Brock Thompson on Food, Music, and Folklore

>> Announcer: This is the Tri State Time Machine brought to you by Alex R. White, pllc@suedistractedriver.com each week, your host, Vanessa Hankins and her guests share memories and stories about the past, the present and the future of the Tri State area. That's West Virginia, Kentucky and the Ohio areas. If you used to live here or you currently live here, you're going to catch yourself saying out loud, wow, I remember that. Now here's Vanessa.

>> Vanessa: Today we are talking all things food, acting, um, some wrenches that were thrown in the way along that road. And why Huntington? Because, you know, that topic is always our main concern here is why Huntington. Um, so our guest today is Brock Thompson. Brock, how are you?

>> Brock Thompson: Good. How are you doing?

>> Vanessa: I'm good. You want to introduce yourself a little bit about what you do and your background?

>> Brock Thompson: Sure. So, yes, my name is Brock Thompson. I do a lot of different things, but primarily I'm an entrepreneur. Um, I'm a singer, songwriter, musician, actor. And the list really does go on.

>> Vanessa: I was gonna say you've got a lot of things in your pocket there. Yeah, uh, that's pretty cool. So let's talk about your entrepreneurships. Let's talk about the restaurants. You've got Starvin Arvin's. And you do that with your father, is that correct?

>> Brock Thompson: That's right.

>> Vanessa: Okay, so tell me a little bit about your menu and how that came about and what you like about that particular restaurant.

>> Brock Thompson: Well, actually we could jump over to how it all started, which is with the peach cobbler factory.

>> Vanessa: Okay, so it started there.

>> Brock Thompson: Yes.

>> Vanessa: Okay, so I had it backwards.

st is when we opened: 2022

>> Vanessa: And that's right beside Midway. Correct.

>> Brock Thompson: It's actually moved.

>> Vanessa: Oh, okay.

in. Yes. So we opened that in: 2022

>> Vanessa: Like where you said that location.

>> Brock Thompson: Yes. And, um, that was a smash hit.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, it was wild. People were waiting in line, like long, long lines to get in there. Yeah, that was pretty cool.

>> Brock Thompson: We even unfortunately had to turn some people away at the end m of the day because you know the line, it never stopped.

>> Vanessa: Right. For sure. That's a good problem to have.

>> Brock Thompson: Have a last car type of situation to drive through.

>> Vanessa: Like you're pulling some like Austin's ice cream kind of stuff. Like, okay, the line's too long, we've got to cut it off here.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. So that was a, a brand new franchise at the Time. A friend of ours named Greg George, he's from. He's also the CEO of Peach Copper Factory. And he reached out to my dad and asked him if he would be interested in a franchise of this new concept. And it was the 10th location of the concept. Brand new. A, uh, lot of things still not figured out about it at the time. But we went into it, and now there's 115 locations.

>> Vanessa: You guys were on the ground floor. That's pretty cool. I didn't know that. I had no idea. That's really, really cool.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. So we built that up and I actually worked with Greg for several months. And then, like you said, we, um, opened another restaurant along with it.

>> Vanessa: Gotcha.

>> Brock Thompson: Called Starvin Arvin's. We moved Peach Cobbler Factory up the road to Route 60.

>> Vanessa: Route 60, okay.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. In the former Paradise Donuts location where it lives now. And it's been nice. It's really expanded on the menu, too. We started out with, uh, about maybe a couple dozen products, and now the menu has almost a hundred items on it, believe it or not. We've got so many new things.

>> Vanessa: Like, I was looking at the websites for both restaurants, and it like, it's. I don't know. What time is it? It's 9:00 in the morning, and I'm sitting here thinking, I'm ready for some vegetable soup and, uh, some cookies.

>> Brock Thompson: Yes, yes. We've really expanded on it. We've got some new products. Our cheesecakes just came out. 24 flavors of cheesecakes, which is crazy, right?

>> Vanessa: That's pretty big around here because, as you know, a lot of people travel to, like, the big malls in Lexington, local places like that, to go to, um, the Cheesecake Factory.

>> Brock Thompson: That's right.

>> Vanessa: So that's nice to have that option around here.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: I think it's really cool how much our economy in the last couple of years. I know depending on who you ask, they would say it's gone down, but I think our options as far as a city have gone up tremendously.

>> Brock Thompson: Oh, yes. Especially. Especially in restaurant business. Right?

