00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:18

Unknown

Bruce, how are you? Garrett, how are you? Nice to meet you. And again and to, talk to you on the, interview. Thank you. Yeah, absolutely. Appreciate you coming on the podcast. Now, I saw you in LA, and, lots, lots to go over. I know that we don't have a ton of time here, but, you know, there's been so much I've been researching about you that I didn't even know.

00:00:21:23 - 00:00:46:12

Unknown

You know, martial arts. I didn't know that you're into the poker and all of that. What I'd like to discuss today, though, is the phrase, it's time, right? I know that you alluded to it on stage. I kind of heard the story, but I think the audience would really enjoy. My audience would really enjoy you kind of telling that story about how you came up with the catchphrase, it's time.

00:00:46:14 - 00:01:05:06

Unknown

Basically. It's time is something I used to say to myself every single day. And, when the morning when I would wake up, you know, for showers or whatever, then looking in the mirror after shaving and I kind of be like, it's time is time to be the best I could be. It's time to have a great day.

00:01:05:08 - 00:01:23:09

Unknown

And I always thought that was my, like, motivation, you know, along with anything else that I did. And when I started announcing I wasn't phrase driven because I didn't want to be, considered like, you know, copy my brother, my famous brother, Michael Buffer for let's get ready to Rumble, which is, you know, one of the most famous phrases in the world.

00:01:23:11 - 00:01:42:19

Unknown

And I wasn't phrase driven. It wasn't to me what I said. It's how I say it. So I concentrate on that. But about seven years in, I noticed that, as Michael did when he was starting out, when you're announcing the judges and the referees, you know all the people, like before you announce the fighters, you're kind of taking the wind out of the fight or the main event.

00:01:42:19 - 00:02:02:22

Unknown

And I wanted to bring the excitement back in, and that's what I started building with, you know, the moment you've all been waiting for. Live from Sydney, Australia, whatever the it's time, you know, five rounds. And I started doing that. And I was about seven years into my career now I've been doing this for 29 years. Come February.

00:02:03:00 - 00:02:26:14

Unknown

And it at first it didn't it wasn't as refined as it is today. It was different. And if you look at the way I've announced over the years, the tool has gotten stronger, has gotten different. It's got more mature in the way that I do what I do and has developed to what it is today. It has become, a very proud to say, a very popular, a strong brand around the world.

00:02:26:16 - 00:02:46:10

Unknown

And people, you know, I make business deals, you know, with people licensing it. And so they were managing my brother's career for the last 30 plus years with let's Get Ready to Rumble. I've applied the same principles to it's Time. Yeah. No, I don't think there's, I made event that would be the same in the UFC without hearing that.

00:02:46:12 - 00:03:10:22

Unknown

And, you know, you you're welcome. You mentioned just the changes. I mean, Dana White is evolving and changing the UFC faster than we can even blink. How do you see your evolution of yourself and even that tagline as the UFC evolves? Us give me that one question one more time. Well, Dana White, right is changing. He's evolving the UFC fairly quickly.

00:03:10:22 - 00:03:32:04

Unknown

Like we always see these different things. You how do you plan or do you think you need to evolve your tagline yourself as the ring announcer? As the UFC changes into the future? You know, when you're on a rocket ship that's going up straight trajectory, you've got a first class seat, you don't change anything. You know, you the rocket ship can change and grow.

00:03:32:07 - 00:04:02:14

Unknown

And it automatically being one of the, what's considered to be one of the, you know, few faces of the UFC. I will continue to do what I do and grow with the sport as the sport grows. It's an amazing position to be in, to be part of such a powerful brand and yet to create my own brand within the brand, which is now become multifaceted outside that brand into many, if not all areas of sports and entertainment to be recognized for it.

00:04:02:16 - 00:04:31:09

Unknown

So what I always tell people is you work from a base. My base is the octagon. At every they branches out out of there, just like I did with my brother Michael managing him where the base was, the boxing ring at a accruing there. So chicken and egg then if you I know it, you had mentioned it's the way you deliver the the phrase if you hadn't evolved it the way it is, do you think you'd be where you were today?

00:04:31:11 - 00:04:59:19

Unknown

You know, I think I would be at a point where I was, But I don't think I think that the brand and I think that the way that that's worked has allowed me to expand more instead of be recognized, like, as hopefully a quality ring announcer. I'm recognized for the brand of what I do. And because we have very distinct style, it's like what I tell other announcers when they write me.

00:04:59:21 - 00:05:23:16

Unknown

Sure, learn from others, but don't copy them. Develop your own style. So I think I would always been recognized for the passion I put forward, the physicality, the beat, the, the, you know, the mental passion I display by hopefully people enjoy my voice by voice. But the trademark definitely has helped expand it even more. So I just going to be devil's advocate here.

