Episode 1

so this is our first podcast something
we’ve been talking about for a long time
putting together slowly but surely it’s
finally here the day is finally here we
got a lot of work to do we got a lot of
things to go over uh but just to kind of
start things off you know my name is
Craig Snell from Milestone Mortgage
Solutions F and Miles with Milestone
Mortgage Solutions so uh for anyone who
doesn’t know we’ve been working together
for almost years now and uh a lot has
changed in years and you know we get a
lot of questions and we get a lot of uh
you know a lot of people that come up to
us and talk to us about how we started
how we started working together so I
think you know for this first episode
that’d be a great thing for us to cover
but I think before we even get into that
we got to pick a freaking name for this
thing yeah I have no idea I was like you
know it’s it going to be the Vernon
Craig show I know I know some of the
team members at Milestone put together
some lists and some flashcards for you
to uh surprise me with and see what I
haven’t even read these yet so I
apologize if I butcher any of these but
we over a few options and see if we can
land on something lone Legends live lone
Legends live I don’t know go a bab I
feel like I’m not a legend so I don’t
think that would really be the case
maybe years from now maybe as rates
turn that sounds like a bad soap oper
from like the s that my mom watched
dad Ventures and Home Loans Dad we do
have a lot of kids between the two of us
I mean you have a lot of kids lone
officer Chronicles
no Sarah you got to step up your game
yeah yeah we need to get a better back
off two lone daddies two lone daddies I
don’t think everyone will appreciate
that as much as I will but uh we’ll put
that on the table I mean for everybody
who’s watching his nickname is daddy in
the office that might self Proclaim I
might have started that and just
recorrect everybody as they call me
Craig I change it to Daddy and it’s
starting it’s only weird when clients
start calling you Daddy and then I’m
like what is Happ shout out to haly Al
she does get her clients call me Daddy
for a better rate so that options always
out there for you perfect lone laugh
love that seems not for us lone brothers
from different mothers oh that’s a
maybe I like that one dad Vice and
mortgages I don’t like the dad side got
to go daddy Vice Maybe daddy Vice Days
of our loans Days of Our Lives what like
mortgage daddies now this would have
been what I would have picked the
mortgage daddies the young feeling a lot
of daddies going on there is I think she
really lot of loan and lot of daddies I
want to know who came up with these
things I’m going to go with probably the
girl sitting in the corner laughing at
us right now Ma the young and
invested One loan to live did you
somebody watched a lot you CH gbt these
things the haha home loan show lend me
your laughs okay so I think what we
really need to do is we need to put
something out and let people comment on
what they think we should name this and
we’ll go over that in our next show
because we obviously need some help yeah
I think we should just have a little
contest like whoever’s the winner or
something we give him a prize anybody
just click below give us an idea on uh a
good name for the podast maybe raffle
off you know maybe get something good
like your Celtics tickets yeah like
let’s just let’s give away like one of
your kids or something I mean I got FY
you can spare one yeah we’ll figure out
something good to give away to the
winning team name but be
creative preferably with name daddy in
it somewhere no just kidding preferably
not with daddy or loans I I I think this
this podcast is going to have it’s
obviously going to have a lot to do with
loans and mortgages because that’s what
we do for a living but I I really see
this podcast as just being what what
everybody wants to hear right they want
to talk about you know how we got here
or mortgages or real estate advice we
can bring in Professionals in all
different aspects but I think this is
just supposed to be like a really fun
podcast I look forward to just having
fun if I was just doing this just to
talk about loans all day we already do
that I agree with you there’s enough
there’s enough information out there you
know we always get those questions what
are the rates what are the programs
unfortunately that stuff’s kind of
boring to talk about and it doesn’t
leave a whole lot so I think with the
goal that we have it’s definitely going
to be a little bit more uh diverse than
just mortgages so when you guys are
coming up with names out there and
you’re thinking of names be creative and
it doesn’t have to be around you know
loans or mortgages or real estate I
think this is just really a place where
we want the podcast to come together and
bring all aspects of business finance
sport
whatever it may be you guys have
suggestions that they want us to talk
about get our point of view on it uh
we’re going to be really open and have
some fun with this yeah absolutely so
kind of going back to what we started
with I think you know for this first
episode it’d be great to kind of tell
everybody about you know how we each got
started in this business how we got
started together and kind of what’s
happened since back in yeah so uh I
think that’s a great start off just so
everybody gets to know who we are if
they don’t know uh you know I’ve been
doing this close to years in the
mortgage business you know my story you
