Behind the Gates at the Farm: Kyle Olsen and Karl Hengst

Danielle Grossman 0:00
Coming up on Mission Rodeo, we’re joined by Kyle Olsen, Chief Show Operations Officer, and Karl Hengst, our Senior Director of Mission Division. And today, we’re diving into how the new agricultural complex will dramatically improve the experience for exhibitors, volunteers, and guests. Plus, what this means for you-that’s coming up. All right, guys, welcome back. I have two awesome guests with us today. Hey guys, howdy, how you doing?

Kyle Olsen 0:25
Doing great.

Karl Hengst 0:26
Doing good.

Danielle Grossman 0:26
Thank you for being here, Karl Hengst, senior director of mission division. Thank you for being here, and Kyle Olsen, chief show operations officer. You guys ready to talk rodeo?

Kyle Olsen 0:37
Let’s do it.

Danielle Grossman 0:38
Wait, before we get to rodeo, though, we gotta lighten things up. What do you think? What do you think?

Kyle Olsen 0:44
I don’t know. It’s a pretty serious job.

Danielle Grossman 0:45
Okay, we’re gonna have some fun. Ready? Fire rounds. Tex-Mex or barbecue?

Karl Hengst 0:50
Barbecue.

Danielle Grossman 0:52
Tex-Mex or barbecue.

Kyle Olsen 0:52
Texmex.

Danielle Grossman 0:53
Okay. Earlier, you know, we’ve had a lot of people say text next. Are you early bird or night owl?

Karl Hengst 1:00
Early bird.

Danielle Grossman 1:01
early bird!

Kyle Olsen 1:02
night owl.

Danielle Grossman 1:02
night owl,

Kyle Olsen 1:03
All night.

Danielle Grossman 1:03
Really? Like, what time do you go to bed, Kyle?

Kyle Olsen 1:06
When the work is done.

Danielle Grossman 1:08
You also have kids, so I get it. You probably can’t get to work till they go to bed, and you stay up.

Kyle Olsen 1:13
Well, now they’re teenagers, so they come home late too. So messes with the schedule even more.

Danielle Grossman 1:17
I get it. I get it. All right, next one. What TV show are you currently watching, or a book you’re reading if you don’t watch TV?

Karl Hengst 1:28
Neither.

Danielle Grossman 1:29
Nothing good!

Karl Hengst 1:30
Yeah, nothing good at the moment.

Danielle Grossman 1:31
What do you listen to when you’re on your runs?

Karl Hengst 1:33
I don’t. I don’t. I just run.

Danielle Grossman 1:36
You just in silence. You run in silence!

Karl Hengst 1:38
I do. Yes.

Danielle Grossman 1:39
What?

Karl Hengst 1:40
Yeah.

Danielle Grossman 1:40
That’s crazy.

Karl Hengst 1:41
A little bit, yeah. Yeah.

Danielle Grossman 1:43
So you just like have your thoughts. That’s incredible.

Karl Hengst 1:46
Think about work.

Danielle Grossman 1:47
Oh man. What about you?

Kyle Olsen 1:49
I just finished up watching Shogun, which was a phenomenal series. Missed it by a couple of years, and now I’m restarting Ted Lasso because it’s one of my all-time favorites. Very inspirational.

Danielle Grossman 2:01
Chris Boleman actually is rewatching that too.

Kyle Olsen 2:03
It’s great. I wish they’d just extend it for more seasons to come.

Danielle Grossman 2:07
And Kyle, you actually just got back from a crazy trip to Japan. How was it?

Kyle Olsen 2:11
I did. It was fantastic. We had a had a week and flew over and spent a week in Tokyo, just exploring all the different parts of the city and eating and hanging out and trying to absorb as much history and culture as we could. It was fantastic.

Danielle Grossman 2:25
How was the food?

Kyle Olsen 2:26
Amazing.

Danielle Grossman 2:27
I bet.

Kyle Olsen 2:28
I say go. Everybody should go. Go to Japan.