>> Vanessa: Yes. Yes. Um, so tell me what your number one seller is at Starvin Arbans. What would be like if no one had ever heard of you before or came into town? What would you suggest they have?

>> Brock Thompson: Well, the number one seller by far is the chicken and dumplings.

>> Vanessa: Okay. Which looks delicious.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, yeah, it's a big seller. My personal favorite is probably number two, and it's the meatloaf. That's a good one. Uh, but the whole menu Sells well. We've got. I think we've got 10 items, like 10 entree items and then sides and things like that.

>> Vanessa: So the whole, um, model of Starvin Arvin's is Southern Comfort, right?

>> Brock Thompson: Yep. Comfort food. Quick is our tagline.

>> Vanessa: Okay. I didn't know that.

>> Brock Thompson: We tried to, um, make a cross between, like, the type of menu that Cracker Barrel has, but the service that Chick Fil a has, for example, and put that together. So it's quick. Yeah.

>> Vanessa: Nice mess.

>> Brock Thompson: Convenient. But it's also food that you can't get at any fast food chain, Right?

>> Vanessa: Absolutely. And, you know, I didn't realize that there were so many options for starving Arvin's. It wasn't until I was looking at the website and I'm just, like, scrolling along and I'm in my own world and I'm listening to. I'm editing another podcast as I'm scrolling, and I was just like, oh, my gosh, why haven't I ate here yet? Because I have to be honest, I've never ate at either one. Um, just because I am a creature of habit. So I am a eat lunch at home galaxy, and my husband has made me a eat breakfast at home gal as well.

>> Brock Thompson: So I'll probably find you a coupon.

>> Vanessa: That'll work for me. That'll work for me. Um, but I mean, everyone that I know. That's what's so funny about it is everyone that I know is a go to, like, they love both places. We, um, have a lot of. I was telling you before we started recording, we have a lot of mutual friends, friends of your mother's and your father's and things like that. And I hung out with a much older crowd, so a lot of our tailgating friends and stuff are, um, friends of your parents. And so I've sampled some things because they've been at tailgates, events and things like that. But I've never actually gone to the restaurants.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, I've been.

>> Vanessa: And that's on my to do list.

>> Brock Thompson: I've been to your friend's tailgates.

>> Vanessa: We have a good time. Yeah, we have a really good time.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. They get three spaces rented, not just one.

>> Vanessa: It's a wild time. We have a really good time. Shout out to Monica, uh, and Jerry. They're the best neighbors. You guys have heard about them time and time again. Um, so let's talk a little bit about your music, uh, and acting career, because I think that's pretty cool, because. How old are you?

>> Brock Thompson: I'm 25.

>> Vanessa: Sure you're 25 and you've got all these things in your pocket, but, I mean, you have. You've had success already and you had it at a very young age. So tell me a little bit about that.

>> Brock Thompson: Well, um, I've been a musician, uh, since I was about. Started when I was about 12, 13. Um, wasn't too. Wasn't too good starting out, but that's how everyone goes. Right? You gotta make your way with it. Right. Um, but I recorded my first songs at 18 at a local studio. And that was just kind of knocking the dust off, you know, just getting started with it. And then the next year I went to Franklin, Tennessee, uh, with a friend of mine that had. He was going to school at a studio there and, uh, helped me to. To record, uh, uh, an EP there. Six new songs. So that was my first step into, like, professional recording when I was.

>> Vanessa: Because I Google all my guests. So fair warning, if you ever come on the show, I'm gonna Google you and see what I can find out about you. Um, I saw that you were on. I like to find local stuff more than I do, like anything on a big stage or anything like that. So I've seen that you were on, um, I think it was like the first at 5 WSAZ.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: You had performed live, and, uh, my sister had never heard of you before, so she was like, who is that singing? I was like, actually, it's this young kid that's from. I think I said, I'm m assuming Spring Valley area. And, uh, she was like, wow, his voice is really good. And I was like, yeah. And he was really young when he did this.

>> Brock Thompson: I was like, so I can't believe that I was 19 when I did that.

>> Vanessa: Oh, that's cool.

>> Brock Thompson: It was my first time on tv and I, uh, was very nervous.

>> Vanessa: You didn't look nervous, so good for you. You didn't look it.

>> Brock Thompson: I held still.

>> Vanessa: That's funny. I get really nervous every time I do wsac. I think it's because there's so many cameras. They're all over the place, so you never know which one they're getting you with.