know I I got involved in mortgages back
in I was buying my first house I
got taken advantage of decided to learn
how to do mortgages totally green never
did a mortgage before in my life came
from a little bit of banking
background um and then just really took
off from there right we go right into
everybody wants to talk about the most
recent pandemic when you were able to to
jump into the business but I was part of
the crash of I saw a lot of my
friends who got me into the business
kind of running out of the burning
building and I had no choice I just got
married uh just bought a house I was po
committed so I had to go through and
during those times and I really think
that that’s helped build our business
and build my personal business over the
last or years um you know one of
the key things was in deciding to
open up the my own business um you know
probably for the last couple years
you’ve heard the flak it’s like uh you
know you guys don’t have a lot of
seasoned veterans over there we don’t
have the y year veterans that
are in the business we’re starting to
add some of those but really what My
Philosophy was and has been since day
one when we first started the business
was just to groom bring in people that
are hungry that wanted to learn the
business wanted to make extra money
maybe it was a side hustle to turn into
a full-time gig um but that’s how you
find a diamond and a rough like a Craig
Snell who you know what never you have
to give somebody the opportunity right
like this podcast hopefully opens it up
for somebody else who wants to jump into
real estate as a real as a mortgage
person or get a part-time job in another
field and really find out that they
really love it right at the end of the
day you love doing mortgages I love what
I do I had a conversation with one of my
business partners today if the whole
entire Market took a % haircut and
reduction in Pay I’d have no problem
with it I’m not going to jump Shi I do
this because I love it I want to uh you
know help out one of the main driving
factors for me and you know this is when
I first got into the business it was you
had to scrap for every deal I was doing
a lot of credit repair back then it was
Ed ating buyers getting them out of um
you know foreclosure things like that so
you learn a lot about the back end of
how a mortgage works there’s a lot of
different pieces to it um I think that
you know that’s an important piece to
touch on because I get the question a
lot oh how’d you get into this you know
what do you have to do there’s so much
on the job training that you need to
become a good loan originator that the
school doesn’t do for you that you have
to get under somebody as a mentor that’s
going to spend the time in teach you
everything because there’s so many
factors of it and if you don’t get into
this under the right person you’re
setting yourself up for failure and it’s
tough I mean we’ve talked to people
we’ve interviewed people before you know
they started they’re just not kicking it
off because and the biggest thing that
we hear back all the time is oh yeah
well the person who brought me in like
you know they’re just so busy they don’t
have time to really show me well how are
you supposed to you know get into this
so it’s really tough to crack into it
but once you do crack into it it can be
a great great profession yeah no I mean
your story I mean I’ll let you obviously
tell your story but your story is
is
the it it should be like more of the
norm right everybody thinks they hey I’m
going to go take the test pass the test
and somehow I want to make $
right like we don’t expect people to
watch this podcast because we’ve closed
four loans a month six loans a month
right like you’re the number one loan
officer in this in in the state you’ve
done this multiple times you’ve closed
three loans plus every single year
that’s why we have this podcast so we
can get it out there to people and let
them know this is a real option right
maybe it’s not the mortgage business but
you can succeed at anything you do as
long as you go all in right it took you
about what months before you were
just like all right ripped off the
bandid like I’m all in I can’t I can’t
keep doing all of it so really
just look at it jump all into something
and I think you’ll win it no matter what
what that profession is like I I was
talking with a partner today on a
coaching
call if I told you you couldn’t write
another mortgage today and tomorrow I
said Craig you have to be a full-time
real estate EST agent is there any doubt
in your mind you’re going to be the
number one real estate agent in the area
no same process right it’s just the
drive the
consistency that’s what that that’s what
we’re looking for at Milestone we’re
recruiting or talking to somebody who’s
never written a loan before like do you
have the drive and what are your what do
you what do you want out of this right
is it a better life for your kids or
your your family or do you just want to
go on vacations which is fine right but
like how many vacations you going to pay
for how hard are you going to work to go
on those vacations and that’s really
kind of what we look for in loan
officers yeah and I think a lot of
people don’t really realize like it’s
it’s a different job it’s not a to-
job it’s not a you know punch in punch
out kind of thing you know your phone’s
not going to ring unless you go make it
ring so what are you going to do in that
off time what are you going to do at
those on those nights and those weekends
