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The CLA's Journey from Planet Laundry to Full Cycle — Transcript

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0:00Am I centered? I know. I often get off
0:02centered here.
0:04>> You look like you could go. Yep. Right
0:06there.
0:06>> Another episode of Centering the Camera
0:08with Ian and Matt. [laughter]
0:10>> That's our best show yet. Yeah,
0:11>> we've got we've got it down now.
0:17[music]
0:19Hello and welcome to the Laundromat
0:21Ownership Podcast. I'm your [music]
0:23host, Ian Galahan. Me and my business
0:25partner Brian Henderson own three
0:27laundromats in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area
0:30called Liberty Laundry. Those mats did
0:322.5 million in 2025. Uh but we are also
0:36the owners and founders of Wash Dry
0:39Fulpos, the original point of sale
0:41system for laundry mats. And coming up
0:44on 1300 systems sold, we're in all 50
0:47states. Um, but today I've got on the
0:50show a very special guest, Matt DeWolf
0:53from the CLAPPlanet
0:56LaundaFullcycle.
0:58Um, welcome to the show, Matt. Thanks
1:00for joining me.
1:01>> Yeah, Ian, it's a real pleasure to be
1:02here, man. Thanks for having me.
1:04>> Well, tell me about yourself. How long
1:06have you been in laundry? And how did
1:08you get into the CLA? And what was the
1:10journey on on how you got from where you
1:12were to where you are?
1:14>> Yeah, Ian, it's it's been weird, right?
1:15Like every like a lot of folks, I kind
1:18of tripped, stumbled, and and fell into
1:19the laundry industry. I um you know,
1:22I've I just passed the one year mark uh
1:24in the industry. I started in March of
1:262025. Um and it's been a really fun ride
1:28so far. I came on really to kind of help
1:32maintain the Planet Laundry. The
1:34previous editor was um looking at
1:36retirement. Um and so they brought me
1:38in. I came from a car washing
1:40background. I spent uh you know gosh
1:43about 15 years in the car wash space
1:45kind of building a media brand there and
1:47helping them do everything from live
1:48streams to live events to podcast to
1:51magazines really anything media focused
1:54and so I got connected to CLA and
1:58they're like hey we kind of want
2:00somebody to come in and help us evolve
2:02our thinking around this and and move us
2:04toward the future and so I've been at it
2:07ever since. That was in March of 2025
2:09and uh I they keep asking me back. I
2:11keep coming back.
2:13>> Well, that's great. I mean, you've for
2:15only being around uh a little over a
2:18year and happy anniversary on that.
2:20>> Yeah, thanks.
2:20>> Uh you've really done well to uh uh to
2:24be what what's your official title with
2:27with Full Cycle?
2:28>> Uh I I would be I guess you would call
2:30me the editor. I'm the editor.
2:31>> That's what I was going to call you the
2:32editor-inchief, but if you want to go
2:34just by editor,
2:35>> I mean we I you can give me whatever.
2:36Yeah, you can call me editor-inchief.
2:38I'll take that, too. Yeah.
2:40>> Well, that's really good. And that's
2:42that kind of makes sense. You had kind
2:44of had some experience in the in the car
2:45washing space with that kind of, you
2:47know, every space has a trade magazine,
2:50right? And
2:51>> actually a lot of or trade organization
2:53rather, and actually a lot of laundromat
2:55owners are also car wash owners and vice
2:58versa. So, that actually makes sense.
3:00There's quite a bit of crossover there.
3:02Um, so for those at home that maybe are
3:06laundromat owners, but they have no idea
3:09what the coin la Well, it's no longer
3:11the coin laundry association, excuse me,
3:14>> but the CLA.
3:15>> Tell us about the CLA and and why would
3:18one even become a member or uh even
3:22subscribe to the uh to the magazine.
3:25Well, the uh the official party line uh
3:28Ian is that um CLA exists to provide the
3:31support, training, advocacy, marketing
3:34insights uh and networking that our
3:36members have relied on to maximize their
3:38profitability for over 60 years while
3:40seeking opportunities u to evolve our
3:43offerings and meet the needs of modern
3:44laundry professionals. Now, that's a lot
3:46of mission speak. CLA really it's it's
3:49all about trying to help people create
3:51better laundry businesses. uh whether
3:52that's on the manufacturing side, the
3:54supplier side, or if it's on that owner
3:56operator side. So, uh really CLA is it's
4:00in the name, right? There was a reason
4:02the name changed. And I love a good
4:03acronym uh for CLA. It's connect, learn,
4:06advocate. So, that really means helping
4:09bring people together in this industry
4:10so they get those relationships that
4:12they really need to succeed. Um it's
4:14it's helping them access the the tools
4:17and the learning and the education and
4:18the resources that they need to become a
4:21better laundry entrepreneur and it's
4:23advocating uh you know for the industry
4:25as a whole at a larger scale to help
4:28protect um really the interests of those
4:30in this industry around everything from
4:32you know microfiber towel um issues and
4:36all of the things that come up that you
4:38know some owner operators may never
4:40realize is going on but that the CLA is
4:42watching very closely and taken care of.
