#001 Vinnie Crego

Vinnie and I talk about our lives in the industry. He does a great tribute to his late baby daughter Augusta by giving her story some air time. Follow the link below to see the video he made for her on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/lHgPM0EHuGc?si=uSLaMArW0AXk_vAl

Transcript

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Todd Cook: 0:11

Welcome, welcome. What's up, friends. My name is Todd Cook. First, I want to say thank you so much for joining us on the Foam and Friends podcast, where we sit down with people just like you to talk about the spray foam industry and our lives as SPF professionals on and off the job. It's a podcast for us and by us, in an effort to bring like-minded people together. Please like, subscribe and follow to ensure you don't miss any episodes or a chance to get to know your fellow industry professionals. All right, let's get this thing started, shall we? Vinny Todd, how we doing? I'm doing good. It's almost summer here in Michigan now. Yep, it's getting hot. It's feeling like it, loving it. This is the only reason we live in Michigan is because we get about three, four months of decent weather. That's right. What do you do in the summer? What do I do? Yeah, hmm.

Vinnie Crego: 1:04

Well.

Todd Cook: 1:05

Besides work.

Vinnie Crego: 1:05

Work. My folks got a place up in Grayling Nice so we go up there in the summer Shoot. Last summer we were just moving in our house so that kept us pretty busy. Oh yeah, we have a little vacation plan coming up in June, taking a week off. We're going to oh, what's over on the northern east side.

Todd Cook: 1:34

Northern east side of Michigan. Yeah, up north.

Vinnie Crego: 1:37

Alpena, Alpena oh okay, so we're doing a night in Alpena and then we're road tripping to Mackinac City for two nights and then we're going to loop back over to Petoskey for the day and then back to Grayling to my folks' cabin Awesome.

Todd Cook: 1:50

I didn't introduce you.

Vinnie Crego: 1:51

First off.

Todd Cook: 1:52

No, that's my fault. Vinnie Crego is owner of Crego Crego. I was going to ask you that too. How do you pronounce that Hardy? I've heard a couple different ways. I've heard a couple different ways. Hardy, what's Hardy?

Vinnie Crego: 2:03

Hard E in there Crego Hard E Gotcha.

Todd Cook: 2:04

Okay, Owner of MidMichigan Spray Foam and you're out of what's the city.

Vinnie Crego: 2:09

Morris.

Todd Cook: 2:09

Perry Okay.

Vinnie Crego: 2:11

Gotcha.

Todd Cook: 2:11

Yeah, let me find out what you guys all do. What are all your services at MidMichigan? Spray Foam?

Vinnie Crego: 2:20

So we do open cell, closed cell spray foam, concrete leveling. We do fiberglass and cellulose blower door testing. We've done the in-wall injection foam. We also do dense packing in-wall with cellulose. You're not scared of nothing, we're getting after it.

Todd Cook: 2:41

You are.

Vinnie Crego: 2:43

How many people you got with you now? 15 right now, wow yeah, killing it you are. How many people you got with you now? 15 right now, wow yeah.

Todd Cook: 2:48

Killing it. That's awesome. What got you going? What got you started? And let's say, did you start out with just spray foam?

Vinnie Crego: 2:55

Yep, just started out with spray foam, just doing closed cell.

Todd Cook: 2:59

That's me.

Vinnie Crego: 3:01

Yeah, that's me, jeez, that's me, jeez. So we started out in 2016. I had two partners and I went to Central Michigan University Fire.

Todd Cook: 3:16

Up.

Vinnie Crego: 3:16

Chips Zip a lot. So I went up there to be a special education and history teacher. Oh so I graduated from there and all through college I was doing asbestos removal. I got a gig doing that. So I was used to the mask and the suits already.

Vinnie Crego: 3:32

Um. So yeah, my dad and my cousin thought there'd be a good opportunity in the spray foam business. I guess they thought it was easy money. I did too. I got a funny story about that too. And so I was just doing asbestos removal I graduated, just kind of trying to find a teaching job, and we just kind of sitting around talking one night and hatched this idea and I basically put the sweat equity in and kind of ran it mostly by myself and it was a one-man band for a year or two, with a helper here there, yeah. And then it got weird. I got offered like a long-term um, like a position as a teacher, as a long-term sub after, after, after how long?

Vinnie Crego: 4:20

oh, probably a year or two in.

Vinnie Crego: 4:22

I was like I just gotta know, like I gotta make sure I make the right call here. So I went out and tried the teaching and hired a sprayer. That was kind of my first jump. Wow, like all right, I got to hire a sprayer now. So hired a sprayer, and then I was kind of taking calls and emails and you know all on my planning periods and whenever I had a spare time, running bids after work and on the weekends, and I just finally was like I got to pick one.

Vinnie Crego: 4:53

So, all right, let's double down. So we really got into it into the spray foam after that you had one rig for how long?

Todd Cook: 5:01

And then what was your second big? Was your second?

Vinnie Crego: 5:04

uh, big buy after that oh, start off with one e20 and then like cellulose rig accompanied. That, okay, probably took us three years before we bought our second rig. It was another e20. Okay, yeah and uh, yeah, we got really big, we got really small. Now we're growing a little bit slower again. So, yeah, see what?

Todd Cook: 5:32

happens? How's uh? Is everything starting to pick up right now? I know winter was pretty tough on a lot of people, including myself yeah, thank god I had shop work for everybody. Yeah, yeah as long as you got money to pay them too, yeah right.

Vinnie Crego: 5:46

Yeah, so, yeah, we were kind of slower in the winter. You kind of learn the cycles after being in a while.

