Here’s to 25 more years of Baltimore sports and community at WNST

Our financial insider and friend Leonard Raskin congratulates Nestor on 25 years of sports and business life at WNST Radio. It ain’t easy running a business.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

years, people, sign, baltimore, crab, winning, business, yankees, maryland, week, raskin, loonies, game, money, city, weekend, place, beer, sponsors, original

SPEAKERS

Nestor Aparicio, Leonard Raskin

Nestor Aparicio  00:00

Welcome back, WN st Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore positive we are positively into our anniversary week we’re gonna be over at the Costas crab house seafood Emporium, where they’re serving this crab power that is soon to be legendary. I did not eat it on Saturday night, but I did see it. It did pass my table. We put the picture that’s all brought to you by our friends at the Maryland lottery. In conjunction with our friends at window nation. I’ll have the fun floppy hat on 11 to four on Thursday word cost this and then 11 to four on Friday. We’re back in Dundalk, a drug study upstairs at the tasting room because I need a big boy milkshake on Friday. This guy here is 365 366 During leap years taking care of money and really take care of me you’re personally on the field off the field but Thursday around 4:05pm They’re gonna bring me some some Jumbos they call them whales other places it cost the Status column crabs. Let a Raskin from Raskin global has gifted me this very, very unique crab mallet that opens spears, Mr. Costas would be very appreciative. He does bring me draught beer from time to time. But if he brings me a proper bottle of Coors Light or something, I can at least open it later, happy anniversary to wn St. And I am very appreciative not just for you, all of our sponsors all of these years for allowing us to do this because like as I looked through all of these memories, and all this craziness, everything that I have is attached with a sponsor a name a business, and somebody like you behind all of it, who believes in what I do here. And I appreciate that. So and I know you’re not coming this week. So I want to give you a little bit of love.

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Leonard Raskin  01:45

Yeah, 25 years, man, that’s awesome. It’s awesome. It’s, it’s hard. Let’s face it, lots of come and go. Lots of people, lots of radio, lots of new works have come and gone. And 25 years on the air is a big deal. It’s awesome. It’s outstanding compared

Nestor Aparicio  02:01

to people that I’ve hired, who are now on television or on radio, or wherever I get a chance to GameSpot I always saw myself on the ladder like as I made it up the ladder reaching down to help other people, which is no doubt story of 25 years of doing this, even though I’m doing it alone now from wisdom, but people that understand business that do business with me or see me on the street or have never done business, but I’ve made a payroll. I’ve dealt with the government have dealt with taxes. I’ve dealt with employers, employees FICA state taxes. Yeah, my case is 25 years on Thursday of being a partner with the federal government and the FCC. Absolutely. Right. Absolutely. obligations that steep a shoddy and Chad steel don’t understand to serve the community like that I have an obligation. My first obligation is to serve the community and Sherry position. Well, I mean, it’s a federal rights that right. That’s my point, many people do you know, or if you met that own a federal license to broadcast like so to have done that for 25 years in a state on the right side of the federal government and be in partnership and pay my 30. And under dollars, every September, we got my license and all the legal all the all the ASCAP I paid for all those years, all of that. But like running a business is really, really hard man.

Leonard Raskin  03:25

It is like over 80% of businesses fail in year one. And the reason most of them fail, there’s two reasons. One, people have a great idea, I’m gonna sell a pet rock, whatever it is, I got a great idea. And the great ideas great, except that person’s never run a business. And so they have no plan. They just think their idea is so great that everybody’s going to jump in and take advantage of it and pay them and they’re going to make enough money to have a business with no plans and no hope and no understanding of how to run a business. And in fact, else that happens more often than not. The second is they don’t have the capital. They don’t have the money to run the business. They think again, it’s just a great idea. Pitch it and they will come pitch it and they will come doesn’t work. Like you said you got payroll, you have taxes. You can you can imagine the number of people that fall behind on employment taxes because they they forget quote, unquote, to send them in or they’re using their employees money to run the company or limb and they don’t send them in the government will go nuts on you for not paying those taxes more than not paying your income taxes. So people mess up make bad decisions. So a year in business as a win. Five years in business is an overwhelming win 25 years. It’s almost unheard of. It just doesn’t exist a lot of places, you got to really look hard to find those companies that have been around that long and that have succeeded, and, and still doing what they did and their mission not changed and their ownership not changed. Look, Apple kicked their founder to the curb. And then he had to come back and resurrect the companies. It happens all the time. 25 years long time, man.