4:44So,
4:45>> and those issues do come up. I I
4:47remember, you know, when CO came around,
4:49the CLA was was out there advocating for
4:52laundromats to stay open um and for them
4:56to be uh what was the the verbiage back
4:59then? A necessary
5:01>> necessary. Yeah. Um u essential service,
5:04an essential business.
5:05>> Essential. There we go. Yeah. Essential
5:07business. And so and I mean that's one
5:10of many many battles that they've fought
5:11and most of which they've won. They do
5:13seem to to win most the battles they
5:15fight on behalf of laundromat owners. Um
5:18so I I do think that's important and if
5:21they don't do it, who's going to do it,
5:22right? It's not like one laundromat
5:24owner is going to go out there and and
5:26you know fight all these battles on
5:27behalf of all laundromat owners. So it
5:29does make sense to have an association
5:31that advocates on behalf of that
5:34industry. And I think I think a lot of
5:37the manufacturers or vendors like
5:39ourselves do recognize that and do work
5:42with the CLA for that reason. Um and
5:45also because uh you know we want to be
5:47part of that community. And one of the
5:49reasons you're on today is specifically
5:51about the new publication which is now
5:54going to be called Full Cycle.
5:56>> Full Cycle.
5:57>> Yeah. Yeah. I'm excited about it. Can
5:59you tell us a little bit about uh you
6:02know why why from Planet Laundry to Full
6:04Cycle? I know it was something before
6:05Planet Laundry, too. So, what what kind
6:07of inspired the name change and the um
6:10it's it's not going to be released
6:11monthly anymore, right?
6:13>> Correct. Correct. Yeah, there's lots of
6:14changes. Um and and you know, it's one
6:17of those things where we really wanted
6:18to make a big move with the publication
6:22um because we wanted it to really be a
6:24reflection of the evolution of what's
6:26going on in the laundry industry today
6:28and kind of what it looks like and feels
6:30like to be a modern-day laundry
6:32entrepreneur. Um, you know, we there was
6:34nothing there's nothing inherently wrong
6:36with Planet Laundry. It's a great
6:37publication. It did a great job
6:39reporting on the industry. It could a
6:41great job sharing insights and
6:43information that people could really
6:44use. U, but we wanted to really go
6:46deeper and do something a little bit
6:48different. And we couldn't we didn't
6:50feel like uh in good faith if we were
6:52going to look at, you know, retooling
6:54this thing, um, we couldn't just slap a
6:56coat of paint on it and and call it
6:58good. So,
7:00>> you know, our our whole our whole thing
7:02was how can we make this a really
7:05valuable resource and make sure that
7:08it's something that people who are in
7:09this industry can see themselves in. Uh,
7:12make sure that people in this industry
7:13can feel really proud of when they
7:15receive it. Uh, and that they can look
7:17at that and read that when it comes out
7:19and take at least one thing every single
7:22time, at least one thing that's going to
7:24change their business for the better. So
7:25that was kind of the underlying focus,
7:27but it it it was a lift, man. I mean,
7:30this is this is not um you know, as with
7:33brands, you don't just change it
7:34overnight. Uh this thing's been going on
7:37for a while. And you know, there there
7:39had been work that predated my starting
7:41with CLA uh around reworking that
7:44publication and what that was going to
7:45look like and how to do it. But it
7:47really wasn't until uh probably the
7:50beginning of the summer, last summer,
7:512025, uh that that snowball started
7:54rolling downhill and and we just sort
7:55of, you know, peeled off the band-aid,
7:57if you will, and um kind of dove in head
8:00first.
8:02>> Yeah, that makes sense. and it the the
8:05previous Planet Laundry
8:07I I have to agree with you that it was a
8:09very respectable uh publication, but at
8:12the same time having gotten 20 something
8:15issues of it,
8:16>> uh I did feel like I kind of knew what
8:18to expect, you know, on the next the
8:20next one that came in. And so I am I'm
8:22pretty excited to kind of see it's a
8:25quarterly format now, right? It's going
8:26to come out once a quarter. Is that
8:28correct?
8:29>> Yeah, we're switching it up. So, we
8:30wanted to go we wanted to go quarterly
8:32because one of the struggles with a
8:34monthly publication is that, you know,
8:36really you're always chasing a deadline
8:39and you're always you're always kind of
8:41behind it a little bit trying to just
8:43make sure you're getting stuff out. And
8:44so it's really easy to um grab what
8:48comes, if you will, and just kind of get
8:50just enough to get the issue out because
8:52you're always trying to get the issue
8:53out
8:54>> instead of being able to take a step
8:55back on a quarterly publication and say,
8:57"Okay, let's really look at the issues
8:59that we're that we're dealing with. What
9:02are the really unique ways that we can
9:04kind of tackle those and who are the
9:05right people to help us get that
9:08perspective and how can we bring in
9:09perspective that's not just from people
9:11who are inside the laundry industry?
