I talked for seven minutes.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

I supposed to do? Send you smoke signals?

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

it's on. Are you there?

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

You can't hear him, but he's there. I

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Well, how am I having a conversation

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Why can't we hear him?

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

You're getting ready to once I get him

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Oh,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Well, wait. See, again, you know these words? Okay.

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

shit.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

exactly like it did when we had Paxton home on. Ha,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

I was late that day. And so, I didn't know what was going on. Okay, let's go. Let's talk to Sasan. That's Didn't he say his name?

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

do some, we have to do some banter before we get him on, so I

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

We have been bantering for five minutes. don't know what you

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

talked about poop. We've talked What

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Oh,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

banter do you want today?

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

okay, okay, okay, okay. Hold on, give me one second, Hassan. I'm gonna

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Lord. Mercy.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

There he is.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

I like everything whoa, hallelujah,

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Oh my Lord.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Hi.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Hello?

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Technology worked, Wayne. What do you know?

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Hey, Jeremy said you, um, I don't know if this is fair, so you know, I have garbage in my mouth. You might be a little nervous walking into this. Was that a true story? did he read you

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

it was. Um, but I think, um,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Did you not,

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

I'll be okay.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

did you realize it wasn't live and, you know, you're not going to get in trouble and uh,

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Yes, yes, that's exactly what it was.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

He's like, oh,

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

him last by the way, I don't know if Dwayne told you this but it's you know It's recorded and we can even edit some so, you know, if

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Oh, that's awesome. That's even better.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

you

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

what you don't know. Yeah, you don't know. I probably, not good for me to ever be live on anything because I have Tourette's and I have screamed out things that are inappropriate and got in trouble. So Jeremy's learned. Yeah, we'll record it. Nothing live So

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Yeah.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Well, we all need some editing afterward, I guess.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Okay, boys, let's talk about Hassan. Have you ever even spent any money with him? Have you given this man any money? Because if fuckers haven't, you have to edit that. See, you can't

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Well, why don't, why don't we

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

wife, my wife got mad at me because she was listening to the podcast. I dunno if I told you this guys, she was listening to the podcast. Uh, and I really don't curse a lot. I really don't. Right? Uh. Well, I say the F word a lot, well, oosh, right, but don't really curse a lot, but these two bring the worst out of me, especially Jeremy. Jeremy's a bad, bad person and a And so Kathy scolded me a few weeks ago. She said, you know, I had to turn your podcast off. Why? She said, because I was driving in the car with your daughter and you're saying the F word about 14 times. And I was like, Oh

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Oh, God.

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Now, listen, your daughter is 20 years old. She has heard and said that word a thousand times.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Well, look, when one day you get scolded by your spouses, you know, you know how it hurts. It hurts. It hurts.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Do you not think I get scolded all the time?

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Flowerly, probably. Because you're a horrible husband. That's for you, Beverly.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

You know, again, I will say that my mouth is part of what makes me endearing.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Sure. Okay, whatever. So, we'll

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Well, why don't we tell the world what Hassan does?

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

I think Stuart's fair. Let's, how tell people what,

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Let's introduce Hassan.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

does? Because remember, we have listeners all over the world.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Well, that's a

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

So, Hassan,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

If you don't know who Hassan is. There we go. Mm hmm.

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

well, tell us, tell us, tell us, Tell us about you.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

where should I start? I guess, um, a little history about my young age and all the way to, uh, today. I was born and raised in central Iran.