Todd Cook: 5:54

Oh yeah, I noticed that myself.

Vinnie Crego: 5:55

They're still scary whenever they come, but it's like all right, this is a slow time, it's okay.

Todd Cook: 6:05

I know, I kind of feel like, you know, after like the holidays, january is still pretty busy and then it really starts to slow down. It seems like, and that first year I was like I'm feeling like I had a bunch of money because I was making it all fall, and then all of a sudden, you know february, march, it's like whoa, yeah. So, yeah, you gotta learn to save your money in the fall, that's for sure.

Vinnie Crego: 6:21

Yeah, yeah you have to learn. Uh, yeah, it's not always like this but you get used to it when you're in the thick of it, right in fall you're like oh yeah, it's always like this and then you forget. It's like oh no, it dries up for a little bit, but yeah, right now I feel like all the ones that broke ground after frost loss are now ready.

Todd Cook: 6:38

Yeah, we're slammed so what is your? Let's say, what is your biggest um? I mean, do you have a bunch of, do you have builders? Or what is your biggest customer, would you say?

Vinnie Crego: 6:52

You know what? Yeah, like the builders that just takes time to build up relationships and clientele. So that, just so, I do think, starting in 2016 and it being 2024 now, I think we've built up a pretty good like contractor base. So that's been a blessing for us and we still get the homeowners, a lot of homeowners, which is good, like we need them too. But those are. You know, those are kind of one-time customers right, so it.

Todd Cook: 7:23

So it's nice to have builders. Yeah, I mean, they can tell their friends and that helps, but that's yeah, yeah. So have you noticed a change in homes being built? Because I've heard a lot of people. You know one person, for example, is like yeah, we're not doing. This is a very large company that you know. One person, for example, is like yeah, we're not doing, this is a very large company that you know. They're like yeah, we don't do near as many homes this year as we had in the past few years, but we're doing apartment buildings and that's kind of getting us by. And I was thinking, wow, that's quite a shift.

Todd Cook: 7:58

Have you noticed that or not?

Vinnie Crego: 7:59

really Not for me no Okay.

Todd Cook: 8:01

No, I'm not surprised I mean, I don't really I don't get into that deep of commercial stuff. I'm mostly just residential so I wouldn't really notice it so much. Anyway, but yeah, yeah.

Vinnie Crego: 8:10

We're, we're saying we're not doing too much commercial, but I do know, yeah, like it seems like builders are not getting as stretched out as far with so many projects going. They're kind of doing a couple at a time instead of a whole subdivision or whatever. Yeah, yeah, it seems like there's less. And I don't know what it is.

Todd Cook: 8:29

It sounds to me like interest rates probably has a big thing. I mean, who would give up a 3% or 3.5% or whatever percent interest rate on a house? They have to sell that and then get a new loan for 7.5% or 8%? I mean that's just crazy. Everybody's just going to stay put.

Todd Cook: 8:47

Or lockdown, I think that's the way it's going to be for a while, especially a lot of those people you know. 3% for 27 or 26 years, left on a 30-year. I mean you might as well stick around where you're at. You're not going to.

Vinnie Crego: 9:00

Yeah, but people are still building houses.

Todd Cook: 9:02

I know it. Where are they getting all this money?

Vinnie Crego: 9:04

I don't, I don't really understand. So I don't know if it's like the boomers kind of just like want a new home, like doesn't seem like kind of the younger generation would be able to afford new houses.

Todd Cook: 9:16

You wouldn't think so. But I mean, they're paying. You know, a house that used to be worth you know, let's say, six, seven years ago, is worth 200 grand, is now worth 375. And they're looking at let's seven and a half percent interest Like that's a lot to chew, but they want the American dream.

Vinnie Crego: 9:34

I know it. I know it, it doesn't matter I guess, I guess.

Todd Cook: 9:37

But and then there's a lot more people now with you know dual income, so that helps.

Vinnie Crego: 9:41

Yeah, but I don't dual income, so that helps yeah, but I'm trying to do the day ramsey approach these days yeah, that's good trying to get out of debt and all that good stuff. That is good, yeah this is good.

Todd Cook: 9:53

I saw in a post that you put up a little while ago that you're on the carnivore diet is that still going? That was a few weeks ago I brought the jerky. Oh, you got the jerky, oh yeah yeah, speaking of the jerky, tell me about it.

Vinnie Crego: 10:03

oh yeah, speaking of the jerky, tell me about it. Oh, that's just some beef jerky. I made it with hamburger meat and it goes in like a Really Like a cauldron. And we have a dehydrator that's got like 20 trays on it, so when I make it it's like you know it takes a Saturday.

Todd Cook: 10:18

Oh yeah. Yeah, and then we bag it and it but freeze it, so that's pretty much all I eat all day. Let's, let's rip that thing open and take a taste of it. What flavor is this one? I don't know. I forgot to label it. Oh, I have to warn you, though. What's that? You gotta warn me? Yeah, you have. Is there like a really spicy one, or something you could call it that?

Vinnie Crego: 10:37

okay no, there's there's beef liver in it oh okay.

Todd Cook: 10:42

Well, if I have that and I can taste the liver, it might be my last bite yeah, my mom used to make me eat liver when I was a kid and uh I mean, I ate it.

Vinnie Crego: 10:52

I didn't love it. I ruined this whole batch doing that, because I never had liver. I was like I'll just throw it in there. You won't be able to taste it oh, big mistake, oh yeah you can taste it so. So that's why I'm giving this shit away.

