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Why I Left Canada to Build a Bitcoin Empire in El Salvador (And Found Freedom) | John McBride

• Mike Peterson

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What does it actually take to start a business or invest in El Salvador as a foreigner? In this episode, John McBride returns to share what he's learned after two years of building multiple businesses across the country. From launching True North Air to owning a coffee farm in El Salvador, John walks us through how he's approached investing in El Salvador with a long-term mindset and real local impact.

We get into how he's structured Empoderar El Salvador, his umbrella company, to prioritize hiring Salvadorans and paying in Bitcoin. He shares how franchises like Mailboxes Etc. and logistics platforms like ShipApollo are helping solve real challenges for both expats and local entrepreneurs. If you're thinking about starting a business in El Salvador, this episode gives you an honest look at the path.

We also unpack the recent IMF El Salvador deal, what it actually means for Bitcoin in the country, and why John believes it's a non-issue for the business community. He also gives his take on how aviation services like True North Air are key to connecting remote areas and supporting industries like mining, logistics, and tourism.

There’s also a great segment on real estate, how John ended up co-owning a coffee farm in El Salvador, and why he thinks it’s still early for smart investors. Whether you're considering a move, exploring opportunities, or just curious about life on the ground, there's plenty here to dig into.

If you’re thinking about investing in El Salvador or want to see how people are actually building here, hit subscribe. And drop a comment if you’ve ever tried importing furniture or owning a helicopter.

—Bitcoin Beach Team


Connect and Learn more about John McBride
https://empoderarsv.com.sv/main/ 
https://satstreet.com/ 

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Browse through this quick guide to learn more about the episode:

00:21 — Why John McBride calls El Salvador an early-stage country
02:49 — How Empoderar El Salvador is structured to empower locals
05:00 — Can you finally get Amazon packages delivered in El Salvador?
08:13 — What is ShipApollo and how does it help small exporters?
13:13 — What services will True North Air offer in El Salvador?
15:06 — Is mining coming back to El Salvador?
34:22 — What kind of investors is John looking to help?
37:07 — Why John invested in a coffee farm in El Salvador
39:39 — Is it too late to invest in real estate in El Salvador?
46:51 — What does the IMF El Salvador deal really mean for Bitcoin?
50:29 — Is Bitcoin still a core strategy in El Salvador?

Live From Bitcoin Beach

Mike Peterson:

Hey guys, this is actually the part two of a two part series with John McBride. Just the info that he's had on doing business here in El Salvador was so extensive that we decided to make it into two parts so that it wasn't too long. So I would invite you to go watch the first part first, and then come back and hear how it ends.

John McBride:

A lot of the investing that I've done over the last 40 years, as I mentioned, is early stage companies. Like I fund a lot of early stage companies, and I have a really eclectic portfolio of investments, I very quickly determined and described this country as an early stage country, bullish trend. It was, it was, it has all the ingredients, you know, you could see was already off the runway. The ship had turned around. And my family to remember they nobody would even said they wouldn't even get on a plane over my dead body. My wife said, am I setting foot in that country? Right? Well, a few weeks later, they come down to visit, and the kids, and they're surfing and my real passion, I think, If I could describe it, is making it's going to sound corny, is making meaningful, meaningful connections with meaningful people. I mean, it just really, it's my elixir. It's just so stimulating and interesting and rewarding and and so on. And so that manifests itself in in how I do business. You

Mike Peterson:

so let's, let's go through this web we got here on the screen. For those of you who can't see it, we'll try to give the audio version. But so this is kind of all of the investments that you have been involved in, most of them from the early stage. Some of them you were the primary founder, but kind of give us a rundown of your history of investments and then how that spilling over in del Salvador, I know just just recently, you had a big launch party for the year the franchisee for mailboxes, etc, here and so will,

John McBride:

etc. Where's the camera?

Mike Peterson:

Right over there. Cameras, anyway. So, yeah, so we'll get more into that, because I want to, I want to ask, actually the I just wanted to get the brand, yeah, no, no. But I actually want to dive in further, because I want to get the details of what that means for an expat like me. But before that, let's just set the stage. So we've kind of given a rundown.

John McBride:

So first of all, you said, I know that these are all of this. That's a fraction of the things that are in my, my, my, I'll call it a portfolio or whatever. That's not, that's not all by any means. And I'm not saying that, because I'm sure I got all this. It's just that it's not okay. So, importer, importer. Are Salvador is my man's What empoderar Salvador? I couldn't say it for a year and a half after I incorporate, honestly, like, for a year. I couldn't even say the name my own company. It means, empower El Salvador so it was created specifically to, you know, do the things that we know, that I've been talking about, you know, for the reasons that we talk about, right? And so everything we do, everybody you know, you have to be, we only hire Salvadorans. We accumulate above and beyond their compensation. We, you know, accumulate a bit like a modest amount of bitcoin monthly for employees. We can be paid in Bitcoin too, if you want, and so on. Anyway. So importer are, is my umbrella company. It, you know, you know, I don't know who made this chart, but it probably should be up at the top. But anyway, so that's the umbrella company. And within under importer are we have a logistics, Import Export Initiative. And mailboxes is a global brand that's been around for 3040, years. I bought the franchise rights personally from the Panama franchisor for El salva. Salvador, so I have the rights, or importer has the rights to mailbox franchises here. And mailboxes is basically, you know, well, one of the core things you know, for people to get mail here, you can send it to mail your mailbox number, which, which, which goes to a Florida. We have a huge, you know, warehousing clearing facility there, and you would have a mailbox here. So it would first go to Florida, and then would come up here, and you come and go get your mailbox. In our case, mailboxes doesn't do this, but we're going to do last mile delivery with some of our other related entities and so on. So with.