>> Brock Thompson: They don't tell you where to look. You just kind of look off forward into space, you know?

>> Vanessa: Absolutely, absolutely. Um, so your music career kind of came to a halt when you had, as I referred to a wrench Stern in your program.

>> Brock Thompson: That's right.

>> Vanessa: Um, so you want to tell us a little bit about that?

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, It's a long story, but I'll make it short.

>> Vanessa: Okay.

>> Brock Thompson: Um.

>> Vanessa: We've got time.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, well, yeah, it's called spasmodic dysphonia. Uh, to the listeners out there, the most, um, the person you may know the most that has it would be Robert Kennedy Jr.

>> Vanessa: Which he's kind of been known lately for that, because everybody wants to know what's up with his voice.

>> Brock Thompson: Yep. He's in the news, he's on TikTok, and he's. He's everywhere. You know, he's really in the. In the spotlight right now with things he has going on. And, um, so everyone's like, what's wrong with that guy's voice? He sounds like he smoked, you know, a thousand packs of cigarettes.

>> Vanessa: Right, Exactly. He sounds like Uncle Joe.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, um, he and I both, at one point, sounded a lot worse and certainly couldn't do a podcast like this.

>> Vanessa: Right.

>> Brock Thompson: And, uh, how it all started was this was when I was 21. So, like I said, I was.

>> Vanessa: That happened quickly into your career?

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, yeah, very. Yeah, I was, um, you know, right before that, 19. I had been playing fairs and festivals. I played at the Paramount for my.

>> Vanessa: First time, which I've seen that online.

>> Brock Thompson: Very thankful I got to do that. And a lot of things were going well. And then Covid hit. Right. So that was halt for everybody. And then about less than a year later, um, I lost my voice one day just for a minute or two, and a friend noticed it and said, what's wrong with you, man? You sound really weird. And I was. I don't know. And just kind of brushed it off.

>> Vanessa: Right. Just thinking maybe you've worked too hard.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. Just came back, and I was like, that's fine. And then it happened later that day, and then it happened again, then it happened the next day, and then it was all day long, and I sounded.

>> Vanessa: How scary was that? At the moment when it was happening.

>> Brock Thompson: I didn't know what was wrong.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, I would be terrified.

>> Brock Thompson: I thought I would get over it in a day or two. Right. But you figure it's a cold or something, a really weird cold. It makes you not be able to talk. But I'm like, yeah, this is just like any. Anyone that gets sick, you figure you're gonna get over it.

>> Vanessa: Get over a day or two, Right?

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. So that didn't happen. Um, I went to, uh, an ENT and they said, oh, you just have some muscle tension where, like, the muscles in your. And your voice box are just constricting a little too much. You need to go to speech therapy. So I went to speech therapy for Six or seven weeks, and nothing happened. Nothing was getting better.

>> Vanessa: Yeah.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. So that happened. And then we went to another speech therapist, and I went to a, uh, physical therapist, and I went to acupuncturist, and I went to this doctor and that doctor.

>> Vanessa: Anywhere that would take you.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. And nothing worked.

>> Vanessa: And not to interrupt you, but it's pretty rare for men to get this disease. Disease, right.

>> Brock Thompson: It's very rare.

>> Vanessa: It's more common in women. I mean, it's rare in general, but it's more rare for men to get it than women.

>> Brock Thompson: It's most common in, um, women over, I think, 50 or 60m, something like that.

>> Vanessa: That's what I read.

>> Brock Thompson: I think that's part of what took so long to get a diagnosis is they said, oh, you're 21.

>> Vanessa: She's so young. Yeah.

>> Brock Thompson: People like you don't get that.

>> Vanessa: Well, I think I read somewhere that it. Usually you get it after 30. Anywhere from 30 to 60 is when it sets in. So they probably wasn't even on their radar. That could be wrong with you.

>> Brock Thompson: Right. And I even suggested it because I'm a researcher. And my, um, first speech therapist said, oh, you could have that. You know, you never know. But I would suggest it to the doctors, and they. They would all say, no way. They're very stern about it, too. They're like, you do not have that. You need to focus on this.

>> Vanessa: Yes.

>> Brock Thompson: Just do your speech therapy.

>> Vanessa: Keep going to therapy.

>> Brock Thompson: Yes. And I'm like, up here. I know that's not going.

>> Vanessa: You know, it's coming, right?