Todd Cook: 11:05

Okay, all right, all right, well, let's, uh, let me, let me see how much you can taste it no but for real what I've been doing remind me of like 35 40 years ago, when my mom made me eat it if you hold it up to the light, you can see the dark spot.

Vinnie Crego: 11:18

Uh-huh, that's liver. Okay, all right, that's good, I'm not the liver king man, all right.

Todd Cook: 11:22

All right, uh-oh, jamie, you want to try some of this stuff, or what here?

Vinnie Crego: 11:29

you go, jamie, I don't see anything that's too dark.

Todd Cook: 11:31

Maybe some pepper I see in there, but that's it. It's really thin. I like that Mm-hmm Almost like bacon Mm-hmm.

Vinnie Crego: 11:39

Yeah, I tried doing bacon jerky too, but I didn't.

Todd Cook: 11:42

I can taste it a little bit, but it's not too bad.

Vinnie Crego: 11:44

Yeah, not bad Gotta get those vitamins. Lessons learned, right? I mean, that's what you do.

Todd Cook: 11:48

You know you talk about like it takes you all day long. It's like I remember I used to brew beer, a lot like before I had kids. I really haven't done it since my son's nine years old and you know brewing and bottling and holy cow, but it was fun. I'd like to get back into it someday. I do enjoy it. So yeah, let's see here. Your current role in the company is just owner, right. I mean, like what are you? You're not out there spraying and are you doing that or no?

Vinnie Crego: 12:36

Normal week owner. Right, I mean, like, what do you? You're not out there spraying and are you do? Are you doing that or or no? Um, normal week, um, it's pretty cool. So mondays, thursdays, I go out and estimate, so I'm still looking at projects and selling, and then, um, mondays and thursdays, you said yeah, and then tuesdays, wednesdays, this time of year I'm leveling yeah, yeah, I'll talk about that too, in a minute, okay. And then, uh, man, we went, we went for it, we went down the four-day weeks you're still there or not?

Vinnie Crego: 12:57

yeah, yeah yeah, so fridays I usually still go up to the office, take my son into work, into school, then I go up the office and it's kind of quiet. I can get some like side projects done and yeah, that's nice, you know whatever.

Todd Cook: 13:11

Yeah, I mean you gotta take advantage of it, yeah because you're not going to get that in september.

Vinnie Crego: 13:15

Yeah, yeah so that was like working on the website and efficiency, um, but just working getting the edits and shout out Mixer Media.

Todd Cook: 13:30

Shout out to Mixer Media. Yeah, yeah, there you go.

Vinnie Crego: 13:33

So, yeah, that's what it looks like, and then managing, you know that is a big part of like. That's why I like my estimating time, because then I'm in my truck.

Todd Cook: 13:47

Yeah.

Vinnie Crego: 13:47

I can think about our processes and what we're doing, what we can improve. So that's a big time to like, utilize, just like well, if we put them there and them here and rotate and we can do this job. So scheduling and just how to utilize everybody's time and run an efficient business.

Todd Cook: 14:06

Just keep changing it up. Making it better, yeah. Fine-tuning it, yeah, yeah, cool. So how many rigs you got now? How many, let's say, spray foam rigs do you have?

Vinnie Crego: 14:18

We have three GH2 rigs.

Todd Cook: 14:21

Okay, yeah. And then one of those we got to talk about the well, let's talk about the concrete lifting. Okay, you've been doing that for what a couple years now?

Vinnie Crego: 14:32

Shoot probably four. Oh, really Four years. Yeah, took two years to learn.

Todd Cook: 14:38

Yeah, yeah, that's something I'm like. Eh, I don't know, I think it would be. Obviously everybody says it's just a bunch of money and it's great.

Vinnie Crego: 14:50

Definitely better profit margins on the spray foam side. But you know it's like not that I don't trust anybody else at my company to do it, because I know I have guys that would do a good job, but it's very like unforgiving yeah company to do it because I know I have guys that would do a good job, but it's very like unforgiving. Yeah, so it's like and I haven't really trained anybody because I'm, because it's like, yeah, you don't it's.

Vinnie Crego: 15:09

You don't get a lot of second chances when you over raise concrete, when it's too high I mean, that's, that's kind of it.

Todd Cook: 15:15

So yeah, then you got to like raise the rest of it or something to try to like make up for it or whatever yeah, but then if you're like up against a garage or something, it over-raises the air.

Vinnie Crego: 15:24

Oh yeah, yeah, you're done. So I kind of keep that to myself, but it keeps me, you know, outside in the summer, which is cool. I used to mow lawns a lot in the summer, so that kind of reminds me of that a little bit.

Todd Cook: 15:38

What was like the—have you ever had to tear concrete out?

Vinnie Crego: 15:53

You know, or did you ever have to do anything like that, or what was, let's say, the worst, uh experience you've had? Oh, this is when I was learning a guy. Uh, he had a boiler on a slab that'd been like a wood outside wood oh, yeah, yeah sure, and he wanted that raised and I hit one of his pipes.

Todd Cook: 16:06

Oh, with the drill bit yeah, oh man.

Vinnie Crego: 16:09

And then that just opened up that pipe and that opened up the foam to go right into that oh man, Right into that boiler. So it filled the pipes and the boiler and then it wasn't great. So every time something like that happens happens, you add another item line to the contract. We'll not, we'll not lift anything around with underground utilities or anything you know.

Todd Cook: 16:34

Oh, yeah, yeah, or or yeah, if you do, it's like it's on you, but you don't want to get into that.