9:13that stuff's super valuable. But if you
9:16know, if we always operate in the silo,
9:18we never get any new ideas, right? So, a
9:21lot of this gives us space to go and
9:23say, "All right, well,
9:24>> you know, if we're if we're going to do
9:26an issue on labor and and what's kind of
9:28going on with labor and and how people
9:30are tackling that, yeah, it's great to
9:32have some examples of people in this
9:33industry, but what what are other sort
9:36of tangential industries or maybe even
9:38um industries you would think of as
9:40innovative in those spaces? What are
9:42they doing?"
9:42>> Mhm. And then how might we actually be
9:44able to apply some of those concepts
9:46into what's going on in our industry?
9:48And I think that's how you get the
9:49really great ideas and the real great
9:50inspiration and and get to the
9:53publication and the kind of storytelling
9:54that makes people feel really good.
9:58>> Yeah. I hadn't thought of it that way,
10:00but when you mentioned like storytelling
10:02and kind of broadening the aperture, it
10:06does make sense that a quarterly
10:07publication would work better for that
10:08because you actually have more time to
10:10prepare, more time to research, more
10:12time to get quality content and to kind
10:15of weed through everything and then
10:16present something that's maybe a little
10:18bit more refined and interesting. And
10:21you know, as we kind of go into this uh
10:24I don't know if we're like in a post
10:25Google world now where you can just
10:27[laughter]
10:28AI like how do I get this stain out of
10:30this thing and and it's
10:32>> it's less about like hey here's some
10:34little tips and tricks and more about
10:35like hey here's here's a case study on a
10:39strategy that we're seeing you know at
10:41this scale and here's maybe what you
10:43could learn for that and that's
10:44information that you wouldn't really get
10:46from you know a an AI bot necessarily.
10:50So, right,
10:51>> I I think that
10:53>> in a way it does kind of make sense to
10:55kind of keep up with the
10:57>> the times as far as what information is
10:59valuable. Well, if if it's more
11:01specialized or more robust long form
11:04information, then it would make sense to
11:05do a quarterly publication so that you
11:08actually get a chance to to gather and
11:12refine that that information. So, that
11:15makes a lot of sense. You mentioned
11:16interest in other industries kind of
11:18like adjacent industries.
11:20Tell me a little bit more about that
11:21piece of
11:22>> Yeah. Yeah. You know, I I mean I think
11:24you know if you look at you look at
11:26major publications things like Harvard
11:28Business Review, you know, for for for a
11:31good example. Um they're not if they're
11:34going to talk they're going to tackle
11:35AI, they're not just looking at AI in
11:37one specific space. They're kind of
11:39looking at it from a holistic lens and
11:41they're saying, "Okay, well, what are
11:42all the things that are kind of feeding
11:43into this and what are we seeing in this
11:45space and what are we seeing in this
11:46space and what are we seeing over here
11:47and then how might that apply in these
11:49use cases?" That's that's kind of the
11:52goal of what we want to do with full
11:53cycle is say, "All right, let's tell the
11:55actual story." Like instead of reporting
11:57on what is going on in the industry,
11:59let's tell the story of that concept and
12:02help you go a little deeper and expand
12:04your thinking a little bit. So, okay. So
12:06let's talk about let's use AI as an
12:08example. Well, it's great we can tell
12:10some of these things around um what
12:12laundry people might be doing with AI in
12:15their specific spaces, but it's also
12:17about looking outward and saying, well,
12:20what's going on at a macro level in that
12:23particular space and what might we need
12:25to watch out for? What might be coming
12:27our way? what might we need to be
12:28thinking about as it comes so that we
12:31know we don't get ourselves stuck in
12:32this space of being reactive and can
12:35really kind of be you know proactive in
12:37terms of how are we thinking about our
12:39business, how are we thinking about
12:40growth and scale and operations and all
12:43of these really important pieces. If you
12:45if you are only talking about laundry
12:47and only thinking about laundry, you'll
12:49do fine in laundry, you know, for for a
12:52time, but eventually that innovation is
12:53going to come in and you're going to get
12:55disrupted and you weren't ready for it.
12:58So, we're really trying to like
13:00storytell and bring that outside
13:02perspective and bring some of those
13:04things that you need to be looking out
13:05for for your business into into the now
13:08and so that you're ready for it.
13:11what you're talking about there is kind
13:12of broadly what we've seen in the last
13:1410 years in laundromats or at least what
13:16I've seen in the last 10 years of
13:18laundromats. I can't can't speak for
13:19everyone else, but I I do know when I
13:21started, uh, it was a lot more just like
13:24Coin Op and
13:27>> more one store operators. Um, and now we
13:30see kind of these mega laundromats that
13:34have a lot more money put into them. You
13:36know, there's much more technology. I
13:38mean, we were one of the really early
13:40technology companies
13:41>> in the space. Um, but now we're one of
13:44many technology companies. When does the
13:47first
13:49publication of Full Cycle when does the
13:51first issue come out?
13:52>> Well, um you're catching me at a nice
13:54moment because I just put the first one
13:56to bed. So, uh it'll be hitting
13:58mailboxes here. We're still in we're
14:00still in March as of today and so it
14:02should hit mailboxes before the end of
14:04this month. Uh which is super exciting
14:05because this has been this has been
14:07quite the quite the project to get off
14:09the ground. Um but I'm excited for it.