to generate the business to get your
phone to ring during the week so you
have something to do and to try to train
somebody up to learn all of the stuff
that has to do with loans to make you
adequate to be able to go do that plus
to teach them the other side of the
business to go get the business is tough
for people to be able to manage both
right out of the gate you know we talked
to people that worked at Banks or worked
at uh call centers you know and they
just they don’t understand this side of
the business because it’s so much
different to them but this side of the
business can be so much better for you
financially if you’re able to do kind of
both sides of that you know I think one
of the big things too when you when you
hit that makes me think of like a work
life balance right everybody comes to me
like oh you have a great work life
balance like I have a better work life
balance that I HED months ago
months ago years ago because I’m aware
of it right it’s in the front of my head
I have I have two two two kids and
uh Liam and Olivia for everybody
who’s
watching I need to spend more time with
them because I know that they’re going
to be gone right I can go back to that
uneven work life balance but we do have
to and and you’ve gotten a lot better at
it but if you’re just getting into a
business and you’ve not done it it’s
mortgagees it’s whatever you’re going to
do forget that work life balance like
how much work life balance did you have
for the first three years you were doing
this I mean we could say we don’t have
work life balance now but I mean at the
end of the day it’s better than it was
for sure I mean you were working
hours a week yeah people need to
understand you want to be successful put
in the time it’s and you did it
consistently you know you can’t have
somebody just stick their big toe into
it work hours one week and work
hours the next week and expect the same
results that somebody that sits doing it
all the time yeah you got to be you got
to be available all the time really is
the biggest thing and you got to go get
out there and then you know you’re going
to have Realtors you’re going to have
people that want to send you business
they’re going to call you on Saturday
and Sunday they’re going to call you at
at night and if you’re not
available to take the time to have those
conversations or to get that work done
you know you’re not going to have the
kind of success that we’re able to have
but you know it’s a balance to try to
figure that out you know it takes a long
time I think to do it because you know
when I started it was always how do I
get more how do I get more how do I get
more and then all a sudden you’re like
oh I got a lot I don’t know how to
manage this now you bring people in now
you’re trying to train other people so
it’s always I feel like we’ve always
been evolving since we started so it’s
been fun you know things have definitely
changed since we started uh in but
I think it’s better now than it was by
far
it’s more fun now than it was you know
we’re we’re working probably close to
just as hard but in different ways and
it’s really made it uh it really made it
possible to be able to have a better
workplace balance like you can go away
for a little bit because I’ll cover you
our team will cover you I can go away a
little bit before it was if you’re just
originator by yourself you have to
answer the phone /and handle
everything and that makes it very very
challenging yeah it sucked I mean one of
the one of the things I want to make
sure we talk about today on the on the
first podcast that we’re going to have
before we name it on the next one is
really how you started right like you
have one of the most incredible stories
I’ve ever seen I’ve been doing this a
long time and I don’t think for the
people who are just meeting us or just
watching this this is just about
mortgages right just because you do
mortgages this could be anybody that’s
out there watching this tell us a little
bit about your story you started in
we can skip past how we first had our
first introduction maybe over at the uh
you know greasy luck having some
cocktails for about hours we’ll touch on
that maybe podcast five uh but you know
tell us about what made you want to get
into the business initially and I think
I know some of those answers but more
importantly the evolution over the last
five years that you’ve been doing this
you know start us off where uh you’re
just getting into the business and some
of those grinds because I feel like a
major driving point for for me to come
on and started doing a podcast is to you
know explain and tell my story but it
wasn’t where we are today right like
just in The Last Years where you
started years ago and where you are
today I think everybody just sees oh he
drives a fast whip oh he’s got fancy
clothes what were some of those things
that you gave up right they never see
what we’re we’re we’re giving up in the
background in regards to time family
time you know going out with friends or
vacations there’s a lot of those things
we we missed because we had to build
that business for what we have today but
I I mean we we say it all the time it’s
like you know you have somebody call you
up and you’re like oh it must be nice it
must be nice like I’m still putting in
hours a week on a normal week um
you know sometimes I look back and
especially recently I’m like God I wish
I could work hours a week like that
would be my first part-time job but um
tell us where where you uh jumped in
