What I Do Is Not Who I Am with Troy Duhon

Kyle Mountsier: 0:00

One of the reasons I love doing these shows

‍Unknown: 0:08

this is Auto Collabs is

Kyle Mountsier: 0:10

that we get to meet dealers from all across the country that are quasi like curated. I thought you were gonna say because you just loved hanging out with me. And it's a real no i that. I thought that's why I come to work, but I like yeah, that's why I come to work. Like there's today's dealer Troy Doohan is like the epitome of someone who understands that business is a means to something more meaningful. And like you look at his website, his not for profits, and even from like a bird's eye view, you can see that this man understands the power of people coming together and the power of building a profitable business that generates money that can then be used to serve people, right. And like, this is just as big cyclical thing. So I really, I don't fully know what to expect, because people that have this kind of, I don't know, like are around them usually are pretty surprising when you meet him in person.

Michael Cirillo: 1:05

I think we should go meet him. Okay.

Kyle Mountsier: 1:11

Okay, Troy, we were before we started and hit record on this podcast we were talking about, I don't even like this whole barrage of things. And all I could think of is we should have hit record 20 minutes ago. But we're really excited. Thank you for giving us some of your time here today. You bet. All right, so I don't fully know where to start after the conversation last just had, because we just covered such a barrage of deep, heartfelt topics that surrounded your entry into the car business that maybe you could just give us the summary again,

Troy Duhon: 1:45

I easy. So I'm like a lot of guys who started in the car business because Daddy was in the car business. So I was a porter who washed cars at 13. And when I turned 18, I started selling cars. I went to world famous Louisiana State University LSU. I sold cars in the summer to pay for it and got into business and was quite successful at a very young age. But during that process, my daddy who was in the car business, got out of the car business, my father became an alcoholic. And unfortunately, my mother filed divorce. And my daddy loved my mother. But he also loved to drink because back in the 60s and 70s they would drink on the showroom floor like it was norm like, Wait,

Kyle Mountsier: 2:27

did you sit there between smoking cigarettes a water cooler?

Troy Duhon: 2:30

When I was in the car, you could go to the carwash lane and get and pick your drug of choice, right. But back in the 60s and 70s they drank like fish. Long story short is my mother filed divorce. My dad used car manager convinced him to take my mother to church. So they took my dad to church and he took my dad to a Catholic a Baptist church. They took my dad to a Pentecostal church. And he's Louisiana. Yeah, he said these people crazy like that Dan Fernandez saying and and running into how's that? For what what my daddy saw was happy people. And when you're a drink, when you drink like that, you're depressed and you're trying to numb the pain. You're trying to suppress your depression or your or your pain or your failures. So you keep suppressing it. And you start with alcohol. He went to church went and saw third time he went back, my mother said, Sweetheart, I saw your dad do something I'd never seen him do as a mama, what did that he do? And he said, Your daddy went to the altar. And he started crying and your daddy cried for an hour, which proved to me your mother that he was really repenting, and he really had redemption in his heart. The next day, my dad told me that he woke up and for the first time he could remember, he didn't crave rum and coke, which was a drink of choice. So in his mind is god

Kyle Mountsier: 3:45

I've heard that story twice in the last 20 minutes, and I still got goosebumps.

Troy Duhon: 3:51

I mean, guys who struggle with addiction know what I'm talking about. We live in a world that when I'm addicted to something, I crave it. So for the first time, my dad didn't go to Alcoholics Anonymous, he didn't do the 12 steps. He woke up and he didn't crave rum and coke so in his mind, guys, this God thing must be real, because I don't crave rum and coke. Long story short, I got out of the car business and became a Pentecostal preacher.

Kyle Mountsier: 4:18

unbeliever our preacher so so

Troy Duhon: 4:21

think of being a car guy raised in a house with a car guy who's a Pentecostal preacher now right so they classify me as a PK you know what a PK is your pack a Yeah, because your CPA, but I became a BK you know, the BK news? Oh, no. A bad kid, right?