Todd Cook: 16:41

So one of those rigs that you have has your, uh, your big win in san antonio that's my concrete level on rig oh is it oh yeah, I put her in there that was like I think that was the first time that I've ever like met you and it was just a quick, you know, congratulations, because you know, I knew, I knew your name, I that was about it. Yeah, um, and I remember you saying you're on stage accepting the um. For those of you don't that, don't maybe know listening, uh, san antonio was 2022. That was the spfa and the the second place.

Todd Cook: 17:14

This was the year that karen weikert won the rig and that was, yeah, that was, uh, the first place, and then the second place was a Winco. What was it like? A 50-kilowatt diesel generator?

Vinnie Crego: 17:27

Yeah, yeah.

Todd Cook: 17:28

And you won that. And what I thought was really funny is like you brought a bunch of guys down. What did you have? Like five or six guys from your company.

Vinnie Crego: 17:35

Yeah, there was about five or six of us, and you guys were all crammed into that truck.

Todd Cook: 17:38

Yep, so you drove from Michigan to San Antonio in a crew cab truck, correct. Which alone was like why would you do that? I mean, I get it, you were probably trying to save money. It was probably cheaper than airfare, and all that.

Vinnie Crego: 17:59

I had personal beef against flying at that time.

Todd Cook: 18:01

Oh, did you, yeah, okay.

Vinnie Crego: 18:03

Because we went to the event. Where was that in texas um the one before that during covid? Yeah, I wasn't there for that?

Todd Cook: 18:09

where was that one at dallas?

Vinnie Crego: 18:11

no el paso, no houston they do the running of the bulls the longhorns.

Todd Cook: 18:21

I didn't know they did that, that in Texas. I thought that was just in Spain.

Vinnie Crego: 18:24

I don't know. No, it's All right. Somebody Bill.

Todd Cook: 18:29

Somebody's going to be mad that I don't remember this. Oh yeah, forget the town, you'll remember it.

Vinnie Crego: 18:34

But we went down there and took my daughter who was? She was probably one or two, Okay. And then, on the way home, our flights got canceled and me and stacy, who like manages, she was down there with me and we had guys that had to work and then my daughter was with us. We didn't they they uh lost our stroller.

Vinnie Crego: 18:53

So then we were delayed there like two or three days and in a hotel with like a sick baby, and we didn't have our strollers, we had a, a carrier everywhere. So anyway, that was crazy. I'm not flying anymore, yeah, so that's why we drove down there, and good thing we did.

Todd Cook: 19:10

Right, that's what I was getting to Like. You drove this big truck I mean, you could have drove like a van or something and that wouldn't have really helped out you getting that big, that winco generator home. But you drove this truck and it's like a three-quarter ton or whatever, so you just loaded it up and you're like all right, cool, and you drove it back to michigan yeah, yeah, that worked out very well well if you know more of the story.

Vinnie Crego: 19:35

It worked out more well than you would think because we were just coming off kind of a tough time in business and I was kind of running an e20 kind of frankenstein rig to do my lifting. I finally kind of learned at this time all right, I think I know what I'm doing. If I can just get my equipment to run right, maybe I can make some money at this. So so we sold that rig and throughout the winter I was working on getting a new rig put together to level in the spring and then it turns out they were giving away that generator and throughout the winter I was working on getting a new rig put together to level in the spring and then it turns out they were giving away that generator and we're coming off pretty tough season. I'd been in business and so I really needed a break, kind of, and we went down there and just kind of finding found Jesus recently at that time.

Todd Cook: 20:22

Awesome.

Vinnie Crego: 20:23

And we're walking around there, dude, and I'm praying to God in my head, like God, if I can, just you know, if you just bless us with one of these pieces of equipment, you know, I probably like, just you know, bartering with him, yeah right Like that works.

Vinnie Crego: 20:40

But like Jesus, please like, please like. We just bring one of these home. As I'm praying that we come up to a stoplight and I look down and written in the in the dried concrete is jesus saves. Wow, as I'm praying this and I I audibly like freaked out like you guys, I told my whole group I'm like I was praying about this. And then, and then this is right here and I think we're gonna win something tonight and they're like, yeah, whatever yeah, these guys crazy.

Todd Cook: 21:05

Yeah, our boss is nuts we won that thing.

Vinnie Crego: 21:07

Man, that's a wild. And that was the last piece that I didn't buy, yet that was probably gonna have to finance. To be honest, to getting that rigged to get it going, oh wow and I was able to drive that sucker home that's a great story, crazy.

Todd Cook: 21:19

thanks for telling that's an awesome story. I'll tell you my short story about San Antonio. This was the first event that I've gone to. So I mean, I was only I didn't even realize like Spray Foam Worldwide. I was spraying for like well over a year before I even did Facebook. I was the kind of guy like I don't need Facebook because I don't want like everybody no one needs to know like what I had for dinner and that sort of thing. It was kind of weird back then, it seems like. And so then I kind of did, and then I got on to Sprayful Worldwide and I thought you know, it didn't take long and I'm like, wow, this is really helping me a ton.

Vinnie Crego: 21:53

You get hooked.

Todd Cook: 21:54

I don't even know where I would be without social media and Sprayful Worldwide. I mean, my phone would definitely not look as good as it does today. Yeah, that's for sure, uh, but anyway. So 22 in san antonio was my first year. I went by myself. I didn't know a single person. I mean, I the only people I knew were people that I've seen on on facebook. So, um, I was kind of feeling sort of weird about it. Oh yeah, you know you kind of get those. You know trying to just, you're just somebody.

Vinnie Crego: 22:25

It's like the first time you eat lunch alone.