yeah so I mean for anybody that doesn’t
know before I got into this I was a
firefighter paramedic my wife is a nurse
we had I think two kids at the time we
were pretty much doing that shuffle you
know I was working hours coming home
she was going to work I was taking care
of the kids she comes home I go to work
take care of the kids and we just felt
like I was just in this grind of it you
know was non-stop you know I was working
at the fire department which was great
it was always a goal of mine you know
when I got out of high school I had
certain goals I wanted to become an em
then I wanted to become a paramedic then
I wanted to become a fire fighter I
achieved all those goals I was when I
became a paramedic I was think
when I got in the fire department and
then a few year fast forward a few years
later I’m sitting there and I’m like
what can I do to better my life for my
kids and my family so that I don’t have
to work hours a week on an ambulance
you know I was working with a ton of
guys that had to do that /to be able
to survive because you know the pay that
we’re getting is not the best on the
fire B to be able to support a family so
either my wife had to work a ton or I
had to work a ton somebody always had to
work somebody always had to miss a
holiday you know both of those
professions you’re just never home one
way or the other so what can I do to do
something that’s different I don’t want
to go on an ambulance anymore I was
tired of doing that I wanted to just do
something different with the fire
department my goal was never to give
that up yeah you know I was never I
wasn’t going to say that I my goal was
to become part-time in this but I never
thought it was going to be full-time you
know I always thought I was going to
still stay at the fire department but my
goal was to be able to allow my wife to
cut back stay home with the kids a
little bit more so when I was looking
around I I was thinking about trying to
become a plumber trying to become an
electrician I don’t know I don’t know
what I would be good at I never really
did anything else and then you know we
we met and we talked like yeah hey take
test just like you talk to everybody oh
yeah no you’ll be great at this go do
this and I’m like okay you’re awesome I
took the test and I’m like I don’t know
if I’m going to be any good at this I
don’t know anything about this this test
is crazy I don’t understand anything
about mortgages I I feel like I’m going
to fail at this and I almost didn’t take
the test because of that but I talked to
you I remember I was at a Great Wolf
Lodge with the kids I ended up taking
the test you opened up the company and
it started and once I got into it I I
became obsessed with it like I used to
be obsessed with the gym if I wasn’t
working I was going to the gym I
shift in my focus I don’t think I’ve
been to the gym ever since obviously as
you could tell but it it’s allowed me to
do other things you know my focus and my
addiction went to mortgages and when you
first start off you’re not going to have
deals a month coming in you’re not
going to have hours a week worth of
work but you have to spend the time
working like you do so when I first
started I would sit there and I would
sit there with you and just go over the
deals that you were going over sitting
your meetings with your clients sit with
our processor try to learn everything
talk to the account reps that we had
trying to learn the business every deal
you get in trying to look at a bunch of
different ways I would leave the fire
department i’ go to the office and I’d
stay there until at night I
didn’t have a single deal just to learn
it and then here comes a deal then you
work that you go through the Kinks it’s
a lot of learning curves you know you’re
go everything’s new to you but you
communicate with everybody you try to
get the right answers you have the
people around you and you just kept
building on that building on that so for
the first year plus if I wasn’t at the
fire department I didn’t work any
overtime I went all in you know I took a
pay cut at the time to be able to do
that because I wanted to dedicate my
time to doing this I knew that it would
pay off if I did it so I had to bite the
bullet and I had to show up and I had to
work and work and work and go to open
houses on the weekends go to these
events meet these agents because you’re
brand new nobody knows who I am they
know who you were you know and they
don’t know who I am so I had to build
that relationship with these people but
when you spend the time with them you go
out there you keep working you’re around
you’re always available you start to
build your reputation up and up in over
six months now the loan stuff started to
get a lot smoother y now the process
started now I felt like more comfortable
to be able to go out and get more
business go and expand my relationships
with Realtors and get out there a little
more more com by a year that’s when it
really shifted and you know now it was
hey call Craig you know he knows what
he’s doing he’s uh you know he’s always
available he has a great reputation and
at the end of the day that’s what is
going to get you business in this field
is your reputation and that was very
important so you know we always focused
I always focused very very hard to make
sure that every deal that I worked on or
every client that I talked to I did
everything that I could I probably
messed things up or I didn’t know what I
was saying but it’s part of the process