Danielle Grossman 2:31
Actually, a lot of people have been saying and talking about visit to Japan. It’s like the thing right now. It’s very popular.

Kyle Olsen 2:37
Yeah.

Danielle Grossman 2:37
Vacation spot.

Kyle Olsen 2:39
It’s it’s great. Once you get there, I mean, there’s so many things you can do. You don’t need to worry about rental cars, public transportation. It’s clean. It’s safe. You know, early in the morning, it’s it’s quiet. Late at night, it’s it’s fun. You know, it’s just it was a it was a great it was it was not a vacation. I was made very clear by my family this was going to be a go go go.

Danielle Grossman 2:57
It was an adventure.

Kyle Olsen 2:58
It was a trip.

Danielle Grossman 2:58
Okay.

Kyle Olsen 2:59
It was a trip, but it was great.

Danielle Grossman 3:01
Yeah, I find when you with children, you have to look at trips more of a family adventure because you know there is no rest and relaxation.

Kyle Olsen 3:10
No such thing. I take I take Japan over Disney any day. Maybe I shouldn’t say that live.

Danielle Grossman 3:14
Yeah, maybe not.

Kyle Olsen 3:15
No, they’re both great. Actually, we almost went to Disney. That was part of it, but the weather was bad for us, so we end up exploring.

Danielle Grossman 3:23
Because I heard Disney is great there.

Kyle Olsen 3:25
That’s the rumor.

Danielle Grossman 3:26
And less expensive.

Kyle Olsen 3:28
That’s the truth. Wow.

Danielle Grossman 3:30
Do you have any trips coming up, Karl?

Karl Hengst 3:32
I’ve got a cruise coming up.

Danielle Grossman 3:33
Okay. Where are you going?

Karl Hengst 3:35
Bahamas.

Danielle Grossman 3:36
Nice. How long are you going for?

Karl Hengst 3:39
Eight days. Yeah.

Danielle Grossman 3:41
Have a great time.

Karl Hengst 3:42
Yeah.

Danielle Grossman 3:42
You get nice and tan.

Karl Hengst 3:44
Try.

Danielle Grossman 3:44
Have some cocktails on the beach.

Karl Hengst 3:45
Yeah. Why not?

Danielle Grossman 3:46
I love it.

Karl Hengst 3:47
Yeah.

Danielle Grossman 3:47
Okay. Cool. All right, guys. You ready to like pivot a little?

Let’s talk about rodeo. So, we’re gonna pivot. Talk about this just casual 1 million square foot agricultural facility that we’re building on our Highway 288. Incredible. We’re all very excited about it, right? How do y’all feel about? How do you feel about it? It’s coming to life finally. How do you feel?

Karl Hengst 4:08
Excited for sure. Maybe a little bit nervous just because it’s something different. But yeah, no, it’s it’s going to be great. Really is.

Danielle Grossman 4:15
How about you?

Kyle Olsen 4:15
That’s a huge project. It’s exciting. You know, this this has been talked about for years around here, and this has been in the planning for a long time, and it’s it’s go time.

Danielle Grossman 4:22
It’s go time. The logistics. This is your bread and butter, y’all. So we’re going to talk about some of the questions that people have when it comes to logistics, getting to and from some things happening. So let’s start off with getting to and from Reliant Park to 288 Complex, the agricultural complex. Tell us how that’s going to happen, put our guests’ minds at ease, and and tell us what that looks like when we open in 2029.

Kyle Olsen 4:47
Well, I think overall, you know, one of our big plans is to create continuity between the two sites. It’s not it’s not a different site; it’s an expansion of our current site, and that’s really the mindset going into this. We, you know, there is a pretty it’s a. Pretty quick path. I mean, you’re only a couple of miles away on a regular day. It takes me about seven minutes to drive over there. It’s not a long way away from here. As Houston continues to expand, the roadways will expand with it, and so the long-term plan there will be a lot more lanes, you know, to navigate between here and there. In the immediate, it’s you know, it’s there are two separate parts of the show going on that are part of part of a whole, and again, it’s just really trying to create continuity between the two spaces.