>> Brock Thompson: Uh, yeah. So, uh, a year of that almost to the week.

>> Vanessa: Oh, how frustrating.

>> Brock Thompson: I traveled to Nashville seven weeks in a row, uh, for Monday and Tuesday, and I was doing a physical therapy with their people at Vanderbilt. And then they referred me to their ent. And then it took about three hours there. And then their doctor that worked with all the, uh, big artists in the world when they had voice problems came in, and there was about three guys in, uh, lab coats that came in behind her all at the same time. I looked at my dad and I said, this ain't good.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, this isn't good.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. So they. She told me she thinks I have spasmodic dysphonia. And that was really. She was confirming something. I already figured that. No one else. Yeah. So she said, you can get Botox injections in your voice. And so that's what we did a few weeks later, thankfully. And I've been doing that ever since. And I've improved along the way. And we kind of dialed in the dose and, uh, my voice improved along with the injections and stuff.

>> Vanessa: And now when you sing, does it strain it and make it worse or.

>> Brock Thompson: M. It's just I don't have as much, um, I get fatigued easier. I don't have as much longevity in my voice. So people ask, hey, are you going to be singing again? Are you going to get your band back together? Things like that. And my answer to that right now is that I'm going to continue recording every chance I get. Because I can step in, do a take and step out and take a break. But to get up and do a standard 90 minute set is not feasible. It just starts to get really difficult and I wouldn't be able to do it well.

>> Vanessa: And it wouldn't be worth it to lose your voice for days on end, I'm sure.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, it's very fatiguing. It really doesn't. It doesn't hurt physically though, because it's just the neurological signals. Right. So it just, um, it's just like the worse the spasms are, it's like walking around lifting weights all day, but for your voice. So you imagine you're doing curls all day with your voice. At the end of the day you're completely worn out.

>> Vanessa: Oh, I'm sure.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. That's the best analogy I could give you for that.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely. So now, has that affected your acting career or did the acting come after the music since you weren't able to sing as much anymore?

>> Brock Thompson: The acting came after. Actually. I aspired to be an actor. Um, like really on, on the back end of singing. Right. I wanted to be, to be an artist, to be a singer and then to become an actor because of that. Like, there's a lot of people that do that. I thought that's really cool.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, it's fun.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. So it is fun. It's a great time. And I felt that I had a knack for it and I just didn't know how that would go. But luckily I have a friend. I think you've, uh, had him on before. His name's Dylan Smith.

>> Vanessa: Yes.

>> Brock Thompson: Uh, he is a really good friend of mine.

>> Vanessa: I love Dylan. Yeah, he's a fun time.

>> Brock Thompson: He's a wild man.

>> Vanessa: He is. And I love everything about him.

>> Brock Thompson: Ye. He is a director and he, uh, went to school with me. He's a year older than me and so we've been friends for a long time. And he was doing, uh, different music videos and films. Uh, I volunteered for a few of them and then got uh, to do more and more acting with him. And we did that Ghost of Fifth Street Hill film together, which.

>> Vanessa: That one was really fun. Um, I did not anticipate the very ending with Dylan rolling up in the Jeep, and I was like, I was wondering how he was gonna work himself into this one.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, that was cool. It's an old folk tal. Talk about that. It's cool. It's an old folk tale, um, from real Herald Dispatch newspaper.

>> Vanessa: We actually did an episode on it, so some of our listeners may be aware, but go ahead.

>> Brock Thompson: Well, I wasn't really sure how true it was because, you know, it's a folk tale.

>> Vanessa: Right.

>> Brock Thompson: Which, you know, really isn't all that true most of the time.

>> Vanessa: Right.

>> Brock Thompson: But when I would post about this film, people would comment on Facebook. Like, real experience.

>> Vanessa: The people swear that they've seen it.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: Uh, people swear by it a little.

s. It was a cab driver in the: 1940

>> Vanessa: Great.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, you might recognize him. And then it zaps to the. Well, no, it was going to be the 90s, but it's modern day because he had an iPhone. Right. So it zaps to modern day. And, um, it's just these different decades, people have the same experience.

>> Vanessa: Yeah. I think it's super cool. And what's funny is, um, when I was doing research for having you on, um, my little sister had never heard of the ghost of Fitz Street Hill, which I found hilarious because I graduated from Chesapeake High School, um, over in Ohio. She graduated from Wayne, so, like, I thought her more than I would have heard the ghost stories of the Fit Street Hill ghost and all that, and she had not. So she watched that little film with me, which those of you at home, um, you can easily just Google it and you can find it on YouTube.

