#47) Visiting Wieners and Losers
Wayne: Hey Mel! Garth told me about you. I'm Wayne Campbell.
Mel: You exist?
Wayne: Shaw!
Mel: No way, man! Awesome! Hey wait ... what's that on your lip?
Wayne: That's a mustache, man. It's Men's Health Awareness Month. So, I'm going to grow a mustache all month.
Mel: Dude! That is so awesome! Well, it's so good to meet you.
Wayne: It's good to meet you, too, Mel.
[Camera cuts to Garth's face playing video game -- we can see game in his glasses.]
Garth: You are not going to get Garth. You are not worthy. No!!
[Scott stares at the game approvingly.]
Garth: Take that! Take that, man! Take that! Spew on this! Heheheheh!
[Cut back to Wayne and Mel]
Wayne: Hey, I hear you're going to interview Scott. Isn't this place totally rad?
Mel: Yeah. It's awesome. I love this place.
Wayne: Let me see your interview questions.
Mel: Interview questions? Why do you want to see that?
Wayne: Well, I know you write everything down. I wanna see them.
Mel: Okay. [Mel pulls out questions from his pockets.] Here you go.
Wayne: Okay. Good question. NOT! Ooh, WOAH! Is that Heather Locklear over there?
[He points.]
[Mel turns around -- sees nothing -- and Wayne runs off. Mel turns back and realizes what just happened.]
Mel: Oh, come on! What in the world?
[Mel runs after Wayne]
[Cut to Wayne and Garth off to the side.]
Garth: Hey Wayne! Did you get the interview questions?
Wayne: Shaw! [shows him the questions]
Garth: Awesome! Let's do this! [they run off]
[Cut back to Mel and Scott]
Mel: Scott! You're not going to believe this. Wayne just stole my interview questions.
Scott: Wait, Wayne and Garth are both here?
Mel: Yep. And they have my questions.
Scott: Oh, well ... guys! Hold on. Wait for me! [Runs off.]
Mel: What? Oh, whatever. [Mel starts to walk off.]
[Cut to Scott, Wayne, and Garth -- the tour begins.]
Scott: Hey. Do you guys want to take a tour?
Wayne and Garth: Shaw!
Scott: Let's go. This is a 27-year collection.
Wayne: That's a long time.
Garth: That's older than me, man!
Wayne: That's like older than my younger sister!
Scott: Well, there's games here -- popular titles are here -- there's a lot of uncommon stuff -- there's a lot of rare games, like this one. This is the only one in the world. Levers.
Wayne: Where did you get that from?
Scott: It came out of a warehouse. It was just -- I didn't know what it was. I just bought it, and brought it home, and it just happened to be super rare. Come, we'll look at some more.
Wayne: Nice job pulling those levers.
Garth: Heheh! Levers!
Scott: So, this is the only game responsible for a death. The guy had a heart attack playing it back in the day and died. Berzerk!
Wayne: I don't want to play that game.
Scott: Come on.
Garth: No way, man!
Wayne: I know it's designed by Stern Electronics. I hear they're pretty stern.
Garth: Yeah.
Scott: Okay.
Wayne: Satan's Hollow!?
Scott: Oh yeah.
Wayne: You get sent down for playing this?
Garth: I'll show you Satan's Hollow.
Scott: Well, the loser goes to hell.
[Wayne has already started playing the game and he starts struggling.]
Garth: Oh, don't lose, Wayne! Don't lose, Wayne! No!! Don't go to hell!!
[Scott walks off to next game.]
Scott: Do you guys remember any games that you used to play when you were younger in the arcade? Did you have any favorites?
Wayne: Robotron.
Scott: Robotron. Yeah. We passed that.
Garth: Tempest! I love Tempest!
Scott: Tempest. That's a great game.
Wayne: Karate Champ.
Scott: Karate Champ?
Garth: What's that one where you drive a car and pick up chicks?
Scott: Uh, real life?
Garth: Yeah. No! Real life? I don't like real life. [Everyone laughs.]
Scott: Come on. Let's hit some more. Here you go. This is the very first game made in history. There's one in the Smithsonian. It's called Computer Space. It's more of a museum piece. I wouldn't call it a fun game, but it's pretty cool.
Wayne: Is it like Pong?
Scott: It's like a primitive Asteroids.
Garth: It looks like a museum.
Scott: It's like something from the set of Star Trek.
Wayne: Yeah it does. You have quite the connections -- SCOTT!
Garth: It's totally awesome -- SCOTT!
Scott: Yeah. Let's go. Oh, got to turn this one on. [Turns on Star Wars game and continues walking.] Let me get this one. [He turns on Dragon's Lair.] Sorry. This is the tour / work. Yeah. You guys probably remember Dragon's Lair.
Wayne: Oh yeah. That's back in the day.
Garth: Dragon's Lair? I love Dragon's Lair!
Scott: It's a laserdisc, so it's like you're playing a cartoon. You are a cartoon.
