We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michael Bloom & Kurt Rogers Luau Lads. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michael Bloom & Kurt Rogers below.
Hi Michael Bloom & Kurt Rogers, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I think it’s a combination of many things. Former employers, parents & peers all factor into the work ethic we have developed over the past 25 years in the industry. Seeing what works, what doesn’t, and how to properly factor those things into a functional system. We both started young, and had to work for things we wanted. Starting the Luau Lads was no different . We both understood what we wanted to achieve, and accepted how much time, effort & positive thinking it would take to get it off the ground. We made plenty of mistakes along the way, but learning from those mistakes, and implementing that learning into our project has been vital.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
We(luau lads) are an llc comprised of Michael Bloom & Kurt Rogers. As career Bartenders, with roughly 50 years combined experience, The Lads have done a bit of everything in the industry. After years of working behind the stick, the Lads started to look into opportunities on their own. Through some hard work and helping hands, we started working on our first product, FALERNUM. With the help of Manifest distilling we developed & released a niche liqueur into the Florida Market. Over the past 2 years we have been doing the leg work of getting the word out, finding placements, and building the Name LUAU LADS, through bar takeovers, weekenders like The Hukilau, and our very own Event…Castaway w/ Luau Lads. Our first year was successful & we are working towards Year 2 taking place on August 26th at Brick n Beam in Jacksonville Fl. A single day event featuring a free daytime Bazaar with Vendors, Food, Drinks, Live Music & More….followed by an Evening Luau featuring more of the same and a pig roast.
If that wasn’t enough we have also spent the past two years(post Falernum release) developing our first Rum Release. Again, working with Manifest, we released Lark’s Head Rum in early June to The Florida Market. A slightly OverProof unaged white rum eith notes of tropical fruit, banana, white pepper, and a smooth finish
Both the Falernum & Lark’s Head are available through Maverick Beverage Company in Florida, and hopefully will start to make its way into other parts of the U.S.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Community-We have always understood how important our bar community is, and understanding how to use that community to learn, teach, network, etc is priceless. When it comes to questions & assistance, we were never too proud to “figure it out” when we could ask someone more proficient.
Adaptability- not getting stuck on an idea/concept. Knowing when it’s working/not working, and the difference between knowing when to pivot, or start from scratch. If we stuck with idea #1 we would not be filling out this questionnaire
Strengths/weaknesses. As a Duo, it has been very positive for us to let each other be ourselves. We are able to let each other take the lead when necessary, knowing where we each excel. And we can step back just as quickly, when it’s obvious the other has a bette handle of whatever we are doing
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
Our current challenge is trying to expand our reach/voice. Distribution outside of Florida is our next big step We have a lot of friends/followers around the country that are ready and willing to support us, but have not been able to. Florida has been amazing to us, but it’s time to let the rest of the country know what they are missing, and getting distribution in new states, not only gives people the ability to try our Products, it also gives us more opportunity to travel to those places so we can spread the word and host events in new fun places
Contact Info:
- Website: Luaulads.com
- Instagram: @Luaulads
- Facebook: Luau lads
Image Credits
All photographs taken by Nick Hogan(@boldcitybourbon) At MoverShakerCo(@moverandshakerco)
