Mark Scroggins 0:06
Hey folks, Mark Scroggins with Scroggins Law Group back for another edition of the reclamation transformation podcast today. I’ve got a good buddy of mine, DJ Walker DJ, how’re you doing today?
Unknown Speaker 0:16
I’m doing great. How about yourself?
Mark Scroggins 0:18
I am good, man. Thanks for joining us today, folks. This is really neat. I’ve known DJ God, it’s got to be about 10 years. Holy crap. And DJ is just one of these incredible success stories that has just grown incredibly, he’s got a couple of different businesses, one that is near and dear to my heart, Dallas, sober living solutions. Is that correct? It’s correct. Okay. Tell them folks a little bit about what Dallas living Sober Living solutions is?
Speaker 2 0:46
Well, we tried to provide sober living for men and women coming out of treatment. And we tried to provide them a clean, safe environment with structure to where they can rebuild their lives and try to get back on the right path.
Mark Scroggins 1:00
Man, that’s such a great thing. And I mean, you talked about a way given back. That’s huge. I bet you’ve got some interesting stories.
Unknown Speaker 1:06
Oh, yeah. It’s been some bumps along the way.
Mark Scroggins 1:10
Like you were just telling me a minute ago about with the women’s houses, that you because of the eating disorder, how often sometimes that will follow that you can’t have skills in the house. Yeah, I just, we just chose not to do that. That’s super smart. But I never would have had a clue that that was something that you actually had to look at.
Speaker 2 1:29
Well, yeah, it’s what I’ve learned is that I don’t really know a lot about eating disorders. But But that does manifest with people’s alcoholism and addiction. Right. So that’s just something that was brought to my attention by Ashley, he knows she’s, she helps us out with the houses. Gotcha. And she points she has suffered from that herself. She’s pointed some stuff out to us to help us be aware of that.
Mark Scroggins 1:55
That’s awesome. So now you have another business that is does a lot in the roofing department. Is that correct? Yes, I’m managing partner at absolute construction. We’re roofing contractors. And we do residential and commercial roofing. So. So folks, if you need either of those DJ is your man, I can tell you that I have reached out with us having all the hail and everything and we need to take a look at my roof sooner rather than than later. But, you know, DJ is also got a very interesting story of it’s amazing sitting here today. I mean, we know each other but friends of Bill and I have known each other for quite some time. But I mean, I’ve just watched you grow over a period of time and your your life today is a little different than when I first met you.
Unknown Speaker 2:42
Oh, yeah. I think I was living on my mom’s couch. Yeah, yeah. I was trying to save money to get into this out. That’s
Mark Scroggins 2:54
right. That’s right. So huge success to go from there to where you are today. And but one of the other things that was really interesting to me is your wife is Filipino? Yeah, correct. So what y’all had to go through to be able to get married? And she’s got, she’s got a daughter as well. Correct. And to be able to bring her over there. Can you? Let’s talk a little bit about y’all tried to take a vacation not too long ago, and it didn’t quite go as planned. Yeah, it
Speaker 2 3:23
did not. Because she has a Philippine passport. Right, although she’s a green card holder, United States, right. Some countries don’t recognize that. Right? No, they want you to have a special visa if your country was explained to us as well, the Philippines is not a NATO country, right. So you need a special visa to get into the country, right. However, they didn’t explain to that when they took our money for the plane tickets? Of course not. We told them what passports are in, you know, no one that went into that. So we got over there, and they weren’t allowed to come into the country?
Mark Scroggins 3:59
Oh, my gosh. So you know, it’s interesting, because that’s something that in family law, we try to deal with everything as much as possible when you know, you’re concluding a divorce or you’re concluding a child custody action. And so one of those are passport provisions that we’ve got in a final decree of divorce or in a final order in a suit affecting parent child relationship. And so one of those is like, who can get the passport? You know, does it require both parents or does one have control so like, if someone is sole managing conservator, they don’t have to worry about that. They’ve got the ability to go and get it. So in a situation like, you know, if your wife’s ex is not involved, she would be over here she could get so managing conservatorship or if you adopted so that y’all could be making those decisions because man, one of the last things you want to do is have the situation like what y’all just went through? Yep. So not crazy to have to, you know, to spend that money and then go over there and then you know, good lord. Yeah,
Speaker 2 5:01
I mean, I couldn’t get refunds on the plane tickets, we use half of them on the way over. So to buy new tickets. Oh my god, man. Yeah, to come back. So, you know, we also had those challenges when when my wife immigrated to the country, right with the passport well, with just moving children from one country to another. Without both parents consent is next to impossible.