Mike Peterson:

True. So since we're talking about mailboxes, let's just dive into the details here that that concern me, that I want to know about. Okay, so what can because I've never been able to get mail down here and never been able to get Amazon packages, never anything like that, exactly, but there's, there's others that do that here, but we, we have, but I could never figure it out in it, it just seemed like, Yeah, especially being at the beach, like, Well, come on and see. Tell me, tell me. Well, what's it gonna cost me?

John McBride:

What? You know, don't ask the service I told you. Don't ask me details. No, honestly, I don't want to be misquoted with with pricing. But let's just say that ballpark. I'll just say that we can do we can,

Mike Peterson:

guys just a brief interruption. We'll get back to the exciting show here. But I just want to really ask a favor that you guys could make sure that you're subscribed. If you're watching this on YouTube, if you are listening to this on a podcast, please take the take a second and review this. You know you don't even have to write a lengthy review or anything at all. Just click the number of stars that you want to give us. It really helps us in the algorithms to make sure people are finding out about what's happening here. All right, back to the show. Bring

John McBride:

in your your Amazon purchases or or your mail or whatever, and in, you know, much more effectively, efficiently, quicker and cost wise, I'm almost certain that we're under under market because we're able to do volume we've got volume discounts because the MBS all over the world with DHL and different things and so on. It's a, it's a very organized, you know, sophisticated operation. So, so we can, we can import your furniture, furniture, export your your your car. I mean, we can, we can, you know, we can handle all aspects of import, export. There's printing capability. We can, we can provide printing for the side of your van to, you know, there's, there's a lot of there's a lot of ancillary services. But for us, it's not just the mailboxes capability, but we're going to be opening up franchises in other areas of the country. So we're going to be able to use that, these, these, these, these satellite franchise operations as as a place for people to drop off their, you know, things that they want to be exported, let's say, through our three PL warehousing, which has got no, you know, legal or financial relation to the the MBE so and and, you know, beyond that, we have

Mike Peterson:

a so maybe just so people aren't confused. So you have a number of different things you're looking to do in the logistics space. So you're gonna, you have the mailboxes, etc, which is more like non commercial or

John McBride:

small, there's, there's, there's a commercialized, there's B to B, okay, and, but, but you're

Mike Peterson:

also, subsequently also opening up a, just a a import, export facilitator, which is, what can you can flip back to the other, which is the ship Apollo,

John McBride:

right? Ship Apollo is, is the warehousing business and, and it's a Canadian. None of these, by the way, we started, are starting from scratch or reinventing the wheel. So free, and they're all people that are, I either am an owner, investor or or one of my closest you know, invest, co investment partners are. But anyway, so ship Apollo is a three PL warehousing company, and they've been operating for seven or eight years in Canada. The guy who owns it and provides over it and so on is a he's got a lot of different interests. We co invest together in different things. And when I told him what we were doing here, he decided that he was going to open up a subsidiary here, and we'll co own the subsidiary, okay? And his guys will operate it. So, so that's a warehouse. It's so it's a warehousing, but it's a three PL, meaning that, I don't know what three PL means. Well, it essentially, if you're a little a small business, okay, you can't ship your product to the US and make any money. It's prohibitive, right? You know, if you're a little coffee producer or something. So what we do is, is, is a little the little companies would, would aggregate their their products with other little companies. So, and this is oversimplifying it, but you know, so that we get a full container, you get a full pallet, or whatever, and they get the same afforded the same pricing. And that is something that we specifically designed with Paul Steiner Nipe, because he was, he was intensely focused on helping the little guy. But we also are going to capture all the way along, along the spectrum, like OTs, there is a is an ocean freight forwarder that is a very close. And CO investment partner on many things, but that business, I actually own nothing. We that's, that's somebody who's come in under the importer our umbrella, and said, you know, our will, will will marry our capability with with your with your vertically, vertically integrated logistics initiative that you're rolling out, and we'll get an economic benefit, but, but, you know, it's, it's more the capability so, so ship, and that's why, when you say the, you know, the the structure in the organization of all these things is not, let's say, conventional, or easy to define. Because, you know, the some of these companies I own 100% some of them, I co own. Some of them I like. Northfield is a company that I have a large investment in. I'm a director. I'm one of the original shareholders from the late 80s. The founder and the Northfield capital, North sorry, Northfield capital, the guy who founded it, Rob Cudney. I've known since we were 10. You know, we're partners and and, but he controls that company and, but under Northfield, you know these other companies like Juno and Voyager and Juno? Yeah, well, Juno is a and, and I own shares in Northfield, but also in the individual companies as well. So directly and indirectly exposed to these things, but Juno is the largest battery metals, strategic metals, rare earth mining camp on the continent. Okay, it, and we own 55% of that camp, which is called the Ring of Fire and and, I mean, we know there's other rings

Mike Peterson:

of fire. I imagine that's a good business to be in these days. What?

John McBride:

Not only is it a good business, you you wouldn't believe it, but it was the main platform of our both our provincial and federal elections. It was the it was the tip of the spear, not just getting battery metals, but the Ring of Fire, and we own 55% of it. Honestly pinch me. We couldn't believe it, like it just sort of came in. Yeah, you're right. The battery metals thing, it's a big thing anyway,

Mike Peterson:

well, just with the battle with rare earths, with China, yeah, other things. So

John McBride:

the deposit, or the the camp, it's a bloody camp is, is really far north in Canada, very remote, very expensive to operate up there, you know, the service providers. And you know, you have to get your stuff in there using other, you know, aviation companies. And so that's why we bought True North air, okay, that's why it's relevant and up there. Because why do we service your own we couldn't do it, so we bought an airline, okay? And, and, and it's not the first time naranda Did it in the 50s. My buddy was copying them anyway, so, but when we do something, you know, we, yeah, we became our own customer, and then we started to grow it, and replace the planes, and start to fly to the islands and different things, and and after five years, we're now opening up here, okay? And, and so,

