For The Crude Life it was Target Logistics founder Brian Lash who connected the final dots for the military energy industry connection.
Brian Lash’s journey in oil and gas lead him to be the founder of Target Logistics after making the decision to leave medical school and start a sports entertainment travel company.
“I was on my way to medical school, got disenchanted, and wanted to really be a businessman. I wanted to be in a business that allowed me to do the two things I love the most, which is sports and travel. So I started a sports-travel company. That was in 1978. I was 21 years old, had $3,800, and ran the business out of my apartment,” Lash said. “I got into the special event travel business working for the Orange Bowl – taking all the teams to the football games, the bands for the parade, tennis players for the Rolex Junior tennis tournament. And from the Orange Bowl, I became the exclusive tour and travel operator for Florida State, and did all their sports travel. Then I started doing other special events, like Woodstock and Olympic Games.”
His decision evolved into creating temporary housing company where he did work for the soldiers in Iraq, Winter Olympics athletes and the oil and gas industry.
“As my involvement in the Olympic Games got bigger, for me it was all about scalability. I started not doing individuals to the Olympics, but rather I started doing countries – Denmark, Norway; huge corporations like Motorola; and finally the U.S. government. I started working a lot with security. Come the aftermath of 9/11, Target Logistics housed thousands of federal agents that were brought in to lock down Salt Lake against another invasion – thousands of U.S. military also to protect the Olympics from terrorism,” Lash said. “Simultaneously, I figured if we were doing it in a war zone three quarters away around the world, we could certainly do it for Hess and Halliburton. At the time, I was continuing my Olympic work, and we built a very large, but temporary, city for Olympic security in Whistler, outside Vancouver for the Winter Games. It slept 1,700 people. It was only operable for 70 days. Halliburton saw it while it was up and being used for Olympic security, and they said, “We want that building,” because it was built for extreme weather conditions and very efficient, and they took up a small footprint. It was tall, with multiple stories, and made with 185 8×40 containers.”
In his 40-year career, Mr. Lash has become a respected leader in disaster relief, workforce housing, and in the travel industry. His expertise has led to national and international speaking opportunities and appearances on NBCUniversal’s “Today Show,” CNN, PBS “NewsHour” and in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, and as the keynote speaker at multiple conferences and trade shows in the oil, gas and mining industries.
After retiring as Chairman in 2015, today Mr. Lash continues to support Target Hospitality as a consultant on business development initiatives while pursuing other investment opportunities.
Mr. Lash is an avid skier, tennis player, and philanthropist, who embraces a keen sense of corporate citizenship, which is expressed by his ongoing contributions to social and educational programs.
Click here for a feature story in The Oilman Magazine on Brian Lash from The Crude Life interview.
In 2014, The Crude Life presented the idea and sponsored Mark J. Lindquist’s performance at the 2013 Bakken BBQ then a year later at the North Dakota Petroleum Council’s Annual Meeting.
Lindquist was brought back the following year by the NDPC to kick off the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference with the national anthem and also performed it during an event involving peace during the DAPL Protests.
Mark J. Lindquist has performed for the the NCAA, The Los Angeles Dodgers, The Minnesota Twins, The College World Series, and The Minnesota Vikings on the 200th Anniversary of the Star Spangled Banner.
He is the full-time National Anthem singer for the University of North Dakota Men’s Hockey team as well as a frequent guest artist for country music stars, opening concerts for Dierks Bentley, Brooks and Dunn, The Band Perry, Craig Campbell and Jarrod Niemann.
The Crude Life continued it’s relationship with Lindquist in other areas of energy empowerment too. This past Spring (2022) United States Air Force Veteran Mark J. Lindquist joined Jason Spiess live from the Ukraine with a boots on the ground report for media platforms The Crude Life and the Bismarck-Mandan KLXX SUPERTALK 1270AM.
“Jason, our here in the Ukraine, we call this the first Instagram War,” Lindquist said. “This war is being fought on social media.”