Mark Scroggins 5:23
You know, and I, it’s weird, because I mean, you and I can have a conversation about that. And this, you know, people who are trying to live life the right way and trying to, you know, follow all the rules that we’re supposed to be following. And so we’d think more along the lines of God, what a pain in the ass that is, as compared to thinking about, you know, the child trafficking and sex trafficking and all that kind of stuff that actually goes on. I mean, it’s funny, we’re sitting here in my Frisco office, and just around the corner is the Frisco higher Hyatt Regency, where they just had that huge bust on all the sex trafficking stuff. So, you know, amazing to think about that kind of crap. And but it’s still really happy. Well, the laws work.
Speaker 2 6:07
God, yeah, I guess, if you’re doing illegally if you feel like it’s an inconvenience, right, because you’re trying to get your family here. Right. But in retrospect, it’s, it’s there for a reason, right? You know, and it’s, we need those extra layers to keep children from being just snatched out of their countries,
Mark Scroggins 6:26
right? Yeah. Well, I wonder, you know, so thank God that happens. I mean, you know, the pain in the ass thing is there, but like you said, Thank God that, you know, we don’t, that they’ve got those laws, so you don’t run into those kinds of problems. You know, I want to kind of pivot here for a second, because one of the things, you know, you’ve got a story that is, that has some similarities to mind, in that, you know, I’ve been very, very blessed in, you know, the life I get to live today. And a big part of that is, you know, getting my shit together and getting sober and doing all that I didn’t have the let’s just say I didn’t have the life that I have today, you know, and a big part of that is the, the piece that I feel today, the serenity that I have today, because one of the things as a divorce lawyer or family law attorney, is, you know, I am shepherding people through one of the absolute worst times of their lives. Because you know, when you go through a divorce, that’s one of the five worst things that you can go through, right, it’s, you know, death of a family member, or loss of a job relocation, those are all the big stressors, divorce being one of those as well. And so generally, I’m not dealing with people when they’re at their absolute best. So if you’re an asshole, you’re a bigger asshole than you were before. Not to mention, you know, all the financial insecurity and everything that goes along with that. And so that’s really, really difficult in and a lot of people, so thank God that today, I’ve got that peace and serenity that I didn’t always have. Because, you know, I hear a lot of people that, you know, I’ve known for coming up on 30 years of of doing this, and they’re like, you know, you’re a lot more mellow today than you were, you know, just just 10 years ago. And I’m like, you know, well, it’s amazing what happens when you get your life together, and you get sober and start walking, walking a little different pathway. And I think you’ve had some of your clients
Speaker 2 8:25
salt, mellow, when you’re mellow the weight, where you carry yourself and your, your serenity and connection, does that transfer over to them and calm them down? And I think
Mark Scroggins 8:37
I think it’s definitely helpful. It’s definitely helpful, and at least one of the biggest. So I would say that I’ve got alcohol and drug issues in probably 80% of my cases. Okay. And at least an allegation has been made, whether it’s total bullshit, or it’s real. And so when I’m able to talk at a gut level, honesty level and say, Hey, I fought that fight. And if you really want to get sober, if it’s really a problem, you know, you can have a better life than you ever thought was, was possible. I think that has a way of bringing some peace to someone who’s really struggling. Conversely, there are times that I don’t need to talk about that kind of thing. But you know, somebody’s just, they’re crawling the walls, because they’re so freaking nervous about everything. And I don’t know which way is up and I don’t know this, well, you know, something that we can do that’s a little different. We can help people with getting into getting into some therapy to deal with a lot of the shit that they’re just dealing with, you know, so it’s like, it’s kind of like with depression, right? There’s, there are people that have chronic depression, or, you know, they’re going to need to be on medication forever. You have some people that have, you know, situational depression, you just need a little help for a little while. And so maybe that’s something that we that we deal with, but I think, you know, being able to Talk about that gut level honesty, I think it tends to, it definitely tends to calm people down, you know, I don’t know what your experience is. But if I am sitting there, it’s like having an argument with someone, right? If everybody keeps amping it up, you know, with guys, pretty much we’re throwing hands, you know, before too long, right? But we don’t want to do that in a professional in a professional situation, right? So. So if we can kind of if I can, I should say, I shouldn’t talk about anybody else, if I can tone it down a notch. And I can be that voice of reason, a lot of the time, that tends to help. So I would imagine that it’s, you know, when you start dealing with people’s houses, and stuff, you know, you get people that are holy shit, I’ve got four pots in here. And, you know, I’ve got this going in this going, and why can’t this go faster? And the insurance companies doing this? And that? And,