Mike Peterson:

and that, I think, for people that are coming down here, is something that they could be of great importance. So, so let's delve into that a little bit. What type of services you guys, you guys, are gonna offer helicopter services within the country, okay, so,

John McBride:

so we, we've already invested over a million bucks in El Salvador, behind the scenes, you know, within the aviation just from TNA, not to mention some of these other things. So even, but we, three weeks ago, we we just opened up our first operation with mailboxes. Even though we've been working on it for a year and a half, true north, we've been working on it for, let's say, eight or nine months, behind the scenes, we bought property, we incorporated we got, you know, expert, you know, manager to, you know, run that side of it and so on, and, and. And in about two weeks, our first choppers coming down, okay? And my son, James is flying it down here from Sudbury, Canada, with another pilot. They're going to take turns. It's going to be 35 hours of flying. He thinks about five days. So anyway, so we're actually just about to be operational, and it's so exciting. And now, what services? Well, we're obviously, there'll be air taxi and that kind of thing, you know, for tourism and tours and and taking people from airport, from Hotel, hotel to hotel, and that sort of thing. But we also have a really big commercial business in in our chopper business in Canada. Like we, we have a contract with Ontario Hydro where we, you know, help them put poles in and construction and and emergency service and, you know, all sorts of commercial one of the things that we're real experts at, okay, you know, you guys at the at the top of the pile there in the government. Okay, mining, okay, mining. We're Canadians for Christ's sakes, okay, we know mining in our chopper business, we're, we have, we have great, lots of experience with, with flying, doing flyover, geophysics and mapping and things like that. Okay, like, it's, it's, it's what we do. So those are

Mike Peterson:

with El Salvador opening mining again here. Have you guys, well, well, started to look into that?

John McBride:

Yeah, obviously it's something that's, you know, front of mind, you know, it's, it's a, it's something that I think is just sort of, you know, being developed. How they're going to roll it, there's opposition and so on. So I don't know, you know exactly how that's going to roll out. But if they're going to open up mining, they're going to need to be doing geophysical surveys, if they're not already. And so we can do that. Okay, we do it and as an example, but you know, we also are looking at cargo opportunities. And the reason why True North weaves into our logistics, import, export, delivery stuff is because, you know, it can also be used to, we don't want it ever to be empty. So, you know, even though we're going to be, you know, taxing stuff, if we've got these satellite mailbox things, you know, we can be picking up stuff, you know, like it, yeah, it can. It can all be, you know, integrated. So, so and, and we're also looking at air cargo like larger cargo. My goodness, our ambition Okay, and we don't do things unless we're going to try to build something meaningful. Doesn't mean, you know, you're always successful, but we're, our ambition is, and this, you know, you say, you know, we start with, okay, this is what we want to do. And work backwards, like phase, how you're going to get there. And the first phase is the chopper, and then the fixed wings are coming in. But also, we buy planes on the basis of aircraft, on the basis of what's the target market, if there's a, if there's a market for a 737 Okay, as an example, we'll buy a 737 How do you do that? Well, if you got contracts, and you got the market, I mean, you know, they're there, you can, you can use debt, you know, to and they're very, I never want it like you ever say, little risk, but, but if you've got the bloody contracts there, you know, it's it makes. So those are the, those are the types of things. So in terms of what we're going to do absolutely next that, you know, a lot of it will, will, will depend, but we intend to, what we'd like to be is like a Central American hub, aviation hub, the, you know, the ability to go between, you know, you know, Colombia or Panama or Costa Rica or Nicaragua, and it's just not efficient, right? So there's a, there's a real need for, let's say, regional airline, and that's something we're absolutely, you know, planning to be. And also, you know, and internally, of course, that, you know, the country's small, so there's not as much, let's say, fixed wing, you know, opportunity, as there would be choppers. Okay, so, so, I mean, we're already, like, with our jet, you know, we fly, we've flown from Toronto to here. It's a, it's a four and a half hour flight, you know, we're, we've done flights from Toronto to Florida, Toronto, the islands, and, you know, we're looking at, maybe, you know, seeing if we can justify a route to Texas, because, you know, a lot of money coming from there, here and so on. So, you know, our, our end game, you know, would would be to be able to, you know, you know, with the port and the new airport and everything else like it, you know, we would like to be a meaningful, you know, player in, in, you know, providing that, that really important needed infrastructure, Not just internally, but but but externally as well. So, I mean, we've got some other crazy ideas, sort of some fun things. We have met with, you know, the Ministry of Tourism, you know, specifically, you know, we've talked to them of different things over the years, but specifically, recently, about, you know, the opportunities with with, you know, with this, you know, this, this particular business, and it's going to be fun, like it, because it's going to be fun to cook up really interesting things, because there's nothing I like more than then, you know, even when Canada was playing El Salvador in the World Cup three years ago, which I watched, I didn't really care which team won, because I really love it when El Salvador gets a win, Right? And they love it. Every time a new company comes in, you know, they ring the bell, right? So, why did I Why? Why did I mention that's the Canadian World Cup soccer game? I don't remember. I

Mike Peterson:

think you're just talking about just how the the the atmosphere here, like they, they're welcoming of foreign companies coming in, and, you know, to see the value that

John McBride:

they, yeah, and again, you know, people working together like we, in the last few weeks, even, we've had meetings with other people that have are looking to, let's say, to do, let's say a cross section. So. Of the type of thing that we're doing, you know, let's say for cargo, for example, like, there's, there's tons of opportunity. And as I say, we look to say, hey, how could we, how can we cooperate? Like, how could we, you know, so the the idea is, is, at the end of the day, is to have a, you know, gold standard Aviation Company, including maintenance, like we do in Canada, you know, and, and, and so we're, we're, that's what we're, you know, moving towards. And if you, if you look up, up here, on the on the under, let's say under the North field umbrella, okay, you know, Voyager and rocky shore gold, those are other mining companies, very prospective, or whatever, but they have little relevance here,