Todd Cook: 22:27

Yeah, yeah, it is, it is, and so, anyway, so I get there and, uh, I think I flew in on Sunday. I got there a little bit early cause I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything, and then I didn't, I just slept. And then the next day I went out and kind of figured out where people were at and interjected myself in some of the crowds and everything, and by the end of Monday night I was kind of feeling like man, I don't really feel.

Todd Cook: 22:51

I feel kind of weird you know Not feeling it.

Todd Cook: 22:55

No, like sick, I'm like man. I just kind of feel I'm kind of feeling kind of sick and it wasn't maybe two hours later. And I mean I'm kind of feeling kind of sick and it wasn't maybe two hours later and I mean I'm just puking and everything. I got it all, man, and I figured that I had gotten COVID. So literally the whole time that I was there with exception from when I saw you and you won I'm like I have to at least get out and go to see this thing. Heck, I might win the rig. You never know.

Todd Cook: 23:21

Like I'm not, not gonna miss that so, um, I got myself out and not feeling over the dang, and I and and I saw you and I probably shook your hand, and sorry about that if I gave it to you, I don't know, maybe I did, I'm not sure, but um, and so, yeah, I was basically just in in my room the whole time. It was it was it was bad, but, um, I'm still glad I went. And then I still kept going to all the other ones.

Vinnie Crego: 23:44

Broke the ice for the next one for you.

Todd Cook: 23:46

It did it, totally did it definitely did break the ice, so that was great, but yeah, it was unfortunate, um. So, hey, um, let's, uh, let's, let's switch this up a little bit. You've had a pretty, you and your wife have had a pretty rough year. Uh, let's, you've already agreed to talk about it, so I'm not, I'm not making you. Uh, tell me, tell me more, tell me more about that. There's, there's a lot of um people out there probably listening that uh knew a little about it.

Vinnie Crego: 24:18

Yeah, um, at some point. Yeah, I prayed a lot about it and kind of made a decision to kind of honor Gussie Augusta.

Todd Cook: 24:28

Let's go back to the beginning if you don't mind. Yeah, so when I saw you in Minnesota last summer, your wife was there with you and she was probably like five or six months pregnant maybe at the time.

Vinnie Crego: 24:39

Yeah, yeah. So actually a year ago this month, in May, we found out that our daughter Augusta had the markers for a genetic disorder called trisomy 18. Okay, if you Google it, it's not compatible with life. Okay, so that's what you do.

Vinnie Crego: 25:02

As soon as you hear that, you start googling, right of course we're reading that and, um, oh man, if you google it, yeah, just kind of, some of the deformities and some of the things that can go along with it are, you know, pretty tragic. I mean, you name the deformity, it's you know, you know it's possible.

Todd Cook: 25:22

Oh, it's like everything's possible.

Vinnie Crego: 25:24

Yeah, everything bad is possible and, um, like, the percentages that you know, most like don't even make it to birth. So, you know, from May until her due date was, uh, right after Labor Day. Labor day, um, it was kind of like, even you know, like it got really hard and good when augusta arrived. But even from that may until that september, it was like, did she kick today?

Todd Cook: 25:54

oh yeah, so every day, every day like all right online.

Vinnie Crego: 25:58

It says she's not gonna make it to birth. Even so, you know did you feel her today, you know calling in and checking.

Todd Cook: 26:06

And you got kind of pressure from the doctors to abort.

Vinnie Crego: 26:09

Yeah, we had two doctors. I don't know if I want to say recommend abortion or suggested it, but kind of said, like, like this is what most people do. Okay, so you didn't you didn't get too much pressure.

Todd Cook: 26:26

It was just kind of a recommendation um, yeah, yeah.

Vinnie Crego: 26:30

but I mean, you know, when two doctors tell you that you know, this is what you know, this is what you should do, I don't want to like throw anybody on the bus, but you know, it felt like it was like this is what you, this is what you need to do, you need to import your baby.

Vinnie Crego: 26:47

So so we also had that, you know, from the start. And then we had appointments and you know she was underweight, um, so then we really had to change our mindset living in that. Um. So then we really had to change our mindset, living in that kind of agony, to, like, you know, every kick is a blessing. You know, every, every nudge is a blessing. You know, like we want to trip through our kids karate class to Disney. So so we were able to take Augusta to Disney in Florida last summer.

Vinnie Crego: 27:24

She was with us there, you know so she went to Disneyland and, um, that was with us there. That's awesome. So she went to Disneyland. That was pretty gutsy. Yeah, it's like we're going to live our life and take her on our adventures and we're enjoying our time with her. So, fast forward to Labor Day, we go up north to my family's cabin and we have family there. It's like I don't know we could could have sat around the house just kind of thinking about tuesday. You know what it was going to be like. Or we tried going up north but that wasn't. That was hard to like. We were just thinking about what was coming. So we're at the hospital and uma's born and she's perfect. She's got all their fingers and her toes and she's adorable and she's alive. How many other kids do you have?

Todd Cook: 28:12

You got two right Three.

Vinnie Crego: 28:14

Clark, he's about to turn 10. June just turned five. Owen's about to turn two. I got an Owen too. You got three of them, okay.

Vinnie Crego: 28:21

So this was number four, yeah Okay. So this was number four, yeah Okay. And she's born and we're just praying over and I don't know, to put it bluntly just kind of waiting for her to die, I guess from what everybody told us, and even our nurse at the hospital was like oh yeah, my last trisomy 18 lived for two minutes, but she was trying to say it encouraging. Oh, that's not very encouraging, I don't think. I don't think she was like when you're in, our position.