and you just start learning learning
learning and over a year’s time period
you know all those pieces start to click
together but you have to put that
working you know you have to put that
time in otherwise you you’re always
going to kind of be in that one to two
loans people you know a couple of of uh
maybe referral Partners but to really
make that next step you have to go %
into this so I got to a point where it
was getting super busy it kept building
kept building and I’d be working from
the fire department non-stop working
here non-stop I remember then taking
call the ambulance the ambulance I’m
like are you on a call right now you’re
like yeah there’s a fire I’m like Jesus
yeah it would just be non-stop the guys
would be hanging around watching TV and
I’d be on my computer in the back
working till at night just
having to do what I had to do to make it
happen you know so there’s always time
it’s just a matter of how much time you
want to dedicate to it and what I had to
do the first two or three years was that
was it you know I didn’t go out with my
friends I didn’t go out with if I went
out it was for business you know not
saying we didn’t have fun to go out but
we went out for business we went out to
network events we went out with agents
we went out with referral Partners
whoever that was what I did I didn’t go
and hang out with you know my group of
friends were like they they’ mess with
me they’ like you where have you been
you know we haven’t seen you in forever
and then two or three years later you
know I was able to kind of get better at
the work life balance and you know now a
couple of my friends work here you know
they they’ve joined us and they’ve had
great success which has been awesome
because at the end of the day I think
with any profession you end up spending
so much time with the people
you’re it as much and it’s also cool
right so we did not know each other
personally before you started we hung
out one night right off the bat I’m like
this guy is awesome right I
can’t wait to hang out and grab some
more beers with this
guy and then you just took off right how
rewarding is that though I see you uh
you know bringing in friends into the
business getting them started and seeing
them hit their levels of achievement
that they never even thought they’d be
able to hit right some of these guys
they might be making three four times
more money than they thought they would
have somewhere else right or they’re
years old and they’re making a
but just seeing them follow you
and have your work ethic and try to put
in the same amount of time and try to
learn they might not pick it up as fast
as you did I mean honestly I’ve never
seen any anybody pick up the more
Mortgage business and you did you you
you put in the time but you went from
absolutely green
to what I like to call slinging deals
and putting the kill shot in within nine
months you are already on your way
consistently closing three to five loans
and then like I remember telling you if
you hit for three three months in a
row like you have to say bye to the fire
department how did how did leaving the
fire department feel I know we had many
conversations but like you tell the
audience how that feel I know you were
kind of torn for a while but I mean dude
that must have been a crazy sense of
relief that you had yeah that was you
know one of the hardest decisions I’ve
ever had to make in my life because when
you get a job like that you know most
people % of the people do not leave
you’re there forever so when we hit a
point where I’m like all right you know
I’m making just as much money in a month
than I’m making it a whole year at the
fire department you know how long is
this going to make sense to still do
this and it was a hard thing to do Co
hit I was like I don’t know if if things
are going to slow down nope things Wen
even crazier and then you know is that
the point where I’m talking to you I’m
talking to my dad I talked to other
people in the business or that do
something similar to us you know whether
it’s real estate or whether it’s
construction that were firefighters that
gave that up because their career took
off somewhere else and they took that
leap and then you have the other side
that is telling you you’re an idiot
don’t do that how could you give up
guaranteed money pension blah blah blah
blah blah you know so you’re weighing
those options you’re getting torn from
both sides but at the end of the day I
think I just had this feeling inside of
me that you know I want to go all in on
this and I can’t do that if I’m still at
the fire department you know there’s
going to be meetings that I miss there’s
going to be events that I miss there’s
going to be opportunities that I miss if
I don’t take it but it’s a scary thought
because I no longer have that guaranteed
income we’re commission based so you had
to rip that bandaid off and be like okay
this is it a lot of sleepless nights
worrying about okay you know am I going
to be able to maintain this is this ‘s
luck you know where you know the first
year or two is this just it’s just
because of the time in the market I
never went through an up and down Market
all these thoughts going into your head
but at the end of the day the people
that I talked to that had done something
like this said it was the best thing
they ever did obviously you’re going to
have the negative guys on the other side
you know that are talking you down but
also those are the guys that are working
hours a week that are miserable that