14:11And I'm excited for it to hit mailboxes
14:13because I think there's a couple of
14:15things that people are going to notice
14:16right away uh in terms of how it's
14:18different. It's going to it's going to
14:20feel different. Like literally, it will
14:21feel different than the previous
14:22magazine. Uh you know, it's heavier
14:24paper. It's going to be perfect bound
14:26versus stapled. It's just going to have
14:28a richer feel to it, a little bit more
14:29heft, so it feels a little bit more
14:31robust. Um and it's it's going to look
14:34really different. Um it's it's going to
14:36look really different. It's going to
14:37look much more like a um a magazine. you
14:41might pick up off the, you know, off the
14:43magazine rack, um, as opposed to a trade
14:46publication. And so we're pretty proud
14:48of that. Um, that's a big piece of it.
14:49And we, it, it goes along with this idea
14:52of what you were just saying, Ian,
14:53around how this industry is focusing
14:56more on customer experience and brand
14:58and some of those things. And this
15:00publication, if it's going to be of the
15:02industry and for the industry, it's got
15:04to reflect those things.
15:06>> Yeah. Now, that I hadn't thought of it,
15:08but it's almost like the previous
15:09version was the Coin Op. Um I mean it
15:12was on the coin op version but it was
15:13the more generic version like you said
15:15like oh this is a trade magazine and you
15:18want to go into like the more premium
15:19version which is the same same trend
15:21we've seen in laundromats so it would
15:23make sense that you would kind of follow
15:24that that trend. I want to hear about
15:27maybe the hardest thing that that you've
15:30kind of
15:31>> gone through with this whole rebrand and
15:32also what you're most excited about.
15:35>> Oh man. Um,
15:37well, it's, you know, the probably
15:39probably the toughest thing of the whole
15:41deal, um, was trying to maintain doing
15:45what Planet Laundry was, right? We
15:47wanted to make sure we were sticking
15:49true to that publication and we're able
15:51to continue to provide that for folks in
15:54the way that they've come to expect and
15:55and um, how they've trusted and loved
15:57that over the years while also trying to
16:00create something brand new uh, and and
16:03completely different. So doing the two
16:05publications at the same time and doing
16:06that work was really really challenging.
16:09Um but I I I think you know change is
16:13change is always hard but making this
16:16move from Planet Laundry which was
16:18really trusted and really loved by a lot
16:20of folks to Full Cycle is a big change.
16:24We're going to be working really hard
16:26this year to kind of get that out there
16:27and get people talking about the name
16:29and like the the whole essence of it.
16:31And it's funny because I've only been at
16:33it, you know, really for a year and I'm
16:35still having a hard time not calling
16:37things Planet Laundry. Like it's still
16:38like I wasn't even in it that long, but
16:40it's enough that you're like, man, this
16:41thing has a really good reputation. It's
16:43a strong it's a strong and trusted
16:45brand. And we're trying to take full
16:48cycle and build on that while giving all
16:52the signals that this is something new,
16:54but it's based in the foundation of what
16:57made Planet Laundry so great for people,
16:58which is that um there's a lot of
17:01experience behind it. There's a really
17:02great team working on it. Uh and it's
17:05really meant to serve this industry and
17:08the people in it and make them feel
17:09proud of what they're doing. Um, you
17:11know, the other thing that was actually
17:12pretty tough, Ian, is that as somebody
17:15who, you know, as of a year ago is brand
17:18new to this industry, I've I've spent a
17:20lot of time just trying to like meet
17:22people and um establish some
17:24relationships and figure out what's what
17:26and who's who and find those great
17:27stories. And we're fortunate that, you
17:29know, at CLA, we've got a long tenure
17:31team there, uh, that has been able to
17:33really help me hit the ground running
17:34and help with a lot of that. Um, and now
17:37that that first issue is is officially
17:39out and officially on time, by the way,
17:42uh, we're hitting our stride, uh, pretty
17:43nicely. Um, but the second part was,
17:46what am I looking forward to, right? I
17:47am really excited for people to see it.
17:50I want them to feel it. I want them to
17:52have that experience of having it in
17:53their hands and opening this book and
17:57getting that one takeaway that makes all
18:00the difference in the world to their
18:01business. Um, I'm really passionate
18:03about helping people through
18:05storytelling. I think, you know, it goes
18:07back to our human human being roots.
18:09Like stories are really impactful and
18:11really powerful. Um, and I think that
18:14being able to give people in this
18:16industry a publication that can honor
18:19where we've come from while taking us
18:21into the future is a is a huge privilege
18:24for me and it's a responsibility that
18:26that I'm not going to take lightly.
18:29>> Yeah. No, I mean I can tell you've
18:31worked really hard on it and uh from
18:33someone from the maybe I wouldn't say
18:36outside, I guess from the inside, but
18:38you know, I've been getting Planet
18:39Laundry for maybe 10 years now and and
18:42uh I haven't been really excited about
18:43an issue in a while, but I'm really
18:45excited about this full cycle issue. I'm
18:47really excited to see like what's, you
18:49know, what's the new look and feel? What
18:51what is the new perspective going to be
18:53like? So, I think if nothing else, I
18:56mean, you've kind of breathed new life
18:57into
18:59uh you know, going to the mailbox and
19:01and and getting the the latest issue. I
19:04mean, there's always that special
19:05feeling of like, "Oh, this is so fun. I
19:07can go sit down with it and look at it."