Danielle Grossman 5:27
What do you think? What are your thoughts?

Karl Hengst 5:30
Yeah, I think it’s it’s one of those things that it’s going to work well for us being able to have the continuity of the the two complexes. Currently, we’re already using that space for exhibitors to stage and for trailer parking, so it’s something that we’re already using the space for the event. We have quite a few committees that are out there year-round, or not year-round, but the entire run of show assisting us with that of staging our livestock exhibitors, giving them their pinning, installing assignments, and then once they get done moving in here on property, returning out there with their trailers.

Danielle Grossman 6:03
So we already use the property over in Highway 288. We use it every year during our 2021 day show, right? Tell us a little bit more about what happens over there. What other things, except for staging, happens over there, so people have a better understanding of how that property is being used right now.

Kyle Olsen 6:20
It’s it’s really it’s it’s the rodeo behind the rodeo, and we’ve got an entire site over there that most people will never see, and that’s kind of kind of the plan with that. You know, we we keep we keep our rough stock over there that that performs in the stadium every night. We’ve got a an RV campground for our contestants and for carnival workers, and we have a barn and a hay barn, and I mean, going out right now, it’s kind of open pasture. But during showtime, there’s there’s a herd of sheep, there’s bucking bulls, there’s broncs, there’s a little bit everything out there, and all the support staff that that runs that area.

Karl Hengst 6:55
Yeah, and public parking that comes here to grounds as well.

Danielle Grossman 6:59
I was going to say parking. We all talk about parking. I think guests talk about parking. That’s very exciting. We’re going to have more parking. So, you know, logistically for folks that are coming, there’s just going to be more space, right? Talk about the ease of logistics and the ease of guest experience when they’re coming out.

Kyle Olsen 7:16
I mean, I think a big push of this is really to accommodate the exhibitors’ growing needs. So I mean, I kind of launched that one to Carl first. It’s it’s it really is about the kids, and that’s where where our hearts are. So that’s

Karl Hengst 7:28
yeah. I mean, it’s we’re kind of tapped out of space here on property. Reliant Center is is a we’ve amazingly outgrown it as large as it is, and we need more room for our exhibitors and to give them experience that we would like. One of the nice things about this facility is it’s going to be very easy for them to move in and out of. They’re already on the property for staging. They’ll go right next door to unload, be right in the barn, and they can get to get ready to show and hopefully relax some and and enjoy the experience while they’re here.

Danielle Grossman 7:59
What’s the feedback been like, Karl? Obviously, you’ve talked to some of these exhibitors and their families because you work day in and day out with them. What’s the feedback? Are they like pumped? Are they so excited about this? So, what does it mean for them to be able to show their animals out there logistically for their families? I know some folks have their grandparents come and they have people come support them. So, what does it mean for them?

Karl Hengst 8:17
I think for them it means a lot to have a facility that’s that’s built for them that gives them the the means that they need to come out here and show and have the space for them to you know pin their animals to have their space to camp to just enjoy it as a family and to park for that matter.

Danielle Grossman 8:34
So what do you think the biggest operational advantage we’re going to have by having these two properties will be activating on two separate properties, a few miles apart,

Kyle Olsen 8:42
it’s it’s space. You know, just just like in sports, the two things you need to be successful and score a goal are time and space. And we have used up every bit of good space on this grounds. You know, a lot of it is is back of house to support the operation that we have. But you know, literally being able to add a million square feet under cover just around the corner from us. I mean, the opportunities-it’s-it’s a space that we will grow into for decades. You know, I think when this this venue was you know imagined back in the 90s and became a reality in 2002, you know, the the people who understood the growth and the future of the rodeo knew that at some point we would outgrow this, well, that’s this point. That’s where we are, and it’s exciting.