Speaker 2 10:50
I mean, what’s your experience there? I just tried to manage expectations. So how do that I? Well, first of all, I assess what kind of damage they have. And I let them know that, you know, the ultimate decision is your insurance company, right? And if they approves route, we’ll sit down, and we’ll go through all the paperwork, line by line, right? And then we’ll come up with a solution that works for both, both of us to get your house back together. Right. You know, it’s all you know, and it’s a lot of times it comes down to customer service, product and price, right, you know what I mean, but with insurance, you know, your prices, your deductible, they deal with the rest, right, you know, and then we have financing options for that and stuff like that. But, you know, I just want to be very transparent. And tell them the hard questions. Yeah, you know, I mean, the, you know, the hard facts and truths about what’s going to happen.
Mark Scroggins 11:38
So how do you deal with the the problems with the insurance companies? Because you’ve got so many these days, that it’s like, their starting point is no, you know, it really seems to be I mean, now, it’s kind of progressed to where it’s all throughout all different kinds, I mean, down to your health insurance, and, you know, all kinds of different ones. But, so how do you how do you deal with that?
Speaker 2 12:00
Well, um, I just assessed the damage, you know, and you get a feel for what insurance companies looking for what right, you know, by just doing for years, so I know going in, and I just tell you, the people that this the amount of damage you have here, either, it’s, you know, we don’t need to file a claim, I need to quote you something for repair. Or if I feel like we should go forward, I tell them upfront with your particular insurance company, this is going to be a fight. And you know, I will get it done. But it’s not going to happen in a week, right? You know, so if you want to go down this road with me, we’re going to go down, and I’m going to be with you till the end. But, you know, it needs to be done. I’ve even taken people on the roof and showed them the damage, right? You know, so it’s not like, I’m just on your roof, I show you videos, photographs, or even with you up there with me, right? And it’s just gonna be a fight. But there’s only a couple of insurance companies we’re having that problem with. It’s some of the large ones. Right? But you know, I don’t want to say any names.
Mark Scroggins 13:00
Sure. No, and I wouldn’t I wouldn’t ask you to
Speaker 2 13:03
but but people know who they have and who they are. You never know how good your insurance is until you have to use it.
Mark Scroggins 13:09
You know what, that I tell people that all the time, it’s like, God forbid, you have the audacity to actually want insurance to pay for something and then they turn around to cancel you for it.
Speaker 2 13:19
You know, so Well, Storm claims are different they can’t counsel you for storm right? It’s act of God right? Only homeowner negligence if you burn up your kitchen or flood your, you know, backyard with your pool, you know, stuff like that. But acts of God the the main problem we’re facing right now is the rising cost of deductibles. Right? Because in Texas housing prices are skyrocketing, of course, and then they want to do their deductible as a percentage of your home. Right. And then sometimes when you get into, like the, you know, certain areas where the house is, you know, seven or $800,000. And it’s only $8,000 roof. Right? So basically, they’re not paying you anything.
Mark Scroggins 13:57
Right? Right. Yeah, that’s a problem. Yes. Why would never do a percentage? Yeah, you know, make sure you’ve got a number. Yeah, that is what that deductible
Speaker 2 14:06
and then they’re trying to raise to 1.5%. There’s an insurance company already doing that. So it’s really hurting the consumer and the interest rates are going up, and then they’re wanting more out of pocket. And, you know, I deal with some injustice I dealt with the other day. He goes roofers you guys are blah, blah, blah. And I’m like, well, without us, there’ll be no you.
Mark Scroggins 14:25
That’s right. That’s right. It’s amazing. How, how people don’t understand that.