Lindquist continues sharing several examples of why they are calling this the Instagram War, including soldiers wearing GoPros and body cams. The two discuss how the citizens are getting involved in social media too.
“The people of the Ukraine are so much more technologically accepting than the United States,” Lindquist said.
After sharing several “boots-on-the-ground” stories and examples of his experience why the U.S. is being the tech-times, including a money and tracking App, the two discuss how the media has evolved.
“I can remember the first war via in my lifetime was George Bush Sr. and his Iraq War really brought CNN to the mainstage,” Spiess said. “Then George Bush Jr’s Iraq War was fueled by the 24-hour news stations, not just CNN but other 24-hour news networks too. So to have everybody being a reporter 24-hours a day, I wondered when social media would become where we are calling a war the Instagram War.”
Click here for the GoFundMe Link for Mark J. Lindquist and his fellow Air Force Veterans
Next Spiess asks Lindquist if anyone is citing the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline as the reason for the war, or at least one of the main impetus.
“I haven’t heard anyone out here talk about the pipeline at all so I think that is primarily a Western perspective and narrative,” Lindquist said. “However, I will say this, after experiencing what I have here in the Ukraine, when I am back in the United States, I will be a big advocate for pipelines.”
Lindquist paints a picture that is similar to the 1970’s in America with gas shortages, rations and lines at the pump.
“I don’t think this was reported in the American media but in the months of March, April and May, I counted 90-plus cars the other day at one gas station,” Lindquist said. “It’s lines like the 1970’s here and people are waiting in line for 10 liters of fuel is all you could get, that’s 2.5 gallons!”
Always a servant, as his mother and father taught him, Mark continued his service in the United States Air Force and served honorably at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii. There, he had the incredible opportunity to sing the National Anthem for the US Military as well as for a world touring entertainment unit called Tops in Blue, which is similar to a USO or Bob Hope show. During his time on the Island of Oahu, Mark earned a few roles on ABC’s LOST, CBS’ Hawaii Five-O and in the Universal Studios Hollywood movie “Battleship“.
Since launching his motivational speaking firm (Mark J Lindquist Motivational Speaking and Entertainment) and his consulting firm (Lindquist and Associates), he has had the opportunity to speak for the largest companies in America (McDonald’s, Walmart, Starbucks, IBM), sing for the largest crowds in America (National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball, NCAA), and perform for the President of the United States of America. He is widely known in the professional speaking industry as the fastest growing motivational speaker in America, having been invited to deliver guest lectures to over 1500 aspiring and professional speakers, including many Hall of Fame Speakers.
Mark is a United States Air Force and Afghanistan War Veteran.
Click here for the GoFundMe Link
The Crude Life also engages, empowers and supports the military in a number of ways from military interviews to supporting veteran-owned businesses to encouraging Start Ups branching out of the military. Dwayne Farris of Black Creek K-9 Pipeline Leak Detection and his pack of expert sniffers are just one example of a veteran using his military experience to start a career in industry.
“I had the fortunate paths cross of canine work and military while in the Marines and I competed and got selected and that’s what started the journey,” Farris said.
Understanding the skills of the canine and working ethics of a dog was something Farris found remarkable and totally understands why Hollywood has gotten on the Military Dog angle the past decade as a way to connect a military brand to the average person.
“Even in movies today you can see how they’ve gone towards telling the story of these dogs,” Farris said. “A lot of that is trying to capture memorable events for military or service members with working dogs.”
Even the working dogs are now essential workers in the World of COVID.
“We are in such an age with detection dogs, having biological detection dogs. We know have COVID detection dogs that organizations are using for protections and screening,” Farris said.
Click here for an interview with Farrris
“We offer firearm and narcotic searches to the industry and been doing it now for about seven or eight years now,” Farris said. “Everything from onshore to your drill and frac and mancamps to executive offices, you name it. We’ve done some offshore rigs too.”
Farris describes how operators will fly him and his dogs out to an off shore well site in order to run searches and work. However, not everyone in the world is excited to see dogs all the time.