Danielle Grossman 9:24
Yeah, it’s exciting to be a part of it right now, isn’t it? We’re literally planning for our 100th anniversary. Isn’t that crazy to say out loud? I mean, you both have been here for quite a while-a decade, almost a decade, right? And so you’ve seen this organization evolve and pivot so many times. How does it make you feel to be a part of something so pivotal in a time when there’s so much transformation happening?

Karl Hengst 9:49
Honestly, just blessed to be part of the show. I grew up coming to the show, showing livestock here at Houston, and my family actually started showing livestock here in the 60s. So to be part of this place and the capacity that I’m allowed to is is a huge blessing.

Kyle Olsen 10:06
Yeah, I mean, I think everybody’s everybody’s pathway to get here is a little bit different. You know, I I didn’t grow up in showing livestock. I had a couple of dogs and a hamster. That was about all the livestock we could handle on our less than acre. Yeah, less than a quarter acre. You’re pushing it with that kind of that kind of herd, but you know, for me, when I look at the history of the show, and you go back to to our time downtown at the Memorial Coliseum and the 30-year cycles that a lot of times we talk about, we’re we’re at we’re at that turning point of that next 30 years. You know, my my dad, who’s not from here, he’s from he’s from Connecticut and Pennsylvania. He attended the show in the 1960s when he took a took a cab from Galveston Island to go see Johnny Cash in the Astrodome. You know, everybody has a connection to it. It’s a fantastic story, but you look at that that point in time when the Astrodome was the new big thing, and then me personally, I joined the management team here at Reliant Park back in the early 2000s, right when the venue opened, I got you know four seasons here on the management side and got to experience the new venue when that was happening. Well, here we are. I mean, we’re in that next 30-year cycle now, where we’re planning for the future. 288, you know, gets gets us a jump on that. You know, there there’s a lot that’s going to happen here on the park in the next decade, and you know we’re able to really put our flag in the ground out at 288 and call it home.

Danielle Grossman 11:25
Yeah, and I mean operationally, you know, you’re the you see the ins and outs, Kyle. Like you work day in and day out and see what people don’t see and what they shouldn’t see. So talk about the help that we’re going to need to make this happen, staff-wise, volunteer-wise, to make this a reality, not just for show, but year-round.

Kyle Olsen 11:46
Yeah, I mean the the entire operation out here is way bigger than one person. I know you’re not even implying that, but I mean between the committee support and the staff that we have that run this, we’ve got such a huge team. We we talk about the number of volunteers that are here, 34,000. We might need 34,001 when we open this new place up. So I mean, the big big thing is really understanding how we currently operate and how do we augment that and get ready to move it into a new facility. And so for the next two show years, I really see an opportunity for us to dig into a different level of how we operate and understand it better because you know, as big as an operation as we are, everybody has to stay in their lane. So you know, by design, you have to stay a little bit, a little bit with your blinders on. Run your world, understand it the best. And when they start crossing over, that’s when we get a little bit confused. And so we’re going to spend the next two show years really understanding you know a little bit more of the root and the base of how we’ve come to operate the way that we are, so we can we can pivot and change that, so we’re you know just as successful out at 288.

Danielle Grossman 12:46
So Karl, I know that there’s going to be a lot of events, activations, competitions that are going to be moving over to our new agricultural facility because we have control and it’s our facility, right? Talk about what it means. Like an example, the the archery competition moving out to this new property and what that means for people to learn about it, maybe to even participate to being in our property, whereas being here at Reliant Park.

Karl Hengst 13:10
Sure, yeah, I mean the the fact that we’re going to be able to program this facility throughout the year for a lot of these different types of contests that we have is going to be huge. Archery contest. It is a huge event. We have about 600 kids that come to that from across the state of Texas. Currently, we kind of have to work around the the schedule of the facility to kind of fit that in. This will give us the flexibility to set the the event when we want to have it, when it works for our contestants, and long term to where our volunteers know that this is when it’ll be each year, and they can plan out as well ahead of time. And that’s for archery, our calf scramble progress show. We currently hold that in Brenham each year, and we take our whole operation out there, move it out there. So having that here on site versus having to move ourselves, our volunteers, everything out there to a property you know two hours away will be a huge game changer for us.