19:09And I know most people have like TikTok
19:12brains now where they like can't focus
19:13on anything that's not like a 30 second,
19:17>> you know, clip that's uh made to
19:19tanalyze them. But I do think that uh
19:22there is something to be said for actual
19:25content and especially when when you're
19:27looking at business, you know, those 30
19:29secondond clips don't really,
19:31>> you know, all they're doing is giving
19:32you that that ping of dopamine or
19:34whatever it is. You're not actually
19:36learning or improving your business with
19:38a 30 second clip. Um typically,
19:40>> um I know it's you don't want to play
19:42favorites, but I'm curious if there's
19:43anything that um you know, like maybe
19:45like a story that really stayed with you
19:47or something like that.
19:48>> Yeah. Gosh. you know, the um it was
19:50really fun to go out. We got to go visit
19:52Nick Raceler at his store. Um he's local
19:55to me. He's in the St. Paul area and we
19:57got to photograph him and and his store
19:59for the for this first issues cover. And
20:02it was just a really fun experience to
20:03be able to do that and to be able to
20:05shine some light on somebody who's doing
20:07something so interesting and so unique
20:10in this market and in in the laundry
20:12industry in general. Um I think that's a
20:14really fun story. Um, Nick, I think I
20:16think this is true, is the only uh
20:19laundromat owner operator in the United
20:22States who is officially licensed to
20:23sell Starbucks coffee. So, that's a
20:25thing. Um, so that was really cool.
20:27>> Is it like in the laundromat, but in the
20:29laundromat? Now, now it's it's a that's
20:31a little misleading to to te up that
20:33way, but that, you know, we're
20:34storytellers. That's what we do, Ian. We
20:36we we inflate a little bit. Um it he's
20:39got he's got a little kiosk area that's
20:41kind of back against the wall as you
20:43walk in and you can go and like you can
20:45buy Starbucks coffee from the whole
20:47machine and it's distributing Starbucks
20:48coffee like it would at
20:50>> at you know you think of it kind of like
20:52um it almost looks like what you see at
20:53like a Delta uh Sky Club space when you
20:56walk in and there's a coffee dispensers.
20:58>> Coffee dispensers got the big Starbucks
21:00logo on it. It's got all the stuff
21:01around it. It's very nice. It's very
21:03well done and appointed
21:05>> and you know people love it. People come
21:07in, they do their laundry, they sip on
21:09their Starbucks, and off they go.
21:11>> Yeah, we get free coffee at our
21:13laundromats, but it also, you know, it's
21:15free coffee, you know what I mean? So,
21:17it's maybe [laughter] not it's maybe not
21:18Starbucks quality there.
21:20>> It's it's it's probably been in the pot
21:22for a while, right?
21:23>> Yeah. Well, I mean, we keep it fresh,
21:25but it's it's definitely not um you
21:28know, I definitely wouldn't charge
21:29someone $3 for a cup. That's for sure.
21:31But uh when I worked at O'Hare, man, the
21:34Starbucks once you get hooked on that
21:35stuff, it's like you gotta have your
21:37>> you gotta have your cup, you know? So,
21:40exactly. [laughter]
21:41>> Yeah. No, I think that's a good one. But
21:43there's, you know, there's one of the
21:44things with the with the way we're
21:46approaching Full Cycle and what makes
21:48what what's made possible because we
21:49have more pages, frankly, uh in these
21:51quarterly issues is we can tell more of
21:54those people's stories, too, right? So,
21:55we can we can get
21:57>> multiple um store profiles in every
22:00issue. We can do multiple um member
22:04spotlights and just interesting stuff so
22:06that you can really see what people are
22:08doing, how they're running their
22:09business, what's really going on, and
22:11get some of these these interesting
22:13ideas. And to couple that with really
22:15strong photography and to be really
22:17visual about how we're also telling
22:18these stories, I think is is another
22:20kind of key component into what what
22:22makes this a little bit different from
22:23what you might expect to see uh in kind
22:25of a standard publication. And that was
22:28something that I mean now that you're
22:29mentioning it and not I wouldn't have
22:31even thought about this but yeah it's
22:32not like you got Planet Laundry for the
22:34art of the
22:37of of going through it, right? It was
22:38very standard format. You've got the
22:41boxes and it's all white and all that.
22:43So, uh yeah, that'll be that'll be cool
22:45to kind of see something that's a little
22:46bit more
22:47>> aesthetically, you know, interesting and
22:49pleasing.
22:50>> There there will be a lot of color. I
22:51will tell you that there will be a lot
22:52of color in it. It's going to look
22:54>> good. I'm looking forward to it. I'm
22:55tired of the white the white backgrounds
22:57for every [laughter] every page.