“Obviously when you get off a helicopter and you’ve got a couple canines and some handlers doing some searches it definitely makes the environment and the people tighten up a bit and lets them know the company is serious about zero tolerance,” Farris said.
Black Creek K-9 Pipeline Leak Detection is a disabled veteran owned business in north Texas servicing the K-9 industry with pipeline leak detection, detection services, dog training and consulting. More specific services also include pipeline leak detection, narcotic, explosive, bedbug, firearms, custom dog training.
The Crude Life also works with Government Affairs officials as well as military personnel in order to assist in public awareness and affairs. One example is the American Energy Independence from Russia Act in 2022.
Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Hoeven (R-ND), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and was introduced in the House of Representatives by House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). the American Energy Independence from Russia Act.
In addition to publishing an article, The Crude Life offers links to the Bill and also short video and audio interviews, which often are rebroadcasted across The Crude Life Content Network.
Click here to read the bill.
The Crude Life had the privileged to be invited on to the production studio and set of Sherwood Forest, a docufilm about a historic time in American Oil and Gas’s impact on global independence and empowerment.
By the summer of 1942, the future of Great Britain and the outcome of World War II depended on petroleum supplies. At the end of that year, demand for 100-octane fuel would grow to more than 150,000 barrels of oil every day and German U-boats ruled the Atlantic.
In August 1942, British Secretary of Petroleum, Geoffrey Lloyd called an emergency meeting of the Oil Control Board to assess the “impending crisis in oil.”
Thus began the story of the “little-known, or at least seldom recognized, all-important role oil and oilmen played in the prosecution of the war,” according to two historians who extensively researched archives in Great Britain and the United States. Short story is they drilled in Sherwood Forest.
The longer story is being told by Oscar Winner Grey Frederickson.
Grey Frederickson is spearheading the docufilm on Sherwood Forest and how Lloyd Noble along with 44 roughnecks played a critical role during World War II.
Frederickson is best known for being a long-time producer for Francis Ford Coppola and winning an Oscar as one of the co-producers of The Godfather Part II at the 47th Academy Awards. In addition he was also nominated for Apocalypse Now.
“All of activities you see in the newsreels and media about D-day is from fuel that came from these group of Oklahoma oil guys drilling 100 wells in Sherwood Forest to power that invasion of D-Day.”
During that time, German submarines were sinking all of the American oil tankers being sent to England and they lacked proper drilling equipment to drill themselves.
The OK crew ended up sending over two million barrels of oil to British refineries, which powered D-Day and the end of World War II.
“It’s just important for the world to see history like this,” said Frederickson.
Sherwood Forest is scheduled for release in the Spring of 2022 and will be available through the Oklahoma Historical Society and other distribution platforms.
In addition to the above, The Crude Life is always open to the Military, their families and their causes.
The Crude Life also engages with Military families. Another similarity with the oil and gas industry and the military is making sacrifices of being away from your family. This is another way industry can connect with people from all walks of life.
Below is a Military Holiday Montage we air during the holidays on The Crude Life Week In Review, which airs across our Radio Network.
The Crude Life: A Decade Of ESG Empowerment, Environmental Innovations And Ethical Energy
Over the past decade The Crude Life’s evolution and achievements have enabled and supported a long-term vision for energy, empowerment and environment.
As digitization continues to change how we connect with our audience across the United States and the world. Our business model of sharing original content with other media outlets, has allowed The Crude Life to better engage with energy users around the world, particularly through the localization and non-polarizing content.
Toward this objective, The Crude Life became an “early adopter,” in many areas of youth engagement, environmental action and community communications. Every year The Crude Life Media Kit embraces a vision statement, mantra and goal for the following year. Generally it is released at the end of October the previous year.