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Now we only got 20 minutes

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

26 years old when I moved to a state and, back in 2007, I moved to Kentucky from Tennessee, And it started my business in Brandon Crossing. And I was so lucky to found a place here to rent and it started my business. And, luckily, found so many good people. Dwayne, um, on top of the list. So thankful to have met you.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

listen need to get any bigger.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

And So many great clients that they, a lot of them became, uh, like friend and like family to me. And they supported my business and supported, uh, my family. And here we are, I still have plenty from that 20 minutes.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

we When so when you were in when you first moved to the country and you Or maybe when you were in Tennessee, did you did you own a business there? Did you because you're in rugs now, right? You're in you're in beautiful

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

I was born and raised in the rug making family. actually, I'm the sixth generation, of rug making. I don't make rug anymore, but I do repair and restore rugs, and that's something that I really truly enjoy, and, uh, it's very relaxing to me,

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Like you actually get down into the weave and actually like you actually repair them.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

yes, a lot of, um, I train my employee to do simple repair, but when it comes to hundred year old rug, that is really sensitive, and it needs a lot of, Detail work. I do it myself. Um, and so, yeah, that's something I really enjoy. growing up, watching my grandmother, mother, aunts, uncles, and a lot of my family members, my sisters, learning and, rug making, repairing, and all kind of, things about handmade rugs. Spinning yarn and, dyeing material. All of that was done all naturally, organically. It was just a beautiful thing to watch and learn and, of course I'm using all of that as, part of my business. So something that I always, remember and I always enjoy every time I do something like, for example, dying yarn for, a beautiful old rug. It would take me back, when I was child and my grandmother did the same thing for, Either weaving rug or or repairing a rug. So

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

is it, is this not fascinating to you all,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

No, yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's amazing.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

you know, to me, a rugs made like in a factory and, you know, done with it, but we're talking about like the real, like

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

right.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Well, let's talk

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

hmm

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

you've worked with Hassan a lot. about what kind of rugs? And we're not talking about the Wayfair rugs, right? We're talking

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

No, no, no. And to be fair, and if I misspeak, Hassan, you correct me. Uh, Hassan's rugs are not the cheapest rugs in the world, but he also does, let's start with the idea, you do have rugs that are handmade, hand dyed, and, uh, Beautifully done that are a fair price point, right? That, um, yeah, you really do. I mean, you got things that are incredibly high end, but you have things that are more moderate and like, you'll price out something to me and I'll go, well, that's, that's okay. That's a fair price. Like, like you can get an eight by 10 rug from you for, 3, 000, right?

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

right. Um, as a matter of fact, a lot of time, uh, room size rug, eight by 10, eight by 11 can go as low as 1, 500. Uh, and

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

and hand hand done

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

hand done all hand knotted and My

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

really is a surprise that he, I don't know if his, because of your volume, you're buying or your connections, or you might can explain to us, there's different levels of what makes it, I guess, the intricacy of, uh, something in the country. Maybe it comes from dictates price, but no, you can go in and get an heirloom quality. Rug for what you would actually buy a wool rug from Macy's or something like that. And good old Hassan is very local and that's what I love about it. And, um, I've always joked with Hassan, like, have you guys ever put down an eight by 10 or, or so rug in a living room and laid it out and rolled it out? Those things are heavy, aren't they? They heavy. Well, oh boy here, he's lifting these rugs. He's got help. I'm not, you know, I'm not trying to portray that he doesn't have help, but he's just manhandling these rugs and lifting them and have to look through 300 rugs to get the right rug and he just flipping them. Like I've always said to him, I was like, well, you don't need to go to the gym. I said, you, you get a workout every day, just lifting these stupid rugs.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

wife always say, you don't have problem with, uh, with gym. Your only problem, you eat too much. And she's right. I love food.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Well, uh, so I'm going to go back to you're 26 years old and whatever itch hit you to move to the States. Did you speak English before you moved to the States?

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Not at all.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Not very, very few, right? I don't know even one Iranian word, not one. Okay. So today, first teach us an Iranian word and don't teach us. Um, of course is a very, very kind, good Christian man. And so he's not gonna teach us bad curse words like Jeremy would do.'cause that's all he did. I asked Jeremy to teach me a French award. It was a French curse word. merde. merde means, uh, SHIT, I won't say it out loud. Uh. So, uh, so we're going to start with, what's our first Iranian word? Uh, maybe it's say hello in Iranian. What's, what would it be?