Mike Peterson:

other other than there's gold supposedly in El Salvador and,

John McBride:

well, yeah, and guess what? It was the Canadians who mined it back in the day. Okay, like I know the guys, I know the shareholders, I know the companies. I know we know the geologists they we still have the not me, but you know, in our, in our subculture, in our, in our, you know, you know, within our little tight community of knowing everybody, especially at our age, Christ, you know everybody when you're 70. So you know, the data still available. The geologists like you don't just, you know, if you're a geologist, that you know, you've been looking at all the maps and the drilling and stuff, but, but, you know, you, you there, you learn so much the longer your summer. So like, we should be binding that. I mean, we Canadians, okay, I don't. I don't mean that. In fact, by the way, that they shouldn't be doing a beauty contest, having a bunch of companies coming in, and we'll do it this way. We'll do it that way. I think what they need to do, and I know who to bring in, help them, if they were so inclined, would be bring in like a very, very senior, seasoned, you know, mining icon, okay, who's retired, who has no, no interest other than you know, to to you know, to facilitate whatever mandate that they would be given. And so I think the government should have somebody like that, just like my healthcare guy, you know, come in and at a very high level, say, Okay, let's get a whiteboard out. Okay, what are your objectives? Okay, somebody who's done like, like, hundreds of the largest mining deals. And they know how to structure. They know. They know what, what, what, you know, how much capital would be needed, and what investors need, and, and so, you know, okay, so what, well, has to be green you know. And I get a kick out of that. People say, Well, it has to be green mining. I said, Oh, what the is green mining? Okay, there's no other mining anymore, by any, any reasonable or international, respected company that that doesn't use the most pristine and advanced environmental methods that exist. And I remind your audience that everything, everything we consume, is either mined or grown so like, I, anyway, that's my little, you know, pitch, pitch on that side. So anyway, I think we could be very, very helpful at a high level, you know, and a little bit of of of, you know, advice, oh, how do we structure, like issuing mining permits and things like that. And it'll be unique here, okay? Because you guys have had opposition, okay? And there is a an understandable or it's just the way it is, like there's opposition. So, you know, but you can structure things any way you

Mike Peterson:

want, you know, you can have definitely want whoever comes in to do a good job, to not foul up the environment, yeah, but get it right,

John McBride:

get somebody like, like, at a, at a macro planning level to help you decide, and then you can do the beauty contest, and maybe that guy can help you. I mean, I can certainly keep the pirates away. We all know who everybody is. In fact, okay, nobody listening. There was a there was a Canadian guy who who older than me, and very successful entrepreneur who, who was the main guy, head of the company that bought this company, about that company that was mining this deposit, okay, and, and, and he was down here a couple he was down here a couple months ago. And in fact, you know, when he called me because he knew I was in it lived here, and I said, Oh, you bastard. I said, it's been on my list since I got here in January 22 to go see these guys. But I knew they wouldn't do it in the first term. They can't. It's too controversial. I knew they'd do it in the second term. Why wouldn't you? It's like beautiful, valuable resources for your people, and you can do it in a responsible way. So I knew they would have to, they would have to do it, but in any way. So, so, but what I was going to say is, is he called me up and I said, when's your when's your meeting? Had a meeting with, you know, the big guy. I said, when's your meeting? And he said, Friday. I said, Well, actually, true north. We're flying down there on Wednesday, I happen to be in. Toronto. I had lunch with him and stuff. So he got on the he came on the plane with us, and we delivered him. You know, you see how I help people, even though I don't get anything out of it anyway. I don't know what's happening there, but we can help if people, you know, if they want

Mike Peterson:

so and then sat street we kind of touched on a little bit earlier, but that's

John McBride:

one other one I want to touch on spirit of York. Spirit of York. Look it up. Look at the Instagram, or whatever. It's a, it's a distillery, okay, and it's, it's on fire and, and anyway, it's doing very well. And we have a bricks and mortar distillery in the, what they call a distillery district in in Toronto, and, and it's, it's, it's a very, very sophisticated, you know, well run company, and we're kind of spirits that produce, well, a gin and vodka and and, and scotch and, or, I don't know if you can call it Scotch whisk Canadian whiskey. Yeah, rye. My grandfather drank, drank rye and smoked de Mori cigarettes anyway. So spirit of York is somebody we're already talking to this. There's distillers, distilleries here, and I met them all and and we're talking to them about maybe, if there's way collaborative opportunities. I can't remember if I said it to you earlier in this or before or ever. Said it to you ever. But, you know, there's, you know, for example, there's a very well known mm I did you know, was that already on this thing yet, or was it before? Anyway, there's a very, very well known MMA, you know, I

Mike Peterson:

think we talked about before. Yeah,

John McBride:

yeah. Anyway, who we're talking to about doing a he wants to put his his brand, or his persona or whatever. So, you know, we're talking about creative things. There's, there's a company here that that's sort of the picks and shovels to the distillery business. They, they manufacture, you know, related, you know, the still, whatever it is, they use the distilleries anyway. So, so, you know, we're going to be meeting with them to see whether or not there might be an opportunity for our guys to import them from here. So, you know, we're always looking at ways where we can, you know, do do these things. So they're, they're sort of up there. They're not relevant in a way, but they're, they're also, you know, and the same with the wine, you know, it's a different company that owns the grain, but it's an award winning wine, and that's the Grange. Yeah, I don't think there's much we can do here with it, but, but, yeah, and what else is, okay, sat street, so, so sat street, you know, I mentioned is a, you know, high volume trading, trading desk, and so we, I we, I believe, okay, and I don't want to speak out of turn, because I don't want the scene ad regulator to be down my throat. But we just received our registration for for El Salvador. And as I mentioned, we're, you know, Toronto based. We have a BVI platform, and now we're here and and it's so these things are, are not. It's so, such a secondary consideration that that we're opening up, we've got new business, new revenue, or whatever it is. It is so rewarding to be part of something that you created, and you're in, you're opening up here, and your children are even associated with it, and it's something they need here. There's, there's not that same, you know, capability. I mean, there's other companies that do what we do. And I don't mean to say there is, in fact, we're an investor in in, didn't you guys invest in ibex? Yes, we did. As a matter of fact, I wasn't thinking of them. No, yeah, they're awesome, awesome people. They are. They are extremely competent. And we sometimes have cooperated together to get a trade done or something like that. And again, it's, it's that philosophy is, you know, we're, we want to cooperate, you know, type of thing. And by the way, ebex, okay,