Danielle Grossman 14:04
Yeah, Kyle. I mean, logistically, for just the committee meetings, I’m sure that’s like, you know, a sigh of relief for some of these folks who are waiting until you know a month or two before to know if they can have their meeting on property. So, what’s that feedback been like from them?

Kyle Olsen 14:19
It’s you know, again, it gives us more rooms to work with, and we get to make we’re fully autonomous, really, to make the decisions in how we use the space. Right now, it’s a fantastic facility with a lot of room and a lot of space, but it’s also a very busy facility. And because of the outline of our our lease, we we are not guaranteed space all the time. We are we are competing with the county and with the Texans and how they book and use the facility. That’s just a reality. It’s not. It’s not a negative, but that’s that’s where we are. And you know the the management’s objective is to book this thing 365 days out of the year. And you know our windows are getting smaller because they are being more successful. There’s more demand to bring these large events to Houston, and. It’s great, great for the county, but it does limit us. So this, you know, we get to truly program and select internally without having to compete with anybody else.

Danielle Grossman 15:09
Yeah, it’s going to be a great asset to organization. Of course, the community is going to benefit from this. I think we’re all very excited to be a part of it. Thank you all so much. But before we go, we’re going to have a little more fun because we can’t leave without a few more questions. You don’t like all these questions?

Kyle Olsen 15:23
We’ve been answering questions. It feels like for,

Danielle Grossman 15:27
but these are fun.

Kyle Olsen 15:28
These are great. Let’s go.

Danielle Grossman 15:29
And I have to share my joke with you. So I know you’ve been waiting the entire episode for my joke.

Kyle Olsen 15:34
Let’s go.

Danielle Grossman 15:34
Have you? Okay. Bucket list. First of all, do you guys have a bucket list? I know you just went to Japan, Kyle, but do you have a bucket list? And share with us one or two things on that bucket list.

Karl Hengst 15:44
Bucket list is to run the Berlin Marathon.

Danielle Grossman 15:49
You can do it.

Karl Hengst 15:50
Yeah.

Danielle Grossman 15:50
Are you going to do it soon? Like, is it on your?

Karl Hengst 15:52
I don’t know. I have to qualify. That’s the hard part.

Danielle Grossman 15:54
Where do you qualify? Is like qualifier like Boston or New York or things like that?

Karl Hengst 15:57
I think… I’m not exactly sure. I know you can sign up and things like that, but I need to look into it more. But that’s on my bucket list of things to do down the road.

Danielle Grossman 16:05
For those of the people listening or watching, you are an avid runner. I mean, you’ve run how many half marathons and marathons?

Karl Hengst 16:11
I’ve done two full marathons and I don’t know 12 or so half marathons.

Danielle Grossman 16:16
Have you ever lost a toenail?

Karl Hengst 16:18
So far, no.

Danielle Grossman 16:19
Okay.

Karl Hengst 16:20
Yeah.

Danielle Grossman 16:21
I’ve heard that’s what happens when you run a full marathon.

Karl Hengst 16:22
A lot of people do. Yeah.

Danielle Grossman 16:23
Okay, which is why I will not run a full marathon. But that’s amazing.

Karl Hengst 16:27
Yeah.

Danielle Grossman 16:27
good for you.

Karl Hengst 16:28
That’s fun.

Danielle Grossman 16:28
Okay, you’re turn.

Kyle Olsen 16:29
I have lost a toenail. Was that my question also?

Danielle Grossman 16:32
Running or just because?

Kyle Olsen 16:33
No, I dropped a refrigerator on it.

Danielle Grossman 16:35
Okay, well that that sounds really awful. Okay.

Kyle Olsen 16:37
Bucket list though. I I love to travel, and a couple of places I really want to get to is the Great Barrier Reef. I want to I want to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef, and I’d love to get out to the Galapagos Islands.