[Wayne plays the game, which buzzes un-approvingly.]
Scott: You've never played this game before.
Wayne: Never.
Scott: Okay. We'll move on ... Return of the Jedi ...
Garth: Awesome!
Scott: Oh, sorry ... you got to be 18 to be back here to play this game.
Wayne: He's clearly not 18.
Scott: Frisky Tom.
Garth: Whoa! It's got some Babe-a-ham Lincolns in there!
Wayne: Oh, Nichibutsu!
Scott: So, if you can keep the bathtub filled up, there's a cut scene where the girl's taking a bath. Now, in the American version she's wearing a bikini, and that's what this is. In the Japanese version, she was topless.
Wayne: Well, there you go.
Garth: Whoa!
Scott: So, this is the first game banned for violence in 1976. Death Race.
Wayne: This was banned for violence?
Scott: Yes.
[Garth starts playing the game] You're going down, Wayne!
Wayne: Simpler times.
Scott: Better times. Give it a shot, guys. Jump in, Wayne. Whoever runs over the most people wins. The reason there's a reverse is if you hit somebody or something, you can get out of a jam faster by shifting into reverse.
Wayne: How come I can't move?
Scott: There's a gas pedal.
[Scott leads them into the next room.]
Wayne: Sinistar!!
Garth: Awesome!
Wayne: Blaster, wow.
Scott: Dig Dug.
Wayne: I, Robot? They up a game I, Robot?
Garth: No way!
Wayne: Arabian? Oh wait, is this ... Dig Dug! [Wayne starts playing it.]
[Garth turns to Scott]
Garth: Are there any leprechauns in here?
Scott: Not that I know of.
Garth: That's good.
Scott: Are you afraid of leprechauns?
Garth: Oh! Don't say that word!
Scott: Oh. Okay. I'm sorry.
[Camera switches to outside. A patron approaches Wayne holds out his hand.]
Wayne: Party on, dude! [Shakes hand.]
Patron: Hey, what's going on, man?
Wayne: Thanks for coming.
Patron: What's up, man? [Shakes Garth's hand.]
Wayne: Welcome!
[Camera cuts -- still outside.]
Wayne: It's like every game from the 80's. Except Gauntlet!
Garth: No Gauntlet?
Wayne: Bummer!
Garth: They got Wizards of Wor.
Wayne: Yeah. It's not the same.
Garth: Yeah. You've been exterminated.
[Camera cuts back inside -- Wayne and Garth invites another patron in to play.]
[Camera cuts to a room decked out with 80's memorabilia.]
Scott: Okay, guys.
Wayne and Garth: Whoa! Dude! What is this?
Scott: This is an 80's-themed Air B-N-B. While you're here, you have access to every game console ever made, from the beginning to CD platform, which is behind you.
Wayne: Splatterhouse! Bonk's Revenge!
Garth: They got an Odyssey.
Wayne: An Alf's lunchbox! Can I trade my lunch with yours?
Scott: Why not? You also, while staying here, have a VHS library, a stereo stocked with 80's vinyl, and every little gadget works in here. Anything you touch.
Garth: Pac Man! [Touches a mini-Pac Man toy.] I remember that.
Wayne: Do you have Nintendo?
Scott: Yeah.
Wayne: Do you blow it?
Scott: Well, I don't but ... most people do. Score!
Wayne: Oh yeah ... coffee table.
Scott: So, yeah. I think that's it. You guys are in the 80's now.
Wayne: Do you get these from like the quarter machines? [pointing to some collectible football helmets]
Scott: Yeah.
Wayne: I remember that.
Scott: Nah, I cheated. I actually bought that on eBay. But I used to get them from those quarter machines.
Wayne: Yeah. I could never catch all of them.
Scott: Yeah. You would only get like three of the same thing.
Garth: So awesome, man.
[Camera cuts to sofa in the Air-B-N-B. A colorful Top-7 board sits in between the guys.]
Wayne: Why are we doing 7?
Garth: Oh, I was just trying to keep it short.
Wayne. Okay. Hahahah.
Scott: You should leave this all in, by the way. All this banter is good.
Camera lady: I got it going.
Wayne: Oh really?
Scott: Let's go.
Garth: Okay. Wayne usually kicks it off.
Wayne: Alright guys! It's time for Wayne and Garth's Top Seven! Coming in at #7: Why did you start an arcade, Scott?
Scott: I'm an 80's kid, and I was seduced by the arcades when I was a kid, like so many -- like you guys. And it just followed me through life. So, I wanted my own man cave. And it turned into all of this. It was organic. I didn't plan all of this. But it happened.
Wayne: How many quarters have you spent?
Scott: I don't know.
Wayne: Okay.
Garth: Wieners and Losers. Where did you come up with that idea? That name?
Scott: Some friends and I were sitting around one day and we just thought: you know, what if people wanted to come here and play, and we could charge an admission, and use that money toward restoration projects, so I could fix all these other games up that I had in storage. By that time I had about 50 games. And now there's 134 and counting ... I think.