Vinnie Crego: 28:57

I don't like when you're in our position. You're a little over sensitive to some of that stuff, but it was hurtful but.

Todd Cook: 29:01

When you're in our position.

Vinnie Crego: 29:01

You're a little oversensitive to some of that stuff. But it was hurtful, so that was told to us. So we're just holding her and loving on her and then she's doing okay.

Vinnie Crego: 29:13

So then it's time to go home and we take her home and thinking we're not going to have time. And then a week goes by and then a couple weeks and there's at one point so we took her home on hospice from the hospital. Um, some of her birth problems they weren't totally on the outside, but um, she had, for lack of a better understanding, like a half half of a heart, okay, half of a heart okay, but really it was. Stuff was twisted and some with, some of it was too big, some of it was too small and so but she kept kind of living and fighting and doing well. So we're like, oh, maybe we go to the doctor and see what we can do. Um, so we heard of a really good doctor over in grand rapids, but it just so happens he was on vacation so he had a colleague that wouldn't take our case.

Todd Cook: 30:07

Yeah.

Vinnie Crego: 30:08

So we had one doctor that kind of tells us no, like we're not going to do anything for her, and we were, steph and I, were very like conscientious to make sure we weren't just doing stuff to Augusta we're doing or not doing stuff not to her but for her, like if it would extend her life and we weren't like we always had to check ourselves like are we being selfish in these decisions that we're making for her, just to keep her, you know?

Todd Cook: 30:33

like oh right. Like, yeah, let her go.

Vinnie Crego: 30:35

If she needs to go, right, okay I got you like we never went in with like an all or nothing philosophy, which is also, yeah, kind of torture to have that mindset.

Todd Cook: 30:44

Absolutely.

Vinnie Crego: 30:46

But it's like, yeah, we're just not going to throw everything we can at her and just put her through grief. But we did so. That doctor came back and probably you know, a couple weeks before that, like Augusta had started breathing pretty heavy and she was turning colors, the hospice nurse came over and gave us 24 hours left with her. We just held her and loved her and prayed on her. Two days later she was fine. The hospice nurse was like I can't, I can't explain why she's here. That's crazy.

Todd Cook: 31:26

You and your wife must have a completely different relationship since her.

Vinnie Crego: 31:30

Hopefully, I mean.

Todd Cook: 31:32

I'm guessing.

Vinnie Crego: 31:33

Yeah, I'm guessing for the better.

Todd Cook: 31:34

Yeah, you guys are probably a lot stronger together than you were before.

Vinnie Crego: 31:37

Yeah, it's definitely brought us closer together Like it's like a bond that you can't really describe.

Todd Cook: 31:50

I mean, you guys were in the thick of it together and that's what you had is the two of you.

Vinnie Crego: 31:55

I went and talked to like a therapist for a little bit afterwards and he's like oh, I've never seen a patient like you. I'm like what do you mean? He's like, uh, somebody that's current, like there's post-traumatic stress, but he's like you're not post-traumatic, you're like you're in it you're in the.

Todd Cook: 32:13

You're in the traumatic stress right now I mean and you, this was in the fall. I mean, this is uh, during busy season. I have no clue how you managed everything. I was thinking about that actively, like how is he doing this? It's like it's like november, december. I mean, this is during busy season. I have no clue how you managed everything. I was thinking about that actively, like how is he doing this? It's like November, december, you know, christmas and all that stuff. Yeah.

Vinnie Crego: 32:35

Yeah, god works in great ways and I have some great guys and gals that work for me and I knew I wasn't going to be around as much. I wanted to be there for Augusta more. So we made some moves in management in the company and kind of shifted things around and kind of threw a big pass up. And it's beautiful, it worked great and it's kind of helped us grow a little bit more and some of our guys are in management roles now and I couldn't have been there for my daughter if it wasn't for all them and they know who they are, all you guys. Thank you.

Vinnie Crego: 33:11

So so that was a blessing that you know that I had those people in my life to be able to do that with the business and I was able to spend a lot of time with my daughter and my family. But you know I went from. You know we found out at the hospital that we didn't feel comfortable leaving Augusta alone at all, so me or Steph always had to be there. So you know my parents and family helped a lot with the kids. But I became, you know, became Mr Dad too.

Vinnie Crego: 33:44

Oh, at home yeah taking care of three kids, and that was tough, Holy cow. That's a shock to the system a little bit. So that took some getting used to. And so where was I? Yeah, got sidetracked.

Todd Cook: 34:01

So getting towards the end. What was, what was the day she finally passed?

Vinnie Crego: 34:07

Was it February? No, it was January. Yeah, it was mid-January. I don't know the exact date. It's all kind of a blur to me but to be fair, I don't know any dates.

Todd Cook: 34:22

That's okay. How'd you? How was it with your kids? They must have must been hard on them um, yeah, we didn't.

Vinnie Crego: 34:29

We went to some grief share counseling and it was hard on them, but they're like very resilient. Yeah, they are um owen, maybe a little too young, but he'll still see pictures of augusta.

Todd Cook: 34:40

Augusta. Oh yeah, that's nice.

Vinnie Crego: 34:43

Um June, she misses her sister. Yeah, definitely, and so does Clark. Um, clark's being strong, though, and, uh, he's helping out more, so that's good, um, but you know, prior to that I wanted to fill in there was a story about a Leslie during that. Do you remember seeing anything about that?

Todd Cook: 35:05

No.

Vinnie Crego: 35:06

So I made a decision and prayed about kind of sharing our story on Facebook and you're talking about the video. No, not the video.