Nestor Aparicio  05:26

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Well, I just would say this. I never went into this thinking it was a business. You know what I’m saying? We’re like Odell Beckham says, I’m a businessman, you know, like, I’m a business man. Now. I mean, all these years, and I was always a business I had to be. I mean, I came from the Baltimore Sun and Kenny Albert’s gonna come on this weekend, and talk and he’s got a book coming out about his life and his journey. And he and I are like the same age. We’re four months apart. I think he’s born in October, five months part. And he’s a little bit older me five months older me. And we were on the same pathway. And he went on this thing with the rangers and Fox and all the sports and I’ve stayed here, and even watching him call the game on Saturday, everybody bitching about the national broadcast, we’re like, oh, that’s Kenny. I was overcast, it’s the sound was down and I’m online. And at that point in my life, I didn’t really know anything except getting a paycheck on the sixth floor at 501. North Calvert Street at 8am. Every Friday morning. I didn’t understand the ads. The ads were in the way of my story in the paper. You know, the ad was the reason why my Duran Duran review was only eight inches and not 12 inches a copy because Linda Raskin bought an ad for Rascon global there in 1991, right? I didn’t understand any of that. And I had to learn all of this. Literally on the street, my dad didn’t run a business, my dad didn’t think highly of people who ran businesses, he never thought on his own business. I did not come from that sort of, but my dad worked at the mill. I didn’t, I ran, I delivered newspapers, and knew how to save quarters. And I sold baseball cards, you know, when I was a kid, but like, the fact that this thing’s lasted 25 years is a testament to how many people around me have helped me keep it afloat in so many ways, especially during my wife’s illness and different iterations of us being a radio station than being a radio station with a website. And then being a multimedia web platform that has a radio, Legacy asset and component to it. Yeah, but we serve so differently. And anything I would have, that would have looked like a roadmap, and I come to you and said, Leonard, I did a million dollars, we’re gonna buy wn S T, it’s July of 1998. You’re one of my original partners, like Charles bomb was back in the day. And whatever that plan would have been, oh my God, how different that plan is 25 years like, like, part of this is navigating the changes? Yeah,

Leonard Raskin  07:47

you got to evolve every way. Look, I have a colleague that I work with, you know, business coach, guy, really brilliant business guy. And what he says is, I don’t know the exact plans, let’s but but he says every let’s call it five to seven years, you know, you have a business cycle, it goes up, it goes down it’s ways you got to wreck your business model. And, and retool and keep going. Because if you don’t, the marketplace will hear the marketplace comes along. And you get wrecked, you get technologically out. There’s there’s competitors that are new and fresh, and they’ve got a new angle to what you do. And if you don’t keep up, you’re done. And this is true in any business. If you’re not growing, you’re going backwards, you can’t stay status quo, you got to keep moving. And if you don’t keep moving, you’re done. You’ll be eaten alive by the alligators, arcs around you. So we changed we’ve changed our model. This is our one on our 37th year and we changed the model multiple times how we do what we do what we deliver, how we do what we do, it just has to because people are are getting better, stronger faster than the bionic man is chasing you down. You gotta you gotta run faster than Steve Austin man you got to keep going.