Danielle Grossman 16:49
That’s great. Those are really good things to have on the list. Cool. Well, I hope you get to go, and I hope you achieve that marathon and don’t lose a toenail. Okay. What movie do you enjoy quoting? If you have a movie that you enjoy quoting.

Karl Hengst 17:03
I don’t.

Danielle Grossman 17:04
You don’t? You’re not a TV guy, though are you?

Karl Hengst 17:06
I’m not a huge TV guy.

Danielle Grossman 17:07
That’s okay.

Karl Hengst 17:07
Yeah.

Danielle Grossman 17:08
How about you? You have to, especially if you’re watching.

Kyle Olsen 17:11
I’m going through my brains. What’s the appropriate response for this? Tombstone. I used to be able to quote. I used to be able to recite Tombstone from beginning to end.

Danielle Grossman 17:20
Wow, that’s impressive!

Kyle Olsen 17:22
Yeah, love that movie. Great one-liners.

Danielle Grossman 17:24
Wow, great. What’s one-liner from it?

Kyle Olsen 17:26
Ooo!

Danielle Grossman 17:28
Catch you off guard.

Kyle Olsen 17:28
No, well, you did, but I knew it was coming. When I think it’s Turkey Creek Jack Johnson, they’re sitting by the by the river afterwards, and he goes, “Where’s Wyatt? And he goes, “Yeah, he’s down by the creek walking on water, right after he just went through that big shootout. So one of my favorites.

Danielle Grossman 17:47
I guess I need to watch that movie.

Kyle Olsen 17:48
It’s a fantastic movie.

Danielle Grossman 17:49
It’s going to be on my list now. Last question for you before my joke. Okay, so what are you most looking forward to for 2027 show?

Karl Hengst 17:56
So what I’m looking most forward to is a new office downstairs, new building for our staff.

Danielle Grossman 18:01
ooh exciting yeah, that’s awesome.

Karl Hengst 18:04
Yeah, so it’s gonna be fun.

Danielle Grossman 18:06
How about you?

Kyle Olsen 18:07
20 days and not 21 days. That’s what I’m looking forward to.

Danielle Grossman 18:10
That was a tough turnaround, I have to say. I mean, that was my first 21st show, and I saw it. I mean, you guys worked really hard. It was it was not easy, but you made it happen. Like we made it happen, and it made it look seamless.

Kyle Olsen 18:24
Yeah, that’s my favorite part about the new show is 20 days.

Danielle Grossman 18:27
Okay, you guys. I know you’ve been waiting. You ready for my joke?

Kyle Olsen 18:30
Go. Yeah.

Danielle Grossman 18:31
Why do cows have hooves?

Kyle Olsen 18:34
I don’t know. Karl, you have a better answer for this?

Karl Hengst 18:38
No, I’m excited to see the.

Danielle Grossman 18:40
Because they lack toes! Isn’t that funny! Okay, I have to give credit to Alexa. She thought of that joke, but at least you laughed because Chris Boleman did not laugh at my joke.

Kyle Olsen 18:51
I’ve got a whole coffee cup of dad jokes. That one’s not on there.

Danielle Grossman 18:55
Okay, will you write it in there now?

Kyle Olsen 18:56
Well, I’m going to use it tonight.

Danielle Grossman 18:58
Okay, can I have borrow your book so I can pull some jokes?

Kyle Olsen 19:00
You got it.

Danielle Grossman 19:01
Okay, amazing. I promise next time y’all come in, we’ll have better jokes. Actually, I want both of you to have a joke ready. Okay. Deal.

Kyle Olsen 19:07
Deal.

Danielle Grossman 19:08
Well, thank you guys so much for coming on, answering questions, talking about this amazing property. We’re so excited about it.

Kyle Olsen 19:13
Thanks for that opportunity.

Danielle Grossman 19:14
Of course. All right. We’ll see you guys next week.