00:05:23:16 - 00:05:46:12

Unknown

What do you think would happen if you decided to change it? I would just said simple. It's just it's so strong that that reason that it I the only time I would ever change it is if I'm hired to do work for a company, or they ask me to paraphrase it right now, I'll give you an example like, it's it's it's it's board time.

00:05:46:12 - 00:06:04:16

Unknown

It's Rolex time, you know, whatever it's time for. This is time for that. I honestly, I'm always honest. But if you could give me I can give you you give me any line you want. And I could put his time in front or behind it and make it work. And if I can't, I'll give you $500 before the end of this interview.

00:06:04:18 - 00:06:22:12

Unknown

I'll tell you right now, I don't want to take you up on that challenge so you don't have to pay me. I'd say I would tell you. Oh, I know I that's what I know for sure. No, it's such a strong brand. And that's what I, you know, for me, being in real estate with JT Fox, he's all about branding.

00:06:22:14 - 00:06:42:06

Unknown

What do you think the future is of the ring announcers and and how can they survive in. And you know I imagine it's pretty competitive trying to just make it to even a quarter of where you you where you are right now. Well, it's you know, the energy industry is not easy to make it in. As far as being a ring announcer, there's not a lot of work out there.

00:06:42:08 - 00:07:10:22

Unknown

I mean, there's different promotions that open up. If you can find yourself inside yourself with the promotion to grow with the promotion, and hopefully the promotion is marketed right and correctly, that you can grow with that. I mean, try to get as many reps at different jobs as you can until you find an absolute home. Or a sport where you're considered like the person for that sport, whether it's boxing, soccer, mixed martial arts, you got to fly your home or what you best represent now.

00:07:10:22 - 00:07:35:01

Unknown

Very true. You know, you you mentioned that you would never change the catch phrase. And, that speaks to me that you're very consistent in your branding. You've done a lot of different things, though, right? Video games. Poker. What is your approach to keeping that brand consistent amongst all different types of things? Besides the ring? Well, you know, keeping assist is not to change it, right?

00:07:35:03 - 00:08:01:00

Unknown

You adapt it to the sport that you're in. If I'm announcing a Las Vegas Raider football game or so coming out and doing my it's time and adapting it to the team I'm introducing, if I'm coming out and introducing the formula one race, the F1 race, like I did a few weeks ago in Vegas, I still use my my template of getting people excited, but then I adapt it to the to the, the fine athletes that I'm introducing at that moment.

00:08:01:01 - 00:08:18:10

Unknown

Okay. And then you want it. You want to be you don't want to be boring. You want to be exciting, but you want to be not changing it too much. Whereas like, you're all over the place, you know, it's like, here comes Bruce Buffer, here comes Michael Buffer. People know what to expect and they get excited for the event.

00:08:18:12 - 00:08:39:00

Unknown

Even if I walk out of JT Fox's, branding seminars. So it's about picking a brand, sticking with it, making sure that you are giving the people who expect of something from you. If I could paraphrase that. Yeah, that'd be a way to put it. You know, it's, Coca-Cola's not going to change his brand, right? Like he's not going to change a swoosh.

00:08:39:02 - 00:09:05:02

Unknown

They're going to change the shoes. They're going to change the clothes, but it's still going to have the swoosh right. So branding. Branding is when you're recognized for what you do and you build the strength of that brand, adapting it to the areas of what you work. Okay, okay. So Bruce, speak to me about maybe even legacy I mean, 50 years, we're both going to be known on this earth.

00:09:05:02 - 00:09:33:08

Unknown

What do you want to be known for? When people think about the name Bruce Buffer, I want to be known that respected for, respected for my image, respected for that. I always gave it my all. You know, I want to be respected for being a good person and, for being the best of my field at what I do and just know that, I excited people.

00:09:33:10 - 00:10:03:09

Unknown

It was memorable and. Respect. Respect is the biggest thing. You know, making money is great every day, even though it isn't over the money. I think it's about being respected as saying I'm a one of a kind. I stood on my own, you know, I wasn't one of many. I was an individual. And I took and that it was obviously recognizable, that I took pride in what I did and enjoyed everything that I did because of the passion I have for what I do, because I live with passion.

00:10:03:09 - 00:10:29:19

Unknown

Passion is very, very big with me. You know when you could be passionate about what you do and monetize it, that you're in the best position of work environment you possibly could be, if not your own private life? You know, JT talks about branding, obviously, but also about giving value to relationships. What is your view on on relationships and the value that you obviously bring by doing these types of spots?

00:10:29:19 - 00:10:52:13

Unknown

But also what I've seen you do for JT. Well, relationships are strong. You surround yourself with positive energy, positive relationships and and people that want to see you succeed. I even want to see my competition succeed. Competition breeds success and success breeds competition. So I have no problem with everybody succeeding, right? I like it, and I like to help people, be the best they could be.