22:58>> The other Ian I should say the other the
23:00other thing that's maybe um a little
23:02undersold here is that you know we talk
23:04about Full Cycle as a magazine and it
23:06was you know it was Planet Laundry
23:08magazine and it was the journal before
23:09that and and all of those things. One of
23:13the things we're really focused on doing
23:15is taking this beyond a magazine and
23:18really pushing on it as a media brand.
23:21So that looks like a revamped podcast
23:24which I was fortunate enough to have you
23:26on the the show uh here recently. Um so
23:30Full Cycle as a podcast is a different
23:32is a whole different beast from what
23:34Planet Launda was doing as a podcast
23:36program. So really kind of taking a
23:38holistic media approach to this full
23:41cycle brand. Again at the heart of this
23:44thing is the experience of the
23:45listeners, right? And the viewers and
23:47the readers. Those are the people that
23:49we're here for and that's who we're
23:50trying to serve and that's who we're
23:51trying to tell stories for.
23:53>> I've seen some of the stories that you
23:55guys have released. I I don't know if
23:56stories is the right word, but they're
23:58like interviews or case studies on
24:00laundromats
24:01>> uh on the YouTube channel and the
24:04quality of these is so high. Um you
24:07know, they're they're doing these
24:08in-person interviews and you know, these
24:11are not cheap productions.
24:14Um, and so is that kind of the strategy
24:16to continue to kind of do these
24:18in-person kind of deep studies or is
24:21that kind of the beginning of what we're
24:22seeing with the the Fuller uh multimedia
24:25brand or
24:26>> how does that kind of fit into
24:28everything?
24:29>> Yeah, that this the CLA spotlight pieces
24:31are a really big piece of this kind of
24:33broader media strategy in terms of how
24:35can we make sure that we're staying
24:37relevant, right, and that we're
24:38continuing to evolve in the way that
24:39today's laundry entrepreneur needs. Uh,
24:42and that's a big way to do it, right?
24:44Like get out there and show and tell and
24:47get those stories of these really great
24:49operators and the really cool things
24:50that they're doing in their stores so
24:52that people who not only people who are
24:54trying to get into this industry cuz
24:55let's face it, there are lots of those.
24:57Um, but also the people who have been in
24:59the industry for a little bit that are
25:01maybe just looking for something fresh
25:02and like want to grow or they want to
25:04reinvest or they want to try something
25:05different. these types of video kind of
25:08case studies and those pieces. And
25:09again, man, it the stories that come
25:12from that are the things that will
25:15resonate and will help you kind of hear
25:18that point in a way that you wouldn't
25:20have heard it before, you know? So, if
25:21if somebody's like, "Well, I, you know,
25:23I double the amount of folding tables I
25:25use in my specific locations for these
25:27three reasons." Well, you can write that
25:29down on a piece of paper and give it to
25:30you and it might go right past you nine
25:34times out of 10. But there's something
25:36about hearing somebody else who you can
25:38see in yourself, right? There's
25:40representation there. There's something
25:42about hearing it from them. You're like,
25:43"Yep, that makes sense. I've been do
25:46it." So,
25:47>> yeah. No, that makes a lot of sense. And
25:49I can vouch for the quality of some of
25:51the operators that you guys are
25:52interviewing, too. I saw um one of my
25:55friends, Omar Khan, uh you guys were
25:57doing his uh his laundromat, and I had
25:59never seen inside of it. I've known him
26:00for, you know, I don't know, maybe eight
26:03years or something like that and he's
26:04bought several systems with us and I
26:06knew he had nice laundromats, but then
26:08when I saw the video, I was like, "Oh,
26:09wow." Like, this is really cool. And you
26:11get to see the whole vibe and you know,
26:13the aesthetic of everything and and Omar
26:16got to tell some of his story that I
26:17didn't know either. And so, uh, yeah, it
26:20was it was really cool to be like, hey,
26:21hey, I know this guy who's doing well in
26:22the laundry industry, but then it's
26:25like, yeah, you maybe you see him at the
26:27trade shows or whatever, but you never
26:28really get to sit down and see his
26:30laundromats and hear his story. And so,
26:33I think there is some real value to
26:35that. So, I'm I'm excited for you guys
26:37to kind of continue to to push that
26:39multimedia piece of it forward. And and
26:41that does make sense with today's day
26:43and age, right? You do you do have the
26:46publication experience, but you also
26:47have to be on all the platforms and
26:49>> you have to
26:50>> just just like we're doing now. People
26:52want to listen to [laughter] the the
26:53podcast while they load the dishwasher
26:54or whatever. So,
26:56>> let's say I am one of these laundromats
26:58and
26:59>> either I want to join the CLA or I want
27:02to reach out to you, Matt, about a story
27:03I have. What how do these how do our
27:06listeners get in touch with you, I
27:07guess, is what I'm asking.
27:09>> Yeah, easiest easiest way is to send me
27:10an email. It's just
27:11mattressassociation.org.
27:14Um, otherwise you can go to
27:15fullcyclemagazine.com
27:17and get access to everything you're
27:18going to need to whether that's
27:19subscribing, whether it's just kind of
27:20checking out the content that's there
27:22already. Um, and that's, you know, that
27:24that site has been completely retoled as
27:26well, you know, is all part of the
27:27thing. So, you're going to hit that site
27:28and go, "Oh,
27:30>> this is for laundry."