Mike Peterson:

I never say it, right? Well, it

John McBride:

depends if you're, yeah, you know, yo, Hablo Espanol. Okay, so, so anyway, Ibex is, they're very good friends, all those guys. Those guys, like, really good friends. I like them a lot. Okay, so, so, yeah, I'm an investor in ibex, and so is, you know, some of my co investment partners. And, well, one day I was looking for looking at properties, because I hadn't bought a house at the time, okay? And actually timber and Lexi, they have a real estate best business. I've done all my buying through them. And they, they shout out the good life. Yeah, good life. Good Life. Anyway, they took me, they were took me around, and one of their guys took me to see the house. That I'm living in now. And I walked up there, and I wasn't an area I ever thought I would want to live in. It's a little bit old guardie for me. But anyway, it was like, I just went, Whoa. Like the view in the garden. It was like, Brigadoon. You know, for those of you that are older than me, that know what Brigadoon is. Anyway. So I walked in and and the lady that that who's selling the house? Okay, she built it 20 years ago. Her husband had died. 10 years ago, her kids are out of the house and and so she was selling it, and it was her pride and joy. And every plant she planted, every window looked out at a garden. It was like spectacular old inside. And so she, she, we sat at a table. And this is different, because in Canada, the US, you you know, the real estate agents go in and the owners leave. But here, you know, the lady was presiding, and she was a, she was a very proud, kind of a stern but I loved her. She was just, it was such a it was probably my most favorite transaction I've ever done in 40 years. Okay, it was old school. It was, like, really cool. So anyway, I liked the place, and I left. And by the way, you were talking about ibac, or ibex, on the way up to the house, I was talking to Al Baro Sal, who you've, you've interviewed who, who is one of the founders of ibex, okay? And I was talking to him about the company or something to do with business. And I said, Look, gotta go, going to see a house like walked out of the house after seeing it, got my car. There's a whatsapp from Alvaro. He says, I hear you just met my mother and saw my house. I went, Holy shit. I said, You're in Guatemala. He said, Yeah. Well, after you left, my mother phoned up Juan Diego, his his brother, her son. It was a great guy. And, and she said, Juan Diego, there was a guy in here recently, and it sounds like he may be involved in the same kind of things that you do. He's Canadian. He just stopped her said, John McBride. And she said, Yes, he goes, give him everything he needs, you know, or whatever, information, because they're selling the house, right? And, and, okay, so there's that coincidence, but also, EPEX was incubated in that house in 2020 during COVID, all the guys, like, not just the her kids, but they're all lying on the floor and so on. And anyway, that's just another serendipitous thing. Anyway, sorry, you

Mike Peterson:

go ahead. No, no, no. I just saying, like, I and I know you've been involved with, with Blink, and you have,

John McBride:

yeah, blink, yeah, that you how's that

Mike Peterson:

going? By the way? Mike, it is. No, they are. I just had a call yesterday with Lucas, and, I mean, they are excited. They are, you know what, what? I got stuff. I don't think I'm allowed to talk about it, but they've got lots of exciting things in the hopper. So, well, that's awesome. He's got way more energy than I do. I was like, whoa. He's like, on fire. So it's good to see.

John McBride:

And by the way, I would would want to express to anyone out there who is, let's say, a business person or looking to invest in this in this country, first of all, it you, you won't believe the the attractive environment that there is here, and and, and, as I said before, the help and so on that you'll get from the government. I but I'll also say at a personal level, and I really mean this, if anybody you know is serious about, you know, wanting to understand about what's going on down here from a perspective of an expat, you know, you know who, who went from knowing, not even where the borders were, to, you know, to being very, very active, involved and even a citizen, for Christ's sakes. Now, I really love speaking to people about my experience, and it's led to, it's led to some really interesting relationships. You know, the craziest things come out of these conversations, like, there's a there's an Orthodox Jewish, a family that that, that that has some real anti semitism, concerns about where they are and and they got all the same concerns that all of us do about, you know, geopolitically and all the rest of it. Then layered on top, they got an extra one. And so, you know, I, you know, I've been helping, you know, looking into and in this to me, you know, this country, I think they would follow her backwards to make sure that any group would feel, you know, yeah, comfortable

Mike Peterson:

here. There's actually a fairly strong Jewish community here and in San Salvador, yeah, I just know, just because my kids go into the international school system here, and so, yeah, yeah,

John McBride:

so. But anyway, my point is, is that, like, there's, there's as many types of people with different businesses and so on that, we've that, I've that I've spoken to and it and and there's always something you know that, that that comes from, you know, helping you know people, and putting them, you know together, and so on. So anyway, I just, I just wanted to make sure that there's.

Mike Peterson:

Saying anybody who wants to come down, John will let you stay at his house. He'll drive you everywhere around the country.

John McBride:

The rent is cheap. It's seven or 8000 a month. No, no, not everybody, no. But I'm just saying, if there, if there are people that are have a serious interest to understand, let's say, like, from a business perspective, or any other you know, happy, happy happy to steer them in the right direction.