>> Brock Thompson: Yep.

>> Vanessa: And it's a cute little film. Well, I don't know if cute's the word, but it's. It's cool to see the folklore come to life, I guess. Yeah, it's really cool for that part. And the little girl that played the bride in the movie, um, she did really, really well. Like, she was so stoic and just like, it Was wild how she did not break character whatsoever. Which, I mean, I know that's what actors are supposed to do, but in short films like that local, you don't think that she's gonna be so stoic, you know?

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, we had some really great actors and actresses and I went to school with her too, actually. Her name's Lily Adkins and she did a great job of that.

>> Vanessa: She really did.

>> Brock Thompson: They spent hours and hours on her makeup and hair.

>> Vanessa: Oh, I guarantee it. And it was a big, it was definitely period worthy. Um, I loved the part where she's like, Mr. I haven't worn a jacket in nine years. Was it nine years or something like that?

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, yeah.

>> Vanessa: And I was like, she did not break like at all. Like, she didn't break like her sight line, anything. I was like, she's, she's doing it, she's doing it big.

>> Brock Thompson: Um, it's a lot of work for seven minutes.

>> Vanessa: Definitely. Definitely. Is there, is there a time in your life, like when you were younger that you look back and you were like, yeah, I was destined to be an actor, singer and all these things, or do you think it just kind of stumbled upon you and found you as you found it?

>> Brock Thompson: Well, I believe, um, when I was 16 or 17, I really had decided at that point that I was just going to be a musician.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, uh, made m up your mind. It's happening.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. My mom's like, you got to go to college, you got to figure something out. So I looked through, I looked through all the majors at Marshall and I was like, I don't want to do any of this. I just want to play guitar. So, um, I had decided in some form I wanted to be a creative and mainly, uh, a singer, songwriter. And obviously things have changed along the way, but I still have that passion and belief that that's the way it's going to be long term and you.

>> Vanessa: Can be creative, um, long after life hits you in the face. Like you said, you are an entrepreneur now, but that gives you more freedom to do with your spare time the things that you love.

>> Brock Thompson: And it has. And I feel like even though these things have happened to, uh, my voice mainly, luckily I've got a really great treatment and great doctors. I've been able to still pursue, obviously the things that I want to and even, um, you know, be an actor. And uh, I've m not told anyone this yet, but I've recorded new music this year.

>> Vanessa: Oh, yay. Yeah.

>> Brock Thompson: That's gonna be coming out in the next, over the next few months.

>> Vanessa: Where is the best place to find your music? Are you on all the, like the apps?

>> Brock Thompson: I'm on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, etc.

>> Vanessa: So everywhere you can listen to the podcast, you can listen to Brock's music as well.

>> Brock Thompson: That's absolutely right. Just my name. It's just Brock Thompson. That's the. The name of the band.

>> Vanessa: Gotcha.

>> Brock Thompson: Put a lot of thought into it.

>> Vanessa: Now, uh, how many players do you have in your band?

>> Brock Thompson: I usually would have four.

>> Vanessa: Is that the correct verbiage? Players?

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, musicians players.

>> Vanessa: Musicians players, yeah.

>> Brock Thompson: Usually when we would play live, it would be just drums, bass, electric, and myself playing acoustic. Um, but in the studio it's a lot more because we bring people in and do overdubs and we track over top of tracks. And so for example, uh, on these new songs, there's fiddle tracks on the songs. And I'm a huge fan of the Steel Drivers, which is Chris Stapleton's original bluegrass band. And, uh, I luckily was able to get a contact for, uh, the other founding member, which is Tammy King, and she plays fiddle on all my songs. Always has. Every song you hear of mine that.

>> Vanessa: Are these people all local or did you find them from all over?

>> Brock Thompson: Okay, yeah, you can just reach out to them and like, um, we send the tracks and she records over it and she sends it back. And I've done that for several instruments.

>> Vanessa: I swear. Um, our world intrigues me so much because the magic of, uh, the future essentially, you know, all these things we can do without even being in the same room with other people, I think is so cool.

>> Brock Thompson: Exactly. You can get world class recording quality. You really could make a song without a studio. You can just hire it out and piece it out. Uh, you just need a place to record your vocals if you're the singer. And yeah, it's really neat.