27:31>> Well, excellent. I'm excited. I'm I'm
27:33really excited to get get the first
27:34edition and uh I'm excited to be working
27:37with you guys as well in the in the
27:38future and and collaborating more and
27:40I'm I really appreciate you having us on
27:42the podcast and super happy that you're
27:45on the podcast today. But I can't let
27:46you go without asking you the question
27:50that I ask everyone which is what is the
27:52craziest thing you have seen in a
27:55laundromat? I know you've only got a
27:56year of experience but you've been
27:57around you've heard some stories. What's
28:00what's the what's the thing that just
28:02made you drop your jaw,
28:04>> man? You know, it's not um it's maybe
28:06not a traditional crazy, but I I think
28:08and you alluded to it when we started
28:10this conversation,
28:11>> it has been unreal to me
28:14>> how much that I've talked about car
28:16washing with people in the laundry
28:18industry. Like I I I did not see that
28:21coming. You know, I went to the Clean
28:22Show was one of my first events I got to
28:24go to and everybody I talked to, you
28:26know, it's like, "Oh, hey, I'm Matt."
28:28you know, I did I spent a lot of years
28:29in car washing. They're like, "Oh, I've
28:31got a car wash." I'm like, "Oh, okay,
28:33great." And so, I've I've spent more
28:36time almost more time talking about car
28:38washing with people in laundry than than
28:40I did talking about it with car washers.
28:41So, it's been it's been funny there.
28:43But, um, I think there's such an
28:45interesting amount of crossover in those
28:46two industries. And it's been really
28:49fascinating for me having spent such a
28:51long time in the car wash space to see
28:53how the laundry industry is evolving
28:56very similarly to what happened in that
28:58industry. Um, in terms of customer
29:02experience and focusing on that,
29:03focusing on brand and just really
29:06evolving the line of services offered.
29:08You know, in laundry we've got pickup
29:10and delivery, commercial, wash, dry
29:11fold. And it's just changing what it
29:13means to be in this industry and
29:17changing really some commonly held um
29:19you know consumer beliefs, right? Like
29:21what it means to be a laundromat today
29:23is different from 10 years ago.
29:26>> If I was thinking about car washes 10
29:28years ago,
29:29>> they were kind of run down. Maybe you
29:31got out and you sprayed your car down or
29:33whatever and if you went through one it
29:35was
29:36>> it was it looked kind of like a gas
29:37station or it was part of a gas station,
29:39that type of a deal. And now in Tulsa at
29:42least, you can't drive a mile or two
29:45without seeing like a big beautiful like
29:48and it's a huge
29:50>> area and usually they have lines at them
29:51too.
29:52>> Um, and I I also wonder if we can't look
29:56to that industry to say like, okay,
29:59>> obviously we all want nicer car washes
30:02and we want nicer laundromats and that's
30:04good. You know, these things are very
30:06good. Uh, is there going to be a point
30:09where there's too much investment and
30:11too much capital thrown at at these
30:13laundromats and at these car washes?
30:16>> I kind of feel like maybe we're we're
30:18kind of seeing like, okay, is the demand
30:21going to uh fulfill what we've supplied
30:24and and maybe it will. You know, I don't
30:26think I know enough about demographics
30:28and you'd have to project out 20 years
30:30and all that, but but have you seen or
30:32heard any of that for either the laundry
30:34or the car wash space where people are
30:37building supply where maybe demand isn't
30:40there yet? Maybe they're they're they're
30:43saying, "I'm going to build this car
30:44wash. I'm going to build this laundromat
30:46and in the next few years, I'm hoping
30:48that people will show up and and use it
30:50because it's really nice and I spend a
30:51lot of money on it, you know."
30:53>> Yeah. Yeah. The Yeah. the build the nice
30:55thing and hope people will come era at
30:57least in car washing um is is over right
31:00I mean it's I think it comes back to I
31:03think this is similar to to laundry too
31:05like at the end of the day the thing
31:06that wins is location
31:08>> no matter what like the having an A+
31:11location is going to um help you out in
31:14so many ways um I've seen some really
31:16nice car washes that are on B and C
31:19locations and unfortunately they just
31:21ended up wasting a lot of money Um, but
31:24you know, you did see some you did see
31:26some crazy stuff in car washing as it
31:28got it went along this consolidation
31:30curve as they saw private equity money
31:31come in and build up and buy out and do
31:34all of these things, right, that that
31:36I've been hearing lots of people getting
31:38concerned about in the laundry space.
31:40Um, and at the end of the day, that was
31:43that was a really fun ride. And there
31:46were a lot of people that did did really
31:48well for themselves in that period. And
31:50now uh that's all settling down and it's
31:53all everything's shaking out. You've got
31:55a you've got a couple big players who
31:57you know filed for bankruptcy in that
31:58industry which was really interesting to
32:00see. So all of these assets are now just
32:02distressed assets.
32:03>> Um you saw you saw one of the groups who
32:06had gone public is now going pulling
32:08back and going back private. So all of
32:10these things that were really a really
32:12crazy ride as that consolidation curve
32:14went up. It sort of fell off now. Um,
32:17and and you know that's sort of how that
32:20works. It's it's statistics, right? Like
32:22there's a curve and you get to the top
32:24of it and then it recedes.