Mike Peterson:

Well, where, how are they gonna get a hold of you? Well, that's a

John McBride:

very, that's very private. That's a personal question like this on a podcast, they can get hold of me. No, you know what? Importer, Salvador. Okay, there'll be a, you know, el presidente or something, email. But seriously, through, through and Porter, are, you know, my, my email is John, my own emails, John at importer and

Mike Peterson:

poder are, you told me you know how to pronounce. I did. I thought so

John McBride:

you're, you know, I, you know, here I am under the lights, and I can't import Salvador, so it's in anyway you can read it up there. Okay, so it's it, but it's, it's John at and poder r, s, v.com,

Mike Peterson:

and do you have, is it J O, H n,

John McBride:

it is, okay, yeah, yeah. There's like, my son, oh, there's a lot of well, because that's J O N, but no, no, he is, oh, he is. People here, they spell a, J, H, O, N, Yeah, crazy. You know, how many emails have I not gotten because they transcribed that wrong anyway. So, yeah, that would be the that would be the

Mike Peterson:

pronounce it here, John, John,

John McBride:

yeah, yeah. But okay, what else you know, any other curiosities get me going on any sort of direction, and I'll

Mike Peterson:

go. I mean, I have to use the restroom here in a minute.

John McBride:

So I don't know. Don't worry.

Mike Peterson:

No, I don't know if there's anything I feel like we've covered quite a bit. I don't know if you want to speak to what year, you know, you've, you've bought a lot of real estate here. We, we, well, we bought a coffee farm together.

John McBride:

We have a Finca, you know, just north of chiliapana, which is at around 12, 1400 meters. And it's about 125 acres. And it's, it's one of the most beautiful places that I've ever set foot on. And, you know, I was actually, as you know, I was very humbled that you invited me into that deal. And people afterwards said, What do you want to do that? Why did you buy that? I said, I bought it because it's beautiful. It's just a beautiful piece of nature, and it wasn't that expensive.

Mike Peterson:

That is also why I bought it. And when my wife told me not to heard my story, but I told my wife, I'm like, how there's this coffee farm. It's the beautiful part of the country where it's nice and cool. And I always driven by there when they were doing construction on the bypass. That was the back way to get to San Salvador. So we'd take that. And I was always like, If I ever find anything in this area, and so I told my wife, I'm like, No, there's this coffee farm, we're gonna buy it. And she's like, No. She's like, you don't need any more properties. What are you gonna do? Why? And then, of course, I come home two weeks Hey, guess what? We bought the coffee.

John McBride:

I'm addicted to what to looking at properties, as you know. So

Mike Peterson:

you bought you've bought in the hills, you've bought on the beach, yeah,

John McBride:

and I bought a couple of other condos in El Salvador for investment purposes. We I'm well at true north, we bought the julipe property, which we're developing now. And I'm working on a couple of other development projects with, with a art, you know, architect, contract, friend of mine. And you know what you're sometimes, I have to just even think what, what other stuff is out there, you know, we're looking at, at, at properties. I've got a deposit on, on on, on a development, on one of your, your, your projects, you know, the one out outside of El Zante. I do. I own half a property outside of El zonte, which, which is a development candidate, anyway. So, so,

Mike Peterson:

so what? But what's for people that are looking for property here, what would you tell them? Are they too late? Do you feel like, I mean, obviously, property prices have gone up significantly, you know, over the last few years. What's your kind of outlook? And what would you tell people, as far as you know, obviously, it's one thing. If they just want a place, that they want to move down here, then yes, definitely buy a place. But if they're just trying to look for something to buy, to hold on to, what's, what's your kind of property

John McBride:

outlook? Well, first of all, I hear people sometimes try to compare El Salvador, let's say, to Costa Rica or other, you know, neighboring countries and so on. Which was, which was, maybe, you know, valuable or appropriate or meaningful. I will say, you know, before we detach the Western system from. Um, you know, and are heading down the, you know, the rapids. One of the considerations is, to me, is, is really geopolitical. Because when people say, Oh, what's, what are the prices like relative to Nicaragua, which is next door, I say you can't compare it any longer to Nicaragua. I mean it, you got to compare

Mike Peterson:

it to other got a rising and a sinking Well, you got to,

John McBride:

you got, you got to compare it to, to another, to other governance structures. Now, it's not, it's not a, you know. It's, you know, Bucha. He's got 90% support here, okay? And there ain't going to be any protests here, all right? It's, it's, it's unprecedented, the support he's got. So, by the way, people who say the guy's a dictator, I'm sorry, but it's the most democratically supported. You know, anyway, enough of that, but, but so real estate prices are absolutely a lot higher than they were and and it's it. It sometimes is tough to think, you know, to buy and think, Well, I missed it, but I think this is just the bloody beginning. If you think about like, the Yukon Gold Rush, or the or Las Vegas, Nevada, when it was first getting like, there's a lot of, there's a lot of growth still here, in not just the real estate market, but but like, you know, across the economy, it's the transformation here in the economy is deep and wide, okay, it's, it's very real. They curate policy specific to attract, you know, companies and sectors. You know, they're very thoughtful about, I'm not saying they're always right, but they're very, you know, it's very thoughtful. So I think, obviously you got to be, you know, careful. You got to be dealing with somebody who knows what's what's going on around here. But I think real estate here is, is a very solid investment if, and you got to consider the geopolitical side, even if it was 10% higher than Nicaragua, let's say, and I don't know what the comparison, I really don't, I'd still pay the 10% because this, this is already Bucha Lee, let's say, using a market term, he front ran what was going on, what's going on out there, in, in the globe, okay? Yeah, he's created a refuge for people like me. You know, you know who you know didn't know where to land. Member Jack Sparrow, no, there's no question. This is, this is, and it's a great place to raise a family that's also considered okay. So if you're thinking just investment, I still say solid, solid as a rock. It's got a long way to go. You know, who knows short term, up down, but I would say, you know, 10 years from now, you're, you're, you're going to be sitting on a and it's also a risk mitigated way to expose yourself to Bitcoin. Because if bitcoin goes to a million dollars this place, yeah, it's, it's an or, if it goes to 110 or 150 let's whatever it you know this. So I think real estate here is, you know, is relatively very, very solid. But, you know, I don't want to be dispensing financial advice.