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Um, Durood. Durood.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

rude.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Or Sob Bekhayr. Good morning.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Good morning. Say it one more time for us.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Sobehir. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Sobe, became

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

you have, to have A friend of mine was trying to learn some, Persian back when I was in Tennessee. He said, man, I have to have some sinus infection to be able to pronounce some of these words.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

I was like, Oh Lord, that does not sound like an easy word

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

that's true.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

there you go. Okay. So we're 26. We've moved to the States. Did you have any family here to? To live with, to kind of start getting acclimated to this crazy country.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Uh, yes. My cousin, from my mother's side Was here as a matter of fact three of them at the time were here what but they were scattered in texas and tennessee and I went to visit my cousin in tennessee, which I was the closest to

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Mm hmm.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

and um I I had the intention of starting my own business, but you know 9 11 happened

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Mm

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Prior to my arrival. It wasn't a good timing for me. So I um

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Okay. Stop there. Okay. So Did you being from Iran, and we just dealt with 9 11, do you believe that had an impact on how you were treated and how people saw you?

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

You? know, there was a time that it was kind of uncomfortable and I, I don't hold any of that against anybody because, you know, uh, nobody knew me personally and, um, you know, you, you just, you just have to prove it. That, you know, I'm the innocent one. I'm, I have nothing to do with any of this. And, uh, most majority of people that I had a chance to, um, become friends with, they, they mentioned that we had no idea who you were and what you're up to. And, uh, we're so glad we got to meet you And, you know it's, it was, it was something that I had to practice that give people a chance to get to know you. They don't know you and, you know, it was a hard time for American at the time and I'd become American myself and, you know, looking back, you know, I, I can't give anybody a bad credit over, you know, the action that I witnessed and, you know, words that I might have heard and, you know, things that happened, people, uh, judged it. And, you know, it was not everybody's fault, you know, most people they come here for either business or better life or better opportunity or, you know, they see that they have, you know, their, their life is not the way they want. That's why they move. Across the globe to get to, um, better opportunity and I came here mainly for business and I'm so glad I made that move, even though it wasn't an easy move, but, uh, establish a family, establish a business, establish friendship with a lot of wonderful friends and. And, uh, here I am.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

you know what um, I come to is No, none of this sounds like it's scary to me. Honestly scary. It sounds like um, You left your family for business, but it sounds like You, you, you kind of liked your life, that you loved environment that you were in and around and you loved being around your grandparents and the history. So I had to imagine that was a difficult move, right? Leaving what you love to grow, right? To be a different Hassan. You didn't, you

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

it. really was.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Yeah.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Would you all have been able to do that? Cause I don't, I

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Well, I don't know.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

a fear of

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Well yeah.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Right.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

I mean, some of you, I guess you kind of did, but to, to, to go to another country where you don't know anywhere, you don't the language. I mean, I'm, I don't know if I have the chutzpah.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Yeah. It's guts. That's guts.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

pretty confident and I can do a lot of stuff, but I think that comes from a lot of privilege, right? Like I, I'm not, know,

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Yeah.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

that. Um, but that's, I mean, that, that, that's something.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

special to And that's what's frustrating. It's like, then when you do move this country and then people will then start to judge you and it's like, I have been trying to give everything to start a new life then you don't receive me, I just can't imagine how difficult that would be. But yet you've walked on the other side of it with love, right? And respect and kindness and look what people have given me. I just go back to guys. Um, What Hassan's success is, as I'm hearing some of these stories, is based on six generations of knowledge, right? And he understands the rug business, and this is his background. Hassan, your true gift is your heart.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Thank you.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