Kyle Mountsier: 4:40

You were one of those.

Troy Duhon: 4:42

So I got in the car business and was very successful. A young age. My daddy taught me a lot and I was a hustler. And, you know, bought my first dealership on my own at 30 years old. That was Toyota of New Orleans. Oh yeah. It was a crazy Just story but according to Toyota with the youngest Toyota deal in the world, I signed my franchise agreement at 30 years old. My money, my money 100% store. So I was one of those guys. I was a guy that hustled and I was a guy that worked nine to nine, six days a week. And I just hustled and I'm growing to career, I'm buying more stores. And then 2005 Katrina hits, and I'm born and raised Louisiana. I've seen enough hurricanes in my life. That went to Camilla went to Betsy, actually. So 16 cars a day after Hurricane Camille, he told me 16 cars, I want to do what it takes to sell 16 cars in one day, right? So Hurricane Katrina comes, it's a massive storm. And like literally, my family would always refuse to evacuate. But my wife said No, sweetheart, we've got to evacuate. We evacuated. The levees break. The water comes in. Everything I had guys went underwater, everything. All the stores everything. Well, one store survive, which is crazy, right? One store was built on a ridge and meta Louisiana. It was by a canal. So it survived. I lost 1200 cars. The day before Katrina, I had 500 employees. A week and a half later, I had 200 employees. I can remember looking at CNN, as they're showing the city and the helicopters flying over by the dome. It's coming into the east where my dealership was located. And I looked down and I can't see the cars. And I'm thinking to myself, oh my god, they stole all the cars. And now look again, I'm like, holy crap. No one knows. They're underwater, underwater. And I'm thinking to myself, what is going to happen? Am I gonna get paid? Is insurance going to pay me? Is it flooded water the rising waters or wind?

Kyle Mountsier: 7:00

Or is this the end? Right? I thought out they took this career ending Listen

Troy Duhon: 7:05

guys into carburetors know where I'm going with this. They took all my loans, and they put them in special assets. So now I'm a boek. I went from an 800 beacon to a 500 Beacon overnight. I mean, unbelievable. And then all of a sudden my dad looks at me. And he said, Son, let me tell you some. And he and I'm crying. I'm crying literally crying looking at

Kyle Mountsier: 7:27

the TV. I don't know that there's ever been I don't think there's ever been more anticipation on this podcast because I'm dying to get it again. It's like can't tell me this.

Troy Duhon: 7:36

I'm no I'm crying. And if you saw your child crying, you're gonna try to control him and he looks at grown adult child cried Exactly. And he said, Son, let me tell you something. You see that and he makes the point that the TV you see that brick and mortar, the dealerships they come and go, you see those franchises, they come and go to you go back and take care of your employees, because those are the only ones that are ensure that you make it and you know what he was so right. I went back, we opened up a food bank with our church, we were running 1200 cars a day. And I remember telling my wife, if God gives me through this, remember, I had 35 million and insurance receivables. That's what I mean, you had people were looking for me from I mean, I had people evacuating cars throughout the country, I had to go track these cars down. It was crazy. And I'm still my wife. If God gets me through this, the rest of my career would be to give back. And this is what birth giving hope, which is now the foundation. We have 35 rooftops in eight different states now. We we feed about five to 6000 people a day. We operate food banks to in New Orleans, one in Kansas City, one in Monterey, California, one in Hawaii and we opened up in Escondido. The cool thing is through the foundation, we've partnered with like Toyota and allied bank and Capital One Bank and Chrysler and Kia and Ford, and we actually build orphanages around the globe. So we've now built

Kyle Mountsier: 9:14

Come on now we now have orphanages

Troy Duhon: 9:18

in Hyderabad, India, Gambia, Africa, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Moscow, Russia, which was crazy. Lippo, Brazil, Ukraine, I just came back from Ukraine four months ago, five months ago, that was crazy. So the cool thing is we're an automobile dealership, right? And my my wife would tell you this, selling cars may be what Troy does, but that's not who he is. So we look at