Mike Peterson:

You know, this is not financial advice. Educational purposes.

John McBride:

There's no upside in doing that, because if people do it, it goes up. Their hero, they're the hero goes down. It's my fault.

Mike Peterson:

Exactly, you know, exactly, no every it's like anything. Nobody knows what the future will hold.

John McBride:

But think about, you know, the value system here. And if I was to boil it down to one thing, why I am here and not in Canada. It's, it's, it's all about value system. The value system in Canada, you know, is it's, it's gone, you know, the value system here is very similar, let's say, to when I was a kid, you know, to Norman Rockwell, kind of you know, Leave It to Beaver, you know, whatever Christian, you know, not, not, not that I'm, you know, trying to, you know, espouse, you know, Christian values over any other religious right, because I'm not a religious guy, but, but let's face it, the values that underpin this country are Christian, and there's only two genders here. They're, you know, it's, it's, they're not crazy. Here, they're, it's common sense, you know? So I, there's people that say to me, you, you people out there that are thinking, Well, I can't move now because my my kids are, are 711, and 14, and I we got to get them to Whoa, that's exactly why you should move. Why would you want these kids to grow up in the Canadian educational system with with pole dancers and critical race that you're like so you that's even more reason to leave now, not because you got to get them through school. No, no. And young people, you know, who are just starting out, you know, trying to make the first million dollars, which doesn't mean anything like it used to, like, come here, like, not just because it's going to be more the probabilities higher to be successful here, but because it's a good place to be. See, yeah, it's a good place to raise a family. You know, it's, it's so it's a, I think that's a relevant consideration when you're thinking about real estate, even if it's an outside just investing to diversify geographically. The reasons that I just stated, whether you're living here or not, are some of the reasons you know, why the real estate is, you know, is has got, you know, a foundation and and some intangible but very, very, very important factors that that under that are underpinning this, this society. So anyway, that's my real estate

Mike Peterson:

one, one more topic I want to broach, and we actually have not talked about this, so I'm curious just to hear your insight on it. There was kind of a big brouhaha over the the IMF deal that El Salvador struck with the IMF, and I it was interesting for me. Personally, I haven't been here forever. I knew there was going to be a deal coming. I knew they had hired a former IMF person several years ago to bring into the government to help. I mean, they had to make a deal, just because of the past that's accumulated by prior administrations. And so I actually thought they struck a pretty good deal and made very few concessions on the real term. But I will say on the Bitcoin space, it really has caused an uproar. It shook it out. And there's a lot of people I know who were, like, planning on moving here, who now are like, Nope, I'm out. They sold out. And I'm like, really, like, but so I'm just curious as your your perspective as to what, what you would say with the IMF deal, and how you see that,

John McBride:

okay? So I'll tell you when, well, first of all, when he adopted Bitcoin in the first place. Okay, the first thing that you know, I would say to friends, is all you watch. Everyone's going to come out and say the IMF and this and that. And sure enough, they did, because it was very predictable, and they're trying to brand, you know, El Salvador in a negative way and so on. Okay, so, okay, I when I heard that, basically, my understanding was, was that that they could, they were going the IMF said you can't force people to accept Bitcoin. Okay, so on that one, I thought, well, the law said that you had to accept it unless you couldn't. So nobody had to accept it anyway. Practically, it wasn't, you know, like, so, so I thought it was a non event number one, okay, that particular, you know, element of it, also, I can remember Dan Morehead, or somebody I forget, who saying, saying this, and I don't, it's not something I embrace at all, but I remember hearing it, I go, Yeah, I get is that Bitcoin government's not supposed to be involved anyway. I mean, they weren't. It's still decentralized, and it's not government money and so on. So it never bothered me that they adopted it? But it did. Some people, okay, some, you know, some of the purists out there, and so, like, okay, you know, so you don't have to accept it anymore and and you can't pay your taxes with it because they don't want they that's it if you're going to take your tax revenue from Bitcoin and it's volatile, you know, the IMF didn't want to see that. Okay? So, you know who's paying their taxes with Bitcoin Anyway, don't you know, certainly not the old guard you know it. So I just thought that part was a non event, okay? And then I thought, like, I thought those guys, like naive and his and his brothers, they must have been having a hoot and a howl that night at dinner, okay? Because I think they took a problem away from them, because, you know, like, the cost of the administration and all of that stuff, and to me, it had no impact on, on the on the Bitcoin ecosystem, or where bitcoins going, or where it's been, and and so on. But there was this, there was this, this, this,

Mike Peterson:

oh, I'm talking about with Shiva,

John McBride:

not, yeah, okay, not yet. So I was talking about just the fact that it you no longer can. You know that it was, it's still legal tender, as I understand it. It's just you can't force anyone to do anything. Well, nobody was doing it anyway. And think, you know, good, I'm sure Bucha, like thought, oh, you know, that's an easy one. Fact, I'll give it to you. I'll pay you to take that one away anyway. And then Chivo. Well, Chivo has been nothing but an albatross around that guy's neck, like he must, that's where I say he and his brothers must have been laughing at dinner that night because they just took another problem away from

Mike Peterson:

him. Says, like, it's like, bear rabbit, like, no, don't throw me into the briar patch.

