Multi-faceted, Poly Dave Schlossberg tells his story on Episode 96. Bringing the energy, experience, and education to build things that are more than the sum of their parts, Synergy and Poly Performance are running at full steam. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.
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4:24 – …he wrapped his whole house in tin foil
15:04 – I had passed out and spilled some Goldschlager on my chest, and this bear…
18:34 – I kinda subscribe to the philosophy that there’s always an angle, right?
21:09 – just got to follow the wind, there are doors open
28:01 – I made sure little Johnny left with more than just a skateboard
34:17 – I can speak Hillbilly, so I’d get on and help these guys…
38:25 – if I could sell a pair of shocks a day, I’d be set for life
53:00 – guys want to sit in their underwear and order parts from their living room while they’re pounding beers and watching NASAR, you know what I’m saying?
1:07:19 – as long as my guys want to work, I’ll be there to open the doors.
1:19:04 – there’s no silver bullet and magic, you’ve got to put in the work
We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:20.410] – Big Rich Klein
On today’s episode of Conversations with Big Rich, we have Dave Schlossberg. Dave is the owner and founder of Poly Performance and Synergy Manufacturing, CEO of both. I believe it is your official title. Dave, thank you very much for coming on board and spending some time with us.
[00:01:42.370] – Dave Schlossberg
Well, hey, Rich, I appreciate you reaching out to me and inviting me to be a part of what you got going on here. I think what you’re doing is pretty awesome and happy to be here chatting with you.
[00:01:53.320] – Big Rich Klein
Well, great. So let’s jump right in with both feet and get started at the very beginning. Where were you born and raised?
[00:02:01.990] – Dave Schlossberg
Born and raised in Northern California. It used to be a small little town Folsom, California, at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains there. Some people are familiar with it from the old Johnny Cash songs there. Folsom Prison Blues And you got Folsom Lake over there and just kind of the gateway to the foothills, not too far from the Rubicon Trail, actually. So that is where I was born and raised, and all my family still lives up there and try to get back there as much as possible. And I grew up there. And after I finished high school there, I ended up going down to Cal Poly State University in San Luis and resided down here ever since. But do you have a place up the Hill up near Lake Tahoe that I ventured back to as often as I can?
[00:03:10.100] – Big Rich Klein
Yeah. It survived the fire.
[00:03:17.270] – Dave Schlossberg
It’s pretty incredible that it did. So our little cabin up there was built originally by my grandpa in the 50s. It’s up on what’s called the Philip Track up near the Sierra Tahoe Resort and Echo Lake area. And when that CalDor fire blew through back in late August, there that burned the whole neighborhood down. I think 56 or 58 homes burned down. So it was basically my place that I had rebuilt back in 2012. And my neighbors on either side of me were the only surviving homes out of the fire. So pretty amazing to still be standing.
[00:04:04.730] – Big Rich Klein
Yeah. I saw you post the pictures of the video that was circulating online with one of the news reporters. And it was strange because driving down the road, everything’s just burnt out, still smoldering and everything. And then there’s three houses in a row.
[00:04:24.110] – Dave Schlossberg
Yeah. So kind of an interesting story with that. So I rebuilt that place in 2012 and use the construction material kind of design. It’s called ICF construction. It’s like these foam blocks where you pour concrete in the middle of them and then you can attach drywall to the inside and you can stucco or do other stuff to the outside. But we use a Hardy board. So pretty much the whole house is built out of concrete. And the lot was cleared really good when we did that about ten years ago. So I really attribute the construction that we used to build the place and no exposed and metal roof that kind of allowed it to Dodge the fire. And then the guy on the east side of me 48 hours before that fire blew through, he came up there and he’s like an aerospace engineer type of guy. And he wrapped his whole house in tinfoil. And somehow that kept him from burning up. But my neighbor to the west of me there, there’s no explanation on why he’s still standing. It’s pretty incredible. So just happy to be still together in one piece and really sad about the neighborhood and about all my neighbors up there.
[00:05:40.350] – Dave Schlossberg
And a lot of history since that neighborhoods.
[00:05:42.810] – Big Rich Klein
Right.
[00:05:43.210] – Dave Schlossberg
A lot of the people living up there were cabins handed down through the generations there. So really sad to see that. But hopefully we’ll be able to build back.
[00:05:55.310] – Big Rich Klein
So an aerospace guy engineer using tinfoil for something Besides a hat. That’s awesome.
[00:06:04.180] – Dave Schlossberg
Yeah. It’s pretty incredible. And they make special material to go do that. And that’s not even what he used. He was just some industrial grade 2000 thick aluminum foil he had leftover from another job he was working on and just jammed up there and stapled it all up to his house. And it’s incredible. Really. READ MORE