Kyle Mountsier: 9:45

like the false front, like selling like the front we look

Troy Duhon: 9:49

at we look at a dealership being a community advocate, you know, and I think you'll find that it when dealerships embrace our local community, and they give back that you don't have to do the extreme of what I do. But if you give back, you'd be surprised how much your employees and your customers appreciate you doing that. So that's kind of what birth giving hope was a whole Katrina was the whole concept of giving back. When you're on you know, when you when you think you're not going to make it, you think you're going bankrupt, then all of a sudden, a light at the end of the tunnel pops open. And then you see a whole new dimension and you see a whole new perspective, because I was like, everybody listen to this podcast. I was the overachiever car salesman. I was a lot lizard. I told myself that I was a lot lizard having didn't know what the hell that meant. I said, Look, I know what it means. Yeah. Right. So bottom line is I think that when car dealers realize that there's more to selling cars, that you can truly be a consumer advocate or community advocate, and make the world a better place. You'd be surprised and that's kind of what we've done. So that's, that's kind of the story. Right? Cirilo

Kyle Mountsier: 10:57

more than cars. Alright, it's so much more than car. You said. He can say that twice. Our third little member of Three Musketeers. Here Michael Cirillo is gonna be so mad that he missed this one so mad. But I'm gonna rub it in his, he's not hanging out. We have one question. What do you think about digital retailing, I've just

Troy Duhon: 11:20

consumers want to buy from a dealer that is making the world a better place. So I have trained my sales staff that when you shoot a video, and you present a car through a video, why not link the giving hope website so they can see that we're more than just selling cars, ever the cars we sell, every rep every every tool we turn every wrench return is to help feed somebody.

Kyle Mountsier: 11:47

Okay, I don't even know how to continue this conversation because I just want to come down there and hang out. I know, we're like, bring no bring the cameras, you've literally just in in five minutes, have like just proven that the thesis that we have about dealers at large and about what this industry could be in should be actually exists to an extent beyond what I knew it did five minutes ago. It's a center point for community. It's a center point for national support. It's a center point for international support, like dealers have hope resources. I mean, we've we've covered this and Troy you may or may not know this, but Automotive is actually the largest retail organization in the United States. The only larger profit centers in the US are healthcare organizations from a from an entire like what contributes to the gross domestic product of the US like there's been studies. Why wouldn't the reconciliation of a nation come through auto dealers and that's what your

Troy Duhon: 12:58

I listen to I could buy well put Kyle. And you know, when dealers understand that, yes, selling cars may be what I do, but that's truly not who I am. And you think about human rights. We feed people we offer you know, housing we create, we work with sex trafficking, we have a drug rehabilitation center, the giving hope retreat center, they 60 acre drug facility. Here in Macomb, Louisiana, we take the heroin addicts, the crack addict, we take the tough decisions, when dealers realize that you can go in the community and share with your community. And when your employees see it, you can your customers see it, they want to they don't just become a customer, they become an advocate. And that's really what you want. You want someone who's in the marketplace bragging on their car purchase because they bought from a dealer who feeds homeless people. That's what you want. And when you try to attract a Gen Z or millennial employee, remember, they're in the human rights during during the human rights that they want to know that what are you doing to make this world a better place?