He, Dwayne has said this time and time again, by

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Yeah, well, uh, you are kind to say, but I love people. I absolutely love what I do and I love every person that walks into my business. Whether they are just the first time buyer or they just want to look and they're curious about what we have. I just love everybody and, my wife always say, this that your success is because you are people person and she is completely right. I love people. I love, talking to people. And a lot of time I know my customers when they walk in, I know if they want to buy or they just want to get curious. They want to know about rugs. When they come in, if they're curious, we talk, we chat, and we, a lot of time, we become friends. I have customers that I met back in 2008 and bought maybe one or two rugs, but we became really, really good friends. And he's. here. Once every couple months and we hang out, have a cup of coffee and talk about family and, we became friends. So, that's one thing that I have noticed, uh, about myself. I love people. I love, uh, talking to different people. People that are different than myself in different field and, um, you know, I just, that's just me. I love people.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Well, there's a common thread. We did a podcast recently with these two wonderful ladies that own Paxton Home. And that podcast is eerily similar to what you are saying, and this word keeps coming back to, or this concept, I love people and I love what I do. And that's what the girls kept coming across is this is not only your home business is that's laugh every time It's not the easiest gig in the world. It's just not right But if you love people and you love what you do It's usually gonna work out just fine because people feel your energy No matter if you want to do the woo woo or not, but people know that you genuinely like them They believe that you understand that you genuinely care and they understand that you're all you're doing is genuinely trying to help them have a better life and take care of them. And then from that, you get the residuals of friendship and kindness from them. And they, reward you with shopping with you, you know, the end result is. And that's, it does ultimately come back. It's a business, but the business is all somehow interrelated of, I like you and I want you, I want to be around you. Right. And it shows. So last year, Kathy and I did this laundry room and she, she kind of gave the direction for the laundry room. It turned out beautiful. So I needed, um, a, a rug for the laundry room because we had slate floors and she doesn't like the slate floors, but I was unwilling to rip the floors out. It was too expensive and I like the slate floors. And so, uh, I was gonna do just a, um, in Hassan will cringe, wanna tell this, but I was just gonna do like a, a polypropylene you know. 79. He's shaking his head. I love it.

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Ugh. Yes,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

It's a laundry room And it's also the washer and dryer in there and the freezer and the kids and all all that stuff And it's like I you know, I just want a laundry room rug Well, I think I showed 225 hundred rugs to my said client wife. Now most clients would go after the third choice They'll go okay What also the world needs to know, uh, boys, this is true, your spouses, we love them, but can't be some of the most difficult clients ever, uh, that,

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

The

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Well, that's so true.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

I won't say mine's the worst, but because I've had some others, but she is discerning. So it's a challenge sometimes to say, you know, this, you know, I do this for a living. You know, questioning every single thing. No venom there. Uh, so I showed her 237, 000 rugs. I don't like any of them. And I was like, okay, well, I guess we're going to have to get a, get a real rug. And we're going to have to go see my buddy Hassan. I have said to her, Hassan, I've said this to you, even the day we, you all met, you will love each other. She will love you. You will love her. And of course we drive

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

And she was so sweet and so kind,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

yeah, yeah,

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

on her best behavior that day.

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

she was.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Kathy, you

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Well, they, yeah, they did. They made a love connection. It was a great conversation. And they, they, they. Just bonded. And of course, and I say this, Hassan, it's always a joke too. I was like, I went home with the rug. It's perfect. The one he literally had the perfect color, the perfect size, everything about it. And Hassan, of course, being Hassan, he said, Go ahead and just take it and try it. If you want it, you'll pay for it later. See it. He knows what he's doing, right? This, this old boy, he may be, uh, Hassan of Iran, but he country boy. He know you take it. I'm going to obligate you. You're going to buy this rug, right? So I take the rug and I put it down and it looks good. And it's there for about 10 days. And I was like, okay, honey, we got, I got to pay for this rug. You want it? She's yeah, I want that rug. I love it. And I was like, okay. So I paid for the rug and Hassan, You know, it's not a 49 rug, right? But anyway, reference it to the world's most expensive laundry room rug, right? And it's not, that's not fair to you, but truly