John McBride:

Yeah, yeah. So, so, so, I think it was a, personally, I think it was a non event, but I, but I have an open mind, because I don't, you know, I listen to what other Yeah, like someone like Samson Mao. He was just living. And, and I have a lot of respect for him, you know, he's been around the community for years, and he know he's much more sophisticated, knowledgeable, and so on and and so on. And he said, but I still, I don't agree. I don't agree with this assessment, but I could be wrong. I'd love to sit down with him and hear what he you know, what his, you know, thoughts would be in all of this. But so I thought it personally, it was a non event totally. In fact, the moment it came out, I thought it was a non event, me

Mike Peterson:

too. I didn't realize it was people even cared about it, till I started hearing all this stuff from outside, messaging me and I'm like,

John McBride:

but, but there the confusion came when the IMF on an in an official missive, okay, they released a summary of what the agreement was with the with the IMF, okay, between Abu Kelly and the IMF, and it was ambiguous, but you couldn't you could reasonably interpret that. It said they can no longer buy, buy their Bitcoin a day, or whatever. Now that that would have been problematic, okay? And so when I read that, I went, Oh, okay. I, first of all, I wasn't worried about it, because I, personally, I understand Bucha Lee well enough that he's not stupid, okay? And I just, I was just gonna say, I'm gonna wait till all the information is in, because I don't, he's, he's got integrity, I didn't think he would, would just walk, you know, walk away for and if he did, I actually it, you know, I don't know if I would have left, but I, you know, I wouldn't have the same, you know, attachment or whatever. Anyway. So he came out any, any in his, his combative, effective, combative way, told everyone this bullshit, I can still buy it. I'm buying it. Look at this. We bought it today. We bought it today, you know. And Stacy as well, you know, they're, you know, it's a bunch of bullshit. Okay, so that's fine, you know. But, but for, for, let's say, an organization that would who has very, very stringent compliance, you know, or whatever regulatory, you know, oversight and and if it was reasonable for someone to take the position that you were aid and abetting someone to to violate an agreement like, You know, El Salvador and IMF, which they weren't okay, but for a short period of time, you know, some people were maybe reasonably, I'll say, you know, concluding, concluding that it turned out not to be the case. The IMF actually came out and clarified that, that they had consulted with the with the government, and were entirely comfortable with the with their their behavior or whatever, within the Bitcoin ecosystem, including buying the Bitcoin and so on. I even heard people say, well, they said that they they spoke to somebody in the in the El Salvador and government about it like, as opposed to, you know, they so what it's the IMF they can satisfy themselves, however, the hell they like, they satisfied themselves. They press released that they were satisfied. So, like, to me, again, it was a very short period of time where, you know, and it was a kerfuffle. And I understand it. It confuses people. They think that that he's, he's, he's abandoned Bitcoin. I don't see it that way. He didn't. And if he had stopped buying it, that would have been problematic for me. But he didn't. I didn't think he ever was going to. And so that's what I think about the IMF. And by the way, they owe, I think it's about 1.4 billion, and I don't mean to in any way minimize that's a huge amount of money, but in the scheme of things, in this context, it's nothing, yeah, okay. I was certain that Trump was going to do a little deal with with Bucha and take out the buddy IMF. It wouldn't take much to take out 1.4 billion. Okay? Anyway,

Mike Peterson:

well, we will see where that goes. Well, John, this has been a long time coming. I'm glad we finally got you here at the table.

John McBride:

It's fun, Mike, and honestly, you know you're, you're an amazing guy, you know what you've done for this country and for the Bitcoin ecosystem, you know, I, and I'm not just, you know, saying that to be gratuitous, you know, I look up to you. I, I, I watch in in just amazement to see what you and and guys like chambera and so on have been doing with your community. And you know, everything from, well, you know it like, I've been to, you know, schools on Friday, speaking to the children with you guys and stuff like, it's just, you guys, are, are are you're good you're good people, you're good people. And that's, there's a lot of good people here, folk, not just these. Guys. So

Mike Peterson:

it's been a privilege to be a part of it and looking forward. I mean, I feel like we're just the beginning stages of this renaissance here in El Salvador. I mean, it's really amazing to see just the hope and the optimism in the people that the businesses that are flooding

John McBride:

and the weight that you and I have both gained.

Mike Peterson:

Anyway, I've dropped a few, John, I'm working on it. So, yeah,

John McBride:

I think I, I think I, I got all my different you got all your grand shirts and hats. The only thing I didn't get out. This is my my hat from Betty Ford. I haven't had a drink in 26 years, and I went to Betty Ford in California. So this is my Betty Ford.

Mike Peterson:

Betty Ford hat. Shout out. Shout out. Shout

John McBride:

out for former alcoholics. Yes, yes. All

Mike Peterson:

right, John, well, we'll, uh, we'll have to get you back in here again, and you know, in the next six to 12 months, and hear how all these businesses are thriving.

John McBride:

Oh, that's next time we the next, you know, two or three that we roll out afterwards. Yeah, we can sit down and talk. And by the way, people are always saying, Oh, congratulations, yeah, on the MBE, we had a big event and everything else. Like I, you know, congratulate me in a year, if we made money, you know,

Mike Peterson:

it's so. So people can find you on the website,

John McBride:

on importer. Are, I don't know if you ever put

Mike Peterson:

links? Yeah, we can put in the show notes well. But are you on are you on Twitter at

John McBride:

all? I have a Twitter handle, but I was anonymous. I, you know what? I'm watching Twitter now, and I've probably posted maybe five things ever in the last, you know, 789, 10 years, or whatever, but I follow it. So no, there's no point. I'll give you my

Mike Peterson:

Twitter. Okay, what's your Twitter? Just the people. It's

John McBride:

Johnny barracuda. There's a story behind that.

Mike Peterson:

Okay, we'll have to get that next time. All right, folks, we'll check out John's slew of companies he has here. We'll put the website in the show notes and find them on Twitter at Johnny barracuda, and we'll have him back on here. Barracuda, Johnny, I forget. Okay, well, we'll put it in the show notes. Okay, all right. John,

John McBride:

thanks, Mike, see ya.