>> Vanessa: Say my brother is a drummer and he literally will sit in his bedroom and do his part and sell it to other people. Like he'll do his part of the exact. And he sells it to artists. To you.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: And he's just in his bedroom at home with our mom and dad.

>> Brock Thompson: Exactly.

>> Vanessa: You know, so it's, it's super cool what, uh, what we are able to do. Um, we talked about the, uh, ghost of Fifth Street Healed. But let's talk about a little bit of the power of us just because I did so, uh, full disclosure, it is piss pouring the rain here in Huntington. So we're having lots of flooding and things like that. So, um, the power of us is kind of about that. But in North Carolina. So do you want to touch on that a little bit?

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. So at least what the story's about.

>> Vanessa: What the movie is about.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. So the, uh, there were the floods in western North Carolina. Right. And, uh, the story of the Power of Us is about the West Virginia coal miners that actually went down to western, uh, North Carolina to help cut out a road using their own equipment, their own fuel, their own time, and completely unpaid, uh, because the, um, government, uh, help, Department of Transportation. I don't know. I actually forget.

>> Vanessa: But something was left undone to some extent.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. They just weren't getting timely help. Right. What happened was there was a few key people that posted videos online, probably TikTok, YouTube, and said, look at this. This is crazy. And people are living in tents. And so those miners from West Virginia, from, uh, somewhere in our state, uh, took it upon themselves to trailer up all of their heavy equipment and drive down there and use all their gas and diesel fuel.

>> Vanessa: That's fantastic. I think that says a lot about the people of our state.

>> Brock Thompson: They cut out a road that was very long, um, out of nothing, out of rubble. Um, and what was, um, took them about two weeks, two and a half weeks. That's what I know.

>> Vanessa: Yeah. That's crazy. Um, I got to go to the premiere of the movie, um, and I was thankful to be there for that because I follow a few people on, like you said, TikTok, Instagram, things like that, that have really been champions of the whole, we need help. We're not getting the help that we need. And, um, they're a little bit in the film, a few of the. Well, they're not actors, but people who have kind of gone Internet famous. Um, and I say that with some air quotes you guys at home can't see me, but, um, Internet famous people that were working to bring attention to it. So I think it's cool, the power that social media can have to get the people in North Carolina help. But also I think that says a lot about, um, our character as West Virginians that these guys got together and went down there and took their own time, of course, taking time off their own jobs and things of that nature to be there to cut out that road. I thought that was really cool. Um, and that road was a game changer for those community members because then they were able to get out and get water and get other things that they needed. Um, so that was instrumental in them getting back on their feet, which they're still not there yet. But, um, like I said, it was A key part of them getting on the. The straight and narrow of coming back.

>> Brock Thompson: And on top of that, they were treated poorly for being there to do that.

>> Vanessa: Yes, yes. They were kind of met with a lot of resistance from the local government.

>> Brock Thompson: Right? Yes.

>> Vanessa: Okay. So we've talked about, um, a little bit about, uh, your, uh, disorder. We've talked a little bit about your music and acting career and the restaurants, which, uh. I'm gonna have to go get lunch today. Is the flooding going to affect your hours today? Because I'm probably gonna have to go after looking at the menus.

>> Brock Thompson: It depends on what does. You never know.

>> Vanessa: You never know.

>> Brock Thompson: Right.

>> Vanessa: Um, so our big thing here at Tri State time machine is Huntington and the base of Huntington. So you're a Spring Valley boy, so Westmoreland. And if you ask anyone, I am a somewhat newcomer. I think we've lived in Westmoreland now for going on 10 years, so I still feel like I'm a baby Westmorelander. But you. You do not confuse the West End with Westmoreland. It is two separate, very separate locations for anyone that grew up in the area. And, um, the big question always is for our guests, why Huntington? Why do you choose to stay here? Because a lot of people don't choose to stay here. They choose to run off and start life somewhere else.

>> Brock Thompson: Well, why Huntington? So I've grown up here, obviously, my whole life. I'm 25 now, and I've seen the city progress, uh, especially from, um, the time I was 10, 15 years old. The downtown has really grown, and I've seen those businesses flourish. My dad grew up here, too, and he's a businessman, and I couldn't do a m. Lot of what I've accomplished so far without him. He's been my mentor along the way.

>> Vanessa: Is he, like, your best friend?

>> Brock Thompson: Yes.

>> Vanessa: That's cool to have that with your father.