Speaker 2 14:32
Well, because during COVID When no one’s driving a car StateFarm laid off 1000s of auto adjusters, right. Well, it’s wrecking. Yeah. So they lost their jobs. Right. So, you know, residential just need to understand it. I’m the roofer without me you would be unemployed, right? You would have anything to adjust?
Mark Scroggins 14:50
You know, it’s funny, because I didn’t. I didn’t start out becoming a divorce lawyer. You know, I started out in business litigation. And I can’t I got dragged kicking and screaming over to the dark side. And I’m glad I did. It’s worked out well, and I really enjoy it. And but being in, in business litigation, I don’t know if you, you remember this, but when there was the the big tort reform stuff and half the people that were leading, you know, carrying the flags for tort reform and all that. Were all of these insurance defense litigators, and all of a sudden, all this shit went through a guess what, you know, half of these people had to change what their business plans look like, because it was different. You didn’t have this catastrophic injury stuff that was covered the same way that it was and and so anyway, it’s, it’s interesting how that kind of stuff changes people’s perspective a little bit, you know, so Well, one of the other things I wanted to ask you about so with your daughter when she first came over was how old nine? And Was she a regular English speaker at that time? No,
Speaker 2 16:03
she was not she didn’t speak. I feel like she could understand a little bit of English, but she couldn’t speak it at all.
Mark Scroggins 16:08
Oh my gosh. And so how old is she now? 14? And how has that changed?
Speaker 2 16:13
The shades a lot kids have jet adjust really quickly right now. When she has no choice but to speak English, you know, right. Um, she did go to ESL for like a year, but they were telling me that her English is fine, but she would never talk to me. So she would talk to them very quietly, but talk to me but you know, now that she’s a teenager she’s a regular chatterbox. And we have the normal father daughter thing about clean your room was your assignments late for school or?
Mark Scroggins 16:44
And by the way, folks that are out there understand father-daughter thing is not a basis necessarily for a modification of something. That’s we’re talking normal daughter stuff. Yeah. So that’s awesome. Well, and when you say father-daughter, it’s a little different because as I understand her father has passed. Yeah, so yeah, so that’s another thing that if you’ve got you know, if you’ve got a typically if you were gonna have a stepdad and they’re referring to stepdad as “Daddy” – being told to do that, that’s a whole nother reason that somebody could go in and get
Unknown Speaker 17:14
I don’t think anything really
Mark Scroggins 17:17
just hey, you where’s my money? Yeah, basically, yeah, I
Unknown Speaker 17:20
feel the dress because anything.
Mark Scroggins 17:21
Yeah, so enjoy being a parent. Because that’s a big part of it is enjoy. Enjoy. That is where my Where is my money?
Speaker 2 17:28
Yeah. What’s my limit at the mall? That’s what she loves. Our debit card? Those are conversations I get. Those are the normal ones. Can you drop me at the track meet so I can hang out with my friends. You know, dress me is anything. The checkbook? Yeah. Well,
Mark Scroggins 17:43
there you go. As long as she is, you know, just calling you that. And it’s not something worse than that. That is Yeah, bad. Very good. Well, what else is going on in your life these days?
Speaker 2 17:55
Um, well, you know, I’m just, I’m living happy, joyous and free. You know, I’m just working every day to wake up, pray, get a good contact with God and do the next right thing and just keep moving forward. You know, and not, you know, live in fear, stuff like that. Just try to help other people as much as I can. Right. I tried to do a random act of kindness every day. And don’t tell anyone about it. Although my ego makes it very difficult. Yeah,
Mark Scroggins 18:20
I get it, man. I totally understand that. That’s the thing that always drives me nuts where you get you get certain people that want to do the Look at me, look at me, look at me thing. You know, anytime they do, there’s no such thing as a random act of kindness. It’s so watch me do this. So you can tell me how great I am. And it takes away from the kindness of the act. You know, it’s no longer sincere. You know, so I don’t talk about what I do in that regard. Because it’s nobody’s damn business. Yeah, it’s between me and the big guy upstairs, under, you know what I’m doing and he will ultimately judge me based on you know, have I been a good steward of what he has provided to me, you know, so I’m glad to hear that you do that, because that’s important to me to know. So Well, folks, I want to thank my good friend, DJ, for being with us today. And thank you all for joining us for another edition of the reclamation transformation and never forget, change begins with you. So leave your mark.
