She was sitting at RockPit and cried when she heard this…

We’ve had people cry at RockPit before. But it’s usually because they don’t realize how hot the bacon wrapped jalapenos are. But man, are they good.

This is a bit of a different story.

Christina walked into RockPit for the first time on July 2^nd. She, like so many others, was there to watch the USA vs England woman’s soccer match. That’s football for those from the other side of the pond. 😊

(European football)

She arrived a bit early to have a few beers and hang with her family. There’s much laughter and joking going on between her and her family.

It’s almost go-time for the game. The teams file out of the tunnels. The commentators are giving their insight into the lineups and giving their pre-game predictions. The teams line up on the field to await their national anthem to be played.

“Oh, say can you see…” can be heard from the TV. Christina is standing. She’s watching.

Her eyes start to tear up. A tear slides down her face onto the floor. Another follows closely behind. It can’t be stopped now… the waterworks start to stream down her face.

Colleen went over to comfort her as she was crying and to find out what was wrong, but Christina couldn’t do much talking for a few minutes.

Colleen finally discovered that her journey was over. She was home. These were tears of joy. Christina just returned from a long military deployment.

And now she’s back in America. She’s with her family at an American brewery. She’s drinking a truly American made beer from RockPit brewing. 

And as soon as our national anthem started to play her emotional trigger was fired. All the emotions she was holding on to came bursting out of her.

Chalk up another fantastic moment we were able to be part of. Man…I love that we have these moments of happiness happen at RockPit. 

Christina walked away from RockPit that day with one of our American Flag tees. We are honored that someone like her will be donning that shirt all over Orlando.

Cheers to Christina! We’re glad you’re back in the arms of your family here in the states!

You’ve experienced this in your life at some point, haven’t you? The culmination of a long, emotional journey that ends happily.

When you received your acceptance letter from college after years of SAT’s, homework and essays. When you graduated from college or trade school after years of studying and sacrifice. When you got your first job after school after months of trying. When you signed the papers on your first home after years of saving and penny-pinching. When you got married after years of dating the wrong people. When your first kid is born after years of trying.

All these events are emotional rollercoasters. And sometimes they don’t hit you until an emotional trigger is fired. Like hearing the national anthem for the first time since returning from a military deployment.

I have a similar story.

We spent the better part of a year building RockPit by hand. There were so many freaking setbacks I honestly thought we wouldn’t open. As crazy as it sounds now, I had gone through the scenarios in my head about how I would tell people that we aren’t opening. And how to pay back the loans I took out. Scary shit.

I can’t imagine how Sean felt, who had put a LOT of investment into RockPit.  

I kept thinking of how to explain to people how the continued setbacks ultimately caused us to shut down before we were open. Thankfully, you never saw it. No one did. I did, however, hold onto those thoughts. Again, scary shit.

When we finally did open, I was drained. We all were. But I wasn’t happy. Relieved, yes. Happy, no.

Weird to hear that, right?

But you know as well as I do that our emotions are weird as hell. Even after a hugely successful soft opening weekend, I was still waiting for something to come along to shut us down.

A scarcity mindset SUCKS and I had it.

As time went on, the scarcity mindset was killed off. But I still couldn’t allow myself to be happy. About two months after we opened, I remember telling Sean I hadn’t taken time to enjoy the fact that we were open and doing relatively well.

He gave me some deep and fascinating advice that took all of 6 words to give: “Just take time to relax, dude.” Easier said than done.

Then, one day, I did.

I was sitting at Intracoastal in Melbourne (awesome brewery if you’re ever on the coast) with my wife talking to some people who had never been to RockPit. When the conversation was over and there was a bit of silence, my trigger was fired.

Here I am sitting at one of the best breweries in Central Florida and I’m actually enjoying myself. I’m spending time with my wife and everything is, well, pretty good. I had a huge rush of happiness and I thought “Holee crap, RockPit is open and we’re ok. Whoa!“

Yes, my eyes watered, but no tears. Just a huge smile while I sat there enjoying the hell out of those beers. Plus being in a place like Intracoastal is enough to inspire any small brewery owner to what your hard work can become. 

And the reason I was able to finally have that moment? You.

Yep. You!

You’re reading this email because you keep coming back to enjoy yourself at RockPit. You bring friends with you. You bring family with you. Without your support, I wouldn’t be writing these emails to you on a weekly basis. I’d be panicking and running around like a headless chicken.

Thank you for allowing me to invade your email inbox once a week. And, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for supporting RockPit so graciously and enthusiastically. 

You saved this dude from a life of perpetual scarcity mindset. And beatings from Jeremy.