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

but it looks So, good though.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Well, every time I'd like the first time he was in there and he was putting bleach in the washer, the right is literally right beside the washer dryer, right? It's like two inches away from it. I said, Hey boo. I said, when you put, when you put bleach, why don't you just pull that rug back? Cause you're standing on a little bit of your inheritance right here. But it made it, and honestly, it wasn't the most expensive wreck. It was, it was fair for what I, what I got and what we did. And it made the room. You're right. But I was like, you're standing on your inheritance. Don't ruin it. So there you go. But we love it. And it really, what I walk away from, San, is that interaction with you and Kathy, and again, your love of people and your kindness and your heart and all that goulash crap. There you go.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Well, yeah, I found her, uh, really sweet and kind. And as a matter of fact, I think if I'm not mistaking that day, uh, my wife and my girls were here too. So They got to talk and, and my wife, uh, thought very highly of her. She's very kind. And so as, you know, she said, Dwayne is a nice, uh, um, nice guy. You always talk about people that, that you do business with and you, um, I never met Dwayne before. And she said, um, um, I think I like Dwayne and his family too.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Oh, okay. So let's pivot. Let's get away from the Kathy show. So let's, right. We love Kathy. Tell us the day that your life changed with your daughter and things that have happened and what's progressed and where we are now.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Back in 2020, when COVID was just started And people were alert and not knowing where this is going to end up and my daughter was

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

what

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Seven years And she was drinking cases of water a week, and I was just puzzled, I didn't know what to do. I was trying not to take her to clinic to see her doctor because I didn't want to bring COVID to my wife. She was pregnant. Taking medication that lower her immunity and so I didn't want to bring nothing home So we waited waited waited and it wasn't getting any better. So finally about a month or so after this signs beginning We went to see her doctor and she said, you know You know, the only thing I can say is let's test her blood sugar and longest story short it was in diabetes and and We came back home and nothing got improved. Months later, we ended up in a specialist here in Lexington and he said let's put her in the hospital and study that a little bit deeper and He diagnosed her with what's called diabetes insipidus, which is water diabetes or sodium diabetes, not sugar diabetes. And it was just all new to me. I had no idea what it is. And, um, you know, when, when you're not familiar with something, when you're not, prepare for something the whole world is like colapse on your head is like I was the same way and so He said let's just study a little bit deeper I was like, this is this is kind of a scary and I'm in the hospital with her Christina is at home and, I try not to scare her, but at the same time, you know, it's just scary. I have no idea what this study is all about. So we stayed in the hospital one more night and, um, he said, we're going to do, MRI and find out what's going on. Because a lot of times the damage, if it's done in the brain, causing what she's experiencing. And I said, well, she never been. In accident or she never fail as a child that I know of in the school any accident and so he knew what he was doing. He was trying to see if there is a tumor in her head and here it was. And, um, my. Little precious seven year old got diagnosed with brain tumor and, um, we had no idea what to do. The doctor that, that I have whole world of respect for him. He was just amazing. But he said, you know, she's going to be Okay. but it's not cancer. He assured us that it's not cancer. And it needs to be surgically removed and she can go back home afterward. So the whole time I was telling Christina that this, this is not because, um, my uncomfortable feeling is not because my daughter is sick. It's not because she was diagnosed with brain tumor. It just doesn't sit right with me with, what they're telling us. At the same time, it was like, The doctor was good to us. We knew the doctor is good, but everything was happened the way everything was happening. I couldn't accept that. So Christina and I, we, we prayed about it and it was like 10 o'clock at night. And all of a sudden, I remember there was someone in Tennessee that was teaching University of Memphis and was, had a lot of connection to St. Jude. So I picked up the phone and he's retired and 85 years old. I woke him up 11 o'clock at night. I said, listen, I know we have not been in contact in a long time, but I have something emergency. I really need your help. He was kind and told me. Um, you know, there is this solution here right next to me in Saint Jude and you need to leave right now. He said, don't wait even two hours. I said, my wife is She's got the health issue that she can't, we, I can't leave right now, but we can leave in the morning. He said, the best thing you can do is leave as early as you can and make a phone call and do all the paperwork over the phone, but get yourself here as soon as possible. So make a long story short, we got there at four o'clock in the afternoon and the head of. Uh, hospital was waiting for us. Um, in St. Jude right? St. Jude? Children's Hospital. And, um, imagine being in the midst of COVID. And, you know, things were not looking normal because of COVID and we had a child that is about to die. Literally, we dragged her body that it was half dead to the hospital. And, they immediately told us that, she needs to have a blood work done so we can determine what it is. That blood work was devastating but life saving. it was cancer