went through two divorces that just love
misery in their life and I took a
decision to go try to look into the to
the positive side of it go all in and
and never look back I didn’t realize
until just now where we’re just sitting
here cuz you and I have conversations
all the time but we never just sit down
just talk back and forth to each other I
know your story you know my story and I
kind of just put it all together so when
I got into the mortgage business I had
to give up working at the bank because
it was a conflict of interest obviously
you know slinging deals on the side I
took a full-time job managing a CVS
making like you know I think it was like
Grand a year I’m working hours
a week there I’m pulling applications in
from the fax machine in the pharmacy I’m
on the phone in the middle of the store
so I mean I think going through that for
about a year eight uh months where
you’re just grinding and you know that
there’s there’s there’s a better way
there’s a better life and just pushing
through there’s a lot of people that get
three months in six months in and
they’re like I can’t do this any longer
I haven’t slept I mean I remember
falling asleep in a chair for like three
hours when I was there and I woke up and
I’m like holy I just lost three
hours of my life right you’re just so
exhausted but just powering through just
shows you the will that you had to get
that through and I remember just sitting
there and I remember thinking when we
were sitting in the Dartmouth office and
I’m like there’s really a -chance
this kid stays at the fire department
I’m like he’s made whatever a lot of
money in a month now he’s made it in
three months four months in a row how
long is this going to like possibly take
I’m like he’s just got to cut the cut
the CT on this so there was a there was
a point where I was like yeah we might
not have Mr snow a full-time and uh
thank God you you you pulled the trigger
you got uh out of the fire department
because without that decision Milestone
definitely is not where it is today it’s
not going in the direction we’re we’re
going in now uh but more importantly
it’s just cool just watching you go away
with your kids you know what I mean
there’s there’s uh what what is the term
I’m uh I’m drawing a blank here where
you know we worry about money right we
always everybody everybody should worry
about money I don’t care if you’re
warant Buffett or Craig snow Vernon
miles or you know whoever it is
everybody worries about money they have
money worries but it it it’s cool to
finally see when I you know when you
bring somebody and you bring in you know
somebody that you’ve known a friend of
yours and you see their Financial
Freedom open up right like you’re not
worried about going out for dinner and I
I I joke around with a lot of people I’m
like I my goal for every single person
that I ever work with or I try to help
out or I coach is that they can afford
to pick up the bill at dinner when we go
out for drinks and I don’t have to pick
up the bill not that I have I have to
pick up the bill I know they will but in
the back of my mind I’m like if they
pick up that bill like uh is it going to
cause conflict somewhere else right so
that Financial Freedom is like huge for
me and that’s really where I try to
coach up I just want everybody to win
and succeed me I mean I remember all the
conversations I remember standing on the
apron at the fire department having
these conversations with you at night
over and over again you know and
teetering back and forth on am I going
to stay am I going to leave am I going
to stay am I going to leave but you know
that Financial Freedom if that wasn’t
there you know that decision couldn’t
have been made you me being able to make
the money that I was able to make
allowed me that decision and you know I
think that it you know with how you are
and how you act and how you talk to
people you are trying to build people up
to that all the time and you know
luckily it’s worked for me it’s worked
for other people here as well which is
failed for some too I mean let’s be
honest this podcast is supposed to be a
real deal uh with that being said I mean
I think we’re hitting our time for
podcast episode number one with uh
Vernon
Craig let’s wrap this up I think uh if
we could ask everybody to give us some
ideas on what they’d like us to talk
about going forward in future future
podcast and we definitely need a name I
mean we can’t be going with like uh
loans of Our Lives or whatever the hell
that was
that to throw back out there that that’s
going to be a tough one to sell to
anybody we’re not going to be able to go
viral with a name like that guys we’re
looking for a name if anybody out there
can help us out we want we got to take
this thing viral to get the the the
message across that that Craig and
Verner here we’re we’re ready to take it
over yeah I really think that this could
be something fun to do you know I really
hope it can be successful because I
think that it’s important to get
everybody to see you know we’re just two
regular guys that did this you know
we’re not I didn’t go to Harvard you
didn’t go to Harvard I never even went
col finish college I never even went I
mean we don’t want to let too many birds
out there’s other ways in life to make
money to be successful it just depends
on your work ethic and you know kind of
the personality that you are and it’s
not for everybody but I think we’ll go
over more in the future and I think this
is a great first episode awesome thanks guys