Nestor Aparicio  09:12

Alright, but we’re gonna have some fun here a letter Rascon this year he is Rascon global. He has gifted me this a crab mallet with the adjoining beer opener which I really appreciate. It’s a one of a kind patent that if I were to come up with this, I’d already be robbed would need to do sports radio letter you’ve been listening once the first time you heard of that nasty guy from Dundalk on the radio like was it before the station existed was it? I don’t and I don’t ever really know the seed of all of this. But more than anything, I feel like I’m a writer first and foremost, that’s my gift and communicating. Writing. Marketing is something that I have taken very, very seriously and however I marketed to find you on the 100,000 other people that still follow every word I say even like Howard Stern the people that hate you listen longer. It was These signs were the original, the original pieces, probably out at the stadiums. And you went to the games that you may have seen the signs. Yes. Oh,

Leonard Raskin  10:10

yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely.

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Nestor Aparicio  10:13

Was that for you or do you before that? No, I’ve

Leonard Raskin  10:16

heard you before that. Yeah, sure. What year was that? Well, I

Nestor Aparicio  10:21

mean, this is Ray Lewis autographed defense sign. It has an NST logo and Robbie’s first base on it. I think this is a 2013 sign. Sign for sure. No

Leonard Raskin  10:33

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way.

Nestor Aparicio  10:33

Do you remember the fu for Mr. Flacco? Show? A bunch of these

Leonard Raskin  10:39

first Super Bowls 2000 Right. 2001 you were listening to one we were we were in Tampa Bay together. So you are whiskey Joe’s? Absolutely.

Nestor Aparicio  10:50

Okay. All right. So

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Leonard Raskin  10:52

at the hotel watching me we watched the Maryland Duke game. No we didn’t. I didn’t know you well. And I wasn’t on the trip with you. But I knew you were down there. And the people I went to the Super Bowl with we found you there and hung out and watched Maryland lose the Duke at the last minute of the game.

Nestor Aparicio  11:10

You know what I have some old signs around here. And these are from the 90s A few of these are from the 90s stumped them saints. This is a this is a get st sign from while I was still on WL G so this is a get nasty stumped them st sign. So I’ll have I’ve given all this away. I still have boxes in this stuff. Anybody that wants this for their man cave. These are the original spank the eggs. These are the signs from 1996.

Leonard Raskin  11:38

How beautiful was a two out of three against the Yankees over the weekend?

Nestor Aparicio  11:44

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By the way. So this sign is from 1996. That’s 27 years ago, right? So this is yeah, from before. So you see the orange in the bike by the way, Angelou said the cops throw us off the walkway. Yeah, right. This is before the Ravens had a stadium right? This is 99 this is October 1996. The ravens are eight weeks old and our sponsors at the time we’re Ameche he’s still with us okay very much with us Bay Cafe no longer with us but had a hell of a run through said Alibre good Browns Toyota City. I don’t even know maybe that exists. dello roses still very much with us and expand through any location right. Downtown sports exchange Bradstreet that has changed 15 times that was the original balls is what that it was before that. And then loonies pub. Stella roses Ameche is all still very much with us 27 years later. So if you see Billy Larney if you see any of the Delta roses, guys, if you see loonies, you’re at loonies, it may belong or up in Harford County loonies didn’t exist back then. So I got these. How about this one? Have you remember this right? You remember you remember birds? Big fix the team. I think they fix the team.

Leonard Raskin  13:03

Absolutely. Well, you know, they five years ago, they made a promise. How about about what I hear Sunday night? Orioles Yankees first time and was it six years at 18 that the Orioles were on a Sunday night ESPN game? Is that crazy? So

Nestor Aparicio  13:26

they weren’t ready right right.

Leonard Raskin  13:28

News Bears Bad News Bears making just

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Nestor Aparicio  13:32

the way we lit it up and the stadium was full. It

Leonard Raskin  13:36

was magnificent show right? Absolutely. Absolutely. It was full packed house not packed but pretty packed. The Mr. Water out there in the in the left field. And how about six runs in the first inning before one out? That was ridiculous. And what a game don’t to show up. Show out what the Orioles are this year. young, talented, happy hungry and and just whooping it up on those Yankees that are in last place.