Wayne: That's intensity in ten cities, man.
Scott: Yeah.
Garth: Ten cities. Yeah!
Wayne: Coming in at #6!
Garth: Tell us more about your game show.
Scott: Okay. Arcade Animals is the game show. It's a game show where two people go head-to-head, and the grand prize is you can win your own 80's arcade game.
Garth: Your own arcade game in your house?
Scott: Yeah. The real deal. Contestants will do a little Q&A, and if you get the question right, you get to pick what game you're going to play. There's five games that are randomly chosen. If you get the question right, you get to pick the game to play. And that goes on three times, and then we tally the scores from those three competitions, and whoever has the most points gets to play for their own 80s arcade game.
Wayne: What channel is that on?
Scott: Channel YouTube, dude.
Wayne: Right?
Scott: @wienersandlosers
Garth: So is this going to become bigger?
Scott: I hope so. We're working on it. So, yeah. We'll see what happens with that. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It won't be as big as Wayne's World, you know.
Wayne: Yeah. Pretty hard to beat Wayne's World. Especially since it's on public access. I mean, what's YouTube?
Garth: I know ... channel 7, man!
Wayne: Coming in at #5! Looking back, is it all worth it?
Scott: Um. Yeah. It's worth it. Oh, you're talking about the arcade? Yeah, yeah. It's totally worth it. I mean, come on. Wayne and Garth are here.
Wayne: Yeah man. Totally!
Garth: Awesome. It's worth it, man.
Wayne: Coming in at #4!
Garth: Any advice for starting a business?
Scott: No. [Everyone laughs.]
Wayne: Can you pick up girls here?
Scott: Well, I'm married, so ...
Wayne: Oh, okay.
Garth: He did! He picked up a girl!
Scott: Who did?
Garth: You did. And you married her!
Scott: Oh, yeah. Well, I guess that's true, but I didn't pick her up here.
Wayne: So, that's why they call it Wieners and Losers.
Scott: Yeah. A little of both in there. You know.
[We all laugh again.]
Wayne: Coming in at #3! How can people visit your arcade, Scott?
Scott: Well. They can visit our website. longlivethe80s.com. There's a simple form there you can fill out, and that's all you got to do. Just contact me, and we'll put you in the database, and we'll send you periodic invites to come, and it is that simple.
Wayne: Where do you get all the quarters from?
Scott: Quarter heaven.
Garth: There's a quarter heaven? [Garth dreams about quarter heaven.]
Wayne: Do you have a quarter machine?
Scott: No, I don't. I want one, but I don't really have space for one. But I love that sound of the change dropping.
Wayne: Yeah. Awesome, dude. Coming in at #2!
Garth: Do you have a band?
Scott: Yes. I have a band. I've been in the same band for about 20 years. It's called Scott Leftwich and the Atarians.
Wayne: Rock on! The Atarians!
Scott: Yeah. We like to rock hard. And we got some videos on YouTube that you can watch. If you google my name you'll see it.
Wayne: 80's cover band?
Scott: No, no. It's all original music. We do our own thing. I have a studio here, so we write, record, and release material. So, yeah ... so we're just doing our own thing.
Garth: That's awesome.
Wayne: So, what kind of music?
Scott: Rock.
Wayne: Rock. Cool. Awesome.
Garth: Yeah. Rock on!
[The guys all fisty-bump.]
Wayne: Coming in at #1! Can we party with you, Scott?
Scott: Hell yeah.
Wayne and Garth: Wooo!!
[Music starts playing: "The Chase" by the Atarians.]
[Montage features a mix of Scott's music video and random pictures of Wayne and Garth partying around the place. Playing Robotron, Gyruss, and other games. Eating hot dogs. Partying with other patrons. Mel looking sad.]
[Back in the Air-B-N-B]
Garth: Well, Scott. Thank you for showing us around, man.
Wayne: This place really rocks, dude.
Scott: Thank you guys for coming. I appreciate you coming. As I appreciate everyone. I appreciate everybody that comes to Wieners and Losers and to the 80's arcade. It's tubular. And we're going to keep doing it. Rock on my 80's friends.
Wayne and Garth: Rock on.
Scott: Absolutely.
Wayne: And cut!
[Cut back to Mel's desk. He comes through the door and runs up to the desk.]
Wasn't that a lot of fun? A small business success story with promises of more success down the road. Wieners and Losers.
Maybe when you're in town, you can try it out. Look up Wieners and Losers on Facebook, send a message, and Scott will hook you up. You can also check out Scott’s Kickstarter and support his new video game show, “Arcade Animals.” I’ll supply links in the comments below.
I hope this story helps inspire you to persist in your current projects, whatever they might be. As this series continues, I'll tour more small businesses in this area, and we'll also go over several concepts and techniques to help businesses succeed. So, stay tuned. Make sure to like and subscribe.
And I'll see you next time here on "Always Be Better."
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