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Hmm hmm.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

and, they put her on chemotherapy right away. They want to know if that tumor will shrink within two weeks. And within two weeks, they did another MRI. It didn't shrink, so two days before Christmas, she had brain surgery. And we spent 21 days in ICU. Came back to Saint Jude and continue the rest of, um, her chemo and radiation and they saved her life. But, you know, there was so much other stuff happened in the process that it is not enough time to talk about. But St. Jude saved my daughter's life. And at last day when we were completely done with, radiation, which was the last treatment. Um, head of hospital, that I met in the very first day, I talked to him and he became like friend. He said, I told him that there are so many children in my part of world that I have connection that currently I know they have, they are suffering and they need help. And, how can I help these kids? Is there any way that I can do anything to help these children? Maybe they come here, maybe you send medication or your knowledge to help these kids. He said, Hassan, he looked at me, right in the eye, he said, Hassan, I never forget the day you came in with diagnosis written on a piece of paper and in an email that is such and such diagnosis. We accepted Ariana for such and such diagnosis because we had protocol and we had a study on certain tumor. If we knew that what was the proper diagnosis, we couldn't accept Ariana.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Oh my

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

So, um, I mean, literally, the prayers from the night before really made a difference, accepting her in the hospital and saving her life. So, you know, I'm not here to try to be a preacher, but I truly believe that, you know, The power of prayers saved my daughter's life.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Mm-Hmm.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Because if we had stayed here, she could not survive the surgery, she couldn't survive the rest of it, because she needed complete treatment. And they didn't believe that she needed it here.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

a couple years out. How is she doing right now? Mm-Hmm.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

she's doing very well. her memory is improving, which, you know, it was something that we were told that she's going to have short term memory problem. And she struggled in the school for the first year and she's improving quite a bit. she's doing a lot of therapy and, um, she's doing very well considering, you know, the size of tumor that came out of her brain, she's doing very well.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Love it. Love it, love it. Well, this is a testament to, um. Really, I call it God wink that like you just, I didn't know the part of the puzzle that, the diagnosis was wrong and how it, for it being wrong, saved her life, right? That, that's pretty amazing little story. So it's

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

that's, that's pretty

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

I, I, got this. Little Christine is going to be just fine. I got this. We're, we're going to get the wrong answer so you can get the right answer. And it also is a testament to The work that St. Jude does, right? So anybody ever thinks that they, they donate and who should I help and what charities, this is one of them that gets it right every single time. And Hassan can be every single time. This is the one you want to know if your money's going to the right place. Should I give, well, we're going to, we're going to tout that one because they got it right, right. And I, I know you've told me multiple times how wonderful they were to you and your family. So, uh, that, that's pretty good. I, I, one of the things you told me. Once I said, well, what did you do with your business? And you, you said, walked out the door and I left our front door unlocked, I didn't care, right? I was going to take care of it. I'm going to save my child.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

I literally walked out the door and my employee, Santiago at the time, he's still with me. I told him, my daughter needs my help and he had the key, and I, I don't even remember. I locked my front door of my house. Literally, we walked out and drove to Memphis. and had no intention of thinking about anything else. We just, we just left

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

You're saving your child.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

and came back eight months later.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Did you hear that guys?