Nestor Aparicio  14:16

We had an Eddie Murray giveaway. He’s all around town crabs. Adam Jones is in your podcast and skirt and people. You know

14:25

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he was Katie came in

Nestor Aparicio  14:27

Buster Olney came in all the old writers that that come in John Angelo drinking beer up there with Mike Elias trying to make trades. Right?

Leonard Raskin  14:35

Hey, you know, Elias five years ago said give us time. Stay with us. Last year, he said we’re coming this year beginning of the season. I heard him you were there. He said we’re not rebuilding anymore. We’re winning. And this team is going to be good for a long time and we’re going to contend and I don’t think anybody nationally saw uncommon and I know let’s face it. We talked about it before the season. We thought they’d have a good year. We’re hoping for playoffs. We’re still hoping for playoffs but I don’t think anybody thought they’d be in first place this late in the year and winning every every night. Every day. Turn on on. Watch the O’s. And I’m still concerned like, Oh man, what are they gonna do? Or they’re gonna blow this and they don’t they just keep on winning. What was it Friday, Friday night. Sometimes there are ninth inning walk off. Tough game on Saturday, but came back Sunday strong, didn’t didn’t break. Came back pitched a good game. knock them out. Just beautiful students

Nestor Aparicio  15:41

to make a deal in your mind to make you happy as a fan. Because we’re talking about if you’re a player on the team, and they don’t do something to improve especially son that taller walls down right? Like, yeah, they need more pitching. That’s what I mean. By the time people listen to this, maybe Verlander is here. Who knows, right? It’s won’t be Otani.

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Leonard Raskin  15:59

Yeah. Look, if you can grab if you can grab an ace or a great another great starter. If you can find a great starter and not give away the house. This is not a team to give away young future. For a one for a rental. I don’t see that as valuable. We weren’t in first place. We’re winning.

Nestor Aparicio  16:20

I got assigned for that. You’re ready. There it is. That’s my go Oriole sign. This is from 1998. These were like paper signs. Sports Talk. 15 Seven. We stopped saying get nasty because we got like a whole team at that point. 25 years ago. Right. Right. But we had here’s an original free the birds orange sign for Pete’s sake. breed the bird. For Pete’s sake. This is this is an old fear. All right. Cool and Planet Fitness for sponsoring that and then doing it not a chance. Not a chance. Right

Leonard Raskin  16:54

that’s it good stuff

Nestor Aparicio  16:56

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in talk to art.

Leonard Raskin  16:57

There you go. Oh, that’s That’s true. That’s a must. Man. What? What is the hall doing there? Well, they doing it’s on the

Nestor Aparicio  17:06

ballot for the 58th time.

Leonard Raskin  17:09

He should have been in could have been long ago the man created Monday Night Football. Right the man is by far, far a Hall of Famer before many other owner who are in

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Nestor Aparicio  17:25

here’s gonna be Baltimore loves Bruce. First pastor might think it’s him. But a hungry heart. These These were the Bruce Springsteen signs that I had. So we’re having fun with all this though. Right? 25th and

Leonard Raskin  17:41

maybe Dan Snyder, maybe Dan Schneider, I’ll get in the hall.