Kyle Mountsier: 14:01

That's so true. I think a lot of dealers may especially like smaller dealers, like you said, you said and you don't I think you said this as you were kind of finishing like you don't have to go do all these grand things. But even I think some dealers may have this mental block that's like, Well, where do I even start? And I'm guessing you have the resources to potentially like help other dealers be a part of what you're doing? How How does that I can

Troy Duhon: 14:28

guarantee that regardless of the sides of the dealership, whether you're in LA or you're in PEI Oldham with Missouri, right? There's gonna be a homeless shelter, and there's going to be a food bank. And when you go out as the owner or the general manager or the operating partner, and you inspire your staff to go serve on a on a day where you just take half your staff or and the rest of the community sees that you have just changed the culture of your dealership and the The greatest joy you're going to do is not making money for your staff, because that is important. But when you change the culture by what they live by, you change them as an individual, and they'll never forget you for that. speech that's,

Kyle Mountsier: 15:17

I don't know, what else are we gonna say in this one? What do you what are you hopeful for? Like, what's the next? I think? Like, that's, that's my thought is like, where's your what is your vision for this? I see, you know, you've kind of envisioned for the, for the industry but what's what's your vision for where you take this next like with the dealerships with the with the giving?

Troy Duhon: 15:39

Alright, so giving hope is the is the foundation so you can go to giving hope, no law no la.org, you can see everything we do, we run about 13 million a year through the nonprofit, right? So my kids understand that the legacy isn't the 35 rooftops, the legacy is the foundation. So at some point before the good Lord takes me off this earth, a lot of those resources are going to be moved into the foundation, right? So each one of my stores has an operating partner, those partners have the ability to buy out my estate when I die. My vision is to allow a lot of my assets to go to give me hope. So it stands the test of time for the next 100 years. And then the partners who buy out the estate, I have hopefully taught them and I've touched their heart that they do have the culture of giving back. So did they pass that culture to their kids and their grandkids?

Kyle Mountsier: 16:35

Yeah, you know, okay, there's, there's a thing in there that I want to make sure everyone catches and I think that this is something that like I'm working on with my family. I know Paul is with his and I think we can instill this, like, there's been this kind of like, oh, you're a PhD, right? Papa had a dealership. So you got it, you know, you're you're just fine. And you're living on Papa's riches or whatever it is. And there's almost this. It's almost like a bad term in our industry. But I think that this like apprenticing into the family business, right and passing this care on. And maybe it doesn't happen in the family business, maybe there's not the passion from the next generation. But passing who I am not what I do on to the next generation is something that we should see as aspirational for our industry, because it does, it drives it to next generations, instead of just going like, as the, as the generation retires, there's no way that my my next generation could carry this on, but that the assets, the legacy could carry it on whether in the business or not. Instead of just like going up, it's gonna be big conglomerates, and just to each his own, and we'll sell these off, and it just won't be a problem. There's this heart set, that we're moving into the next generation, not just the assets of a dealership, right. And that's I, I kind of caught that in there reading between the lines,

Troy Duhon: 18:01

it's the wisdom that you want to leave your children that they can make it when you're not going but there has to be what we call profit for the purpose for the profit. Yes, dealership the last three years, not 23. But prior to that made a lot of money, record money. But the bottom line is, what is the purpose for the Prophet? What is the thing that stands the test of time? Where is the legacy? See, most of us are on these treadmills, and we're running a race to collect and create wealth, when in fact, maybe I should be on a different treadmill. Because I'm trying to create a legacy. See, I can leave my son a trust fund, or I can give him wisdom. Which one does he really need?

Kyle Mountsier: 18:44

We know which one Solomon picked. You're right.

Troy Duhon: 18:48

I think my oldest son who's now in the carpet is with me came in as a lawyer, I said, you're gonna go to law school, and you're gonna learn law, okay? And your data, you're going to create the assets and you're going to be the lawyer who protects the assets. I took him on a trip to India, our first mission trip, he was scared to death to go he was 16 years old at the time, and he's a crazy place. And we went there and I said, Son, you're gonna be okay. Your dad's gonna protect you know, daddy, they're gonna You're a rich white dude. They're going to confiscate your said, No, they're not going to confiscate your debt. I got this. So he comes with me on the third day, because he had never seen anything like it. Little three and four year old kids. They're more infant orphans in India than the rest of the world combined. He saw little three year old kids running on the street by themselves. He came to me with tears in his eyes. He said, You know what, daddy? Now I know why you brought me here. I never knew people live like this. And I said, Son, I'm glad you saw it. He goes, Daddy, I promise you, you may be dead and gone. But I'll continue to do this.