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Wow.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

eight

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Eight months.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Eight months. Soak that one in. Mm. Mm.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

to, being open and listening to your gut, right? Like, I think,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Hmm.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

um, because we've, we've talked about this time and time again on here, people will call the gut different things, people, you know, whether they believe it's a divine voice or however you want to define

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

I call it the voices.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Yeah. Yeah, you've got different, those are different kinds of voices.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Oh, okay. Nevermind. Yeah.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

but, this is a Testament of being open and listening to that, because,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Yeah. It saved her life.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

in my, in my experience in my life, listening, listening to that gut has never been a mistake. I don't know if not everybody can say that, but for me, that that's true. And so I'm very thankful that you were open to listening to what. Was being said because that, you know, ultimately you deserve some credit here to my

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Well, and it goes back to the gut thing. That's part of what makes business successful, right? You can have all the numbers laid out in the world. You can have it all defined, and that does help you. And it does guide you. But ultimately, you had said, Hassan, just talking about your daughter. it goes back to business now. It's like, if that doesn't, something didn't feel right. It didn't seem right. heard you've heard your voice. You heard your gut, your prayer, whatever it was, took you to a place to go. Yeah, this is not right. And it goes back to even business in that I don't care what anybody else says, if it doesn't feel right, or you're like, I hear you, but we got to do this. This is what my gut, my heart, my soul, the prayer, whatever it is, you got to do it. Right. And that's one of the things that that's what makes business successful is sometimes doing the thing that doesn't make you feel good. Any sense at all to anybody else to say, I don't care. This is what we got to do. And it doesn't always work out right. But most of the time it does. And if you follow your instinct, follow your gut, follow your belief, it usually is fine, and that's part of business. That's the risk. That's one of the many risks business to listening to what, what your inside says to you once it's all said and done. So anybody ever wants to open a business, if you can't listen to your heart and your gut and your. Prayer and all this stuff. Don't even bother, right? Because you can have all the numbers in place. It just won't matter ultimately. Cause sometimes you got to do stupid stuff. We should not be doing what we do right now because we opened it in the world. Isn't that when we opened guys was. 2010. Right.

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

2010.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

So, open with like 12 in a hole in the wall and didn't know anything what we're doing

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

During. Yeah.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

right? Yeah. So, we shouldn't be here but uh we like, no, we we got this, right? I don't know if it's stupidity or gut on that one necessarily but there you go. So,

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

hard work and honestly, um, go for sure in, in, in your business, because I know you, all three of you are very hardworking and you have some amazing people in your team as well. So, You know, honesty and hard work. It's a good combination for your business, for sure.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Well, it's it's

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

my grandmother always told me, uh, growing up, that to surround yourself with good people, be good to them and good things will happen. And I've all, I've been a firm believer of

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

know, put The right people

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

So, Jeremy, guys.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Great advice.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Um, so when I say little, I'm not, I'm not calling it Marco Rubio. I'm not doing that. Uh, but little

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Well, he's, he's the funniest character. I tell you what, he's, he's, he make me laugh every day. He's the most honest, most wonderful, family man, most wonderful employee, and just an amazing person all together. But he is, he's got something that, that not very many people get to see, he's got the funny side that I see every day, and, and, and he's just such a joy to be around. Um, one day, this lady walks in, and. Normally Americans call Iran, Iran. And she looked at me and said, Are you from Iran? I said, Yes, ma'am. And looked at Santiago and said, Are you from Iran too? He said, No, I ran from Mexico.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Love it. And there he is. That's, that's

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

That's

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

That's Santiago.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Well, we, we, we've, we've got, we've got an Iranian and we got a Mexican. How did you two connect? I love this. You have your own little, uh, foreign country down there in the world. World. I love this.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Again, I was just lucky that he was available to come to help me one day. I was shorthanded back in 2013 or 14 and he was working construction at the time and work, uh, trying to get his, uh, resident, um, paperwork and all that. So he came to me one day and second day and third day and I realized that, you know, he's a very honest person. So he needs to come and stay with me permanently. I offered a job, you know, full time and he accepted it.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

So did you adopt Santiago? Did you adopt him?