Nestor Aparicio  17:44

Well, you can’t make it this week. And I would say that back when I was planning my 25th anniversary and thinking you know, we’re gonna do this over cost this this week, and we’ll be trucks its first week, August. You know, there’ll be training camp to talk about I gotta be honest with you, Leonard. There’s not one person that’s come up to me at cost this over the weekend anywhere that’s talking football with me right now. And I don’t know, isn’t that bad or whatever. It’s just I just good. The Orioles have have created a different level of oxygen here that when I hold these free the birds signs up. And I think about why I did all that 17 years ago now. It’s because all of this was taken away. This daily. May June July trading deadline players pennant race, Yankees Red Sox, big game Sunday night. Yeah, all of that is taken away when you lose 100 games every year. Right? No question over the years of me doing this. There’s been too much of that. And too much of me having to say this is unacceptable that when it is acceptable, and it’s awesome. It kind of reminds you It reminds me for sure. Being the fighter that I’ve been for 25 years here at NSD. We fought to get Baltimore on the road jerseys. We that they that for five years, we fought with the team to put Baltimore on the road jerseys. Now they’re printing money with Baltimore and everything. But they turn their backs on, you know that all of this happened really happened. Yeah, but yeah, this this thing we saw this weekend where the Yankees come in, and it’s packed and the Yankees shattered down the Oriole fans on Saturday night they won whatever. But the the the, the feeling for baseball in the city and how it’s every night. It’s today against Toronto. It’s this weekend against the Mets. It’s next week. It’s and it’s it’s more than a bobblehead giveaway. And it’s more than Oh, Brooks was great. Let me eat a barbecue sandwich. It’s who’s the relief pitcher who’s coming into the eighth inning. How can we win a World Series? We’re talking about winning a World Series in August here and absolutely this place 25 years, man, we haven’t had a lot of August’s here like that.

Leonard Raskin  19:52

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That’s right. And it’s fun. It’s a it’s a this is a baseball town. The Ravens made it a football town. And just what you said the the Orioles winning just shows how how important that is to the city. What that can mean to morale what that can do to the downtown area. I mean that I don’t You can’t blame the Orioles for for the city’s problems. But a winning team draws a lot of people a lot of business a lot of revenue. And if somebody smart manages that revenue, they can do great things in the city. So there’s there’s no doubt that bringing ESPN and as you said reporters back, most of them didn’t come in for the day or for the night. They had to be here for a weekend, they had to eat somewhere. They had to shop somewhere they did whatever they did. That’s, that’s bringing dollars to the economy that’s bringing dollars back into the city that turns blight into opportunity that gives the government money they need to do what they need to do around town. And let’s let’s get that lease signed. That’s something to talk about. But once that’s done, and I still think it will be done. I hope it will be done. That we can sit back. Really think about World Series and think about longevity. You know, 25 years is a long run. Let’s let’s get a good three to five. Let’s get at least sign first. Let’s get Richmond sign second. That’s the new sign.

Nestor Aparicio  21:21

rushman sign Oh, no.

Leonard Raskin  21:23

Look, they got a young court. There are you read you read the national you look, you know, you got an eye more discerning than mine. rutschman is incredible. Gunner might be better. As an athlete. He might be better a

Nestor Aparicio  21:39

couple years younger, so that is different, especially with a catcher too.

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Leonard Raskin  21:44

But you keep the two of them as your nucleus of this team. And keep building. Oh, my goodness. And Fuji looks pretty good too. That looks like a steal. Maybe I hate to say I don’t know the kid they got rid of. But Fujis got some bullets in that arm.

Nestor Aparicio  22:01

We all got a little nervous and Westberg left the game on Sunday night. I mean at some point between now and maybe when the people hear this there’ll be a deal made last thing for you a letter I found a sign here. I say that out loud because I want to send it out to Steve shot even though it was made for

Leonard Raskin  22:15

I believe in Steve I believe in Steve. Steve. Steve

Nestor Aparicio  22:19

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who Steve Steve being there. This was Steve make 2006 There

Leonard Raskin  22:27

you

Nestor Aparicio  22:28

know what we have a sign for education. I have a probably 1000 signs left of all different eras packs of spank the Yanks packs of defense and Ray Lewis signs come on out to cost this I will show you you can’t have it. But I will show you the mystical magical crab claw opener from Raskin global with the beer opener. Mr. Costa is gonna appreciate this. We’re going to have a caster

Leonard Raskin  22:52

Raskin global have beer opener grab, grab by mountains.