2012: Living & Loving The Crude Life
2013: Content is King
2014: Engage & Educate with Environmental Energy
2015: We Don’t Think Outside The Box, We Bust Out and Kick It Around a Bit
2016: Real Life Rock Stars, New Cultural Connections
2017: From White Collar to Blue Collar to Red Collar to No Collar – Everybody Is Welcome At The Crude Life
2018: The Industrial Eco-Lution Has Begun
2019: Become A Champion of Innovation, Environment and Community
2020: Ready For Anything
2021: Think Beyond & Close the Digital Divide
2022: Using the Past Today to Prepare for the Future
2023: This Year, We Mean Business
In 2022, The Crude Life had a remarkable year characterized by achievements that demonstrate the brand’s creativity in a challenging environment and our ability to capitalize on evolving media trends.
The Crude Life was built to be a sustainable company from Day One. The low overhead, high content output model has allowed the multimedia brand to take advantage of dynamic industry trends, which will also drive future growth and engagement.
“All energy has a purpose, and we are all energy,” Spiess said.
Content Creation is the core of our business, and our non-political, informational and entertaining programs continue to increase our levels of listenership, engagement and followers.
“It takes a world-class team to do what The Crude Life does every day,” Spiess said. “It takes a considerable amount of energy and resources staying ahead of the competition and the changing marketplace by imagining and innovating new business models, especially with the increased uncertainties that impact our business and daily lives.”
The combination of strengths that we can offer current and prospective sponsors, namely our ability to design
custom, experiential content that can fully engage our audience with client brands, including utilizing Real Life Rock Stars
through integration into our shows and platforms.
The media industry continues to evolve in new, dynamic ways, fueled by innovations and technological changes, the consumer is demanding a diversity of ways to interact with compelling content.
“I am eternally and immensely grateful for the dedication and hard work of energy experts, industry professional, supporters and business partners,” Spiess said. “I remain confident in our collective ability as an industry to grow together as so many are embarking on their own professional and personal journey.”
About The Crude Life
Award winning interviewer and broadcast journalist Jason Spiess and Content Correspondents engage with the industry’s best thinkers, writers, politicians, business leaders, scientists, entertainers, community leaders, cafe owners and other newsmakers in one-on-one interviews and round table discussions.
The Crude Life has been broadcasting on radio stations since 2012 and posts all updates and interviews on The Crude Life Social Media Network.
Everyday your story is being told by someone. Who is telling your story? Who are you telling your story to?
#thecrudelife promotes a culture of inclusion and respect through interviews, content creation, live events and partnerships that educate, enrich, and empower people to create a positive social environment for all, regardless of age, race, religion, sexual orientation, or physical or intellectual ability.
Sponsors, Music and Other Show Notes
Studio Sponsor: The Industrial Forest
The Industrial Forest is a network of environmentally minded and socially conscious businesses that are using industrial innovations to build a network of sustainable forests across the United States.
Weekly Sponsor: Stephen Heins, The Practical Environmentalist
Historically, Heins has been a writer on subjects ranging from broadband and the US electricity grid, to environmental, energy and regulatory topics.
Heins is also a vocal advocate of the Internet of Everything, free trade, and global issues affecting the third of our planet that still lives in abject poverty.
Heins is troubled by the Carbon Tax, Cap & Trade, Carbon Offsets and Carbon Credits, because he questions their efficacy in solving the climate problem, are too gamable by rent seekers, and are fraught with unreliable accounting.
Heins worries that climate and other environmental reporting in the US and Europe has become too politicized, ignores the essential role carbon-based energy continues to play in the lives of billions, demonizes the promise and practicality of Nuclear Energy and cheerleads for renewable energy sources that cannot solve the real world problems of scarcity and poverty.
Weekly Sponsor: Great American Mining Co
Great American Mining monetizes wasted, stranded and undervalued gas throughout the oil and gas industry by using it as a power generation source for bitcoin mining. We bring the market and our expertise to the molecule. Our solutions make producers more efficient and profitable while helping to reduce flaring and venting throughout the oil and gas value chain.
Join Podcasters from across the world and all walks of life as they unite to bring civil solutions to life and liberty.
Studio Email and Inbox Sponsor: To Be Announced
Featured Music: Alma Cook
For guest, band or show topic requests, email studio@thecrudelife.com
Spread the word. Support the industry. Share the energy.