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Trust me, as good as he is, I would. So, he became like a family to me. You know, he's not only employee, he's, he's like a family member to me. And, and I truly believe that. I feel the same for him and his family, you

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

well, he, he kept your business going. The eight months, right? He, he's what kept the doors going. That's really what I'm referring back to. First, he's a wonderful person, but he kept the doors open. And things going. Um. While you were saving, uh, Christina's life. And so that's the reason I wanted to bring him up that he, he made, made sure that you were taken care of. And, I wanted to get that across how important he was to that aspect of it.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

It really was. Yeah. it really was. Uh, and I, I'm very thankful that he was in our business at the time. And, um, and he was able to. Uh, stay in business and keep this business going until I was able to come back to it.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

right, right, right. Okay, boys, what else we got for, uh, first Hassan, I know we said you were a little nervous walking into, how good has this been? Right. When it's just an

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Oh my god This is this is just uh, this is just wonderful. I I love I I would I would participate this every week

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

We don't need you that much. Yeah, well, I don't know we might we might we might anyway,

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

I do have a question. What, because I don't know much about rugs and I don't want to keep you much longer, Hassan, but like, what's something that you wish, or you would like for the more of the general public to know about rugs or what would be helpful for us to know.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

Well, you know as Dwayne said earlier there are so many Millions of different style of rugs and quality and, um, you know, there are some that are made out of synthetic. There are some that are made out of wool, but not every rug are the same. Uh, we have rugs that are, you know, 150, 000 and we have a really quality, nice handmade rug here that, uh, is 1, 500 for room size. But you don't go wrong with either one. You look at your budget and see what suit your budget. But what I highly recommend, get quality. invest in quality because they will last and, they clean up so much better than synthetic material. And you know, they just always look better. You buy a, beautiful machine made rug that, that keep their beauty for probably two weeks. The, the minute you step on it, you can tell the pile. It doesn't have the same sheen and same beauty, but these wool rugs are made so well that the older they get, the more You step on it, the more you use it, the better they look. They're like, um, they're like, um, beautiful. piece of antique furniture that the older they get, the better they look. So it was something about the wool and natural dye. The more, the older they get, the better they look, the better. More personality they develop and something about age and, you know natural stuff,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

You know what popped in my head

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

a great.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

is with life, wrinkles around your eyes tell a story, right? And we don't need to get rid of the wrinkles, right? Those tell a story and they're actually what makes you special and makes you beautiful. And a rug with its wrinkle, With this little bit of use, it's prettier. Ooh, that was good. That was

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Ooh.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

you got a few more wrinkles up there though.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

He is so full of shit.

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

However, if you got a vial of Botox, call me. Well, Hassan, thank you so much for joining us today, friend. I think we've all enjoyed this. Hopefully the listeners have connected

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

Now the Hassan love, don't you? Now you get Hassan

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

we

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

love

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Yeah,

dwayne_1_07-11-2024_090702:

get it. You get it. Yep.

hassan-rahimi_1_07-11-2024_091127:

you're so welcome.

jeremy_1_07-11-2024_090728:

As always listeners, thank you for listening. don't forget we have a that you can call 859 412 1572. You can also text us that number if you have ideas or somebody wants to chat with, or you just want to bitch about Dwayne, um, whatever you need. Uh, but we will, uh, see you all again soon. All right. Bye guys.

stuart_1_07-11-2024_090728:

Thanks.

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Dwayne Anderson

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Jeremy Rice

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Stuart Hurt

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