00:10:52:13 - 00:11:24:03

Unknown

Both health, wealth, happiness and monetary return. So if you're a team player and you're not, you know, affected by other people success, learn from it that it motivates you to be the best you could be. That by copy them, by learning from them and adapting yourself to them. If that answers your question, it does. No, I think I value relationships more than anything, which is why I've been so drawn to JT and what he's been teaching me.

00:11:24:05 - 00:11:49:01

Unknown

Speaking of relationships, can you, give the audience a few snippets? I mean, everybody knows you guys are brothers, but Navy people don't know that you were only, you know, reunited, I guess, or reconnected in 1989. What was that like? To find out from your dad and, you know, it was, you know, boxing has always been something I wash and my father out of the world.

00:11:49:01 - 00:12:06:12

Unknown

I know you probably see a lot of interviews with me talking about this, but what I saw on TV, and I saw the last day, maybe in the telemarketing business, I was it. I never saw my last day, but a phone book. And then I see it on TV and I'm like, who is this guy? And then over the course of a year and a half, I'm getting stopped in the streets by people asking me, is that your brother?

00:12:06:12 - 00:12:24:03

Unknown

The guy that goes, let's get ready to rumble? I don't know my brothers. Brian, who I grew up with. And then my dad admitted to me that during World War two, when he went overseas, he got married beforehand. I never knew that he was married to my mom for 57 years before he passed away. Give or take.

00:12:24:05 - 00:12:40:19

Unknown

I never knew. He was briefly married for nine months. What? He went overseas, and he came back in a divorce as soon as a child was born. And his things happened. The last time you saw that child was when he was two and a half, and it was Michael Buffer. And Michael was raised by foster parents under the name of Huber in a, leave it to Beaver lifestyle.

00:12:40:19 - 00:13:05:02

Unknown

Very good upbringing, as he puts it. And what what are the RBA 20 during the Vietnam War? They said, you're not Michael Buffer, you're Michael Huber. He was raised on David Huber. They said, You're Michael Buffer. You know that's on your birth certificate. Had that not happened, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you today for doing what I do because I got into sports entertainment when I met my brother Ed again, four years later, I started his career.

00:13:05:04 - 00:13:24:15

Unknown

I was making a lot of money in business. I was burned out of my business, and I sold the companies equipped with the money. I had the bank to become his manager and his business partner, and to create everything we created together. So, And crazy story. That's why my book, it's tie, which is also released.

00:13:24:19 - 00:13:44:17

Unknown

And you're in Australia, right? I'm actually in Canada. Oh, you're in Canada? Yeah, it was released in Canada too. So I tell the whole story here. It's not other shelves and bookstores, but, you can get on eBay or whatever, get a use copy for a few dollars. But I really go into big detail there. I'm not making any money off any books sold.

00:13:44:18 - 00:14:07:12

Unknown

No, I'm just saying if that's of any interest to really go in-depth into my whole life story, absolutely had a great time writing the book. Yeah, I will definitely check it out. Final question. I'd like to actually ask this to every guest on the podcast. What this is the Investing to Win podcast. How do you define success and what does winning look like for you?

00:14:07:14 - 00:14:34:17

Unknown

I define success on starting something, you setting a goal and achieving it, whether it's monetary success, personal success, happiness, or all of the above, hopefully all of the above. I'm a very big goal setter. Prioritize her. And monetarily speaking, I set my goals realistically right. It's one thing to say, I'm going to do this. I'm going to make $1 million.

00:14:34:17 - 00:14:55:04

Unknown

But if you haven't made $100,000, you don't know what it's like to make a quarter million. You have made a quarter. But, you know, it's like make a half. Don't set unrealistic goals for yourself. Set very realistic goals for yourself, and then go on to the next goal and the next goal with an ultimate goal in mind. But success is achieve your goals.

00:14:55:04 - 00:15:11:21

Unknown

Be proud of yourself, be respected for what you do. And in the world that we live in, making money. When you're talking business, having a monetary return for what you do, but you also get to realize, dude, is this for you? If it's not for you, you got to learn when to pick up your chips or find another game.

00:15:11:23 - 00:15:27:14

Unknown

As I say in poker. All right, well, that's a great place to wrap up. Thanks again for honoring me with this. No, it's it's interview. Love what you're doing. And I will continue to be a fan forever. Thank you. So thank you, Garrett. I really appreciate it. Thank you for all your respect or your kind words.

00:15:27:14 - 00:15:38:08

Unknown

It means a lot to me. I really respect that. And I appreciate it very, very, very much. All right. I'll see you at the UFC in Canada. Absolutely. Okay. Thanks, Bruce. Thank you so much.