>> Brock Thompson: Yes. A lot of people need a mentor, right? I think everyone needs a mentor.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely. Absolutely.

>> Brock Thompson: It's really nice to, you know, grow up with one.

>> Vanessa: Yes, for sure. To have that person, like, right in your home, have that access.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah. So, um, I'm very close to him, so he keeps me around.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, for sure. Now, is Mama local or. Okay.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, she grew up here, too.

>> Vanessa: Gotcha.

>> Brock Thompson: Um, yeah, they're both from here.

>> Vanessa: And mom, what is she, a flight attendant? Am I remembering that correctly?

>> Brock Thompson: That's right.

>> Vanessa: Okay.

>> Brock Thompson: For American.

>> Vanessa: I was going to say she's had some crazy stories at one of the, uh, tailgates that we were at about some things that have happened on the planes and like layovers and stuff. And I was like, what a fun career that she's had. It seems like now. What did dad do before getting into entrepreneurship?

>> Brock Thompson: He's a lot like me, or I should say I'm a lot like him. He's done a little bit of everything. Um, uh, he started out, um, when he was younger. He was in the grocery store, uh, business. He was manager, uh, at uh, uh, I believe it was where the food land used to be, but it was named uh, Tradewell.

>> Vanessa: Tradewell. Yeah.

>> Brock Thompson: And so he managed that store a long time. And uh, then he went into um. He's been in several businesses. He's been in carpet, ah, cleaning, plumbing, restaurant business before.

>> Vanessa: He's all over the place.

>> Brock Thompson: Yeah, he's been in uh, he's owned a grocery store at one time. He owned a food land one time for, for a few years. Uh, so he's done a little bit of everything and he's very entrepreneurial. That's where I get it from.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, that's really well. And how great to have that as a role model. Like you said, to have that right there in your pocket to have access to. Um, now you single handed. Well, I guess not single handedly because you've got your dad, um, investing obviously, but you've got um. Is it three restaurants now? Is there two of the.

>> Brock Thompson: One we actually consolidated. So what we did there was with Peach Caliber Factory. We did have two for a moment there.

>> Vanessa: So I'm not completely crazy. Right, right.

>> Brock Thompson: But what we did was we opened the new one and kept the original so that there would be no closed days basically. So we never closed but we moved. So most restaurants would move. They would take a month, take a month off.

>> Vanessa: Right.

>> Brock Thompson: So what we did was we just, we had extra equipment and we just kept them both open and moved that way.

>> Vanessa: Nice. Okay, so you've got two investments in the community. Um, do you anticipate that growing?

>> Brock Thompson: I anticipate our Starvin's restaurant to grow. We uh, currently have one location and we plan to open more and come uh, up with several uh, stores and maybe eventually a franchise opportunity for across the nation.

>> Vanessa: Oh, that's fun. How fun. And I think how cool because we in Huntington here, we're always like, oh, we're finally getting a yada, yada, whatever it may be.

>> Brock Thompson: Right.

>> Vanessa: But now it can be like, oh, they're getting, they're getting a Starvin Arvin's from Huntington.

>> Brock Thompson: That's right.

>> Vanessa: Which is really cool to have it on the flip side um, so we're thankful for you being here and sharing all this with us. Brock, um, is there anything that you want? Well, you'd mentioned music. We'll watch out for that. Do you have a date or anything like that? A rough guesstimate of when we could look out for that.

>> Brock Thompson: You'll hear the first song in March.

>> Vanessa: March.

>> Brock Thompson: And then we'll be releasing, uh, I have three right now, and I'll be working on more, but we'll be releasing the other two six weeks at a time.

>> Vanessa: Okay.

>> Brock Thompson: And I'll be working on music, uh, videos, visuals, things like that, too. So there's a lot to come with that. I'm be revamping my music career.

>> Vanessa: Working with Dylan on your videos.

>> Brock Thompson: Yes.

>> Vanessa: Okay, cool. I'll have to follow that. I creep on Dylan all the time because he's always into something cool. Yeah, like, he's always into something really cool. He's got the videos going at the Foundry, uh, theater. Now the movies.

>> Brock Thompson: Yes.

>> Vanessa: And all that. So super cool. Well, we appreciate you being here and sharing all your expertise with us and telling us your story.

>> Brock Thompson: I appreciate it. Thank you.

>> Vanessa: No problem. All right, guys, we are out of here.

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