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Nestor Aparicio  22:57

Well if you’re lucky, you’re gonna get a mere lottery scratch off ticket. By the way, we had $100 winner at Coco’s. So we had $100 Winner no scratch offs we appreciate that our friends and when their nation 866 90 nation if you’re in the market, my my anniversary my window takes next week, August 8, it will be a year that I got my windows and we’re real pleased.

Leonard Raskin  23:17

I may need some windows.

Nestor Aparicio  23:20

I’m just saying. It’s been a lot nicer especially this weekend when the breeze came in after the 100 degrees Yeah. Oh man, the windows open the cat loves it. Alright, listen. weathernation Maryland lottery Rascon global putting on our 25th anniversary. We’re going to be a cost this Thursday. Congratulate truck city. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being a part of this and helping lift us up any advice for anybody out there this week? Have you been there? Are you going to an Oreo game this week? Or like you got Max tickets or no?

Leonard Raskin  23:50

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I can I can go see the Mets I don’t have any tickets. But it’s been a busy busy month you know we did the last guy got back I did the beach. I got back I didn’t Nashville for three days on the business conference. Got back had to go to Columbus to move the boy into his new senior year apartment at The Ohio State University. So So I don’t I don’t know what my bed looks like. I haven’t slept in my bed for a while. I’m going to be home though. The rest of the week. We’ll probably get down there and see if

Nestor Aparicio  24:18

we’re gonna get crabcake hanging out in places like Alaska in Nashville. Yeah, I know. You are Chris. It’s

Leonard Raskin  24:23

terrible. It’s terrible. Well, you know what we were? We were out. I don’t even know where we were. Last weekend. The wife and I and the boy we were out somewhere and we had to eat dinner. We’re like, where are we going? Alright, let’s go to Pappas. Let’s go to Pappas. I have a crab cake.

Nestor Aparicio  24:41

I have a crab cake offer for you. You you live up in the suburbs up in the hunt? Yeah, sure. So I’m gonna be over in Hampstead next Wednesday at Greenmount station, doing a Maryland tour from 2005. We’re going to be promoting North Carroll and talking about some things talking about their their bedding Emporium their bowling alley. Next Door of course. Incredible crab cake. I mean, delicious, delicious and

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Leonard Raskin  25:04

one of my favorites. Vikings grabbed time. Let’s grab time on the screen. Come back to Hampstead

Nestor Aparicio  25:09

next Wednesday, all of that brought to you by the Maryland lottery your friends when did they come on out? And so we’re taking you on the road this mom give you some other options because you and I’m gonna be at Mako and Ocean City on the 16th and 17th and 18th. I think Wes Moore is going to sit with us as well as Ben Cardin and some others. And then later on in the month we’re at Pappas, this is your favorite play. Pappas and Glen Burnie on the 29th is we’re going to be

Leonard Raskin  25:33

well one of the dates have to work I’m going to be down at the beach with the family I don’t know if I’m gonna be down with your dad if we are that would be great to come down to the beach and do it. But I don’t know the date. So I gotta get my calendar. We got to sync up and we will do that and I will make sure

Nestor Aparicio  25:45

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not I’m gonna be working too hard in Ocean City to even bother having a crab cake but I’ll try.

Leonard Raskin  25:50

There you go. Well, you know, do it.

Nestor Aparicio  25:53

I’m a business man.

Leonard Raskin  25:54

Right, right. You got to pay gotta pay the bills, some profit, but some profit in your pocket

Nestor Aparicio  26:00

or is Mr. Prashad he once said and I believe in Steve. We have an obligation to make profit. He is letter masking. He is Rascon global. He will help you make a profit and help you know what to do with that when you profit and keep that money away from let’s say the tax man the boogey man make sure you’re taking your money. Letter raskins there for the American Dream find him at Raskin. global.com you can also find him out on the front of Baltimore positive.com as well. We’re getting it out 25th anniversary all week long. If you hear something here that sounds old, just listen and learn something new. We are wn st am 15 70,000 Baltimore, and we never stop talking. Baltimore positive.com and our 25th anniversary