Storage Unlocked is where self-storage meets reality.
Hosted by Thaddeus Campbell, this no-fluff podcast dives into the hard numbers, bold opinions, and surprising trends shaping the self-storage industry and beyond. From housing market shifts and economic red flags to untapped investment opportunities, Thaddeus and Chris break it all down with sharp insight and real-world experience.
Whether you're a seasoned investor or just storage-curious, you'll get insider takes, uncensored discussions, and data-backed forecasts that actually matter.
Weekly drops. Always unfiltered.
Small bay industrial base camp has become a go to resource for investors owners and developers.
Why are commercial real estate operators pivoting away from big-box industrial and traditional storage toward 1,500- to 5,000-sq-ft multi-tenant bays ?
I am your host, Thaddeus Campbell (Business Development Director at S3 Partners), and in this episode of Storage Unlocked, I sit down with Will Skillman, President and CEO of Trowbridge Development and founder of Small Bay Industrial Base Camp .
Will shares how he leveraged his background as a former general contractor and mobile home park operator to build one of the fastest-growing communities in commercial real estate, scaling to 550+ members in under four months .
In this episode, I cover:
The Missing Industrial Middle: Institutional logistics funds and traditional storage operators bypass the 1,500–5,000 sq ft bay, creating an enormous supply-demand imbalance for local tradesmen .
Low-TI Tenant Economics: Structuring leases with minimal upfront buildouts protects cash flow while incubating high-growth small business tenants .
Base Camp Community Growth: By focusing on adding genuine value through weekly Friday expert sessions and interactive networking, built an active group where 10% of members have completed 10+ deals .
Underwriting in a 5.1% Treasury Climate: Elevated debt yields and high replacement costs are slowing speculative ground-up builds and pushing capital toward value-add multi-tenant conversions .
The Decades-Long Horizon: Small business workforce growth provides small-bay flex industrial with an estimated 10- to 20-year runway before institutional consolidation takes hold .
Join the Small Bay Industrial Basecamp here:
https://www.skool.com/small-bay-basecamp
Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners):
Email: thaddeus@s3.partners
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/
Connect with Will Skillman (Trowbridge Development)
Email: will@trowbridgedevelopment.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willskillman/
This Episode was brought to you by: https://www.s3.partners
18 Sept 2026
We break down the state of storage with a 20 year veteran of the industry.
Can an independent self-storage operator survive the wave of institutional consolidation while still relying on a five-dollar padlock and an angle grinder ?
In this edition of Storage Unlocked, I am joined by Rob Kopp, founder of KISS Locks and owner of American Storage South . Drawing from more than two decades of developing, owning, and operating facilities, Rob shares a hard-hitting look at the operational, financial, and technological hurdles facing storage owners in 2026 .
In this episode, I cover:
The New Operational Reality: Why the historic post-COVID tailwinds have fully faded and how the 10-year Treasury breaking 5% is exposing operators with approaching debt maturities .
The Reality of Trade Show Choice Paralysis: Navigating the sheer flood of new AI voice agents, FMS platforms, and access control vendors without locking up your business workflows .
The 48% Independent Footprint: What it means for mid-tier and mom-and-pop operators as institutional players steadily chip away at national square footage .
Why NFC Beats Bluetooth: The physics behind using Near Field Communication (the same tech powering NFL ticket entry and passport chips) to secure units within a 20 mm range.
Battery-Free Electronic Locking: How harvesting energy directly from the customer's smartphone eliminates battery maintenance, dead circuits, and failed lock cutoffs .
The One Lock Hybrid: A look at hardware built to handle standard disc locks for legacy tenants, remote tap-to-clear overlocks, and a $5/month digital access revenue stream.
Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners):
Email: thaddeus@s3.partners
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/
Connect with Rob Kapp (KISS lock)
Email: rob@keepitsimplestorage.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-kapp-7a543210/
This Episode was brought to you by: https://pbbrown.com/
11 Sept 2026
Cody Payne explains the rise of Small Bay and what is happening in both acquisition and development
Can you justify building small-bay flex at $15 to $16 NNN when vintage local inventory sits at $12 NNN ?
On this episode of Storage Unlocked, I sit down with Cody Payne, partner at FlexParks USA and founder of Small Bay Feasibility . Cody brings two decades of transaction and feasibility data to show developers how to separate viable flex dirt from costly mistakes .
In this episode, I cover:
Cross-Asset Capital Flows: How post-2023 rate pressure in storage, office, and multifamily is driving investors toward low-TI small bay industrial assets .
The Sideline Bottleneck: Why conference attendance is surging, but first-time developers often struggle to take dirt vertical—leading to a spike in shovel-ready land sales .
The 3X Radius Rule: Why population and business counts must expand by at least 3X from a 2-mile to a 5-mile ring to support steady tenant absorption .
The Spending per Capita Metric: Why areas with under $10,000 to $10,500 in per capita spending struggle to achieve rates above $12/sq ft .
Size vs. Absorption Speed: Why 1,000–1,500 sq ft bays lease in 30 to 60 days, while larger 2,000+ sq ft spaces linger for 3+ months .
Bank Underwriting Strategy: How to prove to lenders that a new flex park will capture a 20% premium over older 1980s stock .
Connect with Thaddeus Campbell (S3 Partners):
Email: thaddeus@s3.partners
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsthadcampbell/
Connect with Cody Payne (Flex Parks USA):
Website: smallbayflex.com (https://smallbayflex.com/)
Email: cody@flexparksusa.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/codypayne/
This episode was brought to you by: https://pbbrown.com/
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