Todd Cook: 35:13

Talk about the video too, ok, so.

Vinnie Crego: 35:16

I just made a decision to kind of share our story on Facebook because we, you know, like figured the extra prayers and people praying for us wouldn't hurt. So I was pretty public about what we had going on and that was kind of a weird decision to make.

Todd Cook: 35:29

but it was I appreciate you keeping us all involved that was awesome.

Vinnie Crego: 35:33

Um so early on, like this is before we thought we could do anything for Augusta. This is before we thought we could do anything for Augusta. My wife had a friend in Leslie and then Leslie got brought up again in some other conversation and I'm really trying to kind of learn my prayer language or how you kind of hear yeah from you know the holy spirit and jesus. So it's like leslie keeps coming up is there something to?

Vinnie Crego: 36:01

that. So this is, this is a person or just a name, just just the town leslie, oh near lansing, came up and then, like a friend, leslie came up, so like three leslies within like a couple days.

Vinnie Crego: 36:11

I'm like how often you hear about yeah, that's wild, so I actually say something to steph about and she writes it down in her journal and fast forward that doctor. He comes back and agrees to take Gusty on as a patient. So we go to the hospital and says I think I can do some things to Augusta's heart that will extend her life and make her quality of life better while she's here. So we felt like that was a good move. So we get checked into the hospital and in mind you, I mean it's kind of pins and needles this whole time with Augusta between her breathing and her heart rate and stuff. So we get to the hospital and she's not doing very good. So they kind of calmly like, hey, we got to get this baby intubated, so they got to put her on breathing. And you know, we're kind of in like shock mode, a little bit Like we have to hand our baby off. But guess which nurse we handed our baby off to?

Vinnie Crego: 37:13

Leslie nurse Leslie. And she wasn't just any nurse, she was like.

Vinnie Crego: 37:19

She was like the baller nurse up there oh yeah, she was like the a team holy cow so we gave her over to leslie and then um augusta was kind of, you know, breathing on machines for a while trying to get her healthy for um surgery, but you know, but between all then she got an infection in her lungs and got an infection here and just like one thing after another, man, it was just so. Then the surgery is delayed, and then that's delayed, and then this is, and then the You're just getting hit hard.

Vinnie Crego: 37:50

Just, we were in the hospital for two months with her, wow. And so on the day that she has surgery, you know Leslie wasn't there every day, but Leslie was working the day that Augusta had surgery and, um, again, leslie wasn't there every day, but Leslie was there the day that, um, that we got to go home, that we got to take her home. So Leslie definitely played a big part in it all and God showed us that Leslie was going to be involved in our story and she was. Are you still in contact with her A little bit? My wife is yeah, and I don't know.

Vinnie Crego: 38:32

To me that was just kind of reassuring. It's just kind of God saying, saying it's going to be okay, I got you. Because when you think about the math probabilities of Leslie being brought up like that randomly, before we know that we're going to have surgery, before we know what hospital, and then for us to hand our baby off in the arms of Leslie, that was just kind of like Jesus, like I got you guys, like it's going to be okay no matter what happens.

Vinnie Crego: 39:13

So, yeah, we got to take Augusta home birthday and had her for a couple weeks and we decided to go up north to my parents' cabin, which is where me and Steph had our wedding at out back by the river, and I grew up there. My dad built it from scratch. So since 1998, I've been going there.

Todd Cook: 39:32

And so it's just very significant. It's a very peaceful place for you.

Vinnie Crego: 39:34

Yeah, there's the Asabo.

Todd Cook: 39:34

River there, so it's just very significant. It's a very peaceful place for it.

Vinnie Crego: 39:34

Yeah, there's the Asabo River there, so we were up there Friday night and Saturday morning. Augusta just wasn't doing very good and she passed away in my and Steph's arms.

Todd Cook: 39:45

That was there up there. Yeah, oh, wow, yeah, yeah, wow, that's very fitting.

Vinnie Crego: 39:51

Yeah, so we got to take her back to the river. We walked to the river with her and, wow, it was like holy cow. I mean you couldn't have think like we really didn't want her in the hospital, like we were mad at ourselves even over the two months. But then once you're there, you're kind of stuck until you can get out.

Todd Cook: 40:06

This is, this is what god wanted, yeah so.

Vinnie Crego: 40:08

So the fact that she was able to die in our arms, with nothing hooked up to her, and it was peaceful yeah, right, right, like yeah, it's better.

Todd Cook: 40:16

It's much better than dying in a hospital. Could you think of a better ending to that for your?

Vinnie Crego: 40:20

life. I mean, that's where I want to go. Yeah, absolutely.

Todd Cook: 40:24

You've lived like a decade in that one, like eight months or whatever it was.

Vinnie Crego: 40:29

Yeah, a lot's changed. A lot's changed Less than that, yeah.

Todd Cook: 40:35

So the video Quick one about the video I mean I saw it, you made a post about it and I mean amazing, I'm glad you did, because a lot of us that are friends with you and in the industry have been kind of following you and kind of following this journey with Augusta, right yeah. And so you know, a lot of us seen Stephanie when she was pregnant with her in Minnesota, and so we all kind of felt like we were kind of sort of there with you and you guys took a ton of pictures of her in her short life, and so did someone you know make the video. You guys didn't make that yourself, I made it, did you really, yeah, I mean you put some time into that, especially because you did that between the between, when she passed and and the service so you didn't have a bunch of time, of course.

Todd Cook: 41:33

Course you had a million other things on your mind.