32:25>> Um, but I think the lesson there, the
32:28lesson there, there's a couple of them.
32:30Uh, I think the big one is if you are
32:34really focused on what you're doing and
32:36you're doing it really well and you're
32:38continuing to reinvest in your business
32:40and to really put the customer at the
32:42center of your business, you're going to
32:45do great. People are going to come to
32:46you over and over and over again and
32:48it's not going to matter who buys what
32:49or what brand comes in. They will they
32:53will stay loyal to you if you are
32:54continue to make them feel really good
32:56about what they're doing and about being
32:57part of your business. And that's
32:59exactly what happened in car washing.
33:01And now you're just seeing um you're see
33:03you're still seeing growth. There's
33:04still growth even even as you said Ian
33:07you can see lots of these popping up
33:09everywhere.
33:10>> There's still growth. They're still
33:11coming in. There's still entrance to the
33:13industry. Um, but what what you're
33:16seeing and what you're going to see in
33:17the laundry side, too. I think, you
33:18know, I'm not I'm not a I'm I'm playing
33:20the role of futurist a little bit here.
33:22Um, I think you're going to see that as
33:24long as you stay true to being a really
33:27good operator of your business and you
33:29put that customer at the center of the
33:30whole thing, uh, you're going to be just
33:32fine no matter what happens.
33:34>> Yeah, I think I think that's good. Um,
33:37one of the things I'm reminded of as
33:39we're talking about this at the last
33:40clean show, I was talking to Mike of
33:43Wavemax and he was telling me this story
33:45about um the uh this laundromat owner
33:50and look, we've done something pretty
33:52similar at our laundromats and it also
33:53did not work. Um, but uh this laundromat
33:56owner for like opening day, you know how
34:00they have like the uh the kids corners
34:02and like the educational spot? Uh he had
34:05like this table just like full of iPads,
34:07right? They're like iPads and these
34:09little mounts and like come into the
34:11laundromat. Your kid goes to an iPad and
34:14he can do all that. And uh you know uh
34:17Mike had seen this um big fancy
34:20laundromat on opening day with all the
34:21all the iPads and and the excitement was
34:24like man look at this what we've built
34:27here. And uh he came back a year later
34:30and instead of iPads they had um on the
34:34wall like have you seen this guy that
34:35stole all of our iPads? And [laughter]
34:38uh to me I thought that was it was a
34:40little bit poetic in that um I I think
34:44yeah with with laundromats
34:47uh
34:48yeah it is a supply and a demand curve
34:50right and you do have
34:53>> uh you know people have this this basic
34:55necessity that they need you know they
34:57need clean clothes and whether that's
34:59delivery or wash dry folds or selfs
35:01serve
35:03um that is essentially the service that
35:05you're offering And you can dress it up
35:09as fancy as you want to dress it up.
35:11But, uh, if you build it in a place
35:13without enough demand, it's it's not
35:15going to do well. Um, and if you don't
35:19dress it up and you put it in a place
35:20with a lot of demand, it probably still
35:22will do pretty well. And so, I do think,
35:25uh, it's very good to see that the
35:29laundromats are getting better and that
35:30we're getting more high quality
35:32laundromats. I think that's that's a
35:34very positive thing. And then I think
35:36the the flip side or the correction of
35:39that once that the supply outpaces the
35:41demand is you will kind of see these
35:42laundromats that felt like all I have to
35:45do is invest a ton of money and put
35:47iPads everywhere and they're going to
35:49come to my laundromat instead of someone
35:50else's. And it's like well no actually
35:53they're just going to steal your iPads
35:54and yeah [laughter]
35:56and then you're gonna
35:57>> they're gonna take your take your iPad
35:58and they're going to go to the one
35:59that's closer to that.
36:00>> Yeah. They're going to be using them at
36:01the show. You got their [laughter]
36:03picture on the wall. I can't show up
36:04anymore.
36:05>> Uh but uh but no, I think I think that's
36:08a a really good take and uh I hadn't
36:10really thought about it from that
36:11perspective of other industries. But uh
36:14you know, but that's why I wanted to
36:15have this conversation. It makes me that
36:16much more excited to to kind of hear the
36:18new perspective of Full Cycle and kind
36:20of see, hey, here's some lessons that
36:22maybe we've seen in other [music]
36:23places. What what can we learn? I so
36:26appreciate you joining us uh today and
36:28and sharing with everyone uh your vision
36:32and this new [music]
36:33brainchild of of the CLA that is going
36:36to be full cycle. I'm really excited
36:37about it. [music]
36:38>> Yeah, thanks Ian. Hey, I really
36:39appreciate you letting us kind of spread
36:41the word a little bit and share our
36:43story. Uh and and I'm I'm really excited
36:45to [music] be part of this industry and
36:47to be able to kind of just just humbly
36:49help tell people's [music] stories.
36:51>> Hey, we're grateful for you. We're glad
36:53you're here. Thanks, Matt.
36:55>> [music]

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