Kyle Mountsier: 19:44

See? Let's go Troy. It's like, talk about cutting right to the heart of the matter. And it is so easy to get distracted with all of the headlines and all of the ongoings and back in fourth man who manufactures and digital retailing and all that. But to tether truly tell her what we do every day with why we do it is I think a gift that you're giving this industry and a gift that you're obviously giving your children, your family, other people that giving hope serves. And, man you get you have two people right now and our company associate who will do everything we can to shoulder up next to you in this like I'm truly inspired right now.

Unknown: 20:28

Absolutely, absolutely. LaTroy. Yeah,

Kyle Mountsier: 20:31

we can't wait to continue this conversation, there's probably going to be like 30 cameras that show. But with that, we really appreciate you joining us on Auto Collabs. And we can't wait to just continue this conversation and

Troy Duhon: 20:46

the call to action I would want to tell your audience is you don't have to do it to the magnitude I do. But what if you took one day and you took your son or your daughter or your wife or your husband, or even your parents and you went to the local food bank, and you just served? See the blessing you think is the person you're serving? A lot of times, it seems a transformation in your own heart. And that's what more of Americans need to understand. With this country's never going to change until we have a transformation of our own individual hearts.

Kyle Mountsier: 21:17

Is it too late for someone to enter the presidential primary? You're like, Nah, that would ruin it. That would ruin it. All. Right. Yeah.

Troy Duhon: 21:26

I got Jimmy skeleton. Remember, I was a PK who became your BK?

Kyle Mountsier: 21:33

Yeah, I'm sure everyone else is running a squeaky clean. Troy, thank you so much for joining us today on Auto Collabs.

Troy Duhon: 21:39

I enjoyed it. Thank you guys appreciate it.

Kyle Mountsier: 21:46

There's not much in our industry. That is shocking or surprising to me anymore. But when a guy sits there and says no, the whole dealership thing. That's just the front for an entire operation that I actually care about over here. Like, that's what operations the right word. That's what I'm injecting into my employees. That's why that's where they're living, like their life. That's what I'm really doing with my legacy. That's what I'm really leaving. And this is what I'm leaving to the partners that I have in my dealerships because that's what I want them to be all about. Those are the lives that I want to be impacted. That takes a whole other different meaning. It

Michael Cirillo: 22:34

takes Yes. And it's a different type of mindset, like a strategist to think of it that way. Because I mean, the same could be said for a lot of different facets of each of our day to day lives. But when we don't place them right when we don't categorize them, right. It's like, Oh, I'm just going to, I'm just going to my gob. No, you're not you're providing a means to an end. What does that mean? Oh, and then you start to uncover the implications of each of your actions. It takes somebody with Troy's mind, a strategists mind to be like no I open a dealership. Yes, that's definitely a thing. But it supports this over here. The reason I do this is because it's a vehicle for this. And to be able to understand that requires so much clarity, so much focus so much understanding somebody. Yeah, it's super, it's super human. He's

Kyle Mountsier: 23:25

playing. He's playing. I think he's one of the truest examples that I've come across in a while. Actually, I do have the book right here. Look

Michael Cirillo: 23:32

at this. Wow. came prepared. Not

Kyle Mountsier: 23:35

really infinite game by Simon Sinek talking about there's there's no winning and losing. There's just like, did we make progress toward it today? And Troy, he's literally thinking like, about 100 years from now. Oh, yeah. Crazy. Yeah. Like he's thinking what is the impact of my car dealership? 100 years from now on this world? Not even here. Look, if that doesn't get you fired up to get after the day, then I don't know what does. So on behalf of myself, Paul J. Daly and Michael Cirillo. Thanks for joining us here on Auto Collabs. Sign

Unknown: 24:08

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