Vinnie Crego: 41:37

Yeah, some funeral stuff Again, like thank God for everybody at work. But I was able to go into work and I shot myself in my office that week and I just worked on that video.

Todd Cook: 41:50

Oh yeah, you did an amazing job. It was. I mean, yeah, I don't know For a weird reason that's what I had to do. Yeah, yeah, it's part of the mourning process for you. Yeah, Absolutely Well, that's great. I mean, you did a phenomenal job and there's not a person that could watch that without getting emotional. I mean it definitely tugged on your heartstrings, so cool Good job, dan.

Vinnie Crego: 42:20

Thank you All right. Well, let's switch this up, unless you got anything more to say about that. No, if I think of anything, I might just blurt it out. Okay, that's totally fine.

Todd Cook: 42:25

All right, this is a segment. This is the end. This is the very end we're going to get wrapping up here and this is just fast questions to get to know you. I'll just come up with some of these and you don't have to come up with it, you can pass them, you can pass on them if you don't have a good answer. Best fast food joint.

Vinnie Crego: 42:48

I'm on the carnivore.

Todd Cook: 42:49

I'm trying to get off that fast food life All right, but like before the carnivore, because there's flour and vegetables and especially flour in everything. Taco Bell, there you go, mine too, yeah, mine too. How many conventions have you been to?

Vinnie Crego: 43:10

Man like five, five, Wow, I think Between Minnesota and yeah yeah.

Todd Cook: 43:19

Yeah, and then the regular conventions count. Minnesota, I'm at four, yeah, four, uh, best concert you ever been to man garth brooks oh yeah, but I heard he's a murderer. A murderer.

Vinnie Crego: 43:36

Yeah, you ever heard that, no no, I haven't heard that.

Todd Cook: 43:40

I heard some things about him that weren't very good. But murderer no, that's the word on the street.

Vinnie Crego: 43:46

Okay, We'll cover that later. Yeah, I don't know if that's, I'd be shocked. Save that for the next episode.

Todd Cook: 43:51

He might not be the best person in the world, but I think he genuinely is like a really nice guy.

Vinnie Crego: 44:00

Either that or he's a dang good actor. One of the two. The conspiracy theory is there's like shish murders every time he has like a tour date in a town.

Todd Cook: 44:10

I can't believe that.

Vinnie Crego: 44:10

That's why he's going back on this big tour coming up.

Todd Cook: 44:14

He's got to kill more people. He's got the itch again. Oh my gosh Okay. Oh my gosh Okay.

Vinnie Crego: 44:18

Oh man, hey, if you have me back on, we'll do conspiracies. I definitely will. Conspiracy theories oh, that's a good one. I'm into that. Okay, I am kind of too Big time.

Todd Cook: 44:25

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, the world is aren't really so crazy after all. No, some stuff is coming out.

Vinnie Crego: 44:42

All right, worst job you ever had. Oh, I worked for this guy that owned a construction company when I was like 14, 15, and he had horses, but he would let the horse poop pile up to where it was like two or three feet thick man, and I'd have to do it one wheelbarrow at a time, out to the garden and whenever you stuck the pitchfork in there, it'd be like a thousand gnats would just like swarm your eyeballs so that's, that's the one.

Todd Cook: 45:09

You would think that removing asbestos would would be the worst, but that was kind of fun yeah, I can see that being a lot of fun well, we got to travel to state a lot and oh yeah I see like you're at like an age where you're like, okay, yeah, no, I can see that being fun. Then uh first car, uh red cavalier a red cavalier. There's a lot of cavaliers back in the day.

Vinnie Crego: 45:34

How old are you? Um, I'm turning 34 in june, okay, okay, so there, there was a lot of Cavaliers back in the day. How old are you?

Todd Cook: 45:37

I'm turning 34 in June. Okay, okay. So there was probably a lot. Of Cavaliers were probably starting to be on their way out by the time you got on.

Vinnie Crego: 45:44

Yeah, impalas were on their way in Impalas. Yeah, yeah, those were up next.

Todd Cook: 45:50

What's the other one? I don't know, the other, chevy Cobalt, that was kind of on its way in too. One last one Most trouble you ever gotten in high school. You can pass if you don't have one, but I'm sure you do. Which one? I'm just saying, just pick one. The worst trouble you ever gotten in high school, I mean if it's like two, but yeah, okay, okay, if you don't want to say it, don't say it smashing some mailboxes and getting caught doing oh yeah yeah, that kind of stuff too.

Todd Cook: 46:24

All right, I got one more for you, just because it's a simple one. Who is the best NBA player of all time?

Vinnie Crego: 46:33

you gotta think about it. Like probably a pretty generic answer, but I think Michael Jordan and there's only a few you can choose from- really without getting hung, but even yeah, Michael Jordan. I mean definitely, like you don't think LeBron is, do you? No, no, michael.

Todd Cook: 46:52

Jordan is totally mine, but like this is, I mean people go back and forth and, honestly, it's the stupidest debate ever. It really is. But I figured hey, let's find out what Vinny thinks, all right. Well, let's wrap it up. Vinny, thanks again for taking time out of your day to be here. It was truly a pleasure getting to hang out with you Thanks for having me, todd, that was awesome.

Todd Cook: 47:17

Yeah, getting to hang out with you. Thanks for having me, Todd, that was awesome. Yeah, yeah, Listeners, don't forget to subscribe, uh, to subscribe and follow. It is my goal to get a new guest and episode every week. For those early episodes we will be uh in together studio only. So if you're near the Michigan area or want to hang out uh in the podcast, send me a Facebook message and we'll see if we can make it